Chapter Text
–~🚤~–
Growing up in a military family was hard with the pressures of joining weighing heavy on Simon’s shoulders. Every man in his family dating back generations served in a part of the military from the army to the airforce to the navy.
Simon was his father’s only child, the only one to carry on the tradition of serving their homeland, of protecting those who needed protecting. His father served in the army, wanting to stay on land and deeming it the strongest branch. He never served in a war, but he was still deemed a hero.
Simon’s whole life he was pressured into joining just like his father and his father’s father and so on and so forth, but Simon didn’t want to. He wanted to pursue art. In his free time, he’d constantly be sketching or painting, never putting down his tools for art unless he was forced to. In school he was the top of his art class and was constantly doodling all over his papers. His father didn’t approve of his hobby, saying it wasn’t fit for a military bound man. But that never stopped Simon. He mostly drew plant life, doodling vines, painting trees, sketching outside views. His sketch book came everywhere with him, school, friend hang outs, family gatherings, everywhere. He wouldn’t be caught dead without it.
But everything changed when he turned 12. That’s when the true brutality of his family set in. He was sent to annual bootcamps for training, He was sent to USMAPS, FRPC, and more. Any sort of pre-military program that was available he was sent to. This left him little to no time for art. He quickly became burnt out, hating his father for what he put him through, and this hatred lingered long past his father passed when he was 15.
When his father passed, he thought he’d be free, that he wouldn’t have to go to war just because someone long before him decided his family had to be a military family, but he was far from the truth. His mother guilted him into following in his father’s footsteps, to keep him alive by going through what he did. So when Simon turned 18, he was drafted and sent to join the navy. He spent months going through sea training. He was away from home for 2 years straight.
Shortly after he turned 21, he joined the faction of Eden. He was forced into it, and part of the initiation was to get a tattoo. He didn;t want it, but he was strapped down and forced into it. He got the tattoo on his neck, a spot he chose for the ease of the cover up, all he had to do was grow out his hair and it was gone.
For the next year and a half, nothing of interest happened, until all of a sudden he was called into a war, a real, fully fledged out war, against an enemy faction called the C.O.I.. He was a submarine pilot, piloting while others shot missiles and bombs at enemy submarines and ships. They pushed and pushed until they stormed Filament Station, bombing it, and escaping with many casualties. He lost his brothers of Eden, his fellow men. He was one of 2 survivors, the other soon passed at his own hands due to the survivors' guilt. Simon dealt with the same guilt, even worse now knowing he was the true only survivor, but he pushed on. He retired from the navy after the war was won and returned home.
–~🌹~–
Simon slowly slipped back into his art, drawing and sketching and painting once more again. He slowly began to live the life he wanted. He got his Eden tattoo covered and began to study tattooing himself so he had other means of art, one he’d get to share with others.
He used himself as a guinea pig, tattooing his legs, and his one remaining arm, having lost the other in the war and getting a prosthetic shortly after retirement. He stuck with his nature theme from his youth. On his arm he had a tree on his upper arm, one he had help with tattooing but was all his design. The roots trailed down his forearm and hand, wrapping around his fingers. The leaves of the tree stretched across his upper arm with vines wrapping around his arm. His left leg had flowers, vines, and wilting leaves trailing up and down the entirety of his leg. His right leg simply had a blooming rose on his thigh. He had yet to finish it, but planned to in the future.
When he turned 26, he bought a spot in an established tattoo shop to begin to grow a clientele. He worked there, saving up money, for 2 years until he finally moved to his very own shop, naming it the Ink Garden. He had plants lining every free space, he had painted murals of flowers and mushrooms on every wall, the windows had fake vines around the edges, and the door had a flower wreath hung below the window. He covered his life in what he was devoid of throughout his teens and 20s. He was making his life his own.
Simon grew popular fast due to his talent and shop environment. He was nicknamed the tattoo botanist, and he lived up to that name with pride.
–~🪴~–
Simon grew to have regulars, people who came to see him once a month for tattoos or just to visit. He had a reputation, well multiple. He was known as a war hero and a well renowned tattoo artist.
One of his regulars often spoke of bringing his twin brother into the shop for a matching tattoo, one of which he had Simon design. He wanted to combine the twins, so he asked for something movie star and scientist themed, twisting the two worlds into one. He didn’t want it too extravagant since it would be his twin’s first tattoo, despite him having almost a full sleeve done by Simon himself around each movie he was a stunt man for. Each movie he did was added to the sleeve, he had about 15 movies added and was waiting for the 16th to be released so he can add it to his collection.
Simon and this regular had gotten quite close, even hanging out outside of the shop. They were nothing more than just friends, best friends if you push it. But the regular didn’t swing that way, not that Simon was interested anyways, he wasn’t into romance. The regular was happily in a relationship with a woman named Jody, one Simon had met and tattooed a lily on before. Jody was a sweetheart, Colt was one lucky man. Jody even got Simon into acting, having him star in one of her movies on the side, the movie had yet to be released yet, it still being in the works, but Simon even did his own stunts!
Simon has had a hard time with the movie due to it taking place in a submarine in an ocean of blood, but trauma aside, he had a blast helping write the movie as well.
His acting career aside, Colt kept making comments saying he was shocked Simon hadn’t met his twin yet, and he swore he’d introduce the two soon, but soon just kept being pushed back.
But that day would finally come when Colt came barreling into Simon’s shop, dragging someone behind him…