#opposite: maura cortes

[atticuscortes]

for: @maura-cortes

where: beach bonfire

"See? I fucking told you. Beach plus bonfire plus dude with a guitar equals Wonderwall, every single time. It's inevitable, like death. And taxes." Atticus raised his White Claw (Tangerine, disgusting) to his mouth for a sip. "But speaking of taxes..."

His hand was held out towards her, palm up. "I won, fair and square."

(Fair in that Maura hadn't asked if, five minutes prior, Atticus had gone over to the dude with said guitar and personally requested Wonderwall, of course. Which he had.)

"Twenty dollars. Pay up. Unless...you wanna go double or nothing?" His still empty palm came up to stroke his chin, pretending to think deeply. "I'm feeling like he's following this up with some...Matchbox Twenty?"

(He might've also thrown in a second request for Push.)

[cricketcampbell]

for: @maura-cortes

where: sharky's, post-costume-switcharoo

"So, one more time, just to be, like, totally clear...you didn't sleep with him and switch costumes after in a rush of confusion or as some weird sort of token?"

A t-shirt or a pair of sweats, Cricket could at least understand, even in her current tipsy state, but his entire Halloween costume? That was taking some wrapping her head around.

"Not that I, like, care...except I do, because it's doing absolutely nothing for your figure, Maur." Her head tilted as she considered. "...the gloves are kinda giving, though."

[atticuscortes]

👀👀👀

You’re playing hooky for a day. How are you spending it

What’s your favorite childhood memory?

What’s something you like that people wouldn’t necessarily guess about you?

What’s the best new artist/song you’ve discovered recently?

You’re playing hooky for a day. How are you spending it?

"Right off the bat, catching up on some z's and sleeping the fuck in. It's a battle with that alarm clock literally every morning. Once I'm up though, it's breakfast--probably technically lunch, at that point--and if it's a good day for it, might head to the beach with my board to check out the waves. If not, maybe see if Blake or Cass are around for a run. Maybe after, pop by the arcade to see if I could bug Maur into kicking in some free tokens. End the day with a trip to the batting cages, make sure I'm pulling through for my team, and then head home and probs pass out watching some eighteen part TikTok of one of the hundred different med dramas on TV right now."

What’s your favorite childhood memory?

"Holidays are big in the Cortes family. Thirty people minimum, aunts and uncles and cousins and significant others, all together under one roof. Enough food to feed probably half the Bay, music, dancing...it's a little less fun now that we don't have to try and sneak drinks when nobody's looking, but what can you do? It's a mad house, and not for the weak, and obviously, yeah, the presents were nice, but...I don't know. When people say Christmas doesn't hit the same now as it did when you were a kid, they mean that shit. I think it's just a nostalgia thing."

What’s something you like that people wouldn’t necessarily guess about you?

"I actually kinda fuck with some country music. Yeehaw."

What’s the best new artist/song you’ve discovered recently?

leave in five - the maine (with misterwives)

@blake-michaels, @cassius-banks, @maura-cortes

Send my muse “👀 + a question” and they’ll have to answer with 100% honesty.

[atticuscortes]

MUSINGS • INTERACTIONS 

character name: atticus michael cortes

nickname: atti

age & dob: september 24, 1994 (29)

gender identity & pronouns: male, he/him/his

sexual orientation & relationship status: bisexual, single

residential area: ocean crest apartments

occupation: firefighter for aurora bay fd

place of birth: aurora bay, california

length of time in aurora bay: all his life (29 years)

personality traits: + fastidious, - avoidant

faceclaim: taylor zakhar perez

FAMILY.

mother: dinah cortes (née mikhail)

father: elias cortes

cousin: maura cortes

BIO.

tw biphobia

though the only child of dinah and elias cortes, atticus was born into a large, loving family on both sides, with enough cousins to ensure that he never felt robbed of any close sibling bonds

grew up right there in aurora bay. was generally a good kid up and through his teens, was an okay academic, and if anything maybe just lacked a sense of direction. it wasn't that he did nothing, but rather the opposite.

almost as if to over-compensate for not feeling passionate about anything, he tried literally everything, and usually overextended himself to do so. needed sets built for the school play? hand him a paintbrush. student council elections? hell yeah, he could slap his face on a poster. soccer tryouts? debate? yearbook? tried out, debated, yearbooked.

by the time graduation rolled around, he was no closer to figuring out what it was he was doing with his life, so while many of his friends went off to schools all across the country, atticus elected to stay home and attend the local community college in hopes he'd come out of it with a better idea on what came next for him.

he didn't, but he did come out of it with a better understanding of himself...it was his sophomore year when atticus discovered and began to explore his bisexuality.

unfortunately, before he could share this information with his parents on his own terms, his mom walked in on him and a guy he'd been seeing, and the resulting fallout was devastating.

though he'd hesitated in sharing with them, atticus truly had never imagined his parents reacting anything but supportively, as they always had, and while his dad lived up to that idea as best as he could, his mom made it quite clear that she did not approve.

the usual peace of their home quickly dissolved, and after a particularly nasty fight, atticus found himself throwing whatever of his would fit into a duffel bag and hightailing it out of there after being told to go.

rotated between surfing on a few different friend's couches, downplaying the severity of his displacement. always having had a hard time admitting when he needed help (and still shaken from his misjudgment of his mom's reaction), it took his dad finally mentioning what had happened to the rest of the family for him to turn to them for assistance.

his schoolwork suffered during this time, and without the financial support his parents had been offering, college was placed on the back burner until things became more stable for him.

worked various odd jobs during this time, usually multiple at a time, once again overcompensating. it wasn't that he wasn't particularly good at any of them, but nothing had excited him the way he was hoping it would, so he simply went through the motions.

it was while on one of these jobs (pizza delivery boy for fired up) that he came across the fire station, and found himself almost touched by the sense of camaraderie he saw there. they were a family.

didn't immediately jump to the decision, but after a few more dead-end jobs, he kept coming back to the idea of it, and before he knew it he was enrolling for his emt certification.

it hasn't been an easy road, and it's demanding work, but it's the first time in his life that something he was doing felt right, something he was genuinely happy to wake up every morning for.

has just hit his five years on the job; toys with the idea of moving his way up through the ranks, but for right now is comfortable where he's at.

HEADCANONS.

yes those are his real eyelashes

went through a bleach blonde phase…rough. before he dyed it back, he let maura paint whatever she wanted into it 

starts every morning off by completing the NY Time’s mini puzzle, his record is currently 28 seconds 

breakfast taco connoisseur 

lost a bet several years ago and has a lip tattoo that was supposed to have faded by now…still hasn’t 

jagged scar on his knee from where he busted it trying to impress a girl in junior high by riding his bike with no hands—hit a rock, flipped over the handlebars, but he got his first kiss out of it so…worth it

knows it’s time to go to bed when his tiktok fyp starts showing him those pleasing trader joe’s sign writing videos, or else he will get no sleep

has never flown before, but when he needs to clear his head, there's a spot near the airport he likes to park in and lay on his hood and watch the planes take off. it makes him and whatever he's going through feel smaller.

has slowly been repairing his relationship with his mom, mostly on a sweep it under the rug, don't talk about it basis...which is not ideal, but neither was not talking to her, so even if it's not right, he's choosing to be the "bigger person" though he knows he wasn't in the wrong

not a gambler but is not (usually) one to back down from something either, no matter his odds (re: lip tattoo)

is currently on a recreational softball team made up of other firefighters in ab and neighboring towns--their team name? smoke signals.

CURRENT CONNECTIONS.

5k running partner of @blake-michaels

roomies and co-parents to their turtle barturtlemew (bart) with @maverick-liu

older brother vibes to @heyits-asher

ex-boyfriend but current softball teammate and friend of @noah-atwood

punched @aiden-stevens in the face in hs but now they're cool

aforementioned girl he was trying to impress in junior high/first gf @priyaxdesai

aurora bay fd member alongside @nomadjones, @firefighterrojas & @hcnter

childhood friends and high school ex-boyfriend of @noralevin

first (ex)-boyfriend @warnerstjames

WANTED CONNECTIONS.

a roommate (or two!) at the apartments

the boy he was caught by his mom with (would require some heavier plotting!)

a few best friends

the real ones who let him crash on their couch when he was 19/20

a serious ex or two

a not so serious ex or two

neighbors

someone he has (probably stupid) beef with

flirtationship/situationships/fwbs/one night stands/tinder dates

family/childhood/high school/community college friends

someone he's met/helped while on the job!

fellow firefighters/emts (softball teammates?)

drinking buddies

gym buddies

old co-workers/employers

@aurorabayaesthetic