bookerathcmpson - Tumblr blog

[bookerathcmpson]

For Booker, talking to people came easy to him. Maybe it was just because he enjoyed talking to people and getting to know them, no matter who they may be. Or maybe it was because he just liked the sound of his own voice. Either way, he enjoyed making small talk.

"I bet! People have all kinds of different experiences and opinions, so I'm sure the answer would vary from person to person. It's a great starter conversation," he nodded with a soft laugh. Eyebrows shot up at the other's answer. "Mountain views are always so stunning. I've always thought that it made you realize just how small you are in this world," he spoke. A smile graced his face at the other's next words. "Yeah, my goal for her is that she is able to get a lot out of this world. I just think that there's so much to see and do, and I hope she gets to experience as much as she can." Booker looked over at the other, nodding. "There's always a good story behind a photograph or painting. And I love when there's context to it."

Adi was always slightly awkward, that was just him. But he had a drink in hand, and he could talk and smile his way through anything. That came naturally to him.

He nodded, glad to see the other was on board with his question. "Yeah of anything. It's interesting to see what different people say." He nodded, liking his answer. "No, perfect. My answer is similar. I did some travelling before college and some of the hiking trails I did were stunning. I definitely take a picture from a mountain top again." He smiled. "Your daughter is sweet though. Showing the world to her." He nodded once more. "Yeah, like in that moment. What were they doing? Why were they there?"

[bookerathcmpson]

"Can't argue with that," spoke Booker with a laugh. Truly, if whoever owned this mansion could put out events like galas and parties year around, a masquerade couldn't be anything less than spectacular. Even if it was a little to fancy for Booker's taste, it was pretty neat to see what was inside of the mansion. "Maybe it's all part of the Benefactor's plan," he spoke, a shrug coming afterwards. "I mean, do you think the Benefactor is really hidden or do you think they're hiding in plain sight?"

"Really, I wouldn't expect any less," the mansion simply made sense for the person funding these elaborate events year round for the town. However, it still felt odd being invited to a mansion that could provide residents with potential insight to their identity. Wes shrugged with a chuckle at the idea of a murder mystery, "there's an idea, maybe for next year."

[bookerathcmpson]

Booker had to give it to them. Them being whoever the Benefactor was because the event was better than he thought it would be. Not that he would expect anything less from someone who had an endless amount of wealth and a mansion with more rooms that he could even fathom. Booker passed by other patrons of the party as he made his way to the bar, nodding his head and giving friendly waves as he watched them. It was interesting to see what kinds of masks people wore, some wearing masks that covered their entire face whereas others only had one that covered their eyes. Booker entered the room where the bar was and ordered his usual, thanking the bartender. Once he got his drink, he heard a familiar voice. He remembered it belonged to the firefighter from Creek Fest. "Always," he laughed with a smile, toasting back to the other before taking a sip. "Enjoying your night so far?"

Starter: @bookerathcmpson and Theo Location: Masquerade Ball Date: October 2023

Theo was perusing the different rooms and activities during the masquerade ball. As he was taking in the sights and sounds, and all the people, he tried his best to figure out who was who since everyone was wearing a mask. Some people he could figure out while others he definitely couldn't. Taking a break from that, he sauntered over to the bar to grab a drink. Once he made his way up to the bar he ordered something and turned to the first person to his right. "Life is always better with a little fizz right?" He said as he held up his drink and raised it to the person he spoke to.

[bookerathcmpson]

Exactly! Same here, I like having a full on schedule so I know what's going on. Back when I worked as an intern years ago, I never knew what shifts they'd want to give me but I'm glad I have the freedom to do what I want now and assign my own hours at the pharmacy. It's nice to have a team that works great together, you know? We didn't! I just don't know when we'd be able to do it, but in the future we will. The masquerade was pretty cool, I won't lie. Did you have a good time?

Absolutely. And we gotta do what we can to get by, right? I'm happy that my schedule has evened out a bit and is more predictable now. It also makes my sleep schedule easier. It does! Sometimes you just need an extra day to really get my mind back in work mode. Did you end up adopting? I had a pretty good week, busy as always but I'm looking forward to this masquerade. I think it'll be fun.

[bookerathcmpson]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Booker Asher-Thompson as Sebastian from The Little Mermaid (with his daughter Dina as Ariel). He chaperoned his daughter and her friends around town to go trick-or-treating.

[bookerathcmpson]

HALLOWEEN MASQUERADE

A last minute outfit, but Booker decided to keep it simple with a black and silver look, favoring the metallic look for his mask. If he's not people watching with a drink in his hand, you can find him exploring the grounds or making his way to the floor for a dance or two.

[bookerathcmpson]

who: BOOKER & RAFAEL. @rafaelcb

where: a mansion.

when: during the masquerade party.

Booker looked around the ballroom as more guests started coming in. Part of him wanted to be anywhere but at the masquerade. But he knew that if he didn't go he'd have extreme FOMO. Plus, he wanted to see what a mansion owned by The Benefactor looked like. It wasn't that he didn't like these events; he just wished everything wasn't so flashy. He always had a reluctance about who the person who funded these types events was and why they decided to pick Merrock as the ones who would get the benefits of their wealth. Was it under good intentions or was there something deeper? Maybe he'd be able to find out tonight. Either way, Booker was standing around with a drink in his hand, eyes glancing all around the room. In the midst of it, he met someone's eyes and sent a small smile their way in acknowledgment. "This place is pretty huge, yeah?" Booker spoke out, letting out a little laugh. "Do you think The Benefactor has more than one mansion?"

[bookerathcmpson]

who: BOOKER & WES. @xwesjames

where: a mansion.

when: during the masquerade party.

Booker fidgeted with his mask, trying to loosen it from his face. He wasn't planning on attending, but he had begrudgingly gave in after Dina mentioned that he needed to stop being to stubborn. To be truthful, he was sure that she only wanted to help him with his outfit. She was becoming a fashionista, and he loved to indulge her from time to time when it came to it. Gathering himself and his beer, he walked into the large ballroom and started looking around the room, trying to see if he could recognize anybody. It was hard to tell with the dimmed lights and the fact that everyone was forced to wear a mask. Though, it wasn't hard to find someone he could talk to as he went to a corner of the room. "Can you believe this?" Booker spoke, motioning to the venue they were in. "I can't believe this is something The Benefactor owns," he said dryly, not hiding his distaste for whoever it was. "If only they could've done a murder mystery theme, now that would've been a lot more interesting."

[bookerathcmpson]

Booker was definitely out of his element as he stood around in his suit, face covered with a mask. He wasn't planning on attending the masquerade but decided to last minute. Did he know why? No, but he hoped to have a good night. Needing to settle his nerves, Booker decided to grab a drink at the bar.

A smile landed on his face as he saw the other, giving a head nod in acknowledgement. After ordering his drink, he heard the other's question and quirked up a brow, thinking. "Mhm, good question," he spoke out, turning to the other. "Of anything? I think it'd be a really gorgeous sunset over the ocean in Bali or off the coast of Spain, maybe. I'd love to do more traveling with my daughter, so maybe it'd be her and I with that kind of scenery in the background. "You?" he asked before continuing on, "I've always wondered that, too. Why a photograph was taken or why someone decided to paint that particular picture."

WHO: Adi and Open WHERE: Halloween Masquerade

Adi was often pretty reserved in crowds, though over the years he'd learnt to talk to cover up those nerves. He could make a conversation out of anything and make himself sound confident. His eyes had been scanning the fancy room, reminding him of the country club his parents took him to when he was younger. Especially all the pictures on the walls.

He smiled as the other stopped at the bar, picking up his drink with his free hand. “If you could take a picture of anything in the world. What would it be? And where would you put the picture?” he asked, eyes glancing towards them. He felt like everyone needed a little distraction right now. "I just look at all of these on the walls and wonder who took them, painted them and why."

[bookerathcmpson]

If Booker was being honest with himself, he couldn't deny that he was a sucker for fall decorations. Sure, he presented himself as if he seemed disinterested in anything pertaining to being excited for the colder months, and he was someone who didn't enjoy temperatures below sixty degrees, but he did have an interest in being able to decorate for the fall months. He enjoyed the particular smells that came with the last few months of the year, especially the pumpkin and cinnamon scents that were the common smells of this season. He had gathered a few things to display throughout his place - some wooden decorations, a scarecrow and some candles that he had grabbed from another vendor. Booker was busy pushing his cart around, looking over some glass jars that were shaped as pumpkins when he heard someone's voice, turning his head to face to where it was coming from. His eyes moved to see where she was pointing to, seeing that it was the potpourri bowl with different dried spices that he grabbed a few vendors back. "No worries," Booker replied, a smile moving onto his features. "I actually grabbed them from that spot over there," he moved his arm to point in the direction of the area that he got it from. "I got it from that nice older lady over there, though she said that they were running low."

where: Collab who: All of Merrock Notes: Capping at 6 (0/6)

With the candle to her nose, Rian inhaled, taking in the aroma of the candle that was trapped inside the beautiful orange pumpkin she’d found displayed so perfectly on the shelf. Granted, when you’d smelled as many candles as she had - she was on at least her fourth candle in the past five minutes - they all began to smell nearly the same. Though, while she was a sucker for pumpkins, acorns, warm aroma’s of fall, her favorite thing about it was how close it brought her to Winter, her true favorite season. You couldn’t tell by looking at the shopping cart that was currently full of decorations, but Nia was excited. A fresh start; a new place. It was all bittersweet, but, she was going to make the most of it. As she moved her way around the display, however, she came across something in someone else’s cart that she thought would look perfect on her kitchen island and she gasped - almost too loudly - before pausing and staring it down awkwardly. “Uh, excuse me.” she cleared her throat, letting her eyes move to the person pushing the cart before she pointed at the item. “Are there anymore of those in the store? And if so, could you possibly point me in the direction of where you found it?”

[bookerathcmpson]

Yeah! Especially since we live up in the North. It's not true fall for me until the air is so crisp and chilly that you can see your breath when you breathe, the leaves are all multicolored and falling from the trees, and the you can see pumpkins everywhere. You don't to tell me twice! But I agree, to see the smile on their faces when they're happy is all we could ever ask for, right? Looks like you're going to get Boyfriend of The Year! Mhm, I've got something planned for us, but she has to give the last approval. I know it involves a Disney princess and her sidekick. I guess both? Mostly because horses have always made me nervous. They're so big and we're expected that they'll just let us climb on top of them. I get why some get mad at their jockeys during derby's. I wouldn't want to race, either.

Right? You can't say it's Fall while it's hot, seems unnatural. It's crazy, saved me from an untimely demise, even if I have to put up with her love at other times. I've ordered more Pumpkin Spice Lattes than I ever needed to. The things we do for the ladies in our lives, big and small. She did, I think I won enough romance points for a lifetime, but it was worth it for the smile on her face. Are you going to do matching costumes? Ah, my sister was helping out over there with those. Scary for her or for you?

[bookerathcmpson]

It's the worst when you've got so many layers underneath your clothes and stacked up onto of each other, it's like never ending hell then. Because then you get too hot or you just can't move like you mentioned. I guess they have nowhere else to go? But they can get to be annoying. I'm just worried for the ants now that it's getting colder out. I know they like to come inside once it gets too cold. Yeah, exactly! Nothing too extreme when it comes to temperatures when it's in transition.

[bookerathcmpson]

"I feel that. If I moved to town and Creek Fest was happening, I don't think I would know what it was! I know that the Historical Society does a good job of explaining what it is, but I know it as a nice little fair. Yeah, the transition from the hot summer to the chilly fall days is what gets to me. I never know when to break out all of my clothes that are more for winter or keep them in the closet. I enjoy the fall treats. A good slice of pumpkin bread and hot apple cider is my favorite way to have a good autumnal treat."

"Oh trust me, I was not prepared for it at all. I'm new to town so I honestly wasn't even entirely sure what Creek Fest was, but I don't think I was ready for it, no. I was mostly just in this weird space where I felt like I was still recovering from the beach bash, and Creek Fest definitely felt like a transition into colder months. I don't mind. I'm not a fan of extremely hot or extremely cold temperatures, but I do love enough of the fall treats to be excited that before it gets really cold, I at least have those to look forward to."

[bookerathcmpson]

Leaf peeping, yes! It's amazing how the leaves can change up here so quickly, and I love when the colors are so saturated that it looks like you're in a real life painting. You're from Baltimore, though? That's wicked cool. Ah, that's a good idea! A little sneaky sip of wine never hurt anyone.

Going to go leaf peeping? I think that's what it's called up here, I grew up in Baltimore so it was more like...one day there was no leaves and that was it, so I'm sure she loves having that magical moment. I'll let you in on a secret Booker, there was just enough places with wine for me to never have it in sight, so it was perfect.

[bookerathcmpson]

That's true! Making some good money is never a bad thing, especially since everything is going up in prices these days. It gets better once you settled back in again. But man, it does take a few days or so to get back into the daily routine after it's been off for a bit. It's going well! Took Dina to look at some of the animals during Shelter Appreciation Weekend, and she enjoyed it. How's yours been going?

Good! Oh yeah, definitely need that time to turn around and get used to being at work again! But we do what we have to to get some good money, right? It is! That sense of excitement and a little dread to get back to the swing of things. How’s your fall been going?

[bookerathcmpson]

Gotta take a win whenever we can, yeah? I've been enjoying seeing all of the leaves change so far. I can't wait until we're in the deep fall foliage so I can take my daughter out on a drive to look at it all. Ah, nice! I'm sure it's rewarding to get to study and interact with them. It was! Had a lot of fun and made a few memories. Did you enjoy your experience?

Fall can be gross, but when it's beautiful it's exceptionally beautiful, so we have to embrace that. They can be fun, I work with a specific type of shark that are a bit more laid back than what most people expect, but I think they're all beautiful creatures. Was your Creek Fest everything you dreamed despite not being prepared?

[bookerathcmpson]

I feel the same way, honestly! I mean, my dad's from Atlanta and chose to come here because of work. I really can't believe how cold it can get up here. Luckily I'm used to them now, but I still think it can get way too cold in these parts. Oh, I could totally see you sipping on a drink while bathing in the sun! Have your cousins ever seen the snow? I remember my mom's relatives came from Houston once and were shocked at how much snow could come down in one go. Ah, I lived in LA and I enjoyed it. Mostly was a student when I lived there, but I had fun. Yeah, the weather here for the rest of the year is pretty amazing. The breeze you get from the ocean when it's super hot out is nice.

I always joke that I'm not genetically built for the cold but I'm really not joking. My mom just had to choose a man from one of the coldest states in the country to have kids with, yet I inherited absolutely no tolerance for the cold from him. I'm made for the tropics! Or I could have had a nice, comfortable life in California, like my cousins. Instead, I know about snow and hate it. Yet, every year, I try to just make the best of it because living in LA already didn't work out for me once. That, and I actually like it here, the rest of the year.