habits & contradictions

Dorian Hoffman | 33 years old

[claire-callahan-blog]

Claire rolled her eyes at Dorian, taking a sip of her beer as he explained what had happened. “Whoever sent that– I like her,” she joked, a laugh leaving her lips at the sight of the ultrasound. “I was saying that your choice in women is debatable, save for that one. But, you know, some people never learn. Who was that one a few weeks back? Was convinced you guys were going to elope the next day?”

[dorianhoffman]

“I know, I’m very content with drunk choices I make when it comes to women.” Dorian said nodding his head with a sense of high approval in himself. After so long of not having sex, he was happy as a clam having the chance to sow his oats. “Shit! I had completely forgot all about that woman. I tried to block out any memories I had of her just because she was truly psycho,” Dorian said with chills going down his back. “She had the nerve to throw a drink in my face a week later when she saw me talking with another girl. It was crazy.” That moment was certainly not his favorite memory but it sure as hell was quite the story to look back on. “Whatever happened to the tame April Fool tricks like the whoopee cushion or the dollar on a string? Now the jokes are more elaborate and complicated.” Dorian chuckled shaking his head before taking a sip of his Heineken.

[poptunes]

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[obsoleterebellion-blog]

Amira let out a sigh of relief, her fingers protesting against the heat the coffee cup was radiating. “Thank you”, she smiled, sitting down carefully, well aware just how close the table next to her was;  bumping into people drinking hot liquids would not have been the greatest way to start her exploration of her new home city. “Oh? Me neither, actually. Looks nice, though,” she mused, taking a quick look around the room, hoping the amount of people somehow reflected the quality of the actual coffee. Nodding to herself, Amira turned to face the man who had just introduced herself as Dorian, noticing he was typing rather speedily. Something work-related, perhaps? “Pleasure to meet you. I’m Amira”, she replied, deciding against any following questions; the man was clearly in some sort of a hurry with whatever he was working on.

[dorianhoffman]

As Dorian continued to type away on his laptop he tried to stay focused on his resume. He needed to finish it up since he really needed a job. He had managed to move back to Tennessee with some money but it was definitely not going to last him much longer. The responsible thing was to find a job, any job and have an income. He was desperate for a job and at this point he knew he couldn’t be picky about what he did as an occupation. But it is difficult to get a job in the first place when you’ve got a convict background and your employment history has about a 5 year gap, although he wouldn’t say it out loud Dorian was starting to feel very discouraged. 

“Are you from around here?” Dorian asked Amira while keeping his eyes on his computer screen. He was finishing up his last sentence and thought it wouldn’t hurt to make conversation. Dorian saved his resume before shutting his laptop and paying full attention to the woman across from him. “You know there’s about 5 other coffee shops around here that are much better than this place.” He said in an almost whisper-like voice, as if he could be heard by the employees. “I’m not really a coffee guru or anything but this isn’t good.” He was referring to his cafe mocha. “Hopefully your coffee is better than mine.”

[anastasiadanvers-deactivated201]

    Seeing a familiar figure walk closer and his smirk, Ana gave her best smile to her jogging companion. “Hey.. Don’t worry about it.” She shook her head and soon placed her phone in her jacket pocket before she sprung up from her place on the steps. Swiftly tucking her hair up in a loose ponytail she made her way over to him as she pulled out her ipod for a moment. “—My mother is constantly calling me about my father. I swear she was drunk.”

[dorianhoffman]

Dorian was stretching his legs in place, doing lunges and kickbacks to get his body warming up. Once Ana walked over to him, Dorian’s eyes looked at Ana and smiled. His smile quickly turned into a slight frown when Ana mentioned her mother. “It is five o’clock somewhere.” Dorian said with a shrug. “I hope everything’s alright though, with your mom and dad I mean.” The man was a great listener but he was awful at consoling people, he never knew the right things to say and it usually put him in weird situations. “Are you ready to get running?” 

[nonzbonzz]

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[beaufordgallagher]

“Definitely got to stop giving your number out, dude,” he shook his head with a small bout of laughter, picking up his drink to take a large sip. “I live in peace knowing my phone barely rings unless it’s for work or from friends.” No less he perked up at the ultrasound photo, pointing a finger at it with a grin, “She might be a keeper though, ‘cause that’s definitely dedication.” A slow whistle left his lips, barely even examining said photo to wonder if it was real or just scrapped off the internet. “Meh, last time you beat me in darts and I wanted to win this time around. If you’re game–” Leave it to Beau to either waste his cash or gain a couple just for the sake of something borderline exciting to do.

[dorianhoffman]

“Dedication and humerous, she should be the woman of my dreams.” Dorian agreed as he raised his green Heineken bottle up to his lips. “Or she could be obsessive and crazy? This joke could really be one of those two things and I’m afraid that with my luck, it’s the crazy and obsessive one.” He drank the last of his beer before setting the green bottle back on the bar counter. “Are you sure you’re willing to lose again? I mean we’re having a good night and I just don’t know if you’re okay with ruining it by paying up.” He joked. Dorian could get cocky when he wanted to especially with his competitive nature. “Hey, mind if I get another one of these?” The man asked the bartender pointing at his Heineken hinting at asking for another one. Perhaps it would turn out to be a big mistake asking for another drink, his 6th one for the evening but he convinced himself it was guy’s night and that this was totally acceptable for a week day.

[ffisher]

“That’s something I’d definitely never do,” she clicked her tongue in distaste at how far one would go – sending an ultrasound to sell the joke even further. No less she still did find it amusing, lips turned up into a close lipped grin. Mana glanced at the clock once more, shrugging a moment, “–I just said it was getting late. I was attempting to wake up early tomorrow,” she mused aloud, swirling what was left of her beer around in the bottle. “—but maybe another beer couldn’t hurt.” She glanced over at Dorian as if he’d give an excuse for her to stay and relax, instead of being a responsible adult like she should have been.

[dorianhoffman]

“It’s not something I’d ever do either. My type of jokes or tricks are pretty tame, nowhere near as... eccentric as these.” He chuckled shaking his head still amused and slightly annoyed the more he thought about it. “Why do you need to wake up early? Just have another drink, stay and chat a while.” Dorian said with a grin on his face. “Next drink is on me.” He said nudging Mana’s arm with his elbow.

[leecverett-deactivated20160624]

people are fallible beings.

Gabriel couldn’t recall the last time that he’d had a few hours to himself, where the children weren’t running amok or had to otherwise be accounted for. With them, as much as he loved the two girls with everything he had within, he felt that he had to plan much of the day out to be certain that they got everything they required. Three meals, playtime, exercise, something artistic, time spent with other people, bathtime, sleep. Sometimes a nap, though as of late, those were reserved for Gabriel. After his latest surgery, he found himself exhausted to a new and somewhat odd point. He’d been used to the exhaustion that came at the end of a long day, but that didn’t often happen. It was rare, he usually found himself renewed with energy throughout the day. With the children not around at the moment, he was able to do anything he wanted. Which, to be fair, wasn’t much. It was a short-lived blasting of some music as he half-danced from where he sat until he chose to clean to the playlist that he’d found. He cleaned his bedroom, their bedroom, and the kitchen before he grew tired once again. Gabriel figured someone else could get the bathroom.

He had laid on the floor of his kitchen after he finished cleaning out the refrigerator, a task he’d let slide for far too long. With so many people in the house and always coming around, he had to remember to stay on top of things more often. He never did though and it was quite evident that he may never start to. After he’d sent out his usual texts which were to Whitney, to Quinn and then a last to Jo to ask how their days were, he slid his phone away from him. Hands clasped together over his stomach, he wondered about whether or not they should paint the kitchen or consider getting a dog. Around the time that he’d considered that a happy-go-lucky pitbull named after whatever obsession the kids had nowadays would be more fun than a brighter kitchen, he heard a buzzer go off which meant that he’d have to move all the way to the living room in order to let whomever it was inside. Gabriel groaned audibly until finally he stood and in long strides, walked over to hit the button. He never inquired on who it was, it wasn’t as though he had enemies or any stalkers to worry over.

However, when he opened his own apartment door and waited for someone to approach, he was met with someone he didn’t think he recognized. “Oh.” Gabriel spoke without meaning to. “Are — “ He couldn’t even think of what he should say to the man. Gabriel looked around in case someone else might be in search of a long lost family member or a friend, a husband, something. He looked around and there was nothing. No one else had opened their doors so he smiled at him and tilted his head slightly to the left. “Hi. Can I help you with something?” He supposed he could’ve rang him by accident or perhaps he was someone that he should have known. Gabriel forgot names, he forgot faces and everything in-between. His memory had worsened with his condition as well as a little bit, he thought, with treatments though he always forgot to ask if it was a side effect or not. He meant to ‘Google’ it. “I think you rang me on accident or on purpose. Was it on purpose?”

[dorianhoffman]

Trying to make a good first impression, Dorian made sure to dress in his nicest clothes he owned. He had a denim light blue long sleeved button up and some nice slim fitting khaki colored pants. His shoes though were old and raggedy, they were some basic black vans that he’s had for quite some time now. It was obvious they were not in the mint condition but they were Dorian’s favorite shoes and the only pair that went along with his current apparel. He had to go through a lot of searching to find Gabriel Samos’ address. As easy as it was to stalk everyone nowadays, fortunately it was still a bit of a challenge to find somebody’s home address. The man paced outside Gabriel’s building. He had an entire speech thought out in his head about what he’d say and how he’d introduce himself. A part of him was very concerned that somehow Gabriel would already know who he was and the speech that Dorian had spent hours writing and memorizing would become obsolete. He was nervous that the moment he’d introduce himself, Gabriel would slam the door in his face or call the cops. He wasn’t quite sure what to expect but the longer he continued to pace outside the building the more sick to his stomach he’d feel. On a whim of motivation, Dorian was finally able to buzz Gabriel’s apartment number. “You got this, you got this...” Dorian spoke under his breath before he was luckily buzzed in. So far so good, he thought.

As he took he last step onto the Gabriel’s floor he was able to hear a door open, it must have been Gabriel’s. Dorian’s hands began to perspire, his heart began to beat outside of his chest, and he could feel his throat close up. He was starting to panic. As he stood right in front of the doorway his gaze remained on his Van shoes. “N-N-No. It was on purpose. You... You’re Gabriel Samos? C-Cara’s brother right?” Dorian asked confidently although his voice stuttered. “I’m Dorian Hoffman. My brother is Brian Hoffman and our siblings were married.” The man said finally raising his head and letting his blue eyes meet Gabriel. His eyes took in the other man’s features and Dorian quickly wondered about what Cara must have looked like. Unfortunately Dorian never met Cara. He was too busy being angry at Brian and the rest of the family to ever meet girlfriends or attend weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, etc. “I believe you know my nieces?” One of the biggest reasons for Dorian to meet Gabriel is in order to get closer to his nieces, the ones that he never had the pleasure of meeting. “Are they here?” Dorian asked trying to look into Gabriel’s apartment cooly. “I’m their uncle.” Truth is that Dorian was pretty appreciative that he never met his nieces before considering how much of a mess he used to be and how fucked up he allowed himself to get. It was probably best that he wasn’t near the girls while he was making terrible choices. On the bright side he was here now, sober and more responsible. 

The tall man was starting to get more relaxed now that the sweating of his palms had subsided and he didn’t feel so sick anymore. Dorian slid his hands into his pant pockets as he waited for a response from Gabriel. At this point he wasn’t quite sure how this was going to end up but so far he had high hopes considering the fact that Gabriel had yet to slam the door on him or threaten to call the police. “I... Uh, d-do you think I could come in?” Dorian asked with a sense of pleading behind his voice. He tried to remember the speech that he had spent hours working on but his mind could not recall a single word as he stood there in front of Gabriel. “I would like to get to know you, if that’s okay. I would also like to talk to you about possibly getting to know my nieces too.” 

[whitney-richardson]

An amused smile curled up on her lips when Dorian spoke.  She thought briefly about how she could have pulled off that joke for Jon.  The difference was he is actually the father.  “I bet she just pulled that off google images,” Whitney replied with a laugh.  “Though isn’t the whole point of April Fool’s day giving someone a heart attack?”  She arched her eyebrow then and shrugged.  “Oh, it’s alright.  I was just wondering if you’d seen my headphones.  I can’t find them.”

[dorianhoffman]

“I’m sure she did which makes it weird considering this is actually somebody’s real baby.” He shook his head trying not to burst out into laughter again. “I would have preferred a much more tame joke but that’s just me.” Dorian shrugged before he began to stretch his arms warming up before his exercise. "Your headphones? No, I haven’t seen them. Are you sure you didn’t leave them at home? I have a spare in my bag. Do you want to use them?”

[almagnoliasprings]

      Looking up she realized she hadn’t even realized where she had ended up –Dorian’s place – out of the entire town she ended up at her cousin’s place? What was she suppose to do lie to him? Touching her forehead she felt the crimson liquid spread on her fingertip. “My side.” She admitted, knowing that she had told everyone else in the world she was ok. She allowed her hands to fall onto her lap as she looked up at Dorian, “That sounds like fun. You never know you could get my father to help you out with that. It wasn’t a bookshelf if we’re being technical. Besides that good. Last night I went to the bar – and ended up getting beer spilled on me – got to love the whole new adult life.”

[dorianhoffman]

“Your side? That’s one hell of a bookshelf.” Dorian said before standing up and leaving the room only to return with a pack of ice. He handed Ellie the freezing ice pack before taking a seat again. “I’m sure your dad could help a lot but I’d rather do this on my own.” He exhaled. The man stared at Ellie not sure if he was allowed to ask anymore questions. They were never real close growing up considering their distant families but Ellie is family nonetheless, and Dorian wanted to better his relationship with all family members. “If it wasn’t a bookshelf then what was it?” He figured he might as well ask. “Beer spilled on you? Who did you piss off?” The man teased.

[dorianhoffman]

“I’ve had one too many ‘You’re the father’ April Fool’s day text messages sent to me today. You know what’s not funny? Giving somebody a heart attack.” Dorian groaned. He wasn’t sure whether he should stop giving out his number or if he should just stop sleeping with random women in general. “God, look at this one. They actually sent me a picture of an ultrasound...” He couldn’t help but laugh as he turned his cellphone screen over to show the person in front of him. “On the bright side I have great taste in funny women.” He cleared his throat as he put his phone back in his pocket. “I’m sorry. I totally interrupted you, didn’t I? What were you saying again?” Dorian hid his smile getting ready for some serious news.

[obsoleterebellion-blog]

Amira yawned, rubbing the back of her neck with her free hand, the other holding a steaming hot cup of coffee. She had just finished a shift at the hospital and had decided against heading straight back to her apartment; she had lived in the city for a month now and still couldn’t name a single person that wasn’t either a colleague or a patient. Desperate to make a new acquaintance and distract herself from the sea of boxes that waited for her to return from work, she had made her way to a popular-looking coffee shop near her apartment in Midtown. 

Having noticed she wasn’t the only person looking for their caffeine fix, Amira made her way to what seemed like the only free seat in the entire shop. She cleared her throat, flashing a quick smile to the person sitting on the opposite side of the table. “Mind if I sit here? I didn’t realise it would be quite so busy.” 

[dorianhoffman]

There were loud conversations and slurping sounds all around him. For being a coffee shop, this place in particular was a bit rowdy. Dorian sat at a very tiny table at the corner of the room click-clacking away on his laptop keyboard. He was working on his resume trying to figure out a way to make up for the fact that he was a convict. He had already finished his cup of a bitter cafe mocha but he refused to leave until he finished his resume. He had been in Nashville for barely a month, he had sent his resume to over two dozen postings, and still no call backs. Describing him as discourage would be an understatement. The man was so focused on his laptop that for a second he forgot where he was. “Shit.” Dorian said under his breathe as he was startled by a woman standing on the opposite side of the very small table. “No, not at all. Go right ahead.” He reassured the woman with a gentle smile. “I’ve never been here before so I wasn’t sure if this was the norm or not.” Dorian added before his eyes glanced back to his laptop screen. “I’m Dorian, by the way.” The man introduced himself as his eyes stayed on his screen. He continued to type away his resume in hopes that he’d get it over with before the stress and anxiety of typing it resulted in a severe shift in mood. 

[chaevelvets-blog]

[thesnobbyartsyblog]

He got a point.

[almagnoliasprings]

        Ellie had managed to get herself into a mess. One she didn’t know how she was going to fix. Leave it to her brother to end up getting into trouble and then leaving it up to her to clean it up. “Oh this?” The brunette asked figuring the person was inquiring about the bruise on her head, “Nothing – I was rearranging the office and managed to have a bookshelf fall all over me. I’m telling you those As seen on tv sliders are not legit. How has your day gone?”

[dorianhoffman]

Crossing his arms in front of his chest Dorian raised a brow at Ellie’s response. “That’s quite a bookshelf. Are you hurt anywhere else?” He was genuinely concerned. “My day was fine. The usual, jog, gym, and applying for jobs I know I won’t get once they do a background check.” Dorian sighed as he uncrossed his arms and took a seat on the couch. “What about your day? Besides getting trampled by your bookshelf...” He wasn’t sure whether or not he truly believed her but he went along with it for now.

[anastasiadanvers-deactivated201]

    “No Momma, I—” Sighing into the phone, she gazed down at the ground; listening to her mother’s ranting about the latest thing her father did. It was a miracle they were still together. “I’m pretty sure that he didn’t mean to—” Cut off again, she sighed once more before fully hanging up on her mother. Raking a hand through her hair, she angled her head and noticed someone. “How long have you been standing there and listening.”

[dorianhoffman]

Dorian had arrived ready to jog in his black Nike basketball shorts, white colored long sleeve Under Armour shirt, and fully black Nike Air Max shoes . As always he showed up on time ready to meet up with Anastasia for their routine morning jog. He got out of his silver 2005 Volkswagen Passat and made his way down a grassy hill, the closer he was getting to Anastasia he was able to hear her talking. At first he was certain she was talking to herself but eventually he realized she was on the phone. He quietly stood behind her patiently waiting for her to get off the phone. Dorian smirked when Anastasia finally noticed him. “I’ve been here for a good hour.” He whispered not wanting to be rude and interrupt what could be an important conversation. “It’s okay, take your time. I’ll be over there stretching.” Dorian walked a ways in order to give Anastasia her privacy. 

[rock-lobstahh]

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[dorianhoffman]