scottyxkulkari

[scottyxkulkari]

who: @maisielenny where: neptune, blind date

It wasn't that Scott had planned to be late, it was more that the five minute pep talk that he'd needed in the Neptune bathroom had ended up being more like twenty. Half of it was dedicated to simply convincing himself that going was a good thing and to not make his escape through the small window that led outside. He wouldn't have fit anyway and it going on a blind date was far less embarrassing than getting stuck in the men's toilet trying to flee.

Making his way to his allocated table, Scott tried to not let his anxiety show, it often led to a full mental shut down and that wasn't how he wanted this date to go. Normally, he'd have convinced himself that he didn't care, but unfortunately.. he actually did.

"Hey," he made his presence known as he walked around the petite brunette sitting waiting at his table. A look of surprise crossed his face. Scott hadn't realised how much he'd been hoping for a familiar face. But not too familiar. "It's you," he said, the relief clear in his voice. "Sorry I'm late."

[scottyxkulkari]

AURORA BAY BLIND DATES ( @aurorabayaesthetic ) —— not featuring @maisielenny

[scottyxkulkari]

Despite believing that Valentines day was strictly a capitalist holiday and had nothing to do with declarations of love, Scott did find himself signing up for a blind date. He told himself that it was just to be social, try something new. But Scott knew that he was actively trying to move past Joey and all that bullshit, try his hand at love again. It wasn't going to go well, but at least he could say he'd tried.

Speaking of Joey, she was the first person who came to mind when asked about worst-case scenarios. "Probably my ex," Scott says half-heartedly. It wasn't that they were necessarily in a bad place, but being paired with someone who cheated on you seems like the universe pointing and laughing at you. "I wouldn't have an exit strategy though, we'd probably just bicker at each other."

Taking a sip of his beer, he was curious about her so he turned the question back on her. "What about you?"

( @delilahcarreno )

for: @aurorabaystarter

where: neptune (night of the blind dates, but if not attending could be set at another restaurant another night! go wild!)

Delilah still couldn't decide whether or not it'd been a mistake to show up for dinner early.

It at least beat the alternative of anxiously counting down the minutes at home, where she'd have been sure to change her mind about her outfit, or her hair, or her shoes (again), picking herself and her choices apart until whatever small desire she'd had to go in the first place was snuffed out like a flame.

(And there was the fact that she'd run out of vodka, and was going to need more than a welcome glass of champagne to get her through this night.)

"Absolute worst-case scenario," she prompts the person at the bar next to her, seemingly not the only one with the forethought to pregame the jitters away, as she plucks the olive out of her martini, "who's waiting for you at that table, and what's your excuse to get out of it?"

Every first date, blind or not, needed a good escape route, she'd come to learn over the years.

[scottyxkulkari]

Scott was glad that at there was some joke to be had in this. "You can still yell at me," God knew he'd be tearing a piece out of someone who hit his car. "Go right ahead." Rounding the car, he looked down at her headlight, the plastic shattered into pieces, a small dent near it. At least his tow bar hadn't made its way into her front bumper.

"I got insurance," he said. "It's a work car so its good, it'll be all paid for but shit.. I can't believe I hit your car. I fucking hate parking in this town."

( @beautyxnthefire )

Now he was taking the fun out of fighting him! "Now I can't yell at you." Mia sighed throwing her hands in the air and chuckled. "Okay okay" she shook her head "It's fine, I'm fine" she said easily and waved a hand. Noting it was only a broken headlight, she exhaled relieved. "Please tell me you have insurance..." she sighed. If he did, it'd be fine. || @scottyxkulkari

[scottyxkulkari]

Scott: im still here Scott: u know me unless ur directly in front of me im bad at reaching out Scott: how you been (@erickxng)

✉️ eric ➝ scott.

eric: i feel like we haven't talked in ages. eric: i know you're a hermit but i'm getting concerned that you've spontaneously combusted or something.

@scottyxkulkari

[scottyxkulkari]

Scott laughs, mostly at himself. Normally he wasn't one to point out his faults unless it was either a self-deprecating joke or in a passive aggressive attempt to avoid blame during a fight. But it was hard to deny that he didn't have some kind of reputation around the apartments as being the grumpy guy on the third floor. "I'll have to work on that, I guess."

Another strike against his name for being oblivious, as Scott didn't even know there was a spa in town. Although it wasn't as if he was the target demographic. "I own a handyman business," Scott reveals in a way that sounds a lot better than simply saying he was a handyman. And for some reason, he wanted to impress. Whether it be because he felt a little guilty over seemingly ignoring her, or because this had been the longest he'd talked to a woman without saying something completely seriously dumb. "So you ever need anything fixed, you know where I live."

(@maisielenny)

“Your words, not mine.” Maisie shrugged, laughing at his ease in relenting to this as the truth. Honestly she didn’t know the man well enough to make a judgment but she did know that the few times she’d seen him around the apartments he’d always seemed distracted or absorbed by something else. Looking down at the crystal she sook her head, though it was understandable that he might assume that thanks to her cargo. “No, no i’m just a patron. I’m a masseuse at the Sea Salt Spa, what about you?” 

[scottyxkulkari]

A man of.. at least a few skills, but parallel parking was not one of them. In his work truck, it was borderline impossible but the main street of town demanded it. Usually, he wouldn't have bothered and instead parked several streets away and walked but time was ticking and Scott needed to get the hardware store before it closed. The back sensor of his truck had stopped working months ago. So long that he'd forgotten that it even did anything until his car made a flatlining sound that indicated he was too close to the car behind him.

"Oh fuck me," he says as his truck backs into an expensive looking one, the jostle forward causing him to instantly panic. Times were good, but not good enough that he could go around smashing into peoples cars. Getting out, Scott tries to not seem annoyed and fails entirely. "You okay? Fuck, that's totally my bad."

(@beautyxnthefire)

Open to all || @aurorabaystarter Location: Any road in town

Parked on the side, Mia kept her eyes on the screen; texting back and forth with LA, when a bump shook her and the car. "Urgh!" she exclaimed frustrated as a string of curses -in Spanish, mind you- left her lips. Unfastening her seatbelt quickly, she stepped out of the car and went to see the extend of the damage. "Are you kidding me!?" she exclaimed.

[scottyxkulkari]

A snort escapes him. "A bartender," Scott replies without missing a beat, a shit-eating grin on his mug. But he closes the distance and parks himself nearby, definitely not going to complain about a free drink.

Scott takes the bottle and knocks it against the owner's half drunk one in cheers. "I already liked this place but now? Best bar in town." A glowing recommendation from someone who frequented most of them. Only one bar in town was off-limits. At least the owner of this place seemed like an alright guy. "What's the occasion?" Scott asks, always one to question a good thing.

( @ethan-windsor )

"What kind of person would I be, if I offered you a drink and charged you for it?" He chuckled, he knew it wasn't exactly the best business plan, but he wasn't worried about that, right now, he just didn't want to drink alone and he wasn't the type of person who thought 2 steps ahead.

He grabbed the beer and brought it to the man. "On the house. Enjoy"

@scottyxkulkari

[scottyxkulkari]

well, well, well, if it isn’t the feelings i’ve been trying to avoid 

[scottyxkulkari]

Being your own boss had its perks and that meant skipping out on the day early after dealing with a particularly annoying customer. He had no one to report to as he pulled his truck into the carpark near the Shack, his usual haunt. Something about it just relaxed him, but maybe it was the cheap drinks and the sea view.

Walking into the bar, Scott was greeted immediately with an invitation to drink which would only turn his day around on one condition. "Sure," he agrees, taking a few steps towards the man. "But only if you're buying."

( @ethan-windsor )

where: sea shanty shack

who: open @aurorabaystarter

Being the new owner of the Shack was easier than he expected, the place basically ran itself, he didn't know why people complained about work so much, it was all going great, it was like living in the hotel again, ordering what he wanted for the kitchen, and not even having to pay for it now.

After getting a beer he returned to his table and smiled when he noticed someone walking in. "Wanna join me for a drink?"

[scottyxkulkari]

"So, I just don't notice shit," he concluded based on her answer. "That tracks." Clearly, Scott wasn't exactly the 'get to know your neighbors' type of dude but somehow it seemed to happen anyway. Forced proximity and all that. Suddenly he felt guilty for not being more community driven. "Well, it's nice to meet ya," Scott nods his head. "Do you like, work at that shop downtown with all the crystals and stuff?" He'd walked past it a couple times, but never gone in. It seemed like her type of vibe though.

( @maisielenny )

Maisie watched as he observed the crystal in his hand, guessing she could probably predict what was going through his mind but it didn’t bother her. Someone else’s inability to be open to the benefits they held wasn’t going to have any effect on her so there was no point in wasting her time on it. “Thanks.” She simply replied as she took it back. 

Laughing she shook her head, nodding back up the stairs to where her apartment door was located. “Neither, well the second if anything because I know for sure I didn’t move in recently. Not that recently anyway, but I’ve just seen you around. It’s never a bad thing to know who your neighbours are, right?” @scottyxkulkari

[scottyxkulkari]

He gave her an incredulous look at her blatant dismissal. Of course, she was judging. Or at the very least, he felt judged so it was a moot point.

"So.. just steak and fish for fancy people," Scott scoffed before adding a sarcastic "nice" to top it all off with a laugh. He found it particularly hard to believe that anyone who lived here was financially stable enough to afford such a refined palette but what did he know?

While she said that his choices were valid, her tone implied they were anything but.

"Oh, is that what I'm meant to do?" He replies as if this is brand new information. "I just thought that the frost added a bit of flavor." Admittedly, sometimes he didn't fully defrost them before consuming, which never made him feel particularly good about himself but he'd sooner die than admit that to her. "The directions are more like guidelines, right?" Since she seemed to have genuine concern that these meals were going to result in gastrointestinal issues or premature death, he dropped the bit. "I do heat them up, rest easy. Considering this place is apparently a fire hazard, it seems like tempting fate to let me near a stove," he holds a box up as if that explained it all. "I consider these meals a public service, so you're welcome."

( @cricketcampbell )

"Me? Judging? Never!" Cricket could scoff at the, what she considered to be baseless, accusation.

Okay, so maybe not never...and thinking back to what she'd said, maybe not completely baseless. But it wasn't so much about what you said rather than how you said it...right?

His steak tartare and caviar comment had her feeling a little less than confident about that, and less than confident was generally not how Cricket liked to flirt with her building crushes.

"I'm actually more of a lobster and wagyu kind of girl." She flipped her braided ponytail back from where it'd fallen over her shoulder in what she hoped came across as a joke.

A smile was a good start...and as she was met with it, she had a hard time recalling if she'd ever actually seen it on him before. There was a reason he'd been dubbed mysterious and--how had she put it? Low key sad?--in her head. But it was a good look on him, and that she could work with.

"No, it's okay--admittedly...I have been known to be judgy from time to time." She nodded solemnly. "Your...dinner choices," meals seemed like bit of a stretch, "are...certainly choices. And they are valid." A gentle hand was placed on his arm. "Just...you said ready-to-eat, and these are clearly, like, frozen, so please, please tell me that you do at least heat them up first."

@scottyxkulkari

[scottyxkulkari]

Scott turned the stone over in his hand skeptically. He very much doubted that crystals had anything to do with bring fortune or success but it wasn't as if he was going to say so. "Pretty," he compliments the object as she takes it before replying with a you're welcome.

Upon her deduction about which floor he was living on, Scott couldn't help but wonder how insular he'd gotten. He barely noticed anyone these days unless they were directly speaking to him, like now. "Scott," he introduced himself, taking her hand in his own for a firm shake. "You new to the building or am I just really unobservant?"

( @maisielenny )

Looking over the side of the bannister so her hair hang down Maisie peered as best she could at the man whose voice she’d heard. “Abundance, prosperity, and success - it’s the Merchant's Stone because it brings fortune to business.” Was her simple reply, bouncing down the few stairs between them to pluck the crystal from where he held it out. “It’s called citrine. Thanks.”  Slipping it back into the back pocket of her jeans. 

“I’ve seen you around a bit, you live on…the third floor?” Her tone questioning because she wasn’t entirely sure but it was an educated guess based on the areas where she’d seen him most often. “Maisie.” Holding out her hand towards the stranger. 

[scottyxkulkari]

"You didn't say it had to be unique." Scott could think of a few people he'd secretly wished ill will on in the past but it hardly seemed worth the energy now. Being angry and stubborn hadn't made life any easier on him, so it was deemed easier to simply not care. He also wasn't the kind to reveal personal information to a stranger. Or anyone, really.

"What about you then?" He turned the tables. "Do you just ask people random questions or people get your answers too?" Since Scott's attempt was considered weak, he was curious what was considered a hot take.

( @julianandreyev )

Julian watches the man warily, taken off guard by the clipped tone, and yet amused against his will by the complete unpredictability of people. Further proven, of course, by the sudden rant about Andrew Tate, which does actually make Julian laugh in surprise.

"Damn," he says, "nothing? I mean, yeah, anyone who isn't like a monster was deeply satisfied by that turn of events but that's such old news now, I literally forgot about him. Wishing misfortune on Andrew Tate isn't really a hot take, I won't lie, but I guess you did answer the question, so." He offers the dollar out again. "I want you to have it. I can tell you dug deep."

@scottyxkulkari

[scottyxkulkari]

☎️ + silas

WHAT MY MUSE HAS FOR YOUR MUSE’S CONTACT INFO:

#freesilas

WHAT THEIR RINGTONE IS:

🎧 all ringtones are the 1994 nokia ringtone because scott is nostalgic like that

THE LAST TEXT THEY SENT YOUR MUSE:

SCOTT: bring ur dog to houston's site tomorrow or else SCOTT: he works harder than u SCOTT: less yappy too

WHAT IMAGE MY MUSE HAS FOR YOUR MUSE IN THEIR PHONE:

[scottyxkulkari]

who: @maisielenny where: ocean crest apartment stairway

"Hey neighbour," Scott called out lowly from the flight below, knowing that the footsteps above him likely belonged to another resident. As he heard a small clang upon his approach up the three flights of stairs, Scott had bent down to pick up what had likely fallen from a pocket or a purse.

Between his callused fingers, there was now a short orange crystal that kinda looked like a piece of candy. Looking over the railing, he held it up for them. "You dropped your... rock." The last word came out as more a question than intended.

[scottyxkulkari]

Scott starts piling up the various boxes, annoyed that not only was he being forced to have a mindless interaction with a neighbor but now his lifestyle choices (if one could call them that) were being called into question. His hand stills, looking up at her in confusion.

"Are you.. judging my ready-to-eat meals?" he asks incredulously, holding up a box of perfectly portioned almost-meat-like substances and vegetables that always tasted a little watered down from being defrosted in the microwave. Scott had been judged on a lot of shit in his life, but somehow.. this feels like the lowest point. The bond between a man and his sad microwave dinners was a sacred thing after all. "What do you eat? Steak tartare and caviar?" he tries to joke but somehow it comes out harsher than intended. Considering the woman does look like she just wandered out of a Lululemon, maybe she was more of a green juice and kale salad kind of girl.

As his hand takes the box she offers, Scott returns the smile as best he can. "Sorry, thank you—" he uses the manners that several foster parents and one angry orphanage nun tried to teach him growing up. "For some reason, I am feeling defensive over my dinner choices now."

( @cricketcampbell )

She couldn't say if an abandoned pile of Hungry Man dinners was the strangest thing she'd encountered in the Ocean Crest lobby, but it certainly made the list.

Cricket's eyebrows furrowed as she took in the crime scene before her, though it only took a look to her right to find the apparent hungry man in question returning for his spoils. She would've helped no matter who they had belonged to, but she couldn't pretend that a chance encounter with her latest building crush wasn't an added incentive.

Though, he wasn't the only one to protest her help. Having just returned from the gym, her thighs practically screamed at her as she knelt near the pile to begin collecting the frozen "man-sized" portions of fried chicken, salisbury steak, roasted turkey...

"Do you?" She found herself asking, tearing her gaze away from what must've been a total wipeout of the local grocer's frozen TV dinner aisle. "'Cause this is, like, really sad. Painful, even. I'm, like, in actual pain thinking about you eating these. Like, ow. Please, make it stop."

Despite her plea, the collected boxes were extended back towards him with (what she hoped he recognized to be) a flirty smile.

@scottyxkulkari