Kieren A. Walker

23 years old. Born on the day of the Irish Bartender, Artist & Grad-student Nimble fingered and silver tongued. What but innocence could hide behind these blue eyes?

[kieren-a-walker]

I meant to do my replies today and post a starter, buuuuut then I spent 6+ hours working on the revamp. So that didn't happen. I will get to them tomorrow. I'm afraid my brain has turned into a dried up raisin and won't work tonight. 

[ziagraham]

Fifteen Cents | Open

Zia Graham liked to stay as far away from the phrase “it could always be worse” as much as possible. Because, despite her best efforts, whenever she even entertained the possibility, things did in fact get worse. Her week had started poorly and had only gone further and further downhill by the minute. It was getting to the point where she dreaded waking up in the morning on her cousin’s stiff, creaky couch, as the first disaster of the day was never far off. It was bad enough that she and her cousin - who she was solely relying on for food and shelter - got along as well as Tom and Jerry, and she had no alternative living situation. For the time being anyway. Then of course top that off with the weight on her shoulders of trying to find a job so she could pull her weight, as well as find her next fix (she was already going through withdrawal), along with her surprising home sickness and longing to be back with her band. But the real kicker happened the previous night. Zia and one-night-stands were well acquainted. Last night was no different. The fear of being pregnant however, that was not something she was familiar with. She may live a questionable lifestyle, but up until last night, she had always been careful.

So now she found herself standing in the checkout line of the grocery store about to buy a pregnancy test, only to have the cashier inform her that she was fifteen cents short. Zia looked at the woman with complete disgust and irritation - to which the woman returned the look. “Fifteen cents? Are you kidding me? You’re going to deny me the privilege of knowing if I’m pregnant or not, over fifteen cents? You’re holding up this entire lineup. That pregnancy test costs like fifteen dollars, isn’t fourteen eighty five enough?” The woman said nothing, so Zia put her hands on her hips. “I’m not leaving without that, so you better think of a solution to this and fast before these people behind me murder you, me, and my possible unborn child.” Zia said firmly.

[kieren-a-walker]

Kieren wasn’t a patient man, or a kind man. He saw misfortunates and his only thought was that if they were clever enough, they could be out of their current position. He was snobbish, and rude, but he knew these things and he embraced them. Sure he knew how to put on a nice face, how to sweet talk, it was true there were some people he developed soft spots for, it wasn’t as though he was completely invulnerable to the good side of human emotion, but for the most part he was what most would call an elitist asshole.

He was also easily amused by life. He had learned you could either deal with “situations” in one of two ways, by getting angry, or by being amused, he chose the latter. This was one of those “situations”. He had gone to the grocery store to pick up a frozen dinner or two, his desire for cooking having nearly waned out of existence since he had picked up a few more shifts during the week. He could feel the way people shuffled their weight, and hear the vibrations from their grumbling in the air when the line was getting held up.

Naturally curious, he turned his attention to the hold up where a woman was attempting to buy a pregnancy test. Though he was a few people behind her in line, he stepped past them, ignoring their furious looks. “Are you really squabbling over fifteen cents, come on, have a heart. What’s fifteen cents out of your paycheck?” He asked the cashier with a poorly disguised smile. Even as he spoke he put his items at the front and pulled out his card. “I’ll make you a deal, I’ll buy the test and my food as long as you don’t call security on me for line jumping.”

[lea-the-lovely-blog]

Lea was never really the type to drink, she didn’t enjoy alcohol or the effects it had on her. It mostly made her sad, but it also made talking easier, so it seemed essential at the moment. She only drank scotch because her step-dad told her it was the only good drink. Lea didn’t disagree but she hadn’t tried many drinks and found pretty much all of them terrible. 

After she spoke, she felt a small twinge of regret tighten her throat. This always happened, she always regretted saying something about 0.02 seconds after it came out of her mouth. She was hoping she could pretend like she hadn’t said anything and it would’ve been covered up by the noise around them. But, the gentleman sitting next to her gave her smile and an identical response, which in turn gave her hope. 

"Sooo," she began awkwardly, "Is scotch the best drink, or have I been doing the alcohol thing wrong my entire life? Cause I honestly don’t know much about liquor," she said, louder than the words before, then she realized how it could construed, "Not that I’d assume you’d know…but you’d probably know better than me. I’m clueless." 

[kieren-a-walker]

Kieren's smile widened slightly as she spoke, the question all too familiar. He didn't particularly mind, but somehow he normally ended up in the place of a bartender, whether or not he was on the clock. When he hung out with friends they all knew he could mix drinks, when he went to bars he ended up answering questions, hell, even going to the grocery store he had been stopped and asked his opinion on a certain wine. Maybe he just had the look of someone who drank. Or maybe someone had written "bartender" on his back. 

"Mmm... it depends." He started slowly, "Alcohol, like most things, is purely subjective to what is "good" or not on a person by person basis. What one person thinks is a little glass of heaven, another thinks tastes like motor oil. So it depends. I think scotch is... not the best, but pretty good. It's my go too drink. I like the flavor and the burn. I like the way effects me better than say, the way vodka does. If you like the taste of alcohol, then it's pretty good, if you don't then it's awful. That's what mixed drinks are for. All of the effects with none of the burn." 

[lea-the-lovely-blog]

Lea was never very good at introductions, or conversations, or relationships in general. They scared her; people would always flit through her life and the second she felt close to them, they’d disappear. Adam. Eric. Ava.  She had a track record of being left behind. She wasn’t bitter about it, she still had her family, but she couldn’t help but feel like it was her fault. She often felt like everything was her fault. 

So, as she sat at the bar, her finger curled around a glass of Scotch, she wasn’t expecting the conversation that followed. She knew that the person sitting next to her couldn’t be too dangerous and she knew they weren’t going to hurt her. Yet she was still nervous. She bit her lip and turned to them, with a small weak, “Hey.”

[kieren-a-walker]

Normally Kieren stayed out of bars when he wasn't working, but tonight he couldn't help himself. He didn't particularly feel like being alone, so he wound up sitting at the counter of some rival bar, sipping on a scotch and people watching. 

He almost didn't here the soft greeting from the person beside him, her voice almost lost in the cacophonous symphony of words swirling all about them. Kieren offered up a small smile before replying in kind with his own, "hey." He wasn't opposed to conversing with the woman beside him, but he wasn't exactly sure what else to say to her. 

[kieren-a-walker]

Well. I've been absent on Kieren for awhile now, I know, and I'm terribly sorry. Life has been crazy and any time I have for rp has normally been used up on admin things. That paired with lack of muse made for a terrible combination. However, I'm back hopefully, and want to get back into the rp swing of things. I'll try to make a plots post for Kieren to maybe get some ideas going, but if you have any ideas of your own, please let me know. I'm open to just about anything. 

As for paras and such, I have one active para still going on with Ingrid that I plan to answer, the rest of my threads I'm dropping, so if you had a thread with me that you'd like to keep going, please message me! 

OKie dokie, I think that's it. I hope you're all well, I missed you guys. 

-Perry 

[kieren-a-walker]

The worst part about stitches is how badly they itch...

[freelance-thief-blog]

"Oh yeah, that guy. I remember him. He either had a big ass lion or a heart with ‘mom’ written on it tattooed to his biceps. I can’t remember which anymore…" Tim had become acquainted with people by their faces, their manner of speaking, or in this case, tattoos. There was usually no need for the two parties doing ‘business’ to even speak each other’s names, unless there was bad blood, and Tim usually skipped out of those one way or another.

"True," he mused.  Tim raised a brow at the last bit. "Damn, you’re in grad school? How’d you manage that? Not saying you weren’t capable, but it’s tough to go from streets to books, y’know? Let alone, staying off the streets.” He had never seen himself or his ‘buddies’ ever going to get an education. It seemed like distant dream he rarely daydreamed about.

[kieren-a-walker]

A flicker of a smile caught his mouth as he nodded slightly. "Oh most certainly the mom tattoo." He joked, before shaking his head slightly. It was a sign of power to be able to use your real name in this world. Most people had an alias, a cover, something to hide behind, but not Alrawn. Octavius Alrawn lived up to his grand name. He didn't have to hide. He almost dared the authorities to try and find a way to take him in. He as almost god like in Kieren's eyes. A true chess master, completely out of everyone's league. 

Kieren's shoulders lifted in a shrug. "I don't know. I guess I'm just too stubborn to quit. Although really that's why I started doing what I do in the first place. I was at Columbia before shit hit the fan and I was on my own." He shook his head slightly, "And then it was just a matter of stubborn pride. I didn't care what it took, I was going to graduate from that damn school if it was the last thing I did." A hint of a smile appeared once more, the tension in his shoulders relaxing as he looked over at his new found comrade. "Grad school is simply because I was bored. And I've got the money, so why the hell not, ya know?" 

[pennyandrews-blog]

The retort was quite a surprise to Penny. A part of her wanted to feel the victory of being correct, of knowing there was some falseness to his story. But his reply didn’t leave much room for gloating. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, Penny noticed the shift in the stranger’s body language. He seemed frozen, almost uncomfortable? “What?” She asked curiously, then looked behind his tall body. An officer entered the cafe swiftly, examining all faces and sharply looked to them.

She listened to the casual exchange, and easily allowed her mouth to drop slightly. If one ever wanted to commit a crime, Penny would probably be the last person to call. “I… No.” Penny answered him after a long pause. Eyes adverting to the Police officer, she shook her head and frowned some. “No, I haven’t.” It felt weird, the situation made her uneasy, but she remained calm and waited for the officer to leave the cafe. Without looking at the guy in front of her, she dropped her vision to the cup of water in front of her.

[kieren-a-walker]

Tension ran along Kieren's spine as he watched the officers snail like gaze shift from the girl to him before jerking his head in a nod. Time seemed to have gone into slow motion, and it took far too long for the officer to say, "Well thank you for your time." before turning and to leave. It wasn't until he was out of the door and starting down the street did Kieren relax again. 

He was getting soft if that rattled him. With his heart still thumping aggressively against his ribs, and adrenaline coursing through his veins he turned slightly to look at the girl staring at her glass of water as though it held the secrets to the world. "I'll see you around, yeah?" He said with a crooked smile, his knuckles rapping lightly on the table before turning to leave. He could almost laugh at his own good luck. One day he knew it would run out, but at least today wasn't it. 

[lexingtonbrighton-deactivated20]

Eliza looked at the stranger curiously for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. “Well, than thanks, I suppose.” she said, leaning back and relaxing a little bit. The longer they spoke, the less threatening he seemed.

"Not even once." she confirmed with a small nod of her head. "I’m a big believer in karma. If I spit in someone’s drink, I don’t even want to think of what might end up in one of my orders." she explained with a shudder. She considered the question for a moment, twirling her spoon in her own cup as she did. "Ignoring them is a start. If that fails, kill them with kindness." she said decidedly, laughing.

[kieren-a-walker]

He nodded slightly as she spoke. Like the old saying said, what goes around comes around. He used to be more like her, thinking if he did good, good things would happen to him, and vice versa, but he learned first hand that life wasn't always fair, that it didn't dish out punishments and rewards as it should. "That makes sense," he said with a slight nod. "The universe has a way of paying those for what they deserve in one way or other." 

A smile appeared again as she spoke, and he shook his head slightly as he answered, "Well then, like I said, you are a much better person than I am. I have too much of a temper to just let it go. I mean up until a point I can... but then how do you deal with going home angry over the fact that customers are just... complete asswads and there wasn't a thing you could do to stop them." 

[lilywhitehall-deactivated201504]

Lily looked inside her own mug as she rose an eyebrown. “Masala chai, you will love it.” She rose her arm and asked for another mug from the tea for the waitress, and smiled back at him. “Actually we sell mostly new books. But we have a special day where you can bring an old book and change for another that someone else left behind. No money involved.”

[kieren-a-walker]

"Well that sounds almost as good. I guess I could give up on wanting the old book crinkle for a new story." He answered, a teasing undercurrent to his tone. He murmured a thank you to the waitress when she came back with his mug of tea. "So what kind of book genre is your favorite?" he inquired as he took a sip of his tea.

[archive0916]

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lurk - the neighbourhood

i’ll fucking digest you one kiss at a time i wish i was yours and i hope that you’re mine

[creativethief]

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[kieren-a-walker]

[kieren-a-walker]

[ingrid-olive-blog]

Warm My Heart to Remind ♦ ♢ ♦ Ingrid & Kieren

The inferno haired artist always loved the piquancy of alcohol. The way a narrow bottle, or the rim of a wine glass shimmering with light, tipped upon the bridge of her peach lips. The way intoxication swirled about her head, although she, such a heavy weight drinker, hardly showed signals of a drunken state. In her travels, Ingrid drank a variety of wine with a variety of people. In truth, it was with a bottle in her hand did she feel alive, quite the deluded state of mind, but a habit that chained itself upon her sun kissed limbs. 

So, of course, if she were to live in this new town, it was a prime necessity to visit the bar. And that, she did. 

It was a windy night, and a starless one at that. The sky seemed barren, usual specks of light hidden behind grey clouds resembling shadows. It was a short walk from her new home did she reach the bar, opening the door as she stepped in, and letting it close shut behind steps. 

Sleeves rolled up to reveal paint along her forearms, her callused hands rested in her flannel coat pockets, thin heels of combat boots clicking rhythmically as she walked across the bar. She sat upon a barstool stool, close to the counter, turquoise eyes trailing about the people in the bar, her posture relaxed, casual. 

[kieren-a-walker]

Weekend were the days when the most money could be made. Bachelor and bachelorette parties made their way in and out of bar, destroying the place in the process, but tipping better than most in their drunken joy. On weekends the bar was transformed into something closer to a club, with the tables and chairs being pushed to the sides of the rooms to clear a dance floor. Lights normally hidden in the giant overhead beams were lowered down and the entire facility was transformed. It was those nights that teenagers snuck in with their fake I.Ds, and college student blew off whatever homework they should be doing over the weekend in order to drink and dance through their nights, which caused them to sleep through their days.

It was the weekends when Kieren could make the most tips, it was true, but come monday, it felt less like work and more like an evening in a pub. The flashy lights and techno music where hidden away. A small platform was rolled out for any performers that might be entertaining for the night. The entire atmosphere became more intimate as the pace of the bar slowed. Kieren preferred these nights to the wild weekends. He liked how he could simply be a good bartender, who listened to fantastic tales, true or not, from the motley group of people who showed up. He didn’t have to flirt or put on a show, he could simply be friendly, do his job and that was enough. Drinks were simple, people were simple, and by the time he left he had a head full of more stories to catalog. Some were very informative about the law makers only a few miles down the road in D.C., others simply interesting. In either case, work left him energized, and not depleted on those nights.

Tonight was one of those nights, the last one before the weekend. A steady flow of customers had come in and out, though it never was what anyone could exactly call busy. He was just finishing up listening to a story of how the lawyer who sat across from him was certain his wife was banging his younger associate, when Kieren’s eye caught on a mane of red hair taking a seat further down. With a word of his condolences to the man, Kieren excused himself to make his way to the new customer. She was certainly new. He could remember every face that walked through those doors, and hers was one he had never seen before.

“Can I help you?” He asked, a small smile lifting his mouth.

[snow-vincent]

"Maybe not for certain," he grinned. "It’s a pretty circumstantial, subjective scale. People get themselves into fatally illegal, risky business for a lot of reasons. For the power and personal gain, sure, the ‘bang’ could be an alternative end goal if things go South. For a person just looking for the bankroll risky business tends to earn, they just want to pay the rent. Or, sometimes, people fall in between. You never know."

Vinny laughed. “Good to know I don’t look sketchy. Unless you mean I’m getting soft, then I guess I need to be a little friendlier with the gym,” he teased. He listened carefully to his new acquaintance’s answer, making a mental note to write it down once he got home. Any and all opinions were helpful. “How often is it you run into, ah, surprises and risky business in the middle of all of the predictability?”

"Sure feet and fast hands," he nodded. With a step back from the vehicle, his eyes darted between their third party helpee and his fellow helper. As nice as they’d been, his interests lay far more towards the other man. "Damn, wow. Kieren, that’s unique. Sounds Irish. All you’re missing is some crazy red hair, unless that’s a dye job."

[kieren-a-walker]

"Mmm, but see if we are talking semantics here, you would have to qualify that type of "risky business" as potentially fatally illegal. If it was simply fatally illegal you would die, or it would end in disaster, every time." He retorted, his smile ever growing. It was rare he found someone who would keep up such a conversation with him, and he had to admit it was refreshing.

"You are correct though, in that statement" he continued, "There are various reasons people do the things they do, and the people's desires paired with their backgrounds are just as varied." He knew this form first hand experience. Some were just looking for a way to pay rent and have food on the table. Some were looking for power, and some were like him, who started as the former and turned into the latter. 

Kieren shook his head with a little laugh, "No, no I definitely meant you didn't look sketchy." Kieren's shoulders rose slightly, "Depends on if you are looking for it or not." 

"I'm fairly certain it's originally Irish, and while there might be some Irish somewhere up in my family tree, I think my parents named me that just because they liked it." He answered honestly. "So no, I'm not a ginger in hiding." He finished with smile. 

[lilywhitehall-deactivated201504]

"Oh, no! I have this feeling nowadays all my activities are useless. I was just drinking some tea and reading. I work in the bookshop around the corner, so I have lots of options you know?" The girl placed a small wick of her hair around her ear, smiling. "You really can stay as long as you want. Would you like… to drink something?"

[kieren-a-walker]

"A bookshop? What kind of bookshop? Do you sell new or used or both? You see I have this fascination with old books, always have. I think its the smell of them, the way the spines make that crinkly sound when you open them..." he trailed off with a little shake of his head, "But i digress." A small smile tugged at his features as he nodded slightly, "Actually that sounds rather nice. What are you drinking? It smells great." He looked up from Lily to catch the eye of a waitress passing nearby. 

[lilywhitehall-deactivated201504]

"What kind of person I would be if I imposed how much time you can spend sitting here?" Lily sighed, giving him a small smile. "I am Lily" She said in a low voice, standing her hand for him to shake.

[kieren-a-walker]

He took her hand a shook it lightly, "Kieren. It's a pleasure Lily." as he sat back in his seat he shrugged a little, "Well you would be like most people. Most people would have told me to go away." He said with a little smile. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything."