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springvaletales · 1 year

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((Session 48 is wrapped!))

“I am honest (and full of Cheez-its).”

Ena’s Player: “Are we sending our interns to Sir Carl’s estate?”

Thiori’s Player: “The party is full! We need to send them to the PC!”

“NO!!! ‘Arch-Daddy’ is OFF the table!”

Sir Carl has decided to send Wayne and Zayne home to his estate for their own protection along with Thiori’s adopted kids, as he doesn’t want to put their lives at risk.

It has come about that Sir Carl believes Bagelby to be 22 years old, when Bagelby is, in fact, only sixteen.

“Oh, to be a Bagel in the Feywild…”

We left off last session with Ena noticing that a still-mind controlled Michael had disappeared along with Geraldine, and we pick up with her shaking Vashael out of unconsciousness while screaming “Where did your boytoy go now?!”

Asahi’s Player: “He’s getting kidnapped again?!”

Me: “He’s cursed! He can’t help it!”

The shouting worked, and she also slapped Vashael back to wakefulness hard enough to leave a handprint for good measure.

With Vashael in tow for back-up, Ena and Asahi followed the clue of a scrap of fabric caught in a door to chase down Geraldine, who was trying to abscond with Michael while she could. Most of the party ended up following them.

Velenna was not happy to have been left in charge of the unconscious and the dead when her son was once AGAIN in danger, but she also knows that the party is more than powerful enough to save him, and begrudgingly let them go.

Ena’s Player: “….hey Soli, if Ena and Michael are both warlocks of the Taker, then her magic can’t hurt him, right?”

Me: “That’s right! :D

Asahi’s Player: “I’m going to cast Water Whip at Michael!”

Me: D:

Ena freed Michael from the Cordypede with an Eldritch Blast at point blank range. He’s fine due to their warlock class, but Asahi got a little toasted. It was absolute overkill - the poor thing only had 1hp!

Geraldine, nervously: “You wouldn’t hit an old lady with glasses, would you?”

Ena, already charging Burning Hands: “I’ve NEVER respected my elders!”

The confrontation with Geraldine quickly turned into every party member taking a turn punching the evil flamingo lady…

….until Ena double crit her rolls and burned Geraldine to a crispy pile of feathers. Whoops.

Ena stole Geraldine’s glasses as a war trophy and mended them just because she could.

She also found a teardrop shaped pendant in the mess that she had Sir Carl identify - it’s the house seal of the House of the Wading Marshes, a once-great noble family from the continent of Cheshire across the sea.

Asahi used an enchanted acorn to contact the Taker of the Lost and ask him to wake Captain Astaroth so she could report the turn of events.

Unable to awaken Astaroth, the Taker instead dragged him by one horn down the halls to the party (in his tiny form still, as the ceiling was too low for his true form).

Ena decided to wake up Captain Astaroth by casting Thunderclap in an enclosed hallway.

Ena keeps taking points of damage for using her Eldritch Sight ability in a dragon’s palace while surrounded by powerful magic users all wielding a variety of magical items.

Ena: “Ow! That hurt. Ow! That hurt. Ow-“

Thiori collected nine dogtags from slaughtered Queen’s Guardsmen he found while returning to his room to retrieve his alchemy kit and check on the kids (the kids are alright), and Bagelby and Asahi found four more corpses while investigating Rond-El’s personal quarters and office.

Rond-El is NOT a cult spy…..but apparently he is a furry whose hobbies can be used for blackmail.

Tuck Chingle is an in-universe romance author, apparently.

Asahi gave up searching Rond-El’s room and office after needing to cover Bagelby’s eyes for the third time, and they returned to Astaroth.

After reporting her (lacking) findings to Astaroth, Asahi left Bagelby in the main hall to ‘watch over’ (aka: steal from) the incapacitated nobility, and wen to search the rooms of the royal family for anything suspicious or dangerous.

In Vashael’s room, Asahi found all the dick crystals Ena had previously placed, laundry that needed to be done, a small hoard of coins spilling out from under his bed, and a notebook filled with bad love poetry and not-so-bad sketches of Michael.

It was decided that Vashael can’t draw hands (artist mood) and that all the sketches are elbows-up only.

In Kemat’s room, Asahi found a collection of functional swords, a letter from Rond-El pleading with him to ‘think of the future’ and pick a bachelorette (every name was crossed out), and a box of magical polaroids under his bed frame.

Most of the polaroids were candids of his family (Almaea trying to eat breakfast while having a dress tailored, Maji about to slam dunk a ball through their unsuspecting father’s horns, Vashael about to jump off the guardhouse roof to fly, etc.) but a few were of Vashael and his friends, and some of the most recent were of just Michael.

“Aah, so he’s snooping!!”

In Maji’s room, Asahi found another box of hidden photos that she quickly put right back, as well as a collection of expensive hand fans on display, love letters to Maji’s fiancé, Neraagh-Aagh, and a few letters in which she complained about Rond-El pressuring Kemat to marry, Ambassador Rototol doing a shit job of faking an accent to sound more pretentious, and a not-so-secret romance she was watching between a guardsman and a palace laundress.

The only thing Asahi found in the Queen/Prince Consort’s room was a bunch of artifacts and art from a thousand years ago, and some pieces of dragon horn.

It was decided that Manon-Val’s horns are broken not because he lost them in battle, but because he is a bottom.

“Sir Carl is having his AMV moment on the balcony outside.”

We wrapped up there because we ran out of time and people need to sleep, so we’ll set a new session date in the next few days and reconvene to cover up a massive security breach and avoid political fallout as best these disasters can!

#OOC #Quarantine D&D

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zack4x4 · 2 years

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SAN JUAN WALL.

SAN JUAN WALL. SAN JUAN WALL. [La Familia Franciscana celebra su memoria el 12 de julio, asociada a la de san Juan Jones]. Nació en Chingle Hall (Inglaterra) el año 1620. A los trece años ingresó en el seminario de Douai (Francia), en 1641 marchó a Roma y allí recibió la ordenación sacerdotal en 1645. En 1651 vistió el hábito franciscano en Douai. Tras unos años de vida tranquila conventual, lo…

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#Santoral

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underwood1923 · 4 years

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‘A little later they heard the sounds of something heavy being dragged across the room and a rattling noise, as of a chain, followed by more footsteps…. Many visitors have felt the presence of invisible beings…’

Chingle Hall, near Preston, Lancashire

Free today: Ghosts of North-West England (1978): US/UK

Google Map | Kindle Unlimited US/UK | Audible [trailer] | peterunderwood.org

#chingle hall #haunted #ghosts #paranormal #free kindle download

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myhauntedsalem · 5 years

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Chingle Hall UK

Chingle Hall lies just north of Preston, in the small village of Goosnargh, it is one of Britain's oldest and most haunted buildings (it's the oldest inhabited brick building). The house formerly known as Singleton hall was constructed in 1260 by the knight Adam de Singleton. The Hall remained in the de Singleton's family late into the 16th Century. In 1585 the Wall Family who were related to the Singletons, moved into the Hall.

John Wall was born in the Hall in 1620, he studied at Worcester University. In 1641 he became a priest, during the time of the Catholic Reformation it was illegal to practice mass in Britain, Chingle Hall was used as a place of worship by Catholics and had many priest holes and secret compartments were made for the people taking part the mass to hide if the Hall was raided by the kings soldiers. At this time Father John Wall was most active, conducting secret mass on a regular basis.

In 1678 he was apprehended at Rushock Court near Bromsgrove, as he was tendering the Oath of Supremacy. He was taken to Worcester jail, where he was offered his life if he would foresake his religion, but he declined. Brought back to Worcester, he was drawn and quartered at Redhill on the 22nd of August 1679.

His quartered body was given to his friends, and was buried in St. Oswald's churchyard. Mr. Levison, however, secured the martyr's head, and it was treasured by the friars at Worcester until the dissolution of that house during the French Revolution. It is rumored to be buried the Hall's grounds or hidden in the building itself. The Franciscan nuns at Taunton claim to possess a tooth and a bone of the martyr. He was Canonized by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

In 1764 the house was passed to the Farrington family during these times Chingle hall was a hub for zealous religious activity. Great effort was made to keep alive the Roman catholic traditions, cavities were built into walls and tunnels were dug to some of the surrounding buildings as a method of escape.

Once inside the Great Hall, you see the wooden beams going across the ceiling. Some of these beams have strange symbols on them. No one really knew what these symbols were, until some scientists took samples of the wood. They found that the wood was much older than Chingle Hall, and had a lot of salt in them. The wood had actually come from an old Viking longboat. During the 1950s one of the beams spontaneously caught fire, and, just as quickly as it had started, it inexplicably extinguished itself. The smell of wood burning lingers in many of the rooms.

The Different stories of paranormal activity at this location are huge, as is the number of different spirits that reside here. The most popular ghost at the residence however has to be that of Eleanor Singleton. The smell of lavender coming from her old bedroom has to be the most popular experience, but apparitions have also been witnessed.

As for the different ghosts at the building, of which there are many, the most commonly encountered have been listed below:

1 At least 5 monks

2 A Chimney Sweep

3 4 Female Children

4 2 Male Children

5 Eleanor Singleton

6 A Cavalier

7 A Phantom Candle

8 Various entities that have been unidentified

9 Cat

10 Dog

11 Mrs Howarth

12 The “Dizzy Man”

The amount of activity at the hall in massive. Reports include almost every type of haunting, such as apparitions, physical contact, sudden unexplained nausea, feeling of being watched and of unexplained presence's, smells, footsteps, poltergeist activity and electronic voice phenomena. It cant be denied that the claim to the hall being the most haunted house in England isn't made without good reason.

#Chingle Hall #haunted locations #paranormal #ghost and hauntings

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hawkeyes-chicklet · 2 years

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Day 4 - Magical / Supernatural

"I don't believe in ghosts!", Natasha crossed her arms before her chest to take a stand. "Of course you don't. So then you could easily spent the night in this haunted house?", Tony teased her. "Sure. But I'm taking Barton to pass the time." "Whaaaaat?", said person almost choked on his sandwich he was eating while overhearing the conversation of his two colleagues. Natasha turned to him: "Scared?", she asked with a raised brow. "I'm more scared of what you do to me if I don't say yes!", Clint answered.

So they packed their bags for a night at the haunted mansion. It was one with many urban legends and scary stories of moving furniture and howling walls and so on. A house like that could be found in almost every neighbourhood so, not exactly a big thing.

The house was withered, old and dark. The garden was wild and nature's taken what was originally hers. The house seemed to lean forward somehow, not welcoming in any way.

"Well. It was nice to meet you!", Tony said as he left the two spies at the entrance. Nat just smiled and pushed the door open.

Clint and Natasha stood in the hall, facing a wide staircase. To their right was something that could have been the kitchen and dining room, to the left was an open salon with a fireplace and some old and worn chairs.

"Let's get this over with", said Nat and threw her bag into the salon. "I'm going to have a look around. You coming?" Clint breathed out loudly and let his bag fall to his feet. "I'm not letting you go alone." Nat was halfway up the stairs. "Ah come on, we're trained assassins, what could happen?"

They went to the upper rooms and looked in every room. There was nothing suspicious, nothing haunted or scary. Just a bunch of old furniture, a lot of dust and woolen mice, spiderwebs. The light of the day was fading as they went down to inspect the kitchen.

"What is this house known for? What happened here?", Natasha asked while she was sweeping her finger over the table, leaving a trail through the dust. "Some say an axe murderer killed the inhabitants, some think it's built on an ancient burial ground, or some old witchy lady lived here and poisend her husbands one after the other." "I like the last one best. Ah, it has a cellar." Clint watched her with mixed feelings as she opened the creeky door and lit her flashlight. "You should never enter the cellars in a haunted house. Haven't you paid attention when you were watching horror movies with me?" "Clint. Clint…", she implied a smile: "Only thing that spooks will be some cheap tricks from Tony. Join me?" She offered her hand and he gladly took it, following her down to the basement.

It was pitch black down. The only light was coming from the door above and the two flashlights, moving around.

Carefully and silently they moved but suddelny something clattered. "What was that?!", Clint was startled but she laughed. "I kicked the bucket. Like, literally!" She lit up a rusty old bucket. "Don't do that again!", he gasped.

There was nothing more to see, so they went up again.

Natasha laid two mats on the floor, placed a blanket over them. She sat down and patted on the spot next to her. He also sat down and dug in his bag for something to eat. As they ate, they could hear noises. Rustling loose chingles, cracking wooden furniture. She was relaxed but Clint was alarmed. She eventually rested her head on his shoulder and he was calm with this second. Maybe this whole thing wasn't so bad after all?

Nat had checked if the chimney would still work and fixed a small fire. She had collected wood outside and had everything else in her bag. It was cozy. So they say on the floor and ate caned food, shared a bottle of soda.

"You know…", she said between two bites "That it is Tony's intention to bring us together like that? Being forced to spend a whole night together closely?" Clint dropped his fork and looked surprised "What?!" She smiled: "Think about it." He did. It was true. Tony tried to couple them since they'd met each other.

"So… umm… the house isn't haunted?" "Not at all", she smiled brightly at him and touched his hand.

#clint barton #hawkeye #natasha romanoff #clintasha #black widow #marvel #clintasha advent 2021 #magical #supernatural #haunted house #tony stark #day 4

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authorialarcanist · 3 years

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Gracidea Blossom Chapter 1: It All Starts Naoe

(Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, & Platinum x Little Busters!)

Mirror Links: AO3, Pokécommunity, Spacebattles

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Previous - Next

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Gentle strains of music float across Hearthome. Kricketune are singing on Route 212, and the music drifts in to harmonize with the chirping of Starly. This is what every morning sounds like in ‘the city where hearts touch each other.’

Sunlight filters through the window of an apartment at the southern end of town. Within is a bed, with a boy curled up in it. At his bedside is a small potted plant, a miniature tree with three yellow spots in front. It tapers off to three small branches on top, each sporting a green sphere on its end.

When the sunbeam crosses Riki’s eyes, his face wrinkles up and he blinks himself awake with a yawn.

A few minutes later, Riki steps through an open doorway into the apartment’s combination living room/kitchenette. He pulls a frozen breakfast out of the freezer, and it’s just as he’s finished setting the microwave to thaw it that the potted plant walks into the kitchenette on stubby brown legs.

“Morning, Sly,” Riki calls back to his Bonsly as he sets out a bowl of food for it. He turns back to the microwave to wait.

He’s halfway through his breakfast when he hears a noise pounding on the apartment’s door. Leaving his food at the counter, he opens the door to greet his best friend.

Masato Inohara is a tall, buff young man with blue eyes and spiky black hair. He’s wearing a red T-shirt and jeans, and a red bandanna is wrapped around his forehead.

“You’re finally up, Riki! Kengo and Rin have already gone to the park!”

“Already?” Riki glances at the clock hanging on the wall. It’s not moving. His face falls. “I forgot to set my clocks after yesterday’s power outage, didn’t I…”

“Ah, well!” Masato grins. “No use crying over a tipped Miltank!”

Riki pauses midway through throwing on a blue jacket. “…What?”

“It’s an idiom!”

“Masato, that’s crying over *spilled milk!*”

“What? When I asked, Kengo said I could use it that way! That bastard, he’s probably thinking ‘ha, that idiot Masato was stupid enough to think people cry about tipped Miltanks, and besides, he already makes a fool out of himself in front of everyone every day,’ isn’t he!”

“No, no, no, he probably just thought you meant spilled milk and told you what that meant instead…” Riki sighs as his friend works himself up into a misunderstanding. Well, that said, every day is certainly energetic…

Forgetting his half-eaten breakfast, Riki grabs a small cooler and calls for his Pokémon to follow him. The two humans and one Bonsly make their way out through the hall to the elevator. Buildings in Hearthome are built with ramps and elevators in place of stairs wherever possible, to make sure they’re accessible to wheelchairs, strollers, and small children and Pokémon alike. By the time they reach the ground floor and step outside, the sun is already high in the sky. The breeze is pleasantly warm as they make their way through Hearthome and to Amity Square’s eastern gate.

Masato pulls out a Pokéball. “Go! Biceps!” With a flash of light, a Machamp is filling the available space of the passage. It’s a large, humanoid Pokémon with grey skin, yellow frills on its head and a yellow beak, a championship belt around its hips, and four muscular arms. “You ready to take a walk?”

*Fweeeet!* A whistle blows, and the gate attendant steps in front of them. “You know the rules! Machamp isn’t a permitted Pokémon in the square!”

“That’s unfair! Amity Square is for cute Pokémon, and my Biceps is plenty cute!” At that the Machamp strikes a pose, one arm up on either side and the other down, muscles bulging. “Look, Riki! Don’t you agree? Aren’t those the cutest muscles in the entire world?”

*No, by all accounts, you’re the one who’s being unreasonable…* Riki chuckles sheepishly, sweating under the attendant’s disapproval. “Masato, you know that’s just the phrasing they use… Biceps is a big Pokémon, you know? Even though he’d never hurt anybody, the park still has to make sure that only small and weak Pokémon are around, in case little kids provoke them…”

Man and Machamp sigh in unison, and Masato withdraws his Pokémon with a flash of red. “Ugh… Why do you have to be so reasonable, Riki? Fine! We’ll just have to get in our exercise later, I guess!”

Riki bows a hasty apology to the attendant as they pass into the park. Amity Square’s eastern entrance leads up to an elevated rocky area looking down on the western half of the park. Several small structures modeled after ancient ruins are available for children to play in. Up a few ramps at the far side of the area, a young man in a blue hakama is making training swings with a bamboo sword. He has white hair and a serious expression. Several children are watching him, fascinated.

“*KENGOOOOOOOO!*” With a roar, Masato runs at him, Riki following behind in a panic to stop his friends from fighting. “You told me I could use ‘no use crying over a tipped Miltank’ to mean that what’s done is done! I just made a fool out of myself in front of Riki because of you!”

“Hmph.” Kengo plants his training sword in the ground and turns to face Masato. “I thought you meant ‘no use crying over spilled milk,’ so I just told you what *that* means.” Riki sighs in relief. “But I suppose you really are stupid enough to think people cry over tipped Miltanks. And besides, you already make a fool of yourself in front of Riki every day, don’t you?”

“*THAT’S IT!* I thought you’d say that, Kengoooo! Why don’t you say it to my muscles?”

“If it’s a battle you want, it’s a battle you’ll get!” Kengo pulls a Pokéball out of his hakama, but before he can throw it a shrill whistle pierces the air.

“*Kengo Miyazawa, Masato Inohara, you two KNOW no Pokémon battles are allowed in the park!*” The gate attendant glares at them from her post, a megaphone in her hand.

“…Yes, ma’am. Sorry, ma’am.” Abashed, Kengo turns away from the gate to resume his exercises.

“Tch. I guess you get to put it off this time. But next time we battle, I’m gonna take you down for sure!” Masato grunts in acquiescence, then drops to the ground and starts doing situps.

“You said that the last time you challenged me, too.”

Satisfied that his friends have been defused, Riki looks around the park. “Hey, Kengo? Have you seen Rin?”

“Hm? She’s down on the east side, like always.”

“Ehehe, of course…” With a sheepish chuckle, Riki waves goodbye to the pair of muscle idiots, and ducks into the nearest ‘ruin.’ In the back, there’s a ramp leading down into a series of small tunnels which connect all of the structures. Riki turns left, and makes his way to a ramp leading back up to a hut on the western side of the park. As he emerges, he hears a girl’s voice seemingly holding up one end of a conversation.

“Oh! Are you trying to learn Copycat? You can do it, Tezuka! Audrey is showing you how!”

Meowww.

“Wait… but… You’re already a cat, aren’t you? Shouldn’t you know Copycat already? You probably copy other cats all the time…”

Meow?

“Do you actually know it? Have you been holding out on me?” The voice takes on a shocked tone.

Meow…

Quietly, Riki peers out of the stone hut. A short ways away, playing with a multitude of cat Pokémon, is Rin Natsume. She’s a girl with red eyes and a brown ponytail. She’s wearing a pair of jeans ripped off at her calves, and a white shirt with pink striped sleeves. A small bell is attached to the thin white ribbon holding her hair back, and it jingles softly every time she moves her head. Perched on her shoulder is a Chingling, a round yellow Pokémon with a growth like a striped rope on top of its head. Rin makes a suspicious face at a Meowth crouched on all fours in front of her.

“You would tell me if you knew Copycat, right?”

Miaoww…

Evidently satisfied, Rin peers into the gold coin on the Meowth’s forehead. “Are you proud of your coin? Do you polish it every day?”

Meow.

“Woah! That’s amazingly dedicated! Super… no, duper-duper dedicated!” Rin scratches the Meowth behind its ears, making it purr. A Skitty nudges its head into Rin’s arm, and suddenly cat Pokémon are climbing all over her. “W-woah! Hold on! I can’t pet all of you at once!”

*I’ve probably waited long enough…* Smiling to himself, Riki steps out of his shelter.

“Are the cats happy?”

“Wah! Riki! I’m— I’m not playing! I was… scolding these cats! Yes, Tezuka, you’ve been very bad! (whew, that was a close save!)” Although Riki can hear her muttering to herself, he decides not to press.

“Right… Well, I brought sandwiches, so I just wanted to let you know where to find them once you get hungry. I’m going to go sit by the pond for a while, okay?”

“Mm.” Rin nods and turns back to the cats. At this point, Rin is such a fixture in Amity Square that Riki wouldn’t be surprised should it turn out she’s disrupting natural migration patterns. He’s pretty sure that Espurr were an invasive species in Sinnoh before they started flocking to Hearthome…

Leaving Rin and the cats behind, Riki and Sly cross a wooden bridge to the small island in the middle of the pond. He gives Sly a boost, straining to lift the Rock-type, and then sits down next to it on a raised stone outcropping. He looks across the water at Rin, then raises his gaze to watch Masato and Kengo trying to outdo each other in their respective martial exercises. He smiles. As long as he has this, he’ll be okay.

—-

Years ago…

…Riki’s life had been clouded in shadow. After the accident that killed his parents, he had retreated into himself, giving up on the outside world. If living meant feeling this loss, then he would rather close himself off and not feel anything. If remembering his parents meant sinking into this pit, he would rather know nothing at all. He’d spent every day trying to hide from the pain, without the will to move forward. His guardian had moved to Hearthome with him, hoping the city would help him open back up, but even then he still spent every day in a haze.

And then, one day…

…A boy had appeared in front of him, and reached out a hand to pull him up.

“My name is Kyousuke Natsume. What’s yours?”

“…Riki Naoe…”

“Come with me, Riki! We need you to add your strength to ours!”

“Huh…?” Riki had raised his head, confused.

Kyousuke had pulled him to where three other kids were waiting; Rin, Masato, and Kengo. He’d explained that they were trying to capture an invasive hive of Beedrill before it could damage the local ecosystem.

“My teacher said if Beedrill get a foothold in Sinnoh, they’ll drive away Combee hives!”

“But— what are *you* going to do about it?”

“Don’t underestimate us!” Kyousuke had thumped his chest with a grin. “The four of us are allies of justice who fight evil - we’re called the Little Busters! Together, we can take on any opponent!”

The children gathered and threw Pokéballs at the hive until a swarm of Beedrill finally came out, yellow bee Pokémon nearly as tall as they were, with black stripes on their thoraxes and massive stingers on their arms. It was then that Masato had made a desperate play, smearing himself with honey to lure them away from the hive. “The rest is up to you!”

Realizing the danger, Kyousuke’s Pichu had jumped off of his shoulder at the swarm and shot sparks all around it, electrocuting the pursuing Beedrill… and Masato with them. “Gaaaaah! That’s not the help I wanted!” Watching as a scorched Masato berated Kyousuke, Riki had finally broken down and laughed - and found the other Little Busters laughing with him.

In the end, they had weakened the Beedrill enough for adults to notice and come remove the hive. What’s more, one of the Beedrill had attached itself to Masato after eating the honey off of his shirt, and he’d been allowed to keep it - with a strict promise to never train it without supervision.

Since that morning, every day had been filled with life. The Little Busters came up with all sorts of tiny adventures, from cleaning a pool in return for a day of sole access, to climbing the spire of Hearthome’s cathedral. Laughing and playing together with his friends, the pain in Riki’s heart had become more bearable, until slowly, almost without his realizing it, it had vanished behind the boisterous fun of being with them.

Now…

…Riki Naoe’s only wish is for these days to go on forever.

——

“Yo, Riki.” A familiar voice breaks Riki out of his reverie. It’s already dark out. He looks around before finally catching sight of Kyousuke standing on the island, his hand raised in a lazy wave. Riki’s face splits into a wide grin.

“Kyousuke! Your trip is over? Oh, wait, I need to go get the others!” He turns and runs deeper into the park. “Hey! Masato! Kengo! Rin! Come on, Kyousuke’s back!”

“Kyousuke’s back?” Masato looks over with a grin, and hops down the short cliff dividing the east end of the park from the west. Rin stands up, sending a rain of cat Pokémon tumbling off of her, and Kengo emerges from a stone ‘ruin’ a few moments later, having chosen a more dignified method of transport.

Masato pumps his fist. “Good to have you back, Kyousuke!”

Riki nods. “Yeah, we’ve missed you! How was your trip?”

Kyousuke chuckles and gives a thumbs-up. “Mission Complete!”

“So what’s next, then? What should we all do this week?”

“Ah…” A bead of sweat runs down Kyousuke’s face. “About that… I can’t actually stay for long. I have to go on another trip in a couple of days.”

Riki’s face falls. “Again? But Kyousuke, you were gone for a month already!”

Kengo puts a hand on Riki’s shoulder. “Riki… being Sinnoh’s Champion is a big responsibility. You know that Kyousuke can’t blow it off just to spend time with us.”

“But…!” Riki looks between Kengo and Masato, who doesn’t meet his eyes. “Why aren’t either of you backing me up? He’s your friend too…”

“Riki, you didn’t let me finish.”

“Huh?”

Kyousuke fixes Riki with a serious gaze. “I have to go on another trip... but this time, I wasn't planning to go alone."

"Oh..." Riki shrinks in on himself. "So... You need Masato and Kengo to go with you too, this time...?"

"Not just them," Kyousuke cuts in before Riki can continue. "I want everyone to come with me - you and Rin, too."

“Eeeh? You... really want us to come along?” Riki glances at Rin, who looks as uncertain as he feels. “But you've never taken me or Rin with you on Champion business before! I mean… If it lets us all stay together then of course I’ll go, but… won’t we just slow you down?”

Kyousuke shakes his head. “Not necessarily. I believe that you and Rin can become capable Trainers.”

“Trainers? Wait, no, we could never be as good as you, Kyousuke!”

“Riki. Even with me, Masato, and Kengo protecting you, accidents can still happen on the road. If you and Rin want to come with me, you have to be able to take care of yourselves. Your Bonsly and Rin’s Chingling won’t be enough on their own. Rin, catch.” In a smooth motion, he tosses a Pokéball at his sister in a gentle underhand. Rin scrambles to catch it with a yelp, but when she glares at him he just grins. “In that Pokéball is a cat Pokémon from Alola called Litten. Your big brother crossed oceans and mountains to secure it for you, facing down giant Pokémon and inhospitable—”

“Shut up, idiot, you just called in a favor or something.”

“Gkh—!” Kyousuke flinches.

*Looks like Rin got it in one. Well, even so…* Riki glances at Rin, who is clutching the Pokéball protectively despite her harsh words. *At least she seems happy.*

Kyousuke rallies. “As for Riki, I have a choice of Pokémon for you.” He takes out a pair of Pokéballs this time, holding one in each hand. He raises the Pokéball in his left hand. “First is Piplup, the Penguin Pokémon. It’s a fast swimmer, and evolves into a Water and Steel-type Pokémon which can slice apart ice floes with its wings.” He lowers his left hand, and holds up his right instead. “Your other choice is Turtwig, the Tiny Leaf Pokémon. Its shell is made of hardened soil, and it evolves into a Grass and Ground-type that shelters smaller Pokémon on its back.” He makes a grand sweeping gesture with both arms, or at least as much of one as he can manage while gripping a Pokéball in each hand. “The adventures I went through to retrieve these Pokémon are too grand for—”

“You told Professor Rowan it was for Riki, so he handed them over,” Rin retorts. Riki looks away at the mention of the Pokémon Professor.

Kyousuke droops, an aura of gloom falling over his eyes. “…Right. That.” For such a competent and energetic Trainer, he can be surprisingly childish when he doesn’t get his way…

“W-wait, no! This is just what I wanted!” Riki rushes up to Kyousuke and grabs a Pokéball out of one hand, throwing it in front of him. The Pokéball bursts open with a loud noise and a flash of red light, which resolves into the shape of a small tortoise on all fours. The light clears to reveal that the Turtwig is covered in green scales, with yellow splotches on its feet and a yellow lower jaw. It has a brown shell on its back, and a sprout with two leaves grows from another patch of soil on its head. “See? I’m really happy to be given a Turtwig!”

“Really? Even with what Rin said?”

“Yes, of course!”

“Then you’ll go with me?”

“I’ll do it!”

“Yahoo!” Any trace of his former sulk is gone as Kyousuke shouts with a boyish grin. “Alright then, you should get to know your Turtwig while Rin meets her Pokémon. Oh, by the way, Turtwig is a girl, while Litten and Piplup are boys.”

Riki crouches down to pet the Turtwig while Kyousuke moves on. Its scales are cool and firm to the touch, and when Riki experimentally pats its shell, he’s surprised to find that it feels moist. He looks up while Turtwig headbutts his palm affectionately. A short ways away, Kyousuke is showing Rin the proper form for releasing a Pokémon. She nods with a quiet jingle, winds up, and as her arm sails forward to release the Pokéball, the ball vanishes.

There is an “OWW!” and the sound of a Pokémon leaving its ball, and the group all turns to see Masato lying on the ground with a Litten standing on his face. Unlike most of its species, the Litten’s fur is white except for its whiskers and lower jaw, rings around its legs, and a vertical stripe in the middle of its forehead which branches into two horizontal stripes, all of which are red.

Kengo speaks up, impressed. “You got your hands on a shiny one?”

“I *did* say I went to lengths,” says Kyousuke, preening. “That said, Rin, we’re going to have to work on your control.” He turns to his sister, but she’s not listening, already following the Litten as it hops off of Masato’s face and trots a few paces away.

Rin sits down and offers her fingers for the cat Pokémon to sniff. After a moment, it rubs up against her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, um…” She looks up, uncertain. “He needs a name. What to call him…” Riki turns back to his Turtwig as Rin considers. He should probably give this one a name, too. He watches as it and Sly investigate each other, and pats the base of the sprout on its head, feeling the dampness of the soil.

“Alright, then. It’s nice to meet you, Terra.” The Turtwig looks back at him and cocks its head. “That’s your name now, okay? Terra.”

“Kyousuke, help… I can’t think of any more names…” Rin’s voice makes Riki look up again. She seems genuinely distraught. Well, that’s only natural, when she’s named every cat Pokémon she’s come across for as long as Riki’s known her…

“Hm… Well, a proper name for a Pokémon is important. Alright then, I’ll name him for you. Litten, from now on you’ll be called…” Kyousuke makes a dramatic flourish at the cat. “…Lennon!”

Riki meets Kengo’s eyes as the latter suppresses a groan. For all the fuss he’s making about names, Kyousuke always just names his Pokémon after famous people.

“Now then, let’s get back to business.” Kyousuke clears his throat. “I’ve also brought some empty Pokéballs for you. You should make sure you put Santa and Sly in the first ones. Most of the time, you’ll only want to have one Pokémon out when traveling, and sometimes it’s better to have all of them in their balls.” He hands Riki and Rin five Pokéballs each. Rin holds one up to her shoulder, and after waiting a moment to see that Santa doesn’t back away, she taps the Chingling with the button on front and it disappears into red light. Riki does the same for his Bonsly. “And finally, a Pokédex for each of you.” He opens a slim black bag and pulls out an orange rectangle with a clamshell design. The left side of the Pokédex has a round protrusion coming out of the side, with a camera in the center. He hands it to Riki before pulling out a second one and giving it to Rin.

Riki flips his Pokédex open, revealing two screens. A D-Pad sits in the middle of the round protrusion on the bottom half, while the top half has a speaker in the same place. He presses the power button next to the bottom screen, and the screens light up. A smaller protrusion pops out of the right side of the Pokédex, with a rotary touch pad on it and a green circle in the center. The screen guides him through a setup process, then opens to a blank list.

“The Pokédex has a camera function to automatically record data on Pokémon you see, but you can also register one that you’ve caught for more information by holding up the Pokéball to that green lens.” Kyousuke shows Riki how to line up Sly’s Pokéball with the lens, and Bonsly’s information fills itself in on the screen. Riki withdraws Terra and registers its information while Kyousuke moves on to help Rin with the setup. “When the Pokédex is closed, it will turn off the screens to conserve power, so you should be able to maintain the battery life as long as you don’t forget to charge it whenever you’re sleeping indoors. As long as the camera can see from wherever you keep it, it will still register the Pokémon you encounter.”

Riki flips the Pokédex closed and pushes the protrusion with the lens and touch pad back into its protective casing. After a moment’s consideration, he slips the Pokédex into a breast pocket, with the camera just sticking out on top. “Then… When will we have to leave?”

“In two days,” Kyousuke says. “I was figuring tomorrow we can just relax and do something fun, and then we’ll help the two of you prepare for the trip before we set out.”

“Alright, then!” Masato slams his fist into his palm. “Now we get to the *fun* part! You two ready to start training?”

Kengo looks from Riki, stifling a yawn, to Rin, staring at her Pokédex like it’s a foreign language, to his Pokétch, proudly displaying the time as ‘12:00’. He puts a hand on Masato’s shoulder. “Maybe that should wait for tomorrow.”

By now, the park is totally empty except for them and the night-shift attendants. Kyousuke chuckles sheepishly. “Ah… right. Then let’s reconvene in the morning.”

As the friends file out of Amity Square, Riki glances back for a moment. It’s looking like he might not see it again for a while, but that’s fine. Where he is has never been what’s important to him. He looks at his friends again, Masato and Kengo playfully arguing over which will be the better teacher as Kyousuke and Rin stride ahead. As long as he can stay with the four of them, that’s all that matters.

#Little Busters!#Pokemon #fanfiction #Naoe Riki #Natsume Rin #Natsume Kyousuke #Inohara Masato #Miyazawa Kengo #Sinnoh #Gracidea Blossom

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gabirants · 3 years

Text

Taking a little break from my personal ranking to rant about the new Pokemon announcements.

I really loved playing Pokemon Diamond when I was younger. I still think to this day that it’s probably my favorite generation (though there’s certainly issues, for example the shortage of fire-types...), and I’ve been hoping for a DPP remake for ages. Had someone asked me before the trailers if I’d be ok with a Sinnoh game looking chibi, I probably would’ve been surprised since it’s not at all how I’d envisioned a Sinnoh remake previously, but I probably would’ve said “yeah, sure”.

But... this?

Why is it so awkward to look at? Why are her arms so awkwardly hanging out of her body?

Like... I’m probably I’m going to come around to this at some point. And regardless of the overworld appearance, the in-battle models (for the humans at least, still not sure about how the pokemon are looking...) are great, and the mechanics and familiarity of this generation will still be in full force, so even if I can’t get over the overworld models, there’s still enough parts of the game that are in touch with the original that I’ll be able to enjoy it.

But for god’s sake. There’s got to have been a chibi style that was better than what they went with. How hard is it to make a chibi style look “cute” and not like something from “Lego Girls”?

I did a quick google search of “chibi game models” and found this:

This is even so much better!! Giving them these kinds of proportions and slapping on Pokemon art style would’ve been great.

Let’s Go style would even have been fantastic.

But no, that’s not what we got. I understand that “oh, technically it’s being faithful to the original because the in-game sprites had the same proportions”, but... eugh. It’s not really that cute, it’s mostly awkward. I really, really hope it grows on me.

Anyways...

Legends: Arceus, on the other hand, looks fantastic! The style is certainly a lot closer to what I would’ve expected for a Sinnoh remake, but even without it scratching that itch, I have high hopes for the gameplay. The methods of catching and fighting with pokemon are, obviously, exciting and a much-needed breath of fresh air to the formula. Maybe if it goes well, it’ll even stick for future games. Maybe, maybe not. We’ll see.

The Feudal Japan-esque aesthetics are also lovely. Seeing “Dawn” (or rather, ancestor-Dawn...) in more traditional clothing did surprise/amuse me a bit at first, but it does look pretty good. I do hope that it doesn’t all have the colors seen in the trailer and in the image above, and there’s more varied landscapes than is implied thus far, else it will be... visually boring. Still, lots of potential.

The story (?) also seems exciting, or at least has potential. I love lore, much like the lore in the books around the original DPP, and if this goes well, it’ll be chock-full of it. When I played Diamond and got a (cheat coded-in) Azure Flute, going back to the Hall of Origin on pure whim and the sudden excitement of the Arceus sequence was thrilling. I hope that maybe something comparably intriguing/exciting, or maybe closer to Girantina’s sequence in Platinum, happens here.

I also initially thought that the pokeballs were just normal, modern pokeballs, and was disappointed, thinking “hey, in a game set in more ancient times, wouldn’t it make sense to have, for example, Apricorn-made pokeballs?” But then I noticed on my second viewing that yes, indeed, they’ve clearly got a less “modern” design.

I can dig it.

Finally, the “starters” (?) seen in the trailer were certainly a surprise, but not an unwelcome one.

I’m probably going Cyndaquil, but Oshawott is a great second choice. I dunno.

Either way, I just hope that the Chingling seen in the background of the trailer at 1:05 isn’t indicative of the final game. I sincerely hope it gets the time, polishing, and effort it desperately needs, so that this game doesn’t go from high expectations to ending up a massive disappointment. It would be great to reward GameFreak for making creative decisions like these going forward, but if it ends up a visually bland, slow, constantly-dropping-in-framerate mess.......

I do hope the overall positive reception that trailer has had so far will encourage GameFreak to really try to make it the amazing game that everyone’s hoping it’ll be.

#pokemon #pokemon diamond and pearl #pokemon brilliant diamond and shining pearl #pokemon legends arceus #gabirants

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weirdletter · 5 years

Photo

Terror Tales of Northwest England, edited by Paul Finch, Telos Publishing, 2019. Cover art by Neil Williams, info: telos.co.uk.

England’s majestic Northwest, land of rain-washed skies, dark forests and brooding, windswept hills. Famous too for its industrial blight and brutal persecutions; a realm where skulls scream and witches wail, gallows creak and grave-robbers prowl the long, black nights… An anthology of horror stories using the Northwest of England, its myths and legends, as their basis: The hideous scarecrows of Lune; The heathen rite at Knowsley; The revenge killings in Preston; The elegant ghost of Combermere; The berserk boggart of Moston; The malformed brute on Mann; The walking dead at Haigh Hall. And many more chilling tales by Ramsey Campbell, Stephen Gallagher, Sam Stone, Simon Kurt Unsworth, Cate Gardner and other award-winning masters and mistresses of the macabre.

Contents: Normal Bones by Jason Gould The Lost Lads of Rivington The Mute Swan by Cate Gardner The Resurrection Men Factory Rook by Simon Kurt Unsworth Night Falls Over Pendle Tights and Straw and Wire Mesh by John Travis The Lancashire Boggarts A Weekend Break by Edward Pearce Lord Combermere’s Ghost Writer’s Cramp by David A Riley Screaming Skulls Wet Jenny by Christopher Harman Land of Monsters The Drain by Stephen Gallagher Chingle Hell Only Sleeping by Peter Bell Of Gods and Ghosts Peeling the Layers by Sam Stone The Borgias of the Slums Root Cause by Ramsey Campbell The Horror at the Gatehouse Formby Point by Anna Taborska Hill of Mysteries Below by Simon Bestwick The Vengeance of Bannister Doll Old Huey by Solomon Strange A Vision of His Own Destruction The Upper Tier by Paul Finch

#book #anthology #terror tales #northwest england #weird fiction #horror fiction #ghost stories #folk horror #british horror

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ryandevon · 5 years

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Halls: decked. 🎄🎄 ———————— Two trees and a Delibird Express later - I’m killin’ these ho ho hos. ———————— #Christmas #PikachuTree #Pokemon #DelibirdExpress #Pikachu #Pichu #Eevee #Chingling #Dragonite #Plusle #Minun #AlolanVulpix #Scrafty #Munchlax #Slowpoke https://www.instagram.com/p/B5eLnNolvm_/?igshid=u4ecuysv1guz

#christmas #pikachutree #pokemon #delibirdexpress #pikachu #pichu #eevee #chingling #dragonite #plusle #minun #alolanvulpix #scrafty #munchlax #slowpoke

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bills-pokedex · 5 years

Note

My chingling's become interested in performing in contests after we attended one in Slateport City, but I have no idea where to begin. I've heard your editor is a contest vet, so I was hoping she might have some advice.

LH: The biggest thing you should probably know to get started is that contests are slightly different in each region. Oh, the format is usually very similar, but every region has its own culture, which means what judges focus on can differ from circuit to circuit. Since you’ve mentioned Slateport, I’ll assume you’re still in Hoenn, but if you’ve actually traveled to any other region with a contest circuit, I’d highly recommend taking a look at contest footage before signing up for your first contest. You can usually find a lot of footage online; contests are highly broadcasted.

That said, Hoenn contests focus a lot on moves than anything else. While every pokémon and coordinator needs to be presentable before they go up on stage, Hoenn is the region most likely to let someone enter a muk and not bat an eye so long as that muk can do something striking with its moves. So before you get to the contest hall, plan out your routine. Take a look at what moves your pokémon know and figure out different methods to combine them in clever or creative ways—ways that would make your pokémon stand out or otherwise shine. Remember that contest moves are meant to highlight a pokémon, so always focus making sure your combinations make your pokémon look amazing and never obscure them from view unless you mean to do that. All too often, new coordinators overdo it with their moves, which results in either their pokémon looking ridiculous or a combination so flashy the pokémon itself can’t be seen.

Also, remember that if you’re entering the general circuit, you’ll need to battle too. The secret is that the stage round (where your pokémon show off their moves for the judges) and the battling round are basically the same; it’s just that you’re using your moves in a practical manner against another pokémon. Even then, the moves you choose still have to highlight your pokémon in some way—that is, they have to be just flashy enough to make your pokémon look great, even as they fight. So the strategy is similar, but preparing for this round also requires you to maintain a clear head at all times. What helped me back then was sparring as often as I could with other trainers or coordinators. The more you and your pokémon practice outside of the contest hall, the calmer you’ll be on stage.

Another thing: I would recommend entering the themed circuit instead of the general circuit. Sure, the prizes aren’t quite as impressive as the ones you get from the general circuit, but the themed circuit is often easier. Not a lot of new coordinators realize this, but it’s true. In the general circuit, you’re given no theme, and you’re often pitted against veteran coordinators. The themed circuit, meanwhile, always gives you a theme (cute, beauty, smart, tough, or cool), which makes it easier to plan and train for the next contest you enter. Moreover, themed contests are always divided into skill levels, so if you’re not confident with your skills as a coordinator, it’s okay because you’ll be competing against coordinators who also aren’t ready for higher ranks.

As for preparation for a themed contest, just remember that different moves are favored in different contests. Take Ice Beam, for instance. It’s a gorgeous move that sparkles with a rainbow of colors if you use it right, so it’s favored in beauty contests. On the other hand, it’s not favored in tough contests because the judges aren’t looking for something that’s gorgeous so much as something that shows off a pokémon’s muscles and physical strength. It’s pretty easy to figure out which moves would do best in which contest just based on the way they look, but if you need help, there are definitely a lot of databases online made by coordinators who kept track of how the audience or judges responded to different moves. Feebas.net, for example. They not only have an entire part of the site dedicated to indexing every move and how well they’re received, but you can also find videos of contests from practically every circuit.

Reviewing other people’s contest performances is actually a really good idea, by the way, and I would recommend doing that before you enter your first contest, as well as whenever you have spare time. That way, you can pick up tips and incorporate them into your own preparations, or simply learn what to expect in your next contest.

Finally, contests are ultimately performances, but don’t let the pressure of an audience unnerve you. Take a deep breath as you go on stage and clear your head. I always felt that focusing your gaze on one judge helps ground me. It reminds you that you’re working for an audience but blocks out everything but that one judge.

Most of all, break a leg!

#asks #our world #lh ask #from the editor #Anonymous

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