#interactions ft. sebastian thomas

[tannerkohli]

closed starter for @sebastianxthomas at rustica steakhouse

Tanner had spent enough time in Kismet Harbor over the years that familiar faces were to be expected. What she hadn't expected was to see a familiar face from her life in New York pop up at the steakhouse she opted to escape to for dinner. Having spotted Sebastian moving back into the kitchen, Tanner made the immediate request to the staff that she needed to speak to the chef before she ordered. Her insistence bordered on rudeness, but it was effective enough that a few minutes later Sebastian was walking out to her table. "This isn't New York, what the fuck are you doing here?"

[aliyebalik]

closed starter for @sebastianxthomas at the founders festival - baking contest

Cooking in general was a pretty big weak point for Aliye, but baking in particular was something that she had as close to zero skill in as a human could possibly get. That did not, however, deter her from trying to enter the baking contest. After a morning spent attempting to put together some cupcakes, Aliye had ended up with a mostly burned up mess of sort of batter and a puddle of frosting that was leaking all over the baking tin. With the obvious risk to anyone's health to actually try it, the judges of the contest had politely given her a participation ribbon and told her she could keep them. Baked-ish goods in hand, she was now walking away with them, holding them out to the first unsuspecting victim she ran into. "Hey, you want some cupcake? I made 'em. They're not like totally as bad as they look. Mostly."

[aliyebalik]

Since mac and cheese was about the only thing that she could safely cook without burning down the boat, Aliye had jumped on the chance to sign up for a cooking class when she saw the sign up. Not only was it a skill she could use in her everyday life, but it also just kind of sounded like fun. A smile flashed, teeth grinning as Sebastian thanked her for coming. "Dude, for sure. Thanks for doing this. Someone's got to teach me how to not suck at this."

It was a big ask, but even if all she learned was one extra skill, it was better than where she started. "How did you know I look cute in aprons?" she teased as she shifted forward to follow Seb towards the other kitchen. "What's on the menu, then?" Aliye hadn't thought to check beforehand, happy to just come into it blind and see what happened.

@sebastianxthomas

Today, Sebastian opened up Rustica Steakhouse a couple hours early. He had posted a beginner cooking class and had a person sign up for an hour each. Over a group since he felt it wasn't as close and you didn't learn as well when it wasn't one-on-one. He felt like learning was better when it was only with the teacher and one student over a teacher and a room full of people.

"Thanks for signing up" he said with a smile. "But we can go into the other kitchen to wash up. I got you an apron so you can keep nice and clean," he winked. "But it should be fun," he clapped. "I have a few things planned for us to cook," he smiled.

open to all! cap at 0/3 !

[thesffcorner]

Kill Creek

Kill Creek is a horror novel written by Scott Thomas. We follow Sam McGarver, a best selling horror author who is suffering from a massive writer's block. He has separated from his wife and is teaching at a university, while trying to write his next novel. He gets an invitation to do an interview for WrightWire, a pop culture website known for putting on massive, scripted shows, and he accepts, not realizing that not only will he not be alone during this interview, but it will also take place at the notorious Kill Creek Manor, a house with a dark and haunted past. The idea of this book sounded awesome; 4 horror authors have to spend a weekend at a haunted house for an interview; kind of like Until Dawn, but instead of teenagers the victims are masters of the genre and could therefore have a unique approach and even predict what the house would throw at them. The first half of this book was excellent; I liked the set-up, I liked the characters, the history of Kill Creek was suitably dark and twisted, and I really liked the direction of the plot. Unfortunately, as soon as the characters arrived in Kill Creek, much like his own lead character, Thomas’ story quickly devolved into cliches, nonsensical plot twists, characters acting completely opposite to what they did before for no reason, and this really interesting premise was squandered. The book never recovers from the wasted potential that is the interview, so I figure I should start with the positives. For a start, I appreciated that all of the characters, while not all likable, were at least relatable and consistent. With the exception of one, each character had an understandable starting point, and though they all end up doing questionable things, I still rooted for them, and wanted them to survive the book. I liked the way each character’s personal trauma and past informed the ways in which they interacted with the house, and for the most part found all of them equally intriguing, at the start. The house itself was really well done. A lot of the book relies heavily on the Southern Gothic tradition, which I enjoy. It’s a big house that has been abandoned for decades, in the middle of nowhere in Kansas, and it does all the things creepy houses do; cold spots, sounds, apparitions, power turning off and on, rooms that go nowhere, creepy crawl spaces, etc. I almost wish, considering the role the house played that we got to spend more time inside it, and really delved into it’s dark history, like Del Toro did in Crimson Peak. I also liked what we get to see of Sam’s classes. His 5 elements of gothic horror were brilliant and I kept reading the book wondering and theorizing about how everything fit in them. I also liked the interview, where Sebastian was explaining what true horror means to him; it was a great deconstruction of Lovcraftian horror and I really liked that the queer character was the one who gravitated most to it. There were other scenes that left an impact: Sebastian seeing Richard for the first time, Sam hugging Wainwright after he tells them what happened to Kate, his stunt with the Underground, Daniel mourning his daughter. The moments of humanity and genuine kindness made me root for the characters, which is something modern horror desperately lacks, often treating its characters like disposable blood bags. Unfortunately, there are more issues than positives. Now, I am by no means a purist; different genres can borrow and modify elements from each other, as even Sam points out in his lecture. There are elements that make a specific piece of work ‘Gothic’ horror, but that same work can also fall under the slasher, body horror or even religious horror category. What Thomas is essentially trying to do here is to take 4 genres of horror fiction: Lovcraftian horror, southern Gothic, slasher and erotic horror and piece them together into one book. And the effect is much the same as the one you get at the end of Cabin in the Woods; confusing, predictable and not particularly effective at any of the genres. I am never scared of Gothic horror; the most I am, is unnerved or unsettled. However, when I watch/read anything pertaining to torture-porn, body horror or even slasher, I am terrified, and there wasn’t a single point in this book where I was even slightly unsettled. Gothic horror and straight up slashers don’t mix, at least not the way Thomas has done it here. For example, we have quiet scenes of Sebastian being haunted by the mistakes of his past, the dread of losing his memories, losing his ability to tell stories, and in the same breath we have Moore getting the shit kicked out of her, or Kate slicing her arm open, Ghosts of Mars style. These simply don’t work together, and the end result is an uneven feeling throughout the book where I’m not sure what I should be scared of, because anything goes. The other main issue was the horror element. The idea that the house was never evil, but people believing that it is made it haunted was just… unsatisfactory. How can rumors actually make a house haunted? And I don’t mean, oh because people think this place is bad, anything even remotely strange or distressing that happens in it is automatically prescribed to the location; no I mean somehow people’s notions that the house is haunted created or called a primordial, decaying evil that has a physical form, and can take on the shape of specific people enough to fool others that it is human, save people from dying, and also kill them in unrelated bus accidents? What? The ending was such a mess, because there are no rules to this creature! It can do absolutely anything, and there was no suspense left in the climax or the epilogue, because I knew exactly what would happen. Thomas just borrows tropes from other horror works, and does nothing to subvert them; he just let’s them play out with no critical eye, which is why we get such a dumb Bloomhouse ending, to what was otherwise a book that really seemed to respect the genre and it’s traditions. There were also major issues with the characters. Let’s start with the ones I had the least amount of problems with: Kate, Wainwright and Sebastian. Kate was boring as hell; she had no personality other than being southern and black. There is a line in the book about how her dad would hate that she’s sleeping with Wainwright not because he’s her boss but because he’s white, which is a can of worms I don’t want to touch with a 10 ft pole. There was an attempt to tie her to the history of the house, seeing as a freed slave woman who lived there was lynched, but we know nothing about Kate or her relationship with Wainwright, other than he is white and she is black. Wainwright at least had a lot of potential to be interesting. There are hints to his personality throughout the first half which never pan out; he has daddy issues, he feels inadequate and like a fraud, he has a temper that fires off when things don’t go his way, he is willing to do anything for clout. I thought the reveal was that he would rig the house for the interview Until Dawn style, or he’d trigger the haunting with something he does, but nothing of the sort happens. I thought maybe his temper and aggressive streak might make him abusive to Kate, but that also never happens. Sam hates and suspects him, but there is no reason for it; he’s just a rich boy who gets way in over his head and nothing beyond that. Sebastian was the character I liked the most, but he was wasted on this book. He is old, he has been closeted his whole life, he has lost the love of his life to cancer, and his father to dementia and is now aware that he too is slowly becoming forgetful. How interesting would it have been if Thomas actually grappled with his past, the wife he betrayed by using her as a beard, his fear of losing his memories of Richard, his desire to remain famous or at least remembered because he himself is starting to forget. How novel to actually have a queer protagonist in a Gothic novel where their sexuality isn’t punished by death of suffering. But no, he’s just barely in the book, and though I appreciate that at least Thomas didn’t have a third act twist where he suddenly became evil, it was clear Thomas had no idea what to do with him. Then we get to the characters I actively hated. Daniel I liked for most of the book; I hated the way his character was treated by the author however. I have never seen such little respect for a religious character in anything; I legitimately felt like I was watching God’s Not Dead, except Daniel was losing his faith instead of finding it. If I had to guess, I’d say Thomas doesn’t like religion, and doesn’t have any interest in actually exploring the complicated relationship characters who are religious have with themselves, their church, their families and God. Daniel is religious because he survived a spider attack as a child, and though he seems to be questioning his faith, we never really get to see why, or what drives him to be a Christian author at all. Every debate Daniel has with Moore is dumb, and the way he answers questions is purposefully written to have Moore come out on top, instead of presenting reasons as to why a person would believe certain things. It came off as fake and disingenuous, especially because the relationship Daniel has with his daughter was so good, and the scenes with him and his wife at the house were heartbreaking. But then, because Thomas needs a villain it’s just Daniel, for no reason other than… Thomas hates parents and/or religious people. I also didn’t appreciate how many fat jokes the other characters made at his expense of how everyone treated him like he was dumb just because he was excited to be around authors who were his peers and influences. Then we have Moore, who was probably the worst female character I’ve ever had the misfortune of reading; worse than Mara Jade, worse than Razorgirl. She deserves to be taught in class as an example of how not to write female characters; a complete caricature of feminism, and ambitious career driven women. She’s rude, abrasive, a massive inconsiderate asshole that is constantly constantly defensive, takes every single gesture in the absolute worst faith but also still has to be a) straight and b) hot. I actually wouldn’t have minded a female writer who started out as an indie erotica writer whose work became successful and her writing darker. I liked that she was clearly an Objectivist with an Ayn Rand level of strict work ethic, who is also rude and unpleasant. But the way she was written made absolutely no sense, and her fucking insulting backstory, about how she was severely abused by her ex, was just the icing on this shit cake. She oozed with ‘I’m not like other girls’ and ‘strong women as imagined by men’; she has an unnecessary and frankly unbelievable romance with Sam, is the only one who is described to write in the nude and is also the token woman in the male group, and if I can say one positive about her character is that it at least stayed consistently rude and disgusting to the very end. Sam was clearly the writer insert character and for the most part he was fine; at least he read like a real, flawed human, not a human-shaped robot. There were many moments where he describes other male characters as beautiful or comments on how attractive their eyes or faces are, so I got excited that maybe this book would explore his sexuality, but no; he is a boring, bland straight protagonist. I appreciated that he had depression and anxiety and was actually being treated for it, I liked that he explored toxic masculinity in his stories, but there was still the ridiculous ‘romance’ between him and Moore, and the reason why he refused to tell anyone what happened to his mother was… unclear. Like he’s clearly an adult and mature enough to know that therapy works, but still childish enough to cling to what his brother told him to protect him when he was 10? Ok? Also I didn’t like that he made no effort to make things better with Erin and he still got her back in the end. If I could recommend half of a book I would, because everything in this novel, up until the authors have their interview was great. Everything past that point kept becoming more and more convoluted, and what made the book interesting, the characters and the mystery of the house completely unraveled. I would be interested to see what else Thomas has written, because there is a good story in him; it just wasn’t this one.

goodreads

[tannerkohli]

&END

He looked at her "ah vacation I wish I could be" he joked as he had to work now to get settled into his life and make up for the move. He was glad to run into her and have someone he knew and already knew him well. "I will have to do that for sure." he smiled at her for a moment. "But I don't need to get fired already, so I should get back to work," he laughed. "But I'll make sure you food is the best." he winked as headed off to the kitchen. @tannerkohli

[tannerkohli]

"Free any time. I'm on a sort of vacation, so I'm not doing anything busy at all," she answered back with a nod. It was a weird thing to not have work to keep her busy, since her entire life had been consumed by it up to this point. Being reminded of just how open her schedule was brought a rumble of emotions in her chest that she did her best to push down. Instead, she let a smile shift to her lips, head tilting up towards Sebastian with a similar sly look in her eyes. "That's what I like to hear, Seb. Seriously, text me when you get your phone, we'll make it happen." She waved a hand in a shooing motion, knowing that she'd already kept him from his work long enough.

@sebastianxthomas

"Absolutely, I’ll definitely reach out," Sebastian smiled, taking the slip of paper from Tanner with a hint of excitement. "It's great to see you again—feels like no time has passed at all. I can't wait to catch up properly over that dinner. Let me know when you're free!" He tucked the note safely into his pocket. "I'll text you once I get my phone" as it was back in his office. "But please you know I'd love cook just for you" he gave her a sly win. @tannerkohli

[tannerkohli]

Though they were in completely different fields of work, Tanner and Sebastian shared a similar mentality with their crafts. It was probably a big part of why they'd always gotten along in their years in New York and why it felt so easy to pick right back up now that they'd run into each other again. "Wow, offering me a private dinner off menu, say less," she hummed back with a quick nod, certainly not about to turn that offer down. Grabbing a scrap of paper and pen from her purse, Tanner scratched her number down and held it over for Seb to take. "Text me sometime. Number changed a few months ago."

@sebastianxthomas

He nodded, "That is for sure. If you love something, you need to do it right." He wasn't going to start out in a quick service place of his own, but he knew it was a while away before he could open his own place. He didn't want to buy or manage a place; he wanted to do it all on his own. He laughed. "I mean, I would be glad to have me around too," he joked. "But you will always have one here, but you can call me, and I can make you one too," if it was her place or his. So he could make something from his own mind not something off a steak house menu. @tannerkohli

[tannerkohli]

"For sure. If you're going to do it, do it right," she agreed. Tanner got it. Even if she wasn't a chef, she loved her own craft as a mechanic and if she couldn't do it to the level that she wanted, she couldn't dream of doing it at all. "You and me both, man. A million dollars would be great. Until then, I guess this will have to do. Selfishly, I'm glad to see you around. At least I know I'll get a good meal once in awhile." Not that she could necessarily afford to eat out all the time like this, especially being out of a job currently, but when she could swing it the comfort of a familiar plate from back home would be nice.

@sebastianxthomas

He sighed, "Yes, if you want a good sit-down one, yes." He shook his head, "But I don't do quick food. I need a real place people come in and sit, and it's a full meal," so that would cost even more. "So not for me...not yet" not till he made a lot of money someday. "And this place don't pay as much as New York did..." It wasn't bad. It just wasn't as much as he was used to. "Right? Iam glad that they care to see what I can do with the place" over making him another cooking robot. "If I get a million bucks," he laughed. @tannerkohli

[tannerkohli]

Admittedly, Tanner had no clue what it took to get a restaurant up and running, but she had kind of assumed it couldn't be that hard just because of how many of them were out there. "No shit? Are they super expensive to get started?" she asked with a lifted brow, head shaking a bit with disappointment. Chefs like Sebastian that had a clear vision and passion for what they did deserved to have their own spot and to be recognized for it. "It's good that at least they're cool here, though." That beat working for someone that didn't appreciate your talents any day. "You think someday you'll end up starting your own place up?"

@sebastianxthomas

He nodded. "The best thing for me right now." he had not had anyone over when he had the sounds playing. He would just deal with the lack of sound for that night. He chuckled a moment as he looked around the restaurant. "I mean I wish but that shit cost so much" he sighed "If I could it be smaller and not what I cook" he have to open something small and wasn't a quick dining type of chef. "But this place is nice. The owner is cool and working with me," so he could update a few things. He looked at her; he wasn't shocked she heard the truth of it all ."Yeah, I would not do that." he never went to a place he owned and loved. @tannerkohli

[tannerkohli]

Tanner didn't find herself getting much sleep these days as it was, so the additional strangeness of being somewhere so quiet hadn't completely registered to her. "I'll have to try that, see if it helps at all," she mused. She doubted it would soothe any of the other issues that kept her awake at night, but perhaps the sounds of the city would be at least a small comfort. "Seb, you ever think about opening your own place up? I mean, shit, you have way more ideas than a place like this deserves from you." Working for someone else as a chef had its benefits, sure, but Tanner couldn't imagine being so under the thumb of someone else managing things. "Added bonus, if its your restaurant, some fuckhead can't run it into the ground and have it shut down."

@sebastianxthomas

He nodded, "It wasn't too bad. It was a bit cheesy at times, but it was cool." There were times he didn't understand it, but he was still having a good time. He was excited to see what else this town had to offer. "Right? It's driving me nuts. I have to use my Alexa to play city noises so I can sleep most nights." It was a bit creepy to him how quiet it could be. He nodded. "I think so too, don't get me wrong, the food is all great. They do have good cuts of meats," he smiled. "But its bit set in its ways and old fashioned. We can keep the classics but still add something new too it." The menu had different steaks and potatoes, and even if they were different cuts of meat, they were nearly the same meal. He sighed. "I know I heard all about it." he wished he had the money that he could have bought the old place. "It just sucks" years of work gone from one person only thinking of themselves. @tannerkohli

[aliyebalik]

Experience in a small town previously probably made the adjustment a lot easier. Aliye had come to Kismet from a larger city when she was young and it had taken some time to get used to the flow of both a new country and a new lifestyle. "Nah, it's not bad here at all. Most people grow to love it once they're here for awhile, it's good people." Aliye had no doubt he would find it to be a good place to be with pretty decent people all around. If he already had family here too, that only made it an easier adjustment. "I mean, if the chef comes that highly recommended, I may have to drop in sometime, try the place out finally." Aliye usually ate at smaller places with a much less expensive price tag, but could also see it being a fun night out to try something fancier. "What's your best dish? Like, the thing you're best known for?"

@sebastianxthomas

He nodded. "I think it's good when it's something you already put your time into, not just something you have never done." Trying to win that over, people who could have put their heart and soul into it? He chuckled a little. "I mean, I am from a smaller town, then I moved to New York." he smiled a moment. "I loved it, and I do miss it, but this town isn't too bad," he said as he looked around. He smiled at her with the pies, all of them a good idea. "What?" he said, surprised by that. "Like I can get a nicer steakhouse but nothing at all?" there were some chain places and not high-end around. "I mean I think it's very good" he smirked a moment "Even more now that they got new chef" he winked at her as he took the fork from her. @aliyebalik

[tannerkohli]

"For a smaller town, I'm sure it was fun enough," she shrugged. Tanner would guess that it was nothing in comparison to the events a bigger city could put on, but having never actually been to any events around the town, she could also have been very wrong. "Fuck, yeah man, I haven't slept well at all without all the just...noise. It's the weirdest part of being here every time." Even if she'd experienced it before, the lack of general city noises was something that always took Tanner a bit of time to adjust to. The quiet wasn't something she was particularly fond of, hating the late nights alone with her thoughts more than anything. "Place like this could use some spicing up, give it some new flavor." The menu wasn't a bad menu, but it certainly was geared more towards the classics than anything adventurous. Her head nodded slowly, knowing that it couldn't have been an easy adjustment for Sebastian to lose the restaurant back in New York, much like it hadn't been easy for her to lose her own job. "If it makes you feel any better, the restaurant that ended up taking over the space was total shit."

@sebastianxthomas

"I mean, for someone who had no idea what was going on, it was pretty fun," he said. He had a good time with it. "I only came one time after my sister got married, but it was just a weekend." He had work, so he couldn't stand it for long."I guess so, but I do miss it." It was too quiet for him sometimes. "I am the guy who had play city noises to fall asleep," he chuckled. Hearing what she said, he did a big smile and waved his hand. "Ahh sucks," he teased. "But I know they have their classics, but I'll just make it better," knowing taking it away wouldn't go as well. "Well" he rubbed the back of his neck "The place closed down" he sighed it wasn't on him but he was still upset. @tannerkohli

[aliyebalik]

"Which, like, I kind of get it. I try being the best at things to, but you know, I do like being the best, so that totally counts," she chuckled. There was a competitive streak in her that she sometimes couldn't turn off, though in this case she'd just been in it for a good time. "New York, okay, big jump over here to Kismet then. You adjusting to life here in a little ole' town?" she asked, figuring it had to be a huge shift from the chaos of a bigger city. Coming up on the next booth, Aliye looked between the several options of different pie flavors before ultimately deciding on just grabbing a sample plate with a slice of each to share with Sebastian. "I've actually never eaten at the steakhouse before, is it any good?" she asked as she moved down to grab two forks, holding one out for Seb.

@sebastianxthomas

He nodded. "I think people do things to do them and try and be the best, not because they like it." Like the baking contest, people had entered to try and win and not to love baking. He was glad to hear her agree that everything was better with someone cute. So she found he was cute too and he liked that. "I mean I was working in New York... " he already missed that city a lot. "But now I am head chef at Rustica Steakhouse," he smiled at her. Rustica Steakhouse was a nice steakhouse, so he was glad to be working there. @aliyebalik

[tannerkohli]

"Founders Festival, yeah, I heard about that. Never been to it, I've usually only ever been here in the summers." Tanner had some familiarity with the town, but outside of small trips here and there to visit, most of her time spent in Kismet had been in her younger years. "For sure not as crazy as New York. Supposedly that's a good thing." It was the primary reason why Tanner was here instead of in New York, to get away from the crazy and put herself in a spot where she had a better chance at recovery. "They won't regret it if they let you. Your steaks back home were always the best. Never was the same after you left."

@sebastianxthomas

Sebastian looked at her for a moment. "To be honest, I am still getting used to all of it." He looked around for a moment. "The Founders Festival thing started right when I got here," he chuckled. He didn't know what was happening but made sure he made the most of the event. "It's not as crazy as New York, for sure," he laughed. "But it's not that bad," he nodded. He smiled at her for a moment "I want to rework the steaks." he felt like most of them were pretty common and he wanted people to be able to try something new. @tannerkohli

[aliyebalik]

"For sure, some people are total try-hards. I for one am no such thing," Aliye agreed. It wasn't that she didn't try at a lot of things in life, but she wasn't the first to jump in full effort on things that she didn't have an interest in doing well. Her smile lifted again at Sebastian's compliment, shoulders shimmying as they started walking over towards where the rest of the treats were laid out for purchase. "Everything is better with someone cute around, so it looks like we're both in luck today," she complimented back. Her head bobbed when he explained what he had moved to the area for, head quirking to the side with interest. "New job, love it. What do you do for work that brought you here?"

@sebastianxthomas

He nodded, "I think people try too hard, and that leads to things not turning out as they should be." He did learn while cooking that he didn't always have to be serious and try too hard to be the best to be a good cook. And what about some small town fair that you win like dates on?" He saw a sign for the prizes, and they all seemed like date night things. "Sounds great. Stuffing my face alone is sad, but stuffing my face with someone cute is fun," he said with a wink. Sebastain smiled at her for a second. "Thanks," he grinned. "But I got job here so that was big reason" he was excited for it "and my sister is here" he smiled "so that too" he was glad to be around his sister again. @aliyebalik

[tannerkohli]

Kismet was as far from New York as a city could be that Tanner could still stomach living in. Her life had always been a fast paced one and if things were much slower she wasn't sure she would have let herself make the jump over to Kismet, even just for however long she would be there for. "I just got here so I haven't been around to see anything other than this so far." And it had turned out to be a good choice, seeing as how it had led her to a familiar face. Tanner hated to admit it, but she was in a weirdly lonely place without Ian around all the time, and any familiar people she could be around was helping. "Well, for what it's worth, you'd have my vote of confidence. What kind of stuff are you thinking of adding to the menu?"

@sebastianxthomas

Sebastian knew that he had no blood family. He was an only child before he was adopted, and the same was true for both of his parents. As far as he knew, his grandparents were also not alive or just not in the picture. However, he considered himself lucky to have a great adoptive family.He nodded, "I know, right? I've been looking around for a while and still haven't seen it all," he laughed lightly. "This is far from being like New York; it's always moving and has so much going on." He smiled at her choice, "and I already know how you like it," he winked at her. "They want me here for a couple of months, they said, before they will trust me with a menu makeover," he shook his head slightly. "But I understand that they need to know if I am good or not."

@tannerkohli