#Jacksonville NC

[kingconcretenc]

Quality Concrete Sidewalk Installers Near Jacksonville: Your Guide to Reliable Concrete Services

With regard to beautifying and improving the utility of your property, there is no better option than quality concrete work. Sidewalk installers near the Jacksonville area are your local specialists in constructing beautiful and durable sidewalks tailored to meet your needs. At King Concrete, we know that sidewalks are more than just a path to walk or roll on in construction projects; they add functionality as well as a decorative value.

Why Choose Professional Sidewalk Installers?

It is wise to hire sidewalk installers to ensure that your concrete pathways are installed in the right manner. Although doing the projects by own might seem cheaper, it will result in wrong installation which results in cracking, bad surface interlock and drainage among others. The other advantage of hiring professional contractors is that sidewalks will be constructed to the standard and code of regulation as required.

The Benefits of Sidewalk Installation

Installing a sidewalk has several advantages for both residential and commercial properties:

Enhanced Safety: For example a well constructed sidewalk offers a safer area for walking than on an irregular surface that increases the rate of accidents.

Increased Property Value: Good sidewalks improve the value of your property by improving the outlook of the property. Intended consumers are normally drawn towards houses with well tended pathways.

Improved Accessibility: Walkways allow people to reach your home or business with ease, which is always attractive to visitors, buyers and guests.

Aesthetic Appeal: Sidewalks that have been well designed can work hand in hand with your landscaping to make your property look even better.

Choosing the Right Materials

The choice of materials that are to be used on the sidewalks is very important when the construction is to be done. Concrete is preferred because of its strength and flexibility. But there are other choices, for instance, pervious concrete, which has good drainage and is considered an environmentally friendly solution.

If you are looking for pervious concrete contractors near me, King Concrete is the company you are looking for. Our team is proficient in placing a number of concrete types, normal and porous, guaranteeing you the best option.

Concrete Patios Near Me

Apart from sidewalk installation, King Concrete provides other services such as construction of concrete patios. Patios are a great feature in any home as they offer an opportunity for people to have parties, barbecue and even have a rest. We can offer you a range of services that include consultation and construction of a concrete patio that suits your yard’s layout and your tastes.

Our Installation Process

At King Concrete, we follow a systematic approach to ensure a successful sidewalk installation:

Consultation: In the process of establishing the services we offer we first conduct consultation sessions to determine client’s requirements, their tastes and their pocket. Our team will identify the design choices, the type of material to use and the time it will take to complete the work.

Site Assessment: We also consider the fact that every property has its own unique features that may require a unique method of installation of its sidewalks and thus before we install the sidewalks we first evaluate your property to establish any likely challenges and the most appropriate methods to use.

Preparation: Our team will first survey the site and clear it, level the ground for good drainage and then proceed to construct your sidewalk.

Installation: With the appropriate materials and methods, we will lay your sidewalk to your precise requirements, with focus on workmanship.

Finishing Touches: After that, additional works such as sealing or staining to improve the look and durability of your sidewalk will be done.

Ongoing Maintenance

It is therefore very important that you take good care of your newly installed sidewalk in order to serve you for a long time. The best thing you can do for your concrete is to institute a cleaning and sealing schedule that will minimize its exposure to unfavorable conditions and promptly repair and sealing cracks when they appear. At King Concrete, we provide maintenance services for your sidewalks and all the concrete structures that you have around your home or business. Sidewalk maintenance after your sidewalk is installed on Maysville, NC should be done to ensure the sidewalk’s durability. Cleaning and sealing reduces exposure of the concrete to more harsh conditions and contraction and expansion forces while repairing ensures that any forming cracks or other damages on the concrete are repaired quickly. The workers of King Concrete are always ready to deliver excellent maintenance services on sidewalks and all other concrete works to make sure your property is safe and beautiful throughout the year.

[mhaccunoval]

i didn't realize the first time i watched the beastie story that there was a jacksonville clipping about trying to ban the boys

[borgeslabyrinth]

So I was having a conversation with my boyfriend about our city's goofy minor league baseball team name (you know how in Twilight, Bella's stepdad is on the Jacksonville Suns? Yeah, we changed the name to the Jumbo Shrimps, which is objectively hilarious) so I was like "goofy minor league baseballs names is a long held tradition. Like the Florence Yalls or the Hartford Yard Goats" so I decided to look up a list of the funniest minor league baseball teams and guys.... let me introduce you to the most amazing thing.....

The Carolina Disco Turkey:

I am so obsessed with this fucking bird I can't even tell you. I've never had any interest in baseball, I have no connection to Winston-Salem, NC. But I took one look at this bird and became an instant devotee. I immediately purchased a t shirt and plan on buying a hat and a hoodie. He's just so perfect. Flawless. A Disco Turkey! Anyway, everyone meet my new husband, the Disco Turkey.

[transit-fag]

May we have a list of the least walkable cities with populations over 200,000?

Here are all the cities with a walk score below 30 and their scores

Henderson, NV, 30.0

Greensboro, NC, 29.4

Gilbert, AZ, 29.0

Nashville, 28.8

Charlotte, 26.4

Montgomery, 25.8

Jacksonville, 25.6

Winston-Salem, 22.5

Fayetteville, 21.4

Chesapeake, 21.3

[deeptrashwitch]

Some characters more to give context for future "A Haunting Past" parts!

-------------------------------------------------------

Major Oliver "Deepwater" Reyes

Name: Oliver Reyes

Age: 40

Date of birth: 17th january 1994, San Francisco, CL

Residence: Camp Lejeune, Jacksonville, NC

Profession: Marine Corps Major, Raider in active service

Height: 1,79 m (5'10.4 ft)

Weight: 83 kg

Blood type: O-

Pronouns: He/him

Sexuality: Straight

Languages: English (native), Portuguese, French, Russian and Hindi

Personality:

-He's cold and serious when he's on duty, and no one really knows about his life outside it. Except that he is single and doesn't have kids, to be honest Oliver is really mysterious in his general life.

-During their time in the 267, he was really close to Alicia and they were really good friends, but when he became a Major he started to get colder. And after Firewall, he started to hate and rescent Alicia to the point that he blames her for everything that happened.

Trivia:

-During many years, he was Alicia's direct superior (and still is), as Lieutenant, Captain and now as Major. He was the one who put Cpt. Marchant in charge after he was promoted. Also he was the direct subordinate of the deceased Cpt. McAllister.

-His nickname appeared because of his great results during underwater missions, also because he had the record of apnea of the whole 267, he could stay 5 minutes underwater and moving without need to go back and breathe. (The nearest uses to be Sean, with 3:50 minutes)

-He has trained with the Delta Force during some conjoined excercises that are oficially secret, during his time on the 267, he was one of the most lethal soldiers. Also he has done a short survival course in Indonesia.

-For an unknown reason Oliver was an objective for The White Tomorrow, taken down during Operation Ironfist.

Random Quote:

"You shouldn't have come back, Marchant" -to Alicia after her rescue

[black-arcana]

DELAIN Announces 2025 North American Tour With XANDRIA

Melodic synth-metal greats DELAIN continue to grace stages around the world in support of their latest opus, "Dark Waters", out now via Napalm Records. The band is thrilled to announce their return to North American shores with a newly announced headline tour, set to take place in early 2025. The run will also feature support from special guests, symphonic metal patriots and Napalm labelmates XANDRIA, who are touring in support of their latest album, "The Wonders Still Awaiting".

Fans should expect to hear DELAIN and XANDRIA fan favorites, the latest hits, as well as brand new material from both bands during this tour, so don't miss out. Kicking off on March 7 in Phoenix, Arizona, the tour will visit several major cities across North America, ending in Austin, Texas on March 29. Tickets are on sale now. Visit www.delain.nl and get yours before they are gone.

DELAIN's Martijn Westerholt says: "After such a warm welcome and meeting so many amazing fans, performing new music and introducing our new members to the metal masses of North America last year, we are absolutely stoked to return to the United States and Canada to meet again. This time, we're thrilled to share this experience with our special guests and good friends XANDRIA. Each night will be stunning for all. Don't miss this one!"

XANDRIA's Marco Heubaum adds: "We are delighted to come back to the USA and Canada, and even better, with our good friends DELAIN! We are super excited to bring this package to the North American fans! This is going to be amazing!"

DELAIN with support from XANDRIA:

March 07 - Phoenix, AZ @ The Nile March 08 - Los Angeles, CA @ Whisky A Go Go March 09 - Sacramento, CA @ Goldfield Trading Post March 10 - Portland, OR @ The Bossanova Ballroom March 11 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon March 13 - Salt Lake City, UT @ Metro Music Hall March 14 - Denver, CO @ The Oriental Theater March 16 - Joliet, IL @ The Forge March 17 - Detroit, MI @ The Token Lounge March 19 - Columbus, OH @ The King of Clubs March 20 - Toronto, ON @ Axis March 21 - Montreal, QC @ Fairmount Theatre March 22 - Cambridge, MA @ Middle East March 23 - New York, NY @ The Gramercy Theatre March 24 - Baltimore, MD @ Soundstage March 25 - Jacksonville, NC @ Hooligans March 26 - Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Hell) March 28 - Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater March 29 - Austin, TX @ Come and Take It Live

In a recent interview with FaceCulture, DELAIN founder, songwriter and keyboardist Martijn Westerholt spoke about the differences in the singing approach of the band's new frontwoman Diana Leah and that of her predecessor, Charlotte Wessels. He said: "Well, first of all, [Diana's] voice. I like her character. [She has] so much control, so much control… It's also a very friendly voice. And [when I first heard her singing], I could imagine that on DELAIN music. And then I got back the material later, and I was actually astonished and surprised how much it fitted. [Someone said] she has a very similar voice to Charlotte, and partially I totally agree with that; there are some characteristics that are similar. But I also think that people didn't… We have released three singles [with Diana so far], and [people] have not heard her complete capacity in singing. She's very good with soft versus power, [the] contrast [between the two]."

Elaborating on what sets the two vocalists apart, Martijn said: "Charlotte is more rough, which gives Charlotte a lot of character. It's a more rough voice, and that's not a negative thing; no, on the contrary, that gives it a certain quality and character. Diana is more refined. And that makes it different. So I'm totally not saying that, 'Oh, this one is better' or 'That one is better' — no — but it is different. And, of course, indeed, there are also similarities."

DELAIN's first album with Leah, "Dark Waters", arrived in February 2023 via Napalm Records.

In addition to Westerholt and Leah, the band's current lineup includes original guitarist Ronald Landa and drummer Sander Zoer, along with bassist Ludovico Cioffi.

The new DELAIN lineup made its official live debut in August 2022 at the Riverside festival in Aarburg, Switzerland.

Regarding how she joined the long-running Dutch metal act, Leah previously said: "It's really simple, actually. I knew they were looking for a singer so I just left a comment on their Instagram page. So a couple of days later I received an e-mail from Martijn, and we talked a bit about how I could audition and he sent me some material that I could sing on. And the rest is history."

Asked how she decided to sing in a metal band, the 33-year-old Diana said: "Well, I've always wanted to sing in a metal band. It was really my desire to do it. In fact, I did sing in a couple of rock bands, but it wasn't really heavy music, which I loved at the time. It was really hard to find the right people to form a band with and also to get along together and all that. But I've always wanted to be in a metal band. Always."

Leah also talked a bit about her background, saying: "I was born in Romania, in a city called Alba Iulia. It's in the middle of Transylvania. And then I moved to Italy when I was 15, and I lived in Italy for, I think, 10 years or something. And then I moved to Canada, in Ottawa, and I lived there for five years. And then I came back to Italy. And now I currently live in Italy, near Torino, so up north."

In February 2021, Westerholt announced the dissolution of DELAIN's previous lineup. At the time, he explained: "For the last year or so, the collaboration within the band ceased to work as well as it once had. Some of us were no longer happy with the current roles in the band. We all tried very hard to find a solution for over a year, but sadly we were unable to find one. As a result, we will all be going our own ways and pursuing our own endeavors."

Photo credit: Tim Tronckoe

[senashenta]

Title: Horror High

Pairing: Destiel

Rating: NC-17 (in future chapters)

Warnings: Sex, Violence

Summary: John Winchester plants his eldest son at Caspar High in Jacksonville because weird things have been happening there: people disappearing. People reappearing only dead and drained of all their bodily fluids. Cocoons. It’s up to Dean to figure out what’s stalking Caspar’s halls and deal with it accordingly; but then he meets the New Kid—newer than him, even, the New-New Kid—Castiel Novak, and all his plans get severely derailed. Now Dean has to juggle the supernatural case—a really hungry jorogumo—and also the fact that he’s very quickly falling in love, something that is absolutely forbidden by his dad.

Meanwhile Castiel, shoved into the third new school in a year because his adoptive father—Chuck Shurley’s—job has them moving around a lot, struggles to fit in at Caspar High, not only because he’s the New Kid but because he’s the weird New Kid. Dean seems like a saving grace, a harbor in a storm, someone who doesn’t judge him—that is until Cas finds out about Dean’s night job. Cas’s life just got a whole lot stranger—but that doesn’t stop him from falling for Dean, regardless.

Notes: This is my first time writing Destiel OR SPN (though I have written SPN AU in other fandoms) so please bear with me while I get my footing.

Also HH was originally supposed to be like a 10-page one-shot and the next thing I knew it was 79-pages-of-11-pt-Arial-and-counting and I was looking for places to divide it for chapters so. Yeah. This storyline kind of just took over my brain and became a THING.

Top Dean and Bottom Cas which I know is the reverse of how 90% of the fandom writes them, but I am tentatively planning a sequel to HH (depending on how well it does or doesn’t go over) that will flip them around so be patient shhhh.

Cas is younger than Dean in this AU by like… six months. Dean’s official birthday is January 24th, and I used Jimmy Novak’s birthday for Cas, which is July 10th. Since they’re both in the same grade that makes Cas younger. Just accept it and move on.

I have never been to Jacksonville or Florida, so everything contained within this fic is completely fictitious; business names, street names, school names, place names, everything except Jacksonville, Florida itself. :D

ALSO, before anyone corrects me on stuff, I am CANADIAN and I know the CANADIAN high school system/curriculum. I really have very little idea of how the US school system/classes work so like. I’m just making it up as I go. :D;; (Literally how many classes do US high school students have in a day?? Up here it’s FOUR.)

Please excuse my interpretation of jorogumos, I took a LOT of liberties.

Chapter Two will be posted next Friday, if you're into that sort of thing. You can also read this HERE on AO3.

HORROR HIGH TUMBLR MASTER POST HERE.

HORROR HIGH Chapter One By Senashenta

Dean Winchester crept up the steps of Caspar High School in Jacksonville, Florida, and ducked under the line of police tape that marked off the area, heading for the little tent that had been erected just to the side of the building, near the bushes. The whole scene was theoretically being guarded by the police—but the officer they had left behind was asleep in his police car out front.

Bang up job, Jacksonville P.D.

That aside, Dean was good at his job, so sneaking into a crime scene was no big deal for him, guarded or not. And this was just your basic body check, there wouldn’t be any fighting or anything to wake the cop up—or that was the theory, anyway. (Even if there was, it wouldn’t be his first time being caught and or arrested, either, but they would probably just chalk it up to him being a nosy kid regardless.)

This was the first time his Dad had trusted him enough to drop him in a town to take care of a case alone. Of course, Sam was in Jacksonville with Dean while their Dad headed to Utah to look into a recent spate of killings there, but Sam was pretty much confined to school and the motel on this outing, as per their father’s orders. Still, Dean was going to be keeping a close eye on him: Sam had been known to rabbit in the past and he didn’t want to have to call his Dad and explain that he had lost his little brother (again.)

Now, Dean stealthily unzipped the tent flap and stepped inside, letting it fall closed behind himself.

What he was confronted with when his eyes adjusted to the darkness wasn’t a body so much as a cocoon, an oblong, rounded object the size of a person and wrapped in layers and layers of what looked almost like off-white cheesecloth or gauze. Dean leaned down and tapped at it with his fingers. It was soft, like silk.

Well that would explain why the police hadn’t taken the body away yet; there was no body, per se.

“Let’s see what’s inside you.��

Dean pulled the buck knife out of the back of his jeans, unsheathed it, and got to work cutting the cocoon open. The wrapping, though soft, was tough and sticky, hard to slice through, but eventually he hacked a seam lengthways along the cocoon, at which point he set his knife aside to pull the damned thing open.

Inside was the actual body; male, probably, and curled in on itself, shrivelled and desiccated and dried to a withered husk. At least it didn’t smell. Dean still made a face, even as he released the cocoon and picked up his knife, tucking it away again before exiting the little tent and heading off down the street, making for the motel he and Sam were staying at.

The Seafoam Motel wasn’t exactly high-class, but then none of the places they stayed at ever were. But it had walls and a roof, good locks on the door, it was cheap, and nobody asked too many questions about the occupants of the rooms, and those were all the important things. The Seafoam Motel ticked all the boxes for a financially strapped Hunter—and for his kids, too. Not that you would know it from Sam’s complaining.

At least it had wifi, the kid would have pitched an absolute fit if it hadn’t.

When he got back to the room the door was predictably locked (good job, Sammy), and Dean banged on it a couple of times, calling out, “Sammy, it’s me, open the door!”

After a moment of silence there was the sound of the chain lock and deadbolt being unlocked, and then the door was yanked open. Sam stepped aside to let Dean in and then closed and locked the door behind him, just like it had been drilled into him so many times in the past. “What’d you find?”

“Cocoon.”

“Come again?”

“Cocoon.” Dean repeated as he crossed the room, pulling his knife out and setting it on the little kitchenette table, then dropping into one of the rickety chairs. “You know, like the movie? The body was inside it. Wrapped up in this tough, sticky… I don’t know what. But it sure looked a hell of a lot like a cocoon to me.”

Sam was already heading for his laptop. “That gives us a place to start, at least.”

“Oh no, no no.” Dean headed him off at the pass, practically diving over and snatching the computer before Sam could get to it. “You’re not doing research all night, we have freaking school in the morning.” And then, “…I can’t believe I just said that.”

“Yeah, because you care about school.” Sam rolled his eyes and made a grab for the laptop, but Dean held it over his head where he couldn’t reach. “Dean.”

“I care about the girls at school.” He informed his brother with a grin, then added, “and it’s nearly two a.m., we’re going to bed. Research tomorrow. Sleep now. Besides, I have to check out the school some more anyway, just a cocoon isn’t going to give us much.”

Sam grumbled, eventually agreed, but still held his hand out for his computer. Dean deposited the laptop safely into his grasp and then started stripping down, falling into bed once he was in just his boxers and a t-shirt. “Get the lights, Sammy.”

Sam flicked the lights off with a long-suffering sigh.

-- --

Castiel Novak wasn’t having a great first day at Caspar High. He was relatively used to being the New Kid, his father’s job had them moving around a lot so he switched schools on a regular basis, but the hazing at Caspar was particularly mean spirited, he was finding, not to mention the building itself was an absolute maze, and he had been late for literally all of his morning classes simply because he hadn’t been able to find them and no one had been willing to help him out.

Now he was seated in the cafeteria, by himself but surrounded by the rest of the bustling student body, unsure what to really do with himself.

This wasn’t his first time being the New Kid. He and his father moved around a lot for his father’s job and Caspar High was the third school he’d transferred to since September. It was now January. His father promised that the moving would slow down, though; he could see how much it wore on Cas, even if the boy never said anything about it. He was going to start travelling for his seminars, instead, now that he felt Cas was old enough to stay home on his own. So Cas could potentially be at Caspar for a while.

He probably should have been worried about making friends. For most kids his age that would have been top priority, but Cas had always been a little different, and he thought he was fine on his own, if it came down to it, especially considering the first impression he was getting of the other students so far. It figured that the High School he was likely to actually graduate from would turn out to be full of nothing but jerks.

He was also possibly a little jaded from all the moving around he’d done in the past.

For the time being he just dug his lunch—a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, an apple and a bottle of water—out of his backpack, unwrapped the sandwich and began to pick little pieces of it off and eat them, rather than taking proper bites as he usually would. He wasn’t really all that hungry, considering there were at least a hundred pairs of eyes on him at the moment.

And then—

“HEY NEW KID!”

When Cas looked up, a basketball was flying at his face and he had no time to duck out of the way—but at the last possible second hands shot out of nowhere, snatching the ball out of the air before it could hit its’ target. Blue eyes blinked, and his head swivelled sideways to take in the stranger that had just saved him from a black eye at the very least.

The guy wasn’t overly tall—probably around Cas’s height, give or take—with short, tousled brown hair. He was sporting a t-shirt and a flannel button-up under a worn black jean jacket. He was also wearing ripped jeans. But Cas was most taken by his eyes, which were a sharp, beautiful forest green. As he watched, the other boy eyed the kid across the cafeteria who had thrown the ball to begin with—then abruptly pitched it back at the offender. The ball slammed into the other kid’s head, sending him flying backward out of his seat and causing laugher to erupt all across the cafeteria.

Then his rescuer just looked down at him for a moment before dropping down to sit next to him, straddling the bench. “They tried that on me my first day here, too. Same thing happened then. You’d think they’d learn.”

“Thank you.” Cas offered with a blink.

“No problem.”

“I’m Castiel.”

“That’s a mouthful. I’m Dean.” And then, “the fact that you’re wearing a tie right now isn’t going to help your popularity. Also,” he reached over to physically pull the tie off Cas’s neck and dropped it on the table in front of them. Cas allowed it, somewhat baffled. “You had it on backwards. Honestly, dude, just wear t-shirts like the rest of us.”

“I can do that.” Cas agreed. He owned t-shirts. He grabbed his tie to stuff it into his backpack. Then he returned to looking at Dean, taking in his features and mannerisms. He was exceedingly good-looking, Cas decided almost absently. At the same time, Dean was looking him over as well, seeming to take stock of him, gaze alert and analytical. Scrutinizing.

Eventually Cas shifted a little and asked, “are you new, too?”

“New-ish.” Dean shrugged, “I transferred in two weeks ago.”

“That’s why you’re nicer than...” Cas trailed off and glanced around the cafeteria.

“Literally everyone else here?” Dean suggested with a laugh.

“I didn’t want to say it, but yes.”

“It gets better. After a few days they forget. They’re dumb like that, the masses.”

“Zombies.”

“Uh,” Dean hesitated, but then allowed, “yeah, sure, kind of.”

“You don’t sound very certain, Dean.”

“Well, Cas, I just think zombies are probably different than in the movies.”

Wait. “Cas?” He called himself ‘Cas’ in his head, but no one ever called him that out loud except his father.

Dean gave him a little amused look, “’Castiel’ is a lot.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“As long as it’s fine with you, that is.”

Cas nodded and offered a smile. “It’s fine with me.”

Dean gave him a little grin back. “Great.”

The rest of lunch hour was spent with Cas actually eating his lunch properly while he talked with Dean and they got to know each other a little. No one else bothered them for the rest of the time they were in the cafeteria, and Cas was hoping he would have at least one of his afternoon classes with Dean, but when they compared their schedules, it sadly wasn’t to be. Cas resigned himself to hazing throughout the day for at least the next week or so—until the rest of the student body moved on.

It was a novelty to talk with someone who overlooked his innate strangeness. Cas was so used to people giving him odd looks that Dean chatting with him as freely as he was now, was… almost baffling. Dean seemed like the kind of guy who could be popular, have tons of friends easily, and instead here he was wasting his time with Cas. It was… weird. Not that Cas was complaining.

When the bell rang to signify the end of lunch hour, Cas was mildly disappointed that their conversation had to end. He shifted in his seat a bit before asking tentatively, “you could sit with me again tomorrow, If you wanted?”

“I’ve already got a spot where I spend lunch hour, usually. Not in here.” Dean replied casually, making Cas wilt a little, then; “but you can join me if you want. Meet me by the gym tomorrow at the start of lunch, okay?”

Cas brightened again, nodding. “Okay.”

“Cool.” Dean stood up and brushed the nonexistent dust off himself with a grin, “then I’ll see you tomorrow, Cas.”

Cas smiled back. “Mm, see you tomorrow.”

He didn’t know where Dean was going, but he was off to calculus class—assuming he could find it.

-- --

“Hey, New Kid.”

Cas was really getting tired of being called that, but at least this time there had been no malice behind it. More curiosity, if anything. He was seated in calculus, having found it with (relative) ease, trying to keep his head down and out of trouble when the voice spoke up from in front of him. He reluctantly lifted his head.

The girl in the seat in front of him was twisted around in her chair to face him, a wide smile on her face. Her hair was the reddest red that Cas thought it could possibly be. She gave him a little wave. “I’m Charlie. What’s your name?”

Cas hesitated before offering, “Castiel. But just Cas is fine.”

“Wow, yeah, ‘Castiel’ is…”

“A lot.” Cas echoed Dean’s words from earlier in the day. He was starting to relax now that Charlie was turning out to be friendly. He sat up a little straighter. “It’s nice to meet you, Charlie.”

“Nice to meet you, too!” Charlie glanced around, “I know most of the population of his school are jerks, but calculus is a pretty safe class, so you can relax a little. Oh!” She gestured to the side at another girl, “this is Jody,” and then to the boy sitting in the seat beside Cas, “and this is Garth. They’re cool too.”

Jody had short brown hair and dark eyes, and almost a maternal smile; Garth was tall and lanky, kind of goofy looking but gave him a greeting grin that Cas couldn’t help smiling back to. He was definitely feeling more comfortable now, in this class, at least.

“I saw what happened at lunch,” Charlie said, pulling his attention back to her, “Dean Winchester saved you, which, like… what was he even doing in the cafeteria? He always vanishes at lunch time. No one knows where he goes. It’s a mystery.” She wiggled her fingers a little, “he must like you, ‘cause he usually just keeps to himself, or he has since he transferred in, anyway.”

“Mn, he said he was new, too.”

“Yeah, by a couple weeks. No one dares pick on him, though, he’d kick everyone’s asses.”

Cas coughed out a little laugh. “I got that impression.” Then, after a slight hesitation, “he said I could sit with him at lunch tomorrow. So.”

“Ooh, exciting! You’ll have to tell us where he eats lunch, then!” Charlie grinned at him, then rolled her eyes slightly, “aaaaaaall the girls have a crush on him. He’s handsome and mysterious and blah blah blah.”

“You think he’s over-rated.” Jody informed flatly, though her expression was amused.

“Over-rated?” Cas questioned.

“Charlie is gay.” Garth explained. “Like, so gay.”

“So gay.” Charlie agreed.

“Oh.” Cas shrugged. It didn’t bother him. “I’m not entirely straight myself.”

Charlie just grinned. “So you don’t think Dean Winchester is over-rated.”

He cleared his throat and glanced down a little. “He’s not unattractive.”

“Yeaaaah that’s what I thought.”

“I like girls, too, though, I just… I like who I like. I don’t care about their gender.”

“That’s valid.” Charlie gave him a reassuring smile, then just changed the topic entirely; “where’d you move from?”

Cas blinked. “Wichita, Kansas. My Father and I move around a lot for his job… or we did. Now that I’m older I guess he trusts me to stay home alone so he’s going to start travelling instead. So I’m stuck here.”

“It’s not so bad here once you settle in,” Jody reassured him.

“Yeah,” Charlie nodded, “and you’ve got us now, so it’s not like you have no friends.”

“You just have weird friends.” Garth laughed.

Cas couldn’t help the little grin that crept across his own face. He was actually perfectly okay with having weird friends.

-- --

In history class, after calculus, somebody tripped him on his way to his seat and Cas fell flat on his face. The rest of the students laughed. Cas just got back up and continued on, pretending nothing had happened. That was the best way to deal with bullies, he had learned, over his long and sordid history of transferring from school to school. Ignore them until they give up and go away.

Or, alternatively, have Dean Winchester throw a basketball at their face. That apparently worked, too.

In any case, after the incident in history, the rest of the day passed easily enough, until Cas found himself standing outside the school after final bell, just taking deep breaths of the fresh air and looking up at the sky—soaking in the fact that he was free, at least for the rest of the day.

“You going left or right?”

Cas blinked at the familiar voice and turned his attention to Dean, who had come up beside him while he was distracted with the general out-of-doors. He glanced toward the route he had to take to get home. “Right. Why?”

“Me too. I’ll walk with you.”

“Oh. Okay.” And then, “thanks.”

“Don’t gotta thank me. I’m walking that way anyway.” Dean nudged him to get him moving, and Cas headed off with the other boy by his side.

“No, I mean,” Cas waved one hand in an absent sort of gesture, “I mean for earlier. In the cafeteria. You really didn’t have to do that. And one of the girls I was talking to later said you don’t even usually go in the cafeteria, so I just… thanks. For going out of your way. I appreciate it.”

“You were gossiping about me?”

“I—” Cas began, then clapped his mouth shut again and shook his head in a quick negative. When he spoke up once more it was to mutter, “of course not.”

But Dean was already grinning, looking overly amused. “It’s fine, Cas, I’m used to being gossip fodder. What was she saying about me?”

“That all the girls here think you’re handsome.” Cas told him easily, but conveniently left out the part where he agreed with them. There was no sense in telling a guy he’d just met that he was already developing a crush on him, especially when he might be moving again any day. He really wasn’t sure he trusted his father’s promises that they were going to stay put this time. “And that no one knows where you disappear to at lunch time, apparently it’s a big mystery.”

Dean laughed. “Well you’ll know, starting tomorrow.” He pointed out, “you’re still gonna join me, right?”

Cas actually gave him a surprised look. “I didn’t think you actually—”

“—meant it?” Dean finished for him. His smile softened for just a second before returning to his previous jovial expression. “Mmm… I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t mean it. And besides, you’re different from all those other assholes, I can tell.”

“I like to think I am, anyway.” Then, “you are, too.”

Dean grinned again. “I think we’re going to be friends, Cas, I really do.”

Cas offered up a smile of his own, “I’d like that, Dean.”

They walked together for a few blocks, until they got to James Street, at which point Cas paused and gestured down it. This was his turn off, he had to walk down James to get to King Street where he lived, and it was… well, the term “sketchy” came to mind. James Street was all run-down houses, broken fences, guard dogs and probably drug dealers. Dean looked down the street, giving it a thorough eyeballing, before declaring—

“Nope!” He gave Cas a little push toward the street, but then followed him, falling into step beside him as they headed down James. “No way are you walking down here by yourself, dude, that’s just asking to get axe-murdered. Or worse.”

“Worse than axe-murdered?”

“Oh, trust me there are so many worse things than being axe-murdered.”

Cas would have to take his word for it. He couldn’t personally think of any, but that didn’t mean they didn’t exist. For now he was just going over and over in his head how this guy he had just met was walking him all the way home through a dodgy part of town, even though he didn’t have to. His tiny, newborn crush on Dean Winchester was probably growing teeth already, and it hadn’t even been a day.

“When’s your birthday?”

“Huh?” Cas blinked back to reality at the question and actually had to fumble for a response before managing, “July.”

“January.” Dean was paying very close attention to their surroundings while also trying to maintain a conversation and that was obvious. “So I’m older.”

“Only by six months.” Cas pointed out.

“Still counts. Means you have to do what I say.” Dean grinned at him fleetingly, “those’re the rules!”

“I don’t like those rules.” The younger teen gave a token protest. “I think you made those rules up.”

“Possibly, but they’re important.”

“Why?”

“Could save your life one day.”

Cas laughed softly at that, but Dean didn’t, instead falling silent until they were past James Street and out of the sketchy area that Cas had very much walked through unescorted on his way to school that morning. Dean relaxed visibly as soon as they were back to “normal” neighborhoods, his steps easier and his shoulder slouching a little, where they had been tense and taut only a moment before.

Honestly, Cas wasn’t entirely sure what was up with Dean, but clearly something was going on inside his head. He would love to have picked Dean’s brain about it, but he really didn’t think Dean would be up for sharing. Maybe he had an incident in his past, something to do with a neighborhood like James that had him acting like he was now. Cas thought possibly once they got to know each other a little bit more, he might ask, but for now…

“I live on King.” He gestured down the street in question when they neared it, “I really can walk from here, I… um. But thanks. Again.”

Dean’s steps slowed to a stop and he glanced around, as if checking the surrounding neighborhood before deeming it safe. “Okay, Cas. I’ll see you tomorrow, right? Be careful walking that way on your way to school in the morning.”

“I will.” Cas gave him a little smile, “thanks, Dean. See you tomorrow.” Then he turned and headed across the street to King, where his father was likely waiting to hear a rundown of his day.

-- --

Lunch time the next day found Cas nervously waiting outside the gym, half expecting Dean not to show—that it had all been an elaborate prank.

Cas’s morning had gone alright, though, everyone seemed to be steering clear now that it had circulated that Dean Winchester was looking out for him. He wasn’t sure what, exactly, Dean had done to garner his reputation, but whatever it was it had been effective.

“Hey.” A hand clapped into his shoulder and when Cas glanced up, Dean was standing there, “c’mon.”

Cas just stared at him. “You actually came.”

“Well, yeah,” Dean gave him an odd look, then gestured for him to follow and headed into the gym. It was empty right now, except for them, and Cas trailed after Dean as they walked around the side of the bleachers—and Dean ducked into the back of them, then dropped down and settled with his back against the wall. He waved a hand for Cas to join him.

Cas clambered in behind the bleachers as well, taking a seat beside Dean and setting his backpack beside him. “This is where you spend lunch?”

“Yeah. It’s private. Quiet, usually.” Dean shrugged, “I don’t mind you being here, though.”

Cas blinked at that, not quite sure what to say. “I—thanks?”

Dean tossed him a grin. “You don’t have to thank me for everything, Cas.”

But it was the polite thing to do. Cas opened his mouth—then closed it again. After a moment he just shrugged almost awkwardly and dug in his backpack for his lunch, unwrapping his sandwich and beginning to eat. He was so severely unused to having friends that this was difficult for him—socializing. He didn’t really know how to do it.

“Hey, what’s your family like?” Cas glanced over when Dean spoke up. The other boy had his head leaned back against the wall, his hands laced over his stomach and his eyes were staring off somewhere into the middle-distance.

“My family?” Cas swallowed a bite of sandwich and resisted the urge to shrug again. “It’s just me and my Father. He adopted me when I was five, but I don’t remember anything before then. It’s always just been the two of us.”

Dean smiled a little and looked at him. “I’ve got me, and my Dad, and my annoying little brother. But we get by okay.”

So neither of them had Moms. That was interesting. Cas took another bite of his sandwich and asked, “how come you transferred here? Does your Dad move around a lot for work or something?”

“You could say that.” Dean agreed, “what about you?”

“Same.” The younger teen nodded, in-between bites of food, “my Father is a motivational speaker, and he does series of seminars all over the place. The last couple months we were in Kansas, and Oregon before that. Now we’re here.” Another bite of sandwich and he continued, a little muffled, “he says we’re going to stay here, though, now that I’m old enough to stay home on my own. He says he’ll start travelling for his work instead.” A shrug, “I don’t know if I believe him or not.”

“Your Dad lie to you often?”

Cas sighed. “No, it’s just… I think it’s a stretch. That he’s suddenly decided all this.”

“Mm.” Dean seemed sympathetic, though Cas wasn’t entirely sure why. “Sucks that it’s this school that you’d be stuck at, after everything.”

“That’s what I was thinking yesterday.” Cas admitted, balling up the wrap from his lunch and dropping it back in his bag. Then he hesitated before offering, “but then I met you, and… things got better.”

Dean grinned again. “Yeah. I think we’re gonna be good friends, Cas.”

Cas found himself smiling back—and then Dean lifted his arm to run his hand through his hair and Cas’s eyes caught on a tear in the cuff of his jacket. He tilted his head curiously. “What happened to your jacket?”

“Huh?” Dean lowered his arm to peer at the rip. He shrugged. “I don’t even know, honestly, half my stuff has holes in it and I never know where they came from.”

Cas was already digging through his backpack again, and this time came up with a spool of black thread and a needle, much to Dean’s obvious surprise. He waved one hand toward the older boy, “take it off and I’ll fix it for you.”

Of all the ways this lunch hour could have gone, this was not one Dean would have predicted. He looked at Cas almost blankly for a moment, then let his eyes flick down to the other teen’s backpack. It was covered in vibrant patches—a cartoon PB&J sandwich, a pizza box, an LGBTQ flag, angel wings, etc.—all obviously hand-sewn on. And oh. So sewing was a thing with Cas. Okay.

Dean pushed away from the wall just enough to shrug out of his jacket and handed it over, watching curiously as Cas measured out a length of thread, then snapped it off with his teeth, threading the needle and knotting the thread a second later. He was obviously practiced at this particular skill. So was Dean, but for different reasons.

A few minutes of concentration later and Cas was finished with repairing the rip in his jacket, knotting off the thread and snapping it with his teeth again, then tucking the needle and thread away before sheepishly handing the jacket back to Dean.

“It’s not perfect, but it’s much better, right?” He asked almost shyly.

Dean gave him a genuine, grateful smile. “Thanks, Cas. It’s great.”

Cas watched him pull his jacket back on, smiling himself now. “I like to sew. It gives me something to do with my hands when I’m feeling… I don’t know. Antsy, I suppose. Like some people play with pencils or fidget toys, I have a needle and thread…”

Dean was inspecting the newly-sewn spot on his cuff, and looked up with a grin, “I play with knives.” He informed Cas, only half-joking.

Cas, not knowing any better, laughed anyway. “Hey, Dean?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for… being nice to me. Thanks for this. For… being my friend.”

Dean almost told him he didn’t need to thank him again. Instead he just smiled, almost fond, and said, “you’re welcome, Cas.”

-- --

“What do you mean you’re not going to tell us where Dean Winchester spends lunch hour?”

This was from Charlie, who had one hand clasped to her chest and a positively shocked and scandalized look on her face. The entire thing was an act and Cas knew it, even having only known Charlie for two days. “Charlie.”

“What do you mean you’re not going to tell me where Dean Winchester spends lunch hour?”

“Aaaaaand there it is.” Jody drawled. Garth chuckled.

Cas just smiled apologetically. “It’s kind of a secret. I don’t think he wants people to know.”

Charlie pouted, “you just want him all to yourself, that’s what I think.”

Cas coughed and glanced down at the same time as Garth commented, “as if you care. You couldn’t be less interested in Dean Winchester if you tried, Charlie.”

“Not true!” Charlie insisted, “he is, indeed, a mystery that I am interested in solving! Just… not in, like, a romantic sense. Because ew.” Then she paused before adding, “I mean, objectively I can see where you would find him attractive, Cas, but just… no thanks.”

A soft laugh from Cas, faintly embarrassed. “Sorry, Charlie. I’m still not going to tell you.”

The girl heaved a suffering sigh. “You disappoint me, Castiel Novak.”

Again. “Sorry, Charlie.”

“You are not.”

He wasn’t even a little.

-- --

It became habit that Cas met Dean outside the gym every day at lunch and they spent lunch hour behind the bleachers, talking and laughing and becoming better friends, Cas’s minor crush on Dean growing into a huge monster of one very quickly.

Dean never had anything to eat at lunch and it hadn’t gone unnoticed by Cas, though he had thus far neglected to say anything. But the longer he knew Dean and the more time he spent with the other boy the more it bothered him. He wasn’t bringing anything from home, obviously, and never bought anything from the cafeteria, he just sat through lunch hour watching everyone else eat and going hungry himself, scribbling in a battered notebook that he carried in his inside jacket pocket.

And that didn’t sit right with Cas because some days it was obvious Dean was hungry from the way he watched Cas eat out of the corner of his eye. But why he never had food was probably a sensitive subject and Cas didn’t feel he had the right to ask.

He could, however, do something about it.

So the next time Dean plunked himself down on the ground behind the gym bleachers at lunch time, Cas sat down next to him, then swung his backpack around and fished out not one but two sandwiches, each individually wrapped in cling-film. He blinked at Dean and held one out. “Here.”

Dean just stared at him. “Dude, what are you doing?”

“Feeding you.” Cas stated matter-of-factly, and when Dean didn’t immediately take the offered sandwich, he just set it in the older boy’s lap and returned to his bag, digging out two apples and setting one next to Dean’s sandwich. This was followed by a pair of bottles of water. Then he shrugged. “Someone has to do it.”

“But—I—you—this is—”

Cas could sense where this was going. He headed it off at the pass. “It’s not charity, if that’s what you’re worried about. It’s as easy to make two sandwiches as it is to make one.” He was already unwrapping his own sandwich, and paused to glance sideways at Dean before taking a bite; “we’re friends and friends help each other out, right?”

“We are, yeah…” Dean continued looking at him rather oddly while he started to eat, like he was having trouble with the idea of someone doing something so nice for him and not wanting anything in return. Eventually, though, he glanced away, as if suddenly shy, and carefully picked up his own sandwich, unwrapping it and taking a huge bite right off the bat. He was obviously starving. Once that was chewed and swallowed, he cleared his throat and offered, “uh… thanks, Cas.”

Cas shrugged again but gave him a smile. “As long as you don’t mind peanut butter and jelly, I don’t mind sharing with you.”

“…I am not eating the apple. Apples belong in pies.”

The next day Cas started bringing him a fruit cup instead. “It’s close to pie.”

“It’s not even.”

Despite his protests, Dean ate it anyway.

-- --

On top of eating lunch together, it had also quickly become habit for Dean to walk Cas home—mostly because he was very suspicious of James Street and that neighborhood in general, and he didn’t want his only friend to be snatched up by some monster, or even a common-place serial killer. A life of being a Hunter’s son had made him more than a little paranoid when it came to things like that.

Usually Cas made it outside first, and just waited around by one of the retaining walls until Dean emerged from the school a few minutes later, at which point they set out. Cas kept telling Dean he really didn’t need to walk him home, and Dean kept doing it anyway.

Because aside from his paranoia, he really did like Cas, and enjoy spending time with him, possibly too much, really—but walking Cas home also got him away from the crappy motel and his annoying little brother for just a little while longer, which was always a bonus. He was a Hunter, and he had a job to do, his dad drilled that into him all the damn time, but he was also not-quite eighteen and needed distraction every now-and-then.

“You’re quiet.” Dean was always quiet when they were walking down James Street. Cas always tried anyway. “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m thinking it’s going to rain.”

Cas glanced up. It was severely overcast, with storm clouds overhead and the humidity was through the roof. Dean was probably right. “Yeah, probably.” He agreed. “Hey, do you want to walk all the way to my house today? I could introduce you to my Father, if he’s in. We could hang out.”

Dean flashed him a little smile. “I can’t. I’ve gotta get home to Sammy.”

‘Sammy’ was Dean’s younger brother, thirteen from what Dean had told him, and attending Bedwin Junior High. Bedwin was Caspar’s affiliated Junior High, so if they were around long enough, Sammy—Sam—would go to Caspar as well. Dean seemed to feel that they wouldn’t be around that long, though, which was… disappointing. Upsetting, even.

Cas was used to moving around, himself, and in the beginning he had been young and hadn’t known better, he had made friends wherever he went, and then inevitably had to leave them behind. When he got a little older, he started purposefully avoiding making friends, so he wouldn’t have to deal with the pain of losing them.

Now, at Caspar, he had dropped his guard again, and even if his father kept his word and they didn’t move again, and he was able to stay friends with Charlie, Jody and Garth, Dean… he and his brother were in the same boat as Cas had been in previously. So, Cas had gotten to be friends with Dean without even meaning to, gotten close to him, developed a huge crush on him—though he never let it show—and Dean could be leaving any day. It was only a matter of time, really.

Cas had thought that he had hardened himself to the reality of losing friends, considering how he’d grown up, but the thought of Dean taking off just… put a lump in the pit of his stomach. He really had it bad for the older boy, had since Day One, probably, Charlie was right about that much.

But Dean was funny and smart and so attractive, so of course—

Something heavy slammed into Cas’s back right at that moment, the blow cushioned only by the fact that he was wearing his backpack, and Cas yelped out a startled noise even as he tumbled to the ground, landing roughly on the hard pavement.

Whatever had crashed into him was still on top of him—a person, he thought—and scrabbling at him, one hand holding him down by the chest while the other grabbed at his hair and shoved his head to the side. Then they lunged forward and bit into his neck—Cas gave a sharp cry—and abruptly Dean’s voice shouted something unintelligible and he yanked the person off, flinging them away.

When Cas looked up, the person who had attacked him was standing a few feet away, wiping at his mouth and spitting. Dean was between him and Cas and had a huge buck knife in one hand (where had that come from?), holding it at the ready. When the stranger stopped gagging and lunged toward Dean, Dean braced himself and full-body tackled the man, knife flashing—first silver and then red—as he stabbed it into the man over and over again.

After that onslaught, though, and despite being stabbed several times, the stranger wrenched himself away and took off, fleeing into the oncoming storm.

Dean stood where he was for a moment, heaving, before wiping the knife on his jeans and tucking it into the back of his waistband, where Cas assumed it had come from to begin with. Then he hurried back over to Cas and crouched down, hands hovering uselessly. “Shit, Cas, are you okay?”

Cas brought one hand up to the side of his neck where he had been bitten, wiping there before dropping it again to look almost blankly at the blood on his palm. That was about when it started to rain. Dean reached to help him up, and together they got Cas back to his feet. He actually didn’t feel too bad, all things considered.

Dean was already checking out his neck, ignoring the fact that rain was pouring down on them now. “It doesn’t look too bad. It didn’t get you too deep. Could’ve ripped your throat out, you’re lucky.”

“It—what—he bit me—and—you stabbed him and he didn’t even—"

“Cas,” Dean looked him in the eye, deadly serious, and told him firmly, “that was a vampire.”

[keanuquotes]

Dogstar 2024 Tour Dates: 06/05 – Amsterdam, NL @ Melkweg 06/07 – Nuremberg, DE @ Rock im Park 06/08 – Nürburg, DE @ Rock am Ring 06/09 – Luxembourg, LU @ Rockhal 06/11 – Zürich, CH @ Kaufleuten 06/13 – Nickelsdorf, AT @ NovaRock 06/14 – Hradec Kralove, CZ @ Rock For People 06/15 – Berlin, DE @ Huxley’s Neue Welt 06/18 – Manchester, UK @ New Century Hall 06/19 – London, UK @ O2 Forum Kentish Town 06/23 – Gardone Riviera, IT @ Festival del Vittoriale 06/24 – Udine, IT @ Castello di Udine 06/25 – Zagreb, HR @ INmusic Festival 06/27 – Kragujevac, RS @ Arsenal Fest 06/29 – Bologna, IT @ Bonsai Garden 06/30 – Turin, IT @ OGR Sonic City 08/08 – Indianapolis, IN @ Indiana State Fair 08/09 – Charles Town, WV @ Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races 08/11 – Lexington, KY @ Lexington Opera House 08/13 – Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz 08/14 – Richmond, VA @ The National 08/16 – Mashantucket, CT @ Foxwoods Resort Casino 08/17 – Bethlehem, PA @ Wind Creek Event Center 08/18 – Waterloo, NY @ del Lago Resort & Casino 08/20 – Grand Rapids, MI @ GLC Live at 20 Monroe 08/22 – Windsor, ON @ Caesar’s Windsor 08/23 – Hammond, IN @ Horseshoe Hammond Casino 08/24 – Columbia, MO @ Rose Music Hall 08/27 – La Vista, NE @ The Astro 08/28 – Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater 08/30 – Quapaw, OK @ Downstream Casino Resort 08/31 – Norman, OK @ Riverwind Casino 09/03 – Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union Event Center 09/06 – Reno, NV @ Silver Legacy Resort Casino 09/07 – Jacksonville, OR @ Britt Music and Arts Festival (Britt Festival Pavilion) 09/08 – Forest Grove, OR @ McMenamins Grand Lodge 09/10 – Airway Heights, WA @ Spokane Live 09/13 – Redding, CA @ Redding Civic Auditorium 09/14 – Wheatland, CA @ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Sacramento 09/15 – Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst 09/17 – Ventura, CA @ The Majestic Ventura Theater 09/19 – Valley Center, CA @ Harrah’s Resort SoCal 09/20 – Las Vegas, NV @ The Chelsea – The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas 09/21 – Maricopa, AZ @ Harrah’s Ak-Chin Hotel & Casino

[fencingcompanyjacksonvillenc]

Enhance Your Property with a Wood Fence: Jacksonville's Trusted Fencing Company

Wood fences when well installed can be very attractive and will also serve its intended purpose well. Not only does it improve the first impression of the house, but it also increases privacy and security of the house and its value. When you are thinking about a wood fence in Jacksonville, NC, you should hire a fencing company that can give you quality and longevity. Well, this is where Jacksonville Fence Pros comes in. For years, we have been providing Jacksonville, NC residents and business owners with premium quality wood fencing services as well as an extensive choice of styles, materials, and options.

Why Choose a Wood Fence for Your Property?

That is why wood fences have remained as one of the most desirable options for people who own houses. In need of privacy, protection or an enhanced appearance wood fence will provide you with all these and much more. Here are some of the key reasons why homeowners in Jacksonville, NC, opt for wood fencing:

1. Nature and Function

Wood is the natural material which is quite compatible with the environment in which it is placed. It has a warm appearance that will suit any type of landscaping or any architectural design. Furthermore, wood is a very flexible material. From simple white picket fences to tall solid board fences or even more elaborate designs, wood can be used to replicate any idea you have.

2. More Privacy and Security

One of the best types of fences for your home is the wooden fences because they offer privacy around your compound. The height and design of the fence will determine the extent to which views that are undesirable can be prevented as well as noise from the streets. Stockade or board-on-board fences made of solid woods offer the maximum privacy that is why they are used most often for backyards and pools. 

3. Durability and Strength

Wood fence is quite strong and can serve for many years if constructed using the right material, and it is installed correctly. Cedar, pine and redwood are some of the most popular choices of woods to use in fencing more so because of the natural resistance to insects and decay.

Jacksonville Fence Pros: Experts in Wood Fencing in Jacksonville, NC

Jacksonville Fence Pros is one of the best fencing companies that offer custom wood fences to the clients in Jacksonville. This is an organization that strongly believes in the quality of work, the quality of workmanship, and quality of services that we deliver to customers. Here’s why Jacksonville residents turn to us when they need a wood fence:

1. Products to Fit Your Requirements

If you are in search of a simple picket fence that would provide a great appearance to the front yard or a privacy fence to create a secluded backyard or an ornamental design to give your property a classic look, then Jacksonville Fence Pros has the wooden fencing designs to meet your needs. Our choices are the type of wood, height of the fence, style, which can be picket, shadowbox, lattice-top, or board-on-board, and the finishing of the post with a stain or paint.

2. Premium Quality Materials and Craftsman Like Workmanship

When it comes to the installation of your wood fence at Jacksonville Fence Pros, we only allow the best quality of materials to be used in the construction of the fence. Regardless of whether you decide on cedar, pine, or some other hard-wood, our team makes sure that the materials are preserved against dampness, insects, and extreme climate conditions. 

3. Long Term and Impervious Integration

A wood fence, when installed correctly, should be done by a professional with adequate experience in the field. Our trained personnel have been practicing the installation of wood fences for several years, and your fence will be a lasting one. All these aspects are managed by us right from fixing strong posts and leveling panels and their alignment. 

The Wood Fencing Process with Jacksonville Fence Pros

At Jacksonville Fence Pros, we follow a comprehensive process to ensure that your wood fence project is completed to the highest standards:

Initial Consultation: The first thing that we do is to talk to you about your fencing requirements and choice. If you are interested in improving privacy, security or just the aesthetic appearance of your property, we will assist you in selecting the proper style and design of the wood fence to fit your needs.

Site Evaluation and Quote: We will then come to your premises to assess the location that the fence will be erected. We measure the area, evaluate any problem areas, and give you an accurate estimate on the project.

Design and Material Selection: We consult with you on the type of wood, height of the fence and the specific design that will complement the property. If you have difficulty imagining the final product, we give suggestions and advice depending on your requirement and cost estimate.

Enhance Your Home with a Beautiful Wood Fence

Wood fence as a material can give your property a new outlook, privacy, security and aesthetics all in one go. If you want to install a beautiful, durable wooden fence in Jacksonville, NC, then Jacksonville Fence Pros is the company to call. As the leading solution provider for wood fencing services, we bring in our knowledge, skills, and professionalism to our work.

[mbta-unofficial]

US people who care about railroads should definitely read the Corridor ID Selections. While it was published a little over a year ago, the program is designed to fund shovel-ready programs and dedicate money to assessing the viability of corridors which would be either new or upgraded, and they just posted a massive update to the map including new HSR viability studies.

A partial list of served cities:

High speed rail candidates

San Francisco, Anaheim, LA, Vancouver, Portland, Seattle, Eugene, Charlotte NC, Atlanta, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Las Vegas, Palmdale

New Conventional rail candidates

Asheville NC, Salisbury NC, Savannah GA, Chattenooga TN, Nashville, Memphis, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Boston, Albany, San Jose, San Luis Obispo, King's Mountain NC, Moline IL, Naperville IL, Wyanet IL, Chicago, Fort Wayne IN, Columbus OH, Pittsburgh PA, Cleveland OH, Cincinnati OH, Dayton OH, Toledo OH, Detroit MI, Coachella CA, Fullerton CA, Indio CA, Riverside CA, Palm Springs CA, Fort Collins CO, Pueblo CO, Denver CO, Boulder CO, Colorado Springs CO, Newport News VA, Charlottesville VA, Roanoke VA, Richmond VA, Dover DE, Wilmington DE, Berlin MD, St Paul-Minneapolis MN, Eau Claire WI, Fayetteville NC, Raleigh NC, Lillington NC, Fuquay-Varina NC, Mobile AL, Bay St. Louis, Gulfport, Biloxi, Pascagoula MS, Houston, San Antonio, Rosenburg TX, Flatonia TX, Seguin TX, Meridian MS, Mineola TX, Longview TX, Marshall TX, Shreveport LA, Ruston LA, Monroe LA, Vicksburg MS, Jackson MS, Jacksonville FL, Miami FL, Orlando Fl, Tampa FL, Indianapolis IN, Louisville KY, Milwaukee, WI; La Crosse, WI; Eau Claire, WI; St. Paul, MN; Fargo, ND; Bismarck, ND; Dickson, ND; Glendive, MT; Billings, MT; Bozeman, MT; Butte, MT; Helena, MT; Missoula, MT; St. Regis, MT; Sandpoint, ID; Spokane, WA; and Pasco, WA, Duluth WA, Peoria IL, Phoenix, Tuscon, Maricopa, Reading PA, Scranton

These are most of the cities with new service

If you are between two of these cities, there is a serious chance you will have a train coming to you soon. Check the Doc for more as well as service upgrades on existing services

[medford-oregoppenheimer]

I hated my old intro post. So let's just get to the point here, shall we?

Hey you guys, it's me, Medford, and I'm the eighth-biggest city in Oregon. Yes, I'm more than just crime, trees, and Jacksonville's bully. Or whatever the hell you guys have been saying about me.

Anyways @raleigh-nc-official-totally-real is my sibling city on the other side of the US

@certainly-eugene has a bad flag

Yeah what-freaking-ever I'm probs gonna update this later

[scattered-sense]

Somewhat going against the whole faces theory I put forward, I guess this is what a face would look like on an F unit. I imagine the B unit is faceless, but does have intelligence and can talk with other engines via the MU cable. Or maybe it doesn't and it's just a regular, mundane piece of machinery.

Tennessee & Atlantic Railway really didn't buy that many diesels; in 1940, Charlotte, NC (followed by Asheville in 1946) banned steam and diesel workings within city limits for pollution reasons; so, many routes in the Appalachian Mountains that were already better suited to electrification were staffed by, initially, Baldwin-Westinghouse 2-C+C-2 boxcabs (pictured below in service with the NYNH&H):

and later on, in the 1950s through 1970s, by converted FTs, F2s, F7s, and English Electric-built units to the same design (but regauged) as the ones they built for Victorian Railways:

Until eventually they ended up buying EMD AEM-7s in 1986, having 98 delivered in 1987-93, which displaced their older units.

As such, diesels tended to be reserved for routes avoiding the Blue Ridge Mountains and western North Carolina in particular. Eventually, the cities lifted these laws, but not before the Tennessee & Atlantic was merged with two other neighboring railways into the North Carolina Western Group on January 1, 1968. T&A was the largest merging entity, and so the other railways' operations were restructured to fit theirs.

As for the lore of this/these engine(s) in particular, they're diesels reserved and painted for use with the Mockingbird, a Memphis-Nashville-Atlanta-Jacksonville train (continuing to Miami via SAL) that ran twice a day in both directions (four total), alongside 2A/B, 3A/B, and 4A/B. Built in 1946, F3 1A/B was delivered new to the T&A, where they (or she if we're going by only the A units being alive, which I will write as if is the case from here on) and their sisters started on fast agricultural freight while the steam engines rode out their last few years on the Mockingbird, gaining experience to ensure even higher passenger safety.

During one of these trips, on a stop at Atlanta coming from Jacksonville with Florida agriculture, 1A, or Margaret E. C. French, had a careless driver accidentally top her fuel tank off with water from a pipe still up for their steam; since 1B was still providing power they could still move at first but eventually, French had to stop after her engine block started making noise; the water bent her piston rods. A steam engine that had treated her with open disregard at the yard and 1B had to haul her train to Bowling Green, and her to repair shops in Chattanooga, TN.

Another notable incident happened on January 8, 1955, when 1A nearly collided with a slower passenger train, barely avoiding coupling at a speed difference of 30 mph, after noticing the train before her driver and warning him.

Eventually, on May 31, 1955, the Mockingbird's last steam-hauled trip (pulled by one of the company's many 4-8-4s, which they called "Generals" rather than "Northerns") reached Jacksonville and back, with engine changes at Atlanta, where 1A/B, freshly repainted in the red/maroon/silver scheme depicted at the top of the page (previously in the silver/maroon scheme depicted later down) began to pull the first northbound (train 10). They would handle this job, albiet not necessarily on the same timeslot, for roughly 45 years, before being replaced by custom SD60M-based units in 1999. Amtrak wouldn't take the train over until 2010, at which point, Amtrak's power replaced NCW's, and the SDP60Ms were sold to shortlines.

Generally, these trains had exceptional safety records, with fewer than 10 total incidents over the 1955-99 span. However, 3A/B taking train 14 did collide with the car of the Secretary of Transportation of Georgia in 1974, having left it after it stalled on the level crossing. Nobody was hurt, but train 14 did need to be towed to the station in downtown Atlanta, where the train was taken over by an SD40-2.

Based on Clarabel's face from Tramway Engines - Mavis.

[jinruihokankeikaku]

the area enhanced risk for tornados today has expanded to cover portions of coastalFlorida and NC as well as the entire SC coastline, when previously it had only covered the Georgia coastline. Jacksonville, Charleston, Myrtle Beach, up through Wilmington all now at elevated risk, with the Savannah-Hilton Head area still right in the center of it.

[eastcoastboyos]

Pivot

Unable to sleep, Joel and I get out of the warm tent and decide to wander the darkness. On our way down the creepy boardwalk, we tepidly dodge blades of grass, having been traumatized from the earlier tick running up my leg. We make our way to the beach and it is empty, dark, and ominous but lit by a full starry sky. We chat and stargaze.

Poor Dylan is fully sick now and can't be getting the best sleep. He borrows one of Joel's eye masks. Allen is also not 100% and craves the AC of the van and hotel. The day's low is 28C. The tent is warm and uncomfortable.

In the morning, Joel and I awaken by the light and sneak out of the tent again, letting the others continue sleeping. We walk to the ocean more and wade into the water. After some convincing, Joel joins me in jumping into the ocean and we enjoy the renvigoration of the waves that remind us of West Edmonton Mall Water Park. The beach is beautiful and empty of the off road trucks that saturated it the day prior.

Assembling ourselves, we mosie to the ferry terminal to Ocracoke Island. We scrounge for coffee, which Joel finds via a vending machine, and meander the nearby shops. We talk relationships on the ferry while dodging sea spit and watch the seagulls ride the air flow above the ferry. Allen zonks out and snoozes in the van. The group decides they don't really want to camp another day in the incessant heat, and Joel books a spur of the moment hotel in Jacksonville, NC.

Orcacoke is an interesting island. All the locals drive golf carts around which we evny in the hot sun. Most buildings are on stilts or owned by rental companies. Seeking food, we stop at Smacnallys for fish sandwiches and plates of shrimp. We do a bit of shopping in the sunny heat and Joel is unfortunately scammed a tip at a local ice cream shop. Joel gives them a calm but firm piece of his mind, and after 15 minutrs of walking, we see a $1.30 reimbursement show up on his email.

After checking out the local lghthouse, we retreat into the van. Dylan, Joel, and I are sunburnt. The group starts to slow down. Waiting around the next ferry terminal, we explore the local fauna and restrooms. Joel entertains me with facts on the meaning of the word "Horizontal and puns like "Imma lichen this bench". Dylan becomes addicted to trader Joe's Licorice.

Arriving back at the mainland, the sun is setting. Our GPS starts going wonky so we have to disconnect and Joel navigates verbally. The surfboard on top of the Jeep in front of us almost flies off and someone is lighting off fireworks near the glass station. We are eager to get to our hotel, but still are over an hour away.

Picking up aloe vera at a massive Walmart, Dylan and Allen are pretty much spent. The mood is low but functional, and we are forced to the drive through of a Wendy's once we realize their doors are not open. Watching cockroaches outside, the staff inform us they are out of chicken and we pivot to beef. Allen is zonked and sleeping again (Sleepytime Tylenol coming in clutch) and the rest of us swap work stories having perked up with food.

The hotel is cheap but cool ❄️. Joel, Blake, and I inspect what appears to be pubes on a bedroom door. I discover that I have left my stinky shoes in my suitcase the entire day seasoning in the hot van, and my clothes smell like ass. Blake and Joel sip beers. Time for bed.

Derek

[beauxned-blog]

Tyler Shatley

Christian Tyler Shatley Position: G 6'-3", 305 lbs. (190 cm, 138 kg) Team: Jacksonville Jaguars Born: May 5, 1991 in Icard, NC College: Clemson

[philipkindreddickhead]

And please dont comment that youll kill yourself in the airport. Its fucking nasty. Also you should learn to drive for your new life in the South East-ish.