MUSINGS • INTERACTIONS
character name: atticus michael cortes
nickname: atti
age & dob: september 24, 1994 (30)
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 (30 years)
personality traits: + fastidious, - avoidant
faceclaim: taylor zakhar perez
FAMILY.
mother: dinah cortes (née mikhail)
father: elias 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 his cousin 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
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 & @billieconway
childhood friends and high school ex-boyfriend of @noralevin
first (ex)-boyfriend @warnerstjames
high school friend of @reggiellewellyn
old friend/couch surfer of @robinsantos
fellow agent of chaos @jasrussell
mutually ghosted @leomlarson
@lilynunthapak's older brother's good friend
his catfished matched with @cherryxkoch on tinder
chill with @astridlius as his best friend/roommate's sister
younger cousin/brother vibes of @salvadorcavendish
warner st james ex-boyfriend union members @ziggykyeons
forever competing for the title of #1 uncle against @buddywellls
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
