[ Leaving things better than you found them, that's a good motto.
He sets his drink down and thumbs the handle as Molly asks more about him, quickly trying to figure out how to soften the story for someone he doesn't want to scare away, then wondering why on earth he feels like he should. ]
I swam. I was training for the Olympics but the coach I had worked me like a dog, from sunrise until quite literally sunset, but there's only so much strain the body can take before something snaps. Turns out, that was the muscles in my leg and hip. I didn't have enough fat on my body and the ligaments were wearing away at themselves with nothing else to burn off, so one evening I felt a terrific pain in my leg and almost drowned.
[ He hitches up a smile and a shrug, trying to lighten the imagery. ]
Another coach who happened to be at the pool saw what happened and pulled me out when mine wouldn't, Vandren was the one who helped set me up with physio. He saw how bad I was.
[ Fjord genuinely thinks, in hindsight, Uk'otoa would have let him drown that night. ]
[ Molly waits patiently, fully okay with Fjord just saying no and just go from there. The half-orc does share, though, and it's nasty to hear that someone could work another person to the point of their body breaking down.
...and then not helping them quick enough? Really shitty. ]
What an asshole, that other trainer. I'm glad you got out of that, even if it must have been a passion.
[ A love for something should build you up, not wear you down. Literally, in this case. ]
It sounds like it must have been a lot of work to recover from, too. I remember thinking I made no progress for a long time.
That's how it felt, yeah. [ It's nice they have that common thread linking them. ] I met other people who were at the centre for different types of therapy, though. They're my friends. Caleb has a cat for a working animal, he has anxiety, Beau was in for anger issues, and I met Jester because she's Beau's girlfriend. Oh, and Nott. She's Caleb's ... something, I'm honestly still not sure. They're good people.
[ He doesn't know whether to offer the next part up, but it's probably the sort of thing you get out the way on a first date. ]
I got out of a relationship around the time of my physio, she lost interest. Complete bitch, actually, so no great loss there. That was, ah, the last time I was involved.
[ He chuckles, smiling at Fjord with even more interest, now. (If that was even possible.) ]
Jessie and I do a lot of collaborations together, she's hamsterunicorn on instagram. She introduced me to her mom, so I got some work there, and we hang out for ice cream on Thursdays. She's the sweetest and almost like a sister.
[ He's immediately curious to know more about this relationship and how long they've been friends. ]
Beau I got to know through Jester and we have this game going in where we act like we hate eachother but would die for eachother if needed. She's a trash person and I love her.
[ Rubbing the back of his neck, he busies himself taking a big bite of his tart and munching thoughtfully. ]
Beau's my best friend but you're under orders never to tell her that, [ she would burn up from the emotion on the spot or punch him, and he doesn't want either, ] and Jessie ... Well, [ up goes his voice and his brows as one, ] we had some miscommunication at first.
She, ah ... [ Aw, fuck. out with it, Just say it. ] She asked me if I'd join her and Beau in — in bed. Me and Beau almost barfed on each other, which Jester took a lot of different ways and it took a week of pastries to get her to stop being mad at both of us.
[ Molly just... breaks into laughter. He laughs so much that the barista looks a bit concerned, and he has to take a moment to compose himself and take a drink. ]
[ A reluctant smile forms as he takes a deep draught of his coffee, giving Mollymauk the time to calm down from his laughter. It's infectious, although Fjord manages to hold down a smirk with admirable effort. ]
She knows now that she's ... not my type.
[ Another bite of that tart instead of looking up at the one in front of him, aha. ]
She's watched far too much porn and probably forgot that being bi doesn't mean you have to do the threesome trope.
[ He's glad Beau is there to help her on her lesbian journey and unlearn all that stuff. Marion's wonderful, but it did leave a bit of a skewed sense of sex for Jester.
Noticing how Fjord concentrates on his tart, he chuckles again. ]
[ I know exactly how far you can bend, he thinks but doesn't say, because that would be creepy. ]
I do, actually. [ Beau's ripped and she likes to hit and kick things, her hobbies are obvious. ] We end up on the weights after my cardio and her boxing is done.
I could show you how to use the weights, if you want.
[ Molly chuckles again, red eyes full of amusement and a little bit of... uncertainty? ]
Are we deciding on the next date already?
[ He's... not really done that before, but he wants to see Fjord again. He wants to sit and talk like this with him, not just climb into his lap and grind himself against him. (He wants that too, of course, but... there's something more.)
Something that wants a second date. ]
Gym date, get all sweaty and gross in a whole new way.
Gym date. You'll go off me within three seconds of seeing how much I sweat.
[ It just takes effort to keep up with Beau, who is built with deceptively slender limbs that pulse with muscles the second she looks at the weights. It's entirely unfair. Fjord always takes a change of clothes, even when he doesn't have a beautiful tiefling along for the ride. ]
It's best to have someone with you so you don't hurt yourself on the machines, think of me as your unofficial cheerleader.
Molly shows off his 'guns', which are about the same slenderness of Beau's but without the steel cable muscle in them. There's definitely some in there, though, because Fjord has seen him on a pole holding himself sideways with only his arms. ]
[ Shrugging off his leather jacket to hang off the back of the chair, he does absolutely nothing of the kind with his own biceps, larger than Molly's given sheer size difference atop anything else, but he does reach over to jab his fork in a corner of Molly's tart to steal some and if that shows off his upper body as he leans forward on the table, a body that wants very much to flatten itself all over that delicious tiefling's, well, that's not Fjord's fault.
Happily munching his stolen mouthful, he waves his fork. ]
What do you do when you're not working on building sets and being internet-famous?
[ Molly snorts and uses the moment Fjord leans over to steal a bit of his tart to admire his bulk compared to his own. The tiefling wasn't a waifish stick, but the half-orc certainly made him feel like one when looming like that.
In retaliation, he steals a piece from Fjord's tart as well, curious about the taste. ]
Me? Well, I like to hang with friends, and I have a thrift store addiction that they threaten to have an intervention for. Other times I just like listening to music while pampering myself.
[ He raises a brow, slipping the stolen piece into his own mouth. Slowly, and there's a peek of that two-pronged tongue. ]
[ After his accident and the Olympic funding ran out, he spent a lot of time trying to spend as little of what he had left as possible.
... That forked tongue is a distraction he pretends not to notice. ]
I collect things with an oceanic theme, shells and things. There are auctions online for rare bottled ships, all kinds of weird paraphernalia. I ... [ Oh, fuck. ] I also larp with Caduceus, once in a while. We have a big tent that I drive over and set up for the weekend, it's a lot of fun.
[ Anyone who likes thrift stores is a great person, he's taking Fjord out hunting one day.
(Even more plans....? Shit.)
The collecting of sea stuff makes him smile, as it seemed to fit a former swimmer, and collectors were always fun to find stuff with as well. The last part makes him a little confused, though, and he cocks his head to the side. ]
So, a lot of people meet up in a field for a weekend and there's usually another one off to the side where cars are parked and normal tents are hitched up. If you want to stay in-character then you can sleep on the main field, it's up to you. We usually do the latter. You dress up like ancient heroes and the crew of the larp dresses as monsters, it's live-action-role-play. We don't always fight, sometimes we figure out mysterious puzzles ... it depends on the weather, more than anything. Hard to do battle in a muddy field.
[ If he didn't sound like a dork before ... ]
Caduceus is a spooky Cleric and I'm a magical Paladin. I have a foam sword and fake armour, all of that.
[ Molly listens, amused and intrigued at the same time. he doesn't quite get it but it sounds amazing. Grownup version of playing pretend, out with foam swords and living stories. It sounds like fun, honestly. ]
Fuck, you're handsome and a nerd, that's amazing.
[ There's a small laugh, but it's sweet and curious rather than mocking. ]
A paladin, huh? You do strike me like a knight in shining armor.
I didn't intend to get sucked into it, I just couldn't let Caduceus wander into a field full of weirdos alone so I went along, then I had a whole background for my character and needed a sword ... it got addictive fast. I have two swords, actually. You can play with them sometime, if you want.
[ That's just the worst come-on ever and he knows it, saluting Mollymauk with his drink. ]
[ His eyes lower for a second, and then up again with a smile. He loves the obvious come-ons and the humor, wholly enjoying this date as he sips his latte. ]
Me and Yasha used to do ren fairs sometimes, is that similar? Do you have any pics?
[ Mollymauk at a ren faire sounds like it would be cute as hell to see. Fjord brings the pictures of him and Caduceus up on his phone, taken by a photographer off the side of the field; stoically standing together amid other fighters, then action shots of Caduceus "casting" a spell with photoshop effects and Fjord yelling as he swings his sword. ]
That's the last one we went to, we upgraded our costumes quite a bit.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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He sets his drink down and thumbs the handle as Molly asks more about him, quickly trying to figure out how to soften the story for someone he doesn't want to scare away, then wondering why on earth he feels like he should. ]
I swam. I was training for the Olympics but the coach I had worked me like a dog, from sunrise until quite literally sunset, but there's only so much strain the body can take before something snaps. Turns out, that was the muscles in my leg and hip. I didn't have enough fat on my body and the ligaments were wearing away at themselves with nothing else to burn off, so one evening I felt a terrific pain in my leg and almost drowned.
[ He hitches up a smile and a shrug, trying to lighten the imagery. ]
Another coach who happened to be at the pool saw what happened and pulled me out when mine wouldn't, Vandren was the one who helped set me up with physio. He saw how bad I was.
[ Fjord genuinely thinks, in hindsight, Uk'otoa would have let him drown that night. ]
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...and then not helping them quick enough? Really shitty. ]
What an asshole, that other trainer. I'm glad you got out of that, even if it must have been a passion.
[ A love for something should build you up, not wear you down. Literally, in this case. ]
It sounds like it must have been a lot of work to recover from, too. I remember thinking I made no progress for a long time.
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[ He doesn't know whether to offer the next part up, but it's probably the sort of thing you get out the way on a first date. ]
I got out of a relationship around the time of my physio, she lost interest. Complete bitch, actually, so no great loss there. That was, ah, the last time I was involved.
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[ Someone only in it to be the girlfriend to an Olympic athlete. But pretty half-orc swung both ways, that was nice to know.
...then Molly's brain catches up. ]
Wait, you know Jester and Beau?
[ He severely doubted that there were more girlfriends with those names. ]
Cute blue tiefling and kind of a bitch human with a heart of gold?
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How do you know them?
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[ He chuckles, smiling at Fjord with even more interest, now. (If that was even possible.) ]
Jessie and I do a lot of collaborations together, she's hamsterunicorn on instagram. She introduced me to her mom, so I got some work there, and we hang out for ice cream on Thursdays. She's the sweetest and almost like a sister.
[ He's immediately curious to know more about this relationship and how long they've been friends. ]
Beau I got to know through Jester and we have this game going in where we act like we hate eachother but would die for eachother if needed. She's a trash person and I love her.
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[ Rubbing the back of his neck, he busies himself taking a big bite of his tart and munching thoughtfully. ]
Beau's my best friend but you're under orders never to tell her that, [ she would burn up from the emotion on the spot or punch him, and he doesn't want either, ] and Jessie ... Well, [ up goes his voice and his brows as one, ] we had some miscommunication at first.
She, ah ... [ Aw, fuck. out with it, Just say it. ] She asked me if I'd join her and Beau in — in bed. Me and Beau almost barfed on each other, which Jester took a lot of different ways and it took a week of pastries to get her to stop being mad at both of us.
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...typical Jester.
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She knows now that she's ... not my type.
[ Another bite of that tart instead of looking up at the one in front of him, aha. ]
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[ He's glad Beau is there to help her on her lesbian journey and unlearn all that stuff. Marion's wonderful, but it did leave a bit of a skewed sense of sex for Jester.
Noticing how Fjord concentrates on his tart, he chuckles again. ]
Well, tiefling definitely seems to be your type.
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My ex was a half-elf, actually.
[ So there. ]
I only flirted with Jester for fun, it was never serious. I didn't think she'd go anywhere with it, she had a girlfriend.
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Fair enough.
[ Molly eats a bit more of his tart, savoring it unlike blue menace they were talking about. ]
Do you go to the gym with Beau?
[ He looked fit, after all, but now with some actual thiccness to protect his muscles rather than tearing them apart. ]
I go to yoga there sometimes. I can bend backwards and reach my heels but I can barely lift stuff.
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I do, actually. [ Beau's ripped and she likes to hit and kick things, her hobbies are obvious. ] We end up on the weights after my cardio and her boxing is done.
I could show you how to use the weights, if you want.
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Are we deciding on the next date already?
[ He's... not really done that before, but he wants to see Fjord again. He wants to sit and talk like this with him, not just climb into his lap and grind himself against him. (He wants that too, of course, but... there's something more.)
Something that wants a second date. ]
Gym date, get all sweaty and gross in a whole new way.
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[ It just takes effort to keep up with Beau, who is built with deceptively slender limbs that pulse with muscles the second she looks at the weights. It's entirely unfair. Fjord always takes a change of clothes, even when he doesn't have a beautiful tiefling along for the ride. ]
It's best to have someone with you so you don't hurt yourself on the machines, think of me as your unofficial cheerleader.
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[ Sweat, that is. As long as it's clean.
Molly shows off his 'guns', which are about the same slenderness of Beau's but without the steel cable muscle in them. There's definitely some in there, though, because Fjord has seen him on a pole holding himself sideways with only his arms. ]
Mmm, gym guard and cheerleader. I'm into it.
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[ Shrugging off his leather jacket to hang off the back of the chair, he does absolutely nothing of the kind with his own biceps, larger than Molly's given sheer size difference atop anything else, but he does reach over to jab his fork in a corner of Molly's tart to steal some and if that shows off his upper body as he leans forward on the table, a body that wants very much to flatten itself all over that delicious tiefling's, well, that's not Fjord's fault.
Happily munching his stolen mouthful, he waves his fork. ]
What do you do when you're not working on building sets and being internet-famous?
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In retaliation, he steals a piece from Fjord's tart as well, curious about the taste. ]
Me? Well, I like to hang with friends, and I have a thrift store addiction that they threaten to have an intervention for. Other times I just like listening to music while pampering myself.
[ He raises a brow, slipping the stolen piece into his own mouth. Slowly, and there's a peek of that two-pronged tongue. ]
What about you?
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[ After his accident and the Olympic funding ran out, he spent a lot of time trying to spend as little of what he had left as possible.
... That forked tongue is a distraction he pretends not to notice. ]
I collect things with an oceanic theme, shells and things. There are auctions online for rare bottled ships, all kinds of weird paraphernalia. I ... [ Oh, fuck. ] I also larp with Caduceus, once in a while. We have a big tent that I drive over and set up for the weekend, it's a lot of fun.
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[ Anyone who likes thrift stores is a great person, he's taking Fjord out hunting one day.
(Even more plans....? Shit.)
The collecting of sea stuff makes him smile, as it seemed to fit a former swimmer, and collectors were always fun to find stuff with as well. The last part makes him a little confused, though, and he cocks his head to the side. ]
What's larp?
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So, a lot of people meet up in a field for a weekend and there's usually another one off to the side where cars are parked and normal tents are hitched up. If you want to stay in-character then you can sleep on the main field, it's up to you. We usually do the latter. You dress up like ancient heroes and the crew of the larp dresses as monsters, it's live-action-role-play. We don't always fight, sometimes we figure out mysterious puzzles ... it depends on the weather, more than anything. Hard to do battle in a muddy field.
[ If he didn't sound like a dork before ... ]
Caduceus is a spooky Cleric and I'm a magical Paladin. I have a foam sword and fake armour, all of that.
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Fuck, you're handsome and a nerd, that's amazing.
[ There's a small laugh, but it's sweet and curious rather than mocking. ]
A paladin, huh? You do strike me like a knight in shining armor.
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[ That's just the worst come-on ever and he knows it, saluting Mollymauk with his drink. ]
I'm a knight with lots of time on his hands.
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[ His eyes lower for a second, and then up again with a smile. He loves the obvious come-ons and the humor, wholly enjoying this date as he sips his latte. ]
Me and Yasha used to do ren fairs sometimes, is that similar? Do you have any pics?
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That's the last one we went to, we upgraded our costumes quite a bit.
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