xio-c

[xio-c]

Xio watched April look at records from the check out counter for several minutes. They weren't trying to stare, but it was just so slow at work today and the brunette was the only person in there right now. In an attempt to look busier than they were, Xio decided to restock some albums they had near the counter - selections other customers had changed their mind about when they saw how much money they were spending, or realized the only song they knew by that artist was from a different record. Xio's restocking led them to the area their customer also happened to be at.

As they were asked about Gracie Abrams, they shrugged. Xio had never thought much about her one way or another, but they tried to keep an eye on what was popular and who the big names were so they knew enough to share their thoughts. "I think it's a little bit of both. We have enough singer-songwriter pop girlies with a guitar at this point. She's not exactly reinventing the wheel, and I don't think she would have gotten this far if her dad wasn't JJ Abrams. But playing guitar and singing doesn't have to be revolutionary to be good. And she writes music that people love, she's a skilled singer, and she plays multiple instruments."

Open Starter: @windsorbaystarters Location: Main street Records

April was going through the records, finding something to add to her collection at least. Thanks to her mother for buying her a record player, she can play some old music that her late father used to blast on the stereo. She picked up one and glanced over at the other, "Do you think they're good or are they over hyped?" April asked as she held the vinyl of Gracie Abrams.

[xio-c]

THE CHARACTER.

FULL NAME: Xiomara "Xio" Ángel Castillo Torres

GENDER: Genderqueer

PRONOUNS: She/they

AGE + BIRTHDAY: 26 + November 7, 1998

LENGTH OF TIME IN WINDSOR BAY: Four months

HOUSING: Coral Coast

OCCUPATION: Owner of Dragonfly Studios, Employee at Main Street Records, Freelance musician (drums, guitar, bass, keyboards, vocals)

THE INTERVIEW.

What’s it like, living in Windsor Bay? Did you ever picture yourself settling down here or did you always know this would be your home?

“I didn’t see myself settling down anywhere. Was planning on living on tour buses until I was too old to keep up with it anymore.”

If you could recommend one hidden gem around town everyone should try, what is it? What makes it so special?

“I’m not answering that. Cause then everyone’s gonna wanna be there and my favorite part about it is that it’s mine.”

What’s your family like? Are you still close, or have you blocked all their numbers?

“Ugh. Don’t even get me started on them. Their numbers aren’t blocked, not that it would do much good anyways, but we’ve never been close. All the recent drama with me getting custody of Len instead of them definitely didn’t help that situation either.”

If you could have any three guests come to dinner, dead or alive, who would they be and why?

“Wait, I’ve got like a million musicians I’m thinking of. Hold up. The first three I thought of were Kurt Cobain, Michael Jackson and Chester Bennington. But like….that’d be a fucked up, depressing dinner. Let’s circle back to this one later.”

Top five songs currently on your Spotify?

“There’s been a lot of Dolly Parton and Tracy Chapman lately. Which, like, they’re both fire. But it’s for a country artist I’m recording at my studio right now. If I’m not recording much, I gravitate to hard rock and metal. But when I’m working on a big project, I try to listen to the kind of music that’s inspiring the album.”

Would you say you’re easy to get along/work with? Why or why not?

“Those are different things with different answers. I’m used to working on stages with a lot of different people, so yeah. I’m easy to work with. I can adapt to whatever personalities I need to. But I’ve also been around stage hands and roadies and famous musicians for the last six years and it shows. My brother told me a few weeks ago that I’m an acquired taste. He meant it as an insult, but I kinda like it.”

We’ve all had our fair share of shit hit the fan and moments in the sun — tell me about a defining moment in your life, good or bad.

“I started a band in high school and we did pretty good in the local scene. Even got signed, and that turned into opening for some medium-successful bands on tour. So at one point we were playing way bigger crowds than we would have by ourselves. Label didn’t really know how to manage us, and things started falling apart internally, so we split before our name really got out there. But hey, we did better than most high school garage bands could even dream of and it was a really cool experience.”

Do you have any regrets? What are they?

“They’re none of your fucking business.”

Are you a leader or a follower?

“I guess leader? I mean, I led my band and I led as a drum tech in my last career. But I can follow whenever I need to. Just as long as the person I’m supposed to be following isn’t fucking stupid.”

It’s the little things in life; tell me three things that bring you a great deal of joy or put a smile on your face.

“Music - obviously. My niece, Len. She’s so resilient and fearless. And getting a new tattoo.”

THE PERSONALITY.

— + creative, independent, adventurous — - stubborn, impatient, withdrawn

XIO IS PORTRAYED BY LIZETH SELENE, AND WRITTEN BY ELLE.

[xio-c]

ABOUT XIO

BASICS

FULL NAME (EN MÉXICO): Xiomara Ángel Castillo Torres

FULL NAME (IN AMERICA): Xiomara "Xio" Angel Castillo

PRONUNCIATION: Zee-oh-mar-ah or see-oh-mar-ah; Siomara is how their family pronounces it but in the US most people pronounce it with a Z sound.

NICKNAMES: Xio (zee-oh), Xi (zee)

HOMETOWN: Mexico City, MX // Los Angeles, CA

SEXUALITY: pansexual

GENDER: genderqueer

PRONOUNS: they/she

AGE + BIRTHDAY: 26, November 7th 1998

WINDSOR BAY ARRIVAL: February 2025

HOUSING: A small-to-medium size house in the Coral Coast neighborhood

OCCUPATION: owner/audio engineer at Dragonfly Studios, employee at Main Street Records, studio musician

OTHER MARKETABLE SKILLS: live musician, instrument repair, stage management, stagehand

POSITIVE TRAITS: creative, independent, adventurous

NEGATIVE TRAITS: stubborn, impatient, withdrawn

FAMILY: Len Valdez (niece / legal guardianship of), parents and twin brother (in Mexico), sister (deceased)

FACECLAIM: Lizeth Selene

BIOGRAPHY

triggers: teen pregnancy/adoption, death

Many young girls dream of being princesses - to live in a world where beauty, wealth and power all come naturally. But for Xiomara Ángel, that never felt like much of a fantasy. With the family names Castillo and Torres literally meaning castle towers, they always identified more with Rapunzel trapped in her spire more than princesses like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. The name Castillo had a much more practical and less metaphorical weight behind it as well. Xio’s great grandfather founded La Colección Castillo, a hotel company that later went on to become a multi billion dollar hospitality giant. Xio was the youngest of three, a fact their twin brother will never let them forget. Private school, a mansion in Polanco, and being raised by nannies, was all they ever knew. Their sister, six years their senior, was too old to spend much time with them. And from an early age it was very clear that there were more expectations placed on Xio than their brother. Don’t play in the dirt, cross your legs and sit up straight, help with the housework, play with dolls instead of your brother’s toys. As far back as they can remember, Xio was told their purpose in life would be to marry a wealthy man and be a good wife. For their brother, his future would include taking over Colección Castillo so that their dad could retire one day knowing the company would be passed down to another generation.

One bright spot of growing up in such a severe family was their private music lessons. Their first instrument was piano. Like many things, it was a decision that was made for them based on what their parents thought would look good. But they learned quickly and for the first time in their short life, their parents seemed proud of them. While it wasn’t the main reason they took to music, it certainly didn’t hurt things either. Very little pestering was needed for their parents to let them pick up a second instrument. They asked about drums, but their parents refused and gave them the choice between violin and cello. They picked cello, and while they didn’t love it as much as piano, they still enjoyed playing. 

Xio spent much of their primary education at a private American school in Mexico City before transferring to a boarding school in Los Angeles when they were twelve. It was the first time they could join dedicated music classes and signed up for as many as the school offered. Band, choir and orchestra filled up much of their day. Since there weren’t many piano parts written for band, Xio finally had a chance to pick up percussion. This meant they were one of the few students who was allowed to play the school drumset and they started spending much of their free time in the band room teaching themself how to play. 

Not content with just playing concert band music for the rest of their life, Xio put up flyers looking for other musicians to start a band with. The earliest iteration of their group, which settled on the name Dance of the Dragonflies, had Xio on keys and vocals. But when the band struggled to keep a reliable drummer, Xio switched to drums. They couldn’t sing and play at the same time, and the band quickly found a new lead singer. While they’d never admit it, they felt a lot more comfortable behind the kit. 

Xio’s parents weren’t exactly thrilled that she was wasting her time on a rock band, feeling she should be spending their time on activities that were more befitting of a socialite. But when Xio wasn’t focusing on Dance of the Dragonflies, they were usually getting in trouble. Boarding school gave them a level of freedom that had been unimaginable when they were younger, and they took full advantage of the lack of adult supervision. Parties, random hookups, experimenting with illegal substances, anything to rebel against the rigid expectations their family placed on them. They always expected to get suspended, but never took things far enough to get kicked out.

Despite not always being the safest about who she hooked up with, Xio had never had a pregnancy or STD scare. When the at-home pregnancy test came back positive, they had a hard time believing it. Teen pregnancy was something that happened to other people. They knew this news was not going to go over well in their family, and would only be made worse by her decision to keep the baby. The father, a junior at the same high school, was far more interested in going to college than raising a child. He also felt that Xio shouldn’t cut herself off from her own future, and accused her of wanting to keep the baby just to piss off her parents. Xio’s father brushed the entire issue off as being a ‘womens problem’ for his wife to take care of. Their mom was cold and unsympathetic, informing Xio that they would be putting the baby up for adoption. Without support from their family, the baby’s father, or anyone except their bandmates, Xio felt like they had to go along with their mom’s decision. Xio was pulled out of school before they started showing, and was isolated from the public eye. 

Meeting their son and saying goodbye to him all at once was the most painful moment of their life. They chose to go back to school as soon as they were physically able to. Desperate to move on with their life, they threw everything they had into the band. They didn’t care about their grades, or relationships, or friends. They just wanted to hit drums and push their feelings down so far that they ceased to exist. As the band gained more of a local following and started playing bigger venues, they attracted the attention of a small label. They signed right out of high school, which opened them up to opportunities to record an album and open for bands. Suddenly they were playing to crowds and had a small fanbase of people from all over the United States. 

They managed to put out an album, and on the outside everything seemed like it was going great. The label saw a lot of potential in them to be one of their next big bands. But inside the band, the cracks were already forming. The label’s extra attention came with more opinions on what they needed to sound and look like. None of the members realized how much signing would change the band and while Xio was okay with it becoming a job, some other members were not. The final straw came when the lead singer developed issues from the improper singing techniques that made his voice so memorable. Things fell apart during the second album’s writing and recording process. They never got further than some rough demos. While Xio took the breakup pretty hard at the time, they didn’t take it out on their bandmates. The group continued to be friends and even as life pulled them in different directions, they still have an active group chat. 

Not really sure what to do next, Xio started working odd jobs at music venues near their house. The pay wasn’t great, but their estranged parents sent them an absurd amount of money each month. While they didn’t feel great about accepting money from their parents, seeing themselves as far too independent for that, it allowed them the freedom they wanted. They got a small studio apartment in an okay part of town, and only used the money to cover what their paychecks didn’t. Their family was horrified that they were choosing to work low paying jobs that often included manual labor, but Xio had long stopped caring what their parents thought of their life choices. 

While working as a stagehand at a small amphitheater, the tour’s drum tech quit in the middle of the load in due to a personal emergency. Xio’s experience as both a drummer and a sound engineer at a small venue all came together and they went above and beyond to help the show go on. Desperately needing a drum tech who could immediately join their tour, they offered Xio the job and they took it. With only a couple hour’s notice, Xio packed up as much as they could and began their life as a roadie.

Since they started their first tour half-way through, it was a lot to take in. Learning their job on the go in such a fast paced environment, combined with figuring out how to live on a bus, and establishing friendships with people that already all knew each other was challenging. By the time they got used to it, the tour was done. But it was long enough to realize that they loved touring. Xio had never been close to their own family, so having a couple dozen other people all working and living together was a level of community they’d never had. They were also young enough that they could work a long day, party on the bus, and wake up the next morning and do it all again with only a few hours sleep. As the years went on, there were more nights where they just hung out or went to bed early, but the love for touring never went away. They loved waking up in a new city every day, and putting all their attention and energy into creating something just to tear it all down and do it again the next day. They loved meeting local stagehands and learning about their lives and their hometowns.

They stay tight-lipped about their own past. They had a tendency to feel like an imposter, knowing that they came from a completely different world than most of their coworkers. They didn’t have a family to support back home, or have to worry about finances and paychecks. Their brother once told them that they were ‘cosplaying as a poor person’ and that idea stuck with them. Sometimes they’d accidentally say something that revealed they had grown up in an wealthy family, but none of their roadie friends realized just how affluent her famly was. Whenever the tour put them up in a Castillo hotel, everyone assumed the last name was merely a coincidence - Castillo was a pretty common family name in Mexico, as Xio was always quick to point out.

If Xio’s family didn’t like them working at music venues and being in a rock band, then becoming a traveling drum tech was like telling them she’d joined the circus. She still continued to receive her trust fund, although she barely touched the money. The only thing Xio really used their family’s connections for was to stay at Castillo hotels for free while between tours. Their family didn’t reach out, and that was just fine with Xio. So when their sister, Marisol, contacted them asking when they had a day off next, they were surprised. But sure enough, Marisol met them in Toronto three days later. 

Marisol was every bit the golden child to Xio’s black sheep. Marisol had always seemed comfortable and content with the way the two daughters were supposed to live their lives. She had done well in school, gone to an ivy league college, found a husband and had a child. Be more like Marisol Emilia, Xio was often told. Perhaps unfairly, that pitted the sisters against each other. For Xio, it was a reflection of what their parents wanted them to be, and for Marisol it set a high bar to never disappoint the family. It turned out this was the reason the oldest sibling wanted to speak with Xio. After a death on Marisol's husband’s side of the family, the two started discussing what would happen to their daughter, Len, if they passed away. Marisol didn’t want her parents or brother to end up with Len, because she hoped to raise her daughter in a less rigid environment. This was why they agreed on the unlikely candidate of Xio. It was one of the only real moments the two sisters ever shared, which prompted Xio to agree to take in Len. It was unlikely to ever happen, so they figured that was the end of that conversation and continued their life of touring.

The last phone call Xio expected to get was that Marisol and her husband had died when their private jet went down. They were in so much shock, one of their work friends had to help them pack and book their flight back to Mexico for them. They felt awful leaving the tour, but everyone told them that being with their family was more important. And they had made the promise to be there for Len. As the rest of the family came to realize that Xio was going to be taking care of Len, it did not go over well. You can’t take care of Len, you couldn’t even take care of your own son was the most hurtful comment, and it came from their twin. Their parents took a gentler approach, pointing out the reality that Xio’s life would have to change dramatically if they took care of Len, and offering a way out. But the only thing Marisol had ever asked of Xio was to make sure Len didn’t have the same childhood they did. They weren’t going to go back on their promise, and stood firm on keeping Len.

The original plan had been to stay in Len’s hometown so that they didn’t have to adjust to so much change at once. But it soon became obvious that Len needed a fresh start. They found a place to live by Len closing her eyes and pointing to Oregon on a map. After a little research and house hunting, Xio bought a house in Windsor Bay and the two moved there. It’s been a hard adjustment for both of them, but they’re getting there. 

[xio-c]

It still hadn't fully set in for Xio that they weren't going back on tour. The processes of inheriting a small child and buying a house should have made it all feel real, but everything the last few months felt like a fever dream. One aspect of staying put that Xio could get used to, was the idea of just sitting in a cafe and relaxing. The life of a drum tech was a lot of hurry up and wait, but life in a small town had significantly less hurry.

As Xio sipped on their red eye, they looked around. A lot of people seemed to be having conversations or working, but Xio was here alone and all their work was back at the music studio. Someone sitting next to them must have mistaken their thoughts for loneliness, as that person started asking Xio about getting stood up.

"What? No! Do I look like someone who gets stood up?" Xio scoffed, slightly offended that the person had jumped to that assumption. And if it had been true, they couldn't imagine the comment would have gone over any better.

open for @windsorbaystarters where: mug shot cafe

Elle claimed a small corner in the busy cafe with an oat milk vanilla latte and an almond croissant parked on the table in front of her. She'd been sitting there doing admin, and it was driving her a little bit nuts. Not something she'd ever get really used to. "Okay," She turned to the person next to her, who looked a little lonely. "What happened, your date stand you up or something?"

[xio-c]

lizeth selene via instagram