" welcome in. " the customer-service-lilt in iris's voice lifts up the otherwise flippant greeting, a call-and-response to the bell above the door ringing. " we have sales on crystals today, but i don't recommend the moldavite unless you're ready for — " ' mrrow '. iris's head snaps towards the sound at the same second xenomorph decides to jump from a high shelf onto whatever counter her guest had stopped in front of. oops. " oof — she's nice, i swear. s'why boss lets me keep her in here — you got salmon treats in your pocket or did you just manifest a cat today ? "
having walked into the shop with the intention of going for what he usually came in for, elijah found himself flinching as a hairball suddenly jumped out in front of him. "well, that's new." he remarked as he stared the feline down, not daring to reach out to pet it, which is what he assumed the cat must have wanted after making quite the introduction. "the answer to both of those is a no. i did hear that cats have this way of being able to tell when you're not a fan of them, so perhaps that's why she wanted a face to face with me." he shrugged nonchalantly before turning his attention to the clerk. "cute cat though, and it's cool that your boss allows you to bring her. she must not like staying home without you?"
"good morning, happy pride!" kenna grinned as she held out a flyer with all of the workshops she had coming up at the community center. "we have events going on all month long. does anything pique your interest?"
smiling at the shorter woman greeting him, elijah took one of the offered flyers and gave it a quick scan. "you guys are going to be pretty busy this month, huh?" he mused, and now he remembered why small talk was either a hit or miss for him. taking another look at the list of things going on at the center, one did make him raise a brow. "this shirt printing thing. i've actually been toying with the idea of creating my own shirts for work, just something cheesy or whatever, so can i try that out while i'm here?"
WHERE: sunset beach villa @ pride fair.
WITH: you!!! + @palmviewstarters. capping at 3 (0/3).
to be entirely honest, she wasn't sure what she was expecting; however avani is very happy to be in the comfort of a welcoming space. there was so much to see that it was actually kind of overwhelming. she's browsing the stands and basking in the sun when she stops at one of the food booths — head tilting at the menu. “be honest, what one are you going to try?” asks to the person next to her. “i've walked through most of these booths and can't decide on which one sounds better.”
with nothing else on his schedule for the day, elijah had wandered over to the beach to check out the pride fair and partake in some of the booths. he wasn't sure about face painting or any of that, but the food smelled amazing, and he could afford to cheat today. busy checking his calorie count, he hadn't noticed the other's presence until she'd spoken up, and he glanced over at the menu again. "oh, well i'm kind of eyeing all of the desserts right now. it's a tie between a rainbow cheesecake bites or a rainbow funnel cake." he answered. "we could both take one and then share? unless you want something healthy instead, then i'd recommend the rainbow smoothies or fruit cups."
[ … ] ❀ you’re not from around here , are you? i figured because you totally just missed { ELIJAH WATKINS } walking by. don’t tell me you don’t know who { HE } is ? they kind of look like { MICHAEL EVANS BEHLING } and i could be wrong but i think that they might be { THIRTY } years old right now. they’ve been living in palmview for the last { TEN YEARS }. and i don’t know if anyone has ever told them this before but they kind of remind me of { SIMON BASSET } from { BRIDGERTON }. if you stick around the town long enough you might catch them in action working at { SHOREFIT GYM } as a { PERSONAL TRAINER }. you see this town isn’t really that big of a place, some folks like to call them { THE VAINGLORIOUS } of palmview! they took a liking to the name too after a while, go figure. oh crap, they must have heard me yapping. they’re coming this way. i got to warn you though, rumor has it they can pretty { ALOOF } at times. i wouldn’t take it too seriously though, from the times i’ve spoken to them they seemed pretty { DEBONAIR } to me. we see each other all the time since they live in that { ONE BEDROOM } residence beside me over in { PELICAN STREET / CONDO #340 }. i better leave you to it. it was nice meeting you!
i. stats
full name: elijah alexander watkins.
nicknames: eli.
dob: february 12th.
age: thirty.
pronouns: he/him.
hometown: indianapolis, indiana.
sexuality: heterosexual.
time in palmview: ten years.
occupation: personal trainer @ shorefit gym.
counterpart: simon basset (bridgerton).
label: the vainglorious.
parents: alexander watkins and jennifer dunn.
ii. backstory
elijah was born the only child to two teenagers in love — or their ridiculous idea of love, in his opinion. growing up alongside his parents was chaotic, but as they grew older, it was evident that his mom was the more loving and present parent. it wasn't that his dad didn't love him too, the man just worked multiple jobs and was always exhausted and grumpy by the time he made it home. he felt more absent than anything, but they knew that he was doing what it took to keep a roof over their heads, so they just tried to be appreciative of how hard he worked for them.
by the time he was a teenager, his parents had split and while he was going back and forth between their places, the difference in parenting became more apparent. while his mom just wanted him to do a decent job in school and to be happy, his dad had much higher expectations: get good grades, play sports to learn some discipline, and avoid anything and anyone that would lead to trouble. it was a lot to ask, in eli's opinion, and he could only make good on the sport thing because he liked playing football. he paid, or bribed, nerds to do his homework sometimes, and he just tried to hide his drinking and partying as much as he could. his father found out somehow, making the man stricter and causing him to hold certain privileges over his son's head. it strained their relationship, but out of respect for the old man, he tried to live up to the life being chosen for him. he traded parties for study groups, he stuck to the friends his father approved of, and he made football his #1 focus. in the end, it paid off in him managing to graduate on his own merit, without any offenses on his record, and with college on the horizon.
managing to land a football scholarship, he headed off to college with hopes of making it to the pro league sooner rather than later. after all, there was nothing he really saw himself majoring in or making a career out of that required a degree. luckily for him, his sophomore season of football paid off, and he ended up being a 2nd round draft pick to the miami dolphins. his mom found them a place in palmview grove, and the first few years on the team were great. he managed to set a record during his rookie season, so the next four seasons with the team landed him some pretty cool brand deals and a sweet contract. but his fifth season would be his last — after a cycle of injuries and the need to preserve his mental and physical wellbeing for the foreseeable future, elijah hung up his cleats for good.
after retirement, he spent a little bit of time relaxing and enjoying the fruits of his short lived labor, buying his mom her dream home out in port st lucie while he remained in palmview. after all, he loved the vibes, and it felt like a good place to start a new chapter. he wanted to be out in the scene, experiencing the 'normal' stuff he'd sort of missed out on in his early 20s. when a personal trainer spot opened up at the gym, he figured it was one of the few career options he wouldn't hate, and it gave him an excuse to stay fit and make the ladies drool. if he's not working, he's all over the city having a good time, or probably rubbing someone the wrong way. you never know what you're gonna get from eli, other than him holding his cards (and his emotions) close to the belt unless you really work to get something out of him.
iii. wanted connection ideas
friends (0/?) — he's been in palmview long enough to (hopefully) have gained a few friends, ones that can tolerate him not being as open to letting people in too deeply and appreciate his very stupid sense of humor
very short lived flings/one night stands (0/?) — he tends to not let anyone in easily, or often, so he would mostly only be good for a quick hit it and quit it situation (could be past, present, or future)
the daphne to his simon (0/1) — once upon a time, there was a woman who was patient enough to slowly worm her way into his soul, managed to get him to let his guard down enough for something real to build. he fought his feelings for as long as he could but eventually, he found himself falling hard, and it was the first and only time he'd ever fallen in love. would have been within his time in palmview (so the last ten years). is very open ended so this could have ended on good or bad terms, could have been the wrong time, i'm open to discussion and vibes!
enemies (0/?) — pls dislike him for any reason you can come up with, he will love it and so will i
open to clients at the gym, drinking buddies, frenemies, whatever your little hearts desire!
jbbartram-illu
origamiaround
