#And Subway mentioned my lack of a mouth so now I need to post this

[firehouse-subs-fr]

This is ooc but I've been thinking a lot about whether Firehouse has a mouth or not. In Gabe's art (which is the canon design because I said so), their mouth is covered by the turtleneck thing and in the art I drew for the Femboy Hooters uniform I used a scarf to cover where their mouth would possibly be.

But how would they eat if they don't have a mouth? Since they're literally made of fire, do they just toss stuff into their head flame and it burns into fuel for them? Are they literally feeding the fire?? DOES FIREHOUSE HAVE A MOUTH BECAUSE NOT EVEN ME, THE ONE WHO RUNS THIS ACCOUNT, KNOWS

[elliot-soot]

I wrote this based on Jubilee line from your city gave me asthma.

It was supposed to be for school but I'm also gonna post it here cuz I really loved writing it and it is related enough :)

*'----------------------------Jubilee line-----------------------------'*

1007 words

2 hours

its like the clocked had betrayed me. Like it had chosen to run

its thin hands of time just slow enough for me to feel it fade. To feel the rope connecting the

two of us as we moved threw the apartment tether and tie itself to only the objects left

behind.

The words spoken like daggers to the heart and mind stabbing deep and swiftly with no

regard. All missing the line I so desperately hoped would be cut to free the pit in my stomach

and the tightening in my chest.

I wished I could have said it surprised me. I wish I could have described the feeling as a

surprise and a swift cut. But the more I sat, the more we weaved around one and other

without a word as if only to coexist without mention or notice of one and other.

Those daggers if ever to be planted were supposed to uproot my being. Cause me to call

friends desperately trying to piece together what I was unable to build on my own.

But instead, I knew. From the moment you opened your mouth that night. The knives had

been planted, placed, dangerously from minute one. Wavering. Slowly pushing deep within

with every lack of words, lack of feeling, lack of attention drawn from one and other. The

sharp pain wasn’t new or sudden.

I held the door open that night. The apartment dimmed every step you took threw the old

musted and water damaged halls of the cheapest apartment we could find. At the time it was

easy to overlook.

The taste of soil and earth that drained itself, only ever cold from the kitchen sink was

only something I agreed to in haste. In condition. Now the condensation on the glass feels

wasted and irritating as I take labored sips of the stale and potent liquid.

the air that drew threw the cracked windows

always drew in the frigid cold. I tolerated it. On conditions alone. Promises of getting out

together. Now you leave not removed nor untethered from me. connected to the old jacket

you left in the closet, your painting you framed arrogantly and boastfully above the old

stained couch, and the shoes, you left simply because they would never get you where you

needed to go.

It had only been a day. You left to stay in a hotel till the subway could take you where

you needed to go. Yet I still couldn’t figure out why that couldn’t be here.

In this old stale apartment. Littered with only slightly good furniture and appliances.

Filled with cracks and leaks that we would hide behind wall decorations and under rugs.

Where I had spent my night throat sore and raw from yelling questions at the impossibly thin

and un-responding walls. Begging for the reasons you didn’t give me. Didn’t explain.

My lips were left chapped and salted by tears and dehydration as I fall asleep with a

pounding headache and tight chest leaving it hard to breath.

The next thing my dizzying thoughts comprehend is a message, clearly un rehearsed and

unedited written in haste on the way to the station. Sent at 11:58pm. The words spelt wrong

left without punctuation or poetic feelings that you used to weave in so effortlessly with

every seemingly normal and humane message lacking and seemingly unavailable now.

Without second thought my feet on the concrete side walks. Pounding and racing heartily

down deserted and empty walkways once bustling with the people of business that fitted so

seamlessly into the London atmosphere.

My throaty still soar and hoarse my cheeks still wet from the tears shed earlier that night.

Not much earlier. Only leaving for a hour of restless rest.

My legs seem to easily allow me to trip, and plummet distracted by them. Distracted by

what ifs. My knees now dented, bloodied, ruined and broken open and seasoned in the dirt

and dust of the somehow unrelentingly quiet city.

I pick myself up unwillingly. My body seeming to give up. To chose to truly undo what I had tried to desperately to do.

With heavy breath and blood tainting my blemished and beaten knees I continue my now

staggered pursuit of the underground rails.

They were about to leave, about to be gone. They had chosen someone else and yet all I

could do was move forward towards the spaces below the seemingly abandoned city streets.

I clammer down the stairs. It stings. It stings physically, it stings internally. The emotion

wells up in my eyes taking form of salted tears that soil my cheeks but not for the first time

since they had said they needed to leave.

The moist dirty smell so strong it corrodes and taints my palette forcing a cough and a

gage as I race out into the gate.

I see them.

Then I don’t.

The train begins to lurch forward and race its way around from the platform with speed I

could never match. With the person I could never let go. The only thing I can think is how

close they were. The way they had just stepped onto the shuttle to take them away from here.

From me.

How if he had just been quicker, he could have grabbed the edge of their green bomber jacket sleeve and at least said a untainted and genuine goodbye.

One meant to send them off to someone else with my warmest regards and my unwilling

understanding. With my hopes for them to be safe and that they take of themselves even though I wouldn’t be there to see or aid them. To tell them I rather die then wish them ill or

hurt them.

But they were gone.

Down the tunnel.

Gated off and bared just out of reach.

After all.

Maybe there’s a reason London put barriers on the rail.

[spyderlady]

An ‘A+’ but at what cost?

(gif by acclaimedvoid)

note: omg so this is my first ever fic (that im actually posting here lol), a teeny tiny one shot i was itching to write, hehe. loosely based on what i, as a final year uni student, has been going through lately. now im sad because i do not have peter, sigh, anyways enjoy! feedback is very much appreciated but please don't be mean <3

ꗃ pairing: tasm!peter parker x fem!reader

ꗃ warnings: toxic academic validation, mention of skipping meals, mental breakdown but mostly just fluffy peter ♡

ꗃ word count: 936 words

summary: academic validation seeking reader has a breakdown but peter is there to comfort her <3

─────────── ୨ ♡ ୧ ────────────

A very soft sigh escaped your lips as you gazed out of the window. The Professor was going on and on about a very important topic in the syllabus that you had already covered prior to this lecture. You had blocked out his voice, it was like a simple muffle. The fight with Peter in the early hours of the day was what occupied your mind. You had completely indulged yourself in your academics these past few days, which resulted in skipping meals, lack of sleep and isolation from your boyfriend. He decided to confront you regarding your self-destructive behaviours which made you lash out at him. You were working so hard to attain perfection, but at what cost? You loved him and you knew damn well he was right.

You liked to stay ahead when it came to your academics, but that's exactly what had brought you here; exhausted, burned out. Peter was right, it was toxic; treating yourself this way, pushing yourself so hard. But you knew this day would've come, someday, it was inevitable. You were absolutely weary and miserable, all you wished at this moment was to go home, to see him, to be around him, to apologise to him regarding your acid tone earlier that day.

"That will be all for today. Please collect your test sheet before leaving. You are dismissed," The Professor ended the lecture, leaving the room. You slowly got up, almost dragging your sore body and picked up your backpack, slinging it over one shoulder carefully. You collected your test and exited the lecture hall quickly. An 'A+' as usual. It didn't surprise you, honestly, but it didn't enlighten you in the slightest either. An 'A+' but at what cost? You sighed before shoving the test in your backpack and leaving campus.

It was chilly outside, the leaves were painted in shades of warm hues, fall had arrived at New York. You shuddered, the thin cardigan wasn't doing you any favours. You quickly paced out the gate to make your way to the subway, but as soon as you turned around the corner, you saw him. His big doe-eyes locked on you through his glasses. Warm, filled with welcoming, comforting affection that you desperately needed at this very moment. A soft smile appeared on his lips as he took in your image. He pulled the wired earphones out of his ears and quickly walked over where you stood frozen.

"Hey, love," he whispered, gently cupping your cheek with his warm hand. His long thumb caressed your flushed skin.

"Peter, I'm so sor-" your lips quivered but he cut you off quickly by placing his thumb on your lips.

"I know. You don't have to say anything. I sensed that you needed me so I had to come. I cannot see you this way, suffering, being miserable," he replied.

A tear rippled down your cheek as your mouth shivered under his thumb. You removed his hand gently to speak, "I- I just...I should've listened to you but the thought of perfection, the thought of being the best consumed me so much that it blinded me and I-"

"Shhh shhh," without letting you speak anymore, he cut you off again, grabbing your arms tightly and pulling you closer. "I know, those grades, I know they matter to you. But you, you matter to me more and you're smart so you must understand that. You are already the best, my most perfect Y/N. You do not need a random letter on a piece of paper to prove anything to anyone, my love."

Your face had reddened at this point, completely soaked by the stream of tears racing down your checks. Peter had cupped your face with both his hands now, his skin felt cool against your burning one. He wiped your cheeks with both his thumbs. Peter was always so nice to you. When you were around, that's what mattered to him the most. And he would go to any lengths to see you at your best.

"You will be the best but not at the cost of your well-being. You must sleep a minimum of 6 hours, eat three fulfilling meals and indulged yourself in a hobby everyday. Do you understand?" he said, in a demanding voice.

You had nothing to say, you knew he was right and you were gonna listen to him because he mattered to you more than those grades. You loved him and you felt guilty for not showing your affection as often as the warm, mushy feeling you had when he was around.

You sighed and nodded, your lips curling up in a mellow smile. He smiled as well and leaned down, placing a warm kiss on your lips. And then another and another till the two of you were out of breath. You realised how much you missed this while you hyperfixated on your academics. You craved this so much. This, him. He truly made you feel alive.

He had so much pride in you, it was showing on his pretty face. On top of that, he was giddy because he was successful in his plan. Overjoyed, he asked, "So...how about we start with grabbing coffee and donuts? Oh, and plot twist, you cannot say no," he smiled smugly, it almost turning into a smirk. You just nodded with a smile.

"That's my girl," he whispered, leaning forward and placing a gentle kiss on your forehead. "Let's go," he added, tightly intertwining his slender fingers with yours, almost as though he wasn't gonna let go of you any time soon or ever.

[simmerandwrite]

strangers - steve rogers x reader

Warnings: mentions of sexual harassment and non-consensual touching, swearing.

Word count: 4870

Pairing: Steve Rogers x Reader

Summary: When your subway ride home takes a turn for the worst, you hope a stranger in a coffee shop will help you out.

Notes: If you saw a snippet of this the other day, here’s the full thing! I wanted to tackle some ‘in need of saving’ tropes and this just sort of happened. I’ve never posted straight up on Tumblr before but I’m a bit lacking in my experience with reader fics, so I figured this was a good place to share it. no beta, any mistakes are my own! If you like it, let me know - thanks for reading!

—

Steve Rogers liked his days off. Not that he had a set schedule week to week anyway but when things aligned correctly, he could do whatever he wanted. No world saving, no training, no report writing, no meetings.

He had scoped out a small little coffee shop in Brooklyn where he liked to spend these quiet afternoons. Usually with a book in hand (he had so many books to catch up on) or some music loaded to his phone (Nat was currently educating him on 90s punk rock) or a notebook and pencil. People watching served as wonderful inspiration to sketch.

He sipped his cappuccino, eyes tipped downward at the book ahead of him on the table. He was interrupted just moments later as someone dropped into the chair across from him.

Now, Steve wasn’t intentionally hiding out at this hole-in-the-wall cafe. But he did put on his laughable disguise still - a beaten up Yankees cap and his prescription-less thick framed glasses. He liked the anonymity. That didn’t always stop people from recognizing him.

As he opened his mouth to question the person who was suddenly joining him for coffee, she slid her phone across the table to him. Her hand shook. His eyebrows flexed into a curious frown as he looked at the screen displaying a plainly typed note:

‘Do you mind if I sit someone is following me home sorry to disturb you’

—

As if your day hadn’t been absolutely terrible enough, you spotted the gremlin of a man on the subway watching you again. You knew he worked somewhere in the same office building as you because he always trailed a few paces behind you when pushing through the revolving doors in the lobby. It wasn’t uncommon to see the same people on the same subway line at the same time every day, but this man’s presence had become an unwanted downside.

He was always there. Worse than that, he seemed to be always watching you. Today, it was even more obvious that he was following you.

When that thought first occurred to you, it had been really easy to shrug off. He was just a guy taking the subway. But when he happened to be on the later train with you one day, an uncomfortable feeling settled in your stomach.

And now, as the car was filling up even more after the second stop in DUMBO, he had moved to stand and put himself even closer to you.

You had been going through so many Next Steps. God, that phrase was the bane of your existence. Next steps, next steps..

Maybe you could tell him to fuck off. You could make an appointment with Leanna in HR and see if there is a way to figure out the name of this guy - though he didn’t work for your company so that was likely going to be a dead end. You could start taking the bus to the village before grabbing the train. Maybe you could Uber home some days instead of taking the subway. Not that you could afford that but this guy was..

You stiffened immediately.

This guy was touching you. In the midst of the crowded subway car, he was pressed against you entirely. And was he.. His hips were moving against your leg and.. Wait, that was two hands on your hips now.. Hot breath whispered against your neck and -

Fuck.

You threw yourself through the mob as the train came to a stop. With hurried feet you ran onto the platform and up the stairs, doing your best to weave through the flow of people, like a fish trying to make it upstream. You tried not to be obvious but as you snapped your head over your shoulders to look back, you saw him there again.

He was smirking. No, snarling.

Next steps, next steps.

You joined a sea of people crossing the street, taking your first left to try and steer yourself into a particular direction. You were still a far walk from your apartment but with this man on your heels, you didn’t want to lead him anywhere near there.

You grabbed your phone from your jacket pocket, unlocking it quickly and scrolling through the contacts. Surely there had to be someone you could call but even then, what could they do? Offer advice?

It didn’t occur to you until then but would it be valuable to call the cops?

Despite the late day sunlight, you suddenly felt very aware of the emptiness of the sidewalk on that side street. You needed to be around people. It definitely wasn’t logical to be anywhere near alone with this guy and -

It sounded like his footsteps were getting closer. With a panicked gulp, you yanked on the door of a little hole-in-the-wall cafe. Your eyes scanned the space quickly once you were inside. You probably shouldn’t sit alone, you couldn’t run to the bathroom if you aren’t sure where it is or if you needed a key. There were too many variables.

You needed something. Next steps..

You spotted someone sitting at a small table near the window and without thinking, you sent out a silent prayer to whoever might be listening and you rushed over. The man was clearly alone, a half consumed ceramic mug of coffee sitting to the right of his book.

Swallowing hard, you quickly typed on your phone and slid it across the table to him after you sat. You tried your best to stay very calm and hoped that he would play along. God, what if he didn’t play along and -

Behind you, the door chimed once more and you desperately wanted to see if it was that man - if the gremlin had followed you inside. You clasped your hands together in your lap and forced a smile on as you looked at the stranger sitting across from you.

Despite not knowing him, there was a familiarity about his appearance. Behind his thick glasses, soft blue eyes searched you carefully. His eyes flicked to the screen once more, stiffening in his chair as he looked past you towards the rest of the cafe.

With his right hand, he reached into the inside pocket of his coat and took out a small notebook and a pen. He scribbled something quickly and turned the page towards you.

Are you hurt?

You shook your head quickly. He offered you a tight smile and wrote once more.

Buzzcut, grey jacket?

Your eyes blew open wide and you tilted your head into a nod.

I’m Steve

He flipped the notebook closed and extended his hand across the table, palm facing up. He leaned forward just slightly, meeting your eyes with a reassuring smile. “Play along.”

Your eyes flicked to his hand and you slowly unclamped your own, grabbing his on the table instead. He was doing an impressive job splitting his attention between you and his surroundings, eyes scanning the room. He squeezed your hand very gently, brushing his thumb against your knuckles.

“Tell me about your day.”

You sucked in a hard breath. You weren’t entirely sure what his strategy was but something told you this guy was in your corner. Though despite that, you could feel another set of eyes on you.

“Uh,” you started quietly, letting the air escape your lungs. “Surprisingly, I didn’t think it could get worse before I got on the subway after work. I had a review meeting that was not great and we had a free catered lunch that was not vegetarian friendly. Missed an important email and deadline and… well, here I am whining about it and interrupting your day. Listen, I’m going to-

You moved to stand up but Steve shook his head, grasping your hand. “Give it a few more minutes, I think he’ll give up and leave.”

His words were casual but had an authoritative tone. Once more his eyes left you, looking towards the front of the cafe. He raised his free hand and motioned to one of the baristas. You weren’t certain if this was the type of place who served people at their seats but clearly he had a comfortable rapport as the young girl approached with a warm smile on her face.

“Hey Tia, could I get another?”

“Anything for you?” The barista turned her head as she asked, pony tail moving from side to side.

“Uhm.” You paused and thought. You certainly had no desire to even consider a coffee order when you felt someone’s linger gaze boring into you. “A decaf con panna, if that’s possible.” The girl confirmed it was with a nod then left the table side.

“Con panna?” Steve’s lips pulled into a curious smirk. Something about his smile calmed you.

“Espresso with whipped cream on top,” you answered. “Short and sweet.”

“I’ll have to try that next time.”

Steve sure had a soothing smile. When his thumb stopped tracing against your palm - when did that even start? - you felt an empty sadness about the loss. Wow, what did that even say about your standards when a stranger was brushing his thumb against your hand that you were so grateful for? Well, it was a thousand times better than someone rubbing his -

You winced at the memory, biting down as you clutched your bottom lip between your teeth. Though that shameful feeling hadn’t disappeared, you managed to keep it at bay. But now, it seemed to have left an image you were unable to blink away.

The sweet smell of whipped cream and the shuffling of paper cups broke you from your trance. You reached for your bag to fish out a few dollars but when you looked up, Steve was waving a hand to stop you.

It’s not that you didn’t appreciate his kindness. You did. You really, really did. But given the last half hour, you still had a hard time settling your nervous mind.

“Thanks, Tia.” Steve’s eyes were jumping around the place as the barista grabbed the cash he offered. A loud stomp of footsteps drew their attention as the Subway Gremlin saddled up beside the table.

“Sorry to be a bother, darlin’ - any chance I can borrow your phone?”

You couldn’t help but look at him. Though his words were directed at the barista, he made a point to glance over at you.

You felt Steve’s hands grip yours. When you looked towards him, his eyes were very carefully watching the man. How did he manage to -

“Sorry, we don’t have a dedicated line available to customers.” Tia politely shook her head, pointing towards the door. “There’s a CityBank up the street that can help you, I’m sure.” She shrugged and headed back to the coffee counter.

The man stood still, opening his mouth to argue.

Steve sat back, shoulders broad and steady. “Did you need directions there? I think it’s just two blocks. Maybe 500 paces.” His tone was flat. “Just out the door and you’ll be on your way.”

You kept your eyes on Steve. He kept his stare directed at the man. Finally, after what felt like hours of waiting, the man moved his feet. He turned on his heel, though not before stopping to look at you again.

“I will see you tomorrow, dar-

Steve released your hand and pushed his chair back, standing quickly and grasping the man’s shoulder.

Steve towered over him. “You have five seconds.” The man pulled away from Steve’s grip then finally stomped away. You kept your eyes tightly shut until you heard the chime of the bell indicating the movement of the door. Then, you collapsed onto your arms on the edge of the table.

Steve, meanwhile, headed to the door and kept watch for a few more moments to ensure the man actually departed from the area. Then, he stopped at the counter and exchanged a few words with Tia before returning you.

You were still doing your best to encourage the floor to open up and swallow you whole. How had this even escalated? The worst part was your mind seemed clouded with doubt. This man, you hadn’t even interacted with him before. Why was he suddenly so invested in you? To a point where he might follow you home? Were you just another target or had this been intentional?

You considered yourself a fairly observant person and yet..

You twisted your hands together in your lap and tried to consider what was going to happen now. Next steps, next steps..

“Hey.” Steve returned to his chair. Your eyes flicked up towards him, noticing he was sliding a bottle of water towards you. Your sad little espresso and whipped cream treat was deflated next to it. “Are you okay?”

You reached for the water bottle, twisting the cap open and taking a long drink. “I don’t know.” Chewing on your bottom lip, you shook your head. “No, actually. I’m not. It somehow feels like my skin is on fire and my lungs are failing me and I’m sweaty but I’m not and - and -

“Hey, hey. Look at me.” Steve spoke so calmly and evenly. “Just take a slow breath with me, okay?” You closed your eyes once more and followed his instructions as he walked you through a few breathing exercises. “That’s great, you’re doing great-

When he stopped speaking so quickly, you opened one eye to look over at him. His cheeks were a warm shade of pink and his mouth was twisted into a frown. “What?”

“It just occurred to me I didn’t get your name.” He paused, as if to consider his next thought. “Although, given what just happened with that man, you are under no obligation to tell me anything about yourself. I just.. I’d like to help.”

His genuine concern for you was surprising. You allowed a small smile to stretch across your face. “You’re very nice, Steve.”

You gave him your name and he smiled back, repeating it to himself. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Your smile turned downwards when you looked towards your phone. “I should probably get going. Again, I’m really sorry for dragging you into this mess but I appreciate the… solace.” You took a deep breath and pushed your chair back, pausing to tip the lukewarm espresso into your mouth. “I owe you one.”

You winced when you heard yourself and sighed. Why did you say that? This stranger, this friendly, broad shouldered, tall, handsome stranger who’s day you interrupted, did not need your weird backhanded flirting. In fact, even though every signal in your brain seemed on edge after, well, everything, the only thing that seemed to ground you now was the kindness of Steve. So you tried to will yourself not to ruin it with any additional commentary.

You weren’t entirely sure what had driven you down this particular street into this particular cafe and towards this particular man. But, you were certainly grateful. “Actually, do they have gift cards here? I’d love to buy you one to say thank you and -

“Are you going to walk? Wherever you’re going right now?” When you looked over, you saw that Steve had stood, too. You saw his eyes move towards the door and the far windows up the street where the man from the subway had gone. “I don’t want to overstep but I hope you’ll let me walk you home. Or far enough away to have cleared his radar.”

“I feel like I’ve already wasted enough of your time, Steve.” You truly felt worse and worse for interrupting his afternoon.

“Please, I insist.” Steve tilted his head, half a smirk on his lips. “You just said you owe me one, so. I’m cashing in the favour.”

“The favour repayment you’re cashing in is.. you doing me another favour? Do you know how favours are supposed to work?” Admittedly, you knew you would feel a lot safer having someone walk home with you. And something about Steve made you feel very secure, his presence like a comforting shield.

“C’mon,” Steve replied with a laugh, nudging his head towards the door.

When you stepped onto the sidewalk, you stopped to think. “Let’s go this way.” You turned to the right and Steve followed, staying on your shoulder closest to the street. You walked in a comfortable silence - which made you nervous at first. Then, as your steps fell into a pattern, the quiet soothed you.

You pushed your hands into the pockets of your jacket as you turned down the next block. You looked over at Steve, who turned his head towards you as you shifted. “You didn’t ask anything else about the man.. Who followed me.”

A quiet hum came from Steve. “I didn’t think I should. You seemed shaken up enough.” He shrugged, peering down at you through his glasses. “If you want to talk about it..”

“I work in this big office building in Midtown. The Clifton building?”

Steve motioned his hand diagonally. “Little bagel place downstairs? That’s right down from The Avengers tower, isn’t it?”

You nodded along. Right. Stark Tower was The Avengers Tower, now. It was the most iconic landmark on that block. “Yes. Actually, I work on the 40th floor, which makes for a great angle to see Iron Man coming in.” Your smile was fleeting when you continued on. “It’s a huge building. I work in human resources for this pharmaceutical company.. But there’s a law firm in there, too. Insurance companies, start ups.. Hundreds of people in and out all day long. Yet, that man on the subway has managed to..” You stopped yourself before your chest got too tight. “Let’s just say I’ve seen him around before.”

“Do you know his name?”

“That’s the thing!” You couldn’t help but laugh now, shaking your head in dumbfounded confusion. “No. I have no idea who he is. But he often gets on the same subway line as me, watches me from across the crowd then today..” You stopped and dragged a hand down your face. “It’s a sad truth but I would say most of my friends have been.. Touched inappropriately on the subway before. I guess it’s a weird right of passage or something..”

“Wait - what?” Steve stopped in his tracks and reached his hand out to grab yours. You stopped and looked up at his eyes, somehow both soft and dark with concern. “He touched you? What do you mean?”

You raised an eyebrow, wondering if his ask was authentic. When you saw the disappointment in his face, eyes flooded with something you couldn’t quite pinpoint, you realized his reaction was genuine. You opened your mouth to explain but suddenly it seemed impossible to find the words.

Steve let go of your hand as he absorbed your lack of response and reached for his phone. “You can file a police report, right?”

“No, no.” You stopped him, placing your hand on his as he held his phone. “Trust me, that’s just paperwork that goes nowhere. Without the guy's name, absolutely nothing would come from it anyway.” You shook your head. “It’s fine, really. I might just adjust my work hours and change my route home for a few weeks. Maybe he’ll give up.”

Steve muttered something to himself, shaking his head. His face shifted from concern to something else, like his brain was working on a different trail of thoughts. He spoke your name quietly, drawing your attention to him again. “I’m sorry that happened to you.”

Steve’s kindness was a strange contrast to the entire experience on the subway. How one man could have such questionable intentions while another apologizes with sincerity for it was nearly jarring. Although, it did suddenly occur to you that Steve was just as much of a stranger.

“The worst part is.. men like that sever any opportunity for trust in other people. Especially blind trust. Like me telling you, a stranger, where I work and walking you to where I live. Funny enough though - every wire in my brain should be telling me not to and how it was a bad idea but.. I guess there is something about you.”

Steve sucked in a breath, eyes wide as he considered his response. “When you walked into the coffee shop, you could have asked the barista for help or tried to hide out in the bathroom. But you sat next to me instead. How come?”

“Honestly, I don’t know. Like I said, there's just something about you, Steve.”

You walked in silence again, feet falling into a pattern once more. The sky was growing darker, the air cooler. After crossing the street again, you looked at him. “How do you feel about Prezio being traded to the Orioles?” You reached out and tipped up the brim of his Yankees hat. “A tragedy, right?”

A quiet laugh escaped him as he tipped his head. “I think it was a huge mistake. Don’t you think we’ve had a hard enough year as it is?” Your silence was filled with baseball talk instead and it seemed to put both of you at ease.

“This is me.” You stopped outside of a short apartment complex, pointing a thumb to the door.

Steve smiled, one hand in the pocket of his jacket as he studied you. Was this it? After the wild rollercoaster of emotions you had spilled onto him in the last hour, parting with nothing else seemed empty. Lacking. He opened his mouth and closed it, once then twice.

Finally, you cut in. “Thanks again, Steve. Really. If you hadn’t played along and scared him away.. well, I’m not sure where I would be right now. It means a lot that you cared enough about a stranger to make sure I was safe.”

Steve sighed out your name. “I’m sorry your barometer for kindness is so low.”

You sighed. “Yeah, me too.” Part of you wanted to do something. Say something else. Linger a tiny bit longer. But your feet shuffled and your hand reached for the door. “Have a good night, Steve.”

—

“I need a favour.”

“Well, good morning to you, sunshine. Did you lock yourself out of your computer again? FRIDAY can help with that.”

“Tony, this is serious.”

“Okay, okay. I recognize that scowl. How can I help you?”

“If I provided you some video footage from a security camera, can we track someone down? Figure out who they are? For full transparency, it’s just a civilian.”

“Sounds like we’re operating outside of the law, Rogers. Can you provide me with more context? I don’t mind the grey area - I just like the drama, too.”

Steve sighed, then reluctantly explained himself. The cafe. Your panicked message. The stalker of a man. The way you dismissed it all as a normal, unfortunate side effect of existing as a woman. His barista friend provided him with camera footage but he wasn’t sure it was enough.

Tony pinched between his eyes. “Men are scum. And I say that as someone in the practice of trying to be better. Recovering scum, if you will. I’ll see what I can do. FRIDAY, how quietly can we get into the security database at the Clifton building?”

—

Although you hadn’t lied to Steve, it occurred to you on your journey home that your guard should remain up. Which is why you had actually allowed him to walk you to your aunt’s apartment, instead of your own. She was happy to see you burst through the door and insisted you stay for dinner. That was a tiny silver lining to the whole mess.

The next day though, the thought of going into work was suffocating. So you opted to spend the day working from home instead, which your boss had been agreeable to, at least. One day rolled into two and you successfully avoided the office building until the following Monday. But then, you needed a plan. Next steps, next steps.

You took an Uber to the office early and left late at the end of the day, leaving out the back stairway and crossing a few blocks to take a different subway line home. It was unfortunate you had to cater your life to the chance you would run into this goon again, but your sense of security was slowly returning. That had to count for something.

Things shifted later that week. There was a sudden new policy sent out to all the staff in your office outlining new building ownership and training about sexual harassment policies.

“It’s a long time coming,” you heard someone mutter out in the elevator as you headed down towards the lobby.

“Guess Tony Stark just wants to own the whole block,” their coworker chirped back, pulling to loosen his tie.

There was even more commotion when you exited the elevator and walked towards the large glass doors. A team of NYPD officers were standing outside, shoving someone in the back of their cruiser. Your eyes narrowed. You couldn’t be certain but from that angle, you certainly recognized the bad buzzcut. Your eyes darted around the lobby anxiously and across the room, a small crowd of suits and officers had formed near..

Tony Stark, himself.

Before you could even try to understand what was going on, you heard someone calling your name. You turned your head and saw someone who looked a lot like -

“Steve?” You took a few steps towards him, pausing to glance from him back at Tony Stark and.. “Oh my god. You’re Steve Rogers. Why didn’t you say something?”

Captain America had walked you home. Hidden behind glasses and a hat. And you always considered yourself observant.

Steve just smirked, shrugging a shoulder. “I didn’t think it was important.”

You couldn’t help but smile. “Should I be thanking you for all of this chaos?”

Steve furrowed his brow in mock confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, maybe I’m extrapolating here but the same day my subway stalker gets taken away in cuffs, Stark Industries buys out this building and mandates a new policy and code of conduct.”

Steve pursed his lips, swallowing back a mischievous smirk. “Here’s the thing. It occurred to me that your best choice of action after that day was changing your entire life to avoid that man. And I couldn’t help but think about how broken that system was.”

You sighed. It had occurred to you, too. While you were relieved to shake the man from your trail, your mind considered he would probably turn his attention to someone else. And that wouldn’t be fair.

“Well, Cap. Job well done. That scum of a man had priors in Jersey, too.” Tony Stark himself had walked to where you and Steve stood. His hand clapped on Steve’s shoulder. “You’re at least going to ask her out, right? I mean, I bought an entire building for you - make a move, pal.”

Steve flushed pink and you couldn’t help but do the same.

“I’m getting a bagel. You want a bagel?” Tony raised an eyebrow from you to Steve again, smiling proudly.

“I’m good. I recommend the poppy seed though!” You called as Tony flitted away, narrowly avoiding a proper looking blonde woman who seemed very tired.

You turned your attention back to Steve. “He seems like a lot.”

“He is.” Steve nodded, motioning his hand. “I know it’s only one thing, maybe a ripple in making a difference but.. I’m hoping one less inappropriate person on the subway can give you peace of mind.”

You smiled again. Though you had seen many appearances by Captain America on the news, seeing the man in person was different. It seemed Steve Rogers walked the walk. After parting ways with him before, though he had crossed your mind, you didn’t anticipate your menial issues leading to this.

“Thanks. Really. Even one person makes a difference.” You reached out and touched his arm. “Thank you, Steve.”

“I’m sorry about Tony, though. His comments about asking you out and.. that certainly wasn’t my goal here.”

“I don’t know. You just did me a huge favour getting rid of that gremlin. I think I owe you.”

Steve caught your cheeky smile and stood up a bit straighter. “Well, in that case, the Yankees are playing the Sox tomorrow night. Tony never uses his tickets and the seats aren’t half bad. What do you say?”

“You’re cashing in this favour to take me on a date? Usually people ask for help moving or a ride to the airport or something.” You let out a dramatic sigh. “Sure. I guess you can take me to the game, Steve. If you ask politely, I’ll probably even hold your hand.”

After work the next day, Steve met you outside and you took the subway together to the stadium. You knew this wasn’t the end of it for you or anyone else worried about their personal boundaries being crossed. But, as you gripped the subway pole and your fingers grazed against Steve’s, you could finally breathe again. For the first time in a while, you weren’t anticipating next steps.

It was just you and the kind stranger from the coffee shop.

[romantic-barnes]

strawberry & tape | part six

| part six - take a shot, cherry schnapps |

Pairings: dark!biker!bucky x reader

Summary: Bucky Barnes has the town in his hands and a lot of blood. All you have is a cafe your mother left you after her passing. But as Bucky’s attention moves to you, do you have the strength to pay revenge for his wrongdoings? Does your push into the dark paradise end in love or blood?

Warnings: mention of suicide, possessiveness, violence This is dark bucky! please don’t read if you are uncomfortable with any of the topics mentioned above!  

A/N: I know this is a little short but believe me it’s worth it. The next part will be the last and I cannot wait to show you how it ends! Please don’t read if you are under 18! 

Dividers by @whimsicalrogers​

'Cause if we don't leave this town We might never make it out I was not born to drown Baby come on 

It was early when you woke. Eyes opening heavily, focused on the window. You sensed the emptiness beside you, but fear still struck, soaring through your veins. You rolled onto your back, head slowly turning to find Bucky gone from beside you. But you knew he was just there mere minutes ago, his perfume lingering on the sheets, swirling in the air. 

You dressed yourself, washed your face and walked out of the room. The dining room looked like a distant nightmare to you, but this time the chairs were empty; except for one: Bucky’s. He sat with his arm resting on the table, shovelling food into his mouth. The floor beneath you creaked as you stepped further into the room, a betrayal from the house with love. Bucky’s head rose, gaze roaming over your body.

You sat opposite him, afraid to move too fast. Bucky’s eyes met yours briefly before travelling down your arm to your hand laying atop the wood. A smile creeping onto his face at the sight of the diamond adorning your finger. His proud prize, his bride to be.

You ate in silence with the eyes of Bucky following your every move, the plate clearing of food painfully slow. Once you finished, you rose from your seat trying to find the words but as your eyes met his, every single word you’ve ever known escaped, fled from your head. Bucky’s eyebrows raised at your silence, arms resting beside the plate. “Everything alright, darling?” He asked curiously, but you caught the sarcasm.

You nodded, opening your mouth. “I’m going into work today.” Your mouth tasted like cardboard. “Darling.”

Bucky’s eyes lit up, a flash of silver in his iris. “Good for you. It’s important to be busy. You might want to look for someone to take over the cafe though. Better start looking now before it’s too late.”

Your breath caught itself in your throat. “Why?” You squeaked out.

“Because once we have children you won’t be able to take care of a business. I need you here full time. Take care of my offspring and the house, then it will be your responsibility.” 

The thought alone frightened you. This house wasn’t a home, its wasn’t a place for children to grow up and you knew that no one should grow up having Bucky as a father. A man so wicked and demonic it was impossible to imagine him running around town with a baby in his arms. The possibility of him killing the child was too high and him strangling you in your sleep was way too possible.

You started to see the cafe with your mother’s eyes. The first glance, shiny and cute, fading with every blink. The paint chipping at the corners, chairs crooked and the smell of your mothers dead body in the back slowly making it’s way through the vents. 

You got everything ready for opening, but your mind was anxious about Mrs Wilson’s arrival, eyes jumping to the door in hopes to see her walking up the stairs, but she wasn’t there. Hours and hours went by and no sight of her. The possibility of an escape became slippy, flowing through your dry hands. 

You stared out of the window, lips parted and chapped. Your breath the only prove that you’re alive, the rising and falling of your chest, shaky but there. The beating of your heart confirming the life inside you, but the rest of your body was still, limb. Outside the sun was shining, rays of sunlight flowing through the trees, passing branches on the way down to the ground. 

The sound of the clock brought you back to life. Time. You looked over at it, hope further slipping between your fingers. It was time to clean up. Like you were in trance you started your routine but movement from the corner of your right eye surprised you. 

And there she was. Mrs Wilson climbed the stairs to the door and as the bell rang she stepped inside dressed in blue. Her eyes met yours and her face lit up. “Y/n, good to see you.” She stood in front of you. “Sorry for being so late I was held up by Stephen at the post office he- are you alright?”

You shook your head slightly to focus. Her eyes staring into yours with worry. “I- yes I’m fine. Just worried you wouldn’t come that’s it.”

“You look sick.”

You wiped your forehead, the back of your hand coating in sweat. “I just want to know that your plan is going to work.”

Mrs Wilson reached over the counter to place her hand on your shoulder. “Sadly I can’t promise anything, but it’s worth a try. The plan is safe as long as it stays between us.” Her lips curled to a reassuring smile but worry still found it’s way into your blood, flowing through my arms and down my legs. “So you agree to it? You’ll be there?”

You simply nodded your head. 

“Alright. On Saturday you are going to work just like you did today, at one fourty-five you’ll leave but make sure you keep everything as it is. That means lights on, food still on display. You have to take Elsberg street instead of Köpenick street, it’s that weirs smelling ally to the right.You’ll come out to the back of Magnolia Flowers and that’s where he’ll meet you.”

“Does he know that I’m escaping?”

“No, he just thinks he’s giving you a ride to the city to visit family. Once you’re in the city though, my friend Ally will take you in, she owns a pet store in the east and will take you there.”

You swallow thickly. This plan required you to leave not only Dawn, but also move to the other side of the country. 

You started cleaning up as soon as Mrs Wilson left and a sense of hope lit within you, a light sparking in you heart. You turned off the lights  in the back and heard the bell chimed gain thinking it was Mrs Wilson gain you walked to the front, but instead of her it was Bucky standing in the middle of the cafe. 

He stood there with flowers in his hands and as you approached him you thought the light within you would die, but it didn’t. It kept on burning.

“Come one, darling.” Bucky handed you the flowers and gestured for you to leave. While you walked towards his bike, Bucky’s demeanour frightened you. What if he heard you and Mrs Wilson talk? As if the walls turned to linnen, thin enough to hear the words of betrayal in his ears. 

Your couldn’t read his face as you sat behind him on his bike, flowers in one hand and the other holding on to his body for dear life. The houses passed you with speed, wind blowing beneath the helmet and all seemed so easy. You had no idea where Bucky was going but you didn’t care about that either. Tomorrow was coming and with the sun lowering behind Dawn you were reassured it was. 

The calm of knowing that you will be gone from here. 

Bucky came to a stop and you looked at the destination ahead of you. A small bar with motorcycles standing all around it. The neon sign flickering with every letter. With the flowers in hand you walked behind Bucky into the gloomy atmosphere, a change of scenery from the dull environment you were usually in. A place foreign to you. 

Bucky led you through the room to a table full of familiar faces. You didn’t know their names nor did you need to. A quick glance from everyone and you sat down, laying the flowers atop the table.

Bucky ordered round after round, encouraging you to take a drink as well, but you knew you needed a good nights sleep for tomorrow. So Bucky and the other Howling Commandos kept their stomachs full of beer and the air full of words. You sat quietly, observing the people around you until someone mentioned your name.

“Are those flowers from Magnolia? Bucky you’re a gentlemen.” Your head turned to the flowers on the table and it was true. They are from Magnolia flowers. Lana. She worked there. 

“Yes, they are.” Bucky’s arm swung around your shoulders. “Best flower shop in town.”

Your chest tightened at the mention. You looked at Bucky and his smirk stopped the blood flowing through your veins. It was intentional. It has to be. Satanic. That’s the only word you could describe his intention. Bucky’s lack of sympathy and the maniacal actions he had shown you over the moths you’ve known him were driving you to near insanity. He was mad.

You looked back at the flowers, staring at their petals of red and yellow. “I want to go.” You murmured.

“What was that?” Bucky asked.

“Can we please go?” Your gaze met his and Bucky travelled your face, a smirk forming on his lips. 

“Sure, darling.” Bucky said and rose from his seat. You took the flowers from the table and took one last look at the group, hoping that this would be the last picture of them in your mind. 

As you made it to the house Bucky walked ahead of you, up the stairs to his room. You found it strange since he never goes to bed with you at the same time. You entered the room, placing the flowers on the table and heading straight to the bathroom to get ready for bed, but Bucky’s hand stopped you. 

He turned you around with one swift move, the look in his eyes making the blood shoot straight to your head. 

“Get on your knees.”

If the sun don't shine on me today And if the subways flood and bridges break Will you lay yourself down and dig your grave Or will you rail against your dying day

[ next ]

[ taglist closed ]

[spencersstrawberryjello]

Inside Scoop (Chapter One)

Chapter One - The Greatest Regret of my Life

Previous Chapter < - > Next Chapter

Chapter Summary: Dahlia Silvers is on her way to work when she makes a horrifying discovery that will change her life... and lead to her getting tangled up with the Behavioral Analysis Unit.

Chapter Warnings: Swearing, descriptions of corpse (violent death), police interactions (please let me know if I missed anything)

Word Count: 2417

A/N: Yay new story!! Ok, two quick things I need to mention before we get into it: one, I have absolutely no clue about the roads in DC and I merely listed two ones that I knew were on a corner. And two: I also have no clue where the Washington Post office is, and am not trying to make any claims about the company in any way, it’s just a reputable news place in DC so I wanted to use it for the story (please don’t sue me Jeff Bezos). Ok that’s all - hope you enjoy!! :)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was raining.

I knew we were supposed to get a short shower this morning, but I still groaned as I walked out into the disgusting downpour bombarding the streets of DC.

The only positive thing about days like this was the lack of people on the sidewalk. Generally everyone was dashing to the subway before they could get too soaked, but I only lived a few blocks from work. So I elected to walk.

Usually, that was fine. I had my umbrella, and I got into the office in about fifteen minutes, give or take a few. After that I got my writing assignments for that day within ten, and I got to work.

Usually.

The smell hit me first. Initially, I thought it was just rotten fruit, or something similar that someone had thrown out, but the closer I got the more it smelled rancid, impossible to describe.

The next thing I noticed was the bag.

The woman’s purse had been thrown from her hand. Or maybe it had fallen, I had no way of knowing. All I knew was that I saw it sitting on the sidewalk at the mouth of the alleyway I was about to walk past.

One of the greatest regrets of my life was picking up that purse.

Because when I picked it up, I had to turn and see who it belonged to. And that’s when I saw her.

I wasn’t sure how long the blood had been pooled around her body, but it was dried on the concrete. Her head was twisted at an unnatural angle, revealing the deep slash wound across her throat. Her hands were bloodied, and I had no way of knowing if it was her blood or someone else’s. All I knew was that this woman was dead, and there was no way in hell it was due to natural causes.

The combination of the sight in front of me and the smell of decay permeating the air sent a wave of nausea through my body, and my eyes watered as I turned away, vomiting on the sidewalk not far from where the woman laid. I fumbled to pull my phone out of my pocket, my hands shaking as I dialed 911.

“911 what’s your emergency?”

“Someone’s dead. It’s a woman, she - I was on my way to work, and I just found her - holy shit…”

“Ok ma’am, I’m going to need you to calm down please, everything will be ok. Can you tell us where you are right now?”

“Yeah, yes,” I forced myself to breathe, stepping out to the edge of the sidewalk in an attempt to read the street sign in front of me. “Right by the corner of 9th and G Street NW. There’s an alley a few feet away from the intersection. She’s…” I turned back to the woman’s body for a moment before forcing my eyes away again. “I don’t know what happened. It looks bad, I -”

“It’s ok ma’am. What is your name?”

“Dahlia. Dahlia Silvers.”

“Ok Dahlia. Is there anyone else with you? Or around you?”

I scanned my surroundings before responding shakily, “No.”

“Is the woman alive?”

“No.” I don’t know of anybody who could survive their throat being slashed.

“Ok. A team is on their way, but I need you to stay calm for me, ok?”

I nodded, despite the fact that she couldn’t see me. “Alright.”

“Good. Can you stay on the scene so that investigators can speak with you when they arrive?”

My first thought was that I was going to be late for work. It’s actually kind of funny, in retrospect, how unimportant that is compared to the discovery I just made. But the thought was still there.

“I think this would be a valid reason to call in sick.” I replied. The woman on the other end of the phone laughed lightly.

“Yes, I think it would. Would you like me to stay on the phone with you until the team arrives?”

“No, I’m just… I’m going to walk away a bit? Is that ok? I can’t… I mean, I’ve seen pictures and videos of stuff like this, but I didn’t think it would be so -”

“As long as you’re nearby, everything should be fine. It’s understandable that you would need to move away from the body.”

“Ok. Ok,” I took in another deep breath, “I’m ok.”

“A team should be there in a couple of minutes.”

The line went dead, and I sunk down against the wall of the building by the alley, far enough away that the smell of death couldn’t follow me. I felt like it was in my clothes, in my hair; for a second I thought I was going to throw up again, and I put my head in my hands, forcing myself to breathe until the investigators arrived on the scene. I had half a mind to realize that it wasn’t raining anymore, but I couldn’t be bothered to figure out where I’d dropped my umbrella. My clothes were sticking to my skin, and everything on my body felt viscerally wrong.

It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen images of dead people before; I was a young adult, and I liked movies. Obviously I was used to gore. But the stench… nothing could’ve prepared me for that.

I was surprised at the sheer number of people that showed up: I mean, there was a CSI van, which I expected, but a black car pulled up behind them, as well as two city police cars. Immediately, the CSI team got to work, and the rest of the people began piling out of their cars. The first person to take notice of me was one of the police officers, and he immediately made a beeline for where I was sitting on the sidewalk.

“Are you Dahlia Silvers? The woman who called in the body?” He asked. I nodded, and he held out his hand to me, helping me up on unsteady feet.

“Thank you.”

“‘Course. Now, I’d like to ask you a few questions if that’s ok?”

I nodded again, and he began a surprisingly long tirade of questions. Why was I passing by, where was I going, did I walk this street every day, what did I see first, did I touch anything on the scene, did I know the woman, had I seen anyone else - everything I should’ve expected but didn’t even think about in the wake of everything I’d just witnessed.

I answered accordingly: work, work, yes, the purse, the purse, no, no - I mentioned that the vomit was mine, and that I’d picked the purse up with the intent to return it to whoever dropped it. I mentioned that the first thing I picked up on was the smell, and that I had no idea what happened. Only that my day was perfectly normal, and then -

“Excuse me, officer?” A new voice cut into our conversation, a woman. I turned to look at her, noticing the FBI logo on her jacket immediately. “I’d like to speak with Ms. Silvers for a moment, if you don’t mind?”

“Of course Agent,” He nodded, rejoining the larger group that we were standing a bit away from. I knew he was still watching me, but I couldn’t be bothered to worry about my status on this case’s suspect list right now. I was still trying to process the fact that there was a fucking dead body about five feet away from me.

“Dahlia Silvers?” She asked, as if she didn’t already know. I nodded, and she smiled, introducing herself as well.

“I’m Special Agent Prentiss, I’m with the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit.”

Immediately my brow furrowed with confusion. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Well, we study -”

“No, I’m sorry, I should’ve been clearer: I know what the BAU does. What is the BAU doing here, in DC?”

“We’re investigating a string of recent murders, and we believe that this one is most likely connected to the case.”

“... If there have been enough murders here that your team needed to come down, why aren’t any of the news stations covering it? I haven’t heard anything about this.”

“We’ve put a block on most of the press until we can gain a better understanding of the situation. I understand why you might feel betrayed by the media -”

“It’s not like that at all,” I rushed to correct her, not realizing I’d cut her off again, “I’m a journalist. I work for The Washington Post. Our office is like three blocks away, that’s where I was headed when - when I saw her.”

The woman nodded, a sympathetic expression on her face. “I’m sorry that you had to see all of this.”

“Thank you,” I gave her a small smile. I did appreciate it, but honestly, I’d recovered from the sight pretty quickly. I’d started working in crime journalism recently, and that came with it’s fair share of gruesome images and stories of tragedy flooding my computer. Hence the reason why my lack of knowledge on these murders was a concern. “I’m just confused as to why I didn’t hear about the murders, while working for a news site. It would make sense for a few stories to slip through, or for our CEO to announce something to us writers - how the hell did you manage a full media block?”

She laughed a bit at my bluntness, but said, “We got here very shortly after the first murder. We were able to restrict almost all stories about the event immediately.”

“Almost all? No, you guys got all of them - I have a keyword filter set up on Google to email me whenever a seemingly newsworthy event happens in the surrounding area, and I feel like ‘local murder’ would definitely count as newsworthy.”

“That’s… surprising, but it makes sense. Never underestimate the power of Jennifer Jareau - that’s our press liaison, she handles -”

“Oh yeah, I know her! I’ve spoken with her a few times when you guys have had cases in DC.”

“Right! Yeah, she’s great…” She got a sort of far-off look in her eye for a moment before she cleared her throat, “But that’s not what I’m here to talk to you about. I know that you spoke with the local police already, but I was wondering if you’d be willing to return to the station with us so we could interview you a bit further - you’re not under arrest, you’d be free to go at any time, we just have a couple more questions.”

I was hesitant, but at the same time, there was an itch in the back of my mind. An itch to know more. If this was a chance for me to find out what’s been going on, no way in hell I’m saying no to that.

Plus, if I did say no, that would be incredibly suspicious.

So I nodded, allowing Agent Prentiss to lead me back to the black vehicle that arrived with the slew of police cars. She opened the passenger door for me before shouting to someone who I’m assuming was one of her coworkers.

“Reid! Stay here and investigate the scene - I’m going to escort Ms. Silvers back to the station, and I’ll be back to pick you up.”

I heard a faint response before she shut the passenger door, climbing around to the other side and allowing me a glimpse of whoever she was talking to.

He was standing on the pavement, still looking at the car, nodding as I’m assuming Agent Prentiss said something else to him. The blue sweater he had on over his button up presented an interesting contrast between the pantsuit I’d seen Prentiss wearing, and the ridiculous query of the nature of the BAU’s uniforms crossed my mind before I turned my attention back to the matter at hand.

The matter at hand being, of course, discreetly staring at the man in front of me.

His curly hair rested almost at his shoulders, and I was mesmerized as I watched him speak, one hand flying and the other holding onto a thin wooden cane. Finally, he nodded definitively before turning back to the crime scene, and my eyes snapped to the driver’s side door as I heard Agent Prentiss slide into the seat next to me.

“Oh please, don’t let me interrupt your staring at Dr. Reid,” She held up her hands in mock defense, trying to keep herself from laughing, “I’m merely the driver.”

“Sta - what, I wasn’t staring, I -” I immediately started to defend myself (even if I totally was staring at Dr. Reid), but Agent Prentiss laughed again.

“Relax, Ms. Silvers. I’m only teasing. He is quite a good-looking man, isn’t he? Not my type, but I’m not blind.”

I blushed, acknowledging her statement with a nod as she put the car in drive, pulling away from the curb. As we started down the road, the full weight of the events that just occurred finally hit me.

I found a corpse.

I was on my way to a police station.

I might be the main suspect in an ongoing murder case. I hadn’t actually asked about that yet.

It was almost as if Prentiss had noticed the shift in my mood - honestly, there’s a chance she actually had, she was a profiler - because she broke the silence with a question.

“Ms. Silvers? How are you feeling?” She asked. I just shook my head.

“Please, call me Dahlia. And honestly, I have no idea how I’m feeling. I… well, I’m sure I don’t need to say that nothing like this has ever happened to me before.”

“I’d be surprised to hear you say it had,” She laughed. I laughed a bit too, though I couldn’t ignore the anxiety eating at me.

“I’m pretty sure I haven’t processed it yet,” I said honestly.

“You’ve gone through a lot in the last hour,” She agreed, “And I hate to say it, but you’re going to have to go through a little bit more. We’re here.”

We pulled into the police station, and she put the car in park, hoping out. I followed suit, and we both headed up the walkway to the front doors.

I was practically trembling with nerves, but at the same time, excitement coursed through my veins at what I might learn.

The BAU might’ve put a blockade on the media from the outside, but I was getting the inside scoop.

[troubatrain]

sober - m.barzal (pt. three)

a/n: onto the next one for reposts :)

Two - Four

Game Days were busy.

There were a few things about a Rangers game day that were always consistent. Someone always kicked a soccer ball into one of the rafters, usually Mika who thought his girlfriend’s soccer skills were rubbing off on him. You couldn’t speak to Hank but you knew where he was because he did the same thing every game day even if he wasn’t playing. Trouba would ask you some sort of dumb question when you tried to get footage of him walking into MSG so you couldn’t post it online. Finally, Chris would follow you around and then claim it was part of his own superstitions.

“So you just left him?” Chris clarifies, somehow always sticking his nose in your personal life.

“Yeah I went home,” You shrug, sipping your coffee to hide the fact that you were flat out lying to someone you really did trust. 

“You just went home?” Chirs quips a smirk on his own face, “Because you’re in an awfully good mood today Y/N.”

“If you really must know Chris, I am capable of getting myself off,” You remind him, sarcasm dripping from your voice while Chris chuckled behind you.

“Alright Ice Queen,” Chris rolls his eyes, “We get it, you don’t need a man.”

Nobody does. You thought to yourself while you pushed Chris into the Rangers locker room to get him out of your hair for the rest of the night. It was something you reminded yourself constantly, your happiness didn’t need to depend on someone else. If you could just remember that, then there was no way anyone could ever hurt you. It drove your own mother crazy, and the romantics in your life always seemed to be annoyed by your lack of commitment, but you didn’t care. You were never going to be the girl who cried on the way home in the back of some taxi because a man broke your heart. Your life wasn’t going to be the sad part of a romantic comedy that was set in New York, because you wouldn’t let it.

**

The Rangers lost, one of the grueling overtime losses that you hated to even walk past the locker room after. You stood by the exit, watching the sad faces of the team leave to greet their significant others and see their kids. It made you soft for just a moment, your thoughts broken by a text to your phone from a number you should have deleted. It was from Mat, the location of a bar downtown attached.

Tough loss… come for a drink?

Does that drink come with strings attached?

If you’re asking me to tie you up, I’m in.

I cannot stand you.

You won’t be able to stand, just come and see me.

You bite your tongue, holding in the thought of asking Mat how many other girls didn’t answer him before he finally landed on you. Maybe he had a list, or maybe he just scrolled through Instagram until someone’s thirst trap caught his eye. Those seemed too logical for Mat, so you settle on the idea that he probably plays contact roulette until he finds a way to get his dick wet. A part of you screamed not to go, just to get on the subway back to your apartment and pack it in for the night. But you ignored your logical side for just a minute, grabbing a cab and giving the driver the address Mat sent you.

Mat, in a weird sense, was like a safe bet. Sure, you could have gone out and taken someone else home, it was easy in a city as big as New York. But, Mat was good in bed, and you’d be damned if you let him know that. You were letting your pussy take over for you, screaming that at least you were going to get off a few times.

“You’re here!” Mat cheers, scoping you out from the moment you stepped into the bar. He reeked of booze and bad decisions, his arm wrapping around you.

That was when the group he was with caught your attention. Standing on the other side of the bar were a few of Mat’s teammate’s who you knew of.

“Are those your fucking teammates?” You grit out, your lips as close to Mat’s ear as they could get.

“Would you relax? I didn’t mention what you did for a living, as far as they're concerned you’re just another girl,” Mat scoffs, his large hand landing on your lower back.

“Keep your mouth shut or I’m never speaking to you again,” You scold, wagging your finger at him while you walk over to the bar.

Mat’s teammates were interesting. It wasn’t that you didn’t like them, or that they were anything less than kind to you. It was that it felt so wrong. Just a week before that, you were sitting between the benches during warm ups listening to Matt Martin roast Trouba from the blue line and now you were listening to him gush about his pregnant wife. It was like you’d entered some alternate universe and you found yourself having a better time than you even anticipated.

“You’re too cool to be here with Barz,” Tito chirps, cheering you on while you took your third shot of the night.

Mat’s smile was dopier than normal when he threw his arm around you and pulled you into his chest, “It’s because I’m her conquest not the other way around.”

You roll your eyes, tucking your head into Mat’s arm and nibbling at it lightly to get him to shut up for just once. Mat smirks, leaning to whisper in your ear, “That’s a turn on princess, wrong move.”

“How about I just kick you in the balls?” You grit back, Mat’s eyes widening at the threat. 

“If you come home with me, you’re free to do whatever you’d like,” Mat chuckles, turning you around and pouting, his hand resting on your hip.

You bite your lip, if you went home with him you knew what that meant for you. It meant Mat was getting what he wanted - a spot on the roster. The problem was that Mat was probably better in bed than anyone else you were currently seeing, and admitting that was the equivalent of defeat. Another part of you screamed, that maybe he was just perfect for casual.

Mat Barzal was dumb, smug, and hot. Three characteristics that you thought made someone a good fuck-buddy. Mat wasn’t boyfriend material, and he was never going to get to meet your friends because no one could know this was happening. Mat was smug in the way that he constantly wanted to win, and while it meant his personality could be unbearable sometimes, it also meant he was excellent in bed. Finally, Mat was hot in the way that it reminded you that god really does have favorites. But, Mat was like sleeping with the enemy. He was going to make you lie to people who you trusted for the first time, and was that fair to do yourself just so you could get laid? 

“We’re setting some ground rules here Barz,” You finally land on, Mat’s eyebrows raising in surprise with your lack of protest, “Starting with if you ever force me to hang out with your teammates again, I’ll cut your dick off.”

“Noted,” Mat nods, “Anything else princess?”

“Yeah, that nickname has got to go,” You say, because princess irritated you more than any pet name, “And no sleepovers-”

“But we live in two completely different boroughs,” Mat protests, “And what if it’s late?”

“I’m a grown woman,” You remind him, “I can get home safe on my own.”

Mat rolls his eyes, “You’re a real pain you know that? Anything else?”

“Yeah, this stays between us, I’m not some pawn you can use to talk shit next time someone from my team hurts your feelings,” You say, poking him in the chest to make your point, “I’m serious.”

“You got it captain,” Mat nods, saluting you while he chuckles, “Now can we go? I’ve got plans for you.”

Mat’s use of the word plans made your pussy drip in excitement while you bid your goodbyes to his teammates. His teammates who had no idea that just a week before that you were sitting on the bench during warm ups with a blind hatred for each of them in your heart. His teammates who’d also fallen under your spell that maybe you weren’t a cold hearted bitch all the time.

“My place or yours?” Mat hums, pulling you closer while you waited for a cab.

“Yours, I don’t want you within thirty feet of my apartment,” You smirk, even though you hated Mat’s apartment because no one deserved those floor to ceiling windows if they had decor as terrible as his.

“You talk a big game for someone who left some nasty scratches on my back the last time I saw you,” Mat reminds you, nudging his nose with yours, “But, I can remind you why.”

Mat’s words lit a fire in you, if he thought he was so good, you were going to remind him that you were better. Two can play at that game. You grab Mat’s hand, pulling him into a cab while you waited for him to give the driver his address. Once the car started to move, the streets of New York lighting up on either side of you, you lean over and let your hand creep up Mat’s thigh.

“No,” Mat mouths, shaking his head while the cab driver makes small talk with him. You smirk, lightly using your fingers to land right over the bulge that was threatening to peek out in Mat’s too tight jeans.

“No what?” You whisper in his ear, a blush creeping up his neck. You had him so hot and bothered that everything before that seemed to make sense. It had clicked why Mat put up all the shit you gave him, he could have anyone he wanted with a smirk and a wink, but he wanted you - at least for the moment.

The rest of the cab ride was agony, after hitting about every red light from the bar to Mat’s building, he had you pinned against his door the second you got inside, “That was a dick move.”

“It just seemed like you needed a reminder of who was in charge here,” You whisper, your mouth close to his neck, “And who’s going to be screaming who’s name.”

“Yeah okay,” Mat scoffs, “There isn’t one thing you could do that would get that to happen.”

“Wanna bet?” You counter, sliding down the wall and stopping to unbutton Mat’s jeans. You pull them down, leaving kisses right above his boxers before they slid off too.

All it took was one lick on the underside of his cock for Mat to let out a moan that was so loud it echoed in the obnoxiously large bachelor pad he lived in. Mat’s hands ran through your hair, pulling it up so he could guide your head. You bobbed your head in a perfect rhythm, your hands digging into Mat’s thighs while you tried to get grip. Your head game was nothing short of spectacular, and you’d be damned if you were going to let Mat Barzal think anything less.

“Fuck Y/N,” Mat groans, trying to push your head back to give himself a break before he came way too early. This only egged you on, taking his whole length into your mouth, “Babe, I’ll cum right here if you don’t stop.”

“What if I don’t want to stop?” You look up at him, tears brimming your eyes from his dick in your mouth.

“You’re going to kill me aren’t you?” Mat asks, pulling you up to place a kiss on your lips.

“And no one will even know it was me,” You smirk, slipping out of his arms and making your way down a hallway that was becoming way too familiar, “Now c’mon Barz, I thought you had plans for us.”

“Don’t tell me what to do.”

“Eat me out.”

“Actually you can tell me what to do.”

[cultureisdarkbeer]

We Will Remember; From Out of the Ashes

From my Rooted in Friendship series, this is Mulder on 9/11/2001

It was September.  Mulder had spent the summer wandering aimlessly.  Using the identities The Lone Gunman had given him he roamed from one menial job to the other in one town to the next.  Every day was spent looking over his shoulder and every night dreaming of Scully and William.  Hesitant to make contact, he hadn’t even checked his email for fear of a trace.   It didn’t even matter.  There was nothing for him to say that wasn’t already said.  He wanted to come home.  To be with them again.  The only positive, if there was any, was that he was meeting different people from all kinds of backgrounds and philosophies.  There were more people out there that believed than he had realized.  Some circles had even mentioned him by name as a crusader. If they only knew.  If he was on a crusade it was to return to his family.  The only way to do that would be to discover what destroyed human replacements and stop them before it was too late.

Mulder opened one eye and squinted at the time.  He thought it read 10:37.  He was thinking that it must be A.M. as there was sunlight shining into the window.  Sometimes it was an arduous task to simply discern one day to the next.  Today was Tuesday.  He knew this since his last day at the mill had been yesterday and the guys had gathered at the local bar for a going away bash.  The last thing he remembered was being dropped onto the couch by Randy after having too many drinks to maintain the ability to walk let alone drive a car.  His head was still buzzing, but he did recall crying into a beer or two over Scully. He slowly rolled into a sitting position on the most recent couch he called home.  Rubbing his neck, the stiffness reminded him that he needed to buy a pillow.  Thinking of stiffness, he stared down at ol’ reliable standing at his usual attention.  Not that he had much use for it.  The times he did partake he usually ended up in a worse depression than before and he wasn’t in the mood for tears today.  He rubbed his face and the scruff that had formed cut into his calloused hands.  Blindly, he turned on the small picture tube in the room and went to the bathroom to empty his bladder.  When he returned he had a toothbrush hanging from his mouth and disbelief in his eyes.  The news showed smoke rising from where the World Trade Center once stood.  There had been an attack on the Pentagon as well and in Pennsylvania.  The next couple hours he spent glued to the television absorbing everything in front of him.  His first instinct was to contact Scully, but he knew he couldn’t. The FBI had to be heavily involved at this point.  Thoughts of human replacement involvement crossed his mind although most evil didn’t land from the sky, but that from within.  It was then he decided his next destination would be east to NYC. If nothing else, they could use his help.

As he got dressed he accidentally glanced at himself in the mirror.  He usually avoided mirrors as they reflected his heartache.  Today he looked at himself as if from afar.  It was the first time in a while he felt he might have a purpose again. Tanned from working in the sun, his skin glowed golden and his abs had a harder cut to them than usual.  The muscles in his arms and chest were wider.  Scully would be impressed he thought as he ran his hand over his chest. The pain of her absence began to culminate in his heart and he quickly resumed getting dressed frantically trying to push his mind onto another track.  Any thoughts of Scully resulted with tears, anger and unending sadness.  He walked outside and flung his bags into the back of an old Buick sedan he had purchased for a couple hundred dollars.  The plates and registration were phonies Skinner had retrieved from FBI storage, but they got him wheels.  He sat the picture Scully had given him in the corner of the instrument panel wishing he had one of William as well.  Straightening his rear view mirror he gave the rural landscape one last look, put on his shades, and headed out.

 A few days had passed before he had reached New York traveling from Kansas.  He had stopped to visit Sheila and Holman.  At least there he got to share good memories, eat some home cooking, and be the proud papa as he told them about William.  He had given Holman a package to mail to Scully so she knew he was still alive and took off for New York. 

As he entered NJ, he took heed of the solemn atmosphere.  There was an eerie quiet looming.  When he finally pulled the car into a parking spot he was near Liberty State Park.  The air was cold, a frigid day with no wind, the only breeze being from the echoing of voices from the dead and the screaming hearts of the living.  He came upon a spot with candles burning.  Pictures and cards hung everywhere.  There were notebooks too.  He picked them up and read them.  Poems and prayers, wishes and requests, all to missing loved ones.  They were beautiful and he felt his anger rise up with the sadness. The monster inside him was winning.  He spun around when he felt a tap on his arm.  It was a woman with tears in her eyes.  She hugged him without words.  A total stranger holding him, greeting him like family.  They cried in each other’s arms for each of their losses without sharing words.  Others came to pray, share hugs and photos, and leave messages.  Everyone was leaning on the other.  Mulder had witnessed many things in his life, but such a beautiful reflection of humanity he never would have guessed to find in the vicinity of so much that was corrupt. 

“Hi. My name is Lauren.” A tall slender woman dressed in what might be considered hippy attire held out her hand for Mulder to shake.  “Do you have missing loved ones?”

“No… I, uh.  I came to help.” 

“Yes. It seems there are people from all over the country some from other parts of the world that have traveled to help.  I’m from Long Island myself.  There’s a group of us meeting here in a while to make the trek over into the city.  From there we will meet up with the firefighters.”

“What will we be doing?”

“You’ll see.”  She replied with a warm smile.

For lack of any ideas, Mulder wandered into the city with them.  The streets were covered in ash. What looked like snow was more ash falling from the sky.  A post-apocalyptic feel gripped at his fears.  This was not cruelty from an alien force, but only that capable of man.  They walked the streets. Lit candles covered every street corner accompanied by flowers, cards, letters, and poems.  The walls of every business and billboard filled with pictures of loved ones. 

Children, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, friends, wandered the streets searching.  Some came as he did.  From a pull that they did not know.  From a pull to be together, for comfort from the sadness. To mourn the loss, embrace each other.  When they finally settled on a street corner they waited.  The firefighters were changing shifts.  The truck stopped at the corner and the firemen got out as others piled in.  They carried with them shovels and masks.  The news stated it was an attempt at a recovery mission, but Mulder knew better.  It was to dig up the dead.  To find evidence of who had died, to attempt proper funerals.  Most would remain where they died, their tombstone a memorial and another skyscraper to once again reach out to the heavens on the backs of their souls.  The returning firefighters had it all in their faces.  The people cheered them like superheroes upon their return.  Those people were there for one purpose.  To hug those men, to give them their strength back through their love.  Total strangers giving the only thing they had to give to the men that had lost so many of their brothers.  The firefighters in turn cried into the embrace.  Falling apart in their arms.  Real giants did exist and they walked the streets that day. It was the men in red and those in blue that ran towards their impending doom as others ran away.  To now be represented by those from all over sifting through the ashes, not giving up on a chance of resurrection.  If there was a place Mulder felt at home since leaving D.C. it was there among the mourning.  They gave him strength to go on.  To know that he was blessed to have Scully and William still alive waiting. 

After sharing handshakes, more prayers and kind words, he left as soft music played bouncing off the resilience of the tall standing buildings of downtown. The Empire State Building glowed red, white, and blue for all to see that we still stood tall. People had brought their instruments, boom boxes and whatever they had, playing the music throughout the night to let everyone know they were not alone.  The spotlights boomed into the sky like a signal to batman calling for a savior when the only one to answer was from inside.  Mulder continued to wander the streets, like he was searching, but for what he had yet to know.  He got to a large rock near central park and sat down.  His heart started to race as butterflies beat furiously in his stomach.  “Scully.”  He said to himself out loud.

“Mulder” Scully said as butterflies grew in her stomach at that familiar feeling. 

“What is it Dana?” Monica asked concerned at the upset look on her face.

“Nothing.  I… I just got a strange feeling like Mulder was here.”

“Maybe he was.”

“Maybe.  I miss him Monica.  Not a second goes by….”

“You have to stay positive.”

“I know.”

Scully and Monica were two blocks from Mulder’s rock in Central Park. They had come to see the tragedy with their own eyes and unknowingly came within steps of Mulder.  Monica waved down a cab and got in.  Scully paused for a second longer, the butterflies still beating in her stomach. “I know you’re out there Mulder. I hope you feel me too.” She whispered more to herself than anything else.  She joined Monica in the cab and they headed to the airport to return to D.C.

 Mulder got up from the rock looking for the subway to take him back to his motel room. A kid in his twenties in a gray hoodie came up behind Mulder and tapped him on the shoulder startling him.

“Excuse me.  You’re Fox Mulder!”

“What? No, I’m sorry you have the wrong person.” Mulder picked up his pace taking longer strides to get away from the attention this guy was bestowing upon him.  The kid only ran to keep up.

“No, I know you’re him.  You were friends with Max from NICAP.  I’m from NICAP too.” The kid said extending his hand to Mulder as they walked.  Mulder kept his hand in his pockets and didn’t slow his pace.

“Look I’m kind of undercover.  I’m not really able to talk right now it could compromise my position.”

The kid nodded, but didn’t back away. “My name is Josh.  We’re having a meeting tomorrow if you’re interested. The topic…  alien hybrid kryptonite.”

This stopped Mulder in his tracks. “You’ve figured out how to stop them?”

Josh looked hesitant. “Well that’s what the meeting is about.  We have reports that some of the members have seen them turn into one of those magnetic desk sculptures.  You know what I’m talking about?”

“Not exactly.  They might have thought they killed them, but these things rejuvenate.  I’ve seen them crushed into a tiny cube and come back to full capacity.” Mulder countered.

“According to our latest reports, this destroys them.  If you come to the meeting, you can speak with these men yourself. Ask all the questions you want.  It would be quite an honor to have you there.  You’re kind of a celebrity in our neck of the woods.”

Josh handed him a small NICAP business card with an address and time.  “See you then”

As Josh walked away, Mulder looked around nervously.  If I guy from NICAP could locate him, anyone could.  He wouldn’t be able to stay much longer.

After a restless night’s sleep in a rundown motel, Mulder went back over to ground zero and put in some hours helping with the recovery.  At a little after 7 he headed over to 8th avenue where he found a building with windows nailed shut by wooden planks covered in Broadway posters.  He went down a dark alley, down a flight of stairs to a locked door.  He knocked on the door and a 400 lb. man with a Spiderman t-shirt answered.  “It’s the second star to the right” He said to Mulder.  “And straight on ‘til morning” Mulder answered.

“Please turn around and expose your neck.” The heavy set man answered.   Mulder turned around and lowered his jacket so the man could observe the top of his spine.  He then handed Mulder an alcohol swab and a disposable blood lancet.  Mulder punctured his finger so the man could witness that his blood was red.  Lastly he ran a wand over him for evidence of weapons, tracking devices, or taps.  When he was satisfied that Mulder was clean he let him proceed. The man opened the door to let Mulder in. “It’s an honor to meet you Fox Mulder” the man winked and smiled. As Mulder looked around he realized he had found the greatest collection of outcasts the planet earth may have ever known.  Once everyone was checked in, the meeting commenced.  There was a lot of formalities, new business, old business until finally they got to eyewitness accounts.  Each person would go up front and speak of their experience. It was nothing new and all things Mulder had heard several times before.

“And now the moment we’ve been waiting for.” Said the meeting head.  “Eric will be reviewing his latest information on Hybrids.”

He started his speech telling of first accounts of hybrids being birthed from human mothers using mutated eggs.  He told of stories of embryo implants through abductions and contaminated water supplies. Most of it Mulder was aware and some seemed skewed or misguided.  Finally, he got to what Mulder really wanted to hear.  “We have some exciting news today.  It’s been confirmed.  We have dead hybrids.  They were turned into a metallic dust.  It happened at ground zero.  What we believe is that when the twin towers fell, they exposed the Manhattan bedrock which is millions of years old.  Folded into that bedrock is an iron ore, remnants of an old meteor.  We believe that if we could mine meteors that contain this same iron, we may be able to build a weapon to combat these hybrids.”

“So where do you find this iron and how are you going to test it?” Asked one of the members.

Eric turned on the projector.  “This is a Map of all the meteor dustings in the past two million years.  As you can see the largest concentration is in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Nevada.  This is where we should concentrate our efforts.”

“But how do you know this iron stuff will kill them?” Asked another member.

“Because we have it on video and we have the dust sample.”

The room became silent as he hooked up his video camera. 

The video took place after the first tower fell.  There was a considerable amount of smoke and it was apparent the video had been taken by someone in law enforcement.  Two men with FBI jackets were running into the smoke and the camera was shaking widly.  You could see them enter the building and go down steps where the mall once stood. Ash was everywhere and smoke filled the hallways.  It appeared they were in search of something inside the mall. Then one of the FBI agents froze like he was magnetized to the floor.  With tremendous force the two men crumbled as if from the inside out like a huge magnet drew them downward.  You see the man holding the camera yell and pick up their clothing which now contained only dust.  He let out a few expletives and the camera shut off.

Even this made Mulder miss Scully.  He wished she was there to witness the tape.  He wanted her opinion.  He also wanted some of that dust.  She would be able to dissect it in the lab and find the answer.  Not this time.  This time he would have to prove it on his own.

“What happened?  It was like terminator was struck with a light saber.” Shouted Josh, the kid he had met in the street.

“We don’t know.  This is all we have, but the rock that was scraped up from the site had a high concentration of a form of magnetite.  If we could fashion a weapon, we may be able to use if against them.”

 Walking back to the motel Mulder didn’t know what to make of any of it.  Was there a way to stop them? There had to be.  Nothing was invincible.  Except maybe Scully.  He went to put the key in the door and it creaked open with a push.  Someone had already been there.  The place had been ransacked, but from what he saw nothing was taken.  His first instinct was to ensure the intruders had left, but they were gone.  His suitcase full of cash was still intact. He searched his luggage finding a tracer.  He also found a bug inside the lamp on the nightstand.  They had located him.  His time in NY had run out. He grabbed his stuff, packed it into the car, placed the picture back on the instrument panel, and headed west in search of magnetite and an old friend.

Read more here

[javajunkieao3]

I’ll Be Seeing You: Chapter Nine (A Post-Endgame Steggy Story)

Peggy and Steve seek out more Pym particles to return to their past, but things do not go as planned.

------

           Scott Lang woke up that morning thinking it was any average Tuesday.  He washed his face.  Brushed his teeth.  He and Hope ate a casual breakfast, idly talking about their plans for the day.   They were considering an afternoon at Central Park, or maybe a movie if the weather turned too warm.  All in all, it was shaping up to be a pretty uneventful day. And then, there was a knock on their front door.  And Steve Rogers did the knocking.

           “Holy shit,” Scott blurted, nearly dropping his very full mug of coffee.   “Everyone said you were gone.  But you’re here.  On my stoop.”

           “Hi Scott,” Steve said.  “Can we come in?”

           “Can Captain America come into my house?” Scott said broadly, grin wide.  “Of course, he can.  Are you kidding me?”  He stepped backward to let him and Peggy in.  “Come in, buddy.”. He winced at his blunder and quickly corrected himself with, “I mean, Captain.”

           Hope walked into the foyer, wondering what all the commotion was about, and stopped short when she saw Steve Rogers and a brunette female in the foyer.  A quick glance at Scott was all she needed to see that her boyfriend was nearly imploding at the prospect of Captain America in his foyer.  She couldn’t help but smile a bit at that.  Hope clasped her hands behind her back and said, “Nice to see you, Cap.”

           “Thank you, Hope.  It’s nice to see you, too.”  He placed his hand on the small of Peggy’s back and said, “This is Peggy Carter.”

           “Nice to meet you both,” Peggy said.

           “Can I get you anything?”  Scott asked hurriedly.  “A coffee?  Water? I think we have orange juice…” he looked over at Hope who shook her head. “…sorry, no orange juice, but we can get you some!”

           Steve smiled slightly.  “We’re fine.  We’re actually here to ask about Hope’s father.”

           “What about him?”  Hope asked.

           “I was hoping to talk to him about some of his Pym particles.  Peggy and I both travelled here from the past –“

           “Why would you do that?”  Scott asked.  “Not that we don’t want you here.  Because we do.  Obviously.  But...” he trailed off.  “I’m sorry, you can just keep going.”

           “It’s a bit of a long story,” Peggy said, grinning softly when she glanced up at Steve.  “But the short part is that we both came here without more particles.”

           Steve nodded.  “We were hoping your father could help us with that.”

           “I’m sure he can make you more, but he’s out of town right now.  He’ll be back next week.”

           “We can wait,” Steve said, glancing down at Peggy who nodded with agreement.  “If he comes back earlier, you can call over to Bucky Barnes’ apartment.  We’re staying with him.”

           Hope nodded.  “Absolutely.”

           “Well, we won’t impose on you any longer,” Steve said. “Thank you for your help.  We really appreciate it.”

           “It’s no problem at all,” Hope said.

           “Hey!  Why don’t you guys stay for lunch?”  Scott enthused.  “We were planning sandwiches and have way too much.  What do you say?”

           Steve looked down at Peggy who shrugged in response. She wouldn’t mind getting to know a bit more about his old avenging friends.  Besides, Scott and Hope seemed friendly enough.

           “Sure, thanks a lot.”

           They walked in, Scott talking about some new business venture he was starting, when Peggy nearly collided with an ant that was much too large for her liking.

           “Bloody hell!” she said, backing up into Steve.  

           “Oh, sorry about that,” Scott said.  “She doesn’t bite, I promise.”

           When Scott turned away, the large ant moved even closer to Peggy, its antennas moving almost quizzically.  Peggy pressed herself back as much as she could against Steve, and cleared her throat before she asked, “Is this normal?”

           Scott looked back and said, “Hey, knock it off!” He took a hold of the ant’s leg and pried her away from Peggy.  “We talked about this.  Personal space, remember?”

           The ant bowed its head down, almost apologetically, and walked away.  Peggy relaxed with the large creature squarely in another room, and Steve dipped his mouth to her ear as he whispered, “I didn’t know you were afraid of bugs.”

           “Yes, well, they’re usually not the size of a Buick.”

           “Sorry about that,” Scott said, scratching nervously at the back of his neck.  “Anyone ready for some lunch?”

BBBBB

           After lunch, Peggy and Steve made their way back to Bucky’s apartment.  They took the subway, Peggy nestled against Steve as they snaked their way through the city.  She placed her hand on his knee and he covered her hand with his, threading their fingers together.

           “Show me some of your favorite places,” she requested, looking up at him.

           “I honestly didn’t have a lot,” he said.  “I pretty much just spent all my time on work. There was a church where I did some grief counseling.”  He shrugged. “That’s about it.”

           “I don’t believe that for a moment.”

           He laughed and said, “Okay, let me think.” He paused for a second and said, “I guess there was a bar that Nat and I used to go to.  It’s this total dive, but we had some good times there.”

           He mentioned Natasha more often that the others, and Peggy softly said, “You must miss her.”

           “I miss them all,” he said.

           “Is it difficult for you to be back?” she asked.

           He paused for a second and then shook his head. “We’re here because of them.  You.  Me. Everyone, really.  It’s a privilege to be here.”

           “So, are you going to take me to that bar?”

           He grinned, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.  “Sure, Peg. I’ll take you to that bar.”

BBBBB

           Steve stayed true to his word and took Peggy to the dive bar in Queens, Peggy assuring him that the lack of ambience was more than made up for by the heavy whiskey pour.  After a few drinks and many handfuls of stale peanuts, the pair made their way back to Bucky’s apartment.  It was well past sunset, and Steve fished for the keys in his pocket when the door opened of its own accord, Bucky standing on the other side with a pinched expression.

           “Thank God,” he said in a low voice.  “We need to get you a cell phone again.”

           Steve immediately sensed something was off, and asked, “What is it?”

           “You’ll see.  Come on.”

           Steve and Peggy exchanged looks and then followed Bucky into the apartment.  Steve didn’t know what to expect, but even his wildest guess would not have included Natasha Romanoff sitting on Bucky’s couch.  Her face was badly bruised, caked blood evident on her hairline.  

           “Nat?” he breathed out.

           She looked up and offered him a watery smile. “Hi there, Rogers."

           “How is this possible?” he asked.

           “Believe it or not, that’s the easier question to answer,” Rocket said, walking out of one of the side bedrooms.  Peggy stared at him with wide eyes before he griped, “What are you looking at, lady?”

           “Come on, man, you don’t have to be rude,” Quill said, following him out into the living room.  

           “That was rude?  Really?  I’ll show you rude.  I’ll-“

           “Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?”  Steve interrupted, voice hard.

Behind him, a voice deep as thunder said, “The end of the world.”

“Well, that’s dramatic,” Rocket said.  “Although not entirely inaccurate.”

Steve turned around to face Thor.  “What do you mean the end of the world?”

Thor clapped a large hand on his shoulder.  “We have a lot to fill you in on.”

-----

Did I bite off too much here?  Very possibly.  Is Howard Stark still popping up somewhere in the future?  Yes.  Will I actually tie this all together?  There is like a 67% chance.  Anyway, if you enjoyed this please like/reblog! 

[nexttrickanvils]

Day 5 of @shuharuweek: AU/Song & Dance

Yup it’s time for more roleswap AU. So enjoy Haru starting up the Empress Confidant. ;)

Title: Foolish Empress: Empress Confidant Rank 1

Characters: Fool!Haru, Empress!Akira, Morgana, others are there briefly

---------

It was official… the Phantom Thieves were low on money.

Then again Haru shouldn’t be too surprised. After all between buying new weapons for everyone and buying a cell phone for Yusuke so he could actually communicate with the rest of the team it was no wonder that their funds were low.

Haru pulls up the group chat to let everyone know what was going on.

HARU:  Some bad news. I just looked at our funds and we’re running low. We may have to make do with our current equipment and supplies.

ANN: Can’t we just hold up some Shadows in Mementos?

RYUJI: Yeah but we just finished up Madarame’s palace. I wanna take a break before we get back to work.

HARU: I agree with Ryuji-kun, I don’t want you all to overwork yourselves.

YUSUKE: I apologize. I know you three had to use that money for this phone and equipment for me.

ANN: Yusuke, don’t. You needed a phone and like hell was Madarame gonna give you one.

RYUJI: Yeah and we couldn’t let you face shadows without good stuff. Plus we all bought new junk so it ain’t all on you.

YUSUKE: I appreciate your words but that still leaves us with our current situation.

HARU: I guess the best option would be take a job. I saw some job postings at the subway, maybe I can take a look at those.

ANN: You sure Haru? You just said you didn’t want us to overwork ourselves.

HARU: I’ll be fine Ann-chan, thank you.

With that Haru closed the app and put her phone away. From his spot next to her on the bed, Morgana gives her a concerned look.

“I think Lady Ann has a point. You can’t lead Les Fantômes if you exhaust yourself.” said Morgana

Haru smiles in response and starts petting her (not) feline companion

“I appreciate that you’re all looking out for me but we can’t solely rely on the Metaverse for our money. I promise that I’ll be looking for something that’s simple and won’t take too much time.”

“...Well I should come with you and help, just in case.”

Haru briefly thinks of saying to Morgana that he’s always with her outside but instead she just thanks him.

---------

“How about this one? It’s that beef bowl place in Shibuya.” Morgana said as he looked at the flyer from over Haru’s shoulder

“I don’t know. I’ve been there with Ryuji once. It was so crowded and there weren’t a lot of people working that night.”

“Maybe it won’t be so bad if they hired more people.”

“I suppose, let’s consider it a “maybe.””

So far the job search turned out to be more difficult than Haru thought. There certainly wasn’t a lack of openings but for one reason or another they simply didn’t fit what Haru was looking for. One didn’t work because she was too young to apply, another was too strict with its scheduling, and so on.

“This one won’t do at all.”

But she refused to give up.

“Hm… not this one.”

There had to be something…

“No...”

...Just right…

“Oh! Mona-chan look at this one!”

Rafflesia Flower Shop Now Hiring!

Located in Underground Mall at Shibuya Station

Looking for charming employees to build and give our customers their dream bouquets.

Willing to provide flexible hours

Starting salary is 3200 yen.

Haru smiles as she pulls out her phone and calls the number on the flyer.

---------

“Thank you for taking this position, Kurusu-chan. I can tell that you’ll be a very good fit for Rafflesia.”

Haru gave her thanks to Hanasaki-san as she tied the apron around her waist.

“Now Kurusu-chan since this is your first day, I’m going to ask you to shadow me and Amamiya-kun. We’ll do the work and you observe us and try to learn the ropes.”

“Amamiya-kun?”

“Another employee, he’ll be here soon. Just keep your eye out for a young man about your age with dark hair and glasses. Now let’s get to work shall we?”

Haru did as she was told for the shift, learning as much as she can about the job from Hanasaki-san, and all the while keeping her eyes out for someone matching her co-worker’s description.

She was in the middle of watching her boss put together a bouquet of scarlet roses, care-nation, and justice jasmines when Amamiya-san arrived.

He was just as Hansaki-san described though Haru couldn’t help but giggle a little over how his headband was just barely containing his mess of hair. Thankfully he didn’t seem to hear (or mind) Haru’s laughing and instead went straight to their boss.

“I apologize for taking so long Hanasaki-san.”

“It’s no problem. Kurusu-chan, this is Ren Amamiya. Amamiya-kun, this is our new hire, Haru Kurusu. She’ll be shadowing you for the rest of the shift. So give her a good example to follow, alright?”

“Heh, heh, don’t worry I will.”

Amamiya then turned to Haru and smiled. For a brief moment she felt her breath caught in her throat.

“It’s nice to meet you Kurusu-chan. It’s good for have an extra set of hands here.”

“Oh! I-I I’m glad to be here.”

For the rest of the shift, Haru watched and followed Amamiya-kun. His passion for the job was something to be admired. He happily explained the different meanings of each flower, connecting those meanings to the type of bouquets people wanted, and really laid on the charm for the customers.

Honestly Haru found herself blushing more than once.

She was so focused on him, that she almost didn’t notice when Hanasaki-san approached her with an envelope of money.

“Here’s your pay for today. It’s just standard wages. Good work, Kurusu-chan. Come back again when you have the time.”

“Thank you, I will.”

She waved good-bye to her co-workers and made her way to the train back to Yongen-Jaya

---------

As soon as the bell rung, Haru made her way upstairs to meet with Ann and Ryuji to discuss going into Mementos today.

Just as she reached the second-year’s floor, Haru found herself nearly crashing into another student.

“Oh, my apologies...!”

“It’s fine Kurusu-chan I wasn’t looking where I was going and...”

Wait “Kurusu-chan?”

Haru looked up to face the student and found herself at a loss for words.

The boy in front of her wore a black sweater over his school turtleneck but what caught her attention was his messy dark hair and grey eyes. If he pulled his bangs back and wore a pair of glasses he’d look just like...

“...Amamiya-kun?”

“I-I’m sorry! Y-you must have me mistaken for-for s-some... ” and with that the boy rushed downstairs.

---------

The next day, Amamiya-kun didn’t arrive at work. Hanasaki-san had said that he called in sick but after what happened yesterday, Haru couldn’t help but worry. Why did he run away when she recognized him? Not to mention how different he was from the charming confident young man at the flower shop. Was he hiding something?

Whatever was wrong, she wanted to help him. She wasn’t going to let someone struggle in silence.

For the next few days at school, Haru kept her eyes open for Amamiya. She tried to ask around about him but anyone who was actually willing to talk to her only seemed to vaguely know who she was talking about.

She finally found him one day, exiting the library with a small stack of books.

“There you are!”

The dark-haired boy froze and looked at Haru with a nervous expression.

“Please don’t run away. I just wanted to talk, I’ve been worried about you.”

“Wait… Worried? About me?”

“You haven’t been to work since we bumped into each other the other day. Is there something the matter Amamiya-kun? Please whatever it is, I want to help...”

With some hesitance, Amamiya walked toward Haru.

“I’ll explain, just follow me.”

The two make their way outside the building and eventually sat down in one of the alcoves by the vending machines.

Amamiya looks around to see if anyone was near, takes a deep breath, and faces Haru.

“The truth is… my name isn’t Ren Amamiya. It’s Akira. The glasses and the headband are part of the… mask I wear for lack of a better word.”

“Why use a fake name? Why disguise yourself… are you in trouble Ama… I mean Akira-kun?”

Akira sighs, “No but I would be. Certain people in my life… wouldn’t approve of my choice of hobby. They want me to be more of a proper gentleman and well “proper gentlemen ” don’t plant and tend flowers. So I came up with the disguise so I could just get away from my regular life and do something I love. When you recognized me here, I was afraid that word would spread and everyone would find out.”

Haru sadly stares at him. She can’t imagine what it must be like to hide your passion in such a way. Without even thinking, Haru places her hand on top of Akira’s.

“Kurusu-chan?”

“Please, just call me Haru. And I promise Akira-kun, your secret is safe with me. You obviously care about working at the shop and it makes you happy. I never want to take that away from you. And if you ever need someone to confide in, I’ll be there.”

A tinge of pink covers Akira’s cheeks before he smiles.

“I… thank you Haru-chan.”

Haru squeezes Akira’s hand as she can feel a new power within her and time seeming to stop.

---------

She felt dizzy, her mouth was dry, and everything hurt.

Haru faced Niijima-san who seemed to pondering something.

“One of your later jobs involved probing into a certain conglomerate. There’s a possibility you even infiltrated their company building. Perhaps you had some sort of connection… Tell me about this person.”

Just as before with Niijima-san’s previous questions about her confidants, Haru stayed silent.

---------

I am thou, thou art I…

Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion

That breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Empress Persona,

I have obtained the winds of blessing that

Shall lead to freedom and new power…

Akira cleared his throat and Haru immediately pulled her hand away.

“I’m sorry, I just kind of...”

“N-no it’s fine. I just… I know I already said it but thank you. I’ll be back at Rafflesia in a couple days. Then… then maybe I’ll take you up on your offer. I should head home now, my father’s… well I don’t want to worry him. I’ll see you later, Haru-chan.”

“See you later, Akira-kun.”

She waved goodbye as Akira walked away. However she soon heard a familiar laugh from her bag. Haru quickly opened it up and found Morgana grinning like… well like the cat that caught the canary.

“Mona-chan, I thought you were napping! How much of that did you hear?”

“Enough. Don’t worry I won’t tell anyone about your boyfriend.”

With that Haru zipped her bag back up, stood up, and made her way to the station. All the while ignoring Morgana’s protests.

[kingsoftheweb-blog]

Top 5 Things We Discovered at The EX (CNE Toronto) 2019

New Post has been published on https://kingsoftheweb.ca/top-5-things-we-discovered-at-the-ex-cne-toronto-2019/

Top 5 Things We Discovered at The EX (CNE Toronto) 2019

The EX – CNE Toronto 2019

It’s not just an experience – it’s a FEELING

Yes, it’s that special time of year again. As the summer comes to a close (sorry, we had to mention it) anticipation grows as Torontonians get ready for the Canadian National Exhibition (aka-CNE or The Ex). No matter what name you choose, there is often a nostalgic feel that comes along with it. Ask any Torontonian what the summer means to them.  Besides the fact that it’s short-lived and humid, you will often hear a common phrase “summers are simply not complete without spending at least one day at the CNE”. And for good reasons.

It’s safe to say that most of us who were born and raised in the city, grew up with The Ex. I myself, remember my first experience very vividly, and it is deeply ingrained in my memory. I must have been no older than 10 years old, heading to the CNE with my mother, via the TTC subway. We rode in the front car, sitting right at the front seats (it’s the best view, of course). I was beyond excited, so the 30min train ride felt like an eternity! However, I didn’t really know what to expect. All I knew was what my mother told me beforehand, which was “the food is amazing, the rides are fun, and there are A LOT of games”. I quickly found out, she was telling the truth.

In addition to the fact that I had a wonderful and positive first experience, it was the start of a feeling. A very personal and intimate feeling of what the summer signified for me. Fast forward many (many!) years later, and I still find myself visiting the CNE almost every year.  Did you know that the CNE hosts 1.5 million visitors, annually? And I am certain most of them (just like me) have stories to tell, with the same nostalgic feeling.

Views from the CNE – The Toronto Skyline

Tell me more

The Canadian Nation Exhibition is short-lived. Some people complain that it’s not long enough, but I feel it’s one of the things that gives it appeal. This year in 2019, the CNE runs from August 16th to September 2nd. Expect to pay $35 for parking, and $19.99 for general admission (14-65yrs). Costs include ground admission and shows (games, rides, food, ect is extra). If the cost of parking is hard to swallow, you can always take the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) for $3.25 adult fare (kids are 12yrs are free).

If you’ve never been to The Ex, you’re in for a real treat (no pun intended). The Ex is famously known for a few things. If your taste buds are feeling brave, you will find lots of “exotic”, weird, and downright crazy foods and snacks. If games and prizes are your thing (gigantic Panda stuffy, anyone?), the CNE will not disappoint with hundreds of games at your fingertips. Bringing the kids? They are sure to be entertained with plenty of rides. Have a shopping itch that needs to be scratched? That won’t be a problem with over 4000+ retail exhibitors. And we simply cannot forget to mention the MASSIVE number of vendors selling everything and anything you can think of (and can’t think of!).  You are sure to feel the contagious happy vibe under the Torontonian skies.

This year, my husband and I ventured to the CNE for a fun-filled day of good weather, tasty (strange) eats, lots of laughs, and a massage chair (will explain later lol).

Now let’s get to the list …

TOP 5 THINGS WE DISCOVERED AT THE EX

1. Epic Multiculturalism 

The CNE – “Canada’s largest community event and one of the top agricultural fairs in North America” – is located in Toronto, Ontario. With a population of 2.8 million, Toronto is considered to be one of the most diverse cities in the entire world.  Enter through the tall gates, and you will automatically notice people from all different social and ethnic backgrounds. At The Ex, everyone is welcome and discrimination is non-existent.

The welcoming atmosphere is extremely apparent when visiting the International Pavillion. This marketplace is MASSIVE, coming in at around 110,000 square feet. If you really want to absorb everything this market has to offer, be prepared to walk (a lot). Featuring “treasures” from all around the world, you will see a vast assortment of clothing, food, jewellery, hand-made crafts, furniture, statues (just to name a few!). I was particularly biased towards the cool Egyptian booth. I mean, who could resist a small Pyramid figurine? Actually, my husband is Egyptian, and so I regard Egypt as my second home.

After all that walking, you might have worked up quite an appetite. Experience “tastes around the world” at the Toronto Star Food Building. Resembling a giant food court with at least 100 food stands, you can choose from a variety of international cuisines such as Indian, Lebanese, and Jamaican. The food building accommodates all food preferences, including vegan, halal, and gluten-free. Which then leads me to number 2 …

The Egyptian Booth at the International Pavillion

  2. Endless Food Supply

CNE is undoubtedly known for its’ food, food, and more food. Did we mention food? The grounds are literally swarmed with food stands, food trucks, and food vendors, selling any type of food you can dream of. It can be pretty overwhelming, but also mesmerizing (and mouth-watering!). I wish I was exaggerating here. In fact, you won’t be able to walk 10 feet without coming across a delectable treat. Speaking of which, every year the CNE introduces a new list of “crazy” foods. Some of the foods on the wacky list includes cotton candy tacos, apple cheesecake poutine, frozen spaghetti, pickle pizza, and pickle lemonade. If you’re feeling adventurous and looking to stimulate your taste buds, you’ve found the right place to do it.

Everyone who visits the CNE on the regular, has at least one or two (or three+) food items that they MUST eat before the day ends – NO EXEPTIONS. This is serious stuff, people. With that said, you will come across people that fit into one of these 3 categories, without fail:

THE REGULARS (aka- boring eaters) – they will eat the same food every year, and only indulge in the foods they know and prefer. They are not up for trying new foods. They take the safe and comfortable route.

 THE EXTREMISTS (aka- yolo eaters) – you know that “wacky” food list? It has their name on it. They make it a life mission to try every single weird food available to them. They will often be found in large groups (they need lots and lots of witnesses, pics, and vids).

THE BALANCERS (aka- cool eaters) – they will always eat their favourite treats, while introducing 1 or 2 new foods that they haven’t tried before. The new foods may or may not be on the crazy food list. They like to live on the edge, but only a little.

If you’re wondering what we ate, our menu consisted of: corn dogs, curly fries, Jamaican Jerk chicken and rice, waffle ice cream, Krispy Kreme donut burger, Tiny Toms donuts, chicken fingers on a stick,  and pickle pizza. My husband and I shared and

sampled everything! It feels good to know I am partnered with another foodie. So, I have a food confession to make. Every visit to the CNE must include my absolute favourite waffle ice cream ( I WILL NOT leave the premises until I get it). Every other food is negotiable, however I do like to indulge in new foods that tickle my fancy. This year, it was the pickle pizza and donut burger.

The pickle pizza is actually delicious, believe it or not. The fusion of flavours worked extremely well, and the dough was INCREDIBLE. The donut burger, you ask? Meh, not a big fan. First off, we found the Krispy Crème donuts to be stale (you know stale buns ruin the entire burger). The burger patty was very tasty, however it was overshadowed by the sweet, sticky, stale donuts. I am all for sweet and salty mixes, but this one was an epic fail. Sorry.

One last word of caution: be prepared with comfortable clothing (you will regret tight waistbands) AND cash. Unfortunately, the majority of the food trucks, vendors, and stands, only take cash as a form of payment. Which the leads me to number #3 …

3. Cash is King

If you hate carrying cash these days, you better love it at the CNE. One unfortunate thing we encountered was the lack of interact machines in the Toronto Start Food Building, and most of the food stands/trucks. You will see signs that say ‘Cash only’. This includes all the games (unless you purchase ticket coupons). It would not have been such a big deal, except for the fact that we didn’t expect it and clearly unprepared. Luckily, you will find plenty of ATM machines around, so no worries. However, keep in mind the ATM fees have a charge of $4. Bringing cash with you before you enter the CNE grounds, and avoiding the ATM machines, would be the better (cheaper) option.

Speaking of money, unless you plan on just walking the grounds without spending a dime, the CNE can get quite costly (this does not including the entrance fee or parking). The truth is, the temptation to buy is high. There is just so much to see and do (and eat!) that it can be easy to get carried away. Be warned – the indoor and outdoor markets and shopping pavillions can be a dangerous trap for shopping. And it starts out quite innocently. You will go into one of the buildings with no expectation to buy – simply to just “look around”. And before you know it, you have decided a jacuzzi is a necessity in your life, and you must own one. We didn’t get a jacuzzi (maybe next time) but we DID end up buying a massage chair pad. I mean, can you really blame us? Those things are life-changing.

You probably won’t end up buying a massage chair, but the odds of spending money on food is pretty big. An average meal at the Toronto Star Food Building is $10 or more. Even a “cheaper” alternative like pizza or fries, can set you back $8. Treats and snacks from the outdoor food trucks or stands are also around $6-$10. A bottle of water or pop is $4. The point here is, it all adds up pretty fast if you’re like us and eager to sample all the goodies.

Money rules – cards drool

4. Good Shoes is a MUST 

The EX is hosted at Exhibition Place – a 192 acre site, beautifully situated along Toronto’s waterfront. Here is a quick link to the CNE grounds map.

We arrived at the CNE at 12:15pm, and didn’t leave until 7:30pm. During these 7 1/2 hours, we did a whopping 22,000 steps! (the step counter watch does not lie).  It was safe to say we walked the entire CNE grounds more than once. We even ventured to Ontario Place, just to get a breather from the congestion of people and noises.

The weather at this time of year in Toronto is very warm and sometimes extremely humid, so you will want to dress appropriately. The best attire will be light and comfortable, with REALLY GOOD walking or running shoes. If you plan on spending the day here, it is an absolute certainty that you WILL be walking A LOT. The last thing you want is a painful foot blister or rash, or even Plantar fasciitis. This will literally ruin your entire day, so be wise with your shoe choices!

By the end of the day, we were completely exhausted. Our lower body had gotten a nice little workout, but it was sore as heck! It’s been 3 days since then, and we’re still recovering. Bottom line: WEAR GOOD SHOES.

  You will walk a lot ! Don’t say we didn’t warn ya!

5. Vendors and Online Businesses’ Galore!

The number of vendors or “Retail Exhibitors” this year was astonishing! The Ex featured 4000+ vendors, located in several indoor pavillions (buildings) and outdoor markets. Most of the vendors were “small businesses”, offering unique products or services. They seemed to project a very outgoing, friendly, and social vibe. However, some of them were a little “pushy”, and very eager to sell their merchandise. Nonetheless, we found it extremely enjoyable to walk amongst these lanes of small shops, browsing the plethora of goods. We would most definitely agree this was our favourite thing at the CNE.

Upon speaking with some of the vendors, we learned that more than half of them did not have a website for their business! This is an astonishing figure, considering online precense is EVERYTHING in this day and age. Let’s put it this way, if you’re not selling/promoting your business online in 2019 and beyond, you are really missing out.  We then asked if they were interested in or would consider having a website for their business. Most of them expressing similar feelings, “I don’t want to be bothered” “it’s too hard to maintain or update” “we don’t understand it”.

When we started explaining to them how easy the process is. And how laid back they can be once the website is live, since the website company ( Kings Of The Web ) will be taking care of everything else. A lot of them got very excited, and actually some of them signed up for website package, and the rest promised to sign up once the ex is finished, and they are more free on their time.

    That’s a wrap, folks! We look forward to CNE 2020, with new foods, new fun, and a new top 5 list.

[mahogany-siel]

september 5, this weekend i got dumb high in bed stuy

Have you ever met someone that makes you see all the things you want to be in them without even trying? I have and just in case this blog ever gets famous I will use a pseudonym for her name and call her Lisa Winton. 

Lisa is the type of black excellence that parents all want their daughters to grow into. She’s like Yara Shahidi but like not famous and completely out of reach. Lisa is beautiful, she is multi-talented, has great time management and most of all, is black AS FUUUCK. Not only did she organize a black activism lecture as a f*cking freshmen, but she also snagged an RA position, the same one I interviewed for and later got rejected. She also went to Cuba this summer. Yeah, she wanted to study abroad with other black and brown people because thats how real she is! Oh and how could I forget! She is double majoring in both fashion design (the hardest design major offered at Parsons) and a liberal arts degree (probably in Global Studies or Ethnicity and Race or some other socially conscious shit) and currently has a 4.0 GPA. She has blemish-free glowing cocoa skin and her hair is all natural of course. It’s long too, just like mine would be if I didn’t get that shitty perm when I was ten. But above all of these impressive things, most importantly, she is adorned by the black population of our school. She is like the “Queen of the Black Folk” and is treated by all of her peers as such. This bitch is damn near perfect and it feels like I am confronted with this every time I turn the corner BECAUSE EVERYONE KNOWS HER AND IS ALWAYS TALKING ABOUT HER. 

It may sound like I am immensely jealous of Lisa, and that’s probably because I am. Lisa Winton is who I think I want to be like. She seems to have all her shit together and knows who she is. All I want to do is know myself better than I do now and be able to convince people to love me for my authentic self. Lisa always seems to be like herself, she seems genuine and real and I think that is why so many people flock to her. I would love to have a multitude of people flock to me because of how authentic I am. I would love to give an aura of warmth by just being my damn self. Almost every time I talk to someone not my race, I feel like they are judging me in comparison to Lisa. I hate this because I know she represents a lot of the qualities I feel I lack, and I also know I will never be her. I wish white people (and other races) would stop creating such limited archetypes for black women and expecting the different ones to fit these few popularized molds.

Here’s what I think the real problem is: I am trying to be one or two archetypal black women instead of embracing my own interpretation of a black woman. I am Chanel Burns. I am a black woman and I am quirky and weird and I am sometimes uncomfortable to talk to. I have a white man’s sense of humor and my joke and story delivery is flawed. I am not perfect, and that should be okay. 

Wow I swear I am making real revelations on this site let me tell you.

Another black woman I obsessively compare myself to is nineteen year old Kaye Meredith*. She is the earthy, ethereal, always nurturing, carefree black girl type. She speaks with warmth and seems genuinely invested in whatever you are saying. She always adds something interesting or thoughtful to the conversation and you after speaking to her you always walk away with a positive impression, feeling just a little bit better about yourself. She is a Virgo. She is a healer. She lives in Crown Heights and wears braids with funky colored fibers intertwined. She is an illustrator and has a developed aesthetic. She seems to be the mother of her friend group and can be seen as a “melanin goddess” by her adorning Instagram followers. Kaye is from a PWI background but has somehow found a way to navigate the social atmosphere both black and white people with ease. She works at Urban Outfitters, and even though she recognizes the company’s flawed messages, she still is considered cool enough to work in the most stereotypical “cool kids” store. I could only wish. 

I want to be that girl that people flock to for guidance. I want to ooze sunshine and light when I walk in a room or speak. I want to have a lovely sense of style, a beautiful face, and be a strong artist. I want people to see how creative I am and just how well I can pull a vision together. I have so much good shit brewing in my head that I haven’t released yet because I do not know how. I need to carve out time to experiment outside of the Parsons curriculum. 

That brings me to my other point.

When I was in Brooklyn this weekend with Halley and her roommate, I got really reallyyyyyy high that night. In the span of a few hours, I was in Bed Stuy, on 34th Street at a Korean BBQ restaurant, and then on the train coming home to my lovely Greenwich Village dorm with a thing of cotton candy Cold Stone ice cream with gummy bears in it in my hand and all around my mouth. During this very intense high, that I for one, can say I have never experienced before, I came through with a lot of revelations. Most of which are just straight non-sense such as vividly seeing my best friend as thumb person from SpyKids (remember those guys???) for like fifteen minutes and throughly believing I was living in a black and white movie, the whole walk to the subway from Halley’s friend’s house. However, the most repetitive thing I wrote down in my notes was that I need to move to Brooklyn and paint more. I want to be a fine artist as much as I can, but in order to get into the program minor at my school and actually level up with my classmates, I need to dive into this field. A Brooklyn apartment is not necessarily crucial to accomplishing this, but I think living outside of Manhattan may give me some type of break from this fast paced life that would positively influence my mind and my art. I was talking to my RA this afternoon and the two main points she gave me about moving to Brooklyn is scout out areas well before you decide to move and to get a place close to a line near The New School (in other words the L,ACE,BDFM,123,456). 

I kind of have a packed week ahead of me which is refreshing. Tomorrow I have a Student of Color Meet Up which I decided to go to since I unofficially vowed to myself that I would go to every meet up offered in order to build a ~community~ with other black people. Can introverts comfortably fit in a community filled with effervescent extroverts? I guess we will see in coming weeks. I decided to go to one of my former classmate’s launch party on Friday night. I wasn’t sure if I should go since we aren’t really close friends at all and a lot of my black second year folks will be there having fun and conversing leaving me to feel like a f*cking weirdo. But there’s free drinks so...Imma just show my face at least haha. Saturday night I am getting tacos with a guy on Tinder. Is this self sabotage or is this me experiencing what’s out there as a truly single woman? The world has yet to tell me, but God has let me know that it is most likely gonna be the first and not as much the second. Oh well no one’s perfect! Or at least thats what I’ll tell myself for feeling less gullible. Anyway I’ll give more details on these upcoming events and the following topics in my later blog posts:

white boys and relationships with them, community, books that make me feel less lonely, the window lights on telling the stories of the New Yorkers I live across from, companionship and art, my desire for a man, why I shouldn’t always be so down on myself and whatever the hell else comes to mind! Stay tuned. 

*her name is not Kaye Meredith.

[kingsoftheweb-blog]

Top 5 Things We Discovered at The EX (CNE Toronto) 2019

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Top 5 Things We Discovered at The EX (CNE Toronto) 2019

The EX – CNE Toronto 2019

It’s not just an experience – it’s a FEELING

Yes, it’s that special time of year again. As the summer comes to a close (sorry, we had to mention it) anticipation grows as Torontonians get ready for the Canadian National Exhibition (aka-CNE or The Ex). No matter what name you choose, there is often a nostalgic feel that comes along with it. Ask any Torontonian what the summer means to them.  Besides the fact that it’s short-lived and humid, you will often hear a common phrase “summers are simply not complete without spending at least one day at the CNE”. And for good reasons.

It’s safe to say that most of us who were born and raised in the city, grew up with The Ex. I myself, remember my first experience very vividly, and it is deeply ingrained in my memory. I must have been no older than 10 years old, heading to the CNE with my mother, via the TTC subway. We rode in the front car, sitting right at the front seats (it’s the best view, of course). I was beyond excited, so the 30min train ride felt like an eternity! However, I didn’t really know what to expect. All I knew was what my mother told me beforehand, which was “the food is amazing, the rides are fun, and there are A LOT of games”. I quickly found out, she was telling the truth.

In addition to the fact that I had a wonderful and positive first experience, it was the start of a feeling. A very personal and intimate feeling of what the summer signified for me. Fast forward many (many!) years later, and I still find myself visiting the CNE almost every year.  Did you know that the CNE hosts 1.5 million visitors, annually? And I am certain most of them (just like me) have stories to tell, with the same nostalgic feeling.

Views from the CNE – The Toronto Skyline

Tell me more

The Canadian Nation Exhibition is short-lived. Some people complain that it’s not long enough, but I feel it’s one of the things that gives it appeal. This year in 2019, the CNE runs from August 16th to September 2nd. Expect to pay $35 for parking, and $19.99 for general admission (14-65yrs). Costs include ground admission and shows (games, rides, food, ect is extra). If the cost of parking is hard to swallow, you can always take the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) for $3.25 adult fare (kids are 12yrs are free).

If you’ve never been to The Ex, you’re in for a real treat (no pun intended). The Ex is famously known for a few things. If your taste buds are feeling brave, you will find lots of “exotic”, weird, and downright crazy foods and snacks. If games and prizes are your thing (gigantic Panda stuffy, anyone?), the CNE will not disappoint with hundreds of games at your fingertips. Bringing the kids? They are sure to be entertained with plenty of rides. Have a shopping itch that needs to be scratched? That won’t be a problem with over 4000+ retail exhibitors. And we simply cannot forget to mention the MASSIVE number of vendors selling everything and anything you can think of (and can’t think of!).  You are sure to feel the contagious happy vibe under the Torontonian skies.

This year, my husband and I ventured to the CNE for a fun-filled day of good weather, tasty (strange) eats, lots of laughs, and a massage chair (will explain later lol).

Now let’s get to the list …

TOP 5 THINGS WE DISCOVERED AT THE EX

The EX is an Epic Multiculturalism Hub

Endless Food Supply

Cash is King at the CNE

Good Shoes is a MUST

Vendors and Online Businesses Galore!

1. The EX is an Epic Multiculturalism Hub

The CNE – “Canada’s largest community event and one of the top agricultural fairs in North America” – is located in Toronto, Ontario. With a population of 2.8 million, Toronto is considered to be one of the most diverse cities in the entire world.  Enter through the tall gates, and you will automatically notice people from all different social and ethnic backgrounds. At The Ex, everyone is welcome and discrimination is non-existent.

The welcoming atmosphere is extremely apparent when visiting the International Pavillion. This marketplace is MASSIVE, coming in at around 110,000 square feet. If you really want to absorb everything this market has to offer, be prepared to walk (a lot). Featuring “treasures” from all around the world, you will see a vast assortment of clothing, food, jewellery, hand-made crafts, furniture, statues (just to name a few!). I was particularly biased towards the cool Egyptian booth. I mean, who could resist a small Pyramid figurine? Actually, my husband is Egyptian, and so I regard Egypt as my second home.

After all that walking, you might have worked up quite an appetite. Experience “tastes around the world” at the Toronto Star Food Building. Resembling a giant food court with at least 100 food stands, you can choose from a variety of international cuisines such as Indian, Lebanese, and Jamaican. The food building accommodates all food preferences, including vegan, halal, and gluten-free. Which then leads me to number 2 …

The Egyptian Booth at the International Pavillion

  2. Endless Food Supply

CNE is undoubtedly known for its’ food, food, and more food. Did we mention food? The grounds are literally swarmed with food stands, food trucks, and food vendors, selling any type of food you can dream of. It can be pretty overwhelming, but also mesmerizing (and mouth-watering!). I wish I was exaggerating here. In fact, you won’t be able to walk 10 feet without coming across a delectable treat. Speaking of which, every year the CNE introduces a new list of “crazy” foods. Some of the foods on the wacky list includes cotton candy tacos, apple cheesecake poutine, frozen spaghetti, pickle pizza, and pickle lemonade. If you’re feeling adventurous and looking to stimulate your taste buds, you’ve found the right place to do it.

Everyone who visits the CNE on the regular, has at least one or two (or three+) food items that they MUST eat before the day ends – NO EXEPTIONS. This is serious stuff, people. With that said, you will come across people that fit into one of these 3 categories, without fail:

THE REGULARS (aka- boring eaters) – they will eat the same food every year, and only indulge in the foods they know and prefer. They are not up for trying new foods. They take the safe and comfortable route.

 THE EXTREMISTS (aka- yolo eaters) – you know that “wacky” food list? It has their name on it. They make it a life mission to try every single weird food available to them. They will often be found in large groups (they need lots and lots of witnesses, pics, and vids).

THE BALANCERS (aka- cool eaters) – they will always eat their favourite treats, while introducing 1 or 2 new foods that they haven’t tried before. The new foods may or may not be on the crazy food list. They like to live on the edge, but only a little.

If you’re wondering what we ate, our menu consisted of: corn dogs, curly fries, Jamaican Jerk chicken and rice, waffle ice cream, Krispy Kreme donut burger, Tiny Toms donuts, chicken fingers on a stick,  and pickle pizza. My husband and I shared and

sampled everything! It feels good to know I’m partnered with another foodie. So, I have a food confession to make. Every visit to the CNE must include my absolute favourite waffle ice cream ( I WILL NOT leave the premises until I get it). Every other food is negotiable, however I do like to indulge in new foods that tickle my fancy. This year, it was the pickle pizza and donut burger.

The pickle pizza is actually delicious, believe it or not. The fusion of flavours worked extremely well, and the dough was INCREDIBLE. The donut burger, you ask? Meh, not a big fan. First off, we found the Krispy Crème donuts to be stale (you know stale buns ruin the entire burger). The burger patty was very tasty, however it was overshadowed by the sweet, sticky, stale donuts. I am all for sweet and salty mixes, but this one was an epic fail. Sorry.

One last word of caution: be prepared with comfortable clothing (you will regret tight waistbands) AND cash. Unfortunately, the majority of the food trucks, vendors, and stands, only take cash as a form of payment. Which the leads me to number #3 …

3. Cash is King at the CNE

If you hate carrying cash these days, you better love it at the CNE. One unfortunate thing we encountered was the lack of interact machines in the Toronto Start Food Building, and most of the food stands/trucks. You will see signs that say ‘Cash only’. This includes all the games (unless you purchase ticket coupons). It would not have been such a big deal, except for the fact that we didn’t expect it and were clearly unprepared. Luckily, you will find plenty of ATM machines around, so no worries. However, keep in mind the ATM fees have a charge of $4. Bringing cash with you before you enter the CNE grounds, and avoiding the ATM machines, would be the better (cheaper) option.

Speaking of money, unless you plan on just walking the grounds without spending a dime, the CNE can get quite costly (this does not including the entrance fee or parking). The truth is, the temptation to buy is high. There is just so much to see and do (and eat!) that it can be easy to get carried away. Be warned – the indoor and outdoor markets and shopping pavillions can be a dangerous trap for shopping. And it starts out quite innocently. You will go into one of the buildings with no expectation to buy – simply to just “look around”. And before you know it, you have decided a jacuzzi is a necessity in your life, and you must own one. We didn’t get a jacuzzi (maybe next time) but we DID end up buying a massage chair pad. I mean, can you really blame us? Those things are life-changing.

You probably won’t end up buying a massage chair, but the odds of spending money on food is pretty big. An average meal at the Toronto Star Food Building is $10 or more. Even a “cheaper” alternative like pizza or fries, can set you back $8. Treats and snacks from the outdoor food trucks or stands are also around $6-$10. A bottle of water or pop is $4. The point here is, it all adds up pretty fast if you’re like us and eager to sample all the goodies.

Money rules – cards drool

4. Good Shoes is a MUST 

The EX is hosted at Exhibition Place – a 192 acre site, beautifully situated along Toronto’s waterfront. Here is a quick link to the CNE grounds map.

We arrived at the CNE at 12:15pm, and didn’t leave until 7:30pm. During these 7 1/2 hours, we did a whopping 22,000 steps! (the step counter watch does not lie).  It was safe to say we walked the entire CNE grounds more than once. We even ventured to Ontario Place, just to get a breather from the congestion of people and noises.

The weather at this time of year in Toronto is very warm and sometimes extremely humid, so you will want to dress appropriately. The best attire will be light and comfortable, with REALLY GOOD walking or running shoes. If you plan on spending the day here, it is an absolute certainty that you WILL be walking A LOT. The last thing you want is a painful foot blister or rash, or even Plantar fasciitis. This will literally ruin your entire day, so be wise with your shoe choices!

By the end of the day, we were completely exhausted. Our lower body had gotten a nice little workout, but it was sore as heck! It’s been 3 days since then, and we’re still recovering. Bottom line: WEAR GOOD SHOES.

  You will walk a lot ! Don’t say we didn’t warn ya!

5. Vendors and Online Businesses Galore!

The number of vendors or “Retail Exhibitors” this year was astonishing! The Ex featured 4000+ vendors, located in several indoor pavillions (buildings) and outdoor markets. Most of the vendors were “small businesses”, offering unique products or services. They seemed to project a very outgoing, friendly, and social vibe. However, some of them were a little “pushy”, and very eager to sell their merchandise. Nonetheless, we found it extremely enjoyable to walk amongst these lanes of small shops, browsing the plethora of goods. We would most definitely agree this was our favourite thing at the CNE.

Upon speaking with some of the vendors, we learned that more than half of them did not have a website for their business! This is an astonishing figure, considering online precense is EVERYTHING in this day and age. Let’s put it this way, if you’re not selling/promoting your business online in 2019 and beyond, you are really missing out.  We then asked if they were interested in or would consider having a website for their business. Most of them expressing similar concerns “I don’t want to be bothered” “it’s too hard to maintain or update” or “we don’t understand how it works”. These are all legitimate concerns. For a new (or even existing) business owner embarking on the first website journey, it can be overwhelming and even daunting.

Then we started explaining to them how easy the process can be if you choose a good website design and development company. Not to mention how relaxed you can be once the website is live, with a company that “has your back”. Rest assured, Kings Of The Web is that company – we take care of everything! And so a lot of the vendors we spoke with got very hopeful and excited. Some of them even signed up for a website package, and others promised to sign up once they had more free time, after the CNE was closed. All in all, we were happy to spread the word about Kings of the Web; we are proud of our website design and website development company, and we have A LOT to offer!

Sure we bought a massage chair pad (don’t judge), but we came out with so much more. If you’re a business that does not have a website, we encourage you to consider (or reconsider). We simply cannot stress this enough, ONLINE PRESENCE IS EVERYTHING in this digital age.  There can never be enough exposure for your products and/or services, and the internet is THE BEST platform for it.

That’s a wrap, folks! We look forward to CNE 2020, with new foods, new fun, and a new top 5 list.

And here is an extra goodie – A 10 mins footage of our cne toronto 2019 tour