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what-is-your-plan-today · 4 years ago

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Stark Spangled Rebirth

Chapter 1: Flowers In The Window

Summary: Steven Grant Rogers, the dumb kid, too stubborn to run away from a fight, was never gonna allow a bunch of no-good low-lives to hassle a dame in the street, even if it was going to lead to him getting his ass kicked. For once, however, the ass kicking has an upside as the dame in question seemed particularly grateful, a fact she displays a few days later at the Stark Expo.

But it wasn’t the only encounter that night that seemed set to change his life when Dr Erskine throws him a bone, meaning Steve can finally do the one thing he’s been desperate to do for years.

Join the army.

Warnings: Bad Language words. Nothing much… Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: As part of SSB’s 1st Birthday, @sweater-daddiesdumbdork sent me and ask asking what would have gone down so to speak should Katie have been part of the CA: TFA timeline. So here it is, my take! I’ll be trying to keep this fic as accurate to the time period and the movie as possible, just like with the other SS fics. I’ve gleamed the dates and timeline from good old google and a wonderful post that flipped up on my timeline which can be found here.

I really hope you enjoy this, there will be some creative license because, let’s face it, what is Fan Fic other than self-indulgence? I’ve been dying to write something like this for ages. All of it will be written from Steve’s point of view because…well, just because. Huge thanks to my beta readers @southerngracela and @icanfeelastormbrewing who both found time in their hugely hectic schedules to check this over. That said, any mistakes are my own. I’ll probably spot them once posted but, whatever!

HAPPY 1 YEAR BIRTHDAY to STARK SPANGLED BANNER!!!!

SSR Masterlist // WIYPT Masterlist

June 1943

It started just the same as any normal Friday morning for Steven Grant Rogers. He unlocked the back of the Grocery Store on the corner of Berry Street in Brooklyn, using the entrance down the alley way reserved for staff. Once inside he grabbed his beige coloured linen apron off the hook and smiled at the items he had to work with today. Fridays, were always a treat as they took the rare delivery of freshly cut flowers ready to be sold for the weekend. This week there were boxes of bright white gardenias with their waxy petals and shiny, leathery dark green leaves, bunches of bright purple heliotrope which always reminded him of one of his mother’s scarves, and plenty of white, blue and purple asters. Steve bent down to take in the strong, vibrant fragrance of the gardenias, closing his eyes. It was easy to imagine he was in some garden somewhere, or even the middle of central park…not some little shop in Williamsberg.

“Don’t be inhaling enough of that to set your asthma off!” Mr Tromley, a kindly faced, portly man in his 50s greeted, and Steve turned to look at him, smiling a little shyly.

“I won’t Mr T.” he assured him. “They’re just so darn pretty…”

“Well set yourself a few aside.” Mr Tromley smiled “You can take them home and sketch them.”

“Oh, I couldn’t” Steve protested, the way he always did when Mr Tromley tried to slip him something for free be it scraps of meat he couldn’t sell from the counter that would be given to dogs, bread that wasn’t as soft as it had been in the morning and would be fed to the birds, milk that was going to turn, cheese that was slightly past its best. Mr Tromley ignored all his protests though, usually threatening to sack Steve if he didn’t take it. The man knew what it was like to come from a hard background, which was part of the reason he’d taken a shine to that sickly, 22 year old orphan with a degree in fine arts that had come begging for a job some 3 years ago. He couldn’t pay him much but he could do other things to make sure he got by.

“Well if you don’t take ‘em Steve they’ll just end up withering and a-dyin’, so reckon you’d be doin’ em a kindness.” Mr Tromley shrugged “Now, my Ada has some coffee going, you want a cup before we open the doors?”

Steve glanced at the clock above the counter, more out of habit than anything as he knew full well that he arrived with an hour to go.

“Mr T that’d be swell.” He smiled.

“Okay, you get started and I’ll fetch it down.”

Steve began in the usual way, pulling some simple bouquets together, varying in size and price, ready for the busy men to pick up on their way home from work, a nice present for their dame’s for the weekend. Once the stalks and lower foliage were trimmed and stripped, he fastened and tied them in simple brown waxy paper using plain brown string. Steve always insisted on using plain wrapping as anything else would detract from the beauty of the flowers. He placed the finished bouquets into one of the green buckets of water Mr Tromley fetched from the back, before he then carefully and delicately trimmed down the remaining flowers before placing them loose in their own buckets according to type, ready for the ladies, and occasional gentleman, who had the time and desire to create their own bunches.

Impeccably organised, as ever, Steve finished his work 15 minutes before the store was due to open. He then set about helping Mr Tromley as they arranged the buckets outside the shop window on the sidewalk, before they set up the other stalls of seasonal vegetables. There wasn’t much fruit to go by at the moment, but that was a sign of the times really. But what they did have, namely a selection of apples and oranges, they set those out ready too. Once that was done, Mr Tromley handed Steve a thick wedge of fresh bread which had been delivered that morning from the local bakery, along with some of his wife’s home-made jam which was sold from their shop. Steve took his breakfast with a mumbled thanks, averse to taking the daily handouts as ever, and Mr Tromley sighed.

“Steve, when are you going to realise that a piece of bread and jam for breakfast ain’t gonna bankrupt me?”

“I just don’t want to appear to take advantage, that’s all.” “Ah quit it.” Tromley waved his hand, shaking his head “If I didn’t want you to take advantage of it, I wouldn’t offer it would I? Now, eat that and get behind the counter.”

The morning passed much the same as they always did. A flurry of activity at opening, a steady stream of locals and regulars through to the usual peak of activity just before lunch. Like clockwork, Mr Tromley closed the doors bang on midday for an hour and Steve gathered his sketchbook along with the brown paper bag which contained his cheese and bread, and headed outside into the sun. At Mr Tromley’s instruction he selected an apple from the display and crossed the road avoiding the yellow cabs and cyclists and trams, taking up seat on the bench which sat directly opposite the shop front. He chewed his lunch, washed it down with the tin bottle of lemonade that Mrs Tromley had filled for him earlier, and then once he had finished his apple he tossed the core over to a pigeon who instantly began pecking at it. He then untucked the pencil that was behind his ear, opened his sketchbook and resumed the detailed landscapes he was doing of the buildings surrounding the shop front. Drawing was his escape, something he did any chance he got. He dreamed one day of travelling the world, drawing all the different sights he could, but that was out of the question. Well, until he finally got into the army. With 4 failed attempts under his belt already, most men would have given up but not Steven Rogers. Stubborn, tenacious and plucky to a fault, he was already planning his next attempt at enlisting, this time he was going to hail from New Jersey. Well, as good a place as any.

Steve glanced up, checking the detail of the window to the cobblers next door, and that was when he saw her, just walking down the sidewalk. She wore a red high-collared, cap sleeved tea-dress which flared out slightly from her hips and finished just below her knee. It was cinched in at the waist with a black belt, and was detailed round the hem and sleeve edges with pretty white lace. On her feet she wore a pair of simple, elegant black block heel courts with a T-bar buckle. Her hair was a silky, shiny chestnut which hung around her face in bouncy waves and she had a soft, gentle profile with high cheekbones, slightly flushed cheeks and ruby lips. She stopped outside the shop, examining the flowers with a smile, and then she looked up at the shop door and saw the CLOSED sign in the window. She can’t be from around here, Steve thought to himself, everyone in the neighbourhood knew when Tromley closed his doors and opened them, you could set your watch by it. Still, she hung around, softly picking up a gardenia and holding it to her nose, smiling to herself as she inhaled.

Steve found the innocent act breath-taking. He felt a little, well, shameful in a way, to be watching her so, intruding on what was clearly a private moment but he couldn’t help it. She was beautiful, grace personified, and he felt a little sad as she replaced the flower, gave the buckets one last look, before she continued on her way. Steve sighed, wishing to God that the shop had been open, it would have given him an excuse to maybe see her a little more closely. Perhaps talk to her. Or not as the case maybe, Bucky was always telling him how useless he was when it came to striking up conversations with ladies. But, for now, he had to settle for watching her walk away. Only he wasn’t the only one.

“Hey pretty thing…” Steve heard a voice and turned to his left where a group of men, most likely in their late teens or early twenties, had spotted her. As Steve watched he saw one of them push himself off the lamppost he’d been leaning on and cross the street towards her. The lady stopped, looking at him with her eyebrow raised. He spoke to her again, Steve couldn’t hear the conversation but a smile tugged at his lips as the lady looked the boy up and down, disdain etched all over her pretty face before she shook her head and laughed. She made to move past the kid but he reached out and grabbed her arm.

And Steve just couldn’t help himself.

“Hey…” he called, jumping up and hurrying across the street “Let the lady go.”

“Back off, this has nothing to do with you.” The man rounded on him, looking at him before he snorted at Steve’s stature. “Besides, what you gonna do about it anyway?”

Steve took a deep breath, he was used to people looking down their noses at him, both figuratively and literally. That was part and parcel of being only 5 foot 4 inches tall. He also knew that at 100lb give or take, he didn’t cut a formidable figure either, but he was damned if he was going to let this bully manhandle a dame in the middle of the street.

The woman wrenched her arm away from the man’s grip and glared at him, furious green eyes bored into his as she snorted and looked the guy up and down. “He’s clearly twice the gentleman you’ll ever be. Didn’t your mother ever teach you basic, good manners jack ass?”

“What did you just say?” a sudden darkness crossed the man’s face as he looked down at the woman who stood, un-yielding, clutching her purse as it hung around her shoulder.

“You heard me, well unless you’re deaf as well as ugly.” she shrugged slightly. At that Steve really couldn’t hold his face straight anymore and he felt the side of his lips curl up into a smirk. He was sure the pretty dame’s eyes flickered to his but he must have imagined it as when he stole a glance back at her she was staring straight back at the man who’d been giving her the trouble.

“Mouthy little broad you ain’t ya?” he snarled.

“Show some damned respect.” Steve shot out, and this time the man rounded on him. Steve stood stock still, his mother’s words echoing clearly in his head- you start running, they’ll never let you stop and he was aware in his peripheral that the other 2 men who’d been observing until now were starting to circle like sharks who had just had their first taste of blood.

He braced himself, ready for the inevitable fight, legs slightly apart, hands balling into fists by his side. But it was no use. He was never going to be fast enough or strong enough for one of these guys, let alone 3, and as the fist connected with his face he heard a scream and a yell as he fell backwards into the display of oranges and apples which he had lovingly helped Mr T prepare before.

Steve staggered to his feet, readying himself for another hit but it didn’t come. Instead one of the guys was sent sprawling to the ground besides him, shortly followed by the other. He wheeled round to see Bucky had the one that was left standing pinned up by the collar against the brick wall to the side of the shop and Mrs T was on the door step brandishing a broom handle, a string of Italian expletives leaving her mouth.

“Get outta here…” Bucky shoved the one that he was holding harshly into the road where he narrowly avoided colliding with the side of a yellow cab. Then turns to Steve and pulls him up.

“Seriously?” Bucky groaned and Steve shook his head, dusting himself down “You pick a fight with 3 at once?”

“He didn’t pick a fight with any of them.” A soft voice spoke and both Steve and Bucky turned to look at the dame in the red dress who was dusting herself down as her eyes flitted from Bucky, to Steve, then back again. “He came to help me when one of those bozos was getting a little too familiar.”

“That’s Stevie, a regular Knight in shining armour…” Bucky ruffled Steve’s hair as he gave an exasperated sigh, pushing himself away from his best friend. “Especially when there’s a beautiful dame involved.”

The lady looked at Bucky, arching an eyebrow slightly before she looked back at Steve and he gulped slightly as for the first time he took her in properly. She was gorgeous. Deep green eyes that sparkled like emeralds in a coal mine looked back at him from a heart shaped face, nose speckled with freckles which twitched a little as she smiled revealing a row of perfectly straight, white teeth

"I guess I should thank you Stevie." She spoke, and Steve felt the heat rise in his cheeks.

"It was nothing...I just.." he stopped dead as she reached out and straightened his tie, long eyelashes blinking against his cheeks as she smoothed over his shoulders and dropped a kiss to his cheek.

"My hero"

Steve swallowed and looked at the woman as she stepped back, smiling at him.

“I err, it was…my pleasure.” Steve stuttered and the lady arched an eyebrow, a grin on her face.

“Interesting choice of words.”

“I mean, not pleasure, obviously. No one likes seeing a beautiful dame getting hassled, I mean woman, not that…” he shook his head, as Bucky nudged him. He was rambling, as per usual. “I err, I should…”he gestured to the shop as Mr and Mrs Tromley were now looking at the mess of fruit all over the floor.

“I’m sorry about that.” She turned to the shopkeepers who looked at her, Mrs Tromley waving her away.

“Not your fault dear.”

“Can I at least buy some of the flowers?” She asked, a little shyly “That is what I actually wanted to do after all.”

“Of course, Steven, can you…” Mr T nodded to Steve and then his eyes fell on Bucky “James Buchanan Barnes, what are you doing here?”

“Got a week or so’s furlough, Mr T and Ma sent me for some stuff, I gotta list.” he nodded, fishing it out of his pocket.

Tromley took it from him, scanned it and then turned to walk into the shop, beckoning for Bucky to follow him. Steve’s eyes followed his friend’s broad back as Bucky paused in the doorway and stopped, turning back to the woman. Steve groaned inwardly, he knew that face, Bucky was about to turn on the charm and she was no doubt going to fall in a pool at his feet, just like most of the other girls in the neighbourhood.

“You’re not from round here, right?” Bucky asked.

“What makes you say that?” she countered with a question of her own, looking Bucky up and down as she spoke.

“Never seen you before.”

“Know all the girls in Brooklyn, do you James Buchanan Barnes?” she asked, and Bucky gave a chuckle as she repeated his name to him and winked.

“Only the pretty ones.” “Well I suppose with most men joining the army the moment, even the pretty ones can’t be choosers.”

At that Steve let out a snort of laughter as Bucky blinked in surprise. “Ouch.” He gave a little scoff and shake of his head before he turned to walk into the shop.

“He always like that?” the lady looked at Steve who took a deep breath and smiled a little.

“Yes Ma’am. And to be honest it normally works.” Steve glanced at Bucky before he looked back at the woman who was looking at him, her eyes twinkling “Most girls just can’t say no!”

“Well, I’ll let you into a secret.” She grinned and leaned closer to Steve. “I’m not like most girls.”

Steve swallowed again, nervously brushing a hand through his hair as she straightened up and smiled at him. “I’m Katie by the way, seems only fair you know my name seeing as I know yours.”

“I err, that’s a pretty name.” Steve smiled and then inwardly cursed himself again. He really had no idea how to talk to dames.

“Thank you.” She giggled, and then she turned to the buckets “So errr, do you wanna make me a bouquet Steve? Something pretty for my room.”

Glad of the distraction, Steve nodded and turned to the various bunches of flowers. “I err, I noticed you were admiring the gardenias, so…” “You were watching me?” she spoke and Steve looked at her, ready to start protesting that wasn’t what he’d been doing when he spotted the glint in her eyes and he shook his head giving a sigh. She grinned “I love gardenias, lilies are my favourite but gardenias are pretty too.”

“Yeah we don’t have any lilies, unfortunately.” Steve shrugged “They were my Ma’s favourite too.”

If she noticed the use of the past tense verb when speaking about his mother she didn’t say anything, but really what would she say? They’d met literally about 5 minutes ago. Steve set about gathering a generous bunch of flowers as she instructed him to make it a large bouquet and then she followed him into the shop where he wrapped them in brown paper and string as Bucky was leaning against the counter, chatting to the Tromleys, Mrs Tromley laughing loudly at something he’d said.

“You are a cad Bucky Barnes!” she look at him, shaking her head “Isn’t it bad enough you joined the army? You’ll give your ma a heart attack one of these days.”

Bucky shrugged “It wasn’t so bad, he never caught me. Even on a bum ankle I was faster.”

“You been caught in places you shouldn’t be again Buck?” Steve looked at him and he shrugged, grinning.

“You know me Stevie…”

“Yeah, yeah I do.” Steve rolled his eyes before he tied off the bouquet with the string and then handed it to Katie. She smiled.

“You have talented hands.” She spoke gently and Steve flushed once more, rubbing the back of his hands.

“Yeah, he’s good with them.” Bucky spoke and Steve glared at him. Katie turned to look at Bucky again, a smirk playing on her lips.

“Makes a change, in my experience most men don’t know the first thing about how to use them.”

Mrs Tromley choked a little on her coffee as she looked at the younger woman, flashing her a wink. Katie bit her lip, her mouth curling up into a small smile as she rummaged in her purse, pulling out a small leather wallet.

“How much do I owe you?”

“No charge.” Mr Tromley spoke suddenly but Katie shook her head.

“I insist, I was responsible for your display getting trashed, least I can do is pay for these.”

“Oh trust me.” Mr Tromley smiled, “Seeing you put that toe-rag into them was worth it.”

“Yeah, you had some pretty vicious moves for a dame.” Bucky looked at her and she shrugged as Steve frowned.

“Wait, you…” “Don’t look so surprised.” Katie smiled “A girl should always know how to defend herself. But if I’m honest, it’s always nice to have a man do it for you.”

At that she smiled and slapped some money down on the counter, stepping back. “Keep the change in insist.”

Mr Tromley looked at her, then at the note, his mouth falling open a little.

“Thank you again Steve.” She picked up the bouquet. “Maybe I’ll see you around.”

“I hope so, I mean…yeah…come back soon.”

She smiled and with a final look in his direction she left, the bell ringing as the door opened and shut behind her. There was a pause until Bucky turned to Steve.

“Come back soon?” he looked at him “Really? That’s the best you could do?”

Steve groaned. “Piss off Bucky.” He shot, giving a yelp as Mrs T swatted at his head.

“Language Steven!” she scalded, as Mr T chuckled and slid the money she’d left to Steve across the counter. Steve blinked and looked at it, before he shook his head. Mr Tromley glared at him.

“You don’t take that you’re fired.”

With a groan Steve folded the $5 note up and slid it into the pocket of his slacks. Mrs Tromley muttered something about going to check on her scones which were in the oven upstairs and Mr Tromley headed into the back, leaving Steve and Bucky alone.

“You know, that dame was practically begging for you to ask her out on a date.” Bucky picked up the paper bag containing the groceries he had come for and Steve looked at him, snorting.

“You’re joking right?” the smaller man shook his head “Dame’s like that don’t want a guy like me.” “Clueless.” Bucky shook his head “Absolutely fucking clueless.” Steve watched him head to the door, before he stopped and turned back. “Oh that reminds me. Ma’s expecting you about 6 for dinner. She’s making meatloaf and told me that if you refuse she’s gonna, and I quote.” Bucky cleared his throat and spoke in a light, airey impression of his Ma “march round to his house and drag him outta that apartment by his ear.”

Steve rolled his eyes well naturedly. He hadn’t been to the Barnes’ for dinner for a week so he wasn’t surprised Winnie had sent Bucky with an invitation that was more of an instruction than anything. “Okay, thanks Buck.”

Bucky gave him a salute before he headed out of the store, whistling to himself. Steve took a deep breath, shook his head and turned back to his work, pushing all thoughts of the stunning young woman in the red dress out of his mind.

“You just don’t know when to give up, do you?” the taunting voice of his opponent rang in Steve’s ears as he staggered to his feet. This wasn’t how he’d planned his trip to the movie theatre going, not one iota. But when the loudmouthed asshole had done nothing but show total disrespect to those fighting overseas as the infomercial was showing, his temper had gotten the better of him and once more had led to him getting into a fight. As far as Monday’s went, this one was pretty crappy.

Which of course he could never walk away from.

“I can do this all day.” Steve huffed, swinging his fist at the guy again. The jerk easily blocked Steve’s feeble punch with his arm, delivering a huge jab with his left which sent Steve sprawling straight into the side of the trashcan from which he’d picked up the lid before. As Steve lay dazed, he heard a familiar voice breaking through the fog.

“Hey! Pick on someone your own size.” Bucky yanked the guy backwards by his jacket, shoving him a little down the alleyway. The guy swung at Bucky who dodged it almost lazily, before delivering a punch of his own, placing a firm boot up the guys ass as he retreated hurriedly. Watching as he scooted away, Bucky turned to Steve who was stood with his hands on his knees, steadying himself.

“Sometimes, I think you like getting punched.”

“I had him on the ropes.” Steve replied, pressing the heel of his palm to the cut above his eyebrow, wincing a little from the various blows he’d taken.

Bucky said nothing, instead he bent down to pick up the enlistment form that had fallen from Steve’s pocket and with a sigh he glanced at it.

“How many times is this?” his eyes scanned the information and he arched an eyebrow “Oh, you’re from Paramus now? You know it’s illegal to lie on the enlistment form. And seriously, Jersey?”

Steve ignored him, and then for the first time looked up at his friend to see him stood tall in his full army uniform. Which could only mean one thing. “You get your orders?” he frowned a little.

“The one-o-seventh. Sergeant James Barnes. Shipping out for England first thing tomorrow.”

Steve sighed, great. Just what he needed to hear. “I should be going.” He shook his head dejectedly.

Bucky looked at him sympathetically before he smiled, and looked an arm round his shoulder, pulling him closer in a friendly gesture as they both began to head back down the alley towards the main road.

“Come on, man, it’s my last night! Gotta get you cleaned up.”

“Why? Where are we going?”

“The future.” Bucky handed Steve the newspaper he was holding. Steve opened it to see the ad for the World Exposition Of Tomorrow.

“Buck…” he began to protest but Bucky stopped him.

“Seriously? My last night before I ship off to bust Nazi’s and you’re already tryin’a bail?”

“No, I just…” “Stevie!” Bucky whined. “Since I got my draft last September, I’ve hardly seen you other than when I’ve been home…”

“I know, but…” “No buts, man! I mean who knows when I’m gonna see you again now I’m actually being sent into combat and not just back to Camp McCoy. You know, London is a little further afield than Wisconsin “

“I’m well aware of that.” Steve rolled his eyes.

“So come on! Let’s go, have some fun. Cut loose a little. It’ll do you good.”

Steve looked up to see Bucky’s eyes shining with mischief, his handsome face grinning at him and he rolled his eyes “Fine, but you’re buying the hotdogs.”

“What else is new?” Bucky grinned, grabbing Steve in a headlock and ruffling his hair a little.

“Jerk.” Steve said furiously, pushing him away.

A couple of hours later the 2 of them entered the Expo, Steve taking in the sights around him. It was crazy busy, a buzz of excitement around the air and it was hardly surprising. Howard Stark, the guy at the centre of it all was somewhat of a celebrity. He’d founded his company some 4 years ago at the age of 22 and it had grown from strength to strength, with numerous pioneering technological advances to his name. Steve would be lying if he said he wasn’t a little excited to see the latest and no doubt flamboyant invention the guy had come up with, but his mind was still on his failed Army application, the feeling of inadequacy exacerbated even more by the fact Bucky was going to be leaving him behind to serve his country, something that Steve felt he should be doing right along with his best pal.

Sensing his brooding nature, Bucky nudged him and opened his mouth no doubt to make some wise crack, but Steve shook his head.

“Buck, just don’t”

“I don’t see what the problem is.” Bucky shook his head as they wandered down the steps towards the main pavilion area “You’re about to be the last eligible man in New York.” Bucky grinned, and Steve sighed heavily. Yup, there it was. “You know, there’s three and a half million women here.”

“Well, I’d settle for just one.” Steve muttered and Bucky grinned, Steve allowing a little smile to spread across his face at his own joke.

“Good thing I took care of that.” Bucky grinned and waved to two girls, a blonde and a brunette, who stood a few feet away and Steve stopped dead as one of the girls waved back, calling out to Bucky.

Great, here we go again.

“What did you tell her about me?” Steve groaned. “Only the good stuff.” Bucky smirked as they walked towards the girls, Steve brushing his hand through his hair, making sure it was as tidy as he could.

Bucky introduced the girls as Connie and Bonnie. It was obvious from the start that Connie was the one Bucky was trying his luck with, although to be fair Bonnie might as well have been with Bucky too for all the attention she paid to Steve. As they wandered into the Pavilion, Steve stopped to purchase a bag of sweets before he followed on behind the other 3, glancing around at the various exhibits.

“Welcome to the Modern Marvels Pavilion and the World of Tomorrow.” The expo announcer spoke “A greater world. A better world.”

There was a little bit of murmuring from people in front of them as they stopped, glancing at the large stage in front of them which was currently dark, but then there was movement, music struck up and Connie grabbed Bucky’s arm in excitement.

“Oh, my God! It’s starting!” she squealed and yanked on Bucky’s hand, pulling him closer. As Steve stood behind them he saw the stage light up to reveal a row of women all dressed in black and white striped waistcoats, short jackets and top hats. One of them walked across the front of the stage, smiling as she spoke into a microphone

“Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Howard Stark!”

Smooth and cool as a cucumber, Howard Stark strode onto the stage, taking off his top hat, whilst he smiled, handing it to the announcer before kissing her as the crowd cheered. Howard smirked a little, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket which he used to dab at his mouth before he addressed his audience.

“Ladies and Gentlemen!” at that point Steve held the small paper bag over towards Bonnie who looked at it, then him, almost scathingly as Howard continued his speech. “What if I told you that in just a few short years, your automobile won’t even have to touch the ground at all?”

“You know…” a vaguely familiar voice spoke and Steve looked up from where he had been examining his bag of bonbons, wondering what was wrong with them, to see the woman from the shop a few weeks ago, Katie stood to the side of Bonnie. She was dressed in a simple grey dress which sported a pencil style skirt, with a light blue cardigan covering her shoulders. “When a gentleman offers you a sweet and you don’t want one, there’s really no need to be such a rude bitch about it.”

Her eyes were narrowed as she gave Bonnie a scathing look. Bonnie floundered a little as Katie reached out, dipping her red nailed, manicured hand into the paper bag and taking a sweet. In doing so she jostled Bonnie forward a little with her elbow, and turned to the stage, popping the bonbon in her mouth, giving Steve a little wink. Steve felt his cheeks flush a little as Bucky turned a little, his attention drawn to the slight scuffle behind him. He saw Katie stood next to Steve and he grinned.

“Hey Dollface.” Katie turned her head and looked at Bucky as Steve rolled his eyes. However, just like at the shop, she payed Bucky no attention other than a flick of her eyebrow, before her eyes flicked back to the stage, Steve doing the same to see that Stark was now stood by some sort of podium.

“With Stark robotic reversion technology, you’ll be able to do just that.” Howard spoke, and with that he turned to fiddle with a few switches on the podium and the car started to hover ever so slightly off the ground. Steve felt his mouth drop open in awe as in front of him Bucky let out an astonished mumble.

“Holy cow.”

But he spoke too soon, as the robots making the car hover suddenly malfunctioned and the car fell back onto the stage with a loud crash, sparks flying out round it.

Bucky turned to look at Steve, smiling as Steve’s eyebrows raised, and besides him, Katie gave a snort.

“I did say a few years, didn’t I?” Howard laughed, leaning on the bonnet of the car.

“Few years my ass.” Katie mumbled and Steve looked at her.

“What?”

“Nothing, doesn’t matter.” she shook her head. “Listen, I gotta go-”

“Oh, ok.” Steve tried not to sound disappointed but Katie smiled at him softly, cutting him off.

“Meet me at the Cider cart in an hour.”

“I err…” Steve stuttered, before he frowned “You sure, you wanna meet me?”

“If I didn’t I wouldn’t have said so.” Katie grinned, “1 hour, don’t you dare be late.”

“Yeah, an hour, got it…”

Not quite able to believe his luck, Steve watched her go, smiling to himself before he glanced around and his eyes stopped on the familiar Uncle Sam poster pointing at him, with an arrow directing him to a recruitment centre. What the hell, he had nothing to lose…and an hour was plenty of time. Decision made, he followed the signs and jogged up the steps into the building, pausing to take a look around as people were milling in the carpeted hallway.

“Come on soldier!” a woman giggled at her male company, pulling him away from a mirror making him look like a soldier. Once he was gone Steve stepped in front of the mirror but he was too short to fill out the face. His shoulders slumped and then suddenly, a strong hand gripped his right and Bucky chuckled.

“You’re kind of missing the point of a double date.” He said, shaking his head as Steve stepped away, turning to face him “We’re taking the girls dancing.”

“You go ahead. I’ll catch up with you.” Steve replied, hands dropping into his pockets.

“What, you had a better offer? From Doll face?”

“Her name is Katie.”

“Oh my God I’m right!” Bucky laughed “Good for you, Punk!”

Steve rolled his eyes and then watched as a man strode past him in an Army Uniform and when Steve looked back at Bucky, his friend’s face now sported an exasperated expression as he’d clearly realised what Steve was planning. “You’re really gonna do this again?”

“Well, it’s a fair. I’m gonna try my luck.” Steve answered with a little shrug.

“As who? Steve from Ohio? They’ll catch you. Or worse, they’ll actually take you.” Bucky’s voice was frustrated and Steve gave a little smile.

“Look, I know you don’t think I can do this, but I’m more-“

“This isn’t a back alley, Steve. It’s war!” Bucky cut him off.

“I know it’s a war. You don’t have to tell me that-“ “Why are you so keen to fight? There are so many important jobs.” “What am I gonna do? Collect scrap metal-“

“Yes!”

“-in my little red wagon?”

“Why not?”

“I’m not gonna sit in a factory, Bucky.” Steve argued, shaking his head.

“I don’t…” Bucky protested once more and Steve cut him off.

“Bucky, come on! There are men laying down their lives. I got no right to do any less than them. That’s what you don’t understand. This isn’t about me.”

“Right. Cause you got nothing to prove.” Bucky said gently and Steve took a deep breath. But before Bucky could say anything else Connie called out to him.

“Hey, Sarge! Are we going dancing?”

Bucky turned back to the girls, his arms held out to the side. “Yes, we are.” With that he turned back to Steve, shaking his head a little, his shoulders slumped in resignation. “Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.” He instructed as he started to walk away.

“How can I? You’re taking all the stupid with you.” Steve shot back and Bucky shook his head, giving a snort.

“You’re a punk.” He walked back towards Steve and hugged him goodbye.

“Jerk” Steve said gently slapping Bucky’s back. “Be careful.”

With a pang of sadness, Steve watched his best friend walking away, not quite sure when they’d see each other again, if indeed ever. He licked his lips and then called out to Bucky once more. “Don’t win the war till I get there!”

Bucky stopped and saluted him before he strode down the steps, “Come on girls. They’re playing our song.”

With a deep breath, Steve headed into the recruitment centre, past an older gentlemen in a brown suit. He was given the usual forms to fill out, this time going with Ohio as his place of birth-thanks for that one, Buck- and he was shown to the medical examination room. After the short physical was over, he was just fastening the sleeves of his long shirt up again when a nurse walked into the room and whispered something inaudible to the doctor.

“Wait here.” The Doctor turned to him, moving to the curtain.

“Is there a problem?” Steve asked, frowning a little.

“Just wait here.” The doctor repeated his instruction before he walked out.

Steve paused for a second, glancing over his right shoulder at a sign warning against lying on enlistment forms before he glanced at the curtain, cold dread filling him. Shit, Bucky was right, they’d caught up with him. Jumping down off the bed he sat heavily in a chair and began to pull on his shoes when someone entered the cubicle. He glanced up and saw a Military Police officer looking at him and he swallowed a little nervously. But before he could say anything another man entered, the man Steve had walked past about forty minutes or so previously in the foyer, and he was clutching a file in his hands.

“Thank you.” The man spoke to the Police Officer who left, pulling the curtains closed behind him. Steve watched as the man turned to face him, his hands behind his back. “So, you want to go overseas.” The man pulled the file from behind him, opening it “Kill some Nazis.”

“Excuse me?”

“Dr. Abraham Erskine.” The man closed the folder and walked over as Steve stood up, shaking his hand “I represent the Strategic Scientific Reserve.”

“Steve Rogers” Steve nodded, noting the man’s accent as he placed the file on the medical bed and started to look through it. “Where are you from?”

“Queens. 73rd Street and Utopia Parkway. Before that, Germany.” He adjusted his glasses as he glanced at Steve “This troubles you?”

“No.” Steve replied honestly, shaking his head.

“Where are you from, Mr. Rogers?” Erskine asked, resting both his hands on the bench “Mmm? Is it New Haven? Or Paramus? Five exams in five different cities.”

“That might not be the right file.” Steve began to try and get out of whatever trouble he was in but Erskine was quick to cut him off.

“No, it’s not the exams I’m interested in. It’s the five tries.” Erskine closed the file, picking it up “But you didn’t answer my question.” He strode over and stopped in front of Steve “Do you want to kill Nazis?”

Steve glanced to the side before he looked at Erskine “Is this a test?”

“Yes.” The man replied bluntly and Steve took a deep breath, before he answered as honestly as he could.

“I don’t wanna kill anyone.” He shook his head, raising his eyes to meet Erskine’s “I don’t like bullies. I don’t care where they’re from.”

“Well, there are already so many big men fighting this war. Maybe what we need now is the little guy, huh?” Erskine smiled before he turned to leave “I can offer you a chance” he said, whipping the curtains open “Only a chance.”

Steve couldn’t believe his ears. Was this Doctor guy actually telling him he’d done it, that he’d finally made it into the army? He had no idea what the Strategic Science Reserve was, or why Erskine had questioned him so, but right now he didn’t care.

“I’ll take it.” He said, hastily grabbing his belongings and following Erskine out.

“Good.” Erskine placed the file down on the desk and picked up a stamp, before replacing it and reaching for another “So where is the little guy from, actually?”

Steve smiled “Brooklyn.”

Erskine smiled back, stamped the form before closing the file and handing it to Steve. “Congratulations, soldier.”

Steve hastily opened it up and did a double take as he saw the stamp was a 1A this time, not 4f. He let out a deep breath and glanced up to thank the man, but he’d already left.

“You’ll be sent your papers and instructions shortly” Another man spoke to him, taking the file off him and handing him back the recruitment slip. Steve nodded. “Be ready, the SSR are on a schedule.”

Steve nodded, before he was shown out of the room. Still in a daze he clutched the piece of paper in his hand and wandered back to the area where he’d left Bucky before. And then he remembered Katie.

Shit.

He hastily made his way outside the building and headed back to the pavilion, weaving his way through the crowds. One bonus to being small was that it made it easy to do so. He found the cider cart and saw her waiting, chatting to the man behind the counter, her brown hair hanging round her shoulders, rouged lips which curled up into a smile as she spotted him approaching.

“You’re late.” Katie looked at him and Steve flushed. “I was beginning to think you’d stood me up.”

“I wouldn’t do that, my ma taught me better.” He gave her a small smile “I was just...” he waved his enlistment paper at her and she frowned a little

“You enlisted?”

He nodded “Yup.” “Wow.” Katie blinked, “Erm, congratulations, I guess. Is that the right word?”

“It is when you’ve tried and been rejected several times already.” Steve shrugged before he snorted “Story of my life.”

“That girl before was fuckin’ rude.” Katie’s eyes narrowed and Steve blinked at the profanity coming from her mouth before she rolled her eyes “Don’t look at me like that!”

“Like what?”

“Like the fact I swore means I’m gonna go to hell.” She snorted “If it does, then I got that particular ticket a long time ago.”

“Sorry, I was…” he took a deep breath “For such a pretty woman you certainly…er…”

“Have a filthy mouth?” she asked and Steve snorted, shrugging as he looked away, his lips curling up into a crooked smile as he raised his eyebrows. She leaned closer to him, her lips brushing his ear as she whispered “You have no idea.”

Steve swallowed at the blatant innuendo causing her to laugh at him even more before she nudged him with her elbow “Come on soldier, what do you want to drink?”

Soldier…that was the second time in 10 minutes he’d been called that, and Steve liked it much more coming from her. He watched her for a second before he realised he was staring and she jerked her head towards the stall.

“Cat got your tongue Stevie?” she grinned and he took a deep breath “What do you want?”

“Erm, an ale…please…hang on.” he began fishing in his pocket but Katie gently wrapped a hand around his wrist.

“No need.” she smiled, as the man behind the counter held out the ale for Steve along with a cup of cider for her. She took it with a thanks and smiled, taking a sip. “Put it on the tab, will you?”

The stall attendant snorted and nodded “Whatever you say, Katie.”

She turned away and started walking slowly over to an exhibit, Steve falling into step besides her.

“How does he know ya?” Steve asked. Katie looked at him as she swallowed a sip of her cider

“Because I work here…well, I do at the moment.” She smiled as Steve looked at her blankly “I helped organise this.” She waved her hand around.

“You work for Howard Stark?”

“Kinda.” Katie shrugged “Now come on, I’m not working now and I wanna see how everything looks.”

They walked around the expo grounds, taking in the sights and various attractions. Steve was surprised to find his awkwardness ebbing away with each minute he spent in Katie’s company. She was down to Earth, easy to talk to and made him feel comfortable about himself…although his good spirits might have also been due to the fact he’d finally made it into the army. His meeting with Dr Erskine had baffled him a little, all truth be told, but he’d liked the man. There was something about him that told Steve he could trust him, and Steve was normally a pretty good judge of character.

By the time they’d done pretty much a lap of the main area of the Pavillion, stopping to examine The Synthetic Man in great detail, Steve was surprised to find that he’d spent over an hour with a woman who hadn’t been seeking to lose him at the first opportunity, quite the opposite in fact. On more than one occasion he noticed men looking in her direction, then to his with puzzled expressions on their face, and he had to admit was it the other way round he’d also probably be slightly surprised to see them together. She was a good 2 inches taller than him, but he was used to that, she was pretty, vivacious…well out of his league all things considered. But she was good company, and he was thoroughly disappointed when they seemed to be heading back towards the place they’d started, signalling their time together was likely coming to an end.

“So, do you need to find Barnes or…” she looked at him and Steve chuckled.

“Er no, no. He’ll be…busy.” Steve shrugged

“What he just ditched you for those girls?” Katie frowned.

“No, not entirely. I ditched him, well, I went to join the army. He doesn’t approve.” Steve finished, explaining slightly.

“Approve of what?”

“Me signin’ up.

“Why not?”

“Doesn’t think I can cope.” Steve shrugged “I wasn’t exactly a healthy kid so…”

“Well they let you in so you can’t be that bad.”

Steve wrinkled his nose and shook his head slightly “Some doctor in there offered me a chance, what can I say? Said that there were so many big guys fighting, maybe they needed a little one.”

At that Katie stopped walking and looked at him. “Wait, it was a doctor that accepted you?”

“Yeah,” Steve frowned

“You mean one of the Medical Recruitment Officers?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Steve’s frown deepened “He was with some Scientific Division” he looked at Katie, who was looking right back at him, her eyes wide “Wait, is there something wrong?”

“No, nothing…just surprised me a little, that’s all.” She looked around, as if she was searching for someone and Steve watched her, a little confused as she chewed her lip with an air of contemplation before she looked back at him, her green eyes locking onto his with a softness in them that made him go weak at the knees, well, weaker than normal “Thank you for keeping me company tonight Steve, I had fun.”

“Me too.” He said earnestly “Hey, if you want, I mean only if you want, we could maybe meet up again, you know, before I get my posting?” At that Katie’s face fell and Steve sighed, he’d blown it. She’d only asked him to accompany her round he expo out of politeness, duty even as a thank you for his intervention on the street a few weeks back, and now he’d put her on the spot. “It’s ok.” He started to back track “I get that you’re probably busy and get asked that all the time…”

“No, it’s not that.” She shook her head “I’d love to go out with you Steve, but I leave town tomorrow. I’m needed back at…well, my other job.”

“Oh, ok.” Steve popped a shoulder up, trying to hide his disappointment. “Well, I err…good luck. With whatever that job is.”

Katie laughed “It’s me who should be wishing you good luck, trust me.” She cocked her head before she took a deep breath “Just remember Steve, the world needs men like you, be a shame if we lost you all in the war.”

At her compliment he felt himself once more flush, and the heat in his neck rose even more as she leaned down and pressed her lips softly to his cheek. She pulled back a little, locking her eyes onto his and he swallowed, the lump in his throat now only rivalled by the one he was starting to feel in his slacks. And then, he had no idea how it happened but her lips were suddenly pressed to his. He froze momentarily, but then he went with his instinct and mirrored her movements, his eyes fluttering closed. Her hands gently curled over his shoulder, his automatically falling to her hips, shaking a little against the fabric of her dress as the kiss deepened slightly, the warm edge of her tongue flicking at his lips. He parted his mouth a little, allowing her to curl her tongue against his, a movement that made him shudder and he was beyond disappointed when she pulled away. She smiled against his mouth, her nose bumping his slightly as his cheeks felt hotter than the sun. He knew he was blushing, furiously, having just had his first proper kiss in the middle of a huge exhibition, but Katie seemed completely nonplussed as she smiled at him.

“For luck.” She whispered, stepping back slightly, before she turned and headed away, casting a glance back over her shoulder at him, flashing him another cheeky little wink. “See you around.”

Steve floundered a little, mouth gaping as he watched her disappear into the crowd, and with a final shake of his head and a deep, steadying breath he headed for the exit.

As it turned out Steve didn’t have long to wait for his posting at all. The following day he received his papers assigning him to Camp Lehigh in New Jersey as part of his recruitment to the SSR’s “Operation Rebirth” programme, whatever that was. He assumed he’d receive more details upon arrival. It wasn’t that which surprised him the most however, it was the date upon which he was ordered to report. Wednesday. As in, tomorrow. Whilst it didn’t give him much time to prepare, it didn’t bother him too much. He had meagre belongings anyways and anything he didn’t want to take with him he packed up into smaller boxes with the help of Bucky’s teenage sister Rebecca, Buck’s dad promising to keep it safe for him until he got back.

Winnie was beside herself when Steve broke the news that he too was enlisting, but she wished him well and made him promise to write. As did the Tromleys, who both took the news even worse than Bucky’s family had. Ada having first burst into tears then hugged him so hard he thought she was going to crush him half to death, whilst Mr Tromley had shook his hand and warned him that if he didn’t come back alive, with all 4 limbs, he’d kill Steve himself.

The morning rolled round ridiculously fast and both the Tromleys and Mr and Mrs Barnes insisted on seeing him off. Once more Ada and Winnie hugged him tightly before Mr Tromley and Mr Barnes shook his hand, the latter promising Steve he would sort out everything with his landlord, taking the key to his small apartment in the tenement building where Steve had lived in all his life. Steve felt a little pang of emotion at that point, this was the last physical tie he really had to his mother but he took a deep breath letting it go slowly. She’d been dead now for 7 years and anything that remained of hers in the building was all safely stored.

No, Steve had absolutely no doubts about what he was doing. This was all he had ever wanted, to follow in his father’s footsteps and so, at 6am on the 16th June 1943 Steve Rogers boarded the Army bus that arrived at the bus station to take him and a number of other recruits to New Jersey, leaving the place he’d called home for his entire life behind.

#stark spangled rebirth #pre-serum steve #steve rogers #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers x oc #steve rogers smut #katie stark #captain america #the first avenger #marvel fanfiction #mcu fanfiction

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thebookkeeperslibrary · 4 years ago

Text

Lost Time: Ch. 4

Fandom: Time Warp Trio

Author: The_Bookkeeper_96

Rating: T

Summary: Another summer at Horae Manor begins, but before Joe and Tessa get the chance to train, they are sent out on a mission to explore the magic capital of the universe, Mancika. Rumors of illegal magic conversion spread throughout the city, and Joe and Tessa need to locate those responsible. But after the events of last summer, Joe isn't eager to work with his Aether partner, and the two are struggling more with each other than with their enemies.

A/N: Ayyyy, look who finally decided to update. Been sitting on this one for a while before I realized I was never going to be 100% happy with it. And I finally have wi-fi again! Hopefully it’ll stick around and I’ll actually be able to work on my fics and post more frequently.

Read on AO3

Preview:

"Even the mightiest empires would crumble without a strong foundation to support them." - Mancikan Proverb

Fred stumbles down the hallway after Arwen. "Would you slow down a little? I have to jog to keep up with you."

"You really can't take a hint, can you?" Arwen sighs in defeat and slows her long strides.

"Aw, come on. I thought we ended things on good terms last summer. We're all gonna have to be friends eventually." Fred really didn't understand what was up with these girls. Why did they hate him and his friends so much? Sure, last year had been a little chaotic, but they all made it out alive. He'd been trying to play nice, but they were being so difficult, always acting like they were better than him and his friends.

Then again, Arwen's a Red Sox fan. Maybe Fred shouldn't be trying so hard with her. He glanced at her, trying not to be obvious about it. He likes that Arwen doesn't look like most girls with their pounds of make-up and frilly clothes. Honestly, Arwen looked more like a boy than a girl.

But Fred's smart enough not to say that out loud.

"Look, just show me where this training room is, and I promise I won't bother you. I need someplace to keep in shape for football. Besides, I always listen to my music when I work out anyway."

"I just prefer to train alone."

"You won't even know I'm there. Promise." He puts his hand over his heart and gives her what he hopes is a trusting smile.

Arwen studies him out of the corner of her eye and purses her lips. "Fine. I guess it wouldn't be too terrible if you got in shape and learned how to throw a punch. It would definitely have been useful last summer."

"Get in shape?" Fred's smile drops. "I'm already in shape. I mean, look at me!" He flexes his arms to emphasize his point. Despite his best efforts, there isn't much to see.

She scoffs and rolls her eyes. "Right. Bulging muscles aside, do you know how to fight?"

Fred thinks about the brawls he's had with his brothers and all the times he's wrestled with Joe and Sam. He rarely won against his brothers, but he held his own against Joe and Sam well enough, but he's pretty sure Arwen wouldn't count those as real fights.

"I'll take your silence as a no then." She tries to hide her smug smile, but Fred sees it anyway.

"Fine. I don't know how to actually fight, and maybe I'm not as fit as I should be. I don't suppose you'd be willing to teach me anything?"

Fred knows she's going to laugh at him and say no. After all, all of the girls were pretty far ahead of them when it came to this magic stuff. Besides, they'd been treating him and his friends like annoying younger brothers since they met, and Fred was all too familiar with how those relationships worked out. He didn't need another Mike in his life.

He's about to let the whole thing drop and find some other way to entertain himself tonight, but Arwen surprises him by saying, "Why?"

Fred blinks. The only response he'd been expecting was a 'no'. "Why what?"

"Why do you want to work out with me? Or hang out with me at all?" She stops walking to look him square in the eye. She crosses her arms. "What's your goal here?"

"Uh…" He really didn't know how to answer that. He liked Arwen. Out of the girls, she was the easiest to read. She never seemed like she was hiding anything, even when it came to how she felt about him. He respected that honesty, even if it hurt sometimes. She was also hands-down the toughest of the girls. Fred still couldn't believe she fought a drakon one on one with no weapons or armor. Plus, working out was always better when you had a friend to spot you at the gym.

"I guess I just enjoy your company." That didn't really explain his feelings, but it was true.

"Even though I'm a Red Sox fan?" Arwen's frown turned into a playful smirk.

"Yes, even though you're a Red Sox fan. It's not your fault you were born in Boston. If you were a New Yorker, I'm sure you'd love the Yankees."

Her gaze drops to the floor. "I don't think my dad would ever let that happen."

"Why?"

She chews her lip. "He's just a really big Red Sox fan. Runs in the family, you see."

"Sure." Fred totally understands that. Everyone in his family is a die-hard Yankees fan. He can't even imagine what they would do to him if he tried rooting for another team.

Arwen starts to move down the hallway again, taking a sharp right into a plain doorway. "All right. I guess I can teach you a thing or two."

"Really?" Even after all that, Fred is still surprised to hear her say it.

"Yes, really. You should come in before I change my mind."

Fred hurries in the room after her, excited to see what kind of cool magical training gear he would be able to use. He could picture fancy machines that would let him work out all parts of his body at once. Or maybe even enchanted armor that fought him in hand-to-hand combat. Would he get to learn how to use weapons? Like Tessa's sabre?

He bursts into the room, more excited than he's ever been to work out.

His excitement plummets as he takes in the gym. He recognizes every piece of equipment here. It's just a normal work-out room, like the one at his regular school back on Earth.

Arwen chuckles from behind him. "You seem disappointed. What were you expecting? This is a training room for non-magic users."

"Well yeah, but, we're still at a magic school. I expected more. I'm pretty sure my brothers have more equipment than this in their bedrooms back home." He walks over to the weights in the corner. The highest dumbbell is only thirty pounds. He sighs, crosses his arms, and leans against the wall.

"The stuff my brothers and I use is better than all this too, but we could always ask Ro and Cas to get us better equipment." She walks over to a large black mat on the side of the room. "They haven't had non-magic people here in a long time. That's why most of this stuff is so outdated."

"What's so special about us then? Why do we get to be here if we can't control time or space?"

"I don't think we're the special ones. Did you see the way Joe and Tess were acting at dinner tonight? Their meeting with Ro and Cas must have been bad, and their future must be bad enough that they're allowed to bring an emotional support team with them."

"Whatever it is, it can't be that bad." Fred joins Arwen on the mat where she's already begun to stretch. He does the same.

She shrugs in response. "I just can't help but feel like we have a long summer ahead of us."

They stretch in silence for a few more minutes. Finally, Fred jumps back to his feet. He sways back and forth, like a video game character waiting to strike. "All right, coach. What's first? You gonna teach me how to roundhouse-kick someone? Or do a judo-flip? Oh! How about an ax kick?" With each question, he strikes out at the air, like he's fighting an enemy only he can see.

Arwen shakes her head and remains seated. "How about we start with a simple punch?"

He stills. "A punch? I can throw a punch. I have two older brothers who pick on me all the time."

"Show me how you throw a punch then."

"On you?"

"How about you use the practice dummy that's right behind you instead?" She points over his shoulder to a large black fighting dummy. Like everything else in the room, it's fairly basic and has no arms or legs. The head is also bent at a weird angle, showing its wear.

"Oh, right." Fred blushes and turns to the dummy instead. Of course, Arwen wouldn't want to actually fight him. After seeing what she did to the drake in Caelus, he has to admit, he's kind of relieved.

He hears her get to her feet behind him. She moves to stand directly beside him and faces him. Her eyes do a quick scan up and down his body. Not even remotely in a flirtatious way like he's used to from the girls at school back in Brooklyn. This look is purely analytical. He can tell she's already judging his posture and technique.

"Well? Punch away."

Fred notices Arwen smirking at him from the corner of his eye. He scoffs, ready to show her up. He was insulted that this was all she was asking him to do. His skills were way above this. Throwing a punch was something he'd mastered a long time ago when learning to survive his brothers' torment.

He shifts his weight back on one foot, pulls his elbow far behind his head, pauses for dramatic effect, and then lets loose on the dummy. He strikes it directly in the chest.

And forces himself not to let out a pained cry.

Why did that hurt so much? This dummy was made out of rubber, not concrete. He bites his lip and lowers his fist, hoping that it isn't swelling up as much as it feels like it is. "See?" he manages to get out without too much whimpering. "Punching is easy."

Arwen's hand is covering her mouth. Fred can tell from her shaking that she's trying not to laugh, and failing miserably.

She takes a deep breath before dropping her hand, calming her giggles. "Be honest. How badly does your hand hurt right now?"

"Not at all."

"Really?"

"Yup."

She raises an eyebrow at him, one hand falling to her hip. "If you want me to teach you how to fight, you need to at least respect me enough to be open and honest with me."

"Oh, like you girls have been so open and honest with us?" The comment slips out before Fred can help it. The pain in his hand and annoyance at Arwen for laughing at him makes his words harsher than he means. "Sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No, it's fine." Her face closes off again. Whatever progress they had made towards friendship is gone.

"No, really. I know Joe's been a pain in the ass about all this. Maybe he's just rubbing off on me. I don't think you girls are that bad."

"Was that supposed to be a compliment?"

"Um…" Fred rubs the back of his neck. "You guys have been coming off as kind of stuck-up. I know you're way ahead of us with all this magic stuff, but it would be nice if you helped us be more like you rather than shutting us down all the time. We have a lot to learn to catch up to you, so why not get us there quicker, and then we can all learn together."

She squints her eyes at him. "That's… unexpectedly thoughtful and smart of you."

"Well, I play a lot of sports. Teamwork is kind of my thing." His hands drop to his sides. "Maybe we all should start fresh. Just forget what happened last summer and move on."

Arwen chuckles and shakes her head. "I think too much happened last summer for that to work, but it's a nice thought. Look, I meant what I said earlier. I want to train with you. It would be really nice to have someone else be the muscle for the group every once in a while, but I also meant it when I said you need to be honest with me. I can't help you otherwise."

"Seems like we need to make a compromise then. You'll quit acting like you're better than me, and I'll be honest next time I break my hand. Deal?" He holds his swollen hand out for her to shake, a grin spreading over his lips.

"Deal." Arwen laughs and grabs his hand, not to shake, but to inspect the damage. She lets out a low whistle. "Damn, you really did a number on yourself."

"Will I live, doc?"

"Only if we amputate it immediately."

The two teens laugh, breaking up the last bits of tension in the room. When they finally manage to settle down, Arwen tells Fred to reposition himself in front of the dummy. He does as he's told and lines up to strike again.

"Freeze." Arwen moves in close to readjust Fred's form. The scent of her perfume fills his nose. She may look boyish, but she definitely smelled like a girl, and not like the cheap body sprays the girls at school wore. She wore a rich, intoxicating perfume. The kind he imagined supermodels or heiresses wore.

She moves behind him. For the first time, Fred realizes that she is actually taller than him, not by much, but enough for this whole situation to become somewhat embarrassing for him.

"Lower your arm and hold it here." She moves his elbow down. "And twist your heel out. You need to punch with your whole body, not just your arm." She fixes his posture with ease, like she's done this a thousand times before.

"Where did you learn all this anyway?" Fred holds the new position she put him in. He has to admit, it feels a lot more natural this way.

"Well, I have eight older brothers."

"So you had to learn to fight to survive?" He understood that. It was the same thing he had dealt with growing up.

"Not exactly." She continues to make minor adjustments to Fred's stance. "Even though my oldest brother, Ryan, is twice my age, we've always been pretty close. We had our scraps like any siblings, but we never beat up each other just for fun."

Must be nice, Fred thinks to himself.

"I learned to fight because the twins, Riley and Richie, were getting picked on a lot at school. They've always been the pacifist type, so someone had to learn to stand up for them. I took a couple of classes, showed up to their school one day, and put those bullies in their place. My mom was furious," Arwen shrugs, but a gleam in her eye reveals how she really feels about it, "but the twins haven't been picked on since. And it turns out, fighting is really fun.

"So when Tessa asked me to come to Horae Manor with her, I immediately said yes. A chance to train with warriors and fight magical beasts? How could I say no? Of course, just like you, I was disappointed when I realized that wasn't the case."

"Aside from fighting magical beasts," he adds.

She grins. "Aside from that, yeah. But in order to fight them, you have to do a lot of research. You have to learn about their weaknesses and any special abilities they may have. Fighting people is way easier as long as they can't use magic. Then all the rules change."

He cringes. Studying isn't exactly his favourite pastime. Why can't he learn as he fights his way through the magic world? He'd figure out pretty quickly how to take down any monster. Then he remembers the acid flying out of the drake's mouth, and how it burned through marble and stone. Maybe a little research would help.

"Okay. This is how you should stand when you're about to punch something. Feel it?"

Fred settles into the stance. "I think so."

"You'll definitely feel the difference when you punch the dummy this time. Now, when you're striking out make sure you use your whole body. It adds more momentum and makes the punch way more powerful, but once you make contact, stop your fist and pull it back into you. Watch me."

Arwen stands in the same position as Fred. She pulls her arm back and swings at the dummy, hitting it square in the jaw. She pulls her arm back without any whimpering or hand swelling.

"Now you try." She steps out of the way. "Oh, and don't punch someone in the chest. Focus on the weaker spots like their chin or throat."

Fred stands like he was taught, pulls back, and lets loose. His fist strikes the dummy in the throat this time, and he quickly pulls his hand back in front of him. His hand still hurts, but nowhere near as bad as it did after the first punch.

"Better?" Arwen crosses her arms and smirks at him.

"So much better." Fred smiles back. "What else have you got for me, coach?"

#time warp trio #fanfiction #joe #sam #fred #my ocs #my post #kellie writes #kellie fanfic #kellie twt

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davidfostercomedyblog · 5 years ago

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My 2nd Trip to Paris: The Strike!

Mamidou worked the night shift at the front desk of L’Empire Hotel, and it was his job to open the doors for us when we stumbled drunkenly home from our nights of Parisian gluttony. He’d originally grown up in Senegal, but “lived many years in U.S.,” having split a decade between Brooklyn and the Bay area of California.

“I prefer California,” he said. “New York too cold.”

I just laughed, which is my default response to anyone expressing any kind of preference over New York. It’s like someone saying they didn’t like The Godfather. I know we don’t see the same world, so laughter keeps things amicable but logically distant.

One of the things we enjoyed about Mamidou, besides his joyous demeanor in response to our drunken faces at the door, was his nightly rants against French people. “They don’t wanna work,” he’d yell. “French people do not work… and they want to work even less than that! They don’t know how good they have it.” In retrospect I think Mamidou may have been as drunk as we were.

His monologues were in response to the national strikes going on, supposedly driven by the goal of longer and greater pensions upon retirement. “France is ‘the country of strikes,’” Mamidou explained. “You didn’t know that?”

We do now, as our arrival in Paris this time was not without a hitch.

“Should we take a cab?” my wife (who was a mere fiancée for the last trip) asked after we retrieved our bags at the airport.

GPS indicated the difference in time of arrival to be negligible while the price gap was huge. We’d relied heavily on the train last time in Paris and came to fall in love with it relative to the MTA, the way a woman does with her new boyfriend that treats her well after decades of neglect in an abusive marriage.

The train platform was crowded. After a few moments loud announcements came (in French only) over the speaker. The locals looked displeased and a few of them departed back up the escalator. If not for the language barrier I’d have thought I’d never left New York and we were stuck at Columbus Circle.

Apparently there was a strike affecting the train operations on a national scale. Eventually we all left the station, forced to climb broken escalators, some of us sacrificing the future of our rotator cuffs to be gentlemen, carrying old ladies’ suitcases up the non-functioning escalators. My wife and I were sweating, confused and exhausted – that barely-any-sleep-on-a-red-eye-exhausted, angry– and it looked as though this trip would not be nearly the success of the previous one. Thankfully, there are few things that cannot be cured by a nap, alcohol and good food with your best friends. Next time you feel horrible I highly recommend this 4-part prescription.

My best (wo)man from my wedding and her husband were in Paris for their anniversary. Their last two days were our first two, not coincidentally of course. Since our first trip my wife seeks any excuse to go to Paris; so if you know us and we’re even peripherally friendly, by all means let us know if you’re planning a trip. We’ll meet you there.

NIGHT 1 was dinner at Bon Georges, followed by Moulin Rouge, then cocktails at the Little Red Door, followed by another dinner and more cocktails at some wherever-the-fuck, dope Parisian late night corner spot filled with beautiful, thin people drinking, eating cheese, and smoking cigarettes.

We arrived at the restaurant too early, which is always a good excuse to grab a pre-dinner drink. Jillian and I sought espresso, still running on jet-lagged fumes, but our dates were (understandably) ready for wine. We went around the corner and spotted Bo Man Café, which looked nice enough.

The first red flag should have been when they were “out of espresso.” “Out of espresso?” Where are we? Are we absolutely sure the plane ever took off from JFK? Are we in Long Island? Fair enough. “We’ll have the $6 glass of Cotes du Rhone.”

This might sound cheap, but we’ve had many a brilliant $6 glass of wine in France already. Unfortunately this experience would bless us with a joke that would kill in a black comedy club of wine aficionados, nicknaming it: “Cotes du Wrong.” It was the worst glass of wine we’d ever had in the nation of France, also the worst Cotes du Rhone we’d ever had. It wasn’t corked. It just sucked. Do not go to Bo Man Café.

Bon Georges was excellent. The artichoke puree soup with truffles blew everyone’s mind, as did the filet mignon special and my roasted pork chop with roasted onions that reminded me of a fancy version of how the west African restaurants do fish in Harlem. Although Paris is best known for duck and red meat, my experience thus far is to never skip the soup if and when it appears on your menu, as it’s always been incredible. Do skip the frog legs, as they were a bit too oily, and I’ve had better even in Chicago. We did only one bottle of Bordeaux, followed by a couple of single glasses, as we were in a rush to go see the tits.

Moulin Rouge, unfortunately almost ruined tits for me forever, as tits lose their luster when you’re looking at 48 of them at once, from 50 feet away, all of identical (B-cup) size and attached to 24 bodies doing the Can-Can. I never thought I could be less turned on while looking at naked French girls in their physical prime. As the saying goes… too much of a good thing… Though maybe this degree of exposure is part of the reason European culture tends to be less sexually repressive than ours in the west. In any case, you could never have told me I would see so many boobs in a show and my favorite part would be the contortionist and shirtless, diesel, yoga balancing guy. You equally could never have convinced me that my least favorite part would be the champagne (in Paris). Yuk! Higher quality drinks were in order immediately afterwards.

The Little Red Door was a revisit from last trip – a lovely creative cocktail lounge that attracts the local sophistos, hipsters and tourists. It wasn’t as crowded as last summer, but the bigger difference this time was it did not mark the end of our evening. We left hungry and drunk and it was 1:30am in Paris, which in real world terms is only about 9pm. The night was young! My friend, Daniel, craved a slice of pizza because he, like us, is from New York. Instead we found another restaurant still bustling with locals smoking cigarettes, surely prepping for the five-hour work day that lay ahead for them to start around noon. Daniel ordered what I imagine to be the Parisian counterpart to pizza: French fries. I got another full meal: Burger, pommes frites and a burrata caprese, and plenty of beer. We got to bed at 4am.

DAY 2 was Angelina’s for brunch, followed by the Catacombs, then dinner at Pottoka and drinks at Le Fumoir.

Angelina’s was our 9:30 breakfast reservation, and I honestly never felt so good after five hours of sleep after a night of drinking after a two-hour sleep red eye the night before. Paris man…Situated almost directly across the street from the Louvre, Angelina’s is an iconic brunch spot (and set to open a new location in NYC, God help us). I thought I was being less of a tourist by getting the eggs benedict, but it didn’t much match the restaurant’s décor, upscale crowd, or awesome coffee. Instead I spent most of my (hungover) breakfast picking as much as possible from my wife’s plate: The greatest French toast either of us had ever tasted. On brioche bread with the perfect amount of sweetness and an ever so subtle taste of rum, it was just divine. A bit more of a Beverly Hills-type crowd than either of us would prefer, and if not for the shit bag, overcast weather I’d have thought we were back in rocky-ass Nice. Nevertheless, the service was lovely - even uncharacteristically diligent. On the way out we were advised to get the hot chocolate, which tasted good, but was more like a hot melted fudge in a coffee cup. It was insane. You could’ve cut it with a knife, and in spite of its reputation, I do not recommend to anyone baring any consideration for their A1C.

Next we crossed the street to the holiday market. We’d already had breakfast, so it was apparently time for shots of cognac and cups of mulled wine, which worked out perfectly, as it helps to be intoxicated while watching the wife shop. If I don’t get at least one son or tomboy I’ll surely be joining some kind of men’s club.

The Catacombs is a “museum,” as the French call it. What it actually is is a dungeon of a cemetery five stories under ground where six million broken up skulls and skeletons lay buried from times of an epidemic hundreds of years ago. It is… fucking… creepy. As we wound down the tight spiral staircase, floor by floor, we eventually wondered if it would ever end. The walls were covered in graffiti, which in most cases of urban environments makes the atmosphere more intimidating. In this case it actually had the opposite effect. People got dizzy as the air got colder and staircase narrower, so when I saw next to other scrawled marker on the wall: “Astoria 19thSt.,” it had a great calming effect for me. Other douche bags from New York had been here – guys I’d probably call friends – and momentarily, Catacombs seemed not so scary, humanized, ironically.

Minutes later was a completely different story. I was in a dimly lit hallway about 100 yards long with ceilings only 6-12 inches above my head, lined on either side with literal skulls and crossbones (actually bones laid mostly parallel, but “cross bones” sounds cooler). Some hallways were longer and quieter than others, and a few times I genuinely looked over my shoulder for the sole purpose of making sure a ghost wouldn’t tap me on the shoulder from behind and in the process ruin my vacation and change my life forever more. I was hung over and probably still drunk and just not ready for such an experience. I made it through. I checked it off my list and took a bunch of pictures, although not every one that I wanted to. There were bars over cages in front of pitch black spaces, and I was so shook by a few of them that I resisted taking a picture for fear of the flash revealing a demon skeleton that would lunge forward and growl as if from some horror movie and my brain would be fucked forever. It should be noted that one of my flight movies on the way over the day before was Pet Sematary.Who knows how much this may have played into my comical levels of cowardice and paranoia.

After climbing the five stories of spiral staircase back up to reality I figured I could finally catch my breath and relax. The drama was over. No one had tapped my shoulder, no demon ghosts had appeared for my eyes only. I could return to great food and fine wine, unnecessary beers and one too many espressos… right?

Wrong. Supposedly there was an international scare happening. We were told because of the strike that flights were being canceled and my (Jewish) wife had entered an all-out panic that I couldn’t help but find the irony in. “You’re afraid of being trapped for an extra day in PARIS?Things could be worse.”

Believe it or not nobody was trapped (unfortunately). Life went on, all flights were on time and it’s flowin’ like mud around here, you know what I’m sayin’?

Pottokawas a dinner recommendation from the same person who’d recommended Derriere, which was our best dinner of the entire first trip, but ironically our worst (lunch) of this trip. Pottoka is on the lesser frequented left bank of town, offering an unplanned second visit to the Eiffel Tower, and this time we got to see its lovely flashing night lights, albeit engulfed in the overcast sky.

Pottoka ended up the all-star MVP of the trip, and arguably the greatest dinner I’ve ever had in my life. Although chicken generally gets ignored on Parisian menus for the beef, pork and duck, my wife and I looked at each other at almost the same time after reading over it and said we were considering the chicken. It was a farmed breast stuffed with chestnut and beef, served with pumpkin, black garlic and ham foamy, cooked to crispy, juicy perfection of course. “What is ‘ham foamy’ you ask?” I have no idea how or what it is. All I know is the plate featured a dollop of foamthat tasted exactly like ham and went nicely with each bite of chicken, and it was definitely the best chicken I’ve ever tasted. Not to be ignored were the other plates: A beef cheek with bacon, shallots, anchovies and macaroni gratin, preceded by a farmed foie gras with cocoa nibs, pickled mushrooms, remoulade celery and chestnuts soup poured over all of it at the table by the server. The whole experience was completely insane. And you’re insaneif you go to Paris and don’t go there. Actually you’re insane if you don’t go to Paris soon with the explicit intention of going there. Go there. We only did one carafe of red wine, but that’s because we were meeting friends for cocktails later on at a lovely spot near our hotel, Le Fumoir. One night there we had one of the loveliest servers in all our time in Paris. Another time was the complete opposite, but the drinks and atmosphere are definitely can’t miss.

Finally the night was over, and for literally the first time in the 21stcentury I slept for 11 hours. I usually sleep between 5-7 hours, the former side of which is obviously pathological and frankly, the bane of my existence. I woke up and looked at my phone and it said11:03am. I figured it must be a mistake. I figured there was a better chance of evil spirits in the Catacombs having somehow scrambled the visual cortex of my brain into reading numbers inaccurately than there was of my sleeping 11 hours. Fortunately I woke my wife up and she saw the same digits on her phone. They were the same on the TV, and in a glorious storm of prolonged jet lag, alcoholism, and the de-stressed mind of vacation, I set my adulthood record for sleep. I was elated, on cloud nine! My wife, on the other hand was immediately panicked that we’d missed the continental breakfast and actually had to move urgently to make lunch. I gently reminded her: “Fuck the continental breakfast, babe. I just slept 11 hours. Also, we stayed out late and woke up late. I mean, are you Parisian or not?As the wife now deeply covets the status of honorary Parisian, this is a card I can always pull. She calmed down and we went about…

DAY 3: Lunch at Derriere, followed by Musee D’Orsay, an Italian dinner at Norma and drinks at Lavomatic.

Derriere was the star of our previous trip – sadly, the flop of this trip. It was nice that our friends, Daniel and Yael, joined to say goodbye on their way to the airport, but the soup was cold and taste of the food mediocre. Go for the dinner!

Museum D’Orsay was situated conveniently about a 15-minute walk from our hotel. It had been closed the day before due to the national strike, and today only the ground floor was available for viewing. This meant no Van Gogh, which initially gave my wife pause: “Do we still want to go with no Van Gogh?”

“Yes, I replied. We’re on vacation and time is at a premium. We can’t afford to get off the itinerary, lest we sacrifice some amount of food or wine, which is not an option.”

She agreed, and agreed further upon realizing midway through the walk in the museum: “Ya know, I don’t think I like art… I don’t understand it.”

I love my wife. She and I possibly share less in common than I have with anyone I’ve ever met. We like almost none of the same TV shows, movies or music, and she hates sports almost as much as I do her two religions,General Hospital and Disney World. But the one thing we do share in common is an equal disinterest and ignorance around politics and paintings (not counting graffiti).

D’Orsay was okay. There were plenty of boobs and penises, but it didn’t compare to the Louvre, nor do I think it would have even with Van Gogh. When it was 16 minutes before closing time we were rather aggressively ushered out, which perpetuated the semi-sour experience and brought on thoughts of how we’d calm down and de-stress: Wine.

Norma wasn’t part of the original itinerary. We had one night to improvise dinner and wanted something close to another recommendation for drinks, Lavomatic. Norma was Italian food, but being in Paris we were sure to order the fried squid appetizer. It was the best calamari we’d ever had, and instead of marinara sauce, they served it with mayonnaise, much to my pleasure and my wife’s dismay. She kept dipping pieces in the burrata caprese tomatoes and I kept looking around to see if anyone noticed. The basil pesto gnocchi with burrata cheese was the best gnocchi either one of us had ever tasted, and the wine in spite of being not French, was excellent. The server didn’t speak a word of English and we didn’t give a shit.

Lavomatic is a functioning laundromat situated underneath a speakeasy cocktail bar in the heart of where the riots for bigger pensions and less work had taken 11 lives the night before. My otherwise wonderful bride, who is more or less ruled by the fear emotion, expressed reticence about going; though I would hear nothing of it. “The riots were yesterday. That’s like a lifetime ago. Nobody got killed today all day.”

On our way there we passed a historic monument with graffiti scrawled across it: “C’EST NOUS LES BRAVES!”(Translation: “We are the Brave!”) I’m not sure if “brave” is the adjective I’d use to describe a determination to not over-work, but whatever it is, is a quality and goal I admire. We are lost in the west.

We knew we’d reached our location when we saw a young, strapping man in a long, black coat standing conspicuously on the sidewalk in front of a door as the only person on the quiet block. We were already a bit drunk and unsure of how to proceed. Somehow I felt like Tom Cruise in Eyes Wide Shutso I figured best to just show my ID. He enjoyed that very much, getting a good laugh: “That’s OK, man, this is Paris, I don’t need that.” We laughed, which encouraged him further: “But thank you, I couldn’t tell. What is that, powder on your face there?” He gestured to my mostly white 5:00 shadow, mocking my pathetically wishful idea that someone might ever ask for my ID again.

“Wait right here,” he told us as my wife attempted to collect her hysterics at me.

He let us in to a small foyer of a space with one locked door and two giant washing machines. I tried pulling and pushing the door.

“No, no,” my wife said. “It’s a trap door, you know?”

“A trapdoor?!”

“No, not a trap—you know, like a trick door. We have to open the washing machine!”

Quick reminder: She’s a doctor and I have a Master’s degree in Chinese Medicine.

I turned to ask the bouncer outside how to get in but he just smiled and turned away. It was futile, like asking a Chinese acupuncturist a question about our medicine. Figure it out for yourself, is the general maxim in Chinese Medicine, which is an utterly moronic tradition in my opinion, and one that leads me to drink hard liquor in Laundromats.

The western MD figured out how to open the washing machine and we walked up two flights of stairs to a tiny bar in the attic that resembled a popular teenager’s basement hang out. The ceilings were low and the crowd was young, probably just post-college, poised to enter the grueling work force of 25-hour weeks and greater pensions. There seemed to be a lot of dates happening, legs crossed and angled towards one another on small loves seats or bar stools, and it had a distinct Williamsburg feel, logically. “Affirmative Action” from Nas’ second album in 1996, came on shortly after our arrival and it reminded me that God is always with me.

We broke from the vin to humor the mixology and sat enjoying two cocktails each. My go-to is scotch-based and I think Jillian leans towards vodka. At one point an older couple came in, thankfully then stripping us of the title, and were seated just next to us at the bar. Is this like the opposite of the kids’ table?

The first thing my wife noticed was the aromatic cloud of cigarette that followed them in. She made a face and whispered to me the way irritated wives do, then for a moment showed relief when the smell dissipated. Unfortunately, olfactory reprieve was brief, before she was re-assaulted by their even more offensive body odor.

“Well… Paris, babe.”

Jillian shook her head, and I swear to you a moment later went aghast for a third and final time. Another lean in: “Oh my God, she just farted. She just basically farted on me.”

“Oh.”

We moved our seats, finished our drinks and made our way back downstairs, probably wishing we could have thrown our outfits in the washing machines. We drunkenly enjoyed laughing at ourselves with the bouncer on our way out. It was fun. No one got killed.

Day 4: Finally the continental breakfast! Another shopping day in Little Israel, then a huge dinner plan SNAFU turns magical and we close with Hemingway.

L’Empire Hotel had a lovely front desk staff and the room itself was totally fine. We were pleased with its convenient location being almost immediately halfway between the Louvre and a lot of our chosen shops and restaurants, especially since the trains were closed due to the homicidal riots. Finally, it was beyond sweet of the staff to give us a complimentary bottle of wine for our (mini) honeymoon stay. However, in my now half decade of (arguably) over-indulging in the grape’s finest contribution I’ve never seen a screw go directly through the middle of the cork to the other end after having not been able to pry it out even half an inch using all my strength. We tried pouring some out through the hole in the middle just to sample, but it was to no avail, and surely not worth the effort. Safe to assume it would not have been to our liking.

The continental breakfast staff was not as lovely as the front desk (separated only by 20 feet) and the food actually didn’t compare to that of Villa Opera Drouot. Instead, the highlight of our morning eggs cheese and baguettes was the rather short, gentle-looking Italian man who sat alone at the table next to us in the humble dining room. He’d already taken his plate from the buffet, ordered his espresso, took out his phone and made a call. It was the angriest I’d seen anyone since we left New York. A true travesty that neither one of us could follow his Italian, but we definitely each caught a “mafankulo” and “bafangu,” respectively. He was mustering as much a whisper as was possible, but anger is anger and ours’ weren’t the only heads in the room to turn. We were both concerned for the immediate future of the person on the other end of the phone. He hung up and enjoyed his espresso and cured meats and left quickly, before we did.

When we left it was on to more shopping Christmas was three weeks away. Why not bring to our loved ones gifts from the city of love? We shared a falafel sandwich and it was the best falafel we’d ever tasted, but made a point to eat very little in preparation for our final night of great gluttony.

Before dinner was a mission of vindication. We’d never made it on our first trip to the highly recommended Hemingway Bar in the Ritz Hotel and were determined to make it this time around. We arrived at opening time, 6:00, and there was already a 40-minute wait to get in. The cozy bar was full, and the elder, English maitre’d with a warm face kindly advised us to wait on the lobby couches and he’d come get us as soon as there was space. “It could be sooner,” he added. “But I’d count on 40 minutes.”

We figured that was fine. It would give us time for one drink before dinner, which at 30 euro/drink would suffice.

40 minutes came and went, as did 50, as did we. We informed the maitre’d we had to leave, who again kindly recommended we try again after dinner and he’d skip us to the front of the line. He was so nice.

Terres du Truffes was one of our favorite experiences from our summer trip to Nice. They put truffles on everything! Black truffles, summer truffles, even white truffles, and served us what at the time as the best Margaux we’d ever had. As it turned out they had another location in Paris, so we were sure to make a reservation for our sequel. Unfortunately, as is the case with most sequels…

We got there at 7:30 and the restaurant was empty. Maybe a reservation wasn’t so imperative after all. They sat us in front of the window (as restaurants do to give the illusion to the street that there are actually people dining there) and it was chilly. The menu didn’t reflect what it had online, nor what we’d had in Nice. Where was all the duck? It was mostly egg dishes and cold fish… in December. As we sat there being ignored for five minutes we finally called the waiter over to ask if we’d been given the wrong menus.

“Is this for brunch?”

“No, no, this is the menu,” he replied in an accent noticeably thicker and more broken than that of the staff in most of the more reputable venues thus far.

He didn’t ask if we wanted anything to drink, alcoholic or otherwise, and after five more minutes of being ignored I peaked around the corner to note a table full of bread baskets surely awaiting the dinner rush. But, what about us? We like bread.

I had an impulse and we walked. No goodbye, no oi revoir or merci. We just bounced.

We were hungry, tired and cold, the trifecta of adjectives to describe Jewish; but sadly no longer anywhere near “Little Israel.”

We tried walking in at Balaganand they laughed at us like when Patrick Bateman tried getting a reservation at Dorsia. The host was courteous and recommended a market of restaurants affiliated with them just around the corner. We went around the corner and got lost. We saw no market. No restaurants, no nothing. We were growing colder, hungrier, more irritable. Our last evening seemed doomed.

“Let’s just go anywhere - I saw a spot a block back,” I muttered and my lovely bride stood by my indignant side.

A red awning and red seats – it must be good. At the least there seemed to be patrons there. They gave us a nice table upstairs and we figured it would be decent.

Le Castiglioneended up serving us one of the best fucking meals I’ve ever had. We started with a Bordeaux and soups – French Onion (“the authentic kind,” as the menu read) and a pumpkin puree with hazelnuts. We planned on sharing our entrees – the veal Milanese and filet mignon with peppercorn sauce and pomme frites – but Jillian barely allowed me an angle at her veal.

“This is just like my mom used to make,” she raved. “Do you want more?” she contrived an offer, but I was just as fine with my steak. It was perfect. A totally generic-looking restaurant and the steak was on par with any New York steakhouse. For dessert was the coffee crème brulee, and I’d go as far as to say the meal was even better than that of the original Terres du Truffes in Nice. One comes to expect magic in Paris.

Upon return to Bar Hemingway we were skipped to the front of the line as promised. I wouldn’t call it hokey, but it was definitely touristy, filled with mostly attractive young, professional Americans and Brits, yukking it up over over-priced cocktails served by the loveliest of white-coats. The room was brightly lit, as most are in Paris, and there were pictures of the psychopathic, genius, Hemingway, all over the walls; in addition to one of the Obamas at the bar perched immediately next to our seats in the corner. A row of sophistos lined the remainder of the bar seating, and next to us sat three young blonde girls, who seemed to be having a joyous, reunion at the maximum decibel of volume that was still respectful and appropriate, which is no unimpressive feat. Proximal to them was a double date of two gay men along with a straight couple who were no distant second in flamboyance, however still oddly coveted the attention of the trio of girls. One of the gay guys paid one of the girls a compliment on her jaw line that was no less awkward than if it had been delivered by some goofy straight college bro in the 90’s. “Thank you,” the girl laughed in response, and it wasn’t nearly as bad as when the (apparent straight) girl came over in hopes of merging their two tables. It was pathetic. It was like trying to sit with the plastics in Mean Girls, except these girls weren’t mean or plastic. They were just obviously long-time best friends, drunk and having the time of their lives, which is an impossible frequency to penetrate for a complete stranger.

Luckily she got the hint without anyone having to be rude. She made her way back to her double date and my bride and I continued our intoxicated eavesdropping. The complimentary olives and pistachios were as good as any I’ve ever had, although the $30 cocktail was no better than Lavomatics or Little Red Doors’. It was a great experience, but I’d probably only go back if there was no wait.

We woke at some ungodly hour and paid some ungodly expense for an Uber to the airport, as rates were jacked up due to the strike.

“I miss Paris already,” Jillian lamented on our dark, cold cab ride.

“I’m sorry, babe,” I consoled her, and became abundantly aware that we were presently neck deep in the most comical first world problem in the history of mankind. How sad it is, to leave Paris for New York City (for the second time in a year), and not know when you’d be returning.

Wikipedia defines “Paris Syndrome” as a culture shock experienced mostly by Japanese tourists when they visit Paris that can last anywhere from a few days to the rest of their lives. I can’t tell you how entertained we both were to read about this “syndrome.”

For my wife “Paris Syndrome” means something different – something I think more common and understandable. It’s an addiction to Paris – no cheap addiction – and a preoccupation with wanting to always be there. After our first trip she began googling flight deals at the airport gate on our way home, which is obviously what lead to this trip in the first place. After this trip I had to quickly shoot her down like a parent: “No. Please. Just… please… no more trips to Paris for a while.” It’s just not sustainable.

This brings me to my own definition of “Paris Syndrome,” which is no less in love than my wife is, but I’d like to think a bit more optimistic and enlightened.

“We live in ‘Paris,’ babe,” I man-splained to her in hopes of not flushing away all of our retirement and kids’ college funds on steak and wine. We live in New York City – pretty much the only place in the world that Parisians equally admire and crave to see and be a part of. We don’t have to travel halfway across the world to eat incredible food late at night, drink fine wine and be immersed in rich metropolitan culture. We have it right precisely where we both were born! Sure, the food might not be of quite the same caliber and the wine isn’t as affordable, but it’s more affordable than hotels and airfare – that’s for sure.

My “Paris Syndrome” is another kind of beast. It’s a degree of celebratory alcoholism, socializing and gluttony, which is also a seamless transition when you get home two weeks before the holidays. Last time we returned I spent 3-5 weeks of basically pretending we never left. Sure, I went back to work and resumed the responsibilities of a real adult in a world that doesn’t as much value well being, but I went out with friends more often, stayed out later, consumed a bit more, and relished in the incredible privilege of having been born and raised, for all intents and purposes, in Paris. This time has been more of the same. Paris reminds me to celebrate more and stress less. It reminds me to occasionally look at my home through the lens of a tourist, thereby reinvigorating my excitement for home and mitigating the effects of the daily grind. That is what “Paris Syndrome” means to me.

#paris

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wrestlingwiththoughts · 7 years ago

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NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn III (August 20 2017)

The first thing I saw coming out of the Atlantic Center - Barclays Center stop was a group of fans posing for some pre-roll footage for WWE or a local news show’s use. Chanting “NXT” and posing in mock menace, the crowd was only of interest to me because they blocked the sidewalk and my path to join two friends at Don Chignon for a pre-show meal and cocktail.

Last week, I attended Evolve 91 and PROGRESS NYC at a youth recreational center in Corona, Queens. This week, I attended TakeOver: Brooklyn III at the Barclays Center, which is as different from the Elmcor Youth Center as the temperature was in the two buildings on two different August evenings. However, the similarities are worth a chuckle. At both shows, there were fans who were just a little socially awkward, who tried a little too hard to start chants that would go nowhere to prove that they know all about the wrestlers. At both shows, cameramen had spotters clad in black who had to make sure that the camera operators would be able to travel around the ring and film everything. At one point, there were technical difficulties at the Barclays Center that was only different than the technical difficulties an independent wrestling show might suffer by dint of scale. And I’m sure that fourth row floor seats at the Barclays Center wouldn’t have been that much better than fourth row floor seats at the Elmcor Youth Center.

So, I was glad that we were in the arena’s upper bowl in seats that had clear sight lines of the entrance ramp and the ring. The only obstacle to a good view would be my fellow fans in the row before ours who would stand up to record everything on their phones. I don’t know if the WWE tried to pretend that this was a full house, but there were many empty seats across from me on the hard camera side even by the main event. It corroborates reports that the secondary market for TakeOver tickets has fallen through the floor.

Before the show started, they played a backstage interview segment where Renee asked Becky Lynch and Bayley who they thought would win the NXT Women’s Championship match. Lynch received her usual cheers, but the crowd was surprisingly vocal about their dislike for Bayley. I’m surprised that the crowd has turned on Bayley, but character stagnation and character assassination will turn even the easiest going babyface into someone that the crowd hates. I suppose that Bayley can turn back, but it’s disappointing to see Bayley’s potential so thoroughly squandered.

The pre-show had an aborted No Way Jose vs. Lars Sullivan match, a perfectly acceptable Peyton Royce vs. Sara Logan match, and a surprise appearance from Tyler Bate, Trent Seven, Wolfgang, and Pete Dunne. The cheers for Bate and Dunne were genuine because the match was unannounced, and the match told a fun story about how Bate and Dunne Were evenly matched. Therefore, Dunne and Wolfgang focused their attack on Trent Seven to eliminate him from the match. With Seven out of the way, Dunne and Wolfgang could work over Bate at length and even use a blind tag to allow Wolfgang to hit a swanton bomb that took Bate by surprise and score Wolfgang the victory. There were two separate “This is Progress” chants during the match, which amused me. A friend asked me if Dunne would attack Wolfgang after the match, and I responded that he doesn’t have a reason to be a dick for no reason, which is some kind of impressive logic trap.

1. Johnny Gargano vs. Andrade Cien Almas w/Zelina Vega

I hadn’t realized that they had added lyrics to Johnny Gargano’s entrance theme, which is an unfortunate choice. The crowd loves Gargano, while no one clapped for or booed against Almas; the “Johnny Wrestling” chants supported Gargano, and that Almas was wrestling Gargano was irrelevant to the fans early. There was one “Los Ingobernables” sign by the entrance ramp, and I wondered if I were the only one who appreciated the fact that both Tetsuya Naito, leader of Los Ingobernables de Japon, and Almas, former leader of Los Ingobernables, have really energetic music that belie their “tranquilo” attitudes. Gargano looked to use his speed to take Almas off guard with some crisp mat wrestling early in the match, but Almas kicked out at one. Gargano and Almas combined a little bit of everything, from American independent mat wrestling to lucha libre to Japanese strike exchanges into some really great sequences; Gargano’s La Mistica transition into the Garga-No Escape that then led to Almas rolling through and powerbombing Gargano was one of the hottest moments for an energetic crowd. I also respected the fact that Almas worked on Gargano’s left arm throughout the match, and Gargano was smart enough to adjust his position so that he would use the right arm when he and Almas hit their double clothesline spot. They say that there is a great woman behind every great man, so Zelina Vega seems to be taking a shot at becoming the great woman behind Almas by interfering on Almas’s behalf during the match. After Gargano hit a pair of superkicks and threw Almas into the second turnbuckle like a lawn dart, Vega threw a “#DIY” shirt at Gargano, which distracted him long enough for Almas to stun him and hit a hammerlock DDT to score the victory. This was an incredible opener, and it was a great reminder that, even if the card looks underwhelming on paper, TakeOver shows are usually great in the ring. And, as I commented to my friend, the build to the eventual Tommaso Ciampa and Gargano feud will be incredible.

2. NXT Tag Team Championship match: The Authors of Pain (Akam & Rezar) (c) w/Paul Ellering vs. Sanity (Eric Young & Alexander Wolfe) w/Nikki Cross and Killian Dain

I still can’t tell Akam and Rezar apart, so I hope that they do something to differentiate them at some point. It’s also possible that I just need to pay closer attention. It’s hard to find an emotional connection to a match that features a monster tag team that destroyed fan favorites like American Alpha, the Revival, and #DIY and an aggressively discordant faction like Sanity. In the end, Wolfe’s surprising performance and Nikki Cross’s enthusiasm ringside led me to root for Sanity. Because Wolfe looks like a second tier villain on a good season of Justified, it’s easy to forget that he’s actually a good in-ring wrestler. Young, who looks like he would also fit in Boyd Crowder’s gang, is an experienced tag team wrestler, so it almost made sense that he would insert himself into the match in Dain’s place. Dain, of course, would make all of these seem sensible later in one of the most impressive moments of the night when he hits a crossbody splash on the Author of Pain who had caught Nikki Cross after her dive from the top rope to the floor, sandwiching Cross between the Author and Dain and driving all three through a table. They protected Cross as well as they could in that spot, and it eliminated one Author to allow Young and Wolfe to double team the other Author and win the titles. The match exceeded my admittedly low expectations, and Cross played a major role in investing me into Sanity for the match. I also like the idea that Young outsmarted Ellering by announcing that Wolfe and Dain would wrestle and changing the line-up at the last moment by inserting himself into the match. The thrill of that victory was short-lived, however, when Bobby Fish and Kyle O’Reilly, reDRagon, appeared from the crowd to attack Young and Wolfe, hitting their finisher Chasing the Dragon on Young. reDRagon’s surprise appearance and declaration of intent gave the crowd another boost and made me enthusiastic about the future of tag team wrestling in NXT. I’m curious how Corey Graves contributed to the televised experience as a guest commentator.

3. Aleister Black vs. Hideo Itami

I had very high expectations for this match because I wanted to see Black and Itami have a stiff, strike-heavy, faux-MMA style match. At first, I was disappointed to see Black once again absorb so much offense from Itami without responding, but then I started thinking about his entrance theme, which was ably performed by WWE’s musical guest for the evening, Code Orange. (For tonight, at least, Code Orange is the new performer for Black’s theme.) Black, through his theme, challenges this opponents to do their worst:

“No man is ever truly good No man is every truly evil I do the things you never could And we won't ever be equal No man is ever truly good No man is every truly evil I do the things you never could And we won't ever be equal You point your finger and play the victim So take your best shot Release the pressure You perpetrate your propaganda And now I'm calling you out”

(Black’s theme, “Root of All Evil,” is a great half a song.) Itami, beset by bad luck and worse health, probably feels like a victim of circumstances. He took his best shot at Black and tried to wear Black down with kicks, chops, a top rope Falcon Arrow, and a second Falcon Arrow. He tried to wear Black down on the mat with a long chinlock sequence when his strikes couldn’t finish Black. Then, Black called him out with the Black Mass roundhouse head kick, and Itami was down for the three count. It was a hard-hitting match, but Black’s matches have lacked drama because he absorbs damage until it’s time for him to hit the Black Mass to end the match. I joked when they announced that Jim Ross would be the special guest announcer for this match that they must be trolling him after he had such a hard time distinguishing wrestlers and pronouncing names at the New Japan Pro Wrestling G1 Specials.

4. NXT Women’s Championship match: Asuka (c) vs. Ember Moon

Part of the live experience is seeing wrestlers who don’t emerge from backstage during their entrances get into position on the stage while the rest of the crowd is supposed to be paying attention to the recap that’s played on the big screens. Similarly, I was fascinated by the little production touches throughout the show, like the fact that the camera operator has to stand on a ladder in order to film the commentators in their talking head segments between matches or the fact that a member of the production staff has to remove Percy Watson’s and Nigel McGuinness’s chairs before those segments and replace them immediately after.

Similarly, watching them shuttle guests to the front row seats for their promotional appearances was fascinating to me. I wonder how long Lynch, Sasha Banks, and Bayley can trade on their history as the Four Horsewomen of NXT (Charlotte was conspicuous in her absence for understandable reasons). The fact that the crowd booed Bayley would show that lifespan of the warm and fuzzy feelings of those memories is not as long as you would think.

Because Asuka debuted after Banks, Charlotte, and Lynch had moved on from NXT (her first match was against Dana Brooke at NXT TakeOver: Respect, which was headlined by the 30 Minute Ironwoman match between Bayley and Banks, the last match involving the Four Horsewomen), Asuka doesn’t have the same connection with fans that Banks, Lynch, Charlotte, and Bayley have. The crowd’s unsure reaction to Asuka’s victory over Bayley to win the NXT Women’s Championship at TakeOver: Dallas made that clear. That said, the NXT crowd connected to Asuka through her swagger (no one, not even Banks at her peak, could match the sense of cool that Asuka projects during her entrances), ferocity (not even Lynch could match the violence that Asuka could unleash), or dominance (not even Charlotte or Banks could project Asuka’s sense of invincibility).

The crowd was even split between Moon supporters and Asuka fans. Moon attacked Asuka from the bell, and Asuka had to regroup outside the ring. The action is incredible and too quick for anyone to realistically recap. It was best to let the match wash over you and take part in the spontaneous and loud dueling chants for the two women. Asuka targeted Moon’s surgically repaired arm, and the two trade incredibly stiff strikes to the crowd’s delight. This sums up the crowd’s reaction when Moon hit the Eclipse:

As a fan of Asuka, I was overjoyed when Asuka kicked out from the Eclipse and kicked out again after a Moon superkick. I was cheering my lungs out when Asuka had trapped Moon in the Asuka Lock and when Asuka forced Moon to finally submit in the middle of the ring. There is enough wiggle room from controversy to justify one more rematch since Asuka shielded herself from a second Eclipse by cowering behind the referee, but the way Moon soaked up the appreciative applause from the crowd after the match seemed like a conclusion for Moon in NXT. Meanwhile, I can continue to enjoy Asuka as the unbeatable champion. This was the match of the night, followed closely by Gargano vs. Almas, and I joked to my friend that it wouldn’t be an NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn show if they didn’t put the wrong match in the main event slot. Bayley vs. Banks should have been the main event of TakeOver: Brooklyn, and the Revival vs. #DIY should have been the main event of TakeOver: Brooklyn II. This should have been the main event of TakeOver: Brooklyn III. It was magnificent.

I also really enjoyed the little touch of Asuka staring at and taunting Lynch, Banks, and Bayley throughout the match. Seeing Asuka confront her predecessors in NXT put the entire match in context.

5. NXT Championship match: Bobby Roode (c) vs. Drew McIntyre

A surefire way to make me lose interest in a match is to trot out the NYPD to escort the nominal face in the match to the ring. I’m sure getting the NYPD Emerald Society to play the bagpipes for McIntyre’s performance seemed like a stroke of genius, but all it did was to make me (and a few other black and brown fans in my section) sit down and not care about McIntyre. Combined with the emotional fatigue after the Asuka vs. Moon match and Roode’s match style, which can be charitably called methodical, and I was more disengaged than bored during the match. It’s not as if the last match had completely worn the crowd down; Samoa Joe received very loud “Joe!” chants during his brief appearance ringside to promote his championship four way match at SummerSlam 2017. Roode’s match style gives the crowd very little to chew on, and McIntyre’s hard-hitting style could only provide so much flavor to the match. As the match began, the fans behind me waxed poetic about TNA”s short period when that company approached greatness, reminiscing about the heyday of the X Division and cursing Hulk Hogan for his perceived role in the company’s decline. McIntyre popped the crowd with a tope con hilo that Roode failed to catch him on, and it led to a pretty good closing section highlighted by Roode’s backstabber (my friend asked if he hit a Codebreaker, to which I replied that it was a Roode-a-bager because my Dad joke game is strong), McIntyre’s Future Shock DDT, Roode’s Glorious DDT, and the Claymore. I liked that Roode was hoisted on his own petard by trying to hit more than one Glorious DDT to ensure his victory, which allowed McIntyre to recover just long enough to hit the Claymore to win the match and the championship. It was a fine match, but it will be overshadowed by Asuka vs. Moon, and it would be remembered mostly for the post-match attack by reDRagon and a debuting Adam Cole.

This was a really enjoyable show, and it proves once again that TakeOver shows should not be underestimated and that wrestling shows have a sweet spot about two and a half hours.

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bigyack-com · 5 years ago

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The Pandemic Work Diary of a Video-Streaming C.E.O.

Anjali Sud has never been busier. As the chief executive of Vimeo — a video-streaming platform with 175 million registered users — Ms. Sud is dealing with swelling traffic as the world, sheltering in place, looks for virtual connections.“We woke up a few weeks ago to unprecedented demand,” she said. “We’re seeing increased usage across our products of two times, five times, 10 times.”Ms. Sud, 36, a former investment banker and marketing director, became the platform’s chief in 2017 and changed the nature of the business — making it less of an entertainment streaming service that competed with the likes of Netflix, and more of a hub for content creators. Vimeo generated nearly $200 million in revenue last year, mostly from subscriber fees. It’s owned by IAC, which also operates Match, Tinder, Care.com and the Daily Beast.Ms. Sud said that churches, nonprofits and fitness instructors have all expanded their use of Vimeo’s tools, and that the platform has also seen a spike in content as varied as programs for children and the live-streaming of funerals.Though she is usually based in New York City, Ms. Sud is now staying with her parents in Michigan while caring for her infant son and managing the company’s more than 600 employees.“I live in a world of perpetual trade-offs,” she said. “I can no longer operate at 100 percent capacity like I’m used to as a C.E.O., as a mother, as a wife, as a daughter, as a colleague. I think what I’m learning is that every day, I have to pick the things to let go, and I have to know I’m going to drop some balls, and that’s OK.”

Monday

7:30 a.m. Wake up to cries on the baby monitor. My 18-month-old son, Saavan, is ready for a new day. We have our ritual of diaper change, oatmeal with blueberries and a Sesame Street dance-off. (I’m Abby, he’s Elmo.) I FaceTime with my little sister, who just had a baby in Singapore.8:30 a.m. Chai with my mom before she goes to work. I’m sheltering in Flint, Mich., my hometown. A silver lining of this crisis is getting to spend time with my parents, who both work in health care. My mom oversees a hospital internal medicine residency program, and her residents are on the front line. She tells me that they are both brave and afraid.9 a.m. Zoom call with our chief operating officer and head of human resources. We discuss our new “Vimeo Virtual” series to help employees stay connected through Slack challenges, lunch-and-learns, round tables and online games. This week’s challenge is #socialDISHtancing and everyone posts pics of what they’re eating. I learn we have an increasing number of employees who have lost family members to coronavirus. We decide to start a charitable donation program for anyone going through bereavement.11:55 a.m. Pass Saavan to my husband, Matt. He also works demanding hours, so we’ve been alternating coverage. It’s hectic but we’re also discovering hidden strengths — he makes a mean hot dog, and I’m not bad with brownies out of the box.12 p.m. Our chief marketing officer tells me about a grant program for Vimeo filmmakers to produce videos telling the human stories behind small businesses that have been affected by the pandemic. Everyone from award-winning animators to Oscar-nominated directors have made submissions on entrepreneurs that have inspired them, from an iconic comic book shop in Brooklyn to a flower shop in Budapest to an African contemporary dance company in Minnesota.2 p.m. Review our P&L and latest business outlook. Small businesses, churches, gyms, freelancers, conferences — everyone is using video to stay connected. We decide to increase investment in customer support and technical infrastructure. We also discuss how to weather the economic downturn, and steps we can take to protect employees and prevent layoffs, like slowing hiring and reducing marketing spend. 4 p.m. Weekly call with the chief executives of our parent company, IAC. We go around the virtual room and share how our people and businesses are doing. We talk about team morale and productivity, and what resumption could look like when the time comes — from increased remote work to office layouts and capacity.6 p.m. I take my daily walk around the neighborhood I grew up in. It’s a precious window of me time.9 p.m. I check our WFH Slack channel to see what’s trending, and find this welcome distraction: The Lonely Show. It’s cool to see my colleagues using their creativity to spark laughter in such tense times.

Tuesday

3:40 a.m. Saavan is wailing. Turns out he just dropped his pacifier and wants it back. Crisis averted.6 a.m. Coffee + Bob Dylan playlist + catch up on email. The sun rises and I spot a deer in our backyard. This time last year I was in Tel Aviv, about to acquire an Israeli video start-up. I miss jumping on planes, crowded bars and sushi delivery.10 a.m. Weekly executive meeting. Easter was our biggest live-streaming weekend ever, with 75 times the volume we typically see. Many of our teams are working around the clock to manage the scale, and I worry about burnout. We’ve bulked up our mental health programs with counseling services and workshops. I’m pleased to see employees taking advantage, but I know more people are struggling. I look at my own team on the screen and the little faces popping in and out. My reports are all working parents, and half don’t have child care right now. I decide to send them care packages.12 p.m. FaceTime my nanny, who is with her sister in Brooklyn. She’s worried we don’t have enough toys in Flint, and I add a Fisher Price vacuum cleaner to my Amazon cart.2 p.m. Quick catch-up with the team behind Vimeo Create, our new video-making app. We just launched 100 new social media templates to help businesses stay connected to their customers during the pandemic. Today we look at themes for remote work tips, contactless delivery, donations, at-home fitness and online learning.7 p.m. It’s taco night. Like many, I find myself drawn to comfort food and nostalgia. We drink gin, watch “Law & Order” reruns and play board games. I’m wearing my mom’s velour pajamas and feel like a teenager again. It’s kinda nice.

Wednesday

6:30 a.m. Chai with my dad. He’s a surgeon and entrepreneur, and the person who originally inspired me to get into business. He’s also an aspiring poet, and he reads me something he wrote to capture his feelings about the virus.11 a.m. Meeting with IAC to review funding for the rest of the year. We are growing quickly but are not yet profitable. We’re fortunate that our owners have strong cash reserves and a long-term investment horizon. We discuss a couple different scenarios for how things could play out. It strikes me that precision is impossible right now, and that as an organization our most important strength will be our agility.12 p.m. I tune in a few minutes late to our monthly “staff picks” screening. Over 70 percent of our filmmakers say that being recognized has helped them receive paid future work. Today was our first fully remote screening, and each filmmaker did an intro video from their home. My favorites were a sci-fi film about gender identity, an animated project about food, and a documentary about Betye Saar.3 p.m. Review engineering plan to scale our infrastructure. We’re already delivering over 2 terabits per second of streaming video — that’s more than 60 DVDs’ worth. But every hour more people are moving their businesses entirely online, so we’ve got to prepare for more.4 p.m. Check in on my girlfriends via text. We’ve been attempting the weekend virtual hangout with varying degrees of success. A few of my friends are working in critical response roles — one is on Boris Johnson’s Covid-19 response communication team in London, and another is at the Hospital for Special Surgery.6 p.m. Feed Saavan dinner, which ends with strawberry yogurt smeared all over his hair and mine. Bath time.

Thursday

9:30 a.m. Vimeo Global Town Hall. This is the most important part of my job right now: to be a visible, reassuring presence, and to be both optimistic and real. Today the message I open with is: Hang in there. We’ll get through this together. I update the company on what’s working and what isn’t, and we spend most of the time on anonymous Q. and A. Not surprisingly, the top questions are on mental health resources and office reopening.11 a.m. Matt tells me that Saavan has just said new words: “cookie” and “more.” The first I interpret as a sign of good taste.1 p.m. Virtual lunch with some new hires. Even as we’ve scaled, I like to get to know each person who joins us.2 p.m. I attend a closed-door C.E.O. round table with 14 leaders across the retail, tech, health and nonprofit sectors. It’s hosted by one of the top women in business, whom I’d never met before. She talks about her experience leading through crises over the decades, and it dawns on me that I’m in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I’ve been so caught up in the day-to-day that it’s been easy to only look out as far as the next quarter or year. But in many ways, this experience will test and shape my instincts, character and values for the rest of my career.5 p.m. Weekly happy hour with the leadership team. It’s BYOB of course, from negronis to merlot. Governor Cuomo has just extended New York’s shutdown to May 15. The drinks are stronger than usual.8 p.m. I get sucked into the McMillion$ docuseries. Fascinating. Yet, I’m eager for the day when streaming shows isn’t the only thing to do on a Thursday night.Interviews are conducted by email, text and phone, then condensed and edited. Read the full article

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michellelewis7162 · 5 years ago

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Why You Must Beginning Searching For A Couples Cooking Food Class and Residence Food Preparation Courses

Every little thing a pair should learn about kookworkshop cooking food courses is provided below:

If you ever before thought about just how to amaze a person that you like or even intend to wow, a terrific concept will be prepping all of them a delectable food. A lot of women discover on their own attracted to males who understand how to make great meals. You should remember that meals and also eating with each other is an integral part in affection and it might aid a married couple acquire closer. Married couples cooking courses are the spot to go if you wish to share your enthusiasm for preparing food with your liked ones. https://www.kookparty.com/

Such kookworkshop classes gives both you and also your companion the capacity to join the kookstudio cooking process. They primarily show you how to work as a group to ready the tastiest foods. In reality you could even find out how to prepare fancy 3-course suppers together. Including in that, meals prepare classes are fantastic special day and also special occasion presents!

We would love to clarify to you for a while, what to expect if you enlist a pairs kookstudio cooking course and also how it might help your partnership.

Thus why cooking lessons?

The absolute most vital target of couples sushi culinary training class is actually to carry you as well as your really loved one closer. It assists you delight in one another as you take part in the cooking procedure. Usually after some opportunity of residing in a partnership pairs usually tend to overlook the fun they possessed when they started viewing one another, and they discover on their own dealing with funds and each other's responsibilities. This is actually where food preparation training programs come-in and deliver the fire back in to your connection.

Usually, all married couples sushi training class that you might participate in, will be designed to make you as well as your partner job as being one. You are going to be actually taught just how to distribute the tasks between yourselves. This will certainly assist you to speak about the problems that you may face as you undergo the food preparation procedure. A fantastic benefit of the class is that it will explain to you, just how to efficiently interact but very most notably you are going to learn just how to enjoy cooking food.

Pairs cookery classes are commonly one-time or even a set of 3-4 workshop. They are going to mainly concentrate on some specific dishes, or kind of cooking food. Commonly they take approximately 4 hours, however don't worry regarding the timetables as there are actually a selection of lessons to match your time needs. A lot of all of them are actually hung on weekend breaks when both you as well as your friend are actually totally free coming from your regular jobs. The series of 3-4 training class are likewise held on weekends and also are actually designed to instruct you every basics of your desired menu in only 2-3 times. Our experts propose taking the benefit of these weekend break food preparation training class as well as to bring in a 2-day excursion out of it. You could possibly schedule a hotels and resort in some area that comes to journey to as well as locate the local married couples cooking lessons certainly there. This will undoubtedly deliver you nearer.

Including in the simple fact that you'll devote even more time all together, food prepare workshop are going to strengthen your kitchen space abilities. If you've increased exhausted of the usual eggs and also bacon bits for morning meal, couples cooking training class will certainly present you various point of views on exactly how to make use of different cooking active ingredients.

An important advantage of couples classes that you may comply with brand new people/other pairs. When you are actually stuck between work and also duplicated everyday problems, talking with fresh new individuals will create that course a lot more unique, you and these brand new people that you've encountered could even potentially receive together for themed supper gatherings.

Nevertheless, as soon as again one of the most crucial benefit is actually that preparing food courses may carry that shimmer right into your partnership. Life may be thus stressful sometimes as well as couples find it challenging to kick back as well as merely delight in being actually with each other. Frequently each companions operate long hrs as well as are dead-tired due to the opportunity they complete job, as a result of this they don't possess the power to have a great time with each other. Having said that, one hr at a culinary course may be actually the absolute best time in your previous couple of weeks.

Home-based preparing food training class are definitely excellent since you can easily find out about food preparation also at the convenience of your residence using you cooking devices at home. At house cooking food training class may be classified depending on to the geographical location and the dishes discovered. Those that desire to find out in the house preparing food can easily pick what kind of preparing food they need to have and really want.

In New York, in the home cooking classes generally offer exclusive sessions on in the house food preparation courses straight in the student's residence. Cooking food students may also decide to host after the school classes a cooking party for on their own or even a birthday party celebration for children. People can also opt to have specialist to make the meals that they need or prefer. Normally, in the house cooking food classes take around pair of hrs as well as might extend for 30 minutes. The sessions are committed mostly in preparing the whole food. Those that are coming from New Jersey, Westchester, Fairfield, Brooklyn, Manhattan, and also Long Island may take the training program. Fascinated food preparation pupils might decide to develop their very own courses or might choose from the accessible courses that they may sign up with. The cost in participating in these lessons is fixed at $250 for two individuals as well as $75 for an included pupil. If you are actually signed up, you are assumed to be actually all set with the active ingredients and also grocery store items before the beginning of the course. Pupils have the option to either host a preparing food celebration at their residences or even provide a food preparation training class as a present to a couple as a wedding present.

In Washington D.C., the chef teacher prepares to show people for in the house cooking food classes. Trainees can easily pick to have a private training in mentor people a new cooking ability or even instruct them the food preparation treatments of the meals that they prefer. This courses may additionally last for concerning four hrs which would set you back $350 specifically designed for two individuals. One may additionally choose to possess a cooking celebration for six individuals along with a fee fixed at $400. Besides these, one can easily additionally decide to perform the courses one in each week. One can easily likewise decide on to know the basic approaches as well as skill-sets, certainly which is actually anticipated why they decided on to sign up with th course. These classes additionally offer the history right coming from the overview around the preparation methods of having decorative food for gatherings. One can easily likewise know the different disheses of different nations.

Culinary Business is actually essentially various on the alternatives it provides in the in the house preparing food classes. Remarkably, Culinary Business helps one to instruct individuals in making lessons to other individuals. An Entertainment Cooking Training Program is supplied that can easily help the pupils in beginning their own business. The pupils enrolled would acquire their Visual Tutorial Guide, Business Manual as well as even a Jacket Patch for Chef.

If finding out just how to prepare has been on your order of business for fairly some time, at that point you might desire to take into consideration enlisting your own self into group food preparation training class. These training class can easily help you to learn the fine art and scientific research of cooking scrumptious food alongside aiding you to discover the usefulness of functioning in a group. And also in addition to, you can easily likewise wind up bring in a few good friends in the good deal at these classes, alongside the contentment of having discovered one thing beneficial. Review our post to discover more regarding these classes and also their perks.

Cooking is actually typically thought about to be actually a fine art combined with scientific research, one thing that is actually not everybody's favorite. Having said that, food preparation is actually likewise one thing that everybody needs to have to become aware of and also understand at minimum the essentials as it could be a massive life saver over time of necessity - when food cravings pangs strike as well as there is actually absolutely nothing ready-made to eat at hand. This is actually why knowing to prepare can easily be an essential skill to possess. Likewise, being a great chef has its own decent portion of advantages - there will be no shortage of devotees regularly standing by to try your following meal, your partner will definitely be greater than happy to eat at home daily as well as will merrily talk to their close friends about the magic in your hands. That pointed out, cooking while complicated is not an incredibly difficult skill-set to harness. This is actually where; enlisting in team food preparation classes could be a great means for finding out how to prepare some delicious meals and foods in a fun and also non-boring method.

Group cooking courses are carried out in practically every space as well as gully in these times as well as there is no lack of folks would like to enlist in them. However, prior to enrolling in one, carry out take into consideration addressing a few important inquiries like - Why perform you desire to learn cooking food? What cuisines would certainly want? Just how a lot time would you be willing to commit to this task, etc? For instance, if you are actually a bachelor spouseless and would just like to learn just a couple of standard dishes, then enrolling for a higher degree training program will be useless to you. As soon as you've decided about the kind of cooking food or maybe baking you would as if to discover, after that finding one that meets your necessities need to certainly not be a concern.

Team food preparation classes, even more than private preparing food tuition's may be a whole lot much more fun. As additional is actually merrier, as a result knowing to prepare in a team, assures to make the whole activity a great deal even more exciting and exciting. You can easily even create a handful of great close friends in the course of the training course. These days many couples, close friends as well as even moms and dads as well as little ones receive on their own signed up in food preparation lessons so regarding have the ability to spend additional opportunity together and connection along with one another, while discovering something new as well as helpful. Joining a group preparing food class may be a huge bonus offer, particularly if you intend to shock a loved one on his/her birthday party along with an unique meal prepared through your palm. Each one of these perks as well as additional make these lessons no less exciting as well as favorable than any kind of various other leisure activity training class.

It is surprising exactly how some meals caring individuals have actually taken effort to use every cooking chance offered to them, as well as one is actually the event of a cooking training class. These folks strongly believe that one performs not need to have to be actually an expert, or even a full newbie to make use several of the cooking information.

Whether you reside in the South or North, there should be actually some food preparation lessons in your location that may promote a cooking food course to aid you strengthen your existing skills. There are actually communities that deliver training class at evening, or even on the weekend with a nominal fee. You should also rejoice with some that offers free cooking food workshops, although possibilities like this begun the odd affair.

A regular cooking lesson educates more on the basic and also is usually designed to aid ladies discover the essentials of affordable as well as well balanced meals. It teaches on crucial food preparation techniques, the ideal method to matching food items appearances as well as flavors, and also making use of specific substances for specific foods. This food preparation course is actually the one for you if you are new to cooking. For those that are actually searching for the culinary experience along with exquisite food items, you will need to do some looking for the ideal food preparation courses. Your public library is actually generally the initial source for achievable leads in your location. If you are residing in a small city however is really considering learning exotic cooking food procedures, you ought to look at a vacation to the city to try out a handful of new cooking food lessons for your target.

Modern food preparation courses are going to instruct you just how to check out recipes in addition to recognizing the various main reasons responsible for every option of substance. You are going to be revealed to different cuisines from around the globe as well as you will certainly discover how to prepare a menu of recipes. You will certainly be trained in food discussion, setup, garnishing and side foods, which can enrich your peace of mind in the total cooking expertise. Odds like these will offer you a little bit additional than the usual memento to revive coming from your travel, and also an expertise that in most cases can be momentous.

There are actually lots of fine meals stores that give cooking classes. You can also discover one that makes it possible for moms and dads to take their kids in the training class, which may be a splendid possibility for you as well as your kid as you learn to prep a brand new food with each other. It is more probable that you are going to be startled just how swift your kid can easily know in the lesson that could be a manner of a cooking profession. The laid-back training will act as an useful hands-on knowledge that you may strengthen in your very own home kitchen.

Despite just how experienced you reside in the kitchen area, there is consistently a wonderful package of traits that could be know. If you are a couple, why not create it much more intimate through subscribing in a married couples cooking training class? Don't undervalue the power of partner as well as spouse in the kitchen area, it will definitely enable your partnership to heavy steam up all the a lot more.

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blschaos3000-blog · 5 years ago

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Its 1:56 am cold/dark/leftovers

Welcome to “8 Questions with…….”

Yeooooow has my November lethargy been a wicked pisser this year. I am so far behind on everything but I’m going to catch up,I promise!!

I met our next guest,the fantastic Wyatt Terwilliger in a rather different manner. He and I met on Facebook in a horror movie group. As many of you know,while I am a huge horror fan,I’m not a torture porn fan and that topic came up in the group. Many “fans” love it is what I discovered in this group and when I politely pointed out that I didn’t,well,many were butt hurt and then I was out of that group….but I wasn’t alone in my stance as Wyatt joined in on my side before I left and after I was “kicked out”,I got a friend request and I accepted Wyatt’s invite. Since then I discovered that Wyatt is an extremely talented photographer and his pictures and composition is among the best I’ve ever seen. What really caught my attention was despite many of his photos featured beautiful models,they were almost an distraction because of the locations he uses for his shoots and the colors in his backgrounds. Just breathtaking and beautiful. The more I saw the stronger the urge was to ask my friend Wyatt if he wouldn’t mind doing this interview and and am quite stoked he said “Yes”. I do owe Wyatt an apology for this being posted so late and for being so patient. I really hope you really enjoy meeting Wyatt as he answers his 8 Questions…..

Please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about yourself.

I’m Wyatt! I’m a Long Island NY photographer interested in creating images that are a little off center of the usual.

How old were you when you discovered photography? What was the first camera you ever owned?

If we’re talking the FIRST first time I discovered photography; I was 9 or 10, I discovered black and white film existed and became obsessed with shooting black and white and coloring parts in with photo markers.I didn’t really start doing the photo thing legitimately until about 4 years ago. I had kind of tired of all other creative outlets and had enough creative friends who had modeled in the past, that it made sense to collaborate.

How did you work to improve your technique? Do you perfer shooting with film or digital more and why?

I’m always trying to push beyond what I’ve done and try things I haven’t yet. I try not to let myself get comfortable, which I think forces me to get better. I study my own stuff a lot and find what I’ve done that I like, and try to fine tune those things. I would LOVE to shoot film but I’m living the starving artist life in a big way. Film is expensive! I shoot digital out of necessity. Maybe that’ll change in the future.

What kind of gear do you currently use? How do you get beautifully colored backgrounds?

I shoot on a Nikon D3200, it’s not a terribly fancy or advanced camera, but it’s getting the job done so far! I have a basic ring light I got off eBay that I use for indoor setups when possible. The color is all done in editing. I use photoshop and play with color, I find color to be infinitely fascinating. It brings so much to the photos. Enhances mood and feel, it changes so much about every image, I’m glad to see that people respond to it.

Which do you perfer shooting- indoor shots or outdoors? What are some of the pros and cons of each setting?

That’s tough. I love both for different reasons but I do really love being outside and exploring new places, there’s not a TON of variation in scenery on Long Island (where I shoot) but this has helped me find a lot of cool new spots I never would have discovered otherwise! Shooting outside is great because I also love to use natural light. Although I also like manipulating light with indoor shoots. I don’t know that I really enjoy one over the other!

Which is your favorite lense and why?

Currently I’m in love with the Sigma 50mm I’ve been using. It’s responsible for a lot of my best work.

You often will use nude models for your shoots. What do you do or say to your models to ensure a safe and comfortable session? Is there anything a model can do to protect herself from a scammer?

Everything is discussed beforehand. We discuss the shoot in as much detail as possible before getting on set, most importantly comfort levels and boundaries. This way I know where the model is at and what the shoot is going to entail. Comfort, trust and respect are absolutely key. A model should know what a shoot is going to involve long before she steps in front of the camera, and a photographer should know and respect their boundaries. As far as avoiding negative experiences with photographers, always, ALWAYS get references. If you do not know a photographer personally (and sometimes even then) speak to models they have shot with previously, ask about their behavior on and off set. Take a look at their social medias as well, see how they talk about models the shoot with. These can be good indicators.

Among your photos,which three are your favorites and why?

This is so hard to answer!

An image from a shoot I did with Betsy ( @betsoh ), who is a fantastic model, indoor shoot, very simple setup, just her and a bed with a white sheet. There’s an overhead shot, her on her stomach with her back to us. It’s one of my absolute favorites. The way the shadows fell on her, the contrast of her against the color of the sheet. The angle I lucked into. I think it’s got a really cool vibe. I have a shot with Vivian (@vivian_haze95 ) with her draped in a bright red, sheer fabric. She’s tucked into a vibrant green backdrop of flowers and foliage, it’s such a striking image. The bright red against the green, and her body language is so great. I’m really proud of that one. Another I’m really proud of is from a shibari shoot with Niki (@orisha.realness) The shoot itself was one of the best and coolest I’ve gotten to be a part of. There was the model, and the man tying the ropes. I expected to get cool shots of the various ties and knots and harnesses he would be tying, but quickly realized the shoot lied in the process, which was delicate and intricate. It was also a really cool display and exercise in consent. The relationship between the two, while binding and being bound, is all about consent and communication. There is a shot from this shoot, it’s a fairly simple profile portrait, the rigger (person who ties ropes) has his hand on the models chest, there is an orange light that fades into pale blue/grey on the wall behind them, the contrast of their skin tones, Niki also has super cool hair, which adds a little pop of purple to the top left corner of the image. I think it’s a really powerful shot. That might be all time favorite image I’ve ever been a part of creating.

Which photographers have influenced you the most in the way you take your pictures?

Right now my biggest influences are Moss Von Faustenberg, who was the first photographer I saw use color in the way that I’m so in love with (and employ myself). His images are as close to perfect as possible, Every. Single. Time. Harris Nukem is just absurdly talented and can make absolutely anything infinite’s interesting to look at. The way he photographs humans is just brilliant. Christopher McKenney creates images that are simultaneously absolutely gorgeous and haunting all at once. Wildly talented photographer. Film is also a MAJOR influence on me and my art. A few films (and their respective directors and cinematographers) that have had the most influence include

Mandy (2018)

The Strange Color of Your Body’s Tears (2013)

Suspiria (1977)

Enter the Void (2009)

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Dredd (2012)

The use of light and color in these films have been highly influential in my photography for sure, and are also pretty great films in general.

What is your greatest motivation in taking your pictures,what do you want to do with your talent?

To create photos that I would like to see in the world. It’s hard to find artists that are exactly in line with what you’d like to see and what your tastes and interests are. So ultimately I’d like to create that art. I’m not quite there yet, but that’s the goal!

What have been the three best horror films you have seen this year?

Oooh, I’m glad you asked!

‘Midsommar’ is right at the top of the list. That movie is WILD man, it’s absolutely stunning to look at, it’s beautiful, severely dark and foreboding, crushingly heavy. It’s such a trip. Ari Aster is one of the most brilliant filmmakers working today.

‘Dry Blood.’ – It’s not from this year but I saw it this year and WOW, what a movie. Easily one of if not the best micro budget indie horror film I’ve ever seen. It’s not without its flaws but it keeps you guessing and trying to figure it out the whole time, and still manages to surprise you in the end…and end which is shocking, heartbreaking, unsettling…it’s great.

And ‘Haunt’ Which just came out. It’s a horror movie drenched in Halloween atmosphere and is just pure fun. I also have a fear of pretty much exactly what the movie is about so it hit nicely. I’m super excited about Doctor Sleep, I’m sure that’ll take a top spot for the year as well!

The new Nitehawk movie theater opened last night December 18, to a large crowd of media and interested parties in Park Slope.

The cheetah and I flying to watch your latest exhibit but we are a day early and you are now our tour guide,what are we doing?

Ah, pressure!

Well I love a short train ride from NYC, which certainly doesn’t need me to do it any favors… But, I’m a food guy, it’s pretty much what I do, and between NYC and Brooklyn, there’s pretty much going to be your new favorite place for any kind of food you can imagine. Right now I’m swooning over Federoffs Roast Pork in Brooklyn. Best sandwiches I’ve ever had, hands down. The NiteHawk theater in Brooklyn is a super cool movie going experience, they show tons of indie films, older films and have lots of cool horror film screenings. The theater also has a full bar, and has full snack bar/food/drink service AT YOUR SEAT. Its pretty much guaranteed to ruin all other movie theaters for you.

Movies and food…those are my areas of expertise!

I like to thank Wyatt for taking the time off his schedule to chat with us. If you’re in Long Island,NY and need some world class photos taken,well…..look no further then Wyatt.

Wyatt has a InstaGram page that showcases his skills which you can find here.

He also has a Facebook page as well in case you don’t use IG.

I like to thank you all for both reading my words but for also supporting the folks I am so fortunate to chat with. You can read my other interviews by going here. Feel free to drop a comment or two…..

8 Questions with……..professional photographer Wyatt Terwilliger Its 1:56 am cold/dark/leftovers Welcome to "8 Questions with......." Yeooooow has my November lethargy been a wicked pisser this year.

#8 Questions With #art #Chris McKenney #Harris Nukem #Life #lifestyle #Long Island #Moss Von Faustenberg #New York City #photography #professional

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wineanddinosaur · 5 years ago

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A Power Ranking of the Best and Worst Margaritas at Every Major Chain Restaurant

America loves Margaritas. The tangy mix of tequila, fresh lime, and triple sec has been our No. 1 drink since 2016, according to Nielsen surveys. We love Margaritas so much, in fact, we’ll happily pay extra for them.

Naturally, Margaritas are available everywhere from somber craft cocktail bars to casual dining chains. Chili’s Grill & Bar boasts a 14-strong Margarita menu, including a revolving, monthly $5 Margarita special. Meanwhile, sales of Applebee’s $1 cocktail deals, which started with the infamous “Dollarita” in October 2017, not only helped the chain buck a casual dining slump, they drove 43 weeks of consecutive sales growth. Even Olive Garden, the Italian family dining chain, offers its own version of the Mexican cocktail.

But just how good are these iterations? Is their success a product of cost and convenience, or are these national chains just as adept at slinging the nation’s favorite cocktail as mixologists at high-end cocktail bars?

“[A Margarita] should be tart, it should taste like lime and like citrus (which is why you use Cointreau), and it should taste earthy, like tequila,” Ivy Mix, co-owner of Leyenda in Brooklyn, N.Y., says. According to the self-professed “tequila and mezcal lady,” there’s absolutely no substitute for Cointreau in the mix. “If you use simple syrup,” she says, “it’s just a glorified Daiquiri.”

Some bars may swap out the tequila for mezcal, though, adding a smoky element to the drink. But regardless of which agave spirit you use, “it must be 100 percent agave,” Gary Wallach, director of food and beverage for Arlo Hotels, tells VinePair. “Agave is like wine,” Wallach explains, “so the best Margaritas balance the true terroir of the agave used, while using just enough sugar and citrus to give it a refreshing and light flavor.”

Armed with this guidance, we assembled a team of Margarita enthusiasts to help sample and rank what each national casual-dining chain had to offer.

Those tasked with joining this writer for the crawl included Jeff Licciardello, VinePair’s director of marketing and lover of every form and flavor of Margarita. VinePair columnist Aaron Goldfarb, whose fondness for casual-dining-chain cocktails is well-documented, was also on hand, as was politics editor from the Daily Dot, David Covucci, because who needs eight successive Margaritas more than someone who reports on our current political landscape for a living?

Our process was simple: We entered each national dining chain, asked the bartender for whatever they deemed their location’s “flagship Margarita,” and individually scored the drink based on presentation, balance of flavors, and value for money. After we’d tasted and scored them all, we averaged them to determine the final ranking.

8. TGI Fridays

Called the “Best Fridays Margarita” (BFM), this $16.32 (after tax) cocktail was one of the two most expensive Margaritas we sampled. Visually, it was uninviting, with a few specks of salt crusted onto an oversized rocks glass. The drink gained a few points for including Patrón and fresh lime juice, but the balance was off-kilter, with not enough sweetness and far too much booze. If the BFM is, indeed, the best Margarita TGIF has to offer, we won’t be returning any time soon. Average score: 8/25

7. Hard Rock Café

Upon descending into the basement bar of the Times Square Hard Rock Café, we had high hopes. Our bartender whipped up the drink with the briskness of a Led Zeppelin guitar solo, and, at $12.79 after tax, it was one of the cheapest Margaritas we encountered. Unfortunately, the inclusion of both Cointreau and Grand Marnier meant the quality tequila — Tres Generaciones Plata — got lost in the mix, which tasted like boozy orange juice. Average score: 11/25

6. Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tuesday’s “Top Shelf Traditional Margarita” blends Casamigos Blanco with triple sec and something called “fresh lime sour,” and tops it with a Grand Marnier float. Unlike Hard Rock’s Margarita, this chain manages to strike a nice balance between the sweet, orange-flavored liqueur, and the citrus and tequila, though some tasters felt it was ultimately lacking in acidity. It might not be an issue if you’re only drinking one, but would definitely lead to struggles if you order a second or make the first one “large” for an extra $1. Average score: 14/25

5. Olive Garden

Olive Garden’s Italian Margarita was polarizing. The non-traditional recipe swaps out half the sour mix for orange juice, and the cocktail is finished with a pour of Amaretto. Most of the tasters felt there was sufficient acidity to balance the sweet ingredients, however, and everyone agreed the orange and lime garnish, and orange-salt-rimmed glass, made the drink look appealing. At close to 16 ounces for $11.74, the drink also offers fantastic value. Average score: 14.5/25

4. Red Lobster

Combining Sauza tequila, Grand Marnier, and sour mix, Red Lobster’s Margarita is greater than the sum of its parts. Our team of four ordered the 24-ounce “Lobsterita” pour, which was ours for a barely believable $14.58. A solid, if slightly bland Margarita, the drink was balanced and just missed falling in our top three. Average score: 15/25

3. Chili’s Grill & Bar

Chili’s sells over 22 million Margaritas per year, making it the largest purchaser of tequila in the United States, according to a brand representative. Over 7 million of those Margs are its flagship “Presidente,” a sweet, boozy blend of Sauza Conmemorativo, Patrón Citrónge orange liqueur, E&J brandy, and a proprietary sweet and sour mix. The drink arrives in a signature plastic blue shaker, but skewed slightly too sweet for our tasters, and a little brandy-heavy. Average score: 15.5/25

2. Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar

Applebee’s “Perfect Margarita” ups the presentation ante, arriving in a stainless steel Boston shaker complete with Hawthorne strainer. Inside are two-and-a-half cocktails’ worth of 1800 tequila, Grand Marnier, Cointreau, sour mix, fresh lime, and a sweetener we’re told is called “bar syrup.” Top marks for presentation, including the unexpected coconut salt rim on the accompanying Martini glass, but the combined sweetness of Grand Marnier and the so-called bar syrup held this drink back from clinching top spot. A worthy $16.32 effort, nonetheless. Average score: 16/25

1. Buffalo Wild Wings

B-Dubs may be better known for its impressive craft beer selection, but the chain is equally adept at blending impressive Margaritas. The winning “Platinum Margarita” combines Patrón, Grand Marnier, and sour mix, and serves it on the rocks. Tasters were impressed by the drink’s balance, and everyone agreed they could happily enjoy multiple glasses without things tasting too sweet. Our bartender Venus told us that in two years of working at Buffalo Wild Wings, she’d never had a single drink sent back to her. We can see why. Average score: 16.5/25

The article A Power Ranking of the Best and Worst Margaritas at Every Major Chain Restaurant appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/best-worst-chain-restaurant-margarita-rankings/

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zeroviraluniverse-blog · 7 years ago

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The Simple Optical Illusion That Makes an Image Look Like It's Drawing Itself

Visit Now - http://zeroviral.com/the-simple-optical-illusion-that-makes-an-image-look-like-its-drawing-itself/

The Simple Optical Illusion That Makes an Image Look Like It's Drawing Itself

iStock

Artist James Nolan Gandy invents robot arms that sketch intricate mathematical shapes with pen and paper. When viewed in real time, the effect is impressive. But it becomes even more so when the videos are sped up in a timelapse. If you look closely in the video below, the illustration appears to materialize faster than the robot can put the design to paper. Gizmodo recently explained how the illusion works to make it look like parts of the sketch are forming before the machine has time to draw them.

The optical illusion isn’t an example of tricky image editing: It’s the result of something called the wagon wheel effect. You can observe this in a car wheel accelerating down the highway or in propeller blades lifting up a helicopter. If an object makes enough rotations per second, it can appear to slow down, move backwards, or even stand still.

This is especially apparent on film. Every “moving image” we see on a screen is an illusion caused by the brain filling in the gaps between a sequence of still images. In the case of the timelapse video below, the camera captured the right amount of images, in the right order, to depict the pen as moving more slowly than it did in real life. But unlike the pen, the drawing formed throughout the video isn’t subject to the wagon-wheel effect, so it still appears to move at full speed. This difference makes it look like the sketch is drawing itself, no pen required.

Gandy frequently shares behind-the-scenes videos of his mechanical art on his Instagram page. You can check out some of his non-timelapse clips like the one below to better understand how his machines work, then visit his website to browse and purchase the art made by his ‘bots.

And if you think his stuff is impressive, make sure to explore some of the incredible art robots have made in the past.

[h/t Gizmodo]

Tessa Angus

Surprising Sculptures Made From Fallen Feathers

Kate MccGwire, Orchis, 2012

Tessa Angus

Kate MccGwire is a British sculptor with an unusual medium: feathers. Her surreal, undulating works often take the form of installations—the feathers spilling out of a drain, a stove, a crypt wall—or stand-alone sculptures in which antique bell jars, cabinets, or trunks contain otherworldly shapes.

MccGwire developed her obsession with feathers after moving to a studio barge on the Thames in 2006, as she explains in a video from Crane.tv recently spotlighted by Boing Boing. The barge was near a large shed full of feral pigeons, whose feathers she would spot on her way to work. “I started picking them up and laying them out, collecting them,” she remembers. “And after about two weeks I had like 300 feathers.” At the time, concerns about bird flu were rife, which made the feathers seem “dangerous as well as beautiful.”

When not supplied by her own next-door menagerie, the feathers for her artwork come from a network of racing pigeon societies all over the UK, who send her envelopes full every time the birds molt. Farmers and gamekeepers also send her fallen feathers from birds such as magpies, pheasants, and roosters.

The cultural associations around birds are a big part of what inspires MccGwire. “The dove is the symbol of peace, purity, and fertility,” she told ArtNews in 2013, “but it’s exactly the same species as a pigeon—which everyone regards as being dirty, foul, a pest.”

The same duality is present in her own work, which she frequently shares on her Instagram account. “I want to seduce by what I do—but revolt in equal measure. It’s really important to me that you’ve got that rejection of things you think you know for sure.”

You can see some pictures of MccGwire’s work, and watch the video from Crane.tv, below.

Amazon

13 Stunningly Beautiful Coloring Books for All Ages

BY Alvin Ward

February 7, 2018

Amazon

The rise of adult coloring books comes with a similar, exciting trend: extremely ornate and beautiful coloring books. These tomes make aesthetics the first priority by utilizing the work of extremely talented illustrators. Check out some coloring books with unusual and stunning artwork, perfect for when you’re looking for something a little different.

Mental Floss has affiliate relationships with certain retailers and may receive a small percentage of any sale. But we only get commission on items you buy and don’t return, so we’re only happy if you’re happy. Thanks for helping us pay the bills!

1. DOODLERS ANONYMOUS EPIC COLORING BOOK; $13.21

Doodlers Anonymous is a collective of artists that works as a home for eccentric and unconventional illustration art. For this unique coloring book, 90 contemporary artists from all over the world came together to lend their illustrations. Each page features a different artist and a different style.

Find it: Amazon

2. OUTSIDE THE LINES; $14.70

If you’re unimpressed by 90 different artists, how about 100? All sorts of creative minds—like animators, cartoonists, fine artists, graphic artists, illustrators, musicians—offered their talents to make this incredible coloring book a reality.

Find it: Amazon

3. ANIMORPHIA; $11.93

You may know artist Kerby Rosanes from his Sketchy Stories blog. Rosanes creates mind-bending scenes of objects and animals bursting into tinier objects and animals. The wildly detailed illustrations promise hours of coloring enjoyment. For added fun, certain pages are intentionally unfinished and encourage the colorer to draw their own designs.

Find it: Amazon

4. MID-CENTURY MODERN ANIMALS; $5.17

Illustrator Jenn Ski has a flair for mid-20th century art and design. She created a series of coloring books in this style that ranges from folk art to botanicals. This animal-themed coloring book features simplistic but beautiful designs that are perfect for animal and design lovers alike.

Find it: Amazon

5. NATURAL WONDERS; $5.77

Patrick Hruby’s artwork is striking for its solid blocks of contrasting colors that pop right off the page. Now you can pick your own color scheme for his blocky, minimalist style. The 32 illustrations feature natural scenes of animals, flora, and landscapes. There’s even a guide in the back of the book that shows what each picture looks like with color.

Find it: Amazon

6. CHARLEY HARPER COLORING BOOK; FROM $6

American illustrator Charley Harper is also an artist known for his blocky and colorful artwork. These pieces are perfect to translate into black and white linework to put in a coloring book. The horizontal coloring book features Harper’s iconic drawings of birds and illustrations he did for Ford Times. When you’re done, you can peel the work right out of the book and stick on a wall or fridge.

Find it: Amazon

7. MANDALAS; $8.67

This book of 92 intricate, beautiful mandalas makes for a meditative coloring session. Pair with yoga to achieve maximum zen.

Find it: Amazon

8. SECRET NEW YORK; $10.87

Created by Paris-based artist Zoe de Las Cases, this coloring book focuses on the little things in New York City. Color your way through Manhattan to Brooklyn, one tote bag or sneaker at a time.

Find it: Amazon

9. WILD SAVANNAH; $9.48

Illustrator Millie Marotta creates extremely intricate coloring books that are so beautifully detailed, they almost don’t need to be colored. Her patterns of the savannah’s flora and fauna offer a great way to relieve stress and be creative.

Find it: Amazon

10. TATTOOS; $7.29

This book features classic images like anchors, skulls, and roses. Once you’re done coloring, you might be tempted to get the completed work tattooed on your arm.

Find it: Amazon

11. MAGICAL CITY; FROM $7.52

Illustrator Lizzie Mary Cullen takes cityscapes and deconstructs them into swirly abstract designs perfect for the creative colorer. Cullen took inspiration from cities like London, Rome, and Luxor when creating this unusual coloring book.

Find it: Amazon

12. THE ART OF NATURE; $8.35

For the budding scientist in your life: A coloring book filled with scientific drawings from the 18th and 19th centuries. There are 60 pages of vintage illustrations of animals and flora to fill in.

Find it: Amazon

13. ALEXANDER GIRARD COLORING BOOK; $9.93

Bring home the illustrative magic of Alexander Girard with this coloring book that transforms some of his work into simple line art to color. Girard, also known as Sandro, was an interior and textile designer who made some extremely charming and retro artwork.

Find it: Amazon