#Nathaniel Thompson

[chaotic-starlight24]

Chapter 5~Appalachian 8

Word count: 3.3k words

Summary: The gang joins to bond and create and observation house

TW: Buck being an absolute butt

Note: Check out other chapters at @wise-wolfie!

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Buck arrived by horse at the library. If Natalia was there she probably would have made a sarcastic comment on him “ridin in style”. But only Emmy-Lou and Lillian were there. Nathaniel and Nash had track & field. Natalia had cross-country. Zoie had a softball game. And Charlie had soccer. Emmy was relieved that Lillian was there at least. 

“Alright, the objective today is to get the observation house up.” Emmy-Lou decided.

Her and her dad had built up a platform on the edge of the forest, just enough to be safe. Still, no one should be there at night. The basic frame was also built but the rest would have to be done by the group.

Buck shielded his eyes from the sun glittering through the trees, “Only wanted me here to be the muscles, huh?”

“N-no! I-I mean we! We wanted you to be here! Ha ha!” Emmy stuttered out.

Lillian raised her eyebrows with a smirk, “I’m gonna grab some tools!”

Emmy-Lou tried to stop her but she escaped her grasp and jogged to the house.

“What? Nervous to be here with me?”

Emmy decided to channel some of Natalia’s sarcasm, or try to at least, “Nah, you should be nervous to be here with me!”

Buck gave her a strange look, but shrugged and started pulling wood up to the platform.

“Uh…Do you need railing too?” Buck inquired, looking hesitantly over the edge of the rickety platform.

Emmy stroked her chin, “Yeah, that’s a good idea.”

“I’ve got a hammer, screwdriver, nails, and a wrench!” 

Emmy, Buck, and Lilly looked over the strange assortment of tools. Where would they even start? 

“You know, I’m pretty sure Nathan is pretty good with tools.” Emmy commented.

Buck sighed, “Well, he’s not here right now.”

“And Nash is ok with a hammer, I think.”

“Once again, not present.”

“And Zoie-”

“IS NOT HERE!”

They really had no idea what to do. But Buck grabbed a saw nearby and started measuring wood. He could do that at least. Lilly grabbed the screwdriver to start putting the rail together. And Emmy went to grab more useful tools.

“I guess we can make do with this.” Buck decided.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It turns out, no, they couldn’t make do with that. The railing was a bit wonky looking and the wood was crooked. Yet they had only been working for an hour or so. But thunder was rumbling through the mountain, and rain had begun to drizzle. It turned into a pour and they decided to move to Emmy’s dad’s workshop. It was really an old garage that even as a workshop barely was used. 

Buck rested his head on his hands, “If your friends can’t come today, we aren’t going to get anything done today!”

Right then, Nathaniel showed up soaked to the bone with Nash and Charlie behind him.

“Hey guys, stuff got rained out.” Charlie noted.

“You guys are gonna get sick! I’ll make hot chocolate.” Emmy warned, stoking up the wood stove.

Nathaniel tried to shake his hair, making little droplets shower the floor and walls. At that moment, Natalia and Zoie walked through the door.

“Dude! I didn’t ask to be rinsed off!” Natalia complained.

“You were already wet!”

“And?”

Zoie grabbed a nearby towel and dried off her legs and arms, “Well, what have y’all been up to?”

“Trying to work on the treehouse, but it didn’t quite work…” Emmy admitted.

Nathaniel crouched down and observed the railing pieces. Then tsked. 

“You didn’t even cut these straight! What were you doing? Cutting it with wavy scissors?!”

Buck grinned sheepishly, “I didn’t have the right equipment.”

Nathaniel gestured to the array of tools on the wall and sighed. Then got to work measuring the boards. Emmy backed away as Nathaniel focused onto the (badly drawn) blueprints. He would probably figure it out. Natalia and Zoie were in a discussion over the notes journal with Charlie butting in occasionally. So she joined them.

“Emmy, shouldn’t we start focusing on specific creatures or something?” Charlie pointed out.

Emmy looked over the map that Natalia had scrounged up. There were pins and strings connecting pictures of different creatures.

“Yeah, good idea Charlie.”

“I think we should focus on mothman.” Natalia continued.

“But the grafton monster might have more to uncover!” Zoie persisted.

“Alright, alright! How about we look at the evidence for both and then we decide as a team?”

“Fine.” Natalia grumbled, crossing her arms. 

Lillian joined the table with the hot chocolate Emmy had forgotten about and looked over everything.

“I’m not so sure about this, guys.” she voiced, “It looks…unsafe?”

“Like you didn’t know that before?!” Emmy retorted.

Natalia rolled her eyes and jumped as her gaze drifted to Nathaniel and Buck, “Uhhhh, that’s a LOT of wood. Where did you even get all of it?!”

Buck was laying in the middle of the ground with wood scattered around him. Nathaniel was still sitting at the work table, cutting away busily.

“He’s pretty focused! I honestly don’t know how he multiplied all the wood.” Buck remarked.

“Uh, Nathan?” Natalia asked hesitantly, “You good?”

“Huh? Oh yeah, yeah I’m fine.” Nathaniel startled, not taking his eyes off his board.

Natalia looked back at Emmy and shrugged.

Nash came up and tapped him on the shoulder, “Whatcha working on?”

“Oh, I’m making a sandbox.”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah! I got done with the boards for the treehouse and wanted to build something else. A sandbox would probably be of use for someone!”

“Sure…”

Buck got up and stretched out his arms. It must have been a lot of work sitting on the floor.

Natalia slowly pulled Nathaniel away from the table, “How about we take a break from…that.”

Nathaniel glared at her but slowly took off his protective glasses. Then joined them all at the table.

“Ok, shall we take a vote?” Emmy suggested, “Raise your hand for the Grafton monster.”

Zoie, Charlie, and Nathaniel raised their hands.

“Mothman?”

Natalia, Buck and Nash raised theirs.

“Well Ems, you’re the tiebreaker.”

Emmy looked at both parties and observed the photos. Mothman is kind of powerful and if we find him he could fly away with someone… But the Grafton monster is rarer…

“Um…uh…”

“How about we flip a coin?” Emmy smiled nervously.

Natalia raised an eyebrow and Zoie sighed. But Buck pulled out a quarter.

“Ok, heads for Mothman, tails for Grafton.” Emmy decided.

The coin was thrown and flipped for what seemed like an endless amount of time. Then once it landed, it began to roll out the door.

“Are you kidding me?!” Nash groaned, then he chased after it.

He picked it up with a sigh and suddenly screamed. In the forest, a cloud of moths had formed. They were making a hideous screeching noise. Nash fell back into the garage and Buck hurriedly pressed the door button. Charlie rushed to lock the doors as Natalia grabbed a rifle off the wall. The cloud got closer and closer as it began to form a humanoid creature. Finally the garage closed. 

“I don’t think it can leave the forest boundaries…” Zoie squeaked. 

But then the creature started moving closer to them, flapping its wings and caterwauling. Natalia opened a window and aimed at it. Then she aimed at the ground with the rifle and shot. The loud bang scared the creature as it flew up and back into the forest. Nathaniel was still laughing at Nash until he realized how badly Nash was hyperventilating. Then him and Charlie went to check on him.

“Well, I’m not sure we can handle mothman.” Emmy said, eyes wide open. “But he’s our main opposition.”

Natalia silently nodded and placed the rifle down. Zoie quickly kneeled down beside Nash as he was still breathing hard. 

“He’s gonna make himself unconscious if we can’t calm him down.” she concluded, “Do you guys know any way to make him relax?”

“Well if it’s a panic attack, if someone brings him down to earth he should stop.” Natalia suggested.

Charlie and Nathaniel started to try and tell him he was ok and comfort him which seemed to be working.

“Nash, it’ll be okay, just breathe,” Emmy said, grabbing some water for him. 

“Ems, I don’t think he’s going to want to go back into the forest…” Lilly predicted. 

“Yeah, I’m not sure how well our group in general can handle the creatures,” Natalia remarked, “unless we can get our game together. We need to learn to stay calm. I can’t be the only one with my head on tight in situations like this.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Buck appeared from the back of the workshop, “Well, that was a doozy!”

Emmy sighed, what was she going to do?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The gang had started work on the treehouse walls with Nash and Lillian staying in the workshop. They sat to keep watch and just so Nash wouldn’t be completely alone. After a couple days break, they were ready to be productive. That was if Natalia, Nathaniel, and Zoie weren’t trying to have a speed walk competition. But they needed the fun, so Emmy didn’t yell at them. Buck was putting the roof together and trying not to fall. He had been a helpful member to the team. It’s a good thing Lilly invited him.

“SEE! You have got to admit I won!” Natalia insisted with her arms crossed.

“Sure you did,” Nathaniel rolled his eyes, “I’ve got longer legs than you. I’m also a track runner so I’m definitely faster!”

Zoie was leaning against the tree with a grin. She was the true winner but watching the two bicker was pretty fun. 

“You know, as the marker for the finish line I could just tell you?” Charlie sighed.

“No! You’ll just lie because you like her better!” Nathaniel argued.

“Ok, ok!” Emmy interrupted, “I think we should get back to work.”

Natalia stuck out her tongue and went back to constructing the ladder. Then Lilli strided up to them.

“Charlie’s sitting with him now.” 

“Is he still a nervous wreck?” Buck cocked an eyebrow.

Natalia gave him a side eye, “Uh, yeah. He just almost got caught by MOTH-MAN!”

“And? Haven’t y’all been almost caught by these creatures before?”

“Well, traumatizing events like that scare even the best of us…” Nathaniel answered, his voice quivering slightly with anger. 

“But it’s been like 2 hours, the dude can stop freaking out.”

“Fall off the bull and get back on amiright?” Buck laughed, until he realized no one else was laughing.

“Just cut it out!” Emmy-Lou butted in, shushing the two with a smack across the forehead.

“Yeah, politely shut up.” Natalia added, “Anyways, Nathaniel, can you come help Zoie and I with the ladder?”

Nathaniel nodded but glared at Buck and followed after her. At that point, Buck was fuming, but he didn’t want to start problems. He looked over to the side to see Emmylou mouthing, Stop.

His eyes rolled, and at that point they were the only two in the room. 

“Look, Buck, I get where you’re coming from, and you two both were in the wrong, but just don’t make him mad next time. He’s real small and gets mad like a little baby gremlin when you irritate him,” Emmy said, trying to lighten the mood. Buck laughed, knowing he towers over that gremlin. (He’s only three inches taller.) 

“You’re right,” Buck said. 

“How about we go work a little more? We can finish the observation house by tomorrow if we get everything right” she replied, fixing her hair. Buck nodded his head and they walked out. 

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“Why would he ever say that?!” Nathaniel fumed, “I know Nash overreacted or whatever but he’s pretty new to these-these legends! He was never interested in this stuff! He just joined to be with friends!”

He swung Charlie’s ax into a tree. Natalia inched a bit closer to Zoie.

“Look, my brother may be annoying but at least he can say he has seen mothman and just stared into the face of danger!” Nathaniel tore a hand through his hair, “What can that Buck guy say?! He fell off a bull a couple dozen times?! He is as new as Nash is to this! All of us are!”

“I know, Nathan. But he’s just learning our boundaries. Otherwise I would have fought him myself.” Natalia assured. 

Zoie nodded in agreement, “We’ll get used to him. Maybe we can all gang up on him if he keeps being rude.”

Nathaniel sighed and rested on the ax. 

“Now I don’t think we need more wood…” Natalia proceeded, carefully taking the ax away. 

Nathaniel made a noise of agreement and grabbed the ladder. Zoie then took the back of it and carried it off with him. Natalia pressed a finger to her temples and breathed out. Hopefully this group could stick together. If they couldn’t deal with each other they definitely would not make it in and out of the forest alive.

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The next day, there it was, the observation house finished. All they had to do now was furnish it. They had some little sticks nailed to the walls to act as shelves. Preferably for their weapons. They made a little window inside of the house, which Nathaniel had sawed out a medium sized square, and Charlie had stolen some extra fabric from her Mom’s sewing kit to work as a curtain. 

“Fetch your sleeping bags,” Emmylou said, tossing a rolled up sleeping bag into it. 

Everyone grabbed a sleeping bag from the garbage bag filled with an unnecessary amount of items. Charlie, who always seemed to have a sharpie on her, wrote her initials on the bag that carried her sleeping bag. She passed it around. On the bags, it had these initials written. 

B.H  (Buck Holloway)

E.L.H (Emmy-Lou Hendrix)

N.H (Natalia Hart)

L.S (Lillian Starry)

NAT.T. (Nathaniel Thompson)

NAS.T. (Nashville Thompson)

Z.M. (Zoie Morganwood)

C.C. (Charlie Catz) 

“Alrighty! Boys on this side and girls on this side.” Natalia ordered, “A curtain will separate us for the night.”

“What, don’t trust us?” Buck rolled his eyes.

Natalia rolled her eyes even more dramatically to make her point, “What? Volunteering for the guys to sleep on the porch?”

Nathaniel and Nash shook their heads violently and made silent threats at Buck.

“Wait, why are we sleeping out here?” Lilli inquired, already diving into her sleeping bag.

“It’s called an observation house for a reason. We’re making our studies and writing down what we observe,” Emmylou said, throwing down a pile of paper to write notes on. 

“These are for observations we make.” Buck’s eyes went wide and his jaw seemed to drop to the floor. The only thing in his mind was, THAT MUCH PAPER?!?

“None of y’all talk in your sleep do you?” Natalia quipped, braiding her wavy hair neatly, “Or walk? If so, you're getting shoved out either way.”

Buck raised his hand, “Sometimes I recite Shakespeare cause I fell asleep during class when the teacher was reading Hamlet.”

Natalia gave him a disgruntled look and nudged Emmy, “Ems, your new boyfriend or whatever is starting to get real annoying. You best teach him some manners or somethin.”

“He’s NOT my boyfriend,” she replied, nudging her back harder. 

“But I could be,” Buck smirked, eavesdropping on their conversation.

Natalia didn’t find this very funny, but Emmy was trying to pretend that she wasn’t totally freaking out. 

“Well you won’t,” Emmy responded, smacking him. 

Nash cocked his head to the side, “But you-”

“SHUT UP.” Emmy quickly interrupted.

“How about we play a game?” Charlie suggested, “21 questions  to get to know everyone better?”

The group made sounds of agreement, and Zoie claimed first pick.

“Ok, Charlie, let’s start off easy. What is a fun fact about yourself?”

“Uhhhh…Well I’m blue-yellow colorblind?”

“Oh! Do you see the world super differently?”

“Well, I don’t know what the world should be like so…no?” 

Silence followed. Natalia’s eyes were darting around the room. Nash and Lilli were playing rock, paper, scissors, shoot. 

“Are we going to continue?” Nathaniel urged.

Zoie shrugged, “If you ask the question.”

“Ok, uh…” he looked around until his eyes landed on Emmy, “Let’s get this game going at a little higher stakes. Is your crush in this room?”

Emmy went rigid. Everyone in the small room turned their attention to her reddening face.

“That’s a little…far?”

“Don’t you have to answer?”

“Yeah…NO COMMENT!”

Several muttered something along the lines of that works and moved on.

Emmy suddenly pointed to Lilli, “What was the weirdest thing you've ever done to grab someone’s attention?”

Lilli took a solid 5 minutes to come up with an answer, “I would have to say the time I crawled through the ceiling to get Leo’s attention. I fell through and it hurt, but now we’re dating so…”

“Y’all, how about we focus on juicy questions.” Natalia interrupted, “To make this more fun. I’ll pick.”

“Buck, who is your biggest celebrity crush?”

Buck blushed hard and glanced at Emmy, “uhhhhhh…Reese Witherspoon…”

Natalia laughed so hard tears came out of her eyes. Zoie and Charlie were also giggling.

“Hey! Blondes are pretty!” he defended.

He looked around for a distraction and gestured in Nathaniel’s direction, “Hey! Who do you think is the most attractive in this room?!”

“Me, obviously.”

Everyone started laughing in response, and the only one who wasn’t was Buck. He opened and closed his mouth a few times but eventually shut it. Nathaniel shrugged it off. 

“My turn I guess, Nash?” he continued.

“Hmm?”

“Why are you scared of girls?”

“WHAT!” Nash sputtered, “WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THAT????”

“You legit called Zoie a “tall, petrifying woman” whenever our group met up for the first time.”

“I THINK THAT’S JUSTIFIED!”

Zoie gave a fake offended look and gasped. 

Then she gazed into his eyes, “You should be scared. I eat children.”

Nash scooched closer to the back wall. So did Buck.

“Alright y’all, it’s 12:00 so I am going to head to bed.” Natalia announced.

The group paused. 

“Ok?” Buck retorted, “You’re not my mom, the rest of us can stay up and party while you go have a “good night’s rest”. Stop trying to take on the leader role, kay?”

Lilli audibly gasped. Emmy’s mouth hung open. 

“Buck Holloway I swear on your life, pretty boy,” Emmy whispered under her breath, “you shut that nasty ol’ mouth of yours if you want to live.”

“What’d you say? Wanna say it again?” Buck clapped back, looking at her in the eyes as if he was about to slap her. 

“You don’t give me that look, pretty boy.” 

Buck got up and walked right up there ready to slap her, yet Natalia ran up and grabbed his arm. 

Natalia shuddered in a breath of rage, “Stop if you know what’s good for you. I’m trying to protect us. I’m the one here to make sure these people survive. YOU are new! So if you’re gonna mouth off to us and be plain rude you can step out into the forest. I don’t know what Ems ever thought of you but I know what I think of you.”

“And what are you gonna do about it? I’m not scared of that ‘dark and scary’  forest of yours! And I ain't scared of you either! Nothing you can do will scare me.”

Natalia looked him straight in the eyes, and punched him across the face. He reeled back into the wall, holding the side of his face with a look of shock.

“Now DON’T GO SO FAR TO LAY A HAND ON MY FRIENDS! You better fix that attitude of yours or step your butt into the heart of the forest and NEVER come back!” Natalia shouted in his face.

Buck quickly nodded and took a seat in the corner. 

“That is another reason…” Nash whispered.

“Now, I think we should head to bed.” Natalia smiled.

The rest of the group nodded as well, squirming into their sleeping bags. All hoped for a peaceful night of rest.

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[chaotic-starlight24]

AFAGGWBEUWBWGABBW

Appalachian Four - Chapter 3, Expedition Failure

Word Count - 1.6k

Character Count - 8794

CC Excluding Spaces - 7411

Summary

In this chapter, the group creates their final plans and heads into the unknown called the Appalachian Forest, yet their plan is ruined by quite a simple mishap.

Happy Reading! C:

As the sun began dripping down past the horizon, the group was finishing up their half-melted slushies. Ideas had been bouncing around them and Emmy-Lou had started a journal on all their notes. At the moment, little writings had been scrawled by Natalia and Emmy about the mysterious forests. They were ready for tomorrow. Nash was whining about how he STILL didn’t want to be sacrificed. He couldn’t accept that they were just joking around.. Or were they?

Emmy Lou held out the paper, staring over the extensive print on the rectangular sheet. “All this writing and we’ll probably lose it in that forest within ten minutes.”

Zoiee looked up and replied with a simple nod of her head and a “Yes. Exactly.”

Thoughts of the unknown raced through their minds, and the look of anxiety on their faces arose from their subconscious.

“So.. Are we gonna like.. Die?” Nash remarked, the look on his face which seemed to say, I don’t really want to do this anymore.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Nathaniel said, patting him on the back.

“Your gravestone should already be in that yard, pal,” Natalia laughed, looking right at Nash’s panicked expression.

“Yeah, it’s got your name written all over it. I can see it now.. Nashville Michael Thompson,” Emmylou mentioned, the look on her face intimidating Nash more than he already was. (He’s afraid of girls.)

“That is not my middle name!” Nash said, his face turning red.

“Don’t deny, Nashville Michael Thompson.” his brother replied.

In the background, Zoie was in the process of swinging her bat, Frankie, against a sack filled with flour that was tied to the tree she climbed, yet only got halfway up because her mom called her up for dinner.

“Hey guys, I’ve gotta go.” She announced, wiping the sweat off her forehead.

“You know what, maybe we should all go home. I think that we should get some rest.” Emmy-Lou decided.

Natalia stretched and let out a yawn, “Yeah. The sun is setting and I think our parents want us all home. The expedition is not till tomorrow.”

Everyone said good nights and headed off to their homes. Though it was obvious what everyone was thinking. What did I get myself into?

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The next morning, the group collected at the weeping willow next to the library. Natalia, Charlie, and Emmy-Lou were early risers so they were already preparing as the rest began to arrive. Next, Nathaniel came with a backpack and with Nash who was practically being dragged along. Finally, Zoie and Lillian made it.

“Hey guys!” Zoie said, Frankie in hand, swinging it around in a fashionable manner.

“Howdy!” Emmylou, Natalia, and Charlie said simultaneously.

More of a natural thing to say. Lillian was just standing there with her usual smiley face and star stickers on her face, along with her blonde ponytail flowing down her back. The friends, now somewhat prepared for the day, were ready to go out into the forest. It was time.

“Let's go guys!” Natalia said, waving her hand.

“Grab your weapons!” Emmylou said, holding out her black pistol that had pink accents that she had painted on herself, and pointed it at the bag of other weapons. Charlie picked up an axe. Nathaniel picked up a dagger, and threw it across the room aiming for the sack of flour, yet all he did was jam it into the library wall.

“What were you trying to do there, Nathan!” Natalia said, rolling her eyes and resting her face on her hand.

“My best!”

They snatched the dagger out of the wall and covered it up with an extra sheet of paper, because nobody will ever know.. Right?

“Fine, I’ll take the rope!” Nathaniel harrumphed, stretching it out.

Emmy looked at Zoie to get a weapon out of the bag, but Zoie just lifted up Frankie and swung it in a circle. Then she looked at Lillian to pick up a weapon, but she shook her head no.

“Lils, you have to pick one,” Zoie said. “It’s too dangerous out there to not.”

“I know, but I’m not great with weapons,” she replied.

”Take this!” Natalia shouted, tossing her an orange BIC lighter.

She caught it, and then continued to ask.. “How..?”

Emmylou rushed over with a sigh. “You really don’t know how to use a BIC lighter? Them things been around for twenty years and your parents STILL haven’t taught ya?”

LIllian nodded.

“Yeah, suppose so,” she said, pressing all the wrong buttons, so any way that she would try it wouldn’t work.

Zoie ran over and grabbed another lighter from the bag.

“Here, Lils,” she said, flickering the lighter until a small orange flame arose from the little hole. “Now you try.”

Lillian tried it and all that came out was a few sparks.

Natalia sighed and dragged a hand across her face, “Harder! Press it harder!”

Lillian followed the instructions and then a little flame came out of the lighter. “I did it!” she shouted, jumping up and down in excitement.

Meanwhile, Nash was tossing a black pistol up and trying to catch it in a cool way. Luckily the guard was on.

“NASHVILLE MICHAEL THOMPSON YOU PUT THAT DOWN THIS INSTANT!” Charlie shouted, smacking it out of his hands.

“Pleasseeeeeeee! I want a cool shooty shooty!!!” He said, snatching it back and holding it like it was his child.

“Nash, take it. But if I hear a gunshot go off as a ‘funny’ joke, it's confiscated,” Emmylou said, sighing.

Nash loosened his grip on the jet black pistol and flashed an annoying grin at Charlie who just held her hands to the sky.

“Thank youuuuuuu!” Nash looked happier than ever.

The group went on, passing each other weapons. They all came to their consensus of what weapons they were bringing out into the forest.

“Let’s go guys!” Emmylou hollered, waving them along.

They explored around behind the library and found an entrance to the forest behind the library. All they needed to do now was climb over a branch and then they were across. They went inside the forest and began hiking through the brush, weapons in hand. The sharp thorns stabbed into their legs, yet they had to carry on in silence. They didn’t really want a six-legged cat or a grafton monster following them, did they?

“Hey guys, if we survive this, I’ve gotta rodeo tomorrow. Y’all wanna tag along? I’m barrel racing and roping.” Emmy-Lou smiled nervously, her southern accent coming through.

They all needed something to get their mind off the forest so the group gave an agreement. That was their motivation to not be eaten by some huge cat.

The rustling in the bushes around them was unsettling, but that wasn’t stopping them. Along the way, they found unnatural stick formations, fallen trees, and heard strange whistling and name calling. The whistling came again, and yelled, “Nathan! Natalia! Help!” in the voice of Zoie. The strange part about this is that Zoie was standing right next to Nathaniel and she had spoken few words within the past five minutes, and none of them were Nathaniel! Natalia! Help!

Emmylou put her arms out, turned around, and stopped the group from wandering any further. They all looked at each other with anxious faces.

In a low voice, she said, “Ignore it, it's a Mimic. If we ignore it, we won’t die.”

“Okay!” Nash said, cheery as ever though the grin on his face had a tinge of nervousness.

Nash never seemed to take things seriously, which was not always the best asset.

Zoie and Charlie exchanged a hesitant look. Natalia took a deep breath. The forest was definitely taking its toll on the group. Yet they pressed on.

As they continued treading through nature, sounds started increasing, and they were all slowly becoming more and more anxious. Lillian felt the sounds were a sign to leave, but Emmy-Lou and Natalia insisted they hadn’t finished their study just yet. Nash slowly became more aware of his surroundings. When little taps happened, he turned around and pointed his weapon at the direction it was coming from. Just behind him, a squirrel ran by, scaring him half to death. He fired his gun and ran out of the forest.

“DAG NABBIT NASH!”

“DINGBAT!”

“SO STUPID!”

“IT WAS A SQUIRREL NASH!”

“GET BACK HERE!”

Too late, he had already left the forest in pure terror.

They all chased after him, angry. When they reached the end of the forest, they found Nash standing there, unguilty. They all started shouting at him to do better next time.

“Ok, ok!” he said, defending himself,“I’m a little new to this! Plus, I was forced to be here!”

“Fair point, and no, you weren’t. You were actually begging to tag along.” Nathaniel shrugged.

Lillian shivered, “But I don't think it's safe for him to be carrying a firearm...”

“There's gonna be other chances, I guess.”

They walked inside, adding locations to an abnormally sized sheet of paper that they took from their school. All the landmarks and forms they found were on the paper now. They all were still a little bit upset but they couldn’t help but think.. Maybe it wasn’t a squirrel? They decided to focus on the future instead of the past, and decided to just focus on tomorrow’s rodeo at the Elikan Central Arena.

“So.. Rodeo?”

[avatarskywalker78]

Chapter: 1/1

Fandom: Captain America (Movies), Agent Carter (TV)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Relationships: Jack Thompson (Marvel) and Original Female Character(s)

Characters: Jack Thompson (Marvel), OC: Alex Thompson, OC: Sarah Thompson, OC: Nathaniel Thompson, OC: Sophia Thompson, OC: Christina Thompson, Peggy Carter (mentioned), Daniel Sousa (mentioned), Sharon Carter (mentioned), Maria Hill (mentioned), Nick Fury

Additional Tags: Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Angst and Feels, Canon-Typical Violence, Survivor Guilt, Introspection, Family Feels, Grandparents & Grandchildren, Minor Injuries, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Background Relationships, Past Peggy Carter/Daniel Sousa, Jack/Sarah - Freeform, Everyone Needs A Hug, Finding out the organisation you worked for is evil is traumatising, As is half your team trying to kill you, Jack and Sarah refuse to let their granddaughter be used as a scapegoat, And make sure Alex gets proper legal representation, Both are very protective parents and grandparents

Series: Part 1 of the thompson archives

Summary:

SHIELD falls. Alex Thompson - granddaughter of Jack and  Sarah Thompson - deals with the revelation that two of her team were  traitors, as well as the fact that now her whole team is dead. Her  career in SHIELD was a lie, everything her family fought for was for  nothing, and she may or may not be having an existential crisis while  making her way across Europe.

Meanwhile said grandparents are just  worried because she’s gone off the grid and the government isn’t doing  anything to try and differentiate SHIELD agents from HYDRA infiltrators,  so they’ve got work to do to make sure she isn’t arrested the moment  she gets back…and they have to believe she will get back, because  anything else is unthinkable.

Tagging: @shrinkthisviolet @dream-beyond-the-fantasy @starstruckpurpledragon @daughter-of-melpomene

[uniqrenders]

[americanahighways]

Bentley's Bandstand: October 2024

Bentley's Bandstand: October 2024 @officialgreggallman @bluemoonmarquee @marcbroussard @_caryroo_ @nickcaveofficial #jimeannelli @thatjohnhammond @olleeowens @rapeake @nathanielrateliff @thewhiteanimalsmusic @billy_thompson_music @loureedofficial @bbentley20 @americanahighways #americanamusic #americanahighways #newmusic2024 #musicreviews

Bentley’s Bandstand: October 2024 By Bill Bentley Gregg Allman Band, UNCLE SAM’S. It doesn’t take long for Gregg Allman’s well-tested road band to hit the monkey nerve and go for the gusto. There is something so pleasingly swinging about this octet that once the first song, “Midnight Rider” kicks in, it’s all over but the shouting. Maybe that’s because as a charter member of the original Allman…

[torturedmuses]

@huntrcssqueen

A.S. Byatt, from Possession

[naijabullet]

Water Lyrics by Victor Thompson

In this post, you will find the complete Water Lyrics by Victor Thompson and we have also attached a video of the song at the end of this post for your listening pleasure. So, without wasting your time, let’s get to it. READ ALSO: We Honour You Lyrics by Nathaniel Bassey Water Lyrics by Victor Thompson If I reason am from now till tomorrowNa only you wey wipe my sorrow.I no fit to…

[noodles-doodles01]

Some Gravity Falls Stuff I Found

A lot of this could already be known, but I'm having fun and its a way to keep track. All is from thisisnotawebsitedotcom.com

So for computer passwords:

Dipper- a letter from Bill (his handwriting + he calls him Pine Tree) telling dipper to stare into the sun

Mabel- Places stickers all over the lab until the screen says "lab fully Mabelized"

Stanford/Sixer- Gives a Medical report on Ford's hand taken at 18, the report censors the mention of kidnapping him for cloning

Stanley- eBay for brass knuckles

MatPat- a video of MatPat saying "hello internet, this time, you're on your own"

Cipher/Bill Cipher- Eye of Providence Wiki

Bill- Sesame Street Video

Wendy- A letter from Wendy saying that she wrote a way to ward off evil triangles at the bottom right of the book (I have two ideas for what this could be), also a 👌 drawn in the bottom right corner upside down.

Blind Eye- A seeing eye test that repeats the letters WKHBOOVHH (anagram maybe?) with a colour code at the bottom (I'll include this later in this post)

Robbie- Shows messenger messages between Robbie and Thompson. Thompson seems to be getting real tired of the bullying (He wrote out "If you keep insulting me one of these days I-" and then highlights it as if he's about to delete it, followed by Yea :(). They discuss going to a site to see Bill, and later freak out about seeing him and knowing how they both die (Thompson gets mistaken for luggage and Robbie chokes on a mini skateboard). The end is this photo with Bill in the background:

Pacifica- A letter from Pacifica herself warning against Bill, saying that she dumped old Tapestries with triangles on it off a yacht with an unnamed friend. She seems to be super uncomfy about mentioning who the friend is (Dipper maybe?). She ends the letter saying that you should follow her on Platinum Paz

Platinum Paz: Details a story of Pacifica having a nightmare about blood being on her hands and everywhere. She then has a conversation with a statue of Nathaniel NW, who asks about her anger. She tells him everything was better before the Pines' came to town, and he says he will help her if she does something for him: go to the Pines' place and grab a small snowglobe that's new (the rift). He is about to shake her hand before she stops and wakes up. She then adds Dipper's number to her phone and sleeps well. Most likely what leads to the tapestries being thrown off a yacht.

Oneeyedking: a hypnosis tape where there is morse code in the background while Bill says "you want to sell your soul to Bill Cipher" three times. I didn't do this but the morse code gives a series of letters (explained below)

If you spam Stanley: you are a taken to something called “the Wheel of Shame” and it is Bill explaining that he knows all of Stan’s shames since he was in his head. They are listed as follows: Ex Wives, Fears, Secret Shames, Unreported Crimes, Stan’s Failed Products, Lowest Moments, Darkest Thought (pin all crimes on Soos), and How Stan Beat Me (He didn’t! I’M STILL HERE SUCKER)

Now for Codes:

When you click on the book of Bill, there is a letter from Ford to Dipper warning against the book. On the last page at the bottom right corner, this code is seen (this is what I thought Wendy might mean):

I tried all the existing codexes, but they didn't work. Until I typed MASON into the compuer (Dipper's acc name), which gives a sheet where Dipper talks about learning how to make codes. Ford's writing comes in at the end, and the words CRYPTOGRAM CODEX are capitalized at the end. When that was input into the computer, a folder file was downloaded and gave me multiple codes.

I used CypherFontA and flipped the message on the Vertical Axis and reversed the message to get: PER ASPERA AD ASTRA, which means "through suffering to the stars" in Latin

There is another hidden code on the candle, visible through the lightning, and it uses the Runes codex, translating to CURSED. When input into the computer, you get this "Just Say No" campaign poster against drawing triangles (RAD), the words Cool and Parties are both randomly capitalized in this speech bubble from Nancy Reagan (not applicable to the passwords tho)

Carved into the wall (visible when lightling strikes) on the left is the Latin phrase "VALLIS CINERIS", which translates to "valley of ashes", you get this image and a creepy voice that says "why did you do it?" (a reference to bill destroying his home dimension)

The morse code spells out NAITSUAF, and when input to the computer, gives an offer to sell your soul. At the bottom is a button that asks are you ready, when you click on it, it shows a contract that has the following code on it

This is also a codex given in the previously mentioned codex file, and it is the theraprism file. It states: "YOU ARE NOW TWENTY ONE GRAMS LIGHTER"

Below the theraprism is more CipherFontA code, which I have not fully completed but seems to list out the terms of the contract. However, I noticed these rectangles near the words and am wondering if it means to take the letter closest to it or if it is a period. I am too lazy to work it all out rn so feel free to lmk what that all says :)

When you sign the contract, it says "pleasure doing business with you" and the flame on the candle is now blue. When you mess with the toggle on the computer, you get a backwards audio message in the same creepy voice as the Vallis Cineris code. When reversed, the audio says: " Someone help, the murderer’s name is Bill”

The prism that sits beside the computer has a code with the following symbols: #?&&!, which reads out as SORRY (this code is in the Book of Bill). When you input that into the computer, you get an image of college Ford and McGucket :(

That’s all I have for now! Feel free to reblog with anything else you might have found! I know of a ton more but I didn’t include them since this post would NEVER end.

[torturedmuses]

They were two halves of a whole. There would never be any separation of them again. Walking away from him would always be her biggest regret. She moaned against his lips. Arden was inching closer and closer to the edge as his hips pressed into hers. "Nate!" she cried as she finished with him, her grip tightening on him as they rode out their high with a few more sloppy thrusts. "I love you, too." Lips pressed over his jaw and over his neck before climbing off of him to lay beside him. Her head rested on his chest and she listened to the comforting sound of his heartbeat. "I missed you, my love."

❝ Perfect. ❞ He muttered because that's what she was. Perfect even with any imperfections she had. That's what made her so perfect and beautiful to him. She was the only one who made him feel so much love. Made him want to share it with someone. She had a deep hold onto his heart and even walking away it was still attached to her. Not anymore. Now she was to be his wife. Mrs. Arden Black. He latched his lips into hers, letting his lips move with hers, his lip taking hold of her top one as he felt himself on the edge. Rocking her hips against his as a good couple of minutes had passed by. It felt like so much longer as she moved slowly. Rocking along him, teasing his shaft. He sped things up and with a couple more bounces against his hips he came inside of her letting his tongue drag along her lips. ❝ I love you. ❞

[barbiebutgayer]

Celebrities to Block

#celebrityblockout2024

Doja Cat

Taylor Swift

Kim Kardashian

Baby Ariel

Lady Gaga

Sabrina Carpenter

Jojo Siwa

Hailey Bieber

Zendaya

Nathaniel Buzolic

Drake

Gal Gadot

Haley Kalil

Ariana Grande

James Charles

Trisha Paytas

Tina Fey

Jlo

Leonardo DiCaprio

Nicole Kidman

Kieran Culkin

Alexander Skarsgård

Sarah Jessica Parker

Amanda Seyfried

Barry Keoghan

Ben Platt

Tessa Thompson

Kylie Jenner

Nicki Minaj

Cardi B

Rachel Zegler

Shakira

Kerry Washington

[frogwiththephatahh]

Townsfolk Passwords and their Results

Gideon- Opens a new tab with the google results for "sweat resistant bolo ties"

McGucket- Opens the Cotton Eye Joe music video.

Toby Determined- Opens a new tab with the google results for "restraining order"

Abuelita- Opens a youtube video of the best vacuums for walls

Tad Strange- Plays a video of bread being sliced while sultry music plays

Robbie Valentino- Reveals an online chat log between Robbie and Thompson

Pacifica Northwest- Reveals a written note in which Pacifica warns us not to mess with Bill. It also seems that Mabel or possibly Dipper has also written on the note.

Nathaniel Northwest, Blubs, Durland, Dan Corduroy, Tyler, Bud Gleeful, Lazy Susan, Shandra, Jimenez, Melody, Candy, Grenda, Nate, Lee, Tambry, and Thompson are all rejected.

[brokehorrorfan]

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker will be released on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on May 28 via Severin Films. The 1981 psychosexual horror film is also known as Night Warning.

William Asher (Bewitched) directs from a script by Steve Breimer, Alan Jay Glueckman, and Boon Collins. Jimmy McNichol, Susan Tyrrell, Bo Svenson, Bill Paxton, and Julia Duffy star.

Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker has been newly scanned in 4K from the original camera negative. It features reversible artwork. Special features are listed below.

Special features:

Audio commentary by actor Jimmy McNichol

Audio commentary by writer/producer Steven Breimer and writer Alan Jay Glueckman, moderated by Mondo Digital’s Nathaniel Thompson

Audio commentary by co-producer Eugene Mazzola

Interview with actor Bo Svenson

Interview with director of photography Robbie Greenberg

Interview with editor Ted Nicolaou

Interviews with actors Jimmy McNichol, Susan Tyrrell, and Steve Eastin, makeup artist Allan A. Apone, and writer Steve Breimer

Trailer

TV spot

Terror begins when a night of murder and bloodshed leads bigoted police detective Joe Carlson (Bo Svenson) to try to frame orphaned high school basketball player Billy Lynch (Jimmy McNichol). However, Billy’s aunt Cheryl (Susan Tyrrell) is the real knife-wielding culprit, and with Billy about to graduate, her twisted urge to keep him all to herself is about to erupt in a wave of carnage. No one is safe when an unstable lawman and a psychotic aunt converge in a shocking climax you’ll never forget!

Pre-order Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker from Amazon.

[torturedmuses]

There would always be a part of her that wished she tried harder to keep him. What if they hadn't given up? What if she hadn't kicked him out in a fit of rage one night after a fight? They'd still be a happy couple with her cold feet pressed against his legs as he protested. She even missed his snoring sometimes. She missed his warmth and comfort he brought her.

She downed the rest of her champagne at the memories. His stupid smile that she fell in love with first was now staring back at her. God, this wasn't enough champagne. Arden topped off her cup. "I hope you know that I'll still be cuddling up next to you." Arden kicked off her shoes and picked her knees up to her chest. "I'm sorry, Nathaniel. For when I threw your stuff out in the lawn, and all of it. I never wanted to cause you any pain. I've never been good at all these emotions."

ARDEN THOMPSON:

Arden originally planned to cancel the whole trip. The idea of spending what was once supposed to be the perfect romantic trip hurt. She was anxious to spend nearly an entire week cooped up with her ex-boyfriend, but they’d done it before. Arden found herself stuck on those perfect memories they had once created. That’s why she stayed with him for so long. When things were good, they were great. She had loved him more than anything, and now she was worried she’d never stopped.

Topping off both their paper cups, she turned her attention back to the bed. “You know I can’t sleep in socks! It feels weird. Besides, who needs them when I had you right there.” She remembered the times in the night when his strong arms held her impossibly close. The way she relaxed against him in the night. The safety he had brought her. “I started to get you those nose strips to stop snoring, but I wasn’t so sure that would go over well.” Arden took a seat on the edge of the bed. A smile appeared on her lips at the thought of their memories. “I do miss your body heat and tormenting you during the night.”

     When things with Arden were good, nothing else mattered, even her imperfections made her perfect but it had it’s downsides with stupid little arguments that they could have. He got frustrated when things were down with them, leading to their break up because she still held his heart. He wanted to refuse coming here because being in the same room as her he was worried that he would fall for her all over again, fall for her and reopen the feeling he was trying to move past.

     Chuckling he nodded his head. ❝ Oh I know, you refused them every time which is why you were lucky I was so warm always. ❞ He found himself smiling about it, the little things at night like that. He cold toes against his warm legs, her body fitting into his, he had to blink a couple of times as he took a sip from the cup to regain his composure. ❝ It’s cute how you thought you could help. ❞ He stated as he cleared his throat. ❝ Well… you’re in luck with this trip if we share that bed, you’ll get all my body heat. ❞

[deadpresidents]

Are there any historians who you make sure to get every book that they write no matter what the subject is and if so who?

Oh yeah, most definitely, there are a number of them. Just to name a few: Doris Kearns Goodwin; H.W. Brands; Jon Meacham; Rick Atkinson; Nathaniel Philbrick; Bob Woodward; Robert Caro; Robert Dallek; Rick Perlstein; Ron Chernow; Peter Baker; Fergus M. Bordewich; David I. Kertzer; David McCullough; Ben Macintyre; Edmund Morris; Erik Larson; David O. Stewart; James F. Simon; James Holland; Antony Beevor; Joseph J. Ellis; Christopher Hibbert; Douglas Brinkley; Lawrence Wright...the list goes on-and-on and I'm undoubtedly forgetting some important names, but I definitely have every book published by all of those authors (except for Beevor, who I'm missing a few titles from). Not only am I a book lover and book collector, but I'm kind of a completist, so it's often hard me to resist going out of my way to get everything by certain authors.

(And they aren't historians, but I also am a completist when it comes to Sam Shepard, John Steinbeck, Robert Greene, and Hunter S. Thompson.)