#and then I added the bird. and my (romantic) partner added the restaurant. and it kept going

[robin-showdown]

wait why are you doing this if you dont even go here

It's funny

[noona-clock]

The Bartender - Part 4

Genre: Bartender!AU

Pairing: Jinhwan x You (Female!Reader)

Warnings: Mentions of alcohol

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 | Words: 2,294

You weren’t usually the type to be that nervous about going on a date. Even though you did tend to overthink things, for some reason, going on dates was not one of those things.

I mean, if you really think about it, it was just hanging out with someone. Spending time with someone to see if you were romantically compatible. Not a big deal, really.

But when Jinhwan sent you a text message on Sunday morning with a location and ‘Meet me there at 11?’...

You were nervous.

You still replied back that you would be there at 11 on the dot, but you were nervous about it.

Probably it wasn’t actually nerves, though. It was most likely leftover embarrassment, and you were just slightly dreading seeing him.

But it would be fine. You would get over it.

Hopefully.

When you clicked on the location after he’d sent it, your eyebrows raised in slight surprise when you saw the map was one of a nearby beach. A very small beach with a quaint pier, one you didn’t visit nearly as much as you should.

And you knew at least one restaurant at the pier had received a 100 on their last health inspection, so Jinhwan had stayed true to his word -- a quality you greatly desired in a partner.

So, score one for him.

If you added the score he had previously earned for being so cute, he now had about a 26. Out of what, you had no idea, but he definitely had a 26 for the time being.

At around 10 AM, you started getting ready. Since the weather was pretty warm but the beach could get fairly windy, you opted for a pair of cotton shorts and a striped blouse. You also chose makeup packed with SPF, but you didn’t forget to throw a tube of sunscreen into your bag, either.

And then, once you were all dolled up and ready to go... you went.

As you drove toward the beach, you realized that you were incredibly grateful he had chosen a time fairly early in the day to meet up; if you’d had to wait several more hours before seeing him after that disaster of a Friday night, you probably would’ve made yourself sick. Your stomach was already in knots, and it would’ve been so much worse later on.

Thankfully, you saw Jinhwan sitting on a bench near the parking spots as soon as you pulled in. Just like you were glad you hadn’t had to wait until later to see him, you were now glad you didn’t have to wait for him to arrive. You would really rather just get this over with!

...I mean, not the date. Just the awkwardness of seeing him in person after you’d kissed him like that.

You were... actually... kind of looking forward to the date.

Jinhwan stood from the bench once he realized you were the one driving the car pulling in, and a smile curved his lips when you opened the door and got out.

“Hi,” he greeted as soon as you approached. His hands were casually in his pockets, but his smile gave away that he felt anything but casual about seeing you.

Maybe he could pretend to be casual about it, but you certainly could not. It would eat away at you if you simply pretended like nothing had happened. Your two options were to either avoid seeing Jinhwan altogether or to get it all out in the open, and since you were already on a date with him, you had to opt for the latter.

“Listen,” you began, your voice soft but urgent. “I wasn’t lying when I said I’ve never... kissed anyone like that before. I really haven’t, and I don’t know what came over me. It wasn’t the alcohol, but that was definitely not typical Y/N behavior. I’m really, truly sorry, and I don’t plan on doing anything like that again.”

As you’d spoken, Jinhwan’s smile had transformed into a smirk, and he’d taken a step or two closer to you.

“You don’t?” he asked when you’d finished.

You shook your head.

“That’s too bad,” he chuckled. “I was hoping you’d do something like that again today. And, really, I can’t blame you at all. You shouldn’t be too hard on yourself, either. I’m pretty hard to resist.”

“Wow,” you laughed, raising your eyebrows at him. “So, the whole flirtatious thing is just who you are, then.”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“Good to know,” you nodded. It was hard to keep the amusement from your face, though, and your grin became even more obvious when Jinhwan winked at you.

“Don’t worry, though. I’m very capable of being a one-woman flirter.”

“Thank god. My biggest worry laid to rest.”

Jinhwan’s sly smirk quickly morphed into a full-on smile, and he laughed softly at you before reaching to take your hand. “Come on,” he chuckled.

“Where are we going?” you asked, your heart doing a little skip when you slipped your hand into his.

“...The beach.” He gestured in front of you and shot you a look like you were a little bit crazy. You’d met him at a beach -- where else would you be going?”

“I know that,” you laughed. “But where? What are we doing?”

Jinhwan pulled you a little closer and pointed at two unattended towels spread on the sand. “You see those?”

“Yes. I have very good eyesight.”

With his brows raised, he turned to you and said, “Those are for us. We’re going to sit on them.”

“...And... do what?”

“Talk.”

“Talk?”

He nodded and gently pulled you toward the beach. “You asked me how I could like someone I barely know, so I want to get to know you. I want you to get to know me.”

Actually... you liked the sound of that.

“And then when we get hungry, we’re going to the pier to get sushi,” he added, smirking at you over his shoulder.

It goes without saying, the sushi restaurant at the pier was one which had received full marks on their health inspection, so you shot him a grin in return.

Even though you’d already given him a score for keeping his word -- just taking you to the pier where at least one restaurant was up to your standards was enough -- you decided to give him another for actually choosing a specific restaurant which fit the bill. So, he was up to 27 now.

Or maybe you should round it out to 30 since he had arrived before you. He’d even set everything up already!

So, yeah. He was definitely at a 30 now.

Once the two of you reached the beach towels he’d laid out, Jinhwan helped you sit down and made sure you were comfortable before sitting down next to you.

And then you just talked.

Normally, you weren’t someone who loved to talk. You preferred to have more deep conversations, and you couldn’t really do that with someone you didn’t know well and weren’t fully comfortable with.

But, somehow, Jinhwan was different.

You started by telling him your life story -- what it had been like growing up, your family, how you’d gotten on the path to working for the city and becoming a health inspector. He told you his, in turn, and you listened intently as he explained his journey with owning a bar.

It was so fascinating -- so interesting and so weird -- to hear about two totally different lives that eventually met up with each other.

After what felt like only ten or fifteen minutes, your stomach began to alert you that it was time to eat. You asked Jinhwan what time it was, and after glancing at his watch, he told you it was half past noon.

Your eyes widened when you realized the two of you had been talking for an hour and a half.

And, you had to admit, you were hesitant to leave. Your conversation had been more than pleasant, and your surroundings currently were so peaceful: the lulling sound of the waves nearby, the warm sun, the somewhat distant sound of seagulls, the smell of ocean salt in the air.

But your stomach was empty, and a plate of sushi was too tempting to stay away from any longer.

When you suggested getting some food, Jinhwan helped you up before collecting the beach towels, shaking out the sand, and folding them up. The pier was close enough to walk, and he took your hand once more as the two of you began to head over to the restaurant.

“I like you like this,” he said after about a minute of comfortable silence.

“Like what?” you asked with a lopsided grin.

“Casual. Comfortable. Not in my bar.”

You laughed softly, and Jinhwan continued, “Don’t get me wrong, I like seeing you while you work. And I like seeing you in my bar. It’s very sexy. But I realized I haven’t ever seen you outside of the bar, and... I like it.”

A warmth spread over your cheeks, and you nodded at him. “I like it, too,” you admitted.

And for those comments, you added another five to his score.

So far, this was shaping up to be a pretty perfect date. You’d had your doubts, to be quite honest, but just sitting and talking on the beach had been wonderful. And now a nice walk to a sushi restaurant? At this point, your lunch could be just mediocre, and you would still label this as the best date you’d ever been on.

In fact, you were pretty sure --

Your thoughts were interrupted by a very loud squawk. You jumped a little, startled by the sudden noise, and before you could look up to see the intruding seagull... you felt something warm and wet land on top of your head.

...Oh. My. God.

You froze, your heart pausing momentarily as you felt whatever it was (yes, you knew exactly what it was, you just didn’t want to admit it yet) start dripping down your hair and onto your shoulder.

“Oh... shit,” Jinhwan said, his eyes wide as he stopped walking and turned to look at you.

“Yeah,” you breathed. “...Literally.”

You truly -- truly -- could not believe that a seagull had just pooped right on top of your head.

You didn’t know whether you wanted to cry with shame or with disgust.

Or both.

Probably both.

When you glanced at Jinhwan, you could tell he was trying not to laugh. And, if you were in his shoes, you knew you would be doing the same thing.

Because objectively speaking, a bird pooping on your date’s head was funny.

But not when it was you.

“Jinhwan!” you whined, closing your eyes so you couldn’t see his face. Hearing him would be bad enough. “It’s not funny!”

“Well,” he sputtered. “It kind of is.”

“It’s not!” But even you could hear the laughter in your voice.

“Here, there’s a water fountain up ahead,” Jinhwan chuckled. “Come on.”

He squeezed your hand and led you up to the sidewalk by the pier, your body barely moving so nothing from your hair could drip down onto your shoulders any more than it already had.. He stopped in front of the water fountain and murmured for you to bend over so your head was under the drinking faucet.

Oh, god, this was humiliating.

Once you positioned your head in the bowl of the water fountain, Jinhwan turned on the faucet, and the cold water began to stream down your hair. You let out a gasp, a shiver running down your spine at the shocking temperature.

But then you felt Jinhwan’s fingers combing through your hair and another type of shiver ran down your spine.

“Okay, you’re right, this is disgusting,” he laughed. “But I was also right because it is funny.”

“You’re not the one with ice water pouring over your head!” you cried, and you quickly closed your eyes when you saw streams of bird poop landing in the water fountain.

“But I am the one touching it,” he retorted. “The cold water and the poop.”

...That was true.

After about a minute, Jinhwan sighed and said, “I think I got it all.” He turned off the water and gently squeezed your hair to get the excess water out.

“Do I still have some on my shirt?” you asked, too afraid to look yourself.

“Yeah, hold on.”

A few moments later, you felt him wiping your shoulder with one of the beach towels. He then nudged you a little, and when you shuffled a few steps away from the fountain, he got another corner of the towel wet and wiped at your shirt some more.

“There,” he said with a nod as he examined you. “Poop-free.”

You had to laugh at that, though you did feel your cheeks burning with embarrassment. “Oh, my god,” you sighed. “I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, it’s not your fault,” he grinned. “Though... are you still up for some sushi?”

You were glad he brought it up because now that you thought about it...

“Actually, there’s a very delicious pizza parlor right next to the sushi restaurant.”

“Sounds perfect.”

Jinhwan ran to take the towels back to his car, and as you stood there waiting, combing your fingers through your hair and hoping it would dry at last halfway decently, you added another two hundred points to his score.

A guy who would rinse bird poop out of your hair? On the first date? And not even complain? And he still wanted to eat lunch with you?

You were actually starting to kick yourself for not agreeing to go out with him sooner.

Part 5

[flowerpowell]

Unexpected (Drake x MC)

PART EIGHT

A/N: The list of questions that Drake found in this chapter is very real and I had a lot of fun writing this scene lol. I hope you’ll like it too! Characters belong to Pixelberry.

Rating: PG-16 (nothing too crazy but maybe some suggestive language)

Word count: 2289

Tagging: @gardeningourmet​ @delightfullypinkglitter​ @hopefulmoonobject​ @akrenich​ @blackcatkita​ @desiree---1986​ @dcbbw​ @kingliam2019​ @the-soot-sprite​ @mskaneko​ @thequeenofcronuts​ @dr-ethanjramsey​ @badchoicesposts​ @burnsoslow​ @annekebbphotography​ @alesana45​ @addictedtodrakefanfic​ @walkerduchess​ @ao719​ @texaskitten30​ @lodberg​ @cordonianroyalty​ @emichelle​ @siriusxxvideos​ @i-bloody-love-drake-walker​ @samihatuli​ @choices-lurker​ @i-miss-trr​ @drxkewalker​ @nikkis1983​ @innerpostmentality​ @msjr0119​ @bascmve01​ @mind-reader1​ @edgiestwinter​ @drakesensworld​ @queenjilian​  @princessleac1​ @saivilo​ @yukinagato2012​ ♥

“Mmm” Riley moaned as she slowly opened her eyes. It took her a moment to adjust to the bright room and to realize she wasn’t in her regular room.

Drake’s mom. Right.

She wanted to turn to see if Drake had already woken up but she couldn’t as she saw his arms wrapped around her waist so tightly she could barely breathe. Or maybe it was Drake’s proximity that made it so hard to breathe. Drake’s face was buried in her neck and covered in her hair and she tried to stay as still as possible.

Normally, she would push him away the second she’d realize how close they were but for some reason she quite enjoyed them being so close, so intimate. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine it was her real life, entangled in bed with the love of her life. The reality was a bit different and she blushed at the thought that Mr Perfect Butt was cuddling her.

Don’t think about his butt, don’t think about his butt.

Riley felt that Drake started to stir and she closed her eyes immediately, pretending to be still asleep as if she never noticed the position they were in. She felt his breath on her neck and she knew he woke up. She pretended to be waking up too and she opened her eyes meeting with Drake’s already looking at her.

“Ewww, what are you doing,” she pushed him away as she jumped out of the bed. “I knew you should’ve just slept on the floor, ugh,” she added as she quickly left the bedroom.

~~~~

“Good morning, my love birds!” Bianca entered the kitchen with Bartie in her arms. Drake smiled sleepily at her and Riley took Bartie from her fake mother-in-love.

“I hope you had a good night.”

“Moooom,” Drake rolled his eyes.

“What? You just got married, you deserve to have some good nights. I can take Bartie somewhere for the night if it’s necessary,” she winked and Drake facepalmed as Riley blushed.

“Thank you, Mrs Walker, but we love Bartie and we want to spend as much time with him as possible,” Riley answered politely.

“That’s understandable. And please, call me Bianca.”

Drake opened his mouth to comment this somehow but someone knocked on the door and he stood up to open it, Riley following suit.

“Yes?” He asked the woman standing in the doorway, smiling at him.

“Drake and Riley Walker?” she asked as both of them nodded. “Someone filed a complaint about the legitimacy of your marriage. I’m bringing you the copy of the document along with the letter to come to the embassy for the interview.”

“Embassy? Interview?” Drake asked as he opened the letter and seeing the name of the person responsible for it,” Madeleine.”

“We need to establish whether your marriage is in fact real, as the claim suggests it is fake, serving only to get full custody and grant Mrs Walker a Cordonian citizenship.”

“Me...? What?!” Riley’s eyes widened and Drake put a hand on her shoulder to calm her.

“Why did Madeleine even sent it? She was at the wedding!”

“Mrs Beaumont simply voiced her concerns about the legitimacy of your marriage, there will be a few question you two will be asked and that’s all. Nothing to be worried about. Unless, the marriage is indeed fake.”

“Concerns about our marriage? Can I voice my concerns about Madeleine’s sanity then?” Drake asked but before the woman could answer Riley cut in.

“This is ridiculous. And what if that stupid interview proved it was a fake marriage?”

“Then it’d be annuled immediately, you would be sent to America and Drake would most likely lose the custody. But as I said,” she smiled at them, “nothing to be worried about. It’s just a formality. See you tomorrow!”

“Tomorrow?!” Riley and Drake asked at the same time but the woman already started walking away. They looked at each other, Riley full of worry and Drake full of anger.

“Mom? Can you actually take Bartie for the night? Riley and I want to have tonight for ourselves.”

~~~~

“Okay, let’s do this.”

“Why did you bring alcohol?” Riley asked curiously as Drake put two glasses and a bottle of whiskey on the floor.

“I really can’t do that sober,” he shook his head and poured the drink into two glasses. Riley took one and they both drank it, the liquid burning their throats.

“Okay, I found a few lists of possible questions on the internet, are you ready?” He asked and Riley nodded. How bad could it be?

“First. Where did you meet?”

“Easy. In your bar,” Riley answered taking a swig. This is going to be easy.

“Right. When did your relationship turn romantic?”

“Umm, never?”

Drake narrowed his eyes.

“Hmm, maybe after I first visited you at home and met Bartie? I could say I saw the way you take care of him and I fell in love and then it quickly became a romantic relationship?”

“I like that,” Drake nodded. “Okay, next. Why did you decide to have a short engagement?”

“Because we really wanted to start our life together and also because we wanted to make a family for Bartie.”

“Good, I’m impressed!” Drake high-fived Riley. “Moving on, there’s a set of questions about our habits. Ready?”

“Bring it on!” Riley said as she took another swig of her drink.

“Who gets up first? At what time? How many alarm clocks do you set in the morning? Who cleans the house? Who makes breakfast? Who takes care of paying the bills? Does your spouse take any regular medications?”

“Whoaa. Okay. You get up first to go for a run, unless Bartie starts crying, then we both wake up at the same time. You never set any alarm clocks. I have to clean the house because you’re messy. We both make breakfast for ourselves and you pay bills since it’s your house. And I haven’t seen you taking any meds. How did I do?”

“You did great,” Drake admitted as he took a few swigs of whiskey. “You set as many alarms as possible but after like ten alarms you turn off your phone because they annoy you. You take some allergy pills, right?”

“Yes! I’m alergic to mess and since your place is so messy I have to take those,” she answered sweetly and he rolled his eyes.

“It’s not that bad.”

“Whatever. I’m doing this for my restaurant. Next question.”

“What is your spouse’s favorite/least favorite food?”

“Everything with meat is favorite. Anything without meat is your least favorite.”

“Very funny. I like simple things so anything extravagant is not my favorite. Now, you’re a great cook so I would say you love everything.”

“My favorite dish is pasta à la Nana. It was invented by me and my grandma when I was about five years old. It reminds me of her,” Riley said, her voice breaking slightly.

“I’ve never seen you making it,” Drake noticed and Riley shrugged.

“I haven’t been able to make ever since she died. We always did it together. The secret is that you need two people to make it and I just... I couldn’t.” She quickly wiped a tear from her eyes and Drake wordlessly pulled her close.

“Let’s... finish with these questions,” she whispered and Drake nodded.

“Who sleeps on each side of the bed?” he asked and she looked at him confused.

“What, these are the questions!”

“Well, when we fell asleep I was on the right side and you on the left side but when I woke up we both somehow were on the right side.”

“I think that’s a sufficent answer. Okay, next, when was your wife’s last menstrual period? Wait, what?” He read it again. “How am I supposed to know that?!”

“Just say two weeks ago and let’s move on,” she chuckled. Normally she would be embarrassed to talk about such topics with someone who was neither her sister nor her close friend but all that alcohol was making her a bit more confident.

“When did you last have intimate relations?”

“This is what they ask about?” Riley raised her eyebrow as Drake tried to hide his red cheeks.

“Apparently they’re very nosy.”

“Let’s just say it was tonight. Bianca can even confirmed she took Bartie out for the night so it’s more believeable.”

“Good thinking, Mrs Walker,” Drake smiled as he clinked glasses with her. “Next is, how many sexual partners did you have?”

“What? This is ridiculous, they can’t ask that!” Riley stood up, ready to end this rehearsal. This was a stupid idea anyway.

“I didn’t make it up, it’s one of the sample questions, look!” Drake showed his phone to Riley but she only rolled her eyes.

“It’s stupid.”

“It is but need to be prepared. So... what is your number?”

“What is yours?” Riley asked crossing her arms. She hated it already.

“Just seven,” he shrugged, “nothing too exciting.”

“Seven?” her eyes widened. “Not that I care. I’m going to sleep, I’m tired.”

“Hey, we haven’t finished yet!”

“Well, I’m finished.”

“Riley,” Drake stook up and  took her hand, “I told you my number, it’s only fair if you tell me yours. How many guys did you sleep with?”

She rolled her eyes, “Zero. Happy now?”

“But I thought...” Drake’s eyes widened. “With you looking like this, I just--”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Everyone is so fixated on--”

“I’m not everyone,” Drake cut in and she looked at him. “And I don’t think it’s a big deal.”

“If you had parents like mine, you’d understand. All I had time for was studying so that my parents were proud of me. My older sister is their favorite and I always tried to be more like her. Jeez, why am I even telling you this?”

“If they couldn’t see how great you are then it’s their loss,” Drake said but she didn’t reply. After a few minutes of complete silence, Drake finally asked, “Can we answer the rest of the questions?”

~~~~

The interview was scheduled early next morning and both Riley and Drake were very tired as they were practicing most of the night. It all was worth it though, because they covered all the questions the interviewer asked them. Even the woman who brought them documents seemed to be happy with their responses.

When they left the office, they were so relived and tired that they hugged each other without even realizing what they were doing.

Bianca was waiting with Bartie and started cheering when Drake showed her a thumb up.

“You should celebrate! Now everyone knows your marriage is real and you love each other.”

“Yeah.”

“Show some enthusiasm, son! Kiss your wife!”

“It’s okay, we’re not really fans of PDA,” Riley tried to argue with Bianca but the woman only shook her head.

“It’s not PDA, it’s just a kiss!”

“Fine, Mom!” Drake rolled his eyes and kissed Riley’s cheek quickly.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. I kiss Bartie with more love than you did Riley.”

“Mom!”

“It’s okay,” Riley grabbed Drake’s hand and he looked at her, frowning. She nodded slighly and he sighed but leaned down to kiss her.

At first, it was a very careful kiss, more like a quick peck on the lips but soon he felt Riley deepening the kiss a little and he followed suit, somehow not being able to stop. He put one of his arms on Riley’s back and the other was entangled in her hair. He heard a soft moan from Riley’s lips and it was only then that he realized what they were doing, in front of his mother. Slowly, he pulled away and looked down, avoiding his mother’s eyes.

“Yes, that’s more like it,” they heard Bianca and Drake could swear he heard her smiling.

Drake shook his head as his phone started ringing and he felt very thankful for that distraction.

“Liam? What’s happening?”

“I sent the guards back to Cordonia. They didn’t find anything in Karlington. Everything is clear. They checked every single room, dungeons, even secret passages. The gardens were checked too. And all the houses nearby. Nothing. I’m sorry.”

“It’s... okay. Thank you anyway, for doing this,” Drake sighed. He was losing hope with each day.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t bring you some good news. I decided to leave one guard there, just in case.”

“Thank you, Liam. Really.”

“I’ll call you later and we’ll talk, okay?” Liam asked and after hearing ‘okay’ from the other side, he hung up.

He started sorting out some documents when he heard a knock on the door.

“Yes?”

“King Liam,” Madeleine bowed and Liam stood up, surprised to see her there.

“Madeleine? What are you doing here?”

“Is that a way to greet your ex fiancee?” She smiled as she waved a big envelope before Liam’s eyes.

“What are you doing here, Madeleine?” Liam repeated, his eyes trained on the woman.

“I brought new evidence. About Savannah and Bertrand. My private investigator just sent this and...” she bit her lips as if considering something, “I think you should see it.”

[mischief-and-tea-by-the-sea]

♡ ൠ

@scottxlogan asked for these characters.   Emma/Scott, Steve/Bucky,  Kurt/Logan, Tony/Loki or Steve/Loki.  Headcanon Meme.

♡ - romantic headcanon

Emma/Scott: When they first started dating, Scott felt the pressure of wooing a woman of Emma’s intelligence and cultural elegance.  He took her to high end restaurants and operas and symphonies, which she did enjoy.  However, when Emma is the most wooed is when Scott woke her up on an autumn Saturday, told her to get dressed in something casual (jeans, t-shirt, light jacket, sneakers), then took her down to the garage where he had his motorcycle prepped for the two of them with a picnic basket strapped to the back.  He took her to an out of the way area that Logan told him about (a favorite place he takes Kurt) and they spent a few hours just watching the smooth small lake, the birds on it, enjoyed their meal, and when the sun went down, Scott pulled out some jarred candles to light while they watched the stars.  

Steve/Bucky: The first romantic memories Steve and Bucky share are pre-serum Steve after his mom died and he moved in with Bucky.  They didn’t have a lot; whatever Bucky earned in the boxing ring and what extra training of others he could pick up, as well as the factory work Steve did during the day.  On nights he didn’t have art classes, they’d scrape together what they could and either appear to be two friends hanging out at the diner to enjoy a meal or they’d bring home ingredients and manage not to burn a romantic candle-lit dinner.  They’d kept Sarah Rogers’ old Victrola and bought records from pawn shops, and once the shades were pulled down for the night, they’d dance to Moonlight Serenade (and others like it).  *Yeah, side note: when Steve told Peggy he didn’t know how to dance, he was lying.  For obvious reasons, he didn’t feel safe telling her that the only dance partner he ever wanted was Bucky.

Tony/Loki: When these two finally started to get past their constant snarking at each other phase and became friends, it was grudging at best.  But when the friendship became more genuine and about respect, Tony and Loki started to pay more attention to details about each other.  Their slide from friendship into romantic interest happened when Loki would wander into the kitchen during Avenger family breakfast to find that Tony had already steeped his cup of tea and added exactly the right amount of sugar and honey to it, just the way he liked it, followed by Loki showing up later in the day after Tony holed himself up in his workshop, forgetting to eat, bringing with him lunch (or supper, depending on the time) and magicking an uncluttered space for them to eat together while he coaxed Tony to talk about whatever latest project was keeping him so focused.  After that, it became easy to suggest going for a walk in the park for fresh air, wandering into the zoo, grabbing bites to eat along the way, stopping at cafés.  Eventually that led to an afternoon walking through the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and that somehow led to Tony inviting Loki to somewhere more posh for dinner, signaling that it was now A Date.  Because they were both dressed so casually, Loki magicked up a change of clothes so that they wouldn’t have to interrupt the flow of their day-to-Date by going back to the tower before they were ready.

Steve/Loki: Given that this isn’t my primary ship for these two, I would have to go with the one fic I wrote with them, and their actual romance wouldn’t officially start until they were back from Siberia on their mission.  In fact, it probably doesn’t even officially start for a week or two after while the two former enemies-turned-reluctant teammates fumbled around like morons trying to figure out how to approach each other about the shared kiss in the cabin.  Once Bucky got them to quit dancing around each other, he suggested that Steve ask Loki out on a date.  Steve is nearly a wreck when he tries to plan what he thinks will be the most elegant date to impress a prince of Asgard: dressed up in suits, tickets to one of the hottest, hard to get into plays on Broadway, and a late dinner at Delmonico’s afterward.  When it was Loki’s turn to take Steve out, he spent ages on the internet, researching movie theatres that showed old films and queer clubs that hosted oldies nights, even to the point of finding a Big Band Era night.  Then he promptly magicked them up the appropriate attire (40s style and somewhat casual but nice for a date) and whisked Steve out to a favorite pizza place in Brooklyn that’s been there since forever and then followed that with an old movie and dancing.  

ൠ - random headcanon

Logan/Kurt: Even before they started sleeping together and dating (because that’s the order their relationship happened), Logan discovered by accident that Kurt loved to be petted like a cat, especially because of all the fur.  Even more by accident, Logan discovered that that base of Kurt’s tail where it connected to his body is an extremely sensitive erogenous zone.

[artificialqueens]

Flower Files, Part 1 (Tatiadore, Biaja) - Albatross

AN: A collection of short oneshots. Each one has a flower/plant theme. I’ll be posting them on AQ in batches of 2-3 depending on length.

Chapter 1: Tatiadore

Tatiana awoke to the sound of birds distantly chirping away outside her window and the warm rays of the sun beginning to light up her room. It was all very pleasant, especially for what was supposed to be a quiet Sunday at home with her girlfriend. Groggily, she stumbled out of bed and wandered over to their shared dresser. Her mind was still sleep-addled but something was trying to capture her attention. It was a brief whiff of some strange scent but in an instant,  it was gone. No matter how hard Tatianna tried to refocus on it, it had just disappeared. 

But that caused her attention to drift to another development…elsewhere in the apartment, there was another scent arising; that of cooking food.

A soft smile arose to her lips; Adore was making breakfast and from the smell of it, something with sweet peppers, onion and egg…perhaps a western omelette, or maybe just scrambled?

Hurrying to the bathroom, Tatianna resolved to take a quicker shower than normal. Usually she would stay in there for a good 20 minutes and just let herself relax under the spray but the delicious scent of breakfast waiting for her in the kitchen made her realize that she was utterly starving. And even more so, she just wanted to pull Adore into her arms once again, especially since she didn’t have a chance to upon first waking up.

So in record time, she had her teeth brushed and the shower warming up but while the bathroom steadily filled with steam, Tatianna realized that strange scent from before was somehow in here as well. This time it was stronger and lasted long enough for Tatianna to realize it was rather floral, but soon, thanks to the fan she had turned on in anticipation of a hot shower, the smell had disappeared once again.

Oh, well.

A brief 8 minutes later and Tatianna was clean, awake, and had changed into a fresh set of clothes; a simple cami and shorts ensemble but it was comfortable and cute.

Feeling much more like her normal self, she bounded into the kitchen to greet her girlfriend. Adore was still standing in front of the stove, poking her spatula at something sizzling in the pan and a cup of steaming tea close by on the countertop. She heard Tatianna arriving and spun around halfway to shoot her a warm, cheery grin. “Hey, baby,” she called out, not sounding entirely awake herself.

Tatianna was beginning to return the greeting but something caught her attention yet again; that same scent! It was here! But where…and why?

Adore caught the shift in Tatianna’s expression; it was so sudden and such an adorable mixture of confusion and concentration that Adore had to laugh. “Tati, baby,” she asked through her laughter, “what’s with that face?”

Distractedly, Tatianna wandered around the boundaries of the kitchen, sniffing here and there, while giving a vague reply of “I smell something…In the bedroom and bathroom…now here.”

“Breakfast?” Adore offered up, gesturing to the nearly finished food in her pan.

Shaking her head, Tatianna said, “No, not that…it’s like, flowery but not flowers…” She didn’t know just how to explain it, even now she was only catching short bursts of the scent, but it didn’t smell quite natural…no, more like a man-made attempt at a floral scent…in fact, it smelled a bit like- “you!” she exclaimed, finding the scent strongest near her girlfriend.

True, the smell of food covered it up quite a bit but it was definitely originating from Adore!

Puzzled, Adore murmured a soft, “Mm?” and stirred the food in the pan one last time before turning off the heat. Remember her own deviation in routine that morning she recalled, “Oh, yeah. I got some new perfume and wanted to try it out today…Rose. Like it?”

She glanced up to her girlfriend with the brightest, proudest smile…Nothing in the world could convince Tatianna not to return the gesture. Pressing a soft kiss to Adore’s lips, she answered, “Love…you.” Adore pouted. She really thought Tatianna would like the perfume more but oh, well. To each their own.

Tatianna wrapped her arms around Adore’s waist as she began splitting up the pan’s contents between the two plates in front of her. She nuzzled into Adore’s neck, loving the feel of her girlfriend’s body melting into hers, but she couldn’t resist letting one last comment slip out. Pressing another sweet kiss to Adore’s skin, she murmured, “And I’ll love you even if you wanna smell like an old lady every day.”

Snorting, Adore nearly doubled over as she tried to brace herself against the counter. “Well, fuck you, too, bitch,” she laughed out. “I like it though.”

Chapter 2: Biaja

It was about 2 in the afternoon when Raja’s phone began to buzz. Even without looking she already guessed it’d be her girlfriend. Tonight was supposed to be one of their stay-at-home date nights. Every month or so, they picked out a Friday where they would just spend a romantic evening at home, rather than going out to fancy restaurants or even double date with another couple. It was a chance to spend some quality time together, which had gotten a bit more difficult due to hectic work schedules.

‘Heyy!’ came Bianca’s first text. ‘Want me to pick up anything special for tonight?’

Raja smiled to herself. They already had their meal planned out; Raja would pick it up on her way home. Bianca had taken charge of finding dessert and figuring out which new movie release to watch. There didn’t seem to be much else that hadn’t already planned for…except perhaps one thing they both would enjoy.

Opening the text box, Raja quickly typed out ‘Rose’ but after staring at it for a good 10 seconds, it just didn’t look right.

Oh, right , Raja mused to herself, it’s missing the little accent thingy.

Finding the symbol was easy enough in her phone, the trouble was getting it over the ‘e’. No matter how she tried typing it out, the accent would appear as its own character either before or after the ‘e’ but never above. 

How do people do this? she stressed. She’d seen Bianca figure it out before so it can’t be that difficult. Eh, whatever. She knows what I mean.

And with that, she sent off the text to her partner. In less than a minute, Bianca replied back with a simple, ‘👍🏻’. 

Smiling to herself once again, she thought, Yeah, she gets me.

With that minor detail resolved, she returned back to her work, letting her mind drift every so often to how delicious their food was going to be or how much she was looking forward to emptying out that new bottle of wine during the movie.

******

With two oversized takeout bags and her purse in hand, Raja maneuvered the front door open as carefully as she could manage. She had made it only three steps inside before Bianca came rushing from the kitchen to meet her, one hand hidden behind her back. Raja was twisted around, unable to notice the odd behavior at first, and trying to close the door behind her. In the end she found herself having to settle on merely shunting the door closed with her foot and ignoring the loud clash as it met with the doorframe. Shifting back around to face her girlfriend, they shared a brief kiss as Bianca relieved her of one of the bags.

As they parted, a grin present on both of their lips, Bianca greeted her with a rather cheerful, “Hey, how was your day?”

“Great,” Raja replied, already feeling herself beginning to relax after such a long week and returned with an interested, “Yours?”

“Perfect,” Bianca beamed back. Very casually, she added in, “Picked up what you asked for.”

The statement immediately caught Raja’s attention. Perking back up, she questioned expectantly, “Yeah?”

Looking ever so proud of herself, Bianca withdrew the hand she had kept behind her back and presented Raja with a single long-stemmed, light pink rose. Snorting and nearly doubling over with laughter, Raja muttered to herself, “Oh my god.”

“Something wrong?” Bianca asked as her head tilted just slightly. Her brow was slightly furrowed in confusion, making her look utterly adorable in Raja’s eyes.

Through her laughter, Raja managed to explain, “Yes, no- I mean…I was trying to type out rosé and I couldn’t get that little dash thing over the ‘e’. So I just gave up and sent you, well, ‘rose’ instead.”

A look of guilt washed over Bianca’s face as she apologized, “Oh…I’m sorry, honey.”

Wrapping her free arm around Bianca’s waist, Raja pulled her in close and placed a quick peck to her cheek. “Don’t be, it’s my fault,” she assured her partner in a soft, amused voice. “Should’ve just sent a couple of wine emojis.”

“Yeah, that would’ve been much clearer,” Bianca agreed as her trademark smirk reappeared on her lips. Gently pulling away, she grabbed onto Raja’s hand and began leading her towards the kitchen. “Let’s get everything on plates and then we can eat. Dessert’s already laid out and the movie is set up in the living room.”

Raja followed closely behind with an eager grin but found herself stopping just inside the entryway to their kitchen. Laid out on the counter was no less than three bottles of her favorite brand of rosé. All of it was artfully surrounded by even more of those light pink roses and a few carefully scattered petals.

“Oh my god,” Raja gasped, grinning from ear to ear at the sight. Bianca truly does understand her.

Unfortunately that realization and moment of warmth was quickly interrupted by Bianca’s cackling of, “‘Little dash thing’?”

“Shut up!” Raja joked, laughing along with Bianca as they both set their bags onto the counter. “I tried, okay!”

“I’m sure you did, honey,” Bianca teased. “Pull out your phone and I’ll show you again how to do it.”

Retrieving her phone from her purse, Raja complained despite her ever present smile, “Still don’t understand how you figured it out before me.”

“Well, sweetheart,” Bianca mocked, “I might be shallow sometimes, but I’m not a complete idiot, at least not with my phone…or you.”

[laristocratebohemienne]

30 day self-care challenge I’m starting today

I’m starting a self-made 30 day self-care challenge. I will update you on my Snapchat about my journey: @aristocratebabe (well, everyday except day 4, see bellow).

Day 1 - get glamed up and take a hot selfie

Make yourself feel glowed up. Put the nicest outfit on, do your makeup, do your hair and take that selfie. Or find someone to take your photos, even better.

Day 2 - get 8 hours of sleep and wake up by 9 am

As a person who got used to waking up at noon, I feel like I’m done with this. I love nighttime, but I feel so guilty when I wake up late. So join me in this challenge and wake up by 9 am if your sleep schedule is crushed like mine or 1 hour earlier if you already wake up at 9 am. Just make sure to get 9 hours of sleep.

Day 3 - go for a hike/swim/run/speed walk with friend/s

Do some fitness activity outdoors, but make sure to so it with a friend or two. Why? If you’re an overthinker and you want to start taking care of yourself, socializing will help you so much. And also, taking a good workout will help you get the dopamine boost and you’ll get one step closer to your healthier self.

Day 4 - don’t go on social media for a full day

Social media isn’t the root of all evil, but it can be the root of envy and comparison. Today do not check your social media at all. Remember, it’s just one day, you’ll be back at it tomorrow. Tell your friends and family to text you on Whatsapp or other messaging app or simply call you, because you won’t be available on it this particular day. Extra challenge: at the end of a day, journal how you feel without Facebook, insta or tiktok. Is there a difference in your day? What did you do instead of checking SM?

Day 5 - Meditate & visualize

Do this challenge right after your previous challenge. Why? Social media might make you think that you want some things that you actually don’t want. When you visualize your life, you should visualize what YOU want, not what a random person in your hometown wants. This is YOUR life. Live it for yourself. And meditate before you visualize to ground yourself better.

Day 6 - Reach out to someone new in your field

Go to Linkedin or somewhere where professionals you want to be like reside, and reach out to them. Whether is it an e-mail or a Linkedin message. Do this. Tell them you’d like to be in their position once and if they could give you any advice. Try this with someone who seems active online.

Day 7 - Invite someone for coffee with whom you’d really like to meet

Maybe you already know this person, maybe not. But today you will invite someone you’d be wanting to become friends with or simply engage in conversation with. If you already have someone in mind, keep them and do it.

Day 8 - Make dinner for friends or family

Today you will connect better with your friends or family by making a special dinner. Or if you really don’t know how to cook, take them out and put the bill on yourself.

Day 9 - Make a gratitude list

Something easier than a few previous days, but today make a gratitude list. Write down everything you’re grateful for. It can be the birds in the sky or having a home to live in. Or it can be something more, anything you want, write it down!

Day 10 - Ask someone who seems “out of your league” on a date

I’m pretty sure everybody has that someone with whom they’d like to go on a date with. But maybe they are too scared that they are “out of your league”. First of all, if you’re a woman who takes care of herself (and by this day, you really are), no man is out of your league! Same goes for men and everyone else. If you’re taking care of yourself, loving yourself and getting your vibes up, no one is out of your league. Text them!

Day 11 - Read a book with topic that is unfamiliar to you

Knowledge is power. And it really is. Read any book (non-fiction) which is centered around a theme which is quiet unfamiliar to you. For this, I will go for a finance book. Because I definitely need to work on my money management!

Day 12 - Eat super clean

You need a detox. I’m pretty sure. On this day, you have to cut out all processed foods, added salt, sugar or saturated fats. You’re going on a detox. If you’re a smoker, you can’t smoke today. Just one day. I’m a smoker, too, so I completely understand the difficult this challenge might present, but that is what challenges are for.

Day 13 - Share this challenge with a friend or someone you know

Nobody likes to feel alone. You don’t have to keep this challenge a secret, you’re already on day 13. Tell someone you’re doing it and ask them to join you. Tell them how much your life has changed since doing this challenge.

Day 14 - No complaints

“But how am I gonna do this? I’m complaining all the time.” - stop it, sweetie. I know you’re complaining a lot and where did all these complaints lead you to? You were miserable, let’s see what’s gonna happen after this “no complaints” day ends.

Day 15 - Apply for a job position you dream of

I desire to be a model for example. But I have never felt eligible to apply for a modeling job before. I’m sure there’s a job position which you have been dreaming of for a while, but you didn’t even dare to apply. Today, you have to.

Day 16 - Do something creative

Pretend you’re an artist, musician, singer, photographer or other arts professional. Make a music video, take great photos, paint a full picture, write a short story. Today you will explore your artistic abilities.

Day 17 - Visit a place in your town where you usually don’t go

Choose a different coffee shop, place or a restaurant which you usually don’t visit in your area. Explore new places.

Day 18 - Do a brain dump

Write every idea, thought, memory, regret etc. that is on your mind. Get clarity and get inspired.

Day 19 - Track everything you did today

Track every activity you do this day and at which time. This can feel obsessive, but is extremly effective for your time management.

Day 20 - Write down your bucket list

The craziest, most exciting and thrilling things you will achieve in your life will be written here. Write about places you want to go to, activities you want to experience, romantic pleasures, financial goals... this is an extended brain dump.

Day 21 - Flirt with a stranger you find attractive

If this isn’t on your bucket list, i don’t know what is. Maybe you’re dating that person from day 10, if so, flirt with them and make them feel like they’re living in a movie. Dress up nicely, move like a siren, and talk seductively. Find your flirting style this way. Do something similar with an attractive stranger in your grocery store.

Day 22 - Plan your day so the majority of it you spend outside

Try not to stay so much inside your home today. If you’re working or going to school/University, after those, don’t go home. Go to a park, sit by the beach or anywhere to be outside. Invite a collegue with you. Or grab coffee with them. Just try to be outside more than inside today.

Day 23 - Do something out of your comfort zone at work/school/University today

During a lecture, answer to professor’s question or ask him something in front of everyone. At work, think of something you want to do so badly, but didn’t have the guts to make it. Today you have.

Day 24 - Join a class where you can learn a new and valuable skill

Whether it’s a dancing, yoga, improv, digital marketing, language or any other class where you can learn a new skill. Do it. And I know it’s corona happening now, but try to do it where you can be connected with other attendees. If it’s done on Zoom, make sure it’s a public class and nothing private. You want to be around people. This could also mean joining a gym.

Day 25 - Get a tattoo or a piercing you’ve been wanting to have for a long time

It’s important to get out of your comfort zone and make things happen in this self-care challenge. If you’ve been wanting to get a tattoo, but you delayed it because you didn’t know which one, brainstorm today and make an appointment. Same thing for piercing. If you don’t want this, dress the way you have always wanted to dress today. Treat yourself with style of your choice.

Day 26 - Do not use any technology

On day 4, you didn’t use social media, today you won’t be using your phone, laptop, tablet, play station, TV or any other tech device. Be analog and vintage. Let’s see how it goes. Note: announce this to your friends, family, partner.

Day 27 - Plan a country you will absolutely visit in the near future

If corona is stopping you at this, do this the next year. Plan a vacation for a foreign country that you absolutely will visit in the near future. You don’t have to have the whole itinerary planned, but set the date.

Day 28 - Learn an easy dance

Imagine when you go to the next party and show your friends those new moves! Learn some simple dance today, take an hour out of your day and broaden your experience.

Day 29 - Make a vision board

In the past 28 days, you have challenged yourself enough to get the idea of where your life should go. You stepped out of your comfort zone and took care of yourself. Maybe some of these habits remained with you. So today make a vision board. Vision boards are awesome because they help you focus on what lifestyle suits you and your goals. And the more you see it, the more your subconcious will think you already have it, and that is the key to manifesting goals.

Day 30 - Challenge your beliefs

For the last day of this challenge, take initiative and do something yourself. When you wake up today, ask yourself: “if I could do anything today, what would I do?” Find the closest possible solution to that problem and do something different today. Something which is very specific for you situation.

And there they are! My 30-day challenge is done. It’s a mix of self-care, productivity, and social challenges. All essentials for one’s growth and happiness.

Check my Snapchat: @aristocratebabe where I will update my progress!

[spookyrus-writes-sometimes]

Maka Gets a Boyfriend at the End of This Story

Fandom: Soul Eater Characters: Maka, Soul Eater, Black☆Star, Tsubaki Relationships: Spoilers! :P Genre: Humor, Fluff Rating: K+, no warnings Words: 2,635 Date: April 1, 2016 (revised April 15, 2020) AO3 | DA | FF

It was a fine summer's day in Death City, Nevada. Birds were singing, the sun was laughing, and Scythe Meister Maka Albarn was sitting in her apartment instead of enjoying the nice weather. On a day like today, most students of the Death Weapon Meister Academy would be out and about, playing games or hanging with friends.

But not Maka.

Maka would rather be sitting in the comfort of her home, book in hand and air conditioning roaring.

"Maka," groaned Demon Scythe Soul Eater from the kitchen, "if you're gonna stay inside all day, the least you could do is make some food."

"Make your own food," Maka retorted. "I'm reading."

"You're always reading," said Soul Eater, leaning in the door frame to the living room. "The only thing you ever do is read. Why don't you get up and actually do something with your life?"

"I am doing something with my life," said Maka. "I'm nourishing my brain with literature."

"That's the stupidest excuse I've ever heard," Soul scoffed through gritted teeth. "Now go outside."

"No."

"I'm not even asking you to stop reading. I'm just asking you to read outside."

"No," Maka repeated adamantly. "It's too hot. There's AC in here."

"Ugh... You're such a pain."

Soul Eater scratched his chin thoughtfully. Surely, there must have been some way to convince his meister to get up and about. Just a little push, some sort of motivation to do anything other than all this nothing. But what could it be? Then, Soul Eater got an idea. A horrible, awful, downright moronic idea.

"Maka," said Soul Eater, a glint in his eye, "do you know what you need?"

"My own apartment?" Maka replied snottily.

Soul shook his head. "No," he chuckled, grinning a twisted grin. "A boyfriend."

Immediately Maka's head shot up, her eyes bugging out of her face. "What did you just say?"

"You need a boyfriend," Soul Eater repeated, "and I'm going to get you one."

Laughing sarcastically, Maka slammed her book shut and set it on the couch beside her. "Um, no," she said, "that is not happening. I am not getting a boyfriend, much less one that you suggest."

"Aw, that's adorable," Soul Eater snickered. "You think you have a choice."

He then forcefully lifted her over his shoulder and carried her out the door. She screamed the whole way.

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On the streets of Death City at the height of noon, Soul Eater taped a hastily thrown-together flyer to a lamp post. Said flyer depicted an unflattering school photograph of Maka and pencil-written advertisements saying that she was single. All the while, Soul Eater cackled maniacally, only encouraged by his meister's protests. "Soul Eater!" Maka exclaimed. "Stop that right now! You've made your point!" She held her arms open to the beaming sun, shouting, "O great sun, how beautiful art thou?!" then swung back around. "Can we go home now?!" "Nope!" replied Soul Eater. "Not until we've found you the perfect guy." "I don't need a boyfriend!" Maka roared. "I don't want a boyfriend! What part of this are you not understanding?!" "The part where you sit inside with your nose in a book on perfectly nice days like today." "But it's scorching!" It didn't take long for the flyer to start attracting attention. Unfortunately, this wasn't the kind of attention Soul Eater had been hoping for. "What the heck is this?" queried Shadow Meister Black Star, pawing the flyer as he looked it over. With a hearty laugh, he said, "You're seriously trying to get Maka a boyfriend?! What kind of guy would want to date Maka?!" "Now, Black Star," said Shadow Weapon Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, "I'm sure you don't mean that..." "I totally mean it!" Black Star asserted. "I say what I mean and I mean what I say! And I mean it when I say that no guy in his right mind would ever want to date Maka Albarn!" Tsubaki sighed. "Even if you do mean it, that doesn't mean you should say things like that about our friend..." "No, he's right." Some confused stares turned to Maka. "No guy in his right mind would ever want to date me," she declared, "because I am undesirable. We should just give up and go home, because this will go nowhere and we are all wasting our time." "Wow, seriously?" questioned Black Star. "I was trying to insult you." "I get the feeling that Maka isn't doing this by choice," Tsubaki observed. "Nope, but this is for her own good," said Soul Eater. "I am not unlocking the door to our apartment until she is happy in somebody's arms." "Then why don't you be her boyfriend?" asked Black Star. "Ew, no," said Soul and Maka in unison. "Besides," Maka growled, "he's part of the problem." "Well, what about Death the Kid?" Black Star suggested. "He's smart, a good meister, and a total snob. Just like Maka." "I'm right here!" Maka shouted, and Black Star reveled in the glory of a successful blow. "He does seem up your alley, Maka," Soul Eater concurred. "I'm not interested in Kid," Maka huffed, "or any guy. Besides, likes repel, and I don't think I could stand to listen to another one of his symmetry rants." Somewhere, Death the Kid pauses in the middle of one of his hourly symmetry rants to his weapon partners. "What's the matter?" asks Liz. "Someone is talking about me," replies Death the Kid. "Someone... unsymmetrical..." "If Maka doesn't want a boyfriend, she shouldn't be forced to have one," said Tsubaki. "It's her choice to make, not Soul Eater's." "Yes, thank you!" Maka cried. "You're just saying that to defend her," said Black Star, "and the fact that she is completely undateable." "That's not true!" Tsubaki exclaimed. "Maka has plenty of desirable traits! She's smart, nice, a talented meister... But if she doesn't want to date, she doesn't have to." "Well, she's gonna have to be dateable," said Soul Eater, "because she's getting a date, whether she likes it or not." "Did you hear a word I just said...?" "Hey, what's going on over here?" The group turned to see two new arrivals, Lamp Meister Kim Diehl and her partner Demon Lantern Jacqueline O'Lantern Dupré, checking out the Maka poster. "Maka needs a date?" Jackie questioned. "Looks like," replied Kim, "but why?" "Because she needs to step out and smell the roses for once in her life," said Soul Eater, attracting the girls' attention. "Do you guys have any ideas?" inquired Black Star. "'Cuz we're drawing a blank, and she's being stubborn." "I'm being stubborn because this is stupid!" "I can't think of anybody off the top of my head," said Jackie. "I can," said Kim. "How about Ox Ford?" "What?!" Maka wasn't the only person who said that. At the same time, Lightning King Ox Ford stumbled out from his hiding place behind the nearest building. "What were you doing there?!" Kim shrieked. "Certainly not following you around the city in case of any opportunity to be your knight in shining armor, that's for sure!" Ox Ford replied nervously, and Kim gave an exasperated sigh. "But really, I'm insulted that you think I would even consider going out with Maka Albarn! I am very out of her league, and I have no interest in someone such as her!" "Good!" Maka spat. "I have no interest in someone such as you!" "Sounds like we're running out of options," whispered Soul Eater to Black Star. "Yeah, Maka may be undesirable, but she can't be completely hopeless," whispered Black Star to Soul Eater. "There's got to be somebody who'd be willing to go out with her. Like, maybe if we could blackmail them..." Maka's eye twitched. "Ox, may I take a look at your school supplies?" "Of course," replied Ox Ford. "I don't go anywhere without bringing school with me." Ox held his book bag open for Maka, who retrieved a hefty textbook on soul science, hardcover. She slammed it spine-first into Soul Eater's head. He crashed into Black Star and they both hit the ground. Maka handed the book back to Ox and expressed her gratitude. "Ow," said Soul Eater. "Hey, I know!" Black Star exclaimed, prying his face off of the pavement. "That hit to the head gave my brain the jump start it needed to come up with an idea!" "Shoot." "Let's set her up on a blind date!" Black Star suggested. "That way the guy doesn't have to know who he's dating! It's the perfect plan!" "Are we sure this is a good idea...?" Tsubaki questioned. "No," Maka grunted, "no we aren't." "Hey, I know the perfect guy, too!" Kim added. "He won't suspect a thing!" "Oh my god," Jackie chuckled, "I think I know who you're talking about." "Just as long as he's decent," said Soul Eater. "I don't want some grungy jerk talking up my meister." Kim assured, "Don't worry about that. He's probably a better person than Maka." "You all keep talking about me like I'm not right here!" "Alright, then it's settled!" Black Star declared. "Tonight, we commence Operation Get Maka A Boyfriend! YAHOO!!" While Soul and Kim cheered, Maka buried her face in her hands, and Tsubaki patted her on the back solemnly. "My life is over."

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That night, Maka found herself in a make-shift restaurant, this being Black Star and Tsubaki's dining room with a sheet draped over the table and some candles set about to solidify the "romantic" atmosphere. She hadn't bothered changing out of her attire from earlier, mostly because Soul Eater still wouldn't let her into their apartment, but also because she didn't care. She was sitting across from Pot Meister Kilik Rung, who was dressed in a messy bow tie over his street clothes. He looked even less comfortable than Maka did. Pot of Fire was playing a peaceful tune on a little violin while Pot of Thunder pretended to take the "happy couple's" order, wearing a fake curly mustache. "So," asked Maka dully, "how did Kim drag you into this?" "She threatened to text my grade school photos to the entire academy..." Kilik sighed. Black Star strutted into the room, carrying two plates and wearing a mustache similar to Thunder's. "Dinner is served," he said in a crude Italian accent before darting back to watch the chaos unfold with the others. On each plate was a ham sandwich. Literally just a piece of ham between two slices of white bread. Maka rolled her eyes. "Look, Kilik. I appreciate the effort, but I'm just not interested." "Oh, good." Kilik sighed with relief. "You said it first." "Does this mean you're not gonna make out?" Black Star called from the other room. "This isn't going to work, guys!" said Maka. "Just shut it down already!" "You heard her," came Tsubaki's voice, which was met with groans of disappointment. The lights came up, and Black Star, Tsubaki, Soul Eater, Kim, Jackie, and Ox Ford stepped into the dining room. Ox looked like he wasn't completely sure what he was doing there. "Aw, man!" Kim complained. "I was so sure that would work." "Maybe Maka really is hopeless," Soul Eater lamented. "Or maybe I just don't want a boyfriend!" Kilik glanced around awkwardly. "So, uh... can we go, or...?" "Rome wasn't built in a day," said Jackie, "and love can't be made in one." "There has to be some other way!" said Black Star determinedly. "Maybe we can sign her up for a dating website or something." "My cousin met her husband on a dating website," said Ox Ford. "That might work, actually..." said Soul Eater. Tsubaki cast a nervous glance to Maka, whose body was tensing and teeth were grinding. "We might have to get creative with the profile, though." "Maybe we could say that she's foreign. How good is her Russian accent?" "Does she have any talents other than reading?" "I'm gay!" A string on Fire's violin sprung. The room instantly fell silent. "What did you say?" Soul Eater questioned. "I'm gay," Maka repeated, now standing, her chair knocked over. "I like girls, okay?" She tidied her outfit, face flushed, before continuing, "I didn't want to tell you because I figured you'd make fun of me, since you're always looking for new material." Black Star scratched behind his ear. "But you didn't give me much of a choice there... and I guess you had to find out eventually." For a few seconds, nobody said anything. Kim and Jackie exchanged glances, and Kilik sat obediently for fear of what was coming next. "Seriously...?" Black Star eventually spoke. Maka scowled back at him. "What?" Black Star chuckled, catching Maka off guard. "You thought we would make fun of you for that?" He burst out laughing, on the verge of hysterics. "You're kidding! Why would we make fun of you because you're gay? That's just mean!" He elbowed Tsubaki in the ribs, and she squeaked. "Tsubaki's gay, too!" "You didn't need to tell everyone that..." Tsubaki whimpered, covering her face. "Yeah, half of my friends are lesbians!" Kim added. "That's nothing to be ashamed of." "Though I can't say I blame you," said Ox Ford, "for thinking Soul Eater and Black Star would use that as another excuse to harass you." Maka's expression softened. "I... didn't think you would all be so supportive." "Why wouldn't we be?" said Jackie. "It doesn't make you any different from the rest of us," said Kilik. Fire and Thunder each gave a thumbs-up of approval. Soul Eater approached Maka, and she eyed him skeptically. "I wish you would have told me sooner," said the weapon. "Why's that?" asked the meister. Soul Eater flashed a toothy grin. "Because then I could have advertised you for a girlfriend instead." Maka roared her frustrations, swatted at the howling Soul Eater and started towards the door. "Oh, come on!" Soul Eater cried. "We make fun of you and you get mad, we don't make fun of you and you still get mad, what do you want from us?!" Maka grumbled when she realized the door was locked, and Tsubaki walked to stand beside her. As she slid the key into the lock, she whispered, "If you want, I could take you out to lunch tomorrow. To make up for... all of this." Maka ran her fingers through her hair, cheeks slightly pink. "Uh, yeah," she replied. "I'd like that." Soul Eater and Black Star looked to each other curiously.

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It was another fine day in Death City, Nevada. Flowers were blooming, the sun was snoring, and Scythe Meister Maka Albarn, as usual, had her nose stuck in a book. However, this time she had her nose stuck in a book outside on a park bench. As the boys played basketball on the court before them, Tsubaki sat down beside Maka. "What are you reading?" she inquired. "Oh, it's just a book that my papa got me," the meister replied. "It's called Boyfriend, and it's about this passive girl who has a really sweet boyfriend, but realizes she doesn't feel the same way about him and doesn't know how to turn him down. In this chapter she goes to her best friend..." As Maka went on, Tsubaki smiled and nodded, listening intently to the summary. On the court, Soul Eater and Black Star paused their game to observe their partners. "Well, it didn't go according to plan," said Black Star, "but you got her to come outside, right?" "Yeah." Soul Eater nodded. He watched Maka further explain her reading, sitting close to Tsubaki and smiling brightly. "She seems happy. That's what's important." He turned back to Black Star, and with a smirk, he added, "But I'm never letting her forget that I was totally right about her needing to get out more." THE END

[msftbts]

Hiya! Can I please request an BTS OT7 x American female reader imagine where they are all in a relationship and they ask the y/n to move into the dorm with them (that fancy one BTS just moved into haha), she says yes of course + BTS being super romantic and soft + lots of hugs, cuddles, and kisses!

Aaaahh, this was such a cute idea, thank you for it! Sorry that it took me so long to write it, but I hope I did your vision any justice. I loved writing this!!

Themes: Fluffy fluff fluff to the point where its kinda headass, sry

Thousand kisses

“Have I done something wrong?”

You felt nervous under the gazes of these seven men. Sure, those gazes were familiar, you had seen them many many times before, but there was a sense of uncertainty in them.

“Oh, love”, you felt Hoseok rub you in comfort from the seat at the couch right next to you. “Always so clueless”.

You’ve had another average day of hanging out at BigHit’s building with your seven boyfriends. When Jin called you over, you didn’t know there was a back up thought. When they all kept looking at the clock on the wall during their dance practise, you felt like they were all waiting for something. Maybe they were all just exceptionally tired. It wasn’t anything new, but as soon as the clock hit 6pm they practically jumped to stop the music and to gather their bags and to go hang out at the lounge, next to the cafeteria. You grabbed Taehyung’s arm when they were all rushing out of the room. He didn’t give you that usual reassuring smile, the one that told you that he was happy about you showing affection. After all, it wasn’t easy to start a relationship with anyone, let alone seven men. It took you awhile to get used to giving love and affection towards every single one, and in front of the others.

How did you end up in a polyamorous relationship then? You had been working at BigHit’s cafeteria as a barista as an intern for a while. It wasn’t anything as dreamy as one would expect, you didn’t only get to serve idol’s their daily doses of caffeine and a snack of their choosing, because you mostly served other staff workers working in the huge building. When you did get to get a peek at the idols they were usually barging in in a hurry, eager to get something to go. Regardless of that, it was always still pleasant to meet them. They made sure to make you feel special, and at first you thought it was just something they did to everyone, but when your coworker started being curious about the notes building up behind the counter she asked about them. You shrugged it off as nothing, but she didn’t let you off the hook just like that. “They wouldn’t write “Your smile brightens up my day” or “That apron looks adorable on you” for fun. Y/N, they’re straight up flirting with you”, she said folding her arms across her chest. You started thinking about it more after that, and started making mental notes about the way they behaved around you, those occasional winks and lip bites started to have an effect on you. It didn’t take long until one of them was brave enough to ask you for your number, not in any average style, but by asking you to give your number in case they needed that coffee on a run, so they can text you and you’d make it before they come pick it up. It’s safe to say that he never texted about the coffee, rather asked you for a date.

After a few dates with Jungkook, he introduced you to the other boys, who were just as eager to meet you. A night at a private restaurant, fueled by lots of wine ended up in every single one of them confessing their feelings to you. It took you by utter shock, and you were sure that Jungkook was going to be mad at his hyungs for liking the girl he had been seeing for awhile, but to shock you even more, he knew about it already and was completely fine about it. At first you couldn’t do anything but laugh about the situation, how could it be that once you finally started seeing a boy you felt actually attracted to, six just as enticing men would basically offer themselves to you. “I should just date all of you instead”, you threw as a joke, when they expected you to make some sort of decision on who you’d pick. When none of them laughed, you picked your head up from your wine glass to scan their expressions. They were looking at each other with their eyebrows quirked up, almost hilarious how their faces were painted with identical expressions. “That’s…actually not a bad idea”, Namjoon started as the others nodded. “Wait, are you serious?” You asked, dumbfound. “I mean, I’d be down for that”, Jimin said.

After reading and talking about it together, you came across the term “Polyamory”, which basically meant a romantic relationship between three or more partners. Never would you have thought to date two people at the same time, yet alone seven. The thought was a bit complex and scary at first, but you quickly came up with an agreement on how all of you will feel the most comfortable doing it. Basically you would get to date all of them, they weren’t sure at first if they wanted to show romantic affection towards each other, but quickly adjusted to the idea of it and they got much more comfortable around each other. It wasn’t too often that they would kiss each other or go any further than that with their affection, but there was cuddling and closure. It helped, that their friendship was so strong bounded before, so the shift from being seven best friends to being boyfriends wasn’t so huge. You also made an agreement on having date nights with each of the boys at certain days of the month. They never failed to be the highlights of your month, but getting to be together with the whole group was even better. It was just kind of rare, since all of you were often busy. You had a full time job at the cafeteria, and they had their idol duties to keep up with. It wasn’t the same when you weren’t around, so they tried their best to invite you when they knew you had your time off. Just like they did today.

“We have been thinking about this relationship”, Taehyung started and looked at the others for reassurance seated all around you. “Are you ending this? Are you guys not ready for a polyamorous relationship?” You panicked. Taehyung chuckled and rubbed your knee. “No kitten, we actually want to take things on a new level”, Yoongi said from across you. “Are we adding a ninth person to the relationship? Is that what you want?” You hesitated. Now all of them were laughing or burying their faces into their hands. “Love, we want you to move in with us”, Hoseok said from beside you. Your face immediately brightened up. “Really? Is that it?” You asked, face practically beaming. “Yes, we have a spare bedroom at our dorms, it’s all ready for you”, Jungkook said. “I don’t want that”, you said while a pout fell over your lips. They all became worried in an instant. “I don’t want to sleep alone, I want to sleep with you guys”, you continued. Relief passed over them. “Oh bird, we can make that happen. You can choose who you want to sleep with every night”, Jin said from his place at the couch. A smile painted your face once again. “Okay”, you said. “Okay?” Yoongi asked. “Let’s do it!”

It didn’t take a lot of time to gather all of your stuff from your shared apartment with your roommate. You didn’t need much, since everything was basically already there, so you could leave all of your furniture at your old house. All of your personal gatherings fitted into two suitcases, that you now held by your sides at the lobby of the huge house that the boys called a dorm. “Is she here?” You heard someone whisper from behind the corner as Jungkook and Namjoon stepped inside after you, they had helped you at your apartment. “Uh, I’m home!” You yelled, as if to test out what habits you will soon adapt. You heard footsteps approaching your place at the lobby. Soon Jimin walked in, holding a banner with “Welcome home” written on it, Taehyung with a basket in his hands and all the rest followed after. “Welcome home!” Hoseok shrieked with excitement, expecting all the others to join in, but was followed with nothing but quietness. “Woah, thanks guys, but you didn’t have to”, you responded after taking in the view for awhile. They were so cute, the basket was filled with goodies from bottles of wine to shower gels and personalized set of towels and a bathrobe. “We bought you this”, Taehyung said as he stepped forward to hand you the basket. You pouted as you accepted it, feeling overwhelmed that they’d go the extra mile for you. “And uh, I baked a cake”, Jin suddenly said. You swallowed as you felt a lump of emotions form in your throat. Tears swelled at the corners of your eyes as your pouting lip intensified. “I-I don’t deserve you guys”, you said placing the basket down and running in to give all of them a big hug. Jungkook and Namjoon joined from behind you. “Yes you do, and you better get used to it. You’re now going to live with us and this is how it’s going to be”, Jin said. “You’re our baby”, Hoseok chimed in. You stepped away from the hug to wipe the tears from your eyes. “It’s just, I’ve never felt so at home as I do right now. I really do feel like I belong here”, you said. “Yes you do, and you’re not getting away”, Jimin said as he hugged you and pressed his lips on your forehead. The rest of the night you spent together in their living room, eating the cake Jin had prepared and cuddling on the long couch, talking about the past and your first dates with everyone.

The sun peeked through the blinds, and it took you a moment to memorize where you were. It wasn’t the familiar small bedroom that you were used to anymore. It was Taehyung’s king-sized bed in his bedroom, and his warm arms wrapped around your body. “Good morning sunshine”, he said as he snuggled his head against your neck and pressed a soft kiss against it. “Morning”, you said and turned to face him. “When did I even fall asleep?” You asked while running your hand through his ruffled bed head. “Oh baby, you don’t remember?” He chuckled with his morning voice. You shook your head. “Jin told you to put that glass of wine down, you had drank much more than anybody else. You insisted and gulped it down all at once, before Yoongi could reach the glass off your hands. Then it took you like ten minutes before you were almost passing out on my lap and I asked if you should go to sleep, you muttered something about wanting to sleep with me so I carried you to my bed. Hope you don’t mind”, he explained the whole story. “No wonder my head is pounding”, you scoffed. “Let’s go get you some Tylenol for that”, he said before diving his lips on yours. You grabbed his hand once he got up and he pulled you up after him. You waddled after him into the kitchen, still being unable to navigate through the huge house. “Oh precious, you’re alive”, Hoseok ran to you. “What, did you think that Tae would murder me in my sleep or something?” You teased him as he rubbed your head playfully while his other arm wrapped around you. “Not Taehyung, but that alcohol yes”, he responded and you sighed: “Don’t remind me”. Jimin giggled from his spot at the table, where he was eating cereal. “You surely were cute last night, you kept talking about how hard it is sometimes for you for loving so many beautiful men”, he said. “We tried to ask you who you loved the most, but it almost brought you to tears, because apparently it was too hard to choose”, Jin popped in. “Embarrassing”, You muttered as Taehyung handed over a glass of water. You drank it down with the pill he handed to you. “Where’s my morning kisses”, a voice echoed all the way from the lobby where Namjoon just came in from getting the mail. You didn’t react to it, before Jimin playfully tugged your side as he put the empty bowl into the dishwasher. “He’s talking about you”, he said. Your eyebrows quirked up as you realized it, and you quickly ran into the lobby. As Namjoon saw you bolting in, he opened his arms and gave you the warmest hug before kissing your lips time after time. Yoongi had woken up and was now making his way into the kitchen and he happened to pass by you two. “Well, good morning to you too”, he muttered as he scratched his arm sleepily. You turned to him and walked over to him, to pull him in for a kiss too. “Sorry baby, I didn’t notice you there”, you said. “Don’t worry, kitten” he said before returning you a deeper kiss. Once all of you got into the kitchen, Jin had cooked all of you a table full of breakfast. “Sit down bird, we’ll have breakfast together”, he said as he pulled one of the chairs from under the table for you to sit on it. As you sat down he kissed the top of your head. “Ugh”, you slumped down onto the chair, feeling exhausted. “What is it, Y/N?” Jungkook asked. “How many kisses do I have to give and receive on a daily basis?” You asked with a dramatic sigh. “A thousand kisses, and it’s only the morning”, Hoseok laughed from beside you

[servicedapartments-thesquare]

10 Must-See Attractions in New York in 2020

New York City is the largest city in the United States, which I know that you already know. It is undoubtedly one of the most popular tourist attractions across the world. While it celebrates having some of the best museums and parks within its borders, it also boasts of welcoming over 65 million tourists every year. While it is an undeniable fact that Brooklyn Bridge, Empire State Building, High Line are some of the most iconic sites to visit in New York City, it is also true that a lot of bloggers and vloggers have told you that already. Then let's explore the ones which are not only iconic but also have the potential to thoroughly engage you for at least half a day at a stretch.

Here is a crisp list of the top 10 attractions in NYC that offer a combined experience at large. I believe that if a place is being added to your itinerary, it must be able to justify itself with a holistic experience to offer, at least I pick my places based on this. My tip would be to go through some furnished serviced apartments in New York around your places of interest to make the massive itinerary look less daunting. What I can promise is that from food to historic places, museums to gardens, you will find everything in my handpicked list of New York must-see attractions for you. 

My top 10 recommendations here include:

Times Square

Over 50 million people are attracted to the gorgeous NYC every year just to see this bright place. With flashing massive billboards, neon lights, and so many pedestrians adorning the place, Times Square is the host of some of the most fascinating experiences in the country. Being the Broadway hub of the world-famous Theater District, you can always hop from one theatre to another with over 3 dozen theatres to choose from. 

From international musicals to Hollywood stars, someone or the other can be spotted on the iconic billboards. The New Year's craze here is no secret so it surely becomes something to experience once in a lifetime. With food and shopping filling up the place already stuffed with crowds from all over the world, this is a fantastic place to start your NYC trip with. Head to TKTS for same-day discounted tickets and spare your first night in the city for this iconic attraction.

 2. Central Park

It is one of the finest representatives of the city as tourists across the globe recognize NYC by this magnificent public park. You can enjoy a picnic, a run, or go boating at Central Park Lake. It is also a very popular site for proposals. From Yoga classes, Summer Fests, Marathons, Central Park Zoo to horse and carriage rides, this attraction offers an entire package to make it a memorable visit. Isn't that fascinating? While all of us have excitedly spotted it in movies like The Avengers and Home Alone 2, it is also a fact that Central Park is the most filmed location across the globe. Beat that! 

Apart from the quirky sculptures adorning the park, like that of Alice, there is a massive bedrock that claims of using more gunpowder in its formation than the Battle of Gettysburg. While the beautiful trees and the lush waters and greenery give you enough reasons to come here, there is one unique thing that makes it an irresistible attraction. It might cost you a bomb but you can adopt a bench right within the premises of the park and get a message written on it forever. If you wish to make this moment eternal, go on and seal it on the bench! 

 3. Met Museum

With a legacy of a whopping 150 years, the Metropolitan Museum of Art or the Met Museum is the largest in the U.S. when it comes to art museums. With multiple locations, it bagged the 4th position in the most-visited art museums globally in 2019. With such a celebrated legacy it is worthy of being the 3rd on my list of New York must-see attractions. While it is a great place to come with kids, it is no less than heaven for art enthusiasts and historians. Immerse in Byzantine to African, Islamic to Asian artworks from different periods. With millions of art pieces and handicrafts exhibited under 17 separate sections inside the museum, your dose for art, history, and knowledge is well-covered. 

The grandeur of this regal paradise of art right in the heart of NYC surely impressed me beyond measures. I might get biased here but the Islamic art really stood out for me because of the intricate patterns that reminded me of the famous blue pottery. Do share your reviews when you are back.

 4. Williamsburg

If there is a hip and trendy area in the city, it has to be Williamsburg. With so much to do here, it surely becomes one of the New York must-see areas with an Instagram-worthy street art beautifying the entire area. It offers a mix of flea markets, art markets, and a surprising bird market within its premises. You can always visit this part of Manhattan to shop vintage like a tourist from the antique market or shop like an elite from the high-end boutiques here. What makes it appealing and worth seeing is its setting right along the East River of Manhattan. Walking along and exploring the bustling and vibrant area is quite an experience to capture.

While the hotels might cost you a bomb here, you can choose the neighboring areas to stay. Thanks to the smooth availability of public transport here, travel is the last thing you should be worried about. The iconic restaurants and cocktail bars like The Four Horsemen and Night of Joy are at proximity while the Domino Park with its poppy street art can be easily accessed as well. With so much to see, experience, capture, and immerse in, Williamsburg is a worthy attraction to visit when in New York City. 

 5. Lincoln Center

New York is known for its plethora of theatres, isn't it? If that has attracted you to this massive city, Lincoln Center has to be a New York attraction you must-see. A posh multi-venue complex of performative arts which is no less than a dream for artists. With a whopping 24 theatres squeezed within its premises, the Lincoln Center offers an artistic visual experience that will probably stay with you for the rest of your life. Apart from the Film Center and the Juilliard School, it is also home to a part of the NY Public Library. While all these come quite later in the list of New York must-see, there are the New York City Ballet and the Metropolitan Opera to share the first position of iconic performances which you simply cannot miss. 

The fortress-like plaza, the arched regal entrances, and the Swarovski-laden chandeliers make it a very high-end experience to be here. The crystal-like fountain area inside has been quite a popular spot to get clicked while the Marc Chagall paintings sum up your visual treat in the heart of NYC. I hope you get to make the most of all the bling of the area right near this 16.3-acre piece of absolute delight. Don't forget to take your camera here. 

 6. Museum of Modern Art

If you are an art fanatic or you are traveling with kids, MoMa is the ultimate attraction to check out. From Van Gogh to individual artists, electronic media to installations, this is an absolute storehouse of contemporary art. It is a great place to study the movement of art from then to now and how its perception has been changing with every passing year. From gift shops to cafes and even a garden full of sculptures, this is surely going to be a hit sight on the upcoming trip to NYC.

Sitting majestically on 53rd Street, it becomes one of the most convenient attractions to live around. Thanks to the popularity of this museum, Midtown becomes quite a fun neighborhood to live around with so much to eat and explore. No wonder it is trending on so many New York must-see lists.

 7. Grand Central Terminal

Another Midtown beauty is the iconic Grand Central Terminal. It sure is a transportation hub being a commuter rail terminal but it is so much more than just that. This majestically built piece of architecture has done quite a few cameos in films. It is a hub of culture with so many restaurants studded within the premises. From corporate meetings to romantic brunches, this historic place has something for every mood. By the looks of it, it looks no less than a majestic hall made with the utmost skill, you can eat, shop, and observe the details of the interiors before you board the train. 

Do check out the Whispering Gallery here which is known to transmit whispers made at one end to the other. Without an external medium accommodating the transmit, it becomes quite fascinating for tourists. If you are traveling with your partner, this is a globally popular site to propose to the love of your life. Isn't that beautiful? 

 8. Harlem

A cultural and dining hub with the world-renowned Apollo Theatre and the magic of celebrity Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s hands. Head to Harlem to get your share of knowledge about the African American history and culture at the Harlem institution. It not only offers the theory aspect of it but also takes you a step closer to the food, art, and craft of Africans and their legacy at large.

I found a cozy abode in Manhattan’s Harlem neighborhood because of how impressed I was with the cultural vibe here. Enjoy the intimate jazz clubs, stylish bars, exciting nightlife and so much right around your home. Among the other New York must-see places, don't miss the Malcolm Shabazz Harlem Market which is just a hop from your stay here. 

 9. American Museum of Natural History

Located on Central Park West is another fascinating museum of NYC. When it comes to New York must-see attractions, museums clearly dominate the list. This is one such museum that has so much to offer in terms of historic remains, facts, visual experiences, and overall memory of the legacy of life. Explore the depths of nature, its several habitats, and the world at large at this magnificent wonder. Bring your kids along as it is an absolute gem to tap on your fantasies of outer space and the Universe.

While the NYC institution showcases the snippets and development of the human cultures across the globe, expect to see massive dinosaur skeletons, live performances, tours, and so much more. It will be a great idea to explore the surrounding area at your own pace and not rush through Manhattan because of an overstuffed itinerary.

 10. Statue of Liberty

Probably the first New York must-see attraction that comes to all minds alike. A global freedom symbol still stands proudly at a height of 153 feet, even after 134 years of legacy. Seeing one of the greatest global icons ever built is surely one of the most memorable images that you will take back with you. What better attraction to end the list with. Battery Park sitting on Manhattan's southern tip offers a clear view of it.

It is the whole experience of watching it up close that counts, boats trips and ferries are available to Liberty Islands which makes the experience even more fascinating. You can always squeeze more New York must-see places like the Immigration Museum on your way to the statue.

I genuinely hope that my firsthand set of recommendations of New York must-see attractions for your trip have already got you excited.  I assure you that the hip city of New York will make sure that your stay is equally delightful here.

[horlxgerie]

it’s probably valentine’s day somewhere? // accepting! @mahotoai

Sugar - What’s a term of endearment your OC enjoys being called? What term would they use for a friend and/or partner?

Theo loves soft-sounding terms of endearment the most, like sweetie, sweetheart, honey, sugar, lovely, or anything that could have to do with flowers. While they’re not quite as common, a lover calling her something along the lines of my rose, my lily, my (insert favourite flower here) would make her very happy --- she just thinks they sound adorable. Just as well, she would enjoy being given a cute petname in her lover’s native language, the same she’s likely to do for them. Theo gives nicknames in French, often enough adding the sign to it for the emphasis. She is unlikely to give nicknames to friends, however, but she will do so with her child(ren). Petnames are good in a romantic relationship & between members of the same family, but between friends, strangers, colleagues? Not so much.

Spice - How does your OC flirt with someone they’re interested in? How often does it work?

Theo is awkward at flirting, as she has the bad habit to get instantaneous crushes & then doesn’t know what to do with herself. That nervousness asides, she happens to be mostly straightforward in how she tries to hit on the pretty girls that make her weak in the knees, often by discussing with them, paying attention to their interests, being curious about their work... the first step is to get to know each other, & after that they can go for coffee or talk about a date that’s more suited to what both have in mind. She likes little doses of romantic in how she flirts. Have some mystery, taking her time, small gifts to see the other smile, flowers, you name it.

Everything Nice - Does your OC have lots of friends? Who is their closest friend?

She’s not someone who needs a large social circle to be happy & fulfilled. Theo is mostly one for casual friendships, keeping in touch with the people attending the same painting classes as her, going for a coffee & some sweets with colleagues after work, a brief chat with the clerk at the grocery store, & then recharging her batteries at home with her plants, her drawings, & her birds. It gives her a sense of satisfaction she’s long come to stop feeling guilty about. As of such, she does not really have a closest friend. On blog, she knows Scarlet very well, but the relationship between the two has become quite strained, to put it mildly.

Cupid - What does your OC look for in a partner? What about a friend?

She’s looking for happiness. That’s very much as simple as that --- Theo is looking for someone she can be happy with, who will add something to her life without taking anything out of it, someone to share laughs & smiles with, to kiss goodnight & good morning, a woman with similar interests to go on dates at the botanical gardens together, as well as different interests to learn new things while they’re together. Theo wishes for a genuine, uncomplicated love, the kind of love that’s sitting on the porch in the morning, with mugs full of coffee, watching the sun rising, talking about what the day will bring. Peaceful, quiet, happy. The Everything Nice point answers more of what Theo looks for in a friend. It’s something more casual, you could say, but honesty is a very big part of what she’s asking from her friends. It’s your fault, Scarlet.

Secret Admirer - Which OC from someone else’s WIP do you ship with one of your OCs?

I haven’t (seriously) shipped Theo that much yet, mostly because I haven’t plotted anything that could bring to her developing romantic feelings, so you can blame it on me. 

Rose - What is your OC’s sexuality?

Theo’s gay. She’s a lesbian. She likes girls.

Whisper - What’s a secret your OC is keeping from someone they love?

She usually keeps very quiet about the fact she’s from a whole different realm. Sure, it’s difficult to come up with convincing lies when she has three prosthetic limbs that are clearly not made with the technology of wherever she ends up at, but in gods’ forgotten names, she can & will try to not answer these questions so long as she can. The other secret Theo keeps is how bad she is at cooking. That’s why she never invites a potential date at her place for a homely dinner. Restaurants are so much better for her reputation.

Lace - What does your OC find most attractive in their partner(s)?

Theo finds calm to be the most attractive thing a potential partner can bring to her life, & one of the best quality to have. Someone who is calm, who can bring calmness to her life, a certain sense of tranquility --- that’s incredibly alluring, & if she’s not limiting herself to such personality traits, she’s still finding the ability to stay level-headed, not too all-over-the-place to be a very good thing to have going in your life when you’re searching for some quiet happiness. She’s also very much into girls who are taller than her, but that’s a detail, so keep it secret & keep it to yourself!

Valentine’s Card - How does one win your OC over? What’s the fastest way to their heart?

There aren’t any magic potions to win Theo’s heart or any special spells. It takes time, trust, a number of dates, & a feeling of fulfillment before it can be declared a long, steady, more than likely harmonious relationship. But the fastest way to win her favors, is still probably to allow the relationship to grow & see what time will bring to it. Theo doesn’t have as much time left as she used to, but rushing things will never be how she goes around to appreciate life.

[emilyplaysotome]

Part 41 - Just the Two of Us

Down the Voltage Rabbit Hole is an ongoing story about our MC, who could easily be anyone in voltage fandom. She woke up in hospital bed only to discover that she’d somehow been transported Voltage universe.

This story is ongoing, so if you missed a part, or are new to the story, please use the link to the masterpost below to catch yourself up:

https://tinyurl.com/k4rrxna

Part 41 - Just the Two of Us

Initially I thought that Shun would be inviting the others from my department, but it was becoming more and more apparent that this was a date for the two of us, as we sipped our drinks in a private booth, tucked away from any prying eyes in the bar.

Shun was still going on and on about how amazing, and smart, and talented I was to the point he seemed more star struck than smitten, but I didn’t care in the slightest.

I was happy to see a new side of him, and to learn that he was capable of being my biggest cheerleader when he initially struck me as someone who only wanted to be showered with positive attention and praise. It made me happy to know that my achievements were attractive to him, and that he appreciated a confident, bold woman who knew what she wanted and went after it.

Considering that a leopard cannot change its spots, I was happy to know that the person I was satisfied him, and knowing that he wasn’t nearly as superficial as I’d initially thought, found him moving up my list in terms of who I wanted to take home.

It was important with my limited time that I evaluate each potential partner best I could, and I found myself naturally steering the conversation towards my home in New York City. 

Unbeknownst to Shun, I casually asked if he would ever consider working there, seeing as how his talents were clearly marketable all over the world, and he told me that he loved New York and would jump at the chance to experience life abroad. As he spoke he revealed another side of him - an enthusiastic, boyish side with a zest for life that wasn’t nearly as buttoned up as the confident, creative director persona he’d perfected over the years.

From there we got to talking about all kinds of things - favorite movies, music, and most importantly food. At that point we were both a few drinks in, and had completely done away with any shred of formality between us, as we chatted the night away like a couple of old friends.

“Promise you won’t tell anyone?” Shun said earnestly.

“Who would I even tell...and more importantly why is your favorite food a secret? Is it something weird like…”

“No, no,” he said, his face beginning to flush from the amount of brandy he’d thrown back, “it’s just embarrassing that a hot shot creative director actually loves McDonalds more than any fancy restaurant in Toyko.”

“Stop. Are you serious?”

He gave me a cute shrug and added, “What can I say? I love their burgers and nuggets.”

I couldn’t believe that the real Shunichiro Tachibana was so secretly adorable, and finally feeling completely comfortable with him I found myself wanting to tease him like a fifth grade boy who suddenly realized his affections for a girl in his class.

“Oh well...this will never work because I like Burger King.”

“Burger King? Are you serious?”

“No. I’m totally kidding.”

He gave me a playful nudge, with led to me nudging him back, which led to him spontaneously kissing me. Our chemistry from that one kiss was undeniable, and soon I found myself holding his hand, being escorted from the bar to a hotel, and having my “fantasy suite” date with him 4 days earlier than expected.

A few hours later I sobered up, laying my head on Shun’s bare chest as we relaxed in each other’s arms. For a first night together it had been a good experience, and I had no doubt that should we choose to continue with this relationship, it would only get better in time.

Shun was obviously a skilled lover, and was someone who had slept with an ample number of women considering he did not possess a shred of unease when it came to his sexual encounters. 

Granted, his body (like all otome men in this world) was nothing to be self conscious about, and he touched me with confidence and without reservation. It was also fair to say that the alcohol had helped us both relax, and the hotel suite was made marginally more romantic by the moonlight and city lights which illuminated the room in a most flattering fashion, obscuring my cellulite while still revealing enough of my womanly shape to entice him.

A comfortable silence descended on us both, and I found myself worrying over whether or not sleeping with him so quickly had relegated me to booty call status without the potential for real partnership. 

Truthfully, I’d acted more impulsively than I would have liked to, but I had no regrets. I figured if he was a man who would look down on my actions when he had done the same thing, he would reveal his true nature as someone who I wouldn’t want to be with long term.

“You’re such a bad boss,” I finally joked, “getting me into bed on my first day at work.”

Shun sleepily stroked my hair, “It’s your fault for teasing me all day…”

“Hey Shun,” I found myself saying quietly.

“Hmm?”

I glanced up at his face to see that his eyes were closed, no doubt tired from his performance earlier and he made no attempt to open them as we chatted.

“I’m going to be straight with you. This was fun but I’m not looking for a one night stand. If you are...I totally understand and that’s cool, but for me...I want to find someone that I can spend my life with.”

“I want that too Ami,” he said sluggishly. “I liked you...from the moment we met...but...I’m tired.”

I had to giggle. It was such an unexpected response from a man who only hours ago had been so charming and smooth. Now, he was like a little boy, unable to keep his eyes open even though it was only 10 PM.

I kissed his forehead after gently sweeping his bangs out of his face, and covered us both with the blankets, before I moved away from him to get some sleep.

My alarm went off at 5:00 AM, but unlike yesterday I felt surprisingly spry considering how early we’d gotten to bed.

I quickly silenced the alarm, and Shun groaned a little before rolling over and falling back asleep. In the morning light he maintained the little boy aura I’d gotten a glimpse of last night and I caught myself fondly watching him sleep before writing him a note (thanking him for the night and also letting him know I had to get to Kendo practice), before slinking out of the hotel room.

Seeing as how I’d had my gym bag sent home, I hustled back to the Gods’ mansion via cab (since I was made of money these days) where I grabbed my Tuesday (and Wednesday) outfits as well as some new gym clothes.

I was happy that Zyglavis hadn’t caught me during my walk of shame with Shun, and hoped that he wouldn’t be waiting up for me on Tuesday. 

Just as I had that thought, my phone vibrated and the king notified me that he’d see to it personally that Zyglavis was kept busy so I could continue pursuing these men unfettered.

He also let me know that he’d enjoyed watching my date with Shun, and was happy to see that the black sheep in the race was gaining some momentum. 

My cheeks flushed a bit at the thought of the king watching us in bed together, but I knew it was all a part of the game and with that, put away my phone and looked out the window the rest of the ride to the academy.

After practice, Shu and I chatted a bit and I admitted that I admired the amount of discipline he had surrounding his job and his practice of kendo. I jokingly told him that I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to keep up with our 6 AM start time, and Shu joked back noting that should the chief and I end up together it would simply become second nature to me.

I was impressed by how underhanded Shu was being, no doubt in Namba’s best interests and I dodged the comment a bit, as I alluded to the fact that he was putting the cart before the horse.

He started to say something else but Namba interrupted us, and I jokingly covered my face implying that I didn’t want him to see me looking so sweaty and gross before our date tonight. However, Namba being Namba, he just laughed and tousled my hair, telling Shu he’d walk me to the showers.

“So what’s on the docket for tonight Little Bird?” Namba asked, taking my hand in his once we were out of Shu’s eyeline.

“It’s a surprise.”

“Sounds dangerous.”

I had to laugh, “Says a police chief. Guess you aren’t as tough as you look Namba.”

He let go of my hand and put his arm around me, pulling me towards him, not caring that I was sweaty and gross.

“Only with you heartbreaker.”

“If I’m such a heartbreaker why did you agree to go out with me again?”

“Because I know I’m the only one tough enough to handle you,” he said with a wink. “See you tonight.”

With that he walked away, not turning back like he had the last time we’d gone our separate ways, and I found my heart racing in anticipation for my second overnight date.

There was no way he could have known it, but his declaration moments ago gave me pause. 

I’d always thought that he was chasing me, but when I thought about it I realized that Namba wasn’t as easy as I’d initially thought he was. The way he was around me, how he possessed a good deal of maturity and self-control, had made me like him more than I thought, and as I watched him fade into the distance I realized how badly I wanted him to turn and look back at me.

However, he didn’t, and he wouldn’t because he was sending me a message loud and clear. The face I wanted him to look back meant I liked him more than I was letting on. Whether he’d meant to or not, his actions had forced me to look in the mirror and accept the fact that my heart was not promised to either Zyglavis or Shun.

Feeling butterflies for the second time this morning with two different men, I tried to calm my frazzled nerves and get myself ready for the day ahead of me.

My morning was fairly uneventful, short of the text I received from the king who’d been watching my short interaction with Namba. He’d sent me the crying with joy emoji and a thumbs up, to which I had no response considering I was only doing what we’d agreed upon.

The ladies at the salon got me ready for work, and I arrived at the office feeling even prettier than I had on my first day. 

I’d made all the preparations for tonight - sending my gym bag, a small suitcase, and my extravagant Bachelorette style gown that I planned to change into before dinner to the appropriate locations in order to avoid a repeat of this morning where I’d been forced to run home before kendo.

When I opened my work laptop to log in I discovered a post-it note waiting for me from Shun which simply read, “I’ll cross my fingers that your second day is as eventful as your first.”

To the unassuming viewer, the post-it could be interpreted as Shun wishing me luck for Toshiaki’s client presentation later, but I knew it meant far more than that. I knew that it was his way of telling me that I wasn’t a one night stand if I didn’t want to be, and that he’d help me make tonight just as eventful should I want to be with him again.

I'll admit, Shun had really put to bed a lot of my concerns regarding if he was boyfriend material, and around noon he "just happened" to be on the creative floor and paid me a visit, pretending he simply wanted to see how I was settling in. 

Next to me, I could tell that Toma was silently freaking out, as he looked incredibly surprised that Mr. Tachibana had exited his lair to converse with a new employee. I watched his expressions out of the corner of my eye and felt fairly smug that between yesterday and today he was finally seeing me as the lady boss that I was.

Shun let me know that he didn’t have much time, but that he was planning on stepping out to grab a quick bite to bring back to the office, and asked if I wanted to join him.

I told him that since I was just waiting to hear the results of Toshiaki’s presentation I’d love to join him, and exited the office the envy of every woman (and Toma) on the creative floor as he effortlessly made small talk with me on our way outside. With too many of our coworkers around, nothing salacious occurred, however once on the street I followed him down a few twists and turns before I found myself pressed up against a wall in a deserted side street, kissing him furiously.

When he finally pulled away, he shot me a mischievous grin and took me in his arms giving my forehead a loving kiss.

“That’s for making me lonely this morning.”

“I’m sorry,” I mumbled.

“So make up for it tonight. Keep me company tomorrow morning.”

“I can’t,” I said pulling away with a playful grimace, “I actually have a date…”

“Do you now…”

Maybe it was because we’d spent the night together, or maybe it was due to the fact that I’d played enough of these games to know when a man is jealous, but in that moment I saw Shunichiro’s confidence falter a bit. He quickly played off his disappointment with a smile, as it sank in that a woman as amazing as me obviously had several suitors, and taking me to bed again would not be as simple as he’d hoped.

“Before you get weird about this, it’s just a second date. I don’t have a secret boyfriend or anything.”

"But you like me more right?” he asked, his usual confident smirk back on his face.

With a smirk of my own, I kissed him in response and simply said, “You’re a sneaky one Mr. Tachibana…”

“What makes me so sneaky?”

“Hmmm I wonder…”

By the time we’d managed to pull ourselves away from each other, get lunch, and return to our office, over an hour had gone by. 

Normally that wouldn’t have been a problem except for the fact that I was sitting next to a Tachibana fanboy who grilled me on how a quick convenience store lunch equalled being out of the office for so long. I tried my best to play it off, pretending that we’d gotten caught up in discussing how I planned to proceed once Toshiaki got the green light from our Mira Black client, and upon outlining the general idea to Toma, realized that he was staring at me with disbelief.

“So on your first day not only did you get Revance to agree to promote Mira Black on a Tweeter takeover but BOTH Tachibana and Kijima loved your idea enough to go to bat for you with our client?”

He flopped down in his chair at a loss for words, running his fingers through his hair as his eyes practically bugged out of his head.

“Yeah.”

“You’re...that’s pretty amazing.”

“I am. And it is.”

Toma scoffed, “And they say I’m full of myself…”

I laughed, pretending I hadn’t meant it to come out as arrogant as it had, but once I was convinced that I no longer looked like a braggart to the people around us, I lowered my voice and leaned in close to Toma whispering, “On that note...don’t even think about falling in love with me.”

“Idiot! Who ever said anything about that?!”

“Mmmhmm.”

Toma’s face flushed immediately, and he grumbled as he got back to work, clearly miffed that I’d stolen what I guessed would be a line straight out of his route should my read on his character type be correct. 

I killed time surfing the bizarro internet until Toshiaki contacted me to let me know that Mira Black had absolutely loved my idea of a Revance Tweeter Takeover.

In fact, the presentation had gone so well that he’d called my desk phone while he was still with the client to confirm that I’d be able to make everything happen on Thursday. Unbeknownst it to either of us, Mira Black was doing a new promotion for their classic brand and had initially tasked their internal marketing team with spreading the word on social media. In hearing my idea however, they’d completely gone bananas and thought it would blow this promotion out of the water while also helping them attract the millennial customer base they were currently struggling with.

Toshiaki had some concerns about the tight timeline, but I assured him that it would be no problem at all, and once we hung up, I spent the rest of the evening busting my butt to get everything prepared. 

Considering that Revance knew this would be coming (it was a bullet point in our contract from when I agreed to provide them with additional lyrics), scheduling the upcoming week went rather swimmingly. 

On the second ring, Ryo picked up and I filled him in on my plan for the week. From there he immediately informed Sasayama and the rest of the band that Thursday would be dedicated to making good on their promise to me. In addition to the takeover, I also requested that they come by the office tomorrow for a quick photoshoot in the morning, seeing as how I’d need to whip together some promotional images for the takeover which I could start peppering all over Mira Black’s social accounts.

With that, we hung up, and having cleared everything with Revance, I ran a few lines of social copy by Toma before posting the “tomorrow we’ll be announcing something special” type of nebulous brand marketing post.

All in all by the time 6 pm rolled around I’d had another productive day.

Namba had agreed to meet me at work and I was surprised to see the amount of effort he had put into his appearance for our date. 

He wasn’t wearing his usual suit, but instead something a bit fancier and even though the style was slightly outdated, I couldn’t help but smile. I thought that it was cute he had tried as hard as he had, and knowing that something as superficial as style could easily be fixed, I felt myself believing that he cared about me as much as he claimed to. 

After all, he might not have turned around this morning, but he’d gone so far as to put product in his hair and find his best suit.

I could also tell that he was a bit anxious, as I watched him stealthily from behind my office lobby’s tinted windows before approaching. His eyes were fixated on the revolving doors leading in and out of my building, and it almost seemed as if he were holding his breath with every spin of the door, waiting for me to finally appear before him.

“Is that the guy?”

I spun around to see Shun approaching me with a smirk on his face. He settled beside me and crossed his arms, wearing a haughty expression.

“I can’t believe I was worried…”

“Don’t be a jerk,” I said, semi-teasing, semi-serious.

“What’s he do?”

“He’s a cop. A police chief.”

“That explains those clothes.”

Every trace of Shun’s sweet boyish, persona had completely disappeared and instead he stood before me, the arrogant creative director. 

I wanted to give him a little shove, or something but considering the fact that we were in our office’s lobby, that was completely out of the question. Instead, I found myself wishing him a good night, seeing as how I did not want to keep Jin waiting any longer.

“Feel free to call me later...when you get bored of him,” Shun whispered in my ear with a mischievous expression.

With that, he turned away and started walking back towards the elevator banks to head back up to his office on the 32nd floor in order to finish whatever work still waited for him. I watched him go, and just as he scanned his card at the turnstiles he glanced back at me and smiled. 

My heart leapt a bit, and in that moment I knew I could have him if I decided that he was the one.

However, now was not the time to decide anything. I could no longer think about Shun, I needed to switch gears and focus on the man before me. He’d piqued my interest as a 2D lover back home, and in real life he had yet to disappoint. Compounded with the fact that this morning he’d accidentally made me realize the depth of my feelings, I found myself a ball of nerves as I held my head high and exited Addison & Rhodes.

It was time for me to go on my fantasy suite date with Jin Namba, and like the reality tv star I now was, I was ready to put on a good show.

To be continued…in Part 42!

If you’ve enjoyed the story, please show your support by sharing it with a friend or buying me a coffee! My goal is to create an original web series so if you like my characters please consider donating something to help me get it made.

Thanks for reading :)

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Sorry if I missed anyone and let me know if you want to be added/removed!

[answershape8-blog]

How The Reef in Long Beach turned a tiki room into a restaurant empire

Long Beach-born John Tallichet remembers the brightly colored drinks with umbrellas in them, the customers dressed in festive shirts and the bonfires and luaus he would see as a kid at his father’s small waterfront Polynesian-themed restaurant decades ago.

Located on the other side of Queensway Bay with an impressive view of downtown Long Beach across the water, The Reef was there before The Pike and its famed Cyclone Racer roller coaster were shuttered and before the Queen Mary was docked next door and the Hotel Maya opened on the other side.

Although it’s no longer that little Polynesian-themed restaurant Tallichet fondly remembers, The Reef still stands almost where it did when it opened 60 years ago and not only is it a well-known Long Beach staple, it’s also the first of an impressive family-run restaurant empire.

“The Reef is just a part of the community now. Maybe it’s lost being a themed restaurant and now it’s more of a destination,” 54-year-old Tallichet said as he sat inside one of The Reef’s several dining rooms near a large window that overlooks the bay.

Now at more than triple the size of that original 7,000-square-foot restaurant his father opened in 1958, The Reef, which serves a high-end American food menu including seafood, steaks and pastas, celebrates its 60th anniversary with a private gala Nov. 2.

“It’s one of the few legacy restaurants left in Long Beach,”  said Elizabeth Borsting, a Long Beach resident, founder of the Dine Out Long Beach, Restaurant Week 2.0 and frequent diner at The Reef.

“It’s great to have that long-standing dining history here.”

The invite-only anniversary gala also marks the birth of the Specialty Restaurants Corporation, which was founded by Tallichet’s father David Tallichet at the same time he opened The Reef.

And after working his way from salad boy to busboy to bartender to other jobs at several of his father’s restaurants, John Tallichet is now president and CEO of Specialty Restaurants Corporation.

“I got out of being a dishwasher,” Tallichet remembered with a laugh.

Since its inception with the opening of The Reef, the family has opened more than 100 other establishments that range from beach bars to food halls and higher-end restaurants throughout the country as well as Mexico.

And in the tough food industry, the company still operates 18 restaurants with many following themes (like aviation) or are built on places that come with impressive views such as hilltops and waterfronts.

The family’s current list of restaurants include the recently remodeled Castaway in Burbank, Castaway in San Bernardino, the aviation-themed Proud Bird ear LAX and 94th Aero Squadron in Van Nuys as well as Orange Hill in Orange.

And it all started from this Long Beach waterside spot.

John Tallichet, owner of The Reef restaurant is celebrating 60 years in business in Long Beach on Wednesday, October. 24, 2018. The restuarant was founded by John’s father World War II veteran David Tallichet. (Photo by Brittany MurrayPress-Telegram/SCNG)

John Tallichet, owner of The Reef restaurant is celebrating 60 years in business in Long Beach on Wednesday, October. 24, 2018. The restuarant was founded by John’s father World War II veteran David Tallichet. (Photo by Brittany MurrayPress-Telegram/SCNG)

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The Reef restaurant is celebrating 60 years in business in Long Beach on Wednesday, October. 24, 2018. (Photo by Brittany MurrayPress-Telegram/SCNG)

From the air to the kitchen

The late David Tallichet, who was born in 1922 and grew up in Dallas, was a WWII B-17 bomber pilot who served in Europe.

After returning from the war he got into the hotel business, which eventually landed him in Long Beach at the Lafayette Hotel.

That’s where he fell in love with the city and along with a few other partners, including George Millay, the creator of Sea World, decided he wanted to open a themed restaurant.

The elder Tallichet got the idea to do his first themed restaurant after visiting a cowboy-themed place in Texas that despite being located in an isolated area was still packed with people.

“What made it unique was that it was kind of this cowboy theme,” Tallichet said. “And that stuck with him, that if he was ever going to do a restaurant…it needed to have a theme to it,” he added.

So his father found the spot for his restaurant, which at the time was the isolated end of the harbor, while on dates with his future wife, John Tallichet’s mom.

“My mom tells the story that he brought her out here because this is where guys would take their dates to watch the submarine races,” he said with a smile, later explaining that watching submarine races was really a euphemism for getting romantic with dates. “So he figured it was a romantic place to open a restaurant.”

Tallichet, who was born six years after The Reef opened, remembers a busy festive place that was located right up to the water with a hula area, grass, a fire pit and tiki touches throughout.

This lasted until around 1974 when the original restaurant burned down to the grown. David Tallichet later rebuilt The Reef a few steps back from where it was originally located since the city had built a road by the water.

“At the time when this was rebuilt in 1980 he was into this mining theme, which was a kind of a barn wood-looking multilevel restaurant and we were building those around the country at the time. So he was really enamored with that look and he thought that would be a great look for this,” Tallichet said.

“Sadly, he admitted to me afterwards that he should have built the Polynesian style again because that’s what it was known for,” he added.

Since then the restaurant has been remodeled a few times and now includes several dining rooms, private rooms and patios with scant few traces of the mining theme.

Besides serving food and the view, it’s also known as a place for weddings and banquets.

It also partners with the Salvation Army to hosts a free breakfast every Christmas  for about 2,500 needy people in its grand ballroom.

And regardless of the look, The Reef stands a few feet from its original spot as a monument of sorts to his father’s accomplishments and on its own as a respected legacy in Long Beach.

“This is a pretty amazing location here, and Long Beach as a city has really grown up around us,” Tallichet said.

The Reef is at 880 Harbor Scenic Drive, Long Beach. Call 562-435-8013 or visit reefrestaurant.com for more information.

Source: https://www.dailynews.com/2018/10/31/how-the-reef-in-long-beach-turned-a-tiki-room-into-a-restaurant-empire/

[brianmarshalltampa-blog]

Brian Marshall’s St Petersburg Historic Hotels of Ghosts, Love, and Money

From St Pete Beaches to Downtown Streets, the History of 3 Landmark Hotels

St Petersburg is just across the bridge from Tampa, but some people who live on this side of the Bay think it’s an ordeal to cross it for pretty much anything besides work.

I, on the other hand, love St Pete and don’t mind driving over for something other than a job, like a great restaurant, a cool bar, or the beach…and St Petersburg seems to have all three.

One of the many upsides to living in Tampa Bay is that you can have a staycation at a great hotel near the beach with a short drive. That’s what I enjoy doing with the family when we all have a chance.

For me, three hotels that standout not only for their charm but for their…you guessed it… history, are the Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club, The Don CeSar, and The Cordova Inn. I’m going to take you down the road of each for a lesson in St Pete historic hotels with spook, splendor, and saga.

Vinoy With a View

According to hotel lore (there are different variations of this story), the Vinoy Park Hotel, aka Renaissance Vinoy Resort and Golf Club, became a reality all because of a bet between Pennsylvania businessman Aymer Vinoy Laughner and the era’s golf champion Walter Hagen. You see, Laughner had a house on Beach Drive, near this beautiful piece of land. Laughner bet Hagen he couldn’t hit golf balls off the top of his watch without breaking the crystal. Hagen proved him wrong. When Laughner and another guest went to collect the balls Hagen hit from a neighbor’s lawn, the guest told him what a nice site the waterfront home would be for a hotel. The rest, as they say, is hotel history.

So in 1923 Laughner purchased the property on Tampa Bay, hired architect Henry Taylor to design a hotel, and after two years and $3.5 million, the Vinoy Park Hotel opened for business on New Year's Eve 1925. At the time, the Vinoy was the largest construction project in Florida history and the largest and most luxurious of St. Petersburg’s boom-era hotels.

St Pete Native

The Mediterranean Revival style, salmon-colored hotel charged $20 per night (wish it still costs that much) and celebrities, athletes and dignitaries such as Babe Ruth, Marilyn Monroe, Herbert Hoover, Calvin Coolidge and James Stewart flocked to the St Pete hotel.

Then the party was over and the US Army converted it into a training school during World War II and later as an R&R facility for the U.S. Maritime Commission. Following the war, the 347-room hotel changed hands again, this time

In 1945, Laughner sold the Vinoy to Charles Alberding, who owned a Chicago-based hotel chain, Alsonett Hotels.

Although Alberding brought back the Vinoy to its glory, it eventually lost steam and in 1972 a 20-year-old offered to buy the hotel. Bob Reynolds was a St. Petersburg native who loved the hotel ever since he was a kiddo. Because Reynolds didn't have the money to buy it, Alberding agreed to lease the hotel with the option to buy for $5 million. Even though Reynolds got some partners to organize a company, commissioned then St Pete mayor Randy Wedding who happened to be an architect to restore it, he wasn't able to raise the funds and in '74, the hotel closed. The hotel reopened a year later, only to reclose again the same year. In '78, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places which gave investors tax breaks. The Vinoy sold most of its contents at auction and remained empty. Its lease changed hands several times and the downtown St Pete area went through growing pains.

The Rennaissance of Vinoy

Then a fine group of men formed the Vinoy Development Corporation, found an equity partner, and Stouffer Hotels and Resorts begun a $93 million restoration in 1990. Two years later, it reopened as the Stouffer Renaissance Vinoy Resort. Four years later (yeah, that’s the hotel biz), another hotel group bought the Stouffer hotel chain and renamed it the Renaissance Hotel Group. Just a year later, Marriott International bought the Renaissance brand name and in 2005, then bought by FelCor Lodging Trust of Dallas, but is still managed by Marriott.

But enough about who owned it…let’s get to the good stuff. Ghosts.

The Baseball Effect

For some reason, visiting major league baseball teams have most frequently reported seeing ghosts. Perhaps they’re trying to scare-off visiting teams? Take Miami Marlins relief pitcher, Scott Ryan Williamson who in 2003 when alone in his room, rolled on his stomach and felt an immediate pressure on his back and couldn’t breathe. When he turned over, the pressure was released, so he rolled back on his stomach again and felt the same pressure. When he turned back over, he noticed a man standing near the curtains wearing a coat.

Freaky? Oh, yeah.

Other guests have said they’ve seen a well-dressed man in a formal suit walking the halls, thinking he’s a concierge at the Vinoy. When they look back to ask him something, they notice he’s disappeared into thin air.

Pink Lady

Another member of the Historic Hotels of America also built in the heyday of the jazz era is The Don CeSar.

A year after the Vinoy was purchased, real estate developer, Thomas Rowe, purchased the property on which The Don CeSar sits and hired architect, Henry H. Dupont to design it.

The story of this hotel and its owner isn’t much about the building, selling, and renovating of the Don CeSar. It’s more about a love story that some say still roams the halls of this historic hotel.

80-year-old St Pete Don CeSar aka The Pink Palace, aka the Pink Lady, aka Loews Resort on St. Pete Beach, aka 'the Don' story starts in 1872 with Rowe while in London attended the performance of Vincent Wallace's light opera 'Maritana'. The leading lady was a stunning Spanish young woman named Lucinda. It was love at first sight for Rowe, so following the performance, he went backstage to meet her.  The feeling was mutual, and so their romance began. But not everyone was thrilled about it, such as Lucinda's parents who were members of the Spanish aristocracy. They didn't want their daughter having anything to do with a poor boy from Massachusetts, so they forbad her to see him.

That didn't stop her and Rowe from continuing to see each other in secret. One of their favorite spots to meet was at night in a closed courtyard with a beautiful fountain. It seemed their budding love mimicked the opera as Lucinda became 'Maritana' and Thomas Rowe 'Don CeSar', another character. On the night of the last performance, they made plans to meet at their beloved fountain and run away together to America.

Love letters between the young couple went back and forth until servents intercepted the last one from Lucinda, discussing their plans. As soon as her parents found out, they immediately took her back to Spain.  

In the meantime, young Rowe was oblivious to this and waited by the fountain, as planned, until sunrise, but Lucinda never appeared.

Heartbroken, he continued writing to her without a response. Rowe finished his studies, went back to the States and then he received a letter addressed to 'My beloved Don CeSar.' There was a clipping of her death in the envelope along with a letter begging Rowe to forgive her parents for taking her away from him and saying, 'We found each other before, and we shall do so again. This life is intermediate. I leave it without regret and travel to a place where the swing of the pendulum does not bring pain. Time is infinite. I will wait for you by our fountain... to share our timeless love, our destiny is time. Forever, Maritana.'

Romantic? Oh, yeah.  

Birth of 'The Don'

In mourning, Rowe fell ill and his doctors recommended a warmer climate to get him away from the dreaded winters. So in 1925, he visited St. Petersburg, Florida found land on the beach, and began to develop one of the most pristine properties in honor of his beloved Lucinda aka 'Maritana'. The Don CeSar was actually styled after the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

With guests such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Lou Gehrig, and Al Capone, it would be thee place where people would stay when they wanted to get away from bleak winter weather during peak seasons, January - March.

Rowe never got over the love of his life, Lucinda, and eventually married a companion.

In the lobby of the St. Pete hotel the courtyard and fountain where the two love-birds once met, was replicated. He was known to spend countless hours at this spot wearing a white Panama hat and white tropical suit, most likely reminiscing about his time with Lucinda.

The Great Depression hit, but Rowe had a brilliant idea to keep the Don in business during hard times. He called the Ruperts in New York and they created the first Florida baseball spring training program. The New York Yankees came to Florida for training, stayed at the Don, and began a tradition to this day.

St Pete History Buffs to the Rescue

Rowe died in 1940 leaving the Pink Lady to his wife. She knew nothing about the hospitality industry, made poor decisions, and eventually, the hotel went out of business.

Just like the Vinoy, the U.S. Army purchased the Pink Palace in '42 and it became a convalescent hospital for aviators and pilots of the Second World War. When it became no longer needed by the army and government, it was boarded-up, barricaded, and downright creepy. Soon rumors of bats and ghosts of the dilapidated hotel ran rampant in St Petersburg for years until '72 when a group of history buffs rescued it from being demolished.

The glory of the Don was resurrected and more ways than one.

St Petersburg Ghost Stories

Time passed and the staff began noticing weird things happening at the Pink Palace.

Such as a front desk clerk taking a stroll as sunset with her husband on the beach noticed a man wearing a tropical white suit and Panama hat walking with a can. Does that description sound familiar?

Then there was another hotel staff member who walked through the old kitchen at midnight and turned to see a 1940s nurse dressed in full army medical corps uniform watching him.

And can't forget the time when a new late-night dishwasher took a break from the mounds of dishes. When he returned, all of the dirty dishes were cleaned and stacked neatly in the middle of the kitchen floor. That's really nice of whichever ghost washed them, but the dishwasher did like most of us would...he immediately left and never came back.

Yet another story of a housekeeper while cleaning the 5th floor where Rowe once lived, heard repeated knocking on the door of the room she was cleaning. Becoming annoyed, she opened the door, but no one was there. She left the room, went downstairs thinking it may be another housekeeper knocking, but found everyone was already gone for the day. Needless to say, from that day on, she refused to clean any room on the 5th floor.

Goosebumps? Oh, yeah.

There are more stories to tell of the paranormal activity at the St Petersburg Don CeSar, but you get the picture.  

Love After Life

Following the Don's becoming part of the National Trust for Historic Hotels in America, new stories emerged of a young couple strolling the hotel grounds, as well as the 5th floor, hand in hand at sunset. The man wearing...you guessed it...a tropical white suit and Panama hat and the beautiful young lady with long dark locks wearing a Spanish-style peasant dress.

Were Lucinda and Rowe's forbidden love finally brought together through the Pink Lady in the afterlife?

I'll let your mind wander for a min...

St Pete Local Lore

Another one of my favorite St Pete hotels with a haunted past is The Cordova Inn. Although not as famed as the Don and Vinoy with the same long, rich history, this boutique hotel boasts its own resident ghost.

The Cordova family from Michigan built the hotel 1921, downtown St Peterburg.

The story goes, when the family built the hotel, they sent their personal butler to manage it. This butler ruled the property with an iron fist. He was known to always dress in full uniform and maintained a white-glove reputation for impeccable accommodations, attention to guests, and Euro-style service.

After 20 years, he passed away in the hotel and became somewhat of a legend. It would be nice to put a name to the ghost, but apparently, no one remembers it.

The Cordova family sold the hotel in the 50s and for 50 years, the property changed hands several times, but the name remained the same.

In the early 80s and 90s, St Pete became a less than desirable city to visit and The Cordova closed its doors. While waiting for its fate, schoolboys would break into the hotel after dark and later tell stories of hearing unhappy howling...rumor has it, it was the butler (it's always the butler).

St Pete Sundial

Back when the Sundial was known as BayWalk, new life begun to blossom into downtown St Pete and a local investor saw the potential of The Cordova and purchased it. The hotel was completely renovated...even the water basins in the hall where servants apparently cleaned-up before serving their wealthy employers.

The St Pete Butler

In 2001 the St Petersburg hotel reopened as The Pier Hotel and finally as The Cordova Inn.

Although they say after 2001 no one heard or seen the infamous butler, there are guests to this day who've experienced fans turning off and on by themselves, rooms becoming suddenly freezing cold, hearing heavy footsteps in the halls, and smells of rotting flesh.

Rather tame events compared to the Don and Vinoy, but nevertheless, spooky.

No matter what hotel you stay in St Petersburg, FL, make sure you take note of the history, the charm, the character and of course, the ghosts. ~ Brian Marshall

[andreaeppolitoevents]

A Floating Wedding Cake & Mermaids. What more do you need?

Wedding Planning by Andrea Eppolito Events  |  Images by Shandro Photo 

“What is the one thing you have always wanted to do, that you have never done?” Joti asked on our first phone call.

“I want to float a wedding cake in water, and have it brought to the side of the pool by two mermaids.” I replied.

“You’re hired.  Let’s do that.”

And off we set to create a whimsical wedding complete with larger than life bird cages, edible cocktail, white and gold velvet chairs, and….yes…a floating cake.

Joti and Field came from two seemingly different worlds.  She is Indian, and the head of a large restaurant business.  Field is Serbian and in politics.  Yet when they came together, their worlds blended seamlessly.  With an avid love of travel, strong work ethics, and a shared passion for food and entertaining, Joti and Field have hosted the most incredible parties in their home during their years together. When they decided to wed, running off to Las Vegas was an easy decision.   Not only would the destination wedding keep the guest list in check, but they city itself provided unlimited opportunities for their guests to turn the wedding into a mini vacation that offered food, shopping, shows, and gaming.

From the beginning, Joti and Field were adamant that the wedding be planned with the guests in mind.  “I hate being the center of attention,“ Joti told me.  “I really want everything to be about the people we love, instead of about us.”

I love this!  I always approach a wedding from the guest perspective , and layer in all the elements that they will experience.  What does the space look like?  How does it feel?  What are the smells, sights, and sounds that they will be treated to?

A floating cake requires water, and for foodies like these I needed a venue that would do literally anything they asked for.  It became clear early on that only the Four Seasons would do.  Not only was a the outdoor space an oasis away from the desert, with a curvaceous pool and waterfall features, but I knew that the culinary team would work side by side with my epicureans to ensure that all of their foods - from the Western offerings to the cultural items - were on point.  

Having a bride put total and complete faith in me was thrilling.  I allowed my imagination to run wild, and assembled an all star team of creatives that worked for over a year on a few crazy thoughts I had been playing with.  First, I was having a Phantom of the Opera moment and really wanted to add chandeliers and light to our pool.  Sadly, you cannot legally have glass or electric power near water in Las Vegas.  Something silly about not electrocuting people and keeping them safe! Kevin of LED Unplugged loved the idea, however, no crated a collection of hand wield acrylic chandeliers and pendants that we were able to hang.  They were lit by spotlights and battery operated vortices, and were everything I could have asked for; never taking away from the cake, but kissing the water with a touch of light.

My friend and partner at Destinations by Design, Ashley, had been playing with these large, free standing birdcages. Wrapped in flowing ribbon and strong enough to support hanging chandeliers and florals, these structures activated Joti and became the inspiration for her luxe Ceci New York wedding invitations. Hand wrapped in ombré ribbon which held delicate feathers, and featuring a tag which read “A simple hello….” these origami masterpieces were the most fun that Joti had in the process.  We worked side by side with Ceci team, each version taking on more and more detail, and more meaning.  This was a masterpiece that would certainly not be discarded, but treasured.  In fact, many guests actually carried it with them to the wedding.

We wanted the ceremony to feel pristine and very clean.  The ultimate in bridal romance, we worked with beautiful white on white color palette.  We added texture with wooden tables and small orbs of glass filled with blush roses.  Golden accents were abound, a nod to the bride’s Indian heritage.  

On the day of the wedding, Joti and Field got ready in different rooms in their suite at The Cosmopolitan.  Joti, in her lace Berta wedding gown with pearls falling down the back, looked stunning as she waited for Field, who was dapper in his beautiful blue tuxedo.  As they pulled out of the garage, the skies opened, and rain began to fall.  My phone rang, “Is it really raining on my wedding day?” Joti asked.  “Nope,” I lied.  “No rain at all.”  It would stop.  It had to….

And moments later, it did.  A team of nearly 40 wiped down furniture, dried the floor, and reset florals as guests began to enter the Fountain Terrace.  They were greeted with Molecular Cocktails, little bits of alcoholic delights courtesy of The Grand Bevy.  Joti and Field were there, welcoming their guests, giving kisses, enjoying the beautiful, clear skies.

In a move that could only feel organic in Las Vegas, the couple hosted their cocktail hour before their wedding ceremony.  Once the bride and groom had spent time with each guest, making them feel welcomed and loved, they nodded to me, signaling that they would like to begin.  The guests gathered round, some taking their seats in the open air bird cages, while others perched on benches and couches.  Field led Joti up through the crowd to the center of the space and there, in front of the fountains of the Four Seasons, the two exchanged vows under a chandelier dripping with flowers.

They shared their first kiss as husband and wife to the thunderous applause of their family and friends.  Now, it was time to party! Our newlyweds lead guests around the pool though a path lined with trees, which opened up onto the pool deck. There, guests found tables dressed in white flutter linens.  Surrounded by gold rimed chairs and topped with jewel toned florals, we gave a nod to the bride’s Indian heritage.  Across the pool we built a stunning, deco inspired bridge that allowed guests to move from one side of the space to another.  It also served as the dance floor upon which our newlyweds shared their first dance to - who else - Elvis.

After the dancing was complete, Joti and Field invited their guests to dine from a series of stations which were set to their exact specifications. There was traditional Indian fare, of course, but also a western style carving station, sliders, and a taco truck.  Everyone ate, and drank, and danced.  Toasts were made throughout the evening, and friends performed traditional dances to the delight of the crowd.

When it was finally time to cut the cake - and yes!  That cake was real! - two mermaids pushed it to the edge of the pool, presenting it to Joti and Field!  A removable top layer was brought to the bride and groom, while sliced it and lovingly fed one another before our mermaids pushed the cake around the edges, giving all guests a chance to see it, touch it, and pose with it.

Technically the party was set to end at 11, but I sweat we still had a full house at 1 AM!  With DJ A Plus performing for the crowd, I wasn’t surprised!  Still, we had to wrap up some time, and we sent the guests back to the Cosmopolitan for late night Secret Pizza in-suite.

Each and every photo from Joti and Field’s wedding is pure perfection.  Not a detail was missed, no sense overlooked, and - most importantly - each and every person that made their way to Las Vegas spent time with the bride and groom.  They were catered to, coddled, and loved…As they should be!

Joti and Field’s destination wedding will forever be remembered.  Not for the floating cake and candles and mermaids (although you have to admit they were crazy cool!) but for the fact that these two put their absolute faith in me, and gave me a chance to do something utterly wild, wildly romantic, and romantically beautiful.  I think of them always, love them to death, and thank them for giving me a once in a lifetime kind of experience!

Always…

   WEDDING PLANNING CREDITS:

Wedding Planning by Andrea Eppolito Events  ·  Photography by Shandro Photo   ·  Wedding Venue Four Seasons Las Vegas  ·  Floral and Decor by Destination by Design  ·  Cake by Four Seasons Las Vegas  ·  Chandeliers and Lighting by LED Unplugged  ·  Dress by Berta  

[timothytillyard-blog]

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[christelnew14-blog]

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