hold back the river

( + 1 notification from Instagram )  @orpheusr  can you believe this old timey camera was cheaper at the thrift store than a disposable one?  wack.

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also starring  orpheus rivera  as  “the man in disguise”

( + 1 notification from Instagram )  @orpheusr head cheerleader, homecoming queen, part-time model

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@mrivera1972:  You’re looking so handsome, Orpheus! @connorrivera3 We’ll have to print these out! ↳ @connorrivera3:  He looks so serious!

@lesserfelix:  OMG KING.... THIS IS A STRONG MESSAGE... no one will have the courage to say this!

@cassianstclaire:  god clearly has favorites 😍😋

Cassian’s back hit the padded mat below with an audible thud, the crowd of tipsy cheers fading to static noise for a moment as the breath escaped his lungs. Fuck, that was a rush. He’d lasted all of sixteen seconds on the mechanical beast of a bull, not as long as he’d hoped but probably double what he’d expected. Still breathless, the male rolled to his feet and took a grand bow,  collecting his hat from the blonde who’d been keeping it safe for him as he exited the pen. She’d originally been the one he planned to speak to while killing some time, but the sight of a familiar male a few feet away had him switching up his stride pretty easily. “Holy shit, someone wasn’t messing around about the dress code.” Cass laughed, gaze roaming their outfit, still a bit breathless from his ride. “You came to kill tonight.” @orpheusrivera​

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Felix was determined not to get to drunk at this party. The past couple of big Yates parties, he had either been a source of concern or, well, just passed out in a bathroom. But he could feel a weight lifting off his body, like someone had just removed their boot from his throat after talking to Ellie. Either way, he finally had an answer, could move on and try to repair their relationship. And now it was his turn to be a good friend to Orpheus, his arm slung around his friend’s shoulder as he steered the boy towards the mechanical bull, grinning at him. “Alright, so I heard that Seb guy’s gone. Sounds like it’s time for me to be your wingman. Anyone catching your eye?” @orpheusrivera​

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So he brought his homework. Wasn’t it enough that he came on this trip in the first place? Hugo thought it was. He already felt behind in his classes. He paid attention, but most of the information went straight over his head. He was using this as a time to catch up and study, so he would be prepared when they returned to school. He was on his bed, textbook open in his lap with highlighters and pencils strewn around him. It was the middle of the day, everyone was out doing things that would be considered more fun. He heard the door fly open, but he didn’t even look up from his reading. Until he heard a nonstop stream of noise. He was frustrated. He couldn’t concentrate. He peered over the side of his bed and saw Orpheus ( @orpheusrivera​ ) doing God knows what. “Hey, would you mind keeping it down?” 

“Orpheus!” Leo called out, her voice sailing over hoots and hollers of laughter and glass mugs slamming down on sticky, faux-wood countertops. Long limbs moved a bit less than gracefully through sweaty bodies as she ducked underneath the brims of cowboy hats, the heels of her boots hitting the floor with sharp clicks. “Howdy, partner,” Leo drawled, taking his hat and placing it on her head before her brow wrinkled, goofy grin on her features. “Wait, are you wearing assless chaps?” she asked, genuinely unsure. @orpheusrivera​

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Cowboy hat perched naturally atop his head, Holden made his way over to a group crowded around the campfire, taking a seat and failing to look over at who was seated next to him before speaking. "So get this. That girl over there — ” He gestured to a random freshman he’d been hitting on but quickly lost interest in with one hand while the other held his lighter up to the freshly rolled joint between his teeth, its flame reflected in the pair of orange tinted aviators he had yet to take off despite the fact that the sun had set hours ago. Pausing momentarily, he took a drag, eyes fixed up towards the night sky and the rare sight of stars, before continuing. “Told her I was James Dean, and she didn’t even bat an eyelash. Just fucking held out her hand and said nice to meet you James. Could’ve said anyone… Paul Newman, Steve McQueen… betcha she wouldn’t have noticed. I bet half of these people have never even seen a good Western. Where’s the fucking culture, am I right?” He shook his head before taking another pull from the joint. It wasn’t like he was some movie buff or anything, but there were just certain things he felt you had to know. “Anyway, heard some girl’s gonna do a seance tonight. Try to summon some old cowboy spirits or something. Why does someone always wanna do a fucking seance? I don’t get it.”

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ORPHEUS RIVERA → silver spur ranch → save a horse, ride a cowboy 🤠

“So I get that it’s a ranch or whatever —” she begins, scrolling and clicking mindlessly on her laptop at her table near the center of campus. “But I really could use some clarification on.. literally anything. Theme within a theme? A dress code? Like are we going full Annie Get your Gun country? The Simple Life country? Are we sticking to the masses and being Space Cowgirls? I trust nothing anymore. Do I or do I not pack glitter.” @yatesstarters​

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                        Despite the fact of not being someone with a genuine disposition to random gestures of kindness, Aaron hated the idea of ​​be in debt to anyone. Close to the last classes of that day at that point, it was very typical that the students were crawling, snaking into the wavering light at the end of the tunnel of another long academic week, looking forward to the weekend. 

                        In stages of tiredness like those, a good cup of hot drink was an excellent choice and that was exactly what Lemann carried in one hand, holding some Art History books and his cell phone in the other. The drink wasn’t for him - nor was the route he was taking. He crossed the path of the lucky one he intended to find in the hall with a minimal smile in the face; blue eyes reassessing the face of the one who not long ago had done him a favor during a stressfull moment. “This is my way of saying thank you…” ​

@yatesstarters​

Orpheus’ top hat alone was an almost overwhelmingly distracting explosion of colour, without even taking in the rest of - or lack thereof - a costume to match. It still made Toby smile, though, fond but confused at the construction of it all. The whole thing did see very Orpheus nonetheless, no matter how it was put together, “I like it,” he said, tone hushed compared to the environment they were in, gesturing to his own head to indicate he meant the top hat, “very colourful. It’s fitting,” The compliment makes Toby squirm, pleased but simultaneously uncertain, a similar reaction to someone receiving a final grade they felt undeserving of. If Toby could take the others niceties and hold it tangibly in his hand, he’d treat it with the same care and hesitation as one would holding onto a friend’s pet hamster for the first time, “Wow. Very fast,” Though it was obvious, Toby still felt it necessary to note his amazement anyway. When Orpheus instructed Toby the second go around, his hands made awkward, jerky motions without even realizing it, attempting to copy what his counterpart was doing. If the rolling paper had been in his hands, he still would have failed immensely, “You’re very impressive with your hands,” Though he was merely talking about the joint, anyone could’ve mistaken his words as a pass - that completely went over Toby’s head, “Once. It didn’t end very well. Despite attempting and failing for the last while I’m hesitant to actually try it again. I think I overestimated what my lungs and brain can handle. You always feels invincible until you’re in a vulnerable state. But that doesn’t seem to be an issue for most people, I’m figuring out. I’d like to be one of those people, I just seemed to miss the bill by a bit. I was traveling through time last time I smoked.”

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Cassian practically preened as the hat was placed on his head, his own he’d showed up with far gone by now to the clutches of a wiley sophomore who’d thought it seductive. A shame, he’d liked the hat. “Do I look regal? Mystical? Feel very free to lie.” Still, he led them away from the bong boys towards the open window, reaching for his cigarettes. “Having fun so far? Any wonderland bunnies catch the eye?”

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It hadn’t been long before Leo spotted Orpheus in all of his glitz and glamour, a broad grin already hugging the apples of her cheeks. She was only slightly drunk, enough for her insides to maintain a warm and fuzzy feeling and a glow that sparked from the deepest part of her. “Well, if it isn’t the Mad Hatter,” she called out, leaning an elbow on his shoulder and scanning the partygoers. “What is it, ‘Downal wyth Bluddy Behg Hid’? Which Red Queen are you after tonight?” Then, wiggling her eyebrows at him, “Or maybe a different sort of conquest?” @orpheusrivera​

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Bass blasting, walls shook to the beat of a song Toby didn’t know, watching people he didn’t know bop their head along, on a couch in the middle of a house he didn’t know. Strangely, though, he felt oddly at home, legs tucked up so he could sit cross-legged on a couch with a book balanced in the middle of his lap, “Hello,” he was quick to greet the person who made themselves comfortable in the open space beside him, pointing to the rolling papers and weed splayed across the book in front of him. There were more crumpled papers across the surface, some that’d fallen haphazardly onto the couch in between them - it was obvious he’d been attempting this for a while, “Someone asked me to roll for them, but I’ve never done it before. And then they just left! I’ve convinced myself they’ve gone home, but I’m very determined to figure this out, now. Do you know how to? I’m not quite sure what to do with this otherwise. Would it be rude to give up? I don’t want to disappoint anyone if they come back looking for a miracle, but my fingers are just not the nimble, deft workers they were expecting.”

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If he didn’t find any scintillating human interaction soon he was going to climb up the walls of kincaid. Cass was roaming, pleasantly buzzed on a bottle of pink whitney of all things, hiding his general distaste for its existence in its pink, lemony taste. And like a beacon of sunlight, he spotted a familiar face. “Orrrrpheus!” Cassian sang out, shooting the male a bright grin. “Save me, i’m bored and starving and in need of your pretty face. I beseech thee, good sir.” The latter half done in a piss poor imitation of a british accent, but whatever. He couldn’t perform at an oscar worthy level under such dire circumstances. @orpheusrivera​

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