#but also so ducked to treat pudding like that after all this... well.... her own demise 🤷🏻‍♀️

[ashesandhackles]

Harry and The Dursleys: Examining His Response to his Abusers

This is a musing/rambling, because I have been rereading and I have been noticing shifts in how Harry responds to the Dursleys. It is largely a companion piece that expands the ideas that I touch upon in my meta Deconstructing Harry , and it is to underline how Harry was shaped by surviving and living in an abusive household, one that specifically posits the "golden child vs scapegoat" dynamic in the worst possible way. I have been doing a reread and I have a lot of thoughts!

Finding Safety

Harry's relationship with his abusers is quite understandably, fragmented. He is used to their neglect ("the house held no other sign another boy lived there") and prefers to stay out of their way, and he is used to being the scapegoat to Dudley's golden child. The stark difference in how the Dursleys treat Dudley vs himself contributes to the very little sense of self Harry begins the series with. This, of course, changes when he is removed from their presence and Hogwarts, specifically Ron and Hermione offer him the safety that is required for him to develop beyond his constant survival mode.

What was interesting to me beyond him being used to their neglect is that....at least in the first two books of the series, he wants their attention. He attempts at connection with his abusers ( he tells them about the dream with flying motorbike, he considers waking Dudley up at the hut before his birthday - to annoy him i.e just to have his attention, when Uncle Vernon says "now we know today is an important day" in CoS on Harry's birthday, Harry actually looks up, "hardly daring to believe it").

Why does he do this? Harry has been constantly told - repeatedly consciously and unconsciously that he is a burden on the Dursleys. So he copes - spotting danger ("Harry didn't look it but he was very fast") and evading, not draw attention to himself unless necessary, or trying to maintain a relationship with them in an effort for both need for connection - because they are all he has at the moment and he is a lonely boy, and to try and be safe from complete abandonment.

His abandonment issues inform both his aversion to conflict in personal relationships ( I talk about it in my meta about his relationship with conflict and evolution of his dynamic with Ron and Hermione here) as well as his interesting ambivalence to Ron and Hermione's budding romance in later books ("It wasn't as though he was surprised - but he wasn't sure how he felt about it .. ()...Would he be shut out for good?)

Ease With Violent Contact

There are plenty of implications of physical abuse Harry suffers throughout the series, referred to in the narrative in offhand ways ("You need more than good sense to liase with Uncle. A good sense of when to duck more like" in OOTP, "Long experience had told Harry it is best to stay out of Uncle Vernon's arms reach" in HBP) and we see instances of Vernon threatening him ( Uncle Vernon advanced on him with first raised. "You'll get the stuffing knocked out of you, won't you?" in POA, and his promise to "flay Harry within inch of his life" in beginning chapters of CoS after Dobby crashed the pudding).

We also see Vernon manhandling him (he grabs Harry around the middle and throws him out of the room in PS, he grabs Harry by the throat in beginning chapters of OOTP and Harry magically throws him off). All of this has made Harry remarkably numb to adults manhandling him or being violent with him.

He is not all that shocked about Umbridge and her Blood Quill. In fact, he treats it like a battle of wills:

Harry did not ask when he would be allowed to stop. He did not even check his watch. He knew she was watching him for signs of weakness and he was not going to show any, not even if he had to sit there all night, cutting open his own hand with this quill ... (OOTP)

he was not going to give her the satisfaction of hearing that he had complained about it. (OOTP)

On the opposite side of things, he is not used to being touched to show care and when people do - in the beginning of the series, he is awkward when Hermione hugs him, and he is overwhelmed when Mrs Weasley does at the end of GOF:

He had no memory of ever being hugged like this, as though by a mother. The full weight of everything he had seen that night seemed to fall in upon him as Mrs. Weasley held him to her (.....) until he could hardly bear it, until he was screwing up his face against the howl of misery fighting to get out of him. (GOF)

The first person Harry initiates a hug with is Ginny in HBP, and it is an indication of how comfortable he is with her.

Seeing Threats In His Environment

Harry's way of recognising threats in his environment that he needs to be safe from is - is this person reminding of my abusers?

His immediate response to Draco Malfoy when he first met him in PS is that he reminded him of Dudley, and begins to dislike him. By second meeting, Draco insults Ron, who Harry does like and that sets up the antagonism between them.

Harry also immediately picks upon Snape's dislike of him at the feast itself in Philosopher's Stone (which he reconfirms in next chapter when he sits in Snape's class - "Snape didn't dislike Harry. He hated him"). It is once again, him scoping out threats in the environment. In fact, the Sorting Hat chapter in Philosopher's Stone ends with a dream of all things Harry is associating in his mind as threats: it is both a fun literary device and speaks to Harry's intuition. He sees Draco, Snape and curiously, Quirrel's turban and high cold laugh.

The Flying Motorbike

The flying motorbike is the recurring dream of his escape from Dursleys and the motorbike is both associated with Hagrid and Sirius.

It is a life changing moment for Harry that the moment Hagrid enters (which makes his bullies fearful), he can see Hagrid's eyes are "crinkled into a smile". There are so many associations of Hagrid with warmth and nurture.

He removes the threat of the rifle from Vernon and the negates the feeling of Vernon as a threat and then proceeds to make delicious sausages. He descalates the threat, and then provides for Harry, and it immediately makes an impression.

And then he gives Harry a birthday cake and - first information of his parents, and thereby a sense of identity that is rooted in something good. Harry also discovers within the same book that his parents loved him so much, they died protecting him. This is a radical information for a boy who is used to being neglected and seen as a burden, and ghosts of Lily and James hang over the series. (Harry's larger series wide emotional arc is coming to terms with his parents' death - I talk about it here)

And the second adult, associated with the flying motorbike is Sirius.

After the events of CoS where Dursleys locked up Harry and Ron had to break him out, Harry in the beginning of POA does not seek the attention of Dursleys the way he did in first two books. He is more secure in his place at Hogwarts and his friendship with Ron and Hermione - whereas in the beginning of CoS, he wonders if they had forgotten him.

So, when Harry runs away from the Dursleys, finally rejecting them as any sort of guardians ("I've had enough") - who does he see on the street (the Grim :P) but a guardian who had broken out of prison and swum the North sea to see him and protect him. It is interesting to me that Sirius appears in the narrative right when Harry completely rejects the Dursleys.

I explore why Harry took to Sirius so immediately here: Someone Like A Parent

Other readings for insight into Harry's abuse: Accidental Magic as a Trauma Response by @sybill-the-seer

And Harry's trauma over his parents death: Dementors and Complex Grief by @mrs-stubby-boardman

[the-coconut-asado]

Our Golden Girl’s Kitchen

A couple of years back, my cousin Doro announced she was going to publish a book of our grandmother’s recipes. It set all the cousins off on an odyssey of frenzied WhatsApps swapping memories, and in my case a mad dash to storage to find yet another of mum’s old scrapbooks, stuffed with fragments of recipes typed up on that onion-skin paper of the Mad Men era. 

Slowly but surely, recipes surfaced for Granny’s steak and kidney pudding (to this day, the name of our family WhatsApp group), tallarines (fettuccine by any other name) and more cakes and tarts than a whole series of Masterchef pressure tests.  

But Doro’s job was made much easier by someone else who had kept Granny’s legacy alive all these years. The person who, while Granny was a distant memory for many of us, was the biggest influence on our lives. At the end of the book, Doro wrote a dedication to her: “ Auntie Joan, I remember you, sometime before Christmas, making us stir the plum pudding and saying “don’t forget to make a wish!”; the chicken pie or Irish stew with dumplings you prepared when I used to come for lunch after university classes; the plum ice cream you always had in your “ancient” fridge and the smell of scones and cake on our birthdays.’

Last week, Auntie Joan died. 99 years of love, wisdom and many a raised eyebrow at each of us at one time or another. She had a delicious smile that hinted at secrets she might share with you some day, and even up to her mid-nineties kept a ramrod straight back, figure to die for and effortless elegance that prompted a 28 year old male friend to comment at my wedding that she was the only 68 year old he had ever fancied.Cheeky, but at the same time, kudos. 

If I’ve made her sound  like a warm embrace of a woman, she was. She was also a ninja. For most of her working life, Auntie Joan  - Joan Nolan MBE -  was Vice Consul at the British Embassy in Rosario, and later in Buenos Aires. She started volunteering there during the war, and eventually they started to pay her (nice of them), then promote her. 

This had upsides - her influence to help others (a guiding principle of her life), the opportunity to travel, and the people she met. She once told me of an Embassy cocktail party on board a ship attended by Eva and Juan Peron. She had little time for Peron, but was a little flattered when having started to leave down the gangplank he  abruptly turned back, sought Auntie Joan out, kissed her hand and apologised profusely for not having said goodbye. Manners counted for a lot with her, so the apparently off-hand Eva was barely mentioned in despatches.  

Her job also had downsides: held at gunpoint more than once, and in the constant company of a bodyguard after her boss was kidnapped (the inspiration for Graham Greene’s novel The Honorary Consul). One day a masked gang raided the embassy, rounded up all the staff, tied them up and locked them in the bathroom. But the ringleader treated Joan with weird courtesy, politely requested she enter the bathroom but left her unbound. Joan said afterwards: “ I think that man knew me. And if I ever see those eyes again, I will know who he was.” She kept looking but never did, but she did show us the hail of bullet holes the gang had let off at the outer wall of the embassy before they left. 

30 years on, at 85, clearly feeling she had been down this road before, she wrestled an armed thief trying to steal her friend’s car. ‘ Dear, I knew the gun was a toy’, she said breezily when I had my WTAF! Moment on a phone call with her.

Though all this time she looked after my grandparents and my great aunt until their deaths - pretty thankless and back-breakingly hard as they all survived to their nineties and in my great aunt’s case to 101 - as well as her husband Stanley who died when she was still young. Yet she still made time to feed, nurture and look out for her nieces and nephews as they travelled through her flat en route to school, college and work - and then her grand nieces and nephews as they repeated the cycle. 

Living in London, I didn’t see as much of Joan as my cousins, but felt just as close to her thanks to her copious letters. And it was her trips to London I remember most. Wafting glamorously into Gatwick in her boucle red overcoat, nipping up to Newcastle for the day to have lunch with a friend (when Dad retold the story, he always added, untruthfully,  ‘And the friend wasn’t even at home!”), leaving a cloud of delicate rose scent in her wake, a perfume that always reminded me of her apartment in Rosario. A bit like Buenos Aires itself, Auntie Joan was an evocation of the best bits of 1930’s Europe. 

And despite eating like a mouse in her own home - spreading her morning toast with what looked and tasted like wallpaper paste but was actually zero cholesterol cream cheese - her kitchen with its pots and pans, scoured and gleaming  within an inch of their lives, was in a constant hiatus of puddings, pies and roasts for the family as well as that iconic plum pudding at Christmas. And when we took her out to eat the appetite she kept hidden at home came tumbling out. I once witnessed her demolish a whole sea bass, noodles and a quarter of a peking duck when we took her to a restaurant in Chinatown. Unlike the rest of my family, she was unafraid of spice and heat. 

Serene, always; sassy,  sometimes. After all, Joan’s favourite TV programme when she came to visit us in London was The Golden Girls. In a life where everyone depended on her, she was someone comfortable with not needing to depend on anyone else - until old age meant she had to. I used to smile to myself when, in later years, she would end all of her stories with ‘And they said, “Joan, you are the ONLY one who could have done/ solved/ sorted/ this’’. And yet, if we don’t tell the world how talented, determined and capable we are - who else is going to? #thiswomancould

So here are two dishes that we all eat thanks to Auntie Joan - her plum ice cream (with some added spice from cinnamon) and her Spanish Cake, a delicate and sweet treat that evokes  those high teas that are still a family tradition. And finally, a dish that evokes the memory of lemon chicken, the dish that she and my daughter Lara would love to make together. 

Hasta luego, nuestra querida tia. We were so lucky to have you as long as we did. 

Plum ice cream

I have never eaten plum ice cream other than at Auntie Joan’s house and I have no idea why it isn’t a popular flavour commercially. My version only tweaks her original recipe - two egg whites rather than one, a stick of cinnamon and the seeds of a vanilla pod added to the plums as they poach. The brilliant thing about this ice cream - aside from it’s taste of autumn, log fires and sticky crumble - is that you don’t need an ice cream maker.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

300g red-skinned plums

175g caster sugar

¾ cup water

1 cinnamon stick

Seeds from one vanilla pod

Juice of half a lemon

300g double cream

2 egg whites

How to make

Seed and quarter the plums and pop into a pan with the sugar, cinnamon stick, vanilla seeds and water. Bring to a simmer, cover and continue to simmer on a low heat until the plums are soft and the liquid has become syrupy. Turn off the heat and leave for another 10 minutes - you really want the spices and the red skin of the plums to seep into the syrup. 

Turn the plums into a sieve and extract as much syrup and pulp as you can into a clean bowl, using the back of a spatula. Cover and chill for at least an hour. 

In two separate bowls, whisk the cream until it forms soft peaks (be careful not to overbeat or it will turn into butter) and the egg whites until they form firm peaks. 

Alternate folding the cream, then the egg whites, then cream, then egg whites into the plum pulp. 

Pour into a freezer container - or just use an oblong cake tin, cover and freeze overnight. Remember to take out of the fridge for 15 mins before serving. 

Spanish Cake

This is the perfect cake to eat with a cup of tea or coffee. Light and delicate from texture to flavour. Simple dust of icing sugar on the top and you are good to go. Auntie Joan’s original recipe as typed - which features in Doro’s book - is as spare with detail as one of Bake Off’s technical challenges. Fortunately I featured it in a column I wrote for Choice magazine a few years ago, so  have filled in the gaps. Makes 12-16 squares. 

Ingredients

125g melted unsalted butter

200g caster sugar

2 eggs, separated

125ml milk

600g plain flour

3 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp mixed spice

Icing sugar to serve

How to Make

Heat the oven to 180C. Grease a 20cm square cake tin and line with baking parchment.

Whisk the sugar with the butter until thick and pale. Add the egg yolks and continue to beat for a couple of minutes. 

Add the milk and beat again. Finally, sift in the flour, baking powder and spices and mix gently until incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until stiff, then fold into the cake batter. 

Pour the batter into the cake tin and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. The cake is ready when the top is golden and a toothpick or sate stick inserted into the middle comes out clean. 

Cool in the cake tine for 5 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool. When cool, dust the surface with icing sugar, cut into squares and serve. 

Quick Chicken with kale, haricots and caramelised lemon

Auntie Joan loved chicken, and when we visited Buenos Aires when my daughter Lara was little, she and Auntie Joan would love to make lemon chicken together. Am sure she would have loved this flavour-packed little number, courtesy of Alison Roman in the NY Times. 

Ingredients

1 lemon, thinly sliced, seeds removed

1 shallot, peeled and cut into 8

6-8 chicken thighs

1 400g can of haricot or cannellini beans

1 bunch kale, leaves only (discard ribs)

1tblspn sunflower oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil for dressing

How to make

Toss the lemon slices and shallots in a small bowl and season. 

Heat a large frying pan or skillet, add the sunflower oil, then add the chicken, skin side down. Press the chicken down with a spatula to ensure the maximum surface gets nice and brown. Cook for 5-8 minutes, then cook on the other side for a further 8-10  minutes until cooked through and the chicken skin is nice and crispy. Transfer the chicken to a plate, leaving the fat in the pan. 

Add the lemon and shallot to the hot pan - stand pack as it will probably spit and sizzle. Cook, stirring gently, until the lemon has started to caramelise - about 3-5 minutes. 

Add the drained beans to the pan and season. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans soak up that caramelised chicken fat - about 4 mins. Working in batches, add kale and toss to wilt, seasoning again as you go. 

Return the chicken to the pan, along with the juices that have collected on the plate, and cook for a couple of minutes more. 

Serve, drizzled with a little olive oil, and accompany with some crusty bread. 

[tagsecretsanta]

From Gumnut

to @scattergraph

I don’t own this, full credit to the author above

Title: We’ll be home for Christmas

Prologue: ‘Twas the week before Christmas

Author: Gumnut

8 Dec 2019

Fandom: Thunderbirds Are Go 2015/ Thunderbirds TOS

Rating: Teen

Summary: The boys can’t fly home for Christmas, so they have to find another way.

Word count: 1437 

Spoilers & warnings: language and so, so much fluff. Minor various ships, mostly background.

Timeline: Christmas Season 3, I have also kinda ignored the main storyline of Season 3. The boys needed a break, so I gave them one. Post season 3B, before Season 3C cos we haven’t seen it yet.

Author’s note: This is my 2019 TAG Secret Santa fic and it is a big one ::headdesk:: I hope you enjoy it. I know I have thoroughly enjoyed researching a gorgeous corner of this planet. 

My prompts were:

TAG Christmas pudding contest, points awarded for taste, originality and flammability.

“I don’t care if it’s Christmas…you ARE NOT bringing THAT back to the Island!”

Driving home for Christmas.

I’ll let you work out which I managed to include in this :D

Many thanks to @vegetacide and @scribbles97 for cheering me on and their wonderful support through this craziness. And to @onereyofstarlight for geeking out with me over the setting.

And as always, thank you all for creating such a fantastic fandom. Thundernerds rock! I hope you all have a wonderful festive season. Thank you all so much for everything.

Disclaimer: Mine? You’ve got to be kidding. Money? Don’t have any, don’t bother.

Looking back, it really could have happened to any of them. Hell, now it had happened once, it was even more likely it could happen to any of the rest of them, but of course it had to be Virgil and, of course, it had to happen a week before Christmas.

Fortunately, not only Gordon and Alan, but also John was aboard Thunderbird Two when her pilot folded in half with a groan. The great green behemoth responded to his touch and for a second there, the whole ship tipped sideways.

Alan lost his hard-earned sandwich, and Gordon, who had been half asleep in the co-pilot’s chair, despite the coffee he had consumed not five minutes ago, received an adrenalin spike that was well used in the next half an hour or so.

It had been a hard week. Australia was on fire. Every year the drought dried continent suffered and every year International Rescue did all it could to help. Brains had even designed some specialised equipment, deployed through Tracy Industries to help dampen the eucalypt fuel load, but the change of climate over the last hundred odd years had done its damage and the ecosystem suffered for it.

It was painful to watch.

And tiring to fight.

John had taken to coming down not only for Christmas, but for the fires. He had developed a communications network, tied into TB5, to help coordinate the fire services of the country and pin point the hot spots. At the end of the last outbreak, Gordon had been gobsmacked to find his usually reclusive brother sprawled in a chair beside the Australian Fire Defense Network chief, beer in hand, swapping stories.

It had helped that the chief was the middle of five himself and a communications specialist pushed into management. There was much commiseration.

But none of the past really foretold this little hiccup.

Later when Gordon referred to said incident as a ‘hiccup’, Virgil’s eyebrows had frowned so much, they’d physically climbed off his head and slapped Gordon around his.

Or it could have been Virgil’s hand. Gordon was too busy ducking to really identity the body parts his brother was using.

So, with three brothers aboard, Virgil had plenty of back up.

Gordon was fully awake and stabilising Two before he had even had a chance to draw in a breath. They were halfway across the Tasman Sea, finally on the way home for a well-deserved break.

“Virgil?” John was out of his seat and moving towards the pilot.

“Uh, I’m okay.” The man straightened, still in his silver firefighting suit, minus the helmet. A quick look in his brother’s direction and Gordon could see it was all a lie. Even through the soot on Virgil’s face, his brother’s complexion was pale, almost green. “Just a stitch.”

“Doesn’t look like one from here, bro.” Gordon frowned as John gently nudged Virgil back in his seat. The pilot closed his eyes and lay back, his shoulders dropping just a little. John reached over to the console and flicked a couple of switches. Virgil’s vitals sprang up in all their holographic glory.

Even Gordon could see something was seriously wrong. “You have a fever. What the hell, Virg?”

His brother stared at his stats and frowned. “Just thought I was hot.”

No surprise considering the conditions they were working in.

John sighed. “Your suit has active refrigeration, Virgil, you know that. You should be the coolest of all of us.”

If it had been a different situation, Gordon would have then started a ‘discussion’ on who exactly was the coolest or the hottest of the brothers. As it was, another groan from his engineer brother killed all conversation other than medical concern.

“What is it?” John disengaged Virgil’s seat from the dash, pulling it back and giving him access to his older brother.

“My side.” Virgil’s eyes were squeezed shut.

His lower right side.

Five minutes later and Gordon was beelining Two to the nearest hospital, which turned out to be Auckland near the northern tip of New Zealand.

Less than an hour later, Virgil had his very angry appendix removed.

Of all things.

For the past three days, it had been a mixture of firefly pod and fire exo-suit. His brother had been tossing about massive hoses, shifting huge amounts of timber, excavating firebreaks and water bombing from Two.

Apparently, all while suffering from appendicitis.

When Scott arrived on scene, he was a walking facepalm.

When Virgil woke up, it was all kind words for the first hour or so while he recovered from the anaesthetic, but after that, the tongue lashing Scott delivered was enough to strip the paint off the walls of Virgil’s hospital room.

Grandma ended up dragging the man from the room.

Everyone was quiet after that.

No one liked it when Scott got scared.

Least of all Scott.

But even Gordon had to agree that his eldest brother had a point. Appendicitis wasn’t something that didn’t come with symptoms. Virgil admitted that he had noted some pain, but he had been busy. There had been more important things.

Scott’s response to that was only suitable for mature audiences.

Gordon couldn’t help but agree after having to watch his brother writhe in pain on one of his own hover stretchers while they had been on approach to Auckland.

But it had happened when it had happened and everyone was safe, Virgil included. There were much worse scenarios available considering their occupations and the entire family was grateful it had turned out best it could.

Scott was still livid, though, likely because the man was exhausted. They were all exhausted.

Grandma eyed all of them in turn, cornering each of them in their hotel rooms. It didn’t take her more than half a day to conclude that International Rescue needed a well-earned break. Virgil’s illness made a great excuse and her meeting with Scott was short, sharp and to the point.

The Commander of International Rescue contacted the GDF not long after, advising their aunt that their organisation would not be available for the next week. Eos was tasked with redirecting emergency calls after Grandma grabbed John by the scruff of his neck and with an equally sharp word in his ear, grounded the spaceman beside his brothers.

Virgil received a few glares, but the tired man just rolled over awkwardly and went back to sleep. Apparently, he agreed with Grandma.

Always did, the big Grandma softie.

Except perhaps with her cooking, but that led Virgil to being the biggest victim in that department because despite his incapacity to lie, he would do anything for the woman.

Virgil was released from the hospital a day after his surgery and they helped him back to their hotel rooms and set him up with the holoprojector and an appropriate stash of snacks and engineering journals. Kayo even bought him a sketchbook and an array of art materials.

For two days, the brothers hung out with him or darted out to the shops for convenience’s sake. Copious amounts of takeout were consumed, a treat they were often denied on the Island. But ultimately five usually very active men got very bored very quickly.

They couldn’t go home, because Virgil wasn’t allowed to fly. His operation excluded air travel for at least seven days, which meant, to add insult to injury, they would be stuck on the mainland for Christmas Day.

Their first Christmas off in who knew how many years, and they couldn’t even share it at home.

John distracted himself by linking in with Eos and helping out with emergency calls...until Grandma discovered him and rounded on both him and Eos with the ire Scott had managed to inherit.

Both father and daughter behaved after that, Eos a little stunned at the power of the eldest Tracy.

Alan dove into his computer games and hermitized. Gordon could only swim so much, so resorted to pranking Alan, which ended up in the brawl of the century and half the penthouse draped in toilet paper.

Scott turned to Tracy Industries and began phone calls that lasted hours. Virgil sent Gordon to chase him down.

Scott quite frankly ignored him, which led to Virgil hauling himself off the couch and doing the chasing himself.

That led to a screaming match that ended with both men pale when Virgil twisted angrily and groaned as he pulled at his stitches.

The atmosphere plummeted after that and the whole penthouse floor deteriorated into a sullen gloom.

It was shaping up to be an ass of a Christmas.

Until Gordon had an idea.

[fly-pow-bye]

DuckTales 2017 - “Double-O-Duck in You Only Crash Twice!”

Story by: Francisco Angones, Madison Bateman, Colleen Evanson, Christian Magalhaes, Bob Snow

Written by: Christian Magalhaes

Storyboard by: Sam King, Kathryn Marusik, Rachel Paek, Stephan Park

Directed by: Jason Zurek

"My name is Pad. Launchpad. McQuack. My name is Launchpad McQuack."

The episode seemingly begins in medias res, as Launchpad is infiltrating a casino. He has on some spy glasses, as he has become Double-O-Duck, super spy. He gets a call from Dew-ble-O-Duck, because Dewey Duck cannot even function if he doesn't choose an alias without the word "dew" in it, letting him know the secret code he needs to tell Enemy Agent Red Feather.

Dew-ble-O-Duck: Pastrami on rye, hold the mustard!

Double-O-Duck: Mmmm, yummy!

We can tell already that Launchpad is more Maxwell Smart than James Bond. Would anyone be surprised if he wasn’t?

As Dew-ble-O-Duck, also wearing cool glasses, distracts everyone in the room with a song fitting for this James Bond parody, Launchpad, even with his lack of any kind of intellect, manages to spot Agent Red Feather. She literally has red feathers. Unfortunately, he didn't exactly remember what tasty item he was supposed to use as a secret code.

Red Feather: Can I help you?

Launchpad: Ham and cheese!

Alas, Enemy Agent Red Feather is not exactly a fan of that smart refrigerator scene from Duncanville. She gasses Double-O-Duck before Launchpad could suggest chocolate pudding or french fries, giving a one-liner about how the kitchen is closed. It's like one of those Sierra adventure games, though they end up referencing something more modern.

YOU DIED

Yes, like Dark Souls, though they use a generic retro game losing a life sound. Even when shows involve video games with cutting edge technology, parents might not get that it's a video game if it isn't bleep bloop bleep bloop.

The entire last scene was just a new and sophisticated augmented reality game at Funso's Fun Zone: Double-O-Duck, a reference to a DuckTales '87 episode where Launchpad had to impersonate a super spy that happened to look just like him. It's a neat reference; the game even features OddDuck, the villain of the week of that episode, as an enemy.

Webby and Scrooge are at Funso's as well, though Scrooge does not appear to be interested in anything around him, never mind a room with a fake adventure in it. In an attempt to borrow money from Scrooge, Dewey tries to convince him that the game is cool, because one could use the power of virtual reality to go on an amazing adventure.

Scrooge's expression says it all; he doesn't even need to say anything to that.

Needless to say, Dewey only has one more chance to beat that Casino Royale, as that chance will be the last his allowance could afford. He also knows that he can only play this with Launchpad, because "they're a team"! Launchpad reluctantly agrees, using the famous last words of anyone before something goes terribly wrong: "what could possibly go wrong?" We then zoom into the ball pit, where we find a hidden base owned by F.O.W.L.

Yes, this is the beginning of this season's F.O.W.L. plotline that was teased at the end of Season 2. DuckTales 2017's version of Darkwing Duck's rogues' gallery is led by Bradford Buzzard, originally of Scrooge's Board of Directors before he decided to call it quits after Louie used their funding to bring back his favorite TV show. It's a long and, to be honest, kind of eh story. Now, he leads many of the villains that appeared in previous episodes, and he has made a new base.

Alongside the also named after her feather color Black Heron is Steelbeak, who comments that he wanted the base built on a sattel-lighthouse to nobody's approval. This continues the trend of James Bond references, as he is the Jaws parody from Darkwing Duck. Steelbeak is not exactly the brightest bulb at F.O.W.L., but he is completely confident and gets really offended at the accusation that he is stupid. From what I've heard, he wasn't meant to be any denser than the other villains in the original Darkwing Duck, but for the sake of giving Launchpad an evil counterpart, it works well with this plot.

Black Heron is taking the Gyro Gearloose role here, as she is working on the Intelliray, powered by a diamond from the F.O.W.L. archives. With a little more work, this ray can be used to make Scrooge dumber than the dummies! Honestly one doesn't even need any kind of ray for that to happen; seems like all you need to do is steal a couple coins from him for that.

How would she know this ray even works? Simple, she used it on a lab rat.

Not just any lab rat, either, but they turn this ordinary rat into this rather intelligent rodent that is more anthropomorphic. In fact, one may recognize this rodent from a different show from the Disney Afternoon. There's a funny story about this, actually.

Of course, this is the opposite effect of what Black Heron wanted, and she needs to work on the ray some more to make the Intelliray that makes dumb rats smart make smart ducks dumb. Steelbeak doesn't seem to get any of this, and is way more focused on how that rat managed to make clothing for herself. That's actually not a bad question, though not one relevant to the situation. There's a lot of interactions with the bright heron and the not-too-bright rooster, and it builds throughout the episode.

In order for any of those evil plans to happen, they need to get Scrooge and his family out of Funso's. It doesn't seem like it really matters, as nobody, not even the adventurer of adventurers, suspects that this place they're under is suspicious, but that was the Buzzard's orders. Bradford Buzzard may not be a bright bulb either; in the very first episode, he wanted to turn off the magical barrier that kept the Bombie from continuing his unending journey to kill his boss...actually, that makes a lot of sense now. Black Heron orders Steelbeak to get the Scrooge family out without Scrooge getting suspicious about this new conspiracy against him.

That won't be too difficult, as Scrooge has different plans than trying to figure out if there's a conspiracy against him. There's a B plot about Scrooge getting convinced to go into the arcade section and getting addicted to Skee-Ball. Webby even calls it Skee-Ball, which is a trademarked term for the rolling ball game, even though the game itself calls it "Prospector Pete's Goldrush Bonanza!" They could have avoided any trademark issues, but they went with the brand name anyway. Well, if Disney could pay for DJ Khaled, anything is possible.

Again, this is a B-plot where there isn't that much to it, though I can't say I wasn't entertained by Scrooge taking this Gold Rush as an adventure and treating the tickets it spits out as actual gold. There is also a point to this: he becomes so addicted, that, say, if a kid and a bumbling idiot get kidnapped by a group with a vast conspiracy against Clan McDuck, he wouldn't know because his quest for tickets is the only thing on his mind.

Totally not speaking of which, Dewey and Launchpad play their last game of Double-O-Duck, and they do manage to get past the "secret code" part by the way of Dewey taking over for him. They get to the "win the card game" part, except the usual opponent has been replaced by some special boss. At least, that's what they assume. He's also wearing the glasses, but neither of them take that as a clue that this person may be a not-so-fellow player.

They have to play a game of baccarat chemin de fer, and Launchpad pretends to know what any of those words mean. The good news for him is that it was gibberish to Steelbeak, too. as both of them end up just saying random card terms while slamming the cards down, convincing each other that they got the upper hand. This all ends up leading to Steelbeak changing the game to 52 Teeth Pickup. That, of course, means a fight scene.

During this fight scene, we get a shot of what is happening in the real world, where we see the carnage this unscripted fight scene is causing. Why are there little kids in the middle of the AR room, clearly not playing the game judging by their lack of glasses? We see a little bit of this earlier, too, where Dewey takes off his glasses to reveal that one of the characters was just the Funso's mascot standing in the middle of the room. There is at least one enemy to fight in the game even if it was played as intended; I can imagine someone accidentally walloping a real person while fighting the fake one. Maybe I shouldn't think about this too hard.

If I were to nitpick some more, one of the hits randomly has a hit flash, even though there's none in the other punches. There was nothing different about that hit; I could understand using a hit flash if Steelbeak actually hit someone with his namesake, but it was just another punch. Was the censors just not happy with that particular one, but the other punches were okay?

The fight does go outside the AR room, leading them to the restaurant area where confused onlookers are looking at these weird glasses-wearing people fight as if they were special agents. I do like this shot where we see Steelbeak punch Dew-ble-O-Duck and Double-O-Duck out of a window in the AR world, and then it cuts to the real world, where the pool this lead to was actually the ball pit. The same ball pit they zoomed into to reveal the new F.O.W.L. Lair, in fact!

When Double-O-Duck and Dew...alright, I'm getting tired of calling them that already even if that's the roles they were given. When Launchpad and Dewey wake up, they're locked in a glass cell. That could mean only one thing: they finally beat the casino level! This leads to an interesting dynamic: they think they're still in a video game, despite being in the very real F.O.W.L. lair. This is good for the plot, as we'll soon see.

Meanwhile, we see that Black Heron managed to get the ray to work as it should, making the minions so dumb, they think a generic puzzle cube, they didn't want to tread on Mr. Rubik's toes even if Bay Tek was fine, is food. I mention this because it's a running gag.

Back to the cells, we see that all the other smartened up lab animals, including that rat from before, another much larger rat, a housefly, and two chipmunks, decide to help this large duck out of this situation. Alright, I'll drop the act: these are the Rescue Rangers. They're not named, but they're the Rescue Rangers; they're even constantly followed by an instrumental of their theme song.

There is an interesting behind-the-scenes story here: alongside the mascot of the biggest entertainment corporation in the world, the Rescue Rangers were supposed to be off-limits to DuckTales 2017 for various reasons. They were originally just going to have the small Gadget reference, referring to her only as "the intelligent rodent", but they kept building and building it to the point where the rest of the Rescue Rangers made it in, too. Once the executives caught on to the scheme, they decided to just allow it.

What possibly helps this is that we never focus on them. For starters, we never get to hear them talk. The audience always sees their scenes from the duck's point of view, and, in the rules of the Rescue Rangers, humans, or ducks in this case, can't communicate with rodents even if they are smart. This is not to say they never do anything major in the plot; it's thanks to them that that all important "cell release" button was pushed, freeing Launchpad and Dewey and getting them to "the next level". Dewey does seem to think that Launchpad came up with the solution to teach a mouse to fly a plane, and Launchpad just goes with it. It may not be out of malice, it's probably just because he's Launchpad.

That next level? Find the secret weapon!

Those wielders of the secret weapon are not exactly in good terms with each other at this point. Black Heron isn't too happy that Steelbeak interpreted getting rid of Scrooge's family is to get two of his family members and lock them up right in F.O.W.L.'s headquarters. This is because Black Heron knows that this is a perfect way to lead Scrooge McDuck right to them, as Scrooge would eventually figure out they're missing and figure out exactly where they went. She is that genre savvy.

Not savvy to anything is Steelbeak, and after Black Heron decides to insult him again and again for his mistake, he finally has enough and snatches the Intelliray right out of her hands, and shoots her with it. That takes out Black Heron out of the whole episode, actually, as the most that happens with her after this is that, when Dewey and Launchpad get to the room she's in, Dewey rightfully assumes the bad guy who is trying to figure out how her robot arm works is way too easy for the mission right after the moon logic puzzle of teaching rats to fly planes. How unbalanced!

Enter Steelbeak and his army of generic puzzle cube-gnawers, armed with the Intelliray and a bunch of one-liners that Dewey wants him to skip. I debated with myself on whether or not him not saying "where's the 'skip dialogue' button" was a missed opportunity or not. Another small fight happens, this time with no random hit flashes. With one hit, Steelbeak drops the Intelliray to the ground.

He then picks it up and attempts to shoot Dewey with it, Launchpad getting in the way with the classic "take the bullet for him" trope. Dewey does the "big no" trope, only to tell him that this must have been his last life. Wait, there were no lives before, the video game seemed to be "you died, game over" in the first scene. Dewey can't be consistent with what video game he was playing!

But wait, if all hope is lost, why is the ray blue? Well, it appears that Steelbeak forgot to check if that gun was set to "make smart rat dumb", or "make dumb rat braindead" in this case. Instead, we get a James Bond reference I actually recognize.

(special thanks to martosi231234 for this GIF)

Okay, maybe I should have made this a GIF; they totally do the James Bond intro parody here, complete with a maybe too obvious parody of the "dah dah" part of the James Bond theme. No shooting the screen, though; TV-Y7 does have its limits.

Inner Double-O-Duck: I'll take it from here, chum.

This inner Double-O-Duck shows up a couple times, mostly acting as his new intelligent guardian angel. Dressing up as one of the minions, thanks to knocking one out earlier, he sneaks into a large computer room and deals with the minions by telling them to go to Sector 13. They don't know what that means, but with his newfound intellect, Launchpad persuades them to go there anyway.

It's here where Launchpad finds out everything about the newly revived Fiendish Organization for World Larceny's conspiracy against Mr. McD. It's also here that he finds out that Steelbeak kidnapped poor Dewford, trapping him with rope and boating him across town. Since Dewey isn't a superhero, there's no way he can just get out of the rope. Well, maybe not every superhero can get out of the rope. Oh, and yes, Intelligent Launchpad always calls Dewey Dewford, but Scrooge is still Mr. McD. That nickname is that ingrained in him.

Most importantly, he finds out he's no longer in a video game...actually, I am not sure when that was supposed to happen. We know it does happen because it comes up later in the episode. A little before this point, I was almost expecting a rather disappointing ending where it was revealed this whole episode was just the video game, but this scene proves that can't happen because the game wouldn't known about the F.O.W.L. plan.

The boat chase is on. While the new far-more-intelligent Double-O-Duck chases the bad guy, he also tries to call Mr. McD and tell him all about what he learned, potentially progressing the plot arc much too early.

Unfortunately for Launchpad and indirectly himself, Scrooge is busy counting the tickets. I can imagine not wanting to trust the ticket counters. He also questions why he can't just keep the tickets and presumably have a giant ticket bin to swim in, and Webby convinces him that the tickets expire at the end of the day. The cashier attempts to explain that isn't the case, and Webby holds up a pizza tray and shushes him. There's some really good expressions in this episode.

After Launchpad tries to let Dewey know this isn't a game, to no avail due to the loud boats, and a pretty action packed chase scene where, fitting for Launchpad, he crashes his boat and, not so fitting for the usual Launchpad, makes a makeshift water skii out of two of the boat's boards and a grappling hook, unfortunately failing to get to him, Steelbeak makes it to his destination: the sattel-lighthouse. See, everything is connected; he even got to go to his dream lair!

This reveals his ultimate plan: turning the sattel-lighthouse into a giant Intelliray, and this time, he did know to check the dial to make all of the rats and other animals in Duckberg as dumb as he is. Launchpad tries to convince Steelbeak to reconsider this plan, as this would make Duckburg so dumb that they would forget to breathe, but...

Steelbeak: That fancy speak won't work on me, Dummie-O-Duck! Hah, classic.

He makes his own fistbump jokes, he's a villain I'd love to hate. How does he get out of this situation? Well, I'll give a giant hint on that: after Launchpad gets saved, he says this.

Launchpad: Thanks for the...

(3 seconds later)

...rescue.

They might as well have put it in giant text, put fireworks around it, and have a choir sing the word "rescue". Good thing this isn't a Cartoon Network reboot. As forced as that scene was, it's still an amazing scene.

I will spoil this, though: before that previous scene happened, he did manage to activate the Intellisatellite, and it's almost about to fire. Anyone could guess that Launchpad's newfound intellect is not going to survive past this episode, and him getting in the way of a giant endumbening laser is the way to do it. And yes, I know endumbening is not a word, but I bet Steelbeak didn't know that. As the song from the first scene plays again, this time showing that it had way more meaning than it did before, Launchpad questions if this is the way to go.

Launchpad: But I can't sacrifice my intelligence! There's so much more I can accomplish! Stop the evil conspiracy out to get us! Solve world hunger! Land a plane!

Oh, his intellect is definitely not going to survive. Also, there's a more personal reason for his questioning, and it was a theme throughout the episode: Launchpad wants Dewey to see him as a competent person to look up to, and, unlike Steelbeak, he usually doesn't have the confidence that this newfound intellect gave him. This makes this a rather heartfelt scene.

Somehow, they get back to the arcade with Dewey still thinking this was the game. There is no explanation for this whatsoever, and even Launchpad questions if it was a game...wait, is this actually that "it was all a game" ending I didn't want? What happened? Why are they here now? How are they here now? What happened to Black Heron? Eh, maybe I should take Dewey's words, from a previous scene, into account.

Dewey: Why are you overthinking this?!

I will say Dewey believing this was all a video game does at least give us a high stakes F.O.W.L. plot without advancing the arc too far this early in the season. Not even Launchpad could do that, as, in the end, Launchpad is back to his old self. He completely forgot about everything he saw, so he couldn't warn Mr. McD about all the misfortune that's going to happen. I will say that I am glad to see that there is a slight hint that the events of this episode did happen, as they do return to that puzzle cube running gag. A running gag that, while not having a real payoff, does have a point to it, how wonderful!

Oh, and as for Scrooge McDuck, with all of those tickets...he only managed to get a very, very small prize. Pretty accurate to the world of redemption games, I'm afraid to say. Don't want to anger that certain powerful rat.

How does it stack up?

The AR glasses do lead to some plot holes, and a lot of the episode relies on references, but none of that ruins the episode. Even the vague ending works in the episode's favor. Hell, maybe it will be explained in the future; this is the kind of show where I can expect that. Maybe not.

With great spy action, some great one-liners, a good villain, and some fantastic cameos from a fellow Disney Afternoon staple, this is another fantastic episode.

Next, suspicious mermaids!

← Quack Pack! 🦆 The Lost Harp of Mervana! →

[musekicker]

Fam plus the kid ocs (Goblin and missy) doing some sibling activities? Idk but like that good good family stuff?

This has been in my wip for awhile and finally finished it today.

Goblin and Jade are my ocs, Missy belongs to @halloweennut

Missy entered the lair after a great time at the beach during dusk. It had been a pleasant time, as most of her beach visits were. And she had a bag full of pretty shells that would probably be shared among herself, Mikey, and Jade.

"I'm back!" Missy called out.

The lair was unnaturally quiet and empty. It brought a prickle up Missy's spine and for a moment she was considering reaching for her weapon.

Jade peered out from the kitchen then. 

"Missy's here!" Jade called out and ducked back into the kitchen without any explanation.

Apparently things were happening.

Missy stepped into the kitchen to find the family gathered in there. They seemed to be in the midst of setting something up.

"Missy, you're here just in time!" April said, holding one of the bigger bowls from the kitchen.

Goblin was standing on a pile of old phone books to be at a comfortable level with the table finally. He grinned and looked up at his siblings and April.

"Okay,let's do this!" Goblin cried.

"What are we doing exactly?" Missy asked.

Mikey grinned, holding up a bowl and a some utensils before placing them on the table.

"We are doing our annual family team cooking competition." Mikey said.

"A what?" Missy asked.

"It's kind of like those cooking competition shows. Basically we get together, get in teams and then we cook." Raph said.

Splinter and Jade were seated at the kitchen table, not gathering cooking utensils and ingredients like the others.

"What about you?" Missy asked Splinter.

"I'm always the judge." Splinter said in a matter of fact way.

"I'm a judge too." Jade said.

"I see." Missy said. "I can't say I know much about cooking."

"That's okay. You can work with me and I'll help you get the idea of how to do some of the basics." Mikey said.

"Okay then, count me in." Missy said.

Missy joined Mikey's side of the kitchen to help him gather what was needed. Eventually everyone was set.

"And the contest starts in three... two... one." Splinter said.

"Go!" Jade cried.

The challenge was on.

Donnie had the terrible habit of substituting ingredients for those that would not work like he thought they would. It was a bit of mess, which became clear when he and Goblin's first plan for their dish of scones became a disaster because Donnie thought maybe substituting certain ingredients would make the scones better.

The back up plan was pudding. Not going to win for sure but it was something to present.

Goblin however had a different habit that was a problem. His sense of taste was very different from his siblings. And his sense of what was acceptable to pair with foods was just as different.

"For the last time we are NOT putting left over pizza scraps in the pudding." Donnie cried.

Goblin crossed his arms and stared with an air of defiance.

"I'm telling you, the crusts will be good in the pudding." Goblin said.

"And I'm telling you it won't." Donnie snapped.

"Says the guy who confused baking soda with baking powder." Goblin said.

"How dare you!" Donnie cried. "And that only happened once!"

Goblin grinned and brought the crusts closer to the pudding.

"Don't you even dare!" Donnie cried, grabbing for the bowl.

Goblin kept up his attempt to get the the crusts into the mix.

Raph was at least fairly competent in the kitchen. He was good at being careful of his ingredients measurements and was able to use the oven and stove without setting fires.

And with April on his team things went even smoother. April had been making her own meals for years now and had a good idea of what worked and what didn't cooking wise.

They had decided on chocolate chip cookies. A classic after all. And by this point the cookies were already in the oven.

"We got this." April said.

"Heck yeah we do." Raph said.

Mikey and Missy were making cookies too. Though with Mikey being the cook of the home he was adding his own twists to what normally would be a simple sugar cookie.

"Oh wow, this vanilla stuff has a strong scent." Missy said, having just opened the vanilla extract bottle.

"Yeah it is. And you do not want to use too much of that. First time I worked with it I accidentally used way too much." Mikey said "The dessert ended up in trash. Though dad did try to eat it still."

Mikey was being patient in explaining some of the other tips and tricks of the kitchen. And Missy was quick to pick up on the directions Mikey gave her.

Things were starting to wind down just a bit, all the dishes close to done.

"There is only five minutes left!" Leo cried from the table along side Jade and Splinter.

The contestants started to rush, putting their last touches on the treats.

"Five and a half..." Leo called out.

Plating was almost done.

" Four and a quarter-"

"Leo, I swear!" Raph cried.

Leo grinned but stopped until announcing the last minute.

And then..

"And the time is up!" Splinter cried. "Step away from the dishes."

The dishes were brought to the kitchen table and placed before the three judges.

"First to taste, our guest judge, Leo." Splinter said.

"I'm only allowed to be the judge because I nearly burnt down the kitchen more then once." Leo said.

"You tried to portal the fire away. That's not exactly a cool plan." Raph said.

Leo shrugged.

"It could had worked." he said.

Everyone was not impressed with Leo's logic. They didn't even dignify that statement with a answer.

Jade was also at the judging table.

"I get to be the judge that tries to be nice as possible even if the food isn't good." Jade said.

"I'm the brutally honest one." Splinter said.

And then the judging was on. Splinter was not as brutal as he said he would be, though he did give Donnie and Goblin an slightly judgmental look when he found the pizza crust in the pudding. Donnie only shrugged.

April's and Raph's cookies were a lot better received.

"Hmm, i think I need another cookie to judge better." Leo said.

"Me too!" Jade said, picking up on Leo's logic and reaching for another chocolate chip cookie.

Missy and Mikey's cookies went just as well and also required an extra judging. 

And then it was time to announce the winner.

"The winner is.. " Leo started.

"Everyone!" Jade cried. "Even Donnie and Goblin because I say so."

Leo and Splinter looked at Jade, this declaration not planned. Splinter shrugged.

"You heard her." Splinter said.

"Today, I guess we're all winners." Raph said.

"Doesn't the losers normally clean the kitchen?" Mikey asked.

"Oh, that's so Donnie and Goblin." April said.

"Hey!"

[leaiorganas]

Someone Like That 2/3

Clara and the Doctor, co-workers, holiday party, secret crushes. What could possibly go wrong?

LOL, does anyone even remember this fic? It’s been ages! If you remember, yay, if not, have a whouffaldi secret crush holiday party au!

On AO3 here

The Doctor stood with his hand braced against the car door, watching Clara as she ran towards the building. He called her name but she ignored him as she shut the door with a resounding snap. He stood there for a few minutes, debating whether or not to go after her but decided it would only make matters worse. Sighing, he got back in the car and decided to drive home. The night was over for him, he had held high hopes for this evening but nothing seemed to go right.

Clara Oswald.

Rubbing his hand through his hair, the Doctor tried to figure out why this evening had turned out so wrong.

She had been kind to him on his first day, volunteering to show him around the office. He admired her friendly personality but could see that many of her peers had not taken her seriously. He noted her sharp wit and keen intelligence and made it a point to include her in discussions during staff meetings.

That she was also very young and beautiful never occurred to him.

At least, it shouldn’t have.

She would often try to include him in team lunches or group outings but he always declined. He had no interest getting to know his colleagues, save one.  Clara was well liked by everyone, she seemed to know everyone’s name and never failed to ask after their children or spouses. It seemed that there may be one or two colleagues that liked her a bit more than others and he usually eyed them disdainfully as not worth her time.

He caught her once, attending a lecture of his at the University he taught at from time to time. She had ducked her head but he knew she was there and he could not explain the feeling in his chest. It had pleased him, that Clara took the time to attend his lecture. She had left before he could greet her, his disappointment hitting him harder than he had expected it to. He didn’t understand how she had managed to become so important to him but he found himself seeking her out in the office, carefully watching her when he was sure she wouldn’t notice. Her laugh was readily given and he loved to hear it, oftentimes finding that he wanted to smile simply as a result of her laughter. He was envious of the men that floated around her, the ease with which they could converse with her, flirt with her. It annoyed him that he couldn’t muster up the courage to talk to her so he retreated into himself, throwing on the persona of the standoffish Doctor. He would love to ask Clara about her children’s books, what she was working on, did she love a particular story. But someone like that was hard for a quiet, old man like him to know.

So all he had left was the company holiday party and that ended up being an abject disaster.

+

He watched her walk in, dress hidden by her coat but he thinks she is beautiful. His tie seems tighter and he wants to tear the blasted thing off and throw it in a bin. It’s when she hands her coat to the check and he sees her black dress that he knows he is outclassed and there is no way she will want to spend any time with him this evening.

He has to try.

He moves closer to her and is waiting when she turns away from the coat check. Her smile could light up a room. “Hello. I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”

“I usually don’t like these things but I thought it would do to make a quick showing, new guy and all. I won’t stay very long, make the rounds and say hello.” The lies roll off his tongue as he plays at a detachment he doesn’t feel.

He thinks she looks relieved when she comments that he will miss the dancing and he swears there is a lightheartedness about her. He is sure the disappointment on her face is a trick of the light. Before he can respond, Craig and Danny, two of Clara’s work paramours slide up next to her and he watches quietly as Craig places an arm around her waist. “Clara, save a dance for me, yeah?”

His eyes drift over to where Craig’s hand lies casually against Clara’s waist and he feels as if he could reach over and tear the younger man’s arm right off. He sighs inwardly and reminds himself that this is why he shouldn’t be here; this is the reason that she is out of his reach. It wouldn’t occur to him to invade her space so casually and perhaps she welcomed the younger man’s attention. He closes his eyes for a brief second, calling himself two thousand fools and realizes that, perhaps, the night is over him.

He should not have come tonight.

He watches Clara as she smiles at Danny who has taken it upon himself to drag Craig to the bar and when she looks back at him, he has made his mind up. So he is taken aback when she asks him to dine with him. He was not expecting the invitation and though it was the point of the whole evening, the point of why he was even here, he chose to decline her invitation.

Why ruin her evening as well?

He decides its best to leave it as is and go so he nods and chooses this moment to leave her, why drag out this awkwardness any longer?

++

He finds it more difficult to leave then he had originally planned. His boss has cornered him, forcing him into introductions with people he has no interest in nor have any inclination to talk to. After being roped into escorting his boss’s sister into dinner, his heart sinks as he realizes the impression this would give Clara, that he simply didn’t want her company.

Nothing could have been farther from the truth.

He does his best to watch Clara through the evening, watches as she converses with various co-workers and entertains their spouses. She has a knack for including everyone and it hits him harder that he had purposely chose to exclude himself from her circle. He watches as she dances and drinks her way through several hours and wishes he could bring himself to join her.

During dinner, he quietly listens to his dinner partner Susan, as she encourages him into conversation. She is a publisher who had befriended his boss’s wife, her conversation quiet and calming, a stark contrast to the lively conversations that Clara held. But his eyes continued to betray his distraction, sliding over to catch a glimpse of Clara whenever possible.

“She’s beautiful.”

Startled, he turns to face Susan and flushes. She’s watching him watch Clara and suddenly he wishes he had never come. He starts to make his apologies but she waves it away with a smile.

“Doctor, I get the feeling this is the last place you want to be tonight,” she nods her head in Clara’s general direction, “but maybe there is someone you wouldn’t mind talking to.”

“We’re co-workers, not even really in the same division.” His response is abrupt, he knows, but wants this line of conversation to end.

“Mmmmmhmmm.” Susan presses her lips together. “Tell you what, I am going to introduce myself to that gentleman over there and see if he is interested in buying me a drink.”

She stands, leaning close to the Doctor, “Maybe you could catch her while she is in-between dancing partners.  Better hurry.”

She pats him on the back and moves across the room leaving the Doctor at the table. He sighs and rubs his hand across his eyes and decides it’s time to go. Making his way slowly towards the exit, he chances one last look at Clara and sees that Craig has claimed her for one more dance. His lips curl in annoyance but before he has a chance to slip out, he is pulled aside to meet one more person. It’s a few minutes before he can extract himself and a last glance tells him that Clara is nowhere to be found.

Sighing, he redeems his coat ticket and decides to slip out the side entrance. He can hear conversation as he makes his way around the side of the building and he is sure he can hear Clara’s voice. He can feel the annoyance creep back over him, this whole evening had been a waste. He could have spent it reading, he is completely sure that would have been entirely more enjoyable.

But then he would have missed Clara in that black dress.

He shook his head ruefully and was almost around the corner when he heard Clara yell. He walked in on Clara lying on the pavement, dress torn with Craig hunched over her.

“What the hell…?” He watches as Craig loosens his grip on Clara, rage settling over him at the sight of Clara on the ground. He puts his hands under her arms to lift her up, offering a steading arm for her to hold. She turns to face her rescuer and he watches as her face flushes.

This was just perfect.

“Are you all right?” He watches her as she looks at her bleeding elbow and feels the contempt for Craig wash through him.

“Yes. No. Damn!” She hasn’t looked up at him yet.

Craig was getting to his feet, “Clara’s fine with this so just mind your own business, Doc.”

“That’s enough! Get out of here.” His concern for Clara outweighed his desire to kill Craig.

Craig doesn’t take the hint, his voice growing petulant, “Clara, I didn’t mean to hurt you. I thought we were cool.”

“The why didn’t you stop,” she said, furiously, “when I asked you to?”

“One little kiss,” Craig whined. “Why can’t you be a sport, Clara? Didn’t think you would mind, you’re always smiling and flirting.”

Clara gasped in outrage but before she could say anything, the Doctor decides to break in, his voice betraying how angry he was, “Apparently, she does. Get out of here,” he added, “you pudding brain fool.”

Craig seemed about to argue but he turned and left them in courtyard, mumbling under his breath.

The Doctor couldn’t decide what part of this scenario he was angrier about. The way Craig had treated Clara or that Clara had put herself in a situation where someone like Craig could treat her so. He avoids her eyes while he wraps a handkerchief around her elbow and he if he tightens the knot a tad too tightly on her arm, no one mentions it in the silence that falls between them.

But he can’t help himself, his jealousy creeps into his voice and he is slightly ashamed.

“And he’s not the only fool. If you didn’t want his attentions, why bring him out here?” He regrets the words the minute they are out of his mouth but her response that she has known him for years takes him by surprise.

“You can’t be that naïve.” He feels the anger push the shame aside and keeps going, “Especially in view of the signals you were giving him.” And he really, really does not understand why he is still having this conversation.

She stills next to him and he finally turns to look at her properly. Her beautiful dress is torn and he can see that she has scrapped her knee where her tights tore. She looks a bit lost and suddenly he’s tired. So tired.

“I suppose it’s a party and all, and that’s what people do at a party.” It’s time to go home and call this disaster of an evening over. He sighs and runs his hands through his hair, he knew he should have stayed home. He just knew it.

“You should just be more careful…in the future. You’re friendly and beaut-” he hesitated. Not saying that. “You’re very friendly and kind and people may get the wrong message.”

She’s angry and trying to calm herself, “Do you go around dispensing free advice to everyone or am I just special?”

Whoa. Who said anything about special? Does she think that he thinks that she’s special? No, no, no, no. No. She can’t think that. Does she? Is she okay with that? Maybe?

“No one thinks you’re special. I don’t think you’re special. Who says you’re special? It’s just sound advice.” That’s it, this was over. He was going to offer her a ride home and then crawl into a hole somewhere and lay down for a decade.

Before he could get the words out, she was turning and walking away. He called out to her asking her to wait but she insisted that she was fine, there were plenty of cabs. He closed his eyes for one second, why was she so stubborn, can’t she see that he just wants to help. He runs his hand over his face, the sooner they can leave the better.

“Why don’t you just accept my offer?”

“How do I know I’m not getting myself into something else?” she demanded. “Going home with a strange man?”

And it hurt.

That someone like her, someone he liked very much, could insinuate that he can do to her what Craig had earlier in the evening. He felt a wave of nausea and stared at her in dismay, “Do you really think you’re in any danger?”

He was done. “Come on, my car is parked on the other side of the building. We can go this way.”

He really had nothing more to say, disappointment curling through him mixed with hurt. He really was an old fool and this evening just proved it. Someone like Clara was too bright, too young, too smart to even be attracted to him, why try? He stayed silent on the drive home, listening to her directions but not engaging her in conversation.

What was there left to say?

Finally, finally, she indicated her flat and he pulled up. “Sure you’ll be okay?”

She nodded and was surprised when she told him that she would wash the handkerchief and return it. He had forgotten about it and it didn’t matter really, he just wanted her to be well. “You needn’t bother, just take care of yourself.”

Right. So…. he should let her out, it’s what gentleman do, yeah? He turns to open his door and starts at the gentle touch of her hand on his arm. He stares at the hand for a moment before staring at her. What now?

“Look, things didn’t quite turn out the way I thought it would tonight. I thought…I guess…I wanted to talk to you. I don’t know what I thought, to be honest. I like you and I just wanted to get to know you but you made it clear that you are not interested so I am just sorry. Sorry that you had to drive me home, sorry about taking up so much of your time.”

Wait.

Did she just say she wanted to get to know him? That she liked him?

Wait.

That he wasn’t interested in her?

He finds that he is at a loss for words and is struggling to process what she says. He watches as she pulls back, hand over her mouth to stop the runaway of words. He wants to grab her hand, keep her anchored right where she is so he can talk to her but his brain won’t co-operate. Won’t send the signals to grab her before it’s too late.

It's too late.

By the time he reaches for her, he is holding onto air as she has spun around and let herself out.

He scrambles to follow her, “Clara. Clara, wait. Please. Just wait.”

The Doctor stood with his hand braced against the car door, watching Clara as she ran towards the building. He called her name but she ignored him as she shut the door with a resounding snap. He stood there for a few minutes, debating whether or not to go after her but decided it would only make matters worse. Sighing, he got back in the car and decided to drive home. The night was over for him, he had held high hopes for this evening but nothing seemed to go right.

Clara Oswald. What to do now?

[authoressskr]

It Must Be Love?

Balthazar x Reader

Warnings: Language, Injury to Reader, Preludes to Sexytime

SHOUTOUT TO @murdochinthetardis for all the wonderful “dating __ would involve”, “enemies to lovers with ___ would involve”, and “being friends with __ would involve” cause I love making them extra sassy in the reblog tags. Also SHOUTOUT to Vee ( @nobodys-baby-now ) for encouraging the sassy Balthazar tags.

Note: Do NOT repost, copy and paste, post or share my works on any other platform without my EXPRESS PERMISSION. -+- REBLOGGING is fine! -+-

From the moment the angel had appeared at the Bunker, soaking wet and surly, he had rubbed you the wrong way. At first, you had tried to be as nice as possible to the angel, hoping he just had a snarky outer shell and that he would come around.

Time only seemed to make it worse.

Every little thing you did seemed to give him a reason to look down his nose at you.

The first time you actively noticed it was in Kentucky, on a ghoul hunt. You’d never come up against a ghoul before - you had only heard of them - and you hadn’t anticipated that it would move that fast. Cas was headed towards you when the ghoul sank its teeth into your arm. You had dropped your gun into your left hand and pull the trigger once it was pressed firmly against the ghoul’s head, biting down hard on your bottom lip to keep from screaming out at the pain. As it fell away after taking three direct shots and a healthy chunk of your arm with it, you felt a large hand haul you off the ground, out of the line of another rushing ghoul.

“Hell of a hunter. Turned herself into ghoul chow.” Balthazar snaps out, shoving you behind him towards Cas. It was all over minutes later, Cas healing your arm as Sam and Dean made sure all the ghouls were dead. Balthazar just raised a blonde eyebrow as you skulked to the Impala, angry with yourself. You were not going to let Balthazar get to you. You were going to let it roll off your back like water on a duck.

The eighth time, you were pinned to a wall by a witch nearly five months later, his meaty hand wrapped around your throat as he pressed a glass of orange liquid hard against your lips - hard enough you could feel the glass scrape against your teeth. Sam and Dean were tied up across the room, having been knocked out with some strange powder right after you three had entered the house, but the witch had left you conscious. “Something to play with,” he had muttered in your ear, making your stomach lurch.

One of those fat fingers trailed down your face before resuming its place at your throat once more, tightening when a small groan came from Dean.

“Your boyfriends are waking up, little hunter.” His foul breath fanned over your face, making you dry heave, which was the worst thing that could have happened. As you open your mouth to gag, he pours the orange liquid in your mouth, half of it spilling past and dribbling down your throat as his hand clamped down over your lips as Dean began snarling profanities at your captor, Sam throwing out his own threats as he rose to consciousness.

“Cas! Balthazar!” Sam bellowed, fighting at the rope restraints as the witch let you drop to the floor before turning at the sound of wings filled the room. You stumble and drag yourself over to Sam and Dean, your eyesight making you see double as you pull Dean’s spare knife from his boot. It takes you longer than you’d like to get the rope cut on him, handing him the knife with a heavy sigh to cut Sam loose.

“Fuck,” Sam’s big hands are reaching for you but suddenly you’re on hands and knees, heaving again as your body starts to shake uncontrollably. Tears are streaming from your eyes as he hauls you upright, only to have the witch fling Cas right at him, the two of them landing in a heap in the corner. You use the chair Dean had been tied up in to keep steady, blinking to try to clear your vision. Fuck. One eye was showing just black and white now as the other was showing you so many colors it was nearly nauseating. The two of them together with the double vision was making every task, hell, even just focusing a feat you weren’t too sure you were capable of right now.

“What do you see now pet? I made that up special for you!” The witch cackles as he moves towards you, Balthazar and Dean scrubbing hands over their faces frantically.

“You,” huff “Have terrible taste in men, darling.” Balthazar sasses, still rubbing his eyes. God, he’s such a dick.

You channel the stumbling towards Cas and his angel blade, your fingers wrapped firmly around the handle when the witch yanks on your shirt, jerking you to your feet as you turn in his grasp, plunging the blade as deep into his chest as you can. He crumples to the ground, taking your unsteady ass with him. By now the shaking has gotten worse and you don’t even have the strength to cry out as you hit the hardwood floor.

“Clear.” You groan out, mostly for Dean so he’s not going to attack you. You mutter a few choice swear words as you stumble to the kitchen, pulling out the biggest pan you can find as you practically vibrate as you wait while it fills with water.

As carefully as you can, you reenter the room, dipping the dishtowel into the warm water before wiping it as steady as you can across Dean’s face. You let him manage once you get the majority of it away from his eyes before turning to help Balthazar. Not that he deserves it.

Before you are even done with the first swipe, you hear “Scared, trapped, rabid animals are steadier than you are.” You grab the pan - so thoroughly done that the anger helps calm the shaking a little - and throw it at Balthazar’s face, watching in double-vision delight as he sputters then growls. Sam’s hand falls on your shoulder, tugging you away from the angel as Cas moves in to help his brother.

“I think that was pretty fucking steady, wouldn’t you say?” You reply sweetly before you feel Sam’s arm snake around your waist, hauling you out of the destroyed living room.

You didn’t see the angel for nearly three weeks after that incident.

Which was the most peaceful three weeks you’d had since the angel had shown up nearly ten months ago - promptly ending at 9:38 am.

You had just gotten out of the shower, enjoying the fact you got to sleep in after the rough ghost hunt just over the border, tossing yourself down onto the comfy couch that Sam and Dean had scrounged up from a lounge-like room somewhere. You wiggled down, finding a comfy position as you let your eyes flutter closed - still bone tired from the hunt and the various bruises that were scattered along your back and right side - totally oblivious to the angel hovering just an arm’s length away.

---

Dean, Sam, and Cas shot up at the sound of Y/N screaming, all three men barreling down the hallway towards the library. She’s standing there, drenched, little pieces of ice scattered around her feet. Her chest rising and falling slower now.

“I must say, you are the prettiest drowned rat I have ever beheld.” Balthazar nods with approval as he smiles, crossing his arms over his chest.

Dean eased closer in case he needed to intervene, with Cas mirroring his movements.

Y/N just took a deep breath and, giving Balthazar wide berth, headed back towards her room.

“She’s going to inflict grievous bodily injury on you, brother,” Cas commented, frowning at his sibling.

---

In the week that followed, you were convinced that Balthazar was trying to break you.

Removing all the blades from your razor and stealing all your long pants. Fine, that’s not so bad. If Dean wore shorts around the Bunker, so could you.

Replacing the material of your pillow with packing peanuts. That one irked you because you loved your pillow. You’d gone through three other pillows before committing to that one. But whatever - you did have those other three in your closet.

Stopping your phone from charging all the way - no matter how long you charged the damn thing for. Okay - *deep breath* - that’s fine. Sam has a couple spares in his room anyways.

But on the fifth day, when you went to put on your bra, only to realize that the underwires had both snapped. Upon digging through your drawers, you discover that every bra you owned had the underwire snapped. You pull on an older wireless bra you found buried at the bottom of the drawer, tugging on the too small garment before half-ass buttoning your dark blue long-sleeved shirt.

THIS WAS THE LAST FUCKING STRAW!

“BALTHAZAR!!” You scream, stalking from your bedroom as Dean sticks his head out from the kitchen before beginning to follow behind you at a brisk pace.

“Y/N...” Dean cautions as you stomp into the library, waving your favorite bra at the blonde angel.

“FIX. IT. NOW!” You snarl as Sam slides into the library’s archway with Cas appearing behind Balthazar.

“I knew I’d get you to scream my name.” He smirks, ignoring the fury painted on your face, his blue eyes darting down to take a long glance at your chest and exposed skin.

“Fix all my fucking bras, you asshole! One underwire snapping is unfortunate. Two snapping is weird - but EVERY. SINGLE. ONE?” You take a deep breath, well as much as the old, tight bra will allow. “That is some asshole angel shit!” His eyes briefly flicker back up to yours, smirking before rolling his eyes.

“There, darling. All fixed.”

“You have disliked me since day one! I don’t know what I fucking did to you, motherfucker, but I am done! It is one thing to mess with me - with my pillow, my razor, my phone and replacing all my lotion with tapioca pudding - but MY BRAS?! Do you know how expensive these are? Do you know the care it takes to maintain them? No!” You take a few steps forward and jab a finger into his chest. “I am so beyond done with this. I don’t deserve to be treated like this, Balthazar.” You tilt your head a little, staring him right in those baby blues, making sure he understands. “Look, I get that you were all raised pretty shitty. I get you’re disenchanted with a lot of humanity - besides your rampant addiction to booze and sex - but being a dick,” His eyebrows shoot up. “Isn’t funny and it isn’t endearing. In fact, it just makes me want to shoot you in your fucking foot with angel bullets.” There is complete silence at your tone, a frown forming before you head back to your room. “And stay away from my fucking underwear.”

---

You avoid Balthazar as much as possible in the next few days after that and, surprisingly, he doesn’t pull any more tricks or pranks.

When Jody calls that evening, it’s a relief. She’s having a little trouble pinpointing what the thing is that is skulking around three towns over and with Claire dealing with a cursed object somewhere near the Georgia-Florida border, she needed a little help.

“So, what do the bodies look like, Jody?”

“Scratched all to hell, look like they put up a fight, Dean, but...” Jody sighs, lowering her voice a little, “the chest was open, heart crushed and there is a lot of blood missing.”

“Lamia.” You and Sam mutter in tandem before you rise, quickly scanning through the closest bookshelf - ignoring the sound of wings directly behind you - before yanking two heavy books from the middle shelf.

“Okay, well bad new first or good news Jody?” You ask, setting the books down carefully by the phone on the table.

“Hell, might as well start with the bad.”

“Well, uh, it’ll be a woman - but they look human most of the time. When they don’t, well... it ain’t pretty. Lots of claws and a nasty roar. Two ways to kill it though; Silver knife blessed by a curate or priest.”

“Or, throw a mixture of rosemary and salt on the creature then light ‘em up.” Sam finishes, Balthazar moving closer behind you.

“And what’s the good news?”

“They’re pretty rare and tend to attack only men, so I guess the good news is that you’re a badass lady sheriff.” You offer lamely before Dean scoffs loudly. “Oh, what I meant to say was the good news is that the rosemary and salt route is easier, and lamias tend - at least according to Greek mythology - to favor young or unfaithful men.”

“Huh. Why unfaithful men?” Jody questioned, the sound of the sheriff’s station now added in the background.

“Mr. Zeus-I-Fuck-Everything knocked up a very beautiful Libyan queen. When Hera-Queen-Of-Misplaced-Anger-Bitchypants finds out, she, of course, blames the woman and kills her children by Zeus. This drives the queen to madness and she begins to devour other children. She becomes distorted from her horrendous acts and then starts crushing young men’s hearts and sucking their blood.”

“Sounds like a bad 80′s video.” The muffled sounds of the sheriff’s station grind to a halt as a heavy thud sounds over the phone.

“We’re loading up and heading out now, Jody,” Sam explains as Dean wanders out of the library. “We’ll see you in about 4, four and a half hours.”

“Alright. Drive safe.”

“Will do.” You nod to Sam before scooping up the books from the table, turning to head to your own room only to nearly run into the fair-haired angel. His hands shoot out to steady you before dropping quickly.

“Careful.” He smirks out, his eyes somehow softer, making your forehead wrinkle up slightly.

“Yeah.” You agree, shuffling around Balthazar and head to your room to pack up.

---

The pair of lamias easily tossed Jody, Sam, Dean and you around like ragdolls, while Cas and Balthazar attempted to get close enough to smite the damn things. Your latest blow had been softened by landing on Dean, so you shoved yourself upright and grabbed the shotgun with the modified salt rounds from where Sam had dropped it after his second airborne flight.

You get three shots fired into the lamia currently pinning Cas to the far wall before the second one is coming at you, claws drawn as it opens its wide jaws to scream.

But no sound comes out except a gurgle as a blinding white light pours out of its semi-human eyes and agape mouth. The other shrieks, tossing Cas through a nearby window and rushes towards Balthazar and Dean. You fire another two rounds before the pump action shotgun clicked empty, Jody aiming her own gun as it shrieks, making all the humans wince and shy away at the sound. Cas reappears, he and Balthazar hold it down so Cas can plunge his angel blade into the creature. You sigh, leaning against the peeling wallpaper of the old sitting room, watching as the two angels easily snap away from the bodies.

“Everyone good?” Dean inquires, clapping Sam on the shoulder.

“Yeah,” Sam affirms.

“I’ve been better,” Jody mutters, giving her head a shake to clear the slight still ringing noise echoing in her ears.

“Bruised but alright.” You give a nod to the Winchesters before all four of you file out of the musty room. Your following behind Dean when another roar screeches out, sending you flying into an old oak tree. “Fuck.” You groan out before a scream tears itself from your throat, the claws of the lamia digging hard into your side. And just as soon as it had appeared, it’s gone - Balthazar’s handsome face replacing the hideous gray one that had been staring hatefully at you.

“-- Be just fine, love - tattoo - stupid hunters --” You don’t catch all of what Balthazar says before you feel the tingle of grace warm your side and an arm snake around your back and under your knees before darkness sucks you under.

---

The first thing you can smell is bacon and then the underlying scent of Jody’s house. You force one eye open, before rolling to your side - letting your hand roam over where you knew you had been torn up. You roll onto your stomach, trying to figure out what Balthazar had been saying to you when you’d passed out.

“You up?” Dean’s voice sounds from the doorway, making you shove your face deeper into the pillow. “Come on.” He orders, moving into the room.

“Nnnnhhh.” Dean’s hand comes down sharply on your ass.

“Come on, kid. Breakfast.” You push the blankets back, sit upright and, prying your eyes open, peer down at your pajamas.

“Did you change my clothes?”

“Come on. I made you French toast.” He moves back to the door, gripping the frame before tipping his head to the left. You slide a hand over your face as you follow Dean.

“Hey!” Jody calls out cheerfully as she dishes up eggs, slipping down into the chair Sam holds out for you before giving your shoulder a hard squeeze. Dean plops down beside you, forking over three thick slices of French toast onto your plate as you yawn. “So, how do you feel?” Jody coaxes, taking a bite of bacon before passing Sam the orange juice.

“Mmhmm. Fine, I guess.” You finish pouring the syrup on your French toast, shoving a large piece in your mouth as the soft sound of fluttering fills the kitchen.

“I am glad you’re feeling better.” Cas’s deep voice rumbles out, a soft smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

“Thank you, Cas.” You manage to say around your mouthful of breakfast, giving what Dean liked to teasingly call your “chipmunk cheeks” as you smiled. Balthazar says nothing, just watches the exchange with those baby blues flitting over you a few times in the span of a handful of seconds. Part of you was wondering what was going to come out of his mouth, shoving another piece of French toast into your mouth as you waited.

He pulled the chair next to Jody out, slipping into it and staring at you before rolling his eyes.

“No ‘thank you’ I see.” He mutters before pursing his lips and looking away.

“I honestly thought you’d have a smart-ass line or some mention of finally getting your hands on me.” You answer with a little shrug before chomping happily on a piece of bacon. Those sky-blue eyes bored into you, his jaw clenched tight. “But thank you, Balthazar.” You wait for a beat, finishing your bacon and letting him relax a smidge. “My heart will now go on.”

“Don’t you fucking -”

“Near.” You cut the rest of your breakfast up, taking a few quick bites of the scrambled eggs on your plate before softly breathing out the next word. “Far.”

“I am going to turn you over my knee, Y/N.”

“Wherever I am.”

“That’s it.” Balthazar snaps, knocking the chair over as he rises, his arm wrapping under your breasts and the both of you disappearing from the kitchen as Sam shouts your name. Balthazar pins you between the door (if the sudden jiggling of the door handle and shouts of your name were any indication) and his body, arms caging you in. “Darling, I’ve been exceedingly patient -”

“Patient? You’ve been an asshole since we met!” A deep voice sounds on the other side of the door then several pairs of footsteps recede.

“And I’ve been attempting to be nicer.”

“The last week or so has been nice?” You ask incredulously, eyebrows shooting up. He licks his lips, dropping his gaze to the floor before meeting your gaze once more - the softness from hours ago reappearing.

“I asked you to be careful.” You scrunch up your nose at the sudden change in demeanor and tone. “It was easy to smite the lamias but so much harder to see you injured.” He lifts his right hand, running his thumb along your jawline. What the actual fuck? “I have - made an effort - the last week or so, to be nicer. I brought you all the expensive sherry. No more tricks on you. Left those nice diamond earrings on your dresser. And healed your pretty rib tattoo.” You tilt your head to the side minutely, trying to process what the angel had said. “I’m supposed to protect you, love.”

“Then why did you act that way?” You hated the way your voice sounded, more sad than angry. “I tried to be extra nice to you. To make sure the boys weren’t total dicks to you. And how you treated... wait, are you drunk?”

“Mmhmm. I am a little tipsy, even for me.”

“Jesus.” Placing both hands on his chest you attempt to push him away, but he doesn’t move. Except to drop his face in the crook of your neck, his hand that had been cupping your cheek now slides into your hair.

“You smell wonderful.” He mumbles against your skin as he closes the space between your bodies. “I wanted to lie with you as you slept. To wrap my wings around you. Scent you.” A few soft kisses pressed along your throat sent chills down your spine. “My human to protect.” His lips brush against your jaw as your hands move to slide up his sides then down his back. You get a firm grip on his ass, his erection pressed against you as he captures your lips.

“Don’t think this suddenly abolishes everything you’ve done.” You pant out as Balthazar’s lips, and teeth, return to your neck.

“I am willing to work very hard to make amends, Y/N.” He promises before kissing you once more, rutting himself against you. He pulls away sharply, his hands sliding over your ass before grasping the backs of your thighs, signaling you to wrap your legs around his waist. Your suddenly naked back hits the bed, gasping as his weight settles atop you. “I am going to pound into your little human body until you pass out. Does that sound abolish-worthy?” You tangle your fingers in his short blonde hair, tugging his mouth down to yours.

“It’s a hell of a start, Balthazar.”

Tags: @nobodys-baby-now @thewhiterabbit42 @chelsea072498 @lucis-unicorn @sakurablossom4 @clockworkmorningglory

[titriwrites]

Scoop! - Chapter 11

A/N: I am SO sorry for the delay! But look, this has smut to make up for it. My first published smut btw, and probably a little less intense than some other stories you can find on tumblr, but I’ll still go into hiding right after posting this ;) And for everyone who doesn’t like to read smut, I marked that part with an *M*, so you can skip the part. And now, enjoy, I guess. Oh, and I’ll edit tomorrow, but I hope there aren’t that many mistakes! Let me know what you think ;)

Closer

It’s not just all physical I’m the type who won’t get oh so critical So let’s make things physical I won’t treat you like you’re oh so typical All you think of lately is getting underneath me All I dream of lately is how to get you underneath me Here comes the heat before we meet a little bit closer Here comes the spark before the dark, come a little closer

‘Closer’ by Tegan and Sara

“This is really, really beautiful, Tom, “ Jo whispered, almost in awe.

It’d been two weeks since he’d visited her in her flat and they’d watched The Jungle Book and later on Singing In The Rain together. They met afterwards as well, but it was mostly for a quick lunch in her break or when she had to go to an interview or event of some sort, and Tom was in the area as well. It had always been very low-key and so far nobody had spotted them. At least none of her colleagues mentioned anything

But tonight, tonight was entirely different. He said he wanted to take her out on a real date. Not walking around in the park or eating a sandwich in a local cafe. Though, Jo ensured that it was perfectly fine for her. She didn’t need some grand gesture; they were perfectly fine as they were. Especially considering the fact that she didn’t want to start anything serious. And that she had her first paragraph written and an idea of where to go with the story. She didn’t tell him those last two points.

But Tom had started with his puppy dog eyes. A look he had soon learned to convince Jo of almost anything. And they hadn’t even been in bed, yet. Not that she wanted. Well, Jo admitted to herself, she wanted, indeed – just one look at him was enough to turn her into pudding in his hands – but she obviously couldn’t. Except for the fact that she promised Eva to not get into something serious with Tom, her best friend also made her promise not to sleep with him. And Eva was right, it wouldn’t be fair. How the blonde wanted to check on her over the phone, she couldn’t tell Jo, but “she had her ways.“ Jo was a little freaked out after that and uninstalled her webcam.

Anyway, here she was now, in the fancy Duck & Waffle restaurant, overlooking London. They didn’t sit privately, but in a place like this, Jo was pretty sure nobody would spill the beans.

Tom beamed at her. “You like it?“ He looked so handsome tonight. Well, every time she’d seen him actually. He was wearing a white dress shirt, black trousers and a black jacket without a tie. She almost fell over when he picked her up in his Jaguar. Jo had argued that it was pretty silly for Tom to make the twenty minute drive to her flat in Bayswater to then make a 45 minute drive again to the restaurant, instead of just driving there separately, her by Tube, him by car, if he wanted. But he was determined to make it a real date, so he picked her up at home. Jo still thought it was a stupid idea, but couldn’t deny that it was a very sweet gesture.

“I love it, Tom,” she reassured him. “I mean, look at that. It’s an amazing view,“ Jo said, pointing out of the window.

“I know that.“ When she looked at him, Tom was already staring at her, winking when she blushed.

“Smooth, Hiddleston.“ She wouldn’t admit that it actually worked.

“I do have my moments,” he smiled, before digging his fork into the delicious looking Scottish salmon again, moaning a little and closing his eyes. Jo almost combusted right then and there and was shocked to realise she had to press her thighs together. She adverted her eyes to her own plate of grilled chicken and blushed horribly. She hoped Tom didn’t notice.

“You certainly do,” she mumbled, not looking up.

Jo heard an intake of breath and thought Tom would certainly say something, before she saw a movement from the corner of her eyes.

“Uhm, excuse me?”

Jo’s heart stopped. Had Tom been recognised? Was that it? Would she have to break his heart in front of the world to see, because they’d been found out and people would notice when she wasn’t at his side anymore?

“Yes?” she heard Tom answer, tentatively.

Jo finally looked to her left and saw a man in his early thirties maybe, already holding a smartphone in his hand. He looked a little nervous.

“I’m sorry to bother you, Mr Hiddleston. My name’s Daniel, maybe you’ve heard of the charity ‘Tom’s Trust’?” Jo saw Tom nodding as the man continued, “We’d be so happy and gracious, if you could maybe take a picture for that? Just a quick one, forming a ‘T’, helping us raise awareness. It’s totally fine, if you’re not up to it right now, I know you’re on your time off. I just couldn’t let this opportunity go to waste.” He was rambling, like a lot of people did meeting Tom, Jo could imagine.

When Tom said yes, she could swear poor Daniel was about to have a heart attack. He almost looked like Sam, when he found Tom and Jo standing in front of their house not long ago.

They took a quick picture, followed by a lot of hand shaking, and a warm smile for Jo, probably thanking her for letting Daniel interrupt ‘their’ evening.

“Thank you so much for doing this, and letting me post this. And for letting me ask while you two obviously are enjoying a nice meal and time together.”

“You’re very welcome, Daniel. And about dinner… Could you maybe wait posting that picture until tomorrow? We,” Tom pointed to Jo and then back at himself, “would really love to leave this place unseen.” He was smiling, but Jo could tell Tom was getting a little anxious, probably torn between pleasing Daniel and the good cause, and giving Jo and himself more private time.

“No problem at all, I understand,” Daniel winked, before shaking first Tom’s then Jo’s hand once more, and leaving their table, not without a glance back.

Tom smiled at Jo, blushing a little. “Sorry for that.”

“No need to apologise. Do you think, he’ll tell?”

He sobered for a moment, looking hesitantly at Jo. “Would that be bad? I mean, I don’t think he will, he’s all about the charity, not gossip I believe. But I can’t tell. Would it… are you uncomfortable?”

To her own surprise, Jo was honest when she answered, “I don’t think so. I guess, what happens, happens.” Did she really mean this? They were not getting serious. They couldn’t, Jo repeated in her head. Suddenly, this whole evening turned in a totally different direction than she’d expected. The sparkle in Tom’s eyes and his slight chuckle made Jo’s stomach churn. And herself feel guilty.

“Wow, I can’t say that I expected that,” he said and smiled at the brunette. “Can’t say I’m sad about this, either.”

“Tom, we can’t –,” She had to turn this around. Jo had said way too much, way too soon. Oh fuck, it wasn’t even too soon, she shouldn’t have said it at all. Ever. “We’re just –“.

“We’re just dating, I know,” the actor interrupted her. “This still means a lot to me. I know it’s not exactly…easy, this being with me. It doesn’t even matter, if you’re my friend, my date or anything else in between and beyond. If we’re spotted together, you’re in the papers. There was a reason why I wanted the date to be here. I didn’t think anyone would care,” Tom said. He averted his eyes for a moment. “I’ve been in these situations quite a lot. And I’ll continue to be.”

“Well, I’ll just have to make sure to look my best at all times, then. Wouldn’t want to be caught with holes in my trousers.” Tom looked up at hearing the teasing tone in Jo’s voice, and she grinned. “Can’t have my mother calling me, telling me to buy new clothes.”

“You’re just… you’re okay with that?” he asked, almost incredulously.

“Well. If getting to know you and spending time with you comes with that. We don’t have to go to premieres or fan-favourite places, but I’m quite content sitting in restaurants like these.” She wasn’t even lying. And it weren’t just restaurants like these, either, where she was happy with Tom. The grin on his face told Jo he felt the same.

He shook his head a little, and let out a small laugh. “So, we can sit here a little longer, if you want. I definitely want to try that chocolate fondant later on.”

Jo could only nod and agree. The dessert did sound incredible after all.

They were home at Tom’s place, and the actor had to physically and mentally restrain himself from pouncing at Jo. It’d be a strange thing to do after such a romantic dinner. Right? He had convinced Jo – though, he wasn’t sure how much conviction she really needed – that it was easier to drive to his place. A drive, shorter by twenty minutes after all. And Jo did complain about his stupid idea to pick her up before. Plus, he lived alone and they didn’t have to go on a sofa bed to, well, talk.

Maybe do a little more than talking, because, damn, she looked incredible, and Tom had had to stop himself from touching her – inappropriately, because he couldn’t keep is hands ALL to himself – the whole evening. She was sporting her typical loose bun, light make-up, and she was wearing a black jumpsuit, that hugged her in all the right places and had a low neckline. Plus, she was definitely giving him flirty looks all through dinner and dessert.

Now, they were sitting on his couch in front of the fire place, where they’d be sitting when she was there the last time, before he had to leave, and what continued to be a heated make-out session. But for now, they were talking.

“You know, what I hate about newspapers?” Jo asked, curled up on the couch, her head on Tom’s shoulder one arm slung over his stomach while his hand trailed little lines over her arm. It was a position they found themselves in routinely.

His eyebrows shot up. That was quite a random question. “Well, now I’m curious. What do you, a journalist, hate about newspapers? And do you want to have the list I made about this?”

“You have a list?” she asked, turning her had to grin at him. She stuck her tongue out at him when he rolled his eyes and poked her side. “I hate it when they can’t get names right. Yesterday, I saw an article, and they got a complicated name wrong. I mean, why? We have people, who do research. You just have to check the names, that’s one of the most important parts. If you put someone in the newspaper, you have to at least make sure, they’re written correctly.”

“Wow, you do get heated about this, don’t you?”

“Well, typos can always happen. They happen to me a lot, especially whenever I have to be fast. But you should at least get the names right.”

“I can’t even tell you how many different versions of my last name are out there. I feel like the ‘e’ was in every place imaginable in that name,” Tom chuckled and held her a little tighter. “When you ever write a review about a play I’m in, can you make sure you spell my name right?” he laughed. He felt Jo stiffen. “What is it?”

She didn’t look at him anymore, but on the floor instead. “Tom, I –“

“Oh, I know,” he interrupted. “It’d be a conflict of interest, right? No review from you for me, then.”

“I,” she chuckled, but it didn’t quite sound right. “Yes. No reviews from me for you,” Jo finally said and turned to him. There was something in her eyes, Tom couldn’t place. So, he settled for pouting, which made Jo roll her eyes at him. “You’ll live.”

“But we could totally mix work with pleasure.” His voice went lower in the end. “Though, we can have pleasure without work as well.” He wiggled his eyebrows, making Jo laugh. God, he loved her laugh.

“Don’t ruin the mood, Hiddleston.”

“There was a mood?” Jo just raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I guess there was a mood then,” Tom whispered before leaning closer, his lips grazing hers lightly.

She moaned into him, opening her mouth readily, inviting Tom in. He groaned, pressing himself to her, and cupping her cheek with one hand. The other one went to Jo’s waist, holding her in place, even moving her a little closer.

Jo got on her knees and went to straddle Tom, sighing when his second hand went from her cheek to join her waist, steadying her. Jo’s hands moved to Tom’s pecks, still defined from his gym work for playing Loki.

She moved her hips, connecting her lower area with Tom’s groin. He felt electric shocks moving through his body, making him shiver. They made out like this before, always stopping before things went too far – either because Jo was on her period or they had to get up early the next morning and she had to make the way back to her flat, or because her roommates were somewhere in the flat and could hear them. Bur right now, they were alone, Tom had her all to himself, and she hadn’t made a comment about going home, yet.

He’d waited for this, he got bolt and made his move, lifting his pelvis up and pressing against her. They both couldn’t stifle their moans when they felt the friction. “God, Jo,” Tom sighed. “We,” he swallowed, before continuing, “Are we doing this?” He was panting. Hard. Almost embarrassingly so. He didn’t even wait for Jo’s answer, he just pressed his lips against hers again, his left hand sneaking up her side, cupping the edge of her right breast.

Jo sighed in his mouth, the feel of his hand on her breast almost too much. Her hands found their way to the lower parts of his body as well, trailing down along his stomach until her left hand reached his crotch. Tom’s groan was silenced by her lips and it took Jo a while to realise he asked her a question. Oh fuck, were they going to do this? Exactly this?

Before Jo’s brain registered her own words, they were already out. “Yes, Tom. Yes, we’re doing this.”

It was all Tom needed to hear. Goodness, he’d longed for this, probably since the first time they’d kissed. Maybe even since the first time they’d danced. Or maybe since the first time he’d heard Jo laugh. With a grin on his face, he cupped Jo’s butt, getting up from the couch and lifting Jo at the same time. With a little squeal she wrapped her legs around his waist, as her arms went around Tom’s neck to steady herself.

“I’m going to take you to bed then,” he said, maybe a little too breathless to appear calm. He didn’t care one bit, feeling Jo’s body pressed against him when her lips found the part between his shoulder and neck, licking the spot. His breath hitched and with a little growl he held Jo tighter and began moving towards the stairs and his room.

*M*

“Tooooooom,” Jo moaned. Loudly. It wasn’t the first time these past ten minutes since they’d arrived in Tom’s bedroom, that she made a most unladylike noise. But she couldn’t help herself. Tom’s hands were everywhere at once, her breasts, her thighs, her sides, occasionally cupping her cheek or lifting her ass. His lips followed those same paths, the only part he hadn’t touched with either his hands or his lips was the part where she desired his touch the most.

He got close to her core a few times, but always stopped short. She didn’t know, if he did it on purpose or not, but at this moment, she didn’t even care. She almost whined when his hands left their path again and instead lightly brushed the insides of her knees. So she pressed her legs that were wound around his hips a little tighter and was delighted when his breath hitched. They were both panting heavily at this point, the only barrier between them Jo’s black panties and Tom’s blue boxer shorts that were tight around his groin.

“Tom, I swear to God –“.

“What, darling,” he murmured, his lips lightly sucking at Jo’s exposed neck, while his hands moved down her legs to her calves.

“Touch. Me.”

He chuckled. “I am touching you I believe.”

“Touch me higher, then.”

“Where?” he whispered.

Instead of giving a verbal answer straight away, Jo bucked her hips, squeezing tighter. “There,” she breathed.

She saw Tom swallow as he finally, finally moved his hands and touched the little bundle of nerves with his index finger, shifting his body on top of Jo to get better access.

Jo sighed, deeply. “Tom.”

“Jo. God, you’re wet, Jo,” her murmured. He began stroking her, Jo’s hips meeting Tom’s hand eagerly. “I need to remove this,” he whispered, tugging at her slip, before ripping it away unceremoniously. “I’ll buy you new ones,” Tom snickered when he heard Jo protesting. She forgot complaining anyway, as soon as his experienced fingers found her again, this time entering her.

“Fuck, Tom.”

“Soon, love.”

“Smartass.”

“If you can still talk during this, I’m definitely doing something wrong.” He’d just said it and soon after Jo felt a second finger joining the first one inside of her.

She let out a long moan, and moved her hips against his hand. She could feel her insides tighten as her hands held on to Tom’s shoulders as he moved above her, his left arm holding on to her hips, trying to keep them in place. There was a layer of sweat starting to cover Jo’s body and she bit her lip as she stifled a moan.

“Don’t try to keep quiet,” Tom whispered in Jo’s ear. He felt her shivering, her nails digging into his shoulder, and heard her swearing. “Let go,” he said.

It was the last bit of encouragement Jo needed. Heat exploded inside her, her body quivered, and her mind went blank for the first time that evening. The only thing Jo registered was Tom’s hot breath in her ear, as he whispered things, she didn’t understand, heat pooling in her core, her hips bucking against Tom’s hands.

As she came down, panting, she felt Tom’s erection pressing against her, reminding her this night wasn’t over, yet. She moved her hands down, still not opening her eyes, and pushed Tom’s pants over his ass and down his legs. Taking his penis in her hand, she squeezed lightly, chuckling as it was Tom’s turn to moan and beg. He was hard, and Jo felt a shiver going through Tom’s body.

With one hand he reached to the side, opening a drawer. Jo supposed he was fetching a condom. They moved against each other, his tip lightly touching her vagina, making both of them sigh in pleasure.

Then it hit her. She was about to sleep with Tom. Something she swore she wouldn’t do. He’d already made her orgasm once, leaving her a quivering mess, but there was no turning back, if they actually slept together.

She had to tell him, didn’t she? “Tom,” she sighed, not really sure what she was about to say. “Tom, I –“. Oh God. Shit, this was the worst moment to tell him. Did it really matter? She opened her eyes when she felt Tom adjusting himself against her, as he’d already put on the protection.

“There you are,” he smiled, his pupils delated, eyes almost black with want.

She had to tell him. “Tom, I can’t. I need –“.

“What do you need? Do you want to stop?” He was panting, looking at her with worry.

Jo wasn’t sure anymore. About anything. “I don’t know,” she whined, but met his hips with a thrust of her own.

“Fuck, Jo. You can’t do that to me then. It’s alright, love, but I need you to stop moving or I won’t be able to stop here.” His voice was thick, more like a low rumble, and he was breathing hard. Tom was propped up on his arms, almost cradling Jo’s head. A layer of sweat was building on his forehead, his hair was rumpled and he looked like he was about to burst. Jo was sure she’d never seen something sexier. “Josefine,” he whispered then, smiling and pushing a strand of hair from her cheek with his index finger.

It was Jo’s undoing. “Do it, please. Fuck me.”

As he entered her, time stood still and moved fast forward at the same time. Jo didn’t know her name, she didn’t know what to feel, except Tom’s manhood inside her, touching all the right places.

They moved together, no awkward fumbling, as if they were meant to do this from the beginning. Jo felt herself getting close to another orgasm again, Tom pulsing inside of her. She felt him shaking, his finger finding her clit again in a desperate attempt to make her come before him.

Her breath caught in her throat at the same time she felt Tom stutter. Her walls clenched around him as they both came with a moan. There were whispered words, none of them really understood, hips grinding, hands touching and tearing, and lips and teeth teasing each other. Their names were on each other’s lips, quiet sighs between the sheets.

As they both stopped shaking, Tom pulled out, and – after ridding himself off the condom and tying it – pulling the blanket over the two of them, lay behind Jo, enveloping her in his arms.

*M*

Jo sighed. They didn’t need to talk, there wasn’t anything to say, really. She just knew she was in trouble, but was way too tired and content to do anything about it. So, she just closed her eyes and wiggled closer to Tom.

Tagging @devikafernando @itsliterallythis @justthelosersblog

[ashport92-blog]

Where to Eat Dim Sum in Philadelphia: The Ultimate Guide

Guides

No matter where you are or what style you're looking for, we've got you covered with this list of all the best places for shu mai, soup dumplings, and scallion pancakes in Philly.

Devoted foodies and restaurant newbies love Foobooz. Sign-up now for our twice weekly newsletter.

Dim Sum Garden | Facebook

I know I don’t have to convince you how good dim sum is. Little plates full of awesome. A taste of home and comfort for those who grew up with it. A universe of dumplings, buns, and chicken feet.

And I don’t have to convince you that Philly has a deep bench of dim sum places, either. If you’re a Foobooz reader of any regularity, you know the places that we love, that we return to again and again. You know that we’ve spent years poking around the neighborhoods looking for new dim sum spots, overlooked gems, forgotten places. In a city that loves brunch the way Philly loves brunch, dim sum is vital. A man can only eat so many plates of eggs Benedict and shakshuka, after all. Sometimes, congee is what’s called for. Or shu mai and soup dumplings and taro cakes and sticky rice.

When that time comes, we’ve got you covered. Here’s where to find all the best dim sum in Philly, no matter where you are.

The Dim Sum You Must Try First

Tom’s Dim Sum | Facebook

Joy Tsin Lau, Chinatown Traditionally, dim sum is served for breakfast or brunch — and Joy Tsin Lau sticks to that, with a fully separate menu that’s served from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. seven days a week. The menu includes an extensive selection of dumplings, wontons, rolls, shu mai, and sweets like egg custard and coconut pudding, plus items like chicken feet, taro cake, duck tripe, and squid topped with curry sauce. 1026 Race Street Ordering style: À la carte

Tom’s Dim Sum, Chinatown This spot in the 11th Street tunnel, sandwiched between Reading Terminal Market and the Greyhound bus station, isn’t much to look at from the outside. But the dim sum menu there is one of the best around and a perennial Foobooz favorite. The scallion pancakes are featherlight and less than $4, and the soup dumplings thin-skinned and piping hot — made by the titular Tom, an OG from the days when Dim Sum Garden occupied this spot, who has now returned to make the place his own, and better than ever. 59 North 11th Street Ordering style: À la carte

Dim Sum Garden, Chinatown Back in the old days, before the Chinatown buses were shut down, Dim Sum Garden occupied the 11th Street tunnel spot where Tom’s is now — and it was the perfect meal to welcome you back to Philly after a dirt-cheap trip to New York or D.C. Now, you can find their excellent dim sum (a batch of pork soup dumplings with turnip cake, shrimp dumplings, moon cakes, and some steamed bok choy is our go-to order) a few blocks away on Race Street west of 10th. 1020 Race Street Ordering style: À la carte

Nom Wah, Market East With its menu of traditional small plates, approachable buns, dumplings, egg rolls, and an extensive list of teas, this offshoot of the historic NYC tea parlor is a perfect spot for spending a rainy (or snowy) weekend morning. Or, you know, you could also go at lunch (the chef’s special ho fun will do you right). Or at night. Because Nom Wah serves straight through until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. on every day but Tuesday. 218 North 13th Street Ordering style: À la carte

Best Dim Sum In Chinatown

Sang Kee Peking Duck House | Facebook

Imperial Inn Be sure to try the shrimp rolls, a fan favorite, at this old-school spot. You can also get your dim sum served with a side of “volcanic flame”: order the pu pu platter for an assortment of appetizers that you can “roast to your heart’s content.” 146 North 10th Street Ordering style: From a cart

Sang Kee Peking Duck House This spot, tucked just south of the Vine Street Expressway on 9th Street, is known for its crispy-skinned duck, roasted to a deep golden brown. But its extensive menu includes Chinese dishes from multiple regions (including Americanized dishes), Thai cuisine, ramen, and a solid list of dim sum. It’s all there, from spring rolls to bao buns, but don’t miss the barbecued spare rib “bits,” crispy shrimp rolls, and pan-fried dumplings. 238 North 9th Street Ordering style: À la carte

New Harmony Vegetarian Restaurant This place has long been a haven for vegans and vegetarians looking for meatless versions of kung pao shrimp and moo shu pork. But they’ve also got a sizeable dim sum menu, featuring everything from vegetarian versions of pork buns to taro cakes, sticky rice, and some of the best scallion pancakes out there. 135 North 9th Street Ordering style: À la carte

Ocean Harbor At Ocean Harbor, the carts are stocked with piping hot snacks like soup dumplings, fried taro balls, and sticky rice. And true to its name, the restaurant offers a wide variety of seafood options, from lobster and shrimp to braised abalone, cold jellyfish, and eel. 1023 Race Street Ordering style: From a cart

Shanghai 1 I like a place that considers French fries to be a dim sum dish. And Shanghai 1 does. I like that they have six different kinds of pancakes on the menu, four different soup dumplings, and Shanghai-style shu mai. And while you can get almost anything here (from cold pig kidneys to frog meat casserole), the kitchen takes the dim sum seriously and will serve it to you at all hours. 123 North 10th Street Ordering style: À la carte

Mong Kok Station Are the baked goods your favorite part of going out for dim sum? The egg tarts, taro buns, and everything else? If so, then Mong Kok is perfect for you, because it’s a fairly new Chinatown bakery that just happens to have a dim sum menu served in the back. Plus (as if you needed more reasons to go), they also sell all kinds of buns, all day long. They’re cheap, delicious, and wildly varied. The only drag about the place is that it’s cash-only. 153 North 10th Street Ordering style: Counter service plus à la carte

Ocean City Ocean City’s menu boasts nearly 250 items, from wonton soup to sizzling intestine with black pepper sauce. But it’s the roving dim sum carts, stocked with dumplings, salt-roasted chicken feet, congee, pork buns, barbecued scallops served in the shell, and dozens of kinds of dumplings that keeps us coming back. 234 North 9th Street Ordering style: From a cart

Best Dim Sum in University City and Logan Square

Dim Sum House | Facebook

Dim Sum House Jane Guo brought dim sum west along with her son and business partner Jackson Fu to open this spot, which offers not one but two styles of dim sum. The Cantonese-style menu includes bites like chicken feet, turnip cakes, and sticky rice, while the Shanghai menu offers soup dumplings, scallion pancake, and wontons with spicy chile oil, among other treats. Even better? For those who prefer late-night dim sum, it’s open till 2 a.m. — complete with a full bar and a pool table. 3939 Chestnut Street Ordering style: À la carte

Dim Sum & Noodle Sandwiched between the Rodin Museum and the Community College of Philadelphia, this spot offers a menu of Chinese classics along with ramen bowls and, of course, dim sum. Try the edamame spiced with peppercorns, the steamed dumplings stuffed with watercress, and the fluffy char siu bao. 2000 Hamilton Street Ordering style: À la carte

Best Dim Sum in South Philly

Bing Bing Dim Sum

Bing Bing Dim Sum Ben Puchowitz and Shawn Darragh’s dumpling-centric spot offers a hipsteriffic take on dim sum classics, with dishes like cheesesteak bao (with Cooper sharp, onions and long hots), turnip cakes with matzoh, and beef dumplings spiked with caraway seed, mustard, and dill. The full menu includes inventive takes on noodle and rice dishes, too — try dishes like a spicy, mushroom-based mapo tofu and a butternut squash-based congee topped with chicken meatballs and a soft-cooked egg. 1648 East Passyunk Avenue Ordering style: À la carte

Wokano South Philly’s only authentic dim sum spot features carts brimming with dishes like bean curd, both steamed and pan-fried dumplings, and barbecued spare ribs. There are also Americanized standards like fried rice, lo mein, and kung pao chicken — but we recommend starting with something you may not have tried before, like steamed lotus leaf rice or baked conch served in its own shell. 1100 Washington Avenue Ordering style: From a cart

Best Dim Sum in Rittenhouse, Center City and Market East

Suga | Facebook

Buddakan I know, not what you’re normally thinking of when you’ve got a taste for dim sum. But Buddakan has a whole section of the menu dedicated to Chinese small plates, and it has modern, fancy (and expensive) takes on many of the classics. So if you’re looking for crab and lobster dumplings spiked with Myoga ginger, lobster egg rolls, edamame dumplings swimming in a truffled shallot and sauternes broth or, you know, just some wasabi mashed potatoes, this is the place to go. 325 Chestnut Street Ordering style: A la carte

Jane G’s While Jane G’s specializes in Szechuan cuisine, the dinner menu includes a full section of dumplings, with many dim sum favorites on the hot and cold appetizer menus. Don’t miss the shu mai, open-topped wontons stuffed with meat, or the Beef Lover’s Quarrel, a combination of cuts served with peanuts, chili oil, and cilantro. 1930 Chestnut Street Ordering style: À la carte

SuGa Susanna Foo’s city outpost offers a full slate of dim sum delicacies every Saturday and Sunday for brunch: staples like potstickers, wontons, spring rolls, and cucumber salad, plus a few items with nontraditional touches, like yellowfin tuna tacos and mushroom ravioli with truffle sauce. But if you’re dining during the week, know that many dim sum items pop up on the dinner menu as well. 1720 Sansom Street Ordering style: À la carte

Best Dim Sum in Northeast Philly and Beyond

Kung Fu Dim Sum | Facebook

China Gourmet This huge space seats upwards of 400 people. And one some days (weekends, especially) you STILL might have to wait for a table. Why? Because this Northeast Philly location (a new expansion from the original China Gourmet on Bustleton Avenue, which now has new owners and a new name) is smack in the middle of one of the city’s largest populations of Chinese residents and serves exactly what the overflow crowds of friends and families want: a variety of beautiful, comforting, delicious Cantonese-style dim sum in vast amounts. 2842 St. Vincent Street Ordering style: From a cart

Jade Harbor The menu at this Oxford Circle spot is enormous, but it offers a solid list of appetizers and small plates that functions as a de facto dim sum list. Shu mai, congee, cold jellyfish, geoduck, shrimp dumplings, and snails with black bean sauce — all there. And if you’re looking for literally anything else, the regular dinner menu is like six pages long, so you’ll probably find it here. 6836 Bustleton Avenue Ordering style: À la carte

Kung Fu Dim Sum Their cartoon mascot has a dumpling for a head and a pair of nunchucks. I love that. And they’ve got a menu that leans heavily in the dumplings-and-buns direction. I love that, too. If you find yourself out in the ‘burbs and looking for some snacks, check it out and see for yourself. 2305 Darby Road, Havertown Ordering style: À la carte

Source: https://www.phillymag.com/foobooz/2018/10/25/best-dim-sum-philadelphia/

[tastegoal5-blog]

Where to Eat Dim Sum in Philadelphia: The Ultimate Guide

Guides

No matter where you are or what style you're looking for, we've got you covered with this list of all the best places for shu mai, soup dumplings, and scallion pancakes in Philly.

Devoted foodies and restaurant newbies love Foobooz. Sign-up now for our twice weekly newsletter.

Dim Sum Garden | Facebook

I know I don’t have to convince you how good dim sum is. Little plates full of awesome. A taste of home and comfort for those who grew up with it. A universe of dumplings, buns, and chicken feet.

And I don’t have to convince you that Philly has a deep bench of dim sum places, either. If you’re a Foobooz reader of any regularity, you know the places that we love, that we return to again and again. You know that we’ve spent years poking around the neighborhoods looking for new dim sum spots, overlooked gems, forgotten places. In a city that loves brunch the way Philly loves brunch, dim sum is vital. A man can only eat so many plates of eggs Benedict and shakshuka, after all. Sometimes, congee is what’s called for. Or shu mai and soup dumplings and taro cakes and sticky rice.

When that time comes, we’ve got you covered. Here’s where to find all the best dim sum in Philly, no matter where you are.

The Dim Sum You Must Try First

Tom’s Dim Sum | Facebook

Joy Tsin Lau, Chinatown Traditionally, dim sum is served for breakfast or brunch — and Joy Tsin Lau sticks to that, with a fully separate menu that’s served from 10 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. seven days a week. The menu includes an extensive selection of dumplings, wontons, rolls, shu mai, and sweets like egg custard and coconut pudding, plus items like chicken feet, taro cake, duck tripe, and squid topped with curry sauce. 1026 Race Street Ordering style: À la carte

Tom’s Dim Sum, Chinatown This spot in the 11th Street tunnel, sandwiched between Reading Terminal Market and the Greyhound bus station, isn’t much to look at from the outside. But the dim sum menu there is one of the best around and a perennial Foobooz favorite. The scallion pancakes are featherlight and less than $4, and the soup dumplings thin-skinned and piping hot — made by the titular Tom, an OG from the days when Dim Sum Garden occupied this spot, who has now returned to make the place his own, and better than ever. 59 North 11th Street Ordering style: À la carte

Dim Sum Garden, Chinatown Back in the old days, before the Chinatown buses were shut down, Dim Sum Garden occupied the 11th Street tunnel spot where Tom’s is now — and it was the perfect meal to welcome you back to Philly after a dirt-cheap trip to New York or D.C. Now, you can find their excellent dim sum (a batch of pork soup dumplings with turnip cake, shrimp dumplings, moon cakes, and some steamed bok choy is our go-to order) a few blocks away on Race Street west of 10th. 1020 Race Street Ordering style: À la carte

Nom Wah, Market East With its menu of traditional small plates, approachable buns, dumplings, egg rolls, and an extensive list of teas, this offshoot of the historic NYC tea parlor is a perfect spot for spending a rainy (or snowy) weekend morning. Or, you know, you could also go at lunch (the chef’s special ho fun will do you right). Or at night. Because Nom Wah serves straight through until 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. on every day but Tuesday. 218 North 13th Street Ordering style: À la carte

Best Dim Sum In Chinatown

Sang Kee Peking Duck House | Facebook

Imperial Inn Be sure to try the shrimp rolls, a fan favorite, at this old-school spot. You can also get your dim sum served with a side of “volcanic flame”: order the pu pu platter for an assortment of appetizers that you can “roast to your heart’s content.” 146 North 10th Street Ordering style: From a cart

Sang Kee Peking Duck House This spot, tucked just south of the Vine Street Expressway on 9th Street, is known for its crispy-skinned duck, roasted to a deep golden brown. But its extensive menu includes Chinese dishes from multiple regions (including Americanized dishes), Thai cuisine, ramen, and a solid list of dim sum. It’s all there, from spring rolls to bao buns, but don’t miss the barbecued spare rib “bits,” crispy shrimp rolls, and pan-fried dumplings. 238 North 9th Street Ordering style: À la carte

New Harmony Vegetarian Restaurant This place has long been a haven for vegans and vegetarians looking for meatless versions of kung pao shrimp and moo shu pork. But they’ve also got a sizeable dim sum menu, featuring everything from vegetarian versions of pork buns to taro cakes, sticky rice, and some of the best scallion pancakes out there. 135 North 9th Street Ordering style: À la carte

Ocean Harbor At Ocean Harbor, the carts are stocked with piping hot snacks like soup dumplings, fried taro balls, and sticky rice. And true to its name, the restaurant offers a wide variety of seafood options, from lobster and shrimp to braised abalone, cold jellyfish, and eel. 1023 Race Street Ordering style: From a cart

Shanghai 1 I like a place that considers French fries to be a dim sum dish. And Shanghai 1 does. I like that they have six different kinds of pancakes on the menu, four different soup dumplings, and Shanghai-style shu mai. And while you can get almost anything here (from cold pig kidneys to frog meat casserole), the kitchen takes the dim sum seriously and will serve it to you at all hours. 123 North 10th Street Ordering style: À la carte

Mong Kok Station Are the baked goods your favorite part of going out for dim sum? The egg tarts, taro buns, and everything else? If so, then Mong Kok is perfect for you, because it’s a fairly new Chinatown bakery that just happens to have a dim sum menu served in the back. Plus (as if you needed more reasons to go), they also sell all kinds of buns, all day long. They’re cheap, delicious, and wildly varied. The only drag about the place is that it’s cash-only. 153 North 10th Street Ordering style: Counter service plus à la carte

Ocean City Ocean City’s menu boasts nearly 250 items, from wonton soup to sizzling intestine with black pepper sauce. But it’s the roving dim sum carts, stocked with dumplings, salt-roasted chicken feet, congee, pork buns, barbecued scallops served in the shell, and dozens of kinds of dumplings that keeps us coming back. 234 North 9th Street Ordering style: From a cart

Best Dim Sum in University City and Logan Square

Dim Sum House | Facebook

Dim Sum House Jane Guo brought dim sum west along with her son and business partner Jackson Fu to open this spot, which offers not one but two styles of dim sum. The Cantonese-style menu includes bites like chicken feet, turnip cakes, and sticky rice, while the Shanghai menu offers soup dumplings, scallion pancake, and wontons with spicy chile oil, among other treats. Even better? For those who prefer late-night dim sum, it’s open till 2 a.m. — complete with a full bar and a pool table. 3939 Chestnut Street Ordering style: À la carte

Dim Sum & Noodle Sandwiched between the Rodin Museum and the Community College of Philadelphia, this spot offers a menu of Chinese classics along with ramen bowls and, of course, dim sum. Try the edamame spiced with peppercorns, the steamed dumplings stuffed with watercress, and the fluffy char siu bao. 2000 Hamilton Street Ordering style: À la carte

Best Dim Sum in South Philly

Bing Bing Dim Sum

Bing Bing Dim Sum Ben Puchowitz and Shawn Darragh’s dumpling-centric spot offers a hipsteriffic take on dim sum classics, with dishes like cheesesteak bao (with Cooper sharp, onions and long hots), turnip cakes with matzoh, and beef dumplings spiked with caraway seed, mustard, and dill. The full menu includes inventive takes on noodle and rice dishes, too — try dishes like a spicy, mushroom-based mapo tofu and a butternut squash-based congee topped with chicken meatballs and a soft-cooked egg. 1648 East Passyunk Avenue Ordering style: À la carte

Wokano South Philly’s only authentic dim sum spot features carts brimming with dishes like bean curd, both steamed and pan-fried dumplings, and barbecued spare ribs. There are also Americanized standards like fried rice, lo mein, and kung pao chicken — but we recommend starting with something you may not have tried before, like steamed lotus leaf rice or baked conch served in its own shell. 1100 Washington Avenue Ordering style: From a cart

Best Dim Sum in Rittenhouse, Center City and Market East

Suga | Facebook

Buddakan I know, not what you’re normally thinking of when you’ve got a taste for dim sum. But Buddakan has a whole section of the menu dedicated to Chinese small plates, and it has modern, fancy (and expensive) takes on many of the classics. So if you’re looking for crab and lobster dumplings spiked with Myoga ginger, lobster egg rolls, edamame dumplings swimming in a truffled shallot and sauternes broth or, you know, just some wasabi mashed potatoes, this is the place to go. 325 Chestnut Street Ordering style: A la carte

Jane G’s While Jane G’s specializes in Szechuan cuisine, the dinner menu includes a full section of dumplings, with many dim sum favorites on the hot and cold appetizer menus. Don’t miss the shu mai, open-topped wontons stuffed with meat, or the Beef Lover’s Quarrel, a combination of cuts served with peanuts, chili oil, and cilantro. 1930 Chestnut Street Ordering style: À la carte

SuGa Susanna Foo’s city outpost offers a full slate of dim sum delicacies every Saturday and Sunday for brunch: staples like potstickers, wontons, spring rolls, and cucumber salad, plus a few items with nontraditional touches, like yellowfin tuna tacos and mushroom ravioli with truffle sauce. But if you’re dining during the week, know that many dim sum items pop up on the dinner menu as well. 1720 Sansom Street Ordering style: À la carte

Best Dim Sum in Northeast Philly and Beyond

Kung Fu Dim Sum | Facebook

China Gourmet This huge space seats upwards of 400 people. And one some days (weekends, especially) you STILL might have to wait for a table. Why? Because this Northeast Philly location (a new expansion from the original China Gourmet on Bustleton Avenue, which now has new owners and a new name) is smack in the middle of one of the city’s largest populations of Chinese residents and serves exactly what the overflow crowds of friends and families want: a variety of beautiful, comforting, delicious Cantonese-style dim sum in vast amounts. 2842 St. Vincent Street Ordering style: From a cart

Jade Harbor The menu at this Oxford Circle spot is enormous, but it offers a solid list of appetizers and small plates that functions as a de facto dim sum list. Shu mai, congee, cold jellyfish, geoduck, shrimp dumplings, and snails with black bean sauce — all there. And if you’re looking for literally anything else, the regular dinner menu is like six pages long, so you’ll probably find it here. 6836 Bustleton Avenue Ordering style: À la carte

Kung Fu Dim Sum Their cartoon mascot has a dumpling for a head and a pair of nunchucks. I love that. And they’ve got a menu that leans heavily in the dumplings-and-buns direction. I love that, too. If you find yourself out in the ‘burbs and looking for some snacks, check it out and see for yourself. 2305 Darby Road, Havertown Ordering style: À la carte

Source: https://www.phillymag.com/foobooz/2018/10/25/best-dim-sum-philadelphia/

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It’s All Jul: Danish Christmas Traditions

Before moving to Denmark, I had never celebrated Christmas. So it was with absolutely nothing to compare it to that I learned how to celebrate the Danish way.  Danish Christmas, or Jul, is all about family, food and tradition. Here’s what’s happening; after reading this, you can celebrate like a full-on Dane or pick and choose your favorite parts (it’s the food, right?!). Whether or not you’re looking to celebrate, it’s always fascinating to learn about the traditions surrounding major holidays. To those of you only in it for the research, enjoy my ethnographic study!

      Christmas Markets

Another pre-Christmas tradition, markets pop up all over the country selling handmade crafts and treats. It is delightful. Tivoli has a large market that runs from November until the new year, but there are plenty that are free to enter and are just as lovely.

      Julefrokost

This Christmas tradition starts about six weeks before the holiday itself. Long dinners or lunches are held by work places, friends and family. It’s hygge at it’s finest: loads of food, drink (especially snaps!), a beautiful table and good company. If you’re invited to a julefrokost, don’t expect it to be an eat-and-run situation. These can last all day/night and seem to be an excuse to get seriously plastered. So, cheers! Also: don’t drink and drive.

Check out: How to Have a Proper Danish Julefrokost for more →

      Actually Taking Time Off

What a concept! Offices and stores are closed on the 24th, 25 and 26th. Maybe it’s a matter of necessity (there’s nothing open! Need some toilet paper? Time to dig out those paper napkins), but most people seem to geniunely take time off during the holidays. No phones at the table, no computers out in the mornings. Just three days days of solid family, friend or relaxation time. I’m still getting used to it but I kinda like it (a lot).

      Decoration

Danish decoration is relatively subdued. Lots of candles, lots of pine-inspired decor. Colors tend to be white, red, gold, silver and green. There aren’t a lot of outdoor lights on personal homes or apartments, but the main streets of the city do get dressed up.

As is the way with most Scandinavian decor, go for the minimalist, the nature-inspired, and keep the color palate simple. Typical Danish decorations that both kids and adults can make are Julehjerter (Christmas Hearts) and Julestjerner (Christmas Stars) and other julepynter (Christmas ornaments). They’re made from folded paper and can be hung up with string.     Hyacinth and Amaryllis bulbs are popular to display around the house and for dotting a festive table setting. The bulbs can be found inexpensively at supermarkets and florists. I happen to love the focus on plants; my apartment turns into a bit of a jungle in winter.

Images sourced from our Scandi Christmas Pinterest Page.

      The Food

Now for the good stuff! I should preface this by saying that I did not grow up with the kind of food Danes eat during Christmas. GDuck and pork weren’t on the menu for me as a kid, and we weren’t a big cabbage or potato family either. I had never even tried marzipan until I moved to Denmark.

  Duck and flæskesteg with crispy pork rinds

Christmas Eve dinner is hyper-traditional. Duck and flæskesteg with crispy pork rinds, as well as boiled potatoes, caremlized potatoes, brown sauce (gravy) and pickled red caggage. If your stomach isn’t used to this kind of food, be prepared for things to get gassy. Regardless, it’s a hearty, old-fashioned meal that leaves most people sleepy and satisfied. 

Note to vegetarians & vegans: this menu isn’t the kind where you have enough side dishes to make up for taking out meat, so if you’re going to someone else’s home for the meal, consult the host and/or bring your own main dish!

Images from: Restaurant Kronborg

  Desert: Ris a l’Amande

Dinner is, naturally, followed by dessert. Ris a l’Amande. Good god, people, Ris a l’Amande. It’s a cold, creamy rice pudding made with vanilla and almond slivers, on top of which you pour hot cherry sauce. And then eat FOREVER. Traditionally, it is made the day before or in the morning and set out during the day to prevent Nisser (elves) from playing pranks.

The game with Ris a l’Amande is that the host mixes in one (or more) whole blanched almond. If you find the almond, you get a prize. And you have to keep eating the pudding until someone finds the almond.

So usually, the person who finds the almond will hide it under his/her tongue or discreetly spit it into a nakpin until everyone has eaten so much that they’re on the verge of death.

Then the winner, high on adrenaline so he can’t yet feel the effects of his gluttony, shows off the almonds and laughs and laughs until you are forced to projectile vomit right into his smug face. Or, whatever! Maybe this sounds like I’m not into the whole thing but I really am. I loooove rice pudding.

      Desert extras: æbleskiver, Marzipan & Chocolate

There are plenty more sweet things to enjoy, for those of you who like that sort of thing. A personal favorite is æbleskiver, which have no apple in them (although they apparently used to. Too healthy I guess?). They’re fried dough balls that you dip in jam and powdered sugar. Although I’m usually a big fan of making things at home, I don’t have the special pan to make them so I buy my æbleskiver frozen from the supermarket and they’re delicious.

Marzipan is ubiquitious. My husband’s family makes little marzipan figurines, dips them in melted chocolate and adds extras like nougat or nuts. It is possible that I become vaguely type-A during these sessions and attempt to reconstruct Michaelangelo’s David.

Chocolate, of course, is another big one. But there’s not as much chocolate as you would think (or like). The far more popular cookies are gingerbread-style; crispy, peppery and perfect with coffee or port.  

    Drinks: Julebrygg & Glögg

Which brings us to drinks. So many drinks. I can’t drink like a Dane; this is something I’ve come to accept after a few very poor attempts to go glass-for-glass. I’m just not built that way, and it’s fine. But Danes can seriously drink and Christmas is the big leagues.

The whole Christmas season kicks off on the first Friday of November with J-Day, the day Tuborg Julebrygg (Christmas Brew) is released. It’s available for only ten weeks a year and still manages to be Carlsberg’s fourth best selling beer, which is indicative of the kind of drinking that goes on around the season.

Glögg, a hot spiced wine with almonds and raisins, is served at most markets and at many a party. Kids will have hot chocolate (adults can too!). During Christmas itself, wine or beer is served, as well as traditional aquavit. The meal is often finished with an apperetif like port or cognac.

What I’ve always admired about Danish drinking habits is that there’s no pressure. Although the Danish culture includes a lot of beer and liquor, if you don’t drink, no one is going to get on your back about it. It’s all very joyful and inclusive, so if you’re not a drinker or need to bow out early, don’t feel awkward.  

    Walking Around the Christmas Tree

If something can be both weird and adorable at the same time, this tradition nails it. After dinner but before you open presents, you and your family or friends will join hands, sing Christmas hymns and walk around the tree. As the story goes, this is to give Santa Claus time to deliver his gifts. To get the adrenaline flowing, the tree is dotted with actual lighted candles.

So we’re clear: the tradition is to walk briskly around what is essentially a 7-foot high pile of kindling that has wax sticks of fire precariously perched on its outermost layer, just reaching out for human contact. But it’s fun! And very sweet, if a little terrifying for newbies like me.  

      Presents After Dinner

It was recently brought to my attention by Danish friends that Christmas dinner in Denmark is a form of torture for children. This is because instead of opening presents on the morning of the 25th, Danes open their presents after dinner on the 24th. While this may seem like a way to get presents faster, it is actually a way to make children hate eating dinner with their adult relatives. But, hey, tradition!

And while I’m certainly sympathetic to impatient kids, it must be said: having to wait through a fabulous dinner for a gaggle of presents is not, like, the WORST. You know? Let’s all take a moment to reflect on that.

    What are your experiences with celebrating Christmas in Denmark? Are there any traditions we missed? Let us know!

    It’s All Jul: Danish Christmas Traditions published first on http://ift.tt/2gOZF1v

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After a long summer holiday away in Asia with my family and friends, I was keen to spend some quality time with my boyfriend. With little time or money to go abroad again, I started looking at suitably quaint mini break destinations in England. I’ve lived in this country for all 22 years of my life but I’ve barely travelled in England! I picked The Sheep on Sheep Street because it looked like the decor had both that traditional English country feel but also stylish modern designs. I loved that they used Penguin book cover posters as decoration on the walls and books too. Seemed like my kind of place from the get go!

We were greeted on arrival by the manager, Tom, who was super friendly and kindly showed us to our room. There are 22 rooms at The Sheep on Sheep Street and we were lucky enough to get this double room at the top with authentic open brick walls and wooden beams. I was really impressed by the room which looked more like a dreamy John Lewis furniture showroom than a hotel room! #bedroomgoals

As you can see from all the photos, the decor is incredibly stylish and mixes old and new. What drew me to this hotel in the first place is that they often use books and bookish posters as decoration! In the reception, the lounge and the restaurant, there are many many books on the walls and there are these gorgeous Penguin Classics posters all over the place!

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I have to admit though that the thing that impressed me most in this room is the digital bath and shower. That’s right, a digital bath and shower. I didn’t even know these existed before coming to Sheep on Sheep Street but now I’m wondering how I’ve ever lived without them. You simply push a button and warm water comes spouting out of the nozzle. I treated myself to a bath in their gorgeous bathroom, which was super relaxing and the sun streamed in from the rooftop window.

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In the evening we headed down to the large dining area which was packed at 8pm. The Sheep on Sheep Street restaurant is open to the public as well as hotel guests and it’s clear that it’s a big hit with the locals. This doesn’t surprise me at all as the restaurant decor is very stylish and coordinated with blue grey hues that make for a relaxing atmosphere. The plush sofa seating with fluffy cushions were a nice touch too.

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What surprised me most about the restaurant was the creativeness of the menu. The Sheep on Sheep Street says that it’s trying to bring a little “Soho style” to the Cotswolds and that is evident from the stylish decor to the snazzy menu. There are a lot of Asian-inspired, fusion options including maple and sesame glazed chicken wings and Thai fishcakes. For starters I went for the chicken wings whilst my boyfriend selected the salt and pepper squid. Both of these were  d e l i s h  and seemed fairly healthy too which may seem strange for two deep fried dishes but there you go! The magic of the Cotswolds…

For the main course, we were spoilt for choice. From seared sesame tuna tacos to wood fired aubergine parmagiano there was something for everyone’s taste palette and I was pleased to note a decent selection of vegetarian options. In the end I opted for the breast of Gressingham duck with a honey & soy glaze, baby vegetables and pak choi, whilst my boyfriend went for a classic rump steak. The duck breast was super succulent and I loved the choice of veg they paired it with. Pak choi is one of my all time favourite veggies and it goes perfectly with honey & soy sauce. Side note: whilst we were eating I noticed a girl order the Hickory Smoked Ribs which were ENORMOUS so only go for that if you’re feeling ravenous!

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Even though I was feeling incredibly full by this stage (I had had a very full and late lunch too, whoops!), I just had to try their dessert menu. I opted for the pain au chocolat bread and butter pudding which was d e l i g h t f u l. I realise in the picture it may look like a mass of yellow with a ball of ice cream plonked on top so you’ll have to take my word for it. I love that they’ve taken a classic British dessert and put a French twist on it – the result was NOM and The Sheep on Sheep Street gets 11/10 for creativity.

After a restful night in their super large and squishy bed, we headed down for the complimentary breakfast (it’s included in the room price!). The spread was impressive including a buffet of toast, greek yoghurt, fruit, pastry and cereal. And those were just on the side! They’ve got a full breakfast/brunch menu with all the classic hot breakfast options you’d expect, but, again, with a twist. I ordered smashed avocado and poached eggs but instead of being served on a slice of bread, it was delivered to me on a bed of quinoa. Not sure you can have a more basic breakfast so props to The Sheep on Sheep Street for bringing this Insta-famous breakfast to the Cotswolds.

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Last, but by no means least, the staff were all incredibly friendly and helpful and answered my every question about the area. At the end of my stay my boyfriend and I decided to walk to Bourton-on-Water, which is a good 2 to 3 hours away. At first we were just going to follow Google Maps but we asked the receptionist for her opinion on checking out and she pulled out two prepared walks that would get us to our destination giving us the pros and cons of both. It seems that the people working here a) really know their stuff and b) really love what they do, which is always nice to see.

All in all, I had a wonderful time in the Cotswolds and Stow-on-the-Wold thanks to The Sheep on Sheep Street. Stow is frequently named one of the top places to visit in the Cotswolds so if you’re looking for a breath of fresh air in the British countryside, head to Stow! The Sheep on Sheep Street will be there to welcome you, right in the centre of town. Remember, even if you’re not staying there overnight, the restaurant is still open to the public!

Address The Sheep Sheep Street Stow-on-the-Wold GL54 1AG England

Website www.thesheepstow.co.uk

Tel 01451 830344

Prices £90-149/night inc. breakfast

*I stayed at Sheep on Sheep Street on a complimentary basis. All opinions are my own.  

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A WEEKEND IN STOW WITH SHEEP ON SHEEP STREET After a long summer holiday away in Asia with my family and friends, I was keen to spend some quality time with my boyfriend.

[caridadmccarty-blog]

Easy Supper Recipe.

The crucial to using a pleasing food is to ensure that the menu meets all attendee's desires as well as requirements. Unlike bbqs and also household get-togethers, dinner parties are meant to be smaller informal affairs; therefore your programs ought to promote lively, however good-natured, conversation. The supper pertained to S$ 769.75 for the two of us. The liquor in the expense was actually all taken in by her. Put commencer cette chronique, je tenais à vous donner quelques details sur le Obstacle Edgar Allan Poe's Massacre Secret Supper Party, petit défi que je me suis lancée pour cette année 2017. Top after supper sound speakers help an audience and rapidly create a connection with the restaurants. If you make a decision to cook the meal on your own (which would contribute to the love variable by the way), after that be sure you try your ideal to ready a healthy and well-thought-out Mama's Time supper incorporating her beloved foods items. Di Renzo distinguishes as well as contrasts in between a supper between Caesar and Cicero, as well as the supper that he had actually succeeded. A bottle from red wine alongside a charming music are going to specify the tone from one's supper day. While you may have to be planned for a few telephone call, having an appropriate venue will be important prior to you can proceed to specifying a time as well as time for your supper fundraiser. I produce no apology if I have actually angered you by composing therefore if you take place to be an after dinner audio speaker who tells laugh after boring joke during your speeches. I never apologise. On Monday night, Trump as well as Modi possessed an operating dinner, the very first time Trump has played range to an international person of influence at a White Property dinner. When our experts gave a supper in the house, our team had gravy boat soup, lobster-sauce as well as turbot, haunch of mutton, steamed hens and also tongue, lukewarm oyster-patties as well as awkward curry for side-dishes; wild duck, cabinet-pudding, jelly, lotion as well as tartlets. Practice session dinner invitations usually feature images of a pie, a platter with a blade as well as fork, a feast, a champagne bottle, or any type of usual supper setup. Movie critics including Mullarkey have gone back to The Supper Celebration in later years and also specified that their viewpoints have actually certainly not transformed. Discussing our gratitude with other individuals we enjoy will definitely place a glowing glow on that holiday dinner. even when the peas are burned and you neglected to acquire cranberry extract dressing! fitstyle-2017.info Right after the dinner plates are actually cleared away, and just before the pudding menu comes, pretend to go to the restroom. If you desire to treat your day to something they will definitely never forget, you can easily take her to dinner within this type of place and also you will definitely never forget this. The additional you count on going out with, the far better your partnership and you could excellent this through having your companion to some of the greatest places you have ever been. Round off your rehearsal dinner along with a favorite summer treat like homemade peach pie or strawberry shortcake. You may prep your meals in the Tagines and after that cook them for the appropriate time for the dinner gathering. If you are hosting a supper celebration, use yourself as an example of just what you think about to be reasonable social behaviour. If you are an operating female along with little ones who actually steer you ridiculous for their outdoor activities including dancing, tennis, football, tennis lessons or other task Makings you so worn out in night that at dinner time it ends up being complicated for you to prep a well balanced meal for your household.

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How To Bunch A Supper Fundraising event.

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There are three kinds of birthday people out there: 1. those who celebrate their birthday for a month straight, 2. those who let others decide their birthday plans , and 3. those who do not acknowledge, nor celebrate being one year older, and would rather forget about it. I am ashamed, but also proud to admit that I am a good mixture of one and two. As soon as it hits March 1st, I let the world know that it is officially Sana’s birth month, and let the birthday planning begin!

This year I turned 18 years old and my birthday celebration lasted a whole week, from March 10 to March 18. To start off, on my actual birthday, and thank God the start of Spring Break, my mother surprised me with tickets to see Beautiful.

My mother and I seeing Beautiful: The Carole King Story

I will admit at first I was not too excited, but I judged this musical way too quickly. As a music major in college, or just a lover of music, Carole King’s story is amazing, and the cast brought her story to life from beginning to end. It was interesting to see how some of the popular songs we sing on the radio came to be all thanks to one powerful woman. Each song the cast sang was performed almost as if I was taken back in time to the premiere concert. This birthday surprise meant a lot to me because it expanded my music appreciation, showed me how far women have gotten in the music industry, and inspired me to get a start on my musical career.

The next day, my mother and aunt surprised me and my best friend with a reservation at TAO Downtown in New York.

TAO Downtown NYC

As I entered this restaurant, I was completely stunned and impressed. This venue is proper and classy, but also had a club-like vibe. As a social media lover, and blogger, the first thing that stood out to me was the touch screen live camera, where you can take funny, cute videos and send them to yourself through email. Of course, my best friend and I took advantage of this opportunity as quick as we could.

Not only was the ambiance lively, yet sophisticated, but the food was even more spectacular. The menu consisted of items perfect for anyone, whether you are a meat lover, vegetarian, sushi lover, or barbecue lover. The menu was separated by three elements: The Sea (containing seafood items such as fish, shrimp, lobster, etc.), The Land (containing pork, beef, filet mignon, etc.), and The Sky (containing chicken and duck), which was a very creative touch to the restaurant.Here is a sneak peek at our entrees:

This all sounds outstanding, but the dessert menu was even better. Since it was my birthday, I got the bread pudding donuts with vanilla ice cream on the side topped with whip cream. Any mixture of a warm treat and ice cream is bound to be delicious, so I excited a tasty outcome, but this combination was absolutely delicious. My best friend got the warm chocolate cake, which is what the server recommended. As soon as her spoon touched the cake, it oozed out warm, hot chocolate fudge, and from the reaction on her face, I could tell it tasted as good as it looked.

This restaurant will forever receive a generous five-stars from me. The food was tasty, the ambiance could not be beat in such a lively environment, the DJ played everyones favorite songs, and the dessert was certainly to die for. You will definitely not leave this place hungry!

In my opinion, a birthday celebration is truly at its peak when you are lucky enough to go on a “birthday trip”, and this year for my 18th birthday, I went on a birthday trip to the City of Angels: Los Angeles, California.

View of Beverly Hills, California from the Getty Museum

I have been dying to go here and see what the celebrities see on an everyday basis, to sight-see, escape the treacherous blizzard weather of New York, and hope to spot some of my favorite celebs.

DAY 1 : After leaving LAX and grabbing our Chevy Malibu rental car, which would be our means of transportation for the duration of the trip, my aunt and I made our way over to the Getty Museum, which I recommend to every tourist as soon as you get off the plane. This museum is just an introduction to what California has to offer full of breathtaking views and artwork that is outstanding. Here I am rocking a Fashion Nova oversized rosegold sweater dress with GoJane boots in from of the entrance to the Getty Museum:

J. Paul Getty Museum

In order to get a photo of the beautiful view, like the one I have shown above, you have to take a tram up to the top of the mountain where the museum is located. Once you get to the top, you will be glad you did, and feel free to take as many scenic photographs as you like. Besides the beautiful art located inside of the museum, outside there is the Central Garden, shown below, that has tree-lined walkways and trees filled with flowers. In addition to the Central Garden, they also have a humungous cactus garden as well.

Central Garden outside of the Getty Museum

If you’re hungry on your trip to the Getty Museum, there is no need to fear. If you’re feeling like dining feeling fancy, the Restaurant is a good choice. The menu changes seasonally. If you’re going to get a quick bite, or just wanted a relaxed meal, the Cafe has a sandwich bar, salad bar, and grill. I ate at the Cafe and my meal is shown below. Lastly, if you cannot get enough of the outstanding view of the Central Garden, the Garden Terrace Cafe is right outside the Cafe and overlooks the garden and mountainous views of California. However, it is generally only open on Saturday.

Cheeseburger and Sweet Potato Fries at the Cafe at the Getty Museum

After the Getty Museum, we checked into our hotel, Kimpton Palomar Beverly Hills, which the outside is shown below. This hotel met every possible expectation I had. In the lounge area, there were couches were guests could mingle, meet up, and wait for their check in time. Next to the lounge was the bar/restaurant, which at night was very lively, and in the morning was the perfect place to stop by for a quick grab and go breakfast. The customer service desk was exceptional and worked hard to answer every question you had for them ranging form the best restaurants in the area to helping you find reasonable tour tickets. The cleaning services kept our room clean from the time we walked in to the moment we left.

Kimpton Palomar Beverly Hills

After checking into the hotel, and getting a feel for the area we would be staying in, we went for a drive until our reservation at RockSugar Pan Asian Kitchen, which is similar to TAO, but definitely with a captured LA vibe to it, and this is my aunt’s favorite restaurant. The food here was delightful, well spiced, and full of flavor. Appetizers are good when shared, because it can be a lot, and this restaurant is another spot that you cannot leave hungry.

DAY 2: Today we had an early start, but it was definitely worth getting up that early to see the sunrise above the mountains in the morning and see the sun take over the streets of Cali. I started my day off wearing my green longline bomber jacket and black choker from Forever21, my black and white bodysuit from GoJane, Beach Bum Jeans from Fashion Nova, and clear transparent boot from Boohoo (inspired by Kylie Jenner).

My outfit for Day 2 in Cali

We started the morning off with a Starline Hollywood Homes Tour, which I recommend if you’re very involved in celeb life. This tour took us along popular neighborhoods in Beverly Hills, Hollywood Hills, Bel Air, and Hidden Hills, along with a ride down hotspots around Sunset Strip and world famous Rodeo Drive. Some homes we saw included: Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, Beyonce and Jay-Z, Justin Bieber, where the Kardashians have filmed, Lethan Weapon 2 house, Gwen Stefani, Michael Jackson, Walt Disney, Tyler Perry, Denzel Washington, Audrey Hepburn and so many more. Of course I would love to share the beautiful photographs of these houses, but it would surely ruin the experience of the tour. A picture is worth a thousand words, but this live experience tour is definitely worth 2 hours of your time, and you may even feel inspired to buy a house in the area (just like I did).

After leaving the tour, my aunt and I were absolutely starving and needed a place to grab a quick bite to eat before we did our own personal sightseeing. We decided to grab a bite at Napa Valley Grille, which kept us nice and full until our dinner reservation. This sandwich (below) may look like your typical sandwich, but either I was just plain hungry, or this sandwich tasted amazing! The waiters and waitresses were very accommodating, quick, and took care of us like we were queens. Many celebrities come to this restaurant, which the bartender told us, including Halle Berry, and to further his point we even spotted Diego Muñoz, who plays Huck on Scandal.

Sandwich and Sweet Potato Fries at Napa Valley Grille

After we ate, we took a drive down the famous PCH Highway (Pacific Coast Highway), visited Pepperdine, which compared to Rutgers during this season looked like a hotel resort, and continued through Santa Monica to only end up at Venice Beach, which was about an hour from our hotel This beach is very lively, full of bikers, roller skaters, skateboarders, and overall active people, in addition to the musicians and locals who just come here to relax and take a walk. There is so much to see, and we surely could not get it all done in one day, but there are plenty of souvenir shops, clothing stores, bikes to rent, and so much more. Here are some snapchat videos and pictures I took on the way to the beach and on it as well:

Venice Beach

Me at Venice Beach

Me walking on the beach soaking in the sun

After getting our toes wet in some cold Pacific Ocean water, we had to leave to get ourselves enough time to change, and make our dinner reservation. Many people complain about the unbearable “Los Angeles traffic”, but in my opinion, the traffic allows you to take in the scenic routes, and the beautiful mountains of California.

We got to the hotel, and I changed into my Boohoo Kylie side split pink duster and t-shirt midi dress, Fashion Nova gold choker, and BCBGeneration rose gold lace up heels, which is shown below:

Outfit worn to SUR, Lisa Vanderpump restaurant and lounge

The outfit was perfect for our dinner reservation to SUR Restaurant and Lounge, which is one of Lisa Vanderpump’s restaurants in West Hollywood on the corner of Melrose and Robertson, which is also featured on the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Vanderpump Rules.

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This restaurant has a very exotic, yet seductive feel to it, but I will admit was not at all what I imagined. The pictures on the website, as well as how the show shows the restaurant is not exactly how it looked firsthand. The restaurant felt smaller, and I definitely left this restaurant still a bit hungry. I got for an appetizer the shrimp and crab cakes, and after eating this appetizer dish, I realized I would need another appetizer or I would be hungry. They tasted delicious, but 3 was definitely not enough considering how small they were. The second appetizer I ordered were the fried goat cheese balls, which again were delicious, but a few more on the plate would have been nice. For my entree, I got the Roasted Organic Salmon with yams and rice as my side orders. My only critique about the rice and salmon was that it was a tad too salty, but other than that was very delicious. The yams were perfect, and needed no extra seasoning or butter. Below are pictures of my meal:

Despite the food, if you are a huge Lisa Vanderpump fan, like my aunt, and enjoy watching her show and would like to see where the housewives have had their biggest fights and sit where your favorite stars have sat, this is definitely a restaurant to go to. At this restaurant we did have the pleasure of meeting her son, daughter, and other familiar faces from the show, who were glad to come over and say hello.

Me at our table at SUR

We had been told by our Starline tour guide earlier that many tourists go eat their meal at SUR and then walk up the street to PUMP, Lisa Vanderpump’s second restaurant which is rarely filmed in, for their dessert, which is exactly what we did, and as soon as we walked to the entrance, my aunt and I both wished we had our meal at PUMP instead of SUR. This restaurant was way more lively, and had a more welcoming atmosphere.

Photo of Lisa Vanderpump and her husband on every table

Chandeliers above the bar

We sat by the bar, since we did not need to be seated for an entree meal, and ordered our dessert. I got the red velvet cake with vanilla ice cream on the side, and my aunt got the chocolate fudge cake. These cakes were to die for, and the cake was not that expensive either. In addition to this tasty treat, we saw Lisa Vanderpump and her husband in the flesh! Her husband came over and greeted my aunt and I, and we told him what big fans we are. This night out having dinner definitely ended on a more positive note than we could have ever imagined.

DAY 3: Today is my last day in Cali and we definitely left with a bang. We started the day by checking out of the amazing Kimpton Palomar Beverly Hills hotel, and I will certainly be coming back to this hotel when I come to California again. The staff, again, was very helpful, and treated you like royalty. My outfit for this fun-filled day consisted of my black Forever 21 choker, Boohoo oversized distressed denim jacket, Yeezus custom top, Just Fabulous jean in black from Fashion Nova, oversized fishnet tights from Amazon, and my black vans.

Outfit for my final day in Cali

After checking out of the hotel, we made our way to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour in Burbank, California, which was approximately an hour and change away from the hotel, so we left pretty early.

Warner Bros. Studio Tour entrance

Me and the Warner Bros. entrance

The tour starts off with you receiving a card with a letter and you wait until you are called. Inside of the waiting area, you can purchase an official tour guide, with even more information about where you will me touring, and exclusive set photos and fun facts, and there is also a Starbucks (and yes, you can bring food and beverages on the tour). After you are called, you will watch a short, introductory film about Warner Brothers to get you even more excited about being on set where your favorite tv shows and films were shot.

This tour, as well as the Starline tour previously mentioned, are tours you should experience firsthand and do not deserve to be spoiled, but here are some sneak peeks at my experience and all you that can look forward to.

The tour started off as a brief walking tour because our tour bus wasn’t ready yet, but this actually worked out in our favor. Instead of just sitting down in a bus and passing sets by, we were able to walk in and out of sets used in movies such as Lethal Weapon 2, the original Annie, Party Rock Anthem music video set, and many more. Soon after we had walked through a street of extraordinary sets, our bus was ready. We got to ride around and see the sets of multiple movies and tv shows such as Lala Land, Pretty Little Liars, Shameless, Friends, Gremlins, and of course many more. Next, we went to the museum at Warner Brothers which contained the actual costumes and accessories from Suicide Squad, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, and Harry Potter. Here is a video of me wearing the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter:

Here are some “Did you know?” fun facts that I learned while on this tour:

When a set wants to change the season from summer to winter, in order for the trees to match the season, the set designers individually pluck the leaves off of the trees, and when going from winter to summer, they have to individually place them back on as well. If you look closely at the backgrounds of some of your favorite tv shows, you can see sometimes that the camera pans a little too far, and in a winter set, at the top of the tree, there are full leaves resembling summer time.

  Houses used for one set/show can also be used for 10 other shows and set designers get to decide how they want to change a previously used set by painting doors differently, changing doorknobs, etc.

  Tv shows and movies that take place in a house do not have ceilings. In order to add additional lights for the actors/actresses, they need the ceiling open. If the camera has to pan in the direction of the ceiling, they will add a ceiling.

  All of the lights inside of a set can make the room 100 degrees or hotter, so they have to add large tubes that connect to air conditioning as soon as they’re done filming to circulate air in the room.

If you are interested in seeing these things for yourself or learning more Hollywood filming fun facts, check out the tour! It is definitely worth attending.

After we finished our tour, since we would not be able to eat until we got to New York, my aunt and I ate at the Smokehouse, which the Warner Brothers tour guide told us is George Clooney’s favorite restaurant in the the Burbank area. After being seated by a friendly, lively staff, and being given some cheesy garlic bread and ribs, with a side of sweet potato fries and beans, that tasted like they were straight out of heaven, I could tell why it is his favorite restaurant. (You could see the crumbs left from the bread!)

My final birthday treat was tickets to Universal Studios Hollywood.

Entrance to the parking lot of Universal Studios Hollywood

Parking in the park is based after cartoon or movie characters such as E.T., and I will admit that the parking was surprisingly not a hassle seeing as it was a Friday evening. In order to get from your parking space to the amusement park, you have to walk through CityWalk, which is full of restaurants, clothing stores, restaurants, souvenir shops, and plenty of areas to hang/chat with family and friends.

CityWalk

You know you have arrived near the amusement park when you see security ready to check your bags, the line for ticket sales, and hear the laughter and screams of tourists and locals all around the park. Another indicator is the beautiful red carpet that takes you to the entrance of the amusement park, which is definitely a popular photoshoot spot before you enjoy all of the thrills within the park.

Me at the Universal Studios Hollywood red carpet

Universal Studios Hollywood has the following rides and attractions: Transformers The Ride- 3D, Revenge of the Mummy the Ride, Jurassic Park the Ride, Animal Actors, Despicable Me Minion Mayhem, the new Walking Dead attraction, WaterWorld, the Special Effects Show that runs about every 30 minutes, the Simpsons Ride, Springfield attraction, the Studio tour including Fast and Furious with video cohost Jimmy Fallon, Fun Land and dino play for the kiddies. Aside from the rides and attractions, there are multiple places to eat (so many that I cannot name them all), and a few are: Starbucks, Sweet Liberty, Krusty Burger, Bumblebee Man’s Taco Truck, Cinnabon, Panda Express, Ben & Jerry’s, Jurassic Cafe, and many more.

My favorite ride at the park was Transformers, because it was extremely realistic. You got 3-D glasses and jump into a car connected to the transformer Evac and start your mission. This ride is very action packed and for a fleeting moment, you’ll fear for your life because it is so real.

An overall comment about this park, compared to the Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey that I usually go to, in terms of waiting for the ride, you will spend most of your wait indoors. For example, while waiting for the Harry Potter ride, our whole wait was inside of the castle surrounded by magical potions, artistic statues similar to the movie, and spent talking to Harry Potter and talking paintings instead of waiting in a long line in the heat. However, these parks differ tremendously in terms of rides. Instead of a Six Flags, or amusement park where there are solely rollercoasters, Universal Studios Hollywood was more attraction based in the sense that rides were more movie-oriented, 3D, and interactive instead of solely screaming your head off on a fast paced ride.

SANA SAYS MESSAGE: 

Hollywood Universal Studios exit

This trip has definitely been an eye-opener for me. Seeing beautiful houses up in Hollywood Hills, and throughout Bel Air, dining in beautiful restaurants, taking in the beautiful weather and personally seeing all of the musical opportunities in Los Angeles as well as in New York, truly opened my eyes to all of the possibilities. Many look at this kind of lifestyle as strictly for celebrities and the absolutely rich, but in reality, it is accessible. Not every celebrity or “rich” person grew up that way, and many had to work their way to the top and earn that kind of lifestyle, and it shows you that it is humanly possible. After only being in California for a few days, I would like to spend many more days there and see what musical opportunities are available for me and all I wish to achieve in my lifetime.

Sana Says create a dream board, look at a million pictures of your dream house, dream job, dream lifestyle, and make that dream a temporary goal. Once you reach this goal and get your dream house, job and lifestyle, recognize it as only temporary, and plot for what’s next for you. I surely will, and don’t be too shocked when you see me in my new Hollywood Hills home with my family plotting what’s next.

As Drake says in his song “Pop Style”: Turn my birthday into a lifestyle.

  Today is Sana Says Sunday, so please check out my latest post, comment, and share! There are three kinds of birthday people out there: 1. those who celebrate their birthday for a month straight, 2.