i think there's been a glitch.

ty king. backup goalie for the new york rangers, the morning person roommate, and bookworm. my goal is to deny yours.

[glitchedgoalie]

☆ –– (mason gooding, he/him/his, cismale) who is TYLER KING anyways? ew. you don’t know about HIM, we’ll bet you want to. they’re feeling TWENTY-EIGHT and BAKING COOKIES feels like a perfect night to them. rumor has it they’re MOODY and CLINGY because they care, but they’re also PATIENT and HONEST in the best way. HE works to make a little money as a(n) (BACKUP) GOALIE FOR THE NEW YORK RANGERS. they’ve rented a place on cornelia street in the form of AN APARTMENT. GLITCH(A)/HITS DIFFERENT (A) is the song they could dance to the beat of forevermore.

basics.

full name: tyler james king. nicknames: most people go with ty. some people go with tj.his teammates call him kinger, mostly. gender/pronouns: cismale/he/him/his. sexual orientation: bisexual. birthday: february 28th. star sign: pisces are known to be adaptable, creative, romantic, intuitive...and indecisive. occupation: backup goaltender for the new york rangers. character inspo: take the best part of the scott brothers from oth and put them together, also a little bit of matt saracen from friday night lights.

personality.

positive traits: intuitive, patient, kind, creative, adaptability. negative traits: clingy, moody, sometimes obsessive/one-track minded, indecisive. hogwarts house: i know jkr sucks and we do not claim her but the she is a burned gryffindor (bottom third). alignment: chaotic good ennegram: 2w1 personality type: infp.

backstory.

ty and his siblings grew up mostly with their grandparents. their dad was in the military and never came home from his last deployment. his mom skipped town on them when ty was six. he doesn't really remember her.

what he does remember is his grandpa teaching him how to skate around that time. the ice was an escape for him. when he was flying around that frozen sheet, nothing could touch him. so he threw himself into it. he played on various youth teams and ultimately found that he loved playing goalie and that he was good at it, too. he never left the net after that first game.

because of their home situation, ty knew that if he wanted to go to college, he'd need a scholarship. so he trained hard, kept his grades up, and earned a scholarship to boston college.

he studied psychiatry mostly because it was a fairly easy course load that he could balance with his demanding athletic schedule, but he fell in love with it and really enjoyed his schoolwork.

the plan was always the nhl. he wanted to make enough money to pay his grandparents back for raising him and his siblings. he wanted to get them out of their tiny apartment and into a real house. ty backed up his freshman year, but he got the net his sophomore year and put up some dazzling numbers, helping his team get to the national championship...where they lost to their crosstown rival boston university.

the loss lit a fire under him and he trained hard over the off-season. his junior season started just where the last one left off: he led the conference in shutouts, goals against average, and wins. then, during a rematch against BU, an opposing player hit him just right and his left leg buckled, then got pinned against the post. he felt his ankle pop. that was it. junior season, gone. he'd broken his ankle in three placed and required surgery and physical therapy to even have a shot at returning to the ice.

but he did it. he followed his doctors' orders and was cleared to return for his senior season. only the school had recruited a younger goaltender, and he only played a handful of games that year. still, he showed up to practices and games with a smile on his face and was the best damn bench door opener the team could ask for. he hyped the boys up and helped out wherever he could. and they almost got the championship that year, but fell just short once again.

not playing consistently caused his draft stock to plummet. he wasn't drafted, but he did get an invite to the bruins' development camp.

ty didn't make the team out of camp, but he was offered a minor league contract with the team. he battled two years in the echl before finding his footing in the american hockey league, one step down from the nhl. he wasn't making sidney crosby money, but he was comfortable. and he sent as much as he could back to his grandparents in connecticut.

it was during his time in providence that ty fell in love for the first time. sure, he'd had relationships in college, but nothing serious. this was real. this was going to be forever...until it wasn't.

the breakup hit him hard and caused his performance on the ice to suffer. he was almost sent down to the echl again. but ty buckled down, strung together a few good games, and helped his team win the calder cup in 2022.

and then he was traded away that summer. he wasn't even the big piece of that trade. the bruins were getting a star winger and they had used him to sweeten the deal. so he packed up his shit and moved to hartford to start the whole process over.

he played well in hartford. enough that when the rangers' starting goalie got injured and they needed a backup for their backup, he got called up. and, as it turns out, the starter had to have the same season-ending surgery that ty had a few years back. at least he's benefiting from it this time!

so ty's been in new york for a couple of months now and is still trying to find his footing. it's not really the same as small-town providence, but...he thinks he likes it.

connections.

roommates! i put ty in hits different partially so he'd have some built in connections. give me the ragtag group of roommates that become family because they're all sort of hopeless romantics...or hate love, actually.

the ex that caused him to spiral. i have a juicy idea that this may have been a former teammate. ty was traded in the off-season last summer and had been playing with the rangers' ahl affiliate in hartford. could have been a teammate from his previous team in providence, with hartford, or just someone involved with either of those teams (social media manager, reporter, play-by-play person) who has recently gotten a job with the big club, too, and moved to nyc. awkward.

he's got a sort of thing going on with muse b from glitch, but i would love something like a PR relationship or even something that spawns from a sort of...charity auction. think the boytoy auction from one tree hill (aka bid to win a date with a player).

teammates or other people affiliated with the rangers! social media crew, coaching staff, play-by-play! or even just other people who use the practice space. figure skaters, speed skaters, etc.

give me jasmin savoy brown as his sister and i'll kiss you. if you're into that.

[ceasil]

where: fearless gym who: open @corneliastarters

cecil had taken to working out before work, lately. what they always said about endorphins was true; when he was too overwhelmed, it helped him take his mind off things, the emptiness of his apartment, the feeling of not knowing who to tell all his useless thoughts to.

it helped. it just... switched his mind off, in a way; got him thinking about how nice the sunshine was, or what he'd have for lunch. and fearless gym was nice; the music was just the right volume, no one paid attention to anyone else - unless they needed help. he'd had a few helpful tips or spots when he hadn't realised he'd needed it. and now he saw someone looking a little lost, examining a device in search of the instructional sticker - it seemed to be missing. cecil approached.

"you just set the weight here," he gestured, "and then sit down facing that way and pull the bars down. it's great for your shoulders."

[glitchedgoalie]

ty blinked down at his phone. he'd just gotten a text alert about a potential post-season trade that included his road trip roommate, so he was typing away a quick reply that essentially said that's bullshit. still, it was a harsh reminder that his job was almost always in flux. he'd come here after his jog but before practice to do...something. lift? yeah, that was it. usually, he just put his brain on autopilot when he was in the gym, but the text had kind of weirded him out. he checked the closest machine and shrugged, figuring her could give it a try. he was getting spoiled, though, used to trainers getting him set up in the rangers' personal gym. plus his brain wasn't quite awake. maybe he needed a coffee.

"oh. right. i thought i was over by the elipitcals but..." ty shrugged and settled into the seat, reaching for the bars and pulling them towards himself. "you don't work here, do you? maybe you should take up personal trainer as a side gig."

[clsie]

where: waverly place who: open @corneliastarters

oh, now this place was cute. elsie was mid-run, and fairly tired, and the sandwich store had been right there, taunting her, so she stepped in. there was something so exciting about being a stranger in a new place, even if in reality she was just a bit south of her home.

she was a little out of breath, but she was so excited to buy a sandwich and a coffee, sit down in this adorable space. the endorphins of exercise were still running through her and she got a little bold - "and, by the way, can i pay for the next person's sandwich?" she smiled sweetly at the cashier, waited for her food, and then positioned herself so she could see the reaction of her new beneficiary.

what she didn't expect was for the cashier to point her out after breaking the news.

[glitchedgoalie]

waverly place was one of his favorite spots, especially after his morning run. he'd just popped in there for his usual, earbuds in, and waved at the cashier from his spot in line. ty's eyes were on his phone, checking out last night's highlights, as he moved through the line. even though the guys at waverly knew his order by heart -and that he almost always stopped by here in the late mornings- he didn't order ahead or expect to be recognized. occasionally, he did sign a couple autographs for kids, but mostly, people left him alone. he was the backup goalie after all.

when he reached the register with his wallet out, the cashier indicated that the person ahead of him had paid for his sandwich. blinking, ty handed over his card and thumbed over his shoulder. "might as well keep it going, then." he slid into the open seat next to the kind stranger as he tucked his wallet back into his pocket. "that was nice of you. are you new here?" he joked. he wasn't from new york city, so the brashness of the people here had caught him off guard at first, but he'd gotten used to it. it was a joke. for all ty knew, this person had been here all her life. he glanced over his shoulder at the line. "how long do you think it'll keep going?" the guy behind him had paid for the person behind him. ty was trying to keep track.

[kennedyofc]

kennedy re positioned herself, looking at the other. she lived in new york for years, she should know better than to zone out on the busy streets. "me either, which is not the safest thing to do around here." she joked, looking at him. she looked at his new tattoo. "wait, i'm obsessed." the blonde was very artsy and loved drawing, she loved to design tattoos for friends when they asked. she was too scared to ever get herself a tattoo, though. "it looks so good." kennedy tilted her brow, looking at ty. "maybe one day i'll take you up on your offer." the blonde smiled slightly. "i'm kennedy, by the way. i also have no tattoos, but i'm super jealous of everyone who has them, they always look so good."

[glitchedgoalie]

ty grinned. "me too. i couldn't say no." his shoulders lifted in a half shrug as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "ty. it's nice to meet you." he jerked his chin the direction she'd been walking and started off that way, too. "where are you heading?" without waiting for an answer, he continued on. "why don't you? are you one of those it has to mean something people?" ty didn't fault them. he had a handful of meaningful tattoos: ones memorializing his father, one with his siblings birth stones, one for his grandparents. but he also had a bunch that were just fun: song lyrics, anime characters, and memes. "because that's a common misconception."

[rollercoasterush]

"i love him so much. do other teams have team dogs too or is it just your team?" beck thought every team should have a a pet, it would significantly increase morale. "that's good, that's good, don't let them get a big head, keep them grounded." she nodded with a laugh. "yes, please, text me immediately." she took ty's phone, put her number in it and handed it back.

[glitchedgoalie]

"not all of the teams. some do. but rookie's the best boy." ty said this with a certain finality, like none of the other teams' dogs could hold a candle to rookie. and in ty's mind, they couldn't. rookie could fetch pucks at the end of practice and he could even stop them when the shots were low-speed. he shot her a quick text with a couple more pictures of the dog. "i promise only to send unsolicited dog pics."

[rollercoasterush]

"a professional like you? you'd be fine i'm sure." carter had never broken a bone but she had sprained them enough to know the recovery can be a long process. that's the last thing someone in a career like ty's would want.

"you want all the behind the scenes details? the scenes that took forever to film, who hated who, the starbucks cup that wasn't noticed in post-production?" she laughed. she didn't think anyone liked watching her own movies with her because she kept going on about filming and the little details she noticed. "oh no you've already seen it?" carter looked down to hide her blush of embarrassment.

"you are a professional hockey player so don't even try to use that excuse on me." she yelled at him as she zig-zagged through the crowds to catch up to him.

[glitchedgoalie]

"well yeah," ty said bluntly. "i did some research before agreeing to do this. but that one was one of my favorites when i was younger." he couldn't help but enjoy movies where it seemed like the cast was having a good time making it. he had seen some interviews after the fact and knew carter and the rest of the cast had a blast doing it, whatever they felt about it now. he did a couple of crossovers to dodge a few kids using those learn-to-skate walkers. "and yes, i'd love to hear all about that. it's like when they mic us up during practice. people love that." learning a little bit about the players was right up fans' alley. he guessed it would be similar for actors.

ty ran into a bunch of teenagers playing crack the whip and had to decide between taking the long way around or ducking underneath the whip. he decided on speed and paid for it when one of the teens' skates clipped his back one and he tumbled forward, palms scraping against the ice as he caught himself. he rolled back to his skates a little colder than before and looked around, cursing as he caught carter's scarf whipping along a few yards in front of him. he put his head down and skated. "just admit it!" he panted, trying to catch up with her. "you paid off those kids to get in my way, right?"

[oflostdrcams]

His response was met with a roll of her eyes. "Must be hard being you. Having to just stand there all day with cute ass animals," she commented playfully. On normal days, she knew him and the rest of the team worked their asses off, but they weren't talking about that right now. Her head tilted to the side just slightly as she pretended to study his face. "You know what? You're, like, really good at your job. A natural, I'd say." The job to look pretty, that is. Her tone was light; simple. She'd always been a little bit harder as a person. Less likely to toss out random compliments. Always ready to size up the next competition. Never fully allowing herself to soften in case the person decided to run. But after months of spending her time with him, she had started to defrost. It was only tremendously terrifying.

"Why didn't you tell me you were still hungry," she asked with a laugh. "I probably had leftovers or something random in the kitchen." She couldn't remember the situation at all. This time, while she would order more than the last, she was also making a mental note to make sure he seemed content afterwards. "You can keep this on," she offered when he handed her the remote. "I highly doubt there's anything better on right now so you might as well soak up all of the extra time until it's Jigsaw time." she swapped the remote for her phone so that she could pull up the number for her usual Chinese restaurant to place their order for delivery.

[glitchedgoalie]

an almost surprised laugh followed the compliment. ty shook his head with an almost fond smile. over the last couple of months, he'd been doing his best to wear down some of the walls sydney had built up. it'd taken a lot of time and care, but maybe it was beginning to work. "thank you for noticing." he rested his palm over his own heart for a moment. "because sometimes it seems like no one is paying attention to the guy with the cute animals. it's a tough job, but somebody's got to do it." and, if he hadn't taken his allergy medication before the shoot, he would have suffered the consequences. but ty had learned his lesson.

he settled further into the cushions and kept his gaze on the tv when he said "i'm pretty much always still hungry." especially on game days, when he could lose several pounds in sweat if he was working particularly hard. all that gear weighed a ton. it was a good workout. "are we going to watch saw while we eat?" he wrinkled his nose. he had a tough stomach, but still. it didn't seem like a recipe for success. "broccoli chicken?" he requested. "and make sure they send some of those desserts."

[papcr-rlngs]

"House of Hades... That's from the Heroes of Olympus series, right?" Sam asked, trying to remember the title and if he had seen it in the store. The only downside of the shop having a mixture of new releases and used books was that there wasn't really a catalogue system that he could use to look up whether or not they had a book in stock. And while he knew where titles should be, it didn't always mean that they had it, or if he knew that they did. "I think we might? I can lead you to the section where it would be and we can look together? Everything is organized by author's last names, and series would be together, but because a lot of our books are used, I can't always guarantee that we have something in stock." He shrugged, "Which is pretty unfortunate. But I know we have a lot by that author, so you might be in luck! Do you want to follow me there?"

[glitchedgoalie]

shooting a pair of finger guns in sam's directed, ty nodded. "that's it. rick riordan. riordan?" he scratched the back of his neck as he tried out a couple of different pronunciations. he'd heard a couple different ways when going down his percy jackson youtube deep dive a few nights ago. he nodded again, following a step or two behind sam. "have you ever read them?" he asked as they walked with an almost sheepish smile. "i know they're kind of for kids, but i didn't really get into reading as a kid. i was a sports guy. but on bus rides the last couple of years, i listened to a lot of audiobooks. i listened to harry potter first because i'd only seen the movies. and then one of the guys recommended percy to me, so here we are." he was rambling a little bit, but he felt like he needed to fill the silence. did other people shop here?

[h3lled]

hesitation  is  a  well  worn  shade  across  her  features.  does  she  need  another  coffee  ,  after  already  downing  four  throughout  the  day  ?  no  ,  definitely  not.  but  when  ty  makes  the  offer  of  including  a  donut  …  “ make  it  a  cronut  and  then  you’re  on  , ”  she  finally  caves.  heavy  sigh  gracing  her  lips.  seconds  before  she  tosses  now  useless  cup  into  one  of  the  trashcans  along  the  edge  of  road  and  moves  to  follow  him.  “ sooo  ,  what’d  ya  get  done  ?—  please  do  not  tell  me  you  walked  out  of  there  without  a  tattoo.  that  would  be  more  disappointing  than  losing  my  coffee. ”

[glitchedgoalie]

"yeah, sure," ty chirps, without really knowing what a cronut is. his eyes brighten as he rolls up his sleeve to show off the fresh ink. it's a pretty simple rose done in black and white, but worth every penny. the artists in tattoo kiss always do good work. almost as good as his guy in bridgeport. "i have more, but i don't usually show them off without knowing a person's name." a beat while they wait for traffic to whiz by them through the crosswalk. "i'm ty, by the way." he shoots her a crooked smile.

[oflostdrcams]

"I'm fucking with you. Does the scar still stick out to you? Maybe I'm just trying to say that the one mark on your face doesn't create a bad side." It wasn't like she could stand there and tell him he's hot, so she figured this was the better option. The scar had been something she'd asked him about earlier on, but never in a negative way. The curiosity had been accompanied by a soft trace of it with her finger. "You're such a good friend trying to figure out the best ways to be my wingman," she joked. "You know, you're really hands on. I respect it."

She'd never dream of getting in the way of him and his routines. Especially because she knew how much the game meant to him. How much he loved getting himself ready, physically and mentally, to jump right into the middle of it all. "Hey, I know where I stand," she commented with a little smirk. "Promise to never get in the way." While her tone was playful, there was truth hidden behind what she said. As she turned to walk away now, she shook her head at him. No one in a crazy Saw-like situation tried to get captured. Since she had the kitten, she'd taken a little while longer assisting the shelter workers in making sure all of the animals were accounted for and ready to go. She'd also grabbed a few end of day shots to document the entire process.

When she'd finally gotten home, she was thankful for the text she'd gotten earlier. It saved her from the shock of walking in to find someone already waiting for her. "Some of us were actually working the shoot," she playfully argued. "I wasn't there to just look pretty." Syd tossed her backpack down by the door, slipped off her shoes, and went to go join him on the couch. Now that they were alone, she had visibly relaxed and wasn't second guessing every move she made or word she said. "What are you thinking for dinner? Kinda really in the mood for Chinese, but I can be persuaded to go with something else."

[glitchedgoalie]

"i'm the talent," ty said, crunching down on a pretzel and letting his gaze drift back to the tv, where marc-andre fleury was making a fashy save while spinning over entirely. his lips twitched. he'd always modeled his game after the flower, a little bit. "it's my job to look pretty." his shoulders lifted. it was still a little bit weird to think of himself that way. sure, they'd had a social media manager in the ahl, but that'd mostly been warmup shots and tiny mic questions. he was still trying to gain his footing with all this attention on him. he wasn't sure he liked it. he wasn't sure he hated it, either. it was just different.

"chinese is good," he said with a nod. "but we need to double what we ordered last time. i had to grab pizza on the way back last time." probably not approved by his nutritionist, but he burned a ton of calories each game. plus, nyc pizza? it was the best. he didn't care what his old teammates in chicago said. once the screen changed to a commercial, he handed the remote over. "we can't watch saw while we eat. but anything else is fair game."

[h3lled]

feet  stumble  over  the  other.  she’s  got  enough  sense  to  catch  herself  before  disaster  strikes  ,    droplets  of  coffee  spilling  just  over  lid’s  mouth.  there’s  fire  and  rage  bubbling  in  her  chest.  —not  at  him  ,  but  just  the  way  the  universe  is  messing  with  her  on  this  given  night.  “ clearly  not. ”   snap  of  tongue  is  not  unlike  lola’s  usual  response  to  inconvenience  ,  but  the  guilt  that  springs  behind  is  new.  “ no  actual  harm  done, ”   she  offered.  voice  and  features  only  a  touch  more  gentle  from  what  had  previously  been  shot  in  his  direction.  “ besides  ,  it  could’ve  been  way  worse  for  you.  hot  coffee  on  a  fresh  tattoo  ;  not  the  best  combo. ”

[glitchedgoalie]

he holds his hands up almost defensively at the acidic response, but ty ends up folding his hands behind his head when lola's voice evens out just a tad. he wrinkles his nose slighttly and gestures to her spilled coffee. "let me buy you a fresh one. i should be paying more attention." ty's already heading down the street towards holy grounds. it's only a couple blocks away, after all. he chances a glance over his shoulder to see if she was following. "if you want? or maybe a donut or something. i'm starving." he always was, after a tattoo.

[rollercoasterush]

"oh come on, give yourself more credit than that, you wouldn't break an ankle." she laughed. carter had never skated much as a kid but when she was learning for the movie, she came to love it. the smooth gliding on the ice, the slight chill in the air, it was peaceful.

"i'll text you the list. you have to watch them all. what ever you do, never watch the musical. anything but the musical." carter had been excited to do a musical but it had been done terribly and it was one of the few films she wasn't proud of in her career. "oh don't worry about letting me win, i'm going to win fair and square, babe."

carter had to quickly recover from being spun unexpectedly. "hey! cheater!" she yelled as she sped up to catch up to him.

[glitchedgoalie]

" i might." ty's voice shook just the tiniest bit. he'd broken his ankle making a routine save, so fracturing it trying a trick he wasn't prepared for seemed way more likely to him. but skating like this? he'd been doing that practically since he could walk. he'd live on the ice if he could.

he tapped his phone. "i'm waiting for it. but you have to watch with me. i need the insider commentary." whenever they watched movies together, they ended up spending more time talking and laughing, but ty didn't mind. he could always go back and watch the movies for the plot later. he barked out a laugh. "i love the musical, though. it's so cheesy." plus it had been a little bit before carter had truly broken out, so the performance was just...different. he could tell she'd had fun making it, even if she wasn't quite as fond of it now.

a cackle of a laugh whipped over his shoulder as he skated away, dodging kids and couples as he went. "you got trained by one of the best skaters in the world for the movie! i gotta take what i can get."

[rollercoasterush]

"i definitely washed my hands. an eyelash in my eye is painful enough, i don't need to feel how painful another foreign particle could be." beckett leaned toward him to see the picture of the dog. "he has his own jersey?! stop, that's the cutest thing i've ever seen." her bottom lip jutted out and her eyes widened, overwhelmed by the cuteness. "do you tell your teammates that?" she laughed. "a pet calendar? of hockey pets? where do i sign up?"

[glitchedgoalie]

"sure does. he wears number 0." rookie was one of ty's favorite parts about the nhl. sure, the lights were brighter and the players were better. so was the food and the facilities. but getting to hang out with a dog in the locker room? it was a nice bonus. he expression grew serious. "sometimes. they need to get knocked down a peg every now and then." he chuckled softly and held out his phone. "i can text you the link when it goes live, if you want."

[glitchedgoalie]

who: ty + open (@corneliastarters) where: tattoo kiss (but like...outside it?)

he wasn't sure what possessed him to get a(nother) tattoo, but he'd played a good game, was a little bit drunk, and they had an off day tomorrow, so when ty passed by the tattoo shop on his way home, he'd stopped in his tracks at a lit up sign for flash tattoos. he had a little extra money in his pocket from a bet with one of the guys and it was practically burning a hole in it, so an hour later, he left the shop with a freshly done rose on one forearm. "oops, sorry," he said, sidestepping someone on the sidewalk as soon as he exited the store and rubbing the back of his neck. "didn't see you there."

[kennedyofc]

kennedy was in her own world, her headphones so loud she couldn't hear a thing. she was cooped up in her apartment all day, so she decided to go for a walk and get some inspiration for her writing. the blonde was watching life pass her by when she felt herself crash into someone outside tattoo kiss. "oh god." she pulled out her airpods and caught her breath. "i'm sorry, that's on me. i should have been paying attention. i was in my own world." the blonde brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "did you get a new tattoo?" she pointed to the tattoo kiss behind them.

[glitchedgoalie]

ty held an arm out as if to steady the stranger he'd almost tackled, but when he realized she wasn't as clumsy as he was, he tucked his hands into his pockets instead, shoulder lifting and falling in answer to her apology. "nah, i wasn't looking where i was going. you're good." his eyes lit up when she asked about his new ink and he extended his arm to show off the rose. "they're doing flash tattoos for a little while longer if you're looking for a reason." he rocked back on his heels slightly. "i'll even come in and hold your hand if you want." when he played that back in his head, it sounded incredibly awkward. why had he said that to someone he didn't know? he cleared his throat and shoved his hands further into his pockets. "that was a joke."

[svmmerlove]

ANOTHER DAY of closing up shop as she turns the key, waiting to here that lock sound that somehow brought a sense of satisfaction to her ears. gianna decided to spend an extra hour or two to deep clean sweet nothing blasting a bit of music to hype up her motivation. she adjusts her tote bag resting upon her shoulder, walking down the street a flew blocks down until she reached her apartment. gianna turns her head to her back, SHUFFLING through to find her keys ahead of time, all until she almost bumps into a figure exiting out. eyebrows raise up in surprise, her mouth opening slightly, ❝ just my luck seeing you here, stranger. ❞ she teases the other, looking up at the flashing sign to see where he was coming from. ❝ what did you end up getting, ty? and please don't tell me you got someone's name on your butt or i'm walking away. ❞

[glitchedgoalie]

a combination of relief and joy mingles on ty's face, the worry lines in his forehead melting away as he realizes just who he'd almost body checked on his way out of the tattoo shop. playing along, he sticks his hand out to her. "tyler king. i'm a klutz off the ice. and you are?" he blinks innocently, though he can't help the slight twitch of his lips. "not this time, though i was kinda thinking that getting ink for carter would be romantic, right?" and also a terrible idea, considering they weren't actually dating, but that was between the two of them. and his other not-girlfriend. he holds out his arm to show off the freshly inked rose and thumbs over his shoulder at the tattoo shop. "they're still open for a couple hours if you wanted to get in on the flash tattoos."

[oflostdrcams]

In the beginning of their situationship, there hadn't been a big focus on the get to know you stage. It hadn't been until a couple months in that they'd somehow swapped from a physical focus to simply hanging out to talk or relax together. "You mean you didn't come out of the womb immediately looking to bench press the doctor to assert your dominance," she joked. Though she then quickly looked around them before continuing, voice softer now. "I get it. We're always our own worst critics, but younger you was just that, younger. So I'll forgive current you for being a little cocky and offer to be here for any needed confidence boosts. You do not have a bad side, and don't even try arguing with me about the world's tiniest scar because it's cute." Was she crossing weird lines now? Maybe, but wasn't going to worry about it.

Sydney rolled her eyes at him. "How did I know that was gonna set me up for trouble somehow?" As time went on, she knew she was becoming softer herself around him but she didn't know how to stop that. Well, she did know walking away would solve the problem, but she was too stubborn and selfish to actually follow through there. Instead of giving an actual answer, she just looked up at him with a level stare. "I don't know, is it? Why do you wanna know what I'm into?" There was no point in pulling her hand back just yet. No one was around them to notice. "Oh, you're so going down now. Hope you're ready for a day full of my favorite things."

Now that her hand was free again, she went to gently stroke the top of the kitten's head. He had now fallen asleep and seemed to have moved on from his earlier adventure. "So you're really telling me if it was either solve a puzzle or die, you wouldn't even try? Maybe he takes that into consideration when choosing his victims." He had a point, but she wasn't going to tell him that. "Sounds like a very important business dinner to me. I'm in." Syd figured they were probably looking for the last little kitten by now so she took a small step backwards. "Let me just go bring this little guy back and then..." It would be strange if they left together and headed off in the same direction, so she quickly worked through a plan in her head. "You know what? I'll just meet you at my place. We can figure out what we wanna eat and take it from there. I don't want you to risk it." They'd spent more time hiding lately. Making sure that the only girl he was ever really seen out with was the one people knew as his girlfriend. "Thanks for your help, Ty. Have a good night," she commented, voice in her usual tone and loud enough now that anyone nearby would recognize that their conversation was wrapping up.

[glitchedgoalie]

ty bit back a laugh. "it's not tiny. i got cut by a skate blade. could have been blinded." or worse, but it'd just taken a couple of stitches and he never skated without a visor again. and then he'd become a full time goalie with a full goalie mask, so that helped protect his face, too. he had all his own teeth, thank you very much. he shrugged. "can't a guy get to know his friend?" his tone was innocent but a smirk betrayed him. still, anyone passing by would probably think nothing of it.

"has to be an off day, though. i'm not messing with my routine for anyone." not even someone he was starting to consider important to him. ty shrugged that thought away like he often did a goal against: quickly. like ted lasso always said, you had to be a goldfish in sports. he had to be a goldfish when it came to his feelings for syd that he was conveniently ignoring, too. he'd forget about them, only for them to crop up at the worst possible moment.

with an exaggerated sigh, he started walking backwards down the hallway. "i just wouldn't get captured and drugged. but on the off chance i was, i guess i'd try, unless i was really old or something." he took a few more steps back and away from her and lifted his hand in a wave. "see you around, syd." as he finally turned his back on her, he reached for his phone and typed out a quick text saying he'd see her at hers, and backtracked to grab his jacket from the locker room -and avoid a few of his teammates- on the way out. he took a winding route to syd's apartment building and followed another person in, went up the stairs, and then picked up the spare key from beneath the mat to let himself in.

he was sitting on her couch watching sportscenter when she got back. "hey. took you a while. did you get lost or what?"

[glitchedgoalie]

who: ty + open (@corneliastarters) where: tattoo kiss (but like...outside it?)

he wasn't sure what possessed him to get a(nother) tattoo, but he'd played a good game, was a little bit drunk, and they had an off day tomorrow, so when ty passed by the tattoo shop on his way home, he'd stopped in his tracks at a lit up sign for flash tattoos. he had a little extra money in his pocket from a bet with one of the guys and it was practically burning a hole in it, so an hour later, he left the shop with a freshly done rose on one forearm. "oops, sorry," he said, sidestepping someone on the sidewalk as soon as he exited the store and rubbing the back of his neck. "didn't see you there."