[Open]

[suspense_kills_me]

Who: Red and You!
Where: The Kitchens
When: April 7th
Rating: G/PG
Summary: The Real OTP of the Blacklist? Red/Food

The Story:

It'd been a while since Red's decided to cook anything for anyone beside himself but today, was a different story. Red spends most of his day in the kitchen of the mansion making a meal Dembe taught him how to make years ago, fenugreek porridge, a Sudanese dish that's believed to soothe troubled stomachs, and other various aches and pains. Red figures since there's a war coming on, a number of the residents of Wonderland might need something medicinal to help with their stresses.

He'll also take requests from anyone who happens to come into the kitchen, assuming they can put up with his singing.

Your table manners are a cryin' shame
You're playin' with your food, this ain't some kind of game
Now, if you starve to death, you'll just have yourself to blame
So eat it, just eat it

You better listen, better do what you're told
You haven't even touched your tuna casserole
You better chow down or it's gonna get cold
So eat it

Comments

[suspense_kills_me]

"This is fenugreek porridge. I learned how to make it from my dear friend Dembe back home."

It's a variation on oatmeal really. The grains are a little different but the basics are very similar. Comfort food is something that Red figures people could use.

"Where are you from?"

[theenforcer]

"From? America, though most recently in a town called Chester's Mill. I spent some time in Afghanistan though with my unit though," he admits, not seeing a reason to hide that he spent time in the military.

"So been around a bit with them."

[suspense_kills_me]

"Ah, a friend of Julia's then?"

Military. Great. Hopefully, he's not one of the 'break down doors ask questions later' type.

"I spent some time in the Navy myself."

[theenforcer]

Barbie perks at that, nodding. "Yep, exactly. We came from the same place and found ourselves there. Glad to learn she's had a few people here that know her story."

It meant she is looking into it, and that's important to him.

"I would say congrats but if your time was like mine, maybe not."

[suspense_kills_me]

"It was during the height of the Cold War."

He could take from that what he would. Red's not going to go into too much more detail about his Naval career before that, except...

"Graduated from the Naval Academy, and thrown right into that."

[theenforcer]

"Right, so no congrats," he says with a nod, frowning though as he says it. There's never a congratulations that comes with any of that.

"And now we end up here, and only a few days in and people already talking more war."

[suspense_kills_me]

"There isn't, but anyone who thinks the Cold War is over is delusional. It's just different now."

But that was neither here nor there. Those issues were back home. They had a more immediate threat on their hands.

"So I've heard. What concerns me is what the war will be like. If there's one thing I've learned being here is that nothing is ever straightforward."

[theenforcer]

Barbie is quiet for a few minutes, arms folding over his chest as he looks away. Considering a few words, not sure how to word this.

Finally he sighs.

"How bad can this get? I mean, already I'm seeing how unconventional the weaponry here can be. We're talking shit we don't know, aren't we?"

[suspense_kills_me]

"We are."

In fact, that's probably the understatement of the year. Everything Wonderland does is something Red isn't quite sure of.

"The Queens are powerful. The question really is, how will they use that power?"

[theenforcer]

"Do we have a clue where that power comes from? Besides the things everyone talks about like memories and deaths and all. What are they?"

Because already he suspects "what" not "who" will come up a lot in his thoughts about this place and how it works.

"Is there an extend to their powers that anyone knows of?"

[suspense_kills_me]

"Not that I know of. The most I've gotten out of everyone is that this place runs on memories, and I know I've been tormented enough by my own."

Not that it matters, he still has his memories, even if they've been exploited for unknown reasons.

"The extent of their powers is as much of an unknown."

[theenforcer]

"Which I'm sure is how they like it. On all counts. Easier to control the masses if they don't know how to fight back," he says, nodding, having seen that before. "Same with the constant and spacing of the events. Keeps everyone off balance and means they don't have time to work on the answers. We're all too busy saving ourselves and getting over it."