as i am. as i am.

orla flaherty. thirty-five. formerly a systems engineer in palo alto. currently fixing computers in holiday, maine. originally from belfast, northern ireland.

[crlaflaherty]

proudmcxican‌:

      Ari stood next to the nearest foodtruck he could find, one hand on his pocket while the other held onto a tray covered with tin foil, a soft sigh escaping his lips. To no one’s surprise, the chef had spent all night baking, a nervous habit of his. It was almost unconscious, almost as if after 2 a.m, his brain shut off and his body had a mind of itself. It was, for the most part, a nice surprise to wake up to an entirely different pastry that appeared out of nowhere, but it was starting to get tiring; not to mention he had decided he needed to stop feeding Arturo only pastries in the morning. 

     Alas, he found himself in the music festival with a tray of buñuelos that he couldn’t quite remember making and an almost apologetic smile as he approached a passbyer, eyes glued to the tray as he spoke “Hey, can I interest you in some free desert?” he began, scratching the back of his head with his free hand “I know it sounds… sketchy, to say the least, but I promise it’s not. I… overbake, constantly. And well, today I woke up to like, a hundred of these and well, here we are. I promise they don’t have anything weird on ‘em. It’s kind of like… funnel cake, but not really.”

Certain the look on her face communicated her confusion quite efficiently, Orla didn’t actually say anything for a good few seconds. “Funnel cake, but not really?” she eventually repeated with a slow nod of her head as she studied the desserts in question. They looked great, yes, but a part of her was ever so slightly worried to be accepting free baked goods. That being said, she did recognize the man’s face and could almost swear he worked with food in some capacity. “Quite sweet then?” she added, growing more curious by the second. “I don’t think I’ve ever had funnel cake before. That’s probably a bit strange.” 

[crlaflaherty]

phxsphcncs‌:

it wasn’t her most revealing outfit, but rio certanly had plenty of skin on display. as she weaved through the crowds gathering for the concert, she couldn’t help but spot a cute face, and toss her arms around their neck. “you’re cute, wanna be my date tonight?” she teased, always a flirty tease.

Orla couldn’t help laughing. While she was not one to approach strangers in such a manner, she could appreciate the young woman’s infectious enthusiasm. Still, she took just a few steps back, not entirely comfortable being touched. “I guess I could use the company,” she replied with a nod before glancing around. “Do you have any plans then?” 

[crlaflaherty]

i am not working today so i should be on bunch after i finish running some errands and grabbing lunch with my sister! can’t wait to tackle some more starters & perhaps post my own!

[alina-aleksanders]

[crlaflaherty]

findlaywells‌:

If you spend all your time travelling, you kind of forget how to be American. You just see America how the rest of the world does, which… is not always good. The land of the free and the home of the brave becomes the land of the old white idiots and the home of death-by-hamburgers. But now, as Wells sat drinking a whiskey, eating said hamburger, and listening to live music with a like-minded crowd… he almost felt American again.

“Hey… hey, you!” he said, pointing to the closest stranger. “Where’s the farthest you’ve ever been from home?”

Orla observed the man for a moment before carefully clearing her throat. “Oh. I suppose here would be the farthest I’ve been from Belfast.” She paused for a second and shook her head. “Or Palo Alto, actually.” Another pause. “How come? Are you looking to travel somewhere far away? Need a change of pace?” 

[crlaflaherty]

adelinelewis‌:

This was it. She was home. As fun as her break had been she was back on stage and she was having the time of her life. She had been through a few songs so far and for a tiny town she couldn’t believe the crowd that had come out to see the performers tonight. Adeline made her way off of the stage after she had introduced Aiden to the crowd who was going to take it for ten minutes and let her have a breather. Grabbing her water the brunette pushed her hair back from her face, moving to take her place where she could watch the stage before she turned to the person besides her. “Hey. You having a good time?” She beamed at them. 

It was a small miracle she didn’t choke on her drink when the popstar addressed her. “Definitely,” she assured with a nod that might have read a bit exaggerated in its enthusiasm. While big crowds of people weren’t necessarily her thing, she enjoyed a good celebrations as much as the next person, especially if it came with live music. “I guess it’s safe to assume you were enjoying yourself up there? It certainly looked like you were having fun.” 

[crlaflaherty]

rebeccxsilva‌:

Rebecca, was starving, and she knew that shouldn’t have been possible with the amount of food that was on offer, but she couldn’t find one thing that she wanted, she just wanted to try it all and she couldn’t get it all at once leaving her more frustrated than anything. Making her way across the park Rebecca was trying to attempt following her nose when her eyes landed on the most beautiful looking burger she had ever seen in her life. That was it, that was what she wanted. “Excuse me….” Becca interrupted waiting until the other had finished their bite. “But where did you get that?” 

Normally Orla might have had flinched slightly, having not expected to be addressed, but she had to admit the burger was definitely worthy of discussion. “Oh, from that stall over there,” she informed, pointing towards a small booth with an impressive amount of people queuing in front of it. “I feel like it’s going to be a messy one, though,” she added, nodding towards the burger as if trying to make a point. “I never know how you’re supposed to eat these things with any amount of grace.” 

[crlaflaherty]

oh hi there, welcome to holiday, ORLA FLAHERTY. oh wait, you’ve been here. has anyone ever told you that you look like KATIE MCGRATH? you’re FEMALE and use SHE/HER? just checking. and you’ve been here for TWO YEARS? you’re 35 too, right? just curious. you own a COMPUTER REPAIR SHOP still? you know people say you’re CAPABLE & KIND-HEARTED, but BLUNT & WITHDRAWN so i guess take that with a grain of salt. well, at least i do know you’re excited for NEW YEAR'S. bye now! 

hello everyone! i am riina and i decided to join the group with my dear orla! she’s honestly kind of a combination of a bunch of my old characters & i am so excited to introduce her to all of you! let’s go! 

content warning for ableism! 

so! orla’s story begins in belfast, northern ireland, where she was born into a loud, larger than life family. she’s the second-born child and one of six siblings. 

she studied software and electronic systems engineering at queen’s university belfast, after which she left her hometown for london. she hasn’t lived in belfast for thirteen years but still considers the city her home. 

received her master’s degree in systems engineering management from university college london! she worked in the city for a few years before a tempting job opportunity - and a pretty massive increase in salary - in palo alto, california made her relocate to the states. 

as it turned out, orla was definitely not made for silicon valley or its culture. in fact, she absolutely detested what her life had become and decided to leave her so-called dream job after three years of misery. the money had been great, yes, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to handle the punishing pace and demands of her job. 

orla arrived to holiday around two years ago without much of a plan. in fact, she figured she wouldn’t stay for very long at all. however, she ended up falling in love with the tiny town and its people and decided to open up her own computer repair shop. 

while somewhat withdrawn and introverted, orla is a very kind, warm person who truly enjoys helping others. she’s the sort of person who will tell her customers to call her whenever they’re having problems, no matter what time of day it is. 

she tends to be fairly straightforward and blunt but rarely means to cause upset. she just doesn’t really understand how others might read her words or tone of voice. 

orla is on the autism spectrum and will fight anyone who tells her she doesn’t look autistic. that’s just gross. 

has a wide, kind of funny taste in music. she’s a big fan of punk and industrial music but would refuse to go on without noughties pop. while she’s definitely a big fan of spotify and other similar services, she also tends to buy way too many CDs. 

she’s bisexual & kind of clueless when it comes to approaching people she fancies.

orla used to play gaelic football for like fifteen years and still misses running after a ball on a muddy field.