#in classic final 15 fashion he would turn my inner child into some fucked up balloon animal so that it wouldn't weigh be down

[shoelacesunday]

neil gaiman as a therapist would be crazy cause you'd ask 'will i ever get better? will i ever heal? does this pain ever go away? how will i ever cope with the weight of carrying the limp, heavy corpse of my inner child draped across my shoulders in a world where a burial is too expensive?' and he'd say 'wait and see'

[the-noodle-king]

G&M How would they Introduce or Describe each other? What is their Goal/Goals? Do they have any (other) Nicknames or Titles? How did they earn them? How do they feel about them? Do they have any Tattoos? Do they have any special Meaning? What are their Hobbies? What Element would they Bend in ATLA? What is their favourite Fashion Style? If they had a Legendary/Epic Skin for Halloween, What would it be? Where did they Grow Up? What was it like for them Growing Up? What’s their Base like

How would they Introduce or Describe each other? 

Grunt (Imitating Muscle): “Super Tall, Ultra Strong, Always Stoic Muscle Is Here To Glare All Your Problems Away!”

Muscle (Imitating Grunt): “Uh, I’m Grunt, And I’ll Uh, Talk a Lot, and Um, Kiss Good- Babe I can’t Do This”

Grunt: “Noah’s always been a big softie, ever since we were kids. He puts on a great ‘tough guy’ act, bein’ tall an’ broad an’ all, and he’s really good at looking right through ya like he’s thinkin’ about doing something terrible to ya, even though really he’s just thinkin’ about lunch or petting kittens or something. Actually it’d probably be puppies. He loves dogs, big ones especially, when he was real little- before we even met, I think when he lived in Michigan? Anyway yeah when he lived in Michigan his family had this HUGE st bernard and when they moved to- Huh? Oh sorry off topic, anyway, Noah! Yeah big softie, you know I’d say he couldn’t hurt a fly but for the whole, you know, mercenary thing.”

Muscle: “Marino? Oh well he’s... He’s, y’know... Fuck, uh what was the question? Describe Marino, right, right uh... Well he’s Marino. He’s like a forest fire. Like this big, raging inferno, bright and- *Cough* And hot, and, and uh... Shit I forgot what I was gonna say. He uh, he takes my breath away, haha! And my words. I remember when we first met, he was so loud and rowdy and scrappy... He beat up three kids bigger ‘an I was, first thing I though was ‘Wow I’d better steer clear of that kid’, and then he came right up to me, split lip, bloody knuckles, and he says “Sup”. First time I brought him ‘round my house I think my Ma blew a blood vessel in her neck... Oh sorry, I uh, trailed off there... What was the uh...”

What is their Goal/Goals? 

If you asked them I think their heads would explode. Neither of them has any clue what they want in the future. The only thing Muscle wanted as a kid was to escape his Ma and live his life for himself, and the only thing Marino ever set his heart on was Muscle. Running away together, becoming mercenaries, living their lives moment to moment... Is as far as either of them ever really got in the ‘life goals’ department.

Grunt: “Goal 1... Is figure out Goal 2!”

Do they have any other Nicknames or Titles? How did they earn them? How do they feel about them? 

When Marino was a kid he got dubbed Marino Matón, because he got in a lot of fights. He got called a lot less pleasant stuff too. Back when he was a kid he kinda liked the nicknames, the reputation, but nowadays if someone tried to call him Matón, he’d probably break their nose.

Noah on the other hand, spent the first 15 years of his life extremely blended into the background. He was very quiet, well behaved, didn’t excel at any of his studies but did well enough to glide by completely unnoticed. When his Ma got a promotion and they moved clean across the country from Michigan to SoCal, he didn’t even have any friends to miss, or miss him back. So off the radar only a handful of people (mainly teachers) even noticed when he didn’t come back to school one semester. When he started hanging out with Marino though... Well, he collected a few nicknames here and there, but nothing that really stuck. ‘Stretch’ was popular the year he shot up to 6ft.

Do they have any Tattoos? Do they have any special Meaning? 

Marino has a couple of tattoos, one behind his right shoulder of a red baby dragon, it was his first tattoo that he got on his 16th birthday, and he picked it because he liked it (and also maybe because Noah pointed it out?). He has another on his left thigh which is a little more complex, with a detailed ring running around it, and some tribal-spiked type patterns running down the outer side and finishing in a point above his knee, all in black. He decided to get it in solidarity with Noah getting his first tattoo. And finally he got Noah’s name with a little heart next to it on the left side of his chest, over his heart.

Noah went with Marino when he got his first tattoo on his 16th, but couldn’t psych himself up enough to get one too, then when Noah himself turned 21 he decided on something he wanted, getting a thick rainbow band around his right upper arm. A few years later he and Marino got each others names over their hearts, as something a little more quiet and private than a proposal, or rings.

What are their Hobbies? 

When they’re ‘on the job’ so to speak, hired for this or that but not actually in the field, Marino likes to practice in shooting ranges or tinker with his gear, and Noah finds assembling and disassembling his shotgun relaxing.

Off the job however, they both like to read, although Noah is more of a science papers, wildlife studies and gritty sci-fi/crime fiction novels kinda guy, and Marino is more of an extra trashy romance novelettes and ‘Ooo this one has dragons who can turn into hot guys in it’ medium quality high-fantasy novels kinda guy.

Marino also likes to play sports, mostly football and basketball, but Noah turned him onto tennis. Noah himself on the other hand really prefers to watch sports rather than play, particularly ice hockey; Marino once surprised him with tickets to a Michigan Wolverines game and he was extremely grateful.

What Elements would they Bend in ATLA? 

Earth and Air, specifically, Marino would bend Earth and Noah would bend Air, and people who tried to fight them would always get caught off guard by it, expecting the big guy to lug a rock at them and suddenly having the little one burst clean out of the ground.

What is their favourite Fashion Style? 

Marino likes to dress comfortably, but also look cool, but also like he’s not trying to look cool, but also also not like he’s not not trying like he still looks put together but-

Noah likes sweaters.

If they had a Legendary/Epic Skin for Halloween, What would it be? 

Legendary skin, Donnie & Clyde, 1920′s and 30′s aesthetics, classical mobster looks, Grunt has a hat, Muscle’s hair is slicked back, their guns are Tommy-Gun-esque, it’s just full of pulpy anachronisms. One of the more Halloween-Costume type skins rather than them actually being monsters or such.

Where did they Grow Up? 

Noah mostly grew up in Detroit, Michigan, before he moved to to San Diego, Southern California, where Marino grew up.

What was it like for them Growing Up? 

Marino grew up with 2 older sisters, a much older brother and a decently younger sister, his mother, her wife (Who he never really took to calling step-mom, so she was just Lucille), and the occasional visit from his dad and his partner of the month. He was a happy kid until about 5 or 6, then he started to get bullied pretty bad. He would defend himself, then get in trouble for it, then he’d get bullied more, he’d defend himself, and so on. By the time he was 10 he had a ‘reputation’ as a problem child with a bad temper who liked to fight. 1 out of 3, he did like to fight. If he was going to get treated like dirt and punished for it no matter what happened, he figured the other guys might as well lose some teeth.

Noah on the other hand grew up more or less alone. No siblings, an aunt he never met, his Ma, a dad without a name or face left in any photos, and a grandfather he got dumped on for the summer. He can’t remember being happy before he met Marino. Can’t remember a lot of his childhood actually. Doesn’t like to get into the parts he can.

When Marino decided he and this tall, stiff new kid were going to be friends, it shook Noah’s world to the core, he changed almost over night. Marino taught Noah to stand up for himself, and Noah taught Marino he didn’t have to fight alone.

What’s their Home/Base like?

The main problem with being transitory mercenaries is, well, not really having a place to call home, or even to call base reliably.

Some jobs they get set up in barracks, others a motel. If they get a real cushy bodyguarding job maybe an actual hotel room. In between jobs they tend to find somewhere out of the way to rent. Noah likes when they stay somewhere further out in the countryside, Marino prefers inner city apartments, and they take turns choosing where they stay to keep it fresh.