starters

As the music thundered below her, Valeria had taken solace in the rooftop that offered the slightest amount of peace that one could find in the midst of a nightclub. Even surrounded by a sea of people, she still managed to suffocated by her loneliness. “It’s funny,” she exhaled, though she didn’t dare look over at the person who’d decided to join her. “There’s so many people here and yet I don’t know a single person.” For someone who needed support, she’d picked the wrong part of the country to find it. “I guess that’s what I get when I move across the country thinking it’s the right choice.” No. That would have been going back with her family, yet the deed had already been done and she wasn’t going to back out now. “Are you from around here?”

status: open, capping at five pls. contact me if you want a different/private starter! ♡

a few drinks were already in her system, and carti was having a hard time finding the rest of her group she’d come with. there were only so many places to be, and she wondered if she’d accidentally left them in the bathroom she’d just left from to check on her outfit and make sure that she had a few selfies for her instagram story to tag lucky’s in later. when carti ran into someone, she was too immersed in her thought process of needing documentation of her look for the night to apologize and went straight into, “oh, wanna take a picture of me?” carti held her hands clasped in front of her chest with her phone between them, voice light and sweet and eyes wide in pleading. “i promise it’ll take like, five seconds, i already know all of my angles.”

open: open, capping at five pls. contact me if you want a different/private starter! ♡

“ever tried a mango braid?” raj leaned against the display case from behind the counter, finger tapping at the glass towards the pastry mentioned, “it’s our homemade puff pastry dough with fresh slices of mango in the middle, and the dough is folded over in sections to give it the ‘braided’ look. trust me, if you like mangoes, you’ll love it.”

status  :  open  to  everyone  <3 

@ithacastarters​

faye had always been curious to step foot into the alley cat cafe and she could safely say that in the past five years that she had lived in ithaca, she had not stepped foot into it once. one would say that it was unsanitary keeping cats where baked goods and coffee sat, but in reality she knew that as soon as she saw one that caught her eye she would bring them home and she had no room or patience to deal with a feline. the line was longer than she had expected and she watched as people stood behind her waiting for their turn to order when she looked at the person behind her. “so how do you expect that they keep the cats away from the stuff we order? because i swear to god if i get cat hair in my coffee, i might vomit. what do you think?”

Savannah was in the midst of working an afternoon shift at the bakery and it had been a bit slow. The brunette had spent the last two hours doing a variety of things, cleaning up the front display case, brainstorming some new potential seasonal menu items, and even was filling up her shopping carts with things she didn't need. Brown orbs were glued to her phone screen, manicured nails tapping away as she was torn between which mini skirt to buy. In her own little world, she hadn't even realized that someone was standing in front of her.

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry! What can I help you with today?" her southern drawl slipping through her sentence.

“HEY, SORRY BABE,” Alaia said with a smile, turning towards a patron as she leaned on the outside of Loco. She was on shift behind the bar but she’d stepped out to have a cigarette, apart from the fact that her lighter was in her jacket which she’d left inside. 

“Do you have a lighter? I’ll get you a free drink once I go back inside.” That would likely be frowned upon but she’d use her tips to replace the money. At this point, it felt worth it. Double checking that she’d really forgotten it, she moved towards them and the group that lingered behind them in case they didn’t have one.

SHE HATED IT HERE. It was something she normally said on a daily basis….. but today, hating being the manager of greenstar grocerer was realer than ever. “Who the fuck does this?” Seyda asked, knowing full well a little snotty kid had come around the pile of boxes they’d placed in a pyramid and taken a bunch of the bottoms one out, leaving it unstable. She’d been holding it for about twelve minutes, or so her watch said, though it felt like an hour. “I got rid of the stupid walkie talkies that didn’t work half the time and this is what— hey, you!” She kicked a box of crackers off to a nearby shopper. “Can you hold this box in place? Apparently my staff is busy counting banana’s or something and I’d rather not have to clean up veggie crackers today.”

Faye had been running up and down the floors of the nursery getting different lab results, bringing babies to their mother, and making sure that everybody had everything that they needed. Her shift started early and by the time that lunch rolled around, she felt as if she was starving; her stomach ached and she headed straight down to the cafeteria where she only had a few short minutes to grab something and go. When she was waiting in line for her food, she glanced to the person next to her and smiled, “Serious question: do you think it’s unbecoming of a nurse to stuff her face with a pizza whilst running back to her station? Or is there another suitable option that won’t make me look like I’m a lunatic?”

Petty wasn’t Bediah’s style. In fact, he had a reputation for shrugging his shoulder and letting the conflict become a problem for someone else. No one noticed how he bit his tongue, but it was part of his survival and his preservation to be better. 

Better would have to start over again tomorrow.

His shift had been long over, but still, he could feel the small twitch in his hands that itched for retaliation. For years, he’d been taught to keep his head down and had encouraged to do so. His entire childhood had been a fight to fade into the background, until Bediah had learned that being quiet wouldn’t a change a thing. If he had morals, he’d better defend them. It had translated differently on this side of the world, in the open. He’d been good, so much that he had forgotten what the taste of blood was when he kept his mouth shut with teeth digging into his cheeks.

It was out of character for those who had known him since he moved upstate, and he’d find a way to make it for it on a conscious that he was so used to weighing heavy. Bediah walked between the parked cars, fist wrapped around a set of keys, and dragged it along the side of the vehicle he wouldn’t forget. Reaching the edge of the trunk, his eyes locked on a witness.

at temple of zeus (meandering mon)

@ithacastarters​

✩

ＳＨＥ should have been doing something to keep moving the practice forward, but sometimes, even she needed a day off. Today was about enjoying the beauty of Ithaca and finding her zen again after a year of being the best she could be. Or, however much she could in this one day off. She was proud of what she had accomplished the past year, but a part of her felt guilty for indulging in a day off. As much as she neglected herself, she was quickly beginning to accept she had her problems. 

Monica admired the art surrounding her, finding her way to the coffee stand to get the famous Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters coffee. She looked behind her, deciding she could use some good karma. 

“Just a coffee, and… whatever they get,” she said, paying for the person behind her. 

He’d been caught red-handed – literally, given the splotchy indigo that stained his fingertips. It was the prickly feeling of someone’s gaze stuck to his back that had Henley glancing over, doing a little side shuffle in case he was blocking too much of the artfully displayed produce. He didn’t think that was the issue, though, considering that he’d just plucked some blueberries from a fruit carton that didn’t have any sort of sign exclaiming free samples. The stolen berries sat incriminatingly in his palm as he summoned a sheepish smile. “M’gonna pay f’r ‘em,” he insisted, pretending that he hadn’t also just tongued a few cherry pits into his cheek. Completely innocent.

status: open, capping at five pls. contact me if you want a different/private starter! ♡

the cinnamon shoppe was the booth that josie was looking forward to the most when glancing through the flyer promoting the farmer’s market spring into summer kick off. they only came around during the summertime market, so it was the first place she hit up when she arrived there to ensure she could get a nice, hot delicious cinnamon roll. and when she got her first bite into it, big enough to span the size of her hand, she felt the release of endorphins and dopamine that she was certain the fruit in the next stall just couldn’t match up to.

“these are better than sex, you know,” josie assured the person nearest to her, holding out the plastic fork she just tore off a bite onto. she’s feeling generous for some reason, and she blames the good weather. “want a bite? you’ll have to get your own after, though. i only share once.”

status: open to anyone! will likely be capping at six ♡

“whew,” rowan exhales loudly as he plops down at the bar, leaning heavily into it as his head tilts, trying to decide what exactly he wants as he flags down the bartender. “hey, can i get, uhh…” he thinks about it for another beat, before nodding and continuing, words slurred, “how about some scotch. johnnie walker black on the rocks.. but like, extra rocks.” he huffs a laugh at his own words, the movement causing him to hiss as his bruised cheekbone is disturbed, pain radiating from the affliction as one of his hands moves up to hover over the injury. he’d received the wound the night before, having gotten into a brawl with someone over something trivial — or at least that’s what he assumes. in all honesty, he can’t even really remember what it had been about.

he raises a brow when he looks to the side and notices someone looking at him, eyes obviously focused on the rather large bruise on his face. “if you think this is bad, you should see the other guy,” he greets with a stupid lopsided grin — mostly so that he didn’t have to move the injured side of his face as much. he actually has no idea what the other guy looks like, or if he suffered worse injuries than rowan himself, but it seemed to be the right thing to say. or so his inebriated brain thinks.

status: open to anyone! will probably be capping at six ♡

rolling his shoulders, nihal shifts in his seat, uncrossing his legs and resting the opposite calf on his thigh, clenching his eyes shut as he lets out a weary sigh. he’s been sitting at the same table for the past two hours, working on various projects and grading papers. he usually likes to work in public if he can because it makes him less likely to get distracted, not to mention he can refill his coffee as much as he needs to. but today all of the noise and tedium is causing a tension headache to spread from the base of his neck up to his temples, which only makes him all the more irritated when he sees a shadow falling over his table, signaling to him without looking up that someone has arrived at his table.

“whatever it is, the answer is probably no,” he informs them without shifting his gaze away from the laptop screen in front of him, tone flat and monotone, entirely unamused.