#jules had to stop me from infodumping about les mis

[localcryptic]

THE RESULTS ARE IN. I TRICKED YOU ALL.

TRUTH #1… Ripley loves musical theater.

he would kill you if you ever found out. he has a reputation as an edgy bastard to maintain. but he can’t help being a total sap at heart. he’s a sucker for a good ballad. the type of raw, heightened emotion in musicals just gets him every time. god forbid something from hadestown comes on shuffle while he’s on the bus, he has to shut it off or he will cry about it. he would never want to be in a musical, and i doubt he’d even want to go see one live because of the crowds, but he puts those tech-savvy skills to work and has a whole flash drive of bootlegs to watch.

he didn’t think he’d like musicals, but back in the sidestep days, ricardo took him to see the 2012 movie adaptation of Les Miserables (“trust me, it’ll be fun!” <- ricardo, forgetting that it’s the most depressing show in the world) and ripley experienced shrimp emotions the second jean valjean got those goddamn candlesticks. he was IN. this is a rough approximation of how ripley’s first musical experience went

TRUTH #2… Ripley did name himself after Ripley’s Believe It Or Not

this started out as a running joke between me and @b33tlejules saying one of our sidesteps picked out a last name by looking at a random street sign. there is a physical Ripley’s Believe It Or Not museum in Hollywood along the Walk of Fame, right in the heart of all the touristy shit, which has a Giant Stupid T-Rex on the roof looking down at the street below. i know that not many things in the old Los Angeles survived the Big One, but in my heart of hearts, i can only hope that this monstrosity was one of the remaining relics.

you have to imagine. you’re some trans guy, just coming to terms with your identity, exploring what you want to emulate, who you want to be now that you finally have the chance to decide for yourself. also it’s your first time like, going outside on your own. you’re pondering all of this while you weave through crowds, trying to remain unseen, and suddenly, you look up to see THAT. you have to admit. it would be the coolest fucking thing in the world. ripley did in fact see a big ass stupid t-rex and say “yup, i’ll base my entire identity on this.”

i don’t think he even went into the museum.

“but where’d he get Hawthorn from then?” i’m so glad you asked.

which means… our LIE is… 🥁🥁🥁

“Ripley’s apartment belongs on r/malelivingspaces. truly a nightmare”

ripley’s apartment is actually pretty nice! it means a lot to him to have his space be comfortable and organized and feel like his own. he really likes cleaning and decorating, it gives him something in his life he can control. he also likes cooking, even if he’s only average at it. it’s important for him to really feel at home and he puts more effort into it than he’d ever let on. much more effort than he puts into presenting himself, honestly. it’s not the biggest or fanciest apartment possible, but it’s his, and it’s very cozy and well loved :)

thank you all for playing :) this was fun and i’d love to play again

OC two truths and a lie

"choose an OC and make a 24 hour poll with two truths and one lie about them and see if people can guess the lie"

(thank you for tagging me @autumnfangirler >:3)

i shall be exposing my sidestep Ripley Hawthorn's secrets today, since he is so famously open with his emotions (<- lying)

psst. tell me what you voted for and why in the tags/replies if you want

(i challenge @wormonastringtheory , @b33tlejules @eggfullofbees , if y'all want to play :3c)