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Brains over Brawn.
Bedlam Ridge (Free For All Zone)
The Temporary City Zone
Goldenridge City was founded over two hundred years ago as a result of the discovery of gold and other valuable minerals nearby. Over time the prosperous mountainside grew and developed, run by the Goldenridge Council, a quintet of like-minded individuals who sought to expand and grow the city with the riches within the open quarry mine. All was well and good, and the city seemed poised to become a central hub of trade within the region.
Alas, all good things come to an end, and the talons of Mammon would touch the hearts of the council. Debates on the use of the wealth soon led to infighting, and inevitably the scuffle led to three of the five laying in a pool of their own life oil. The surviving two fled to their own wards in Goldenridge, and the vacuum of power was never filled. Without the council to direct the laws of the land, the city descended into anarchy and riot.
The citizens who never fled found themselves trapped in the midst of a great turf war between two main factions: The Shells, outcasts of a sector of Team Rocket who reneged on the criminal group to strike out on their own, headed by Marquis Rigel von Argentus, one of the two surviving council members who bloodied his hands on his fellow peers. The Ribs, common thugs who revelled in the sudden turmoil and turned to hooliganism and looting, building their own fortunes off of others, commanded by a female known only as Piper.
The Goldenridge Marshals are the struggling police force trying to bring both the Shells and Ribs down, and restore order to the city under the orders of Lieutenant Kyle Vicefeder, who made the grisly discovery of the fall of the council. Elsewhere, the local population struggle with life under the chaos, be it theft from the Ribs, extortion and conscription from the Shells or trouble from other menial crooks seeking profit and fun in the decaying city now known only as Bedlam Ridge.
Will you be the one to join the fight against the gangs, or will the temptation of culture sway you to try and contribute to the conquest of the city by the Shells or Ribs? Or perhaps you may simply want to try and find fortune wherever it may be, one thing is for certain: You'll be in for the ride of your life, here in Bedlam Ridge.
Marshal's Headquarters (Marshals): Situated in the relatively stable north, the headquarters of the police force is a large compound with tight security, home to the Goldenridge Marshals in their fight to restore the name of Goldenridge to bedlam. The force has recently started a campaign against the Shells and Ribs, seeking to push them out of the city once and for all, and are willing to accept mercenary support from trainers willing to help out in the fight. The reinforced location seems to be more attractive to pokemon who enjoy a sense of justice and honour. Reply in Silver.
Crystal Grove (Neutral): The upper-class section of the city has escaped most of the havoc that has plagued the others, due to its relative proximity to the Marshal's headquarters to the north-east. However, the southern end has seen some raids by the Shells, and the nobles have been troubled by their increased activity, and would be willing to allow those they deem worthy to help put an end to the rabble. The grove's natural plantlife and suburban gardens seem to attract forest pokemon more often than other sections. Reply in Magenta.
Crimson Sanctum (Shells): The once tranquil and revered Chalice Sanctum was conquered by the Shells when chaos erupted, and the cathedral sector is now under their iron grip. Located to the south-west, the expansive building complex is now a stronghold of the group, who seek to swoop into the vacuum of power and place their leader as undisputed Grand Duke of Goldenridge, at any cost. Their ruthless nature and determination means trouble for those who would cross them, but for those who wish to make something out of their deeds would be rewarded well. The link to the old Rockets means that some of the more dubious pokemon hang around the sanctum. Reply in Scarlet.
Bedlam Quarry (Neutral): Hotly contested by both the Marshals and the Ribs, the Goldenridge Quarry is the source of the gold and minerals that gave life to the town, and as such is highly valued as a source of funding for all groups. Found in the north-east, the open-cast mine goes deep into the mountainside, and there are still riches to be found as long as one is careful given the turmoil within. The miners have since fled, with only the foolhardiest and toughest remaining to maintain the machinery and extract minerals. The mountainous terrain is a haven to pokemon who enjoy the rocky locale, and there have been sightings of greedy pokemon too. Reply in Beige.
The Ribcage Mall (Ribs): To the south-east, the once-gloroius shopping district has all but collapsed into a hoodlum's haven of cracked windows, spray paint and the very home of the rebellious Ribs. Many of the stores have been long ransacked and looted, and the very air around the location is one of unease, with each corner potentially hiding a thug ready to leap out and rob you in broad daylight. The Ribs care not for domination and running the city, but rather see it as their playground and wish to expand into other locations, at the behest of their boss. Those who wish to try the life of a street gangster would do well to check the area out as they are always welcoming to new members, though crossing them will leave you in a sticky situation. Despite the state of the place, many urban pokemon have made the mall their home, enjoying the organised medley of craziness. Reply in Cyan.
Shanty Heights (Neutral): As with any city, upper and lower class are divided, and to the unfortunates of the Shiny Heights sector to the south, the Shells and Ribs have made the location their battleground. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, the people of the christened Shanty Heights struggle through life, trapped on all sides with their lives and livelihoods at stake, whether it be from the ruthless Shells or the rascally Ribs. What they do possess is companionship, and a yearning to flee the city as refugees, and will be willing to give whatever it takes to ensure their freedom from the bedlam. The pokemon who call Shanty Heights home are those who possess what the people do not: Freedom of movement and little worry for the battles around them. Reply in Violet.
The Bastion of Vacuous Dreams (Neutral): The centrepiece of the city located fittingly in the middle, the Bastion of Dreams was the main government building, stretching into the skies, and where the Goldenridge Council met their bloody end. The enormous structure yet stands, but no side dares to contest for the obvious vantage for fear of what lies within. Legends state that the building was constructed above and around a shrine to a creature of unknown origin said to sway the minds of those who happened upon it. As a result, it is largely abandoned, and many of the valuable documents within are up for grabs, though rumours have it that the final survivor of the council resides within, watching the world crumble around her, with an enigmatic force keeping her safe. Even the deities know not what pokemon are brave enough to reside within, but one thing is certain: those who have ventured in...have never emerged again. Reply in Dark Green.
Zone Rules/Guidelines:
1: Bedlam City is first and foremost a free-for-all thematic zone, which is to say that anyone can participate and anyone can update.
3: For those updaters there who wish to discuss the direction and scope of the zone, contact me, but take into consideration that the adventurer's path is ultimately in YOUR hands. Given the potential of story development across the city, finished adventures may lead to changes within the zone that may affect other adventures, but the zone, above all else, is for the enjoyment of the public. Anything that may encroach on a partial Henderson on the Henderson Scale of Plot Derailment is perfectly acceptable, as long as that partial Henderson doesn't grow into a full Henderson.
4: With regards to the above rules, do as you wish and have fun.
Currently CLOSED to new entries.
Last edited by Raves; 01-01-2019 at 05:04 PM.
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Last edited by Nerd Violence; 04-19-2017 at 09:19 AM.
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Kawaii had heard about the bedlam and her first thought was to help those who did not choose to fight. In this case her first thought was to bring her strongest pokemon just in case. She was hoping to help with the escorting the towns people out of the war-zone.
She brought her companion Frieghya the Espeon to help keep the villagers calm and as her first line of defence. The only other pokemon she had out was her Whimsacot Cerno. He was the second most powerful pokemon on her team and also had some good effect moves to use. She did have some backup but they were not as powerful. She hoped she would not run into any trouble seeing that this was a zone of fighting after all. There was the off chance that she would run into wild pokemon that she could catch (i.e. not ones from alola) but that was the least of her worries
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Last edited by kawaiiconcept; 04-18-2017 at 10:43 PM.
Perpetual Masquerade
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 2,279
Then again, the Marshall was not incorrect in ALL of his assumptions. She had no intention of helping him... or anyone involved with the whole bloody mess, really. Crumpled leaflet dangling from her dainty hand, the small woman with short, frizzy hair and a spring in her step made her way to Bedlam Ridge, but the good Lieutenant would have to find someone else to join his crusade. No strong ideals motivated her, no rousing words would move her... but idle curiosity was sufficient to sway her steps toward the ominous, crumbling Bastion, and the wealth of secrets held within. Ffion imagined that if the ill-fated council saw fit to construct such a building for themselves, they must have been the types of folks who wanted others to feel small by comparison. The thought that someone like her, with no strong connections or prospects in this land, would likely be unwelcome at any other time - that was really the only motivation she needed to seize this opportunity.
Of course, waltzing through the front door was a surefire way to invite unnecessary trouble. She would have to find a way in that would escape immediate notice... At least that would buy her a bit of time to get a sense of what possible threats could be lurking within.
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Last edited by Marion Ette; 04-18-2017 at 09:15 PM.
His name is Goggles. :)
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One such Trainer was riding in right now. Yes, riding in- for Keith Masters, riding on the back of a dark grey, red-eyed Scolipede, gave a formidable first impression. And those who took him on in battle would know this first impression to not be mistaken in the slightest.
"Ehhh, does we gotta go out ta Bedlam Ridge?" whined the Meowth on Keith's shoulder.
"Hey, we're trying to help out this region," Keith reminded Meowth. "And Goldenridge City is part of this region. If we can help restore order to Goldenridge, there's hope yet for the rest of Fizzytopia."
"Yeah, youse gots a point," Meowth conceded. "But takin' on dese two rival gangs?"
"Excuse me," smirked Keith. "Might I remind you who you're talking to? I caught the Vampire of Cadaver Forest. I restored the legendary Celebi's faith in humanity. I freed Aduro Island from Heatran's tyrannical rule. Now, I'm not saying I can restore order to Goldenridge, and I'm certainly not saying I can do it by myself, but with what I said in mind, Meowth, do you think I got a chance of being some sort of help to them, at the very least?"
"...Yeah," Meowth nodded. "Alright, so, we gonna get dere soon?"
"We should, yeah," Keith nodded back. "Salazar's making good time, I think I can see Crystal Grove in the distance. Alright, Salazar, that way," he stated, pointing at the buildings in the distance.
"Scoli!" nodded Salazar. The Scolipede picked up the pace, and continued onward towards Crystal Grove.
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A light rain began to fall, clouds swirling overhead as the Trainer, her trusty Emolga on her shoulder, arrived in front of the building. A Misdreavus appeared beside her, a look of particular concern etched into its face.
I still think we should not have come here at all...besides the fact that we're about to go into a place that supposedly no one's left alive before, this entire city puts me on edge. I felt we were being watched during that bit in Shell territory, anyway. its voice echoed in Heather's mind, the redhead sighing. As obtrusive as Grace could get with worrying for her safety, Magus' spooky senses consistently managed to make everything a bad idea in some way or another, and she was done listening to it for her part.
"If someone was going to watch or follow us, they certainly won't now that we're headed in here. Anyway. Grace, Magus, we're here to look for any important documents that we can recover from this building. Arceus knows what's gotten it this kind of reputation, but that's how we're going to help this city out. Are we ready?" Heather said, projecting an aura of confidence that the more observant would find to be entirely a facade.
"I still think this is a dumb idea, but I guess it's my job to keep you out of the trouble we'll find here..." the Emolga on Heather's shoulder remarked, crossing its arms.
If you were saying something about people not following you, get in there now. I sense we're being watched like we were before...Magus' voice echoed.
"Well, if you say so, Magus...let's head on in." Heather said, going up to the front door and making to enter the building.
Just who would be stalking me, though... Eh, its probably Magus just being spooky. If push comes to shove, Grace'll help. the Trainer thought to herself.
Join Date: Jul 2012
Posts: 2,036
Where were you when you heard that the city was in anarchy? That's a question Jade never expected to hear or ask. Bedlam Ridge was a pitstop in her journey, as far as she was concerned. While the city was booming, and the gold jewelry was stunning in every local shop, Jade didn't have the money to live here. Besides that, she didn't trust Maxwell to not lead her Pokemon into trouble in the bustling streets, ripe for petty thieving. Maybe that would be good for her little family, though. Cities were bound to have more adventure than the small towns she had been passing through, and her art would probably sell better in the city.
Bedlam Ridge couldn't hold those dreams any more. This place was too broken for her to imagine a future in it. She was in Shanty Heights, visiting a poor family she had met the day before; a middle aged couple with a daughter. Jade was in the small apartment, a cup of tea in her hand and talking to the couple about being a Pokemon trainer while Alice and Euen played on the floor with the kid. The TV, playing some talk show at low volume, sputtered out a message for the city from the Goldenridge Marshals to stay indoors. Jade stood up immediately, as the couple watched the TV in shock as it relayed the death of the council members and the disappearances of the other two. Euen rolled to Jade as Alice looked up, confused and nervous.
"C'mon you two. We've got some heroics to do, alright?" Jade said, lifting two Pokeballs from her bag. She committed herself to find the other two council members; maybe she wasn't the best for the job, but her team was crafty. She never thought they would reveal themselves, especially those guilty of murder. While she wouldn't take the side of either gang causing chaos in the city, the Shells were the enemy and von Argentus holding power was the worst thing she could imagine.
While Jade wasn't the type to go after the head of the hydra, she had to do something. Her time since the chaos started has been spent in Shanty Heights with her team, escorting refugees out of the city and listening for rumors to pass on to the marshals. At some point, Max had snuck out and stolen a pamphlet from the Lietuenant and, while Jade never had a meeting, she considered herself strongly allied with the marshals.
Today, she was sneaking into another apartment building to look for refugees or lost Pokemon belonging to trainers. Maxwell followed behind in a black hoodie Jade kept in her bag for him; something about his bright orange coat wasn't conductive to stealth. She hadn't heard gunfire for a while as she sat behind a dumpster around the back of the building, waiting for a good chance to come around and sprint into the building.
Dance till you're dead~
This wasn't his first time in Goldenridge City. He had been travelling to and from the city for the past few months now, to meet with the police. It wasn't his idea to get them involved - if he could have his own way, he'd ask them to drop the case for good and let him move on. But he couldn't do that. What would his parents think if he did? They wanted justice, thus they were going to get justice irregardless of whether Michael wanted to or not. So he just had to smile and go along with it. The breeder yawned, his head drooping a little. He had not slept that much last night, or the night before, or the night before that. The impending stress of today's events had haunted his dreams each night. Dikune offered to eat them on multiple occasions, but Michael turned him down. He didn't want to worry the Hypno. He'd handle the stress on his own. His eyes felt so heavy today though. He mindlessly wandered the streets as if on autopilot, his mind a millions miles away...
Maybe it was because he wasn't paying attention, or maybe he just subconsciously wanted to be anywhere else, but whichever it was, it had lead Michael completely the wrong way. Instead of North, he had been going south instead, and now he found himself deep in Ribs country. Michael silently cursed himself - how could he be so clueless? By the time it'd take to get back to the Police Headquarters in the north he'll have missed his appointment with the police!
Michael pulled a cyberball from his belt, and tapped the opening mechanism. The ball clicked open, and a red beam of light emerged from within. It formed itself into the shape of a Panpour, who immediately jumped up to sit on Michael's shoulder.
"Blue, I don't know how to tell you this, but I think I've gotten us lost again." Michael confessed, before giving the monkey a cheeky grin.
"On a scale from 1 to 10, should we go find something else to do?"
"Hmm, 12!" Blue replied, laughing. Michael laughed too, before taking a look around. Apparently he was at the old mall. It definitely looked the part, what with all the cracked windows and cool looking graffiti adorning the walls. A rational man would give the place a wide birth. Michael wasn't a rational man. He and his Panpour entered the mall without a care in the world, intrigued by the level of destruction within. He just had to find out what happened to everything in there!
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Last edited by Whimsy; 04-19-2017 at 05:08 PM.
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Last edited by Nerd Violence; 04-20-2017 at 06:42 AM.
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It was after Lucas had read one of these flyers that he had decided to look up the locale. He had never heard of the city of Goldenridge before. Granted, he was barely able to pay attention to names and the like as well. For all his Pokémon knew, they may have very well passed through it on more than occasion. Online information was riddled with the news updates about the city and Lucas was hard pressed to find anything significant about the place that would have interested him. That is, until he came across the myths of the Bastion. They were myths mostly, ghost stories people told each other after the bloody massacre of the council members, but Lucas cared little about the divind line between myth and reality, especially when it came to treasure.
Youre falling behind again, Lucas called back to his Gallade. Rags was disquietly sauntering behind his trainer, taking tentative steps in the hopes that doing so might get his trainer to give up and go back. From the get-go, he was against his trainers wishes to visit the city, largely because he was planning to take advantage of the chaos and loot the government building as opposed to helping the marshalls restore peace to the city and supporting the victims. Immoral didnt even begin to describe his stance about his trainer.
Gal, gallade. (You know its not too late.) Rags said upon approaching his trainer.
Not this again, the trainer said annoyed. The two had grown up since they were both a kids. Their shared experiences allowed for the two of them to understand one anothers emotions, an ability that was not lost when Rags evolved from a Ralts to a Gallade. Though lately, their mental link weakened as a result of their differences. We discussed this at the base. You didnt even have to come along.
But he did, or so Rags felt. Truth of the matter was that Rags had considered for a long time to abandon his trainer. Over the years the two had grown up it was Lucas who looked for adventure and came back with stories while Rags had to act his moral compass. Lately that chore had become more demanding than usual. Lucas appeared to have only gotten worse and Rags was getting fed up of having to straighten him out. The two had grown apart too much and they clearly had different ideologies. If Lucas was going to continue his blasé attitude towards morals and ethics, the Blade Pokémon might very well leave him.
Lade-allade, gal. Gal, gallade-gal, lade.(We can still go back to the police and help them fight the Ribs.)
No, he said firmly. Now come on Rags, a smile stretched across his face, last one there has to explain to Ms. Khan who broke the plantpot, and he set off at a pace.
Gallade gallade? (Did you at least bring other Pokémon with you?)
Dont worry about it, and he sped off towards the Bastion doors.
Gallade! (Thats technically not an answer!)
It wasnt much of a race; Rags only sped up at times to avoid losing sight of his trainer. By the time he saw the entrance doors he relaxed into his previous sluggish pace. Lucas was already waiting for him by the time he got there, surprisingly patient. The trainer was holding a familiar, red device in his hands, gently tapping the buttons one by one with his one hand, the other occupied by a cigarette that had nearly gone out.
Took you long, his trainer grinned as he put out the butt of the cigarette with his shoe.
Gal? (Ready to go?)
Almost, just give me a sec.
Rags was surprised at his trainers calm composure. Usually he would barge into a situation without thinking if it meant he got his hands on treasure. What on earth interested him more now than money? The Gallade felt a small twang between the two of them - a spark from their mental link and Rags wondered about his trainers true intentions.
The red devide Lucas was holding was a Pokédex Rags knew. He was there the day Lucas received it. The only reason he was given one was out of trust hed compile data on it from passing Pokémon. Thus far they had not lived up to the professors request. So was Lucas here to catch Pokémon? Rumours had it that a few had decided to take refuge in the abandoned building, though none had returned since. But if his trainers plan was to go in and catch a rare Pokémon he would have said so from the start.
Lucas continued going through the Pokédexs search functions and information slides. Rags felt another pang in their mental link, something Lucas didnt seem to notice. A small shot of understanding came through. If Lucas wasnt here to catch Pokémon, then perhaps The Gallade shook his head. Humans and Pokémon had gone missing amidst the chaos of city. Some may very well have taken refuge inside the government building as it was the only place in the city that none of the three factions wanted to fight over. Lucas may not have wanted to be involved with the citys conflict, but it seemed he was willing to help the missing victims instead even if he never would admit it. Perhaps part of him had rubbed off on his trainer after all.
Lucas pocketed his Pokédex and hurried through the Bastions entrance. Come on Rags, lets go find treasure. His smile reappeared across his face.
In that short moment, Rags felt his mental link with Rags restore itself to what it was, and in that moment he understood his trainers true intentions. You cant fool me.
Lucas face turned red. Apparently having understood Rags thoughts as clear as spoken words. I dont know what youre talking about, he spat as he turned his face away. He clapped his hand with fake enjoyment and called out to his partner one more time. So you coming or not? Lets see what kind of trouble we can get into.
Gal. (Sure) The Gallade picked himself up with renewed dedication to his trainer and followed him into the buildings empty hallways, guarding Lucas from any danger that might have lurked within.
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One thing you might notice, dear audience, is that there is no Hyrem in this picture. That is because Michael hadn't even told him of what he was doing...you know, him being in an area of ill repute, it might not have sit very well with his trainer. Besides, the less that he involved Hyrem in whatever trouble he was about to get himself into, the better. He wasn't planning on going in alone, however; at the forefront of the allies he brought along would be his trusted friends Brittany and Chex, with Chex currently outside of his Pokeball, although there were other teammates he could call upon should the need arise. In addition, should it come down to it, he could always ditch his human disguise as a last resort and battle as his true, ghostly form.
For now, he would appear as a human, in the appearance of his past life. And if anyone recognized him...well, he might not be able to control himself, but at least he would discover a potential target. Hopefully that situation wouldn't arise here, but he was ready for it just in case. Right now, however, he would merely wander the streets as he had no real clue where to go, but if he was in the right place he would have people to talk to in no time.
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Dance till you're dead~
Well, that wasn't exactly true. He did consider it, but it was very, very briefly and the thought had been dismissed as soon as it happened. His attention was instead drawn to the derelict state of the old mall. Shattered windows, torn up carpet, graffiti as far as the eye could see - it all came together to paint a portrait of ruin that was almost as beautiful as it was horrifying. Even the light itself had been desecrated, shining through a skylight that had also, somehow, been painted over. There was so much to take in that Michael didn't notice that he wasn't alone in the Mall at first. Only the nervous chattering from Blue would snap him out of his reverie and bring his attention back to the room.
He couldn't quite count how many other people there were - if he had to guess, he'd say there were about a couple dozen. Each seemed to be busy doing something or other: drinking, playing cards, one woman was even knitting. But one thing was for sure - they weren't exactly too pleased to see him. One man had even picked up a baseball bat!
"The fuck is this?" the knitting woman asked. The tension in the air was almost palpable. The duo were outnumbered and outgunned. Even if they wanted to escape they'd be overwhelmed in no time. Michael could feel Blue's grip on his shoulder tighten. The normally laid-back monkey was almost trembling in fear. Michael gave his companion a reassuring headrub, before turning back to the woman with a confident smile on his face. Time to do what he did best.
"This? This is just a man with a monkey and a whole lotta time to waste." Michael could almost feel Blue's look of disbelief boring into him, but he didn't let it stop him. If there was one thing he was good at, it was talking his way out of trouble. Well, that or talking his way into trouble. He could never really tell half the time. Michael took a couple small steps forward, unfazed by the looks he was getting. He heard a Poké Ball expanding somewhere beside him - looks like they weren't convinced.
"Hey, hey! No need to get all antsy! We're just looking for some fun, not a fight!" Michael continued.
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The pink-haired trainer turned her attention to the woman addressing her, "I'm originally from an isolated region but I came here to expand my skills. I came here specifically to help the innocent escape the fighting." she explained. The reaction of the little girl had brought tears to her eyes but she blinked them back before anyone could notice.
Thanks to my best friend Missingno Master for the banner
óÓÒò furry, witch, and pansexual.
Little (little age of 2-4)
Hater of loss meme
Little (space): someone who goes to a younger sense of mind to deal with stress and anxiety.
crazy in love with my boyfriend AcendedDailga
Pale Blue Dot
The streets and the ally ways of the mall felt like home. The graffiti and decrepit buildings were in a way beautiful and wondrous. Adjusting his beanie, Austin continued to wander the streets of the old shopping district. This was supposedly Rib territory, a gang that was similar to Alola's Team Skull. If they were truly like Skull, then perhaps their sense of family would be just as strong. Family has been something Austin has lacked for awhile, and even so he had his team, there was still a hole in his heart.
He took a sip of the frappe he bought earlier, Austin looked around. The taste of matcha lingered on his tongue, and there were still some java chips in his mouth. Seeing no one around, he sat on a piece of rubble nearby. He scratched his head, and saw a small strand of orange hair come back with his fingers. He needed to use more conditioner. It was a while since he last dyed his hair too, so that's a problem. At least he's come out of his shell a lot more. He doesn't wear the mask anymore, able to get some cosmetic surgery done within the previous year. In a way, it allowed him to open up more. And that's why he came here, to open up more. Hopefully he'd be able to find a Rib soon. Getting up, he continued wandering the streets.
Perpetual Masquerade
Join Date: Mar 2012
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The mind loves the unknown...
Even with this renewed resolve, however, there were the ominous myths to contend with. Of course, they were only myths... but there's something about the way the heavy, gold-plated doors hang out of their hinges, pulled open as if their immense weight were immaterial to those who broke through, the dark, yawning expanse within the entryway, and the shimmer of promised wealth within suffocating darkness that lends some credence to the whispered tales. As the light sensors trigger upon recognizing movement in the entrance hall, the area floods with artificial light, oddly still functional after a year of abandonment and the scene is laid out before Lucas and Rags.
Excessive displays of wealth define practically every architectural and decorative decision within the Entrance Hall, from top to bottom; a golden sky stretches over the pair of adventurers, with silver clouds carefully molded atop the ceiling, surrounding a giant, glittering yellow sapphire and citrine sun with flecks of gold to accentuate its brilliance. The large, heavy glass windows, strong enough to repel bullets, are framed by thick silk curtains with incredibly detailed stitching of various Pokemon in lifelike poses. Each mother-of-pearl tile on the floor beneath them features a very intricate, hand-etched Meowth, with a tiny, individually-carved, inlaid gold coin on its head. Just a small piece of the ceiling, or a tile from the floor, could fetch a good price back home. A number of pewter stands scattered around the foyer have been knocked over, the valuables displayed upon them missing, but even the stands themselves (if one was willing to carry them, given their weight) could fetch a decent payout... Some even appear to have silver accents and etchings.
But even all this finery cannot compare to the pièce de résistance, which stands at the very center of the entrance hall an off-set statue of a classy looking gentleman in his mid-40s, plated in silver. He stands beside a pair of jeans sculpted in amber, with curls of hair falling past the knees and a feminine hand still posed on the hip the rest of the sculpture, above the waist, lying in shattered amber fragments around its feet and spread all the way towards the right-hand staircase. Indeed, there appear to be fragments of gold, bronze and marble littered across the floor, all around the statues' feet, indicating perhaps that more figures once stood in this centerpiece... probably about five in all, including the one and a half present. By the right heel of the amber statue appears to be a crumpled human figure with long, dark-brown hair, lying face down in what appears to be a giant, sticky, dark red splotch, a shade darker than the clothes the figure wears. White marks cover the figure's shoulder blades, and a yellow ring appears to be painted around the head. A Pokeball lies close to the outstretched right hand, while the left is held at the neck, from where the splotch radiates. Part of the artwork, perhaps...? But judging by the horrific stench lingering in the air, such a judgment would be wishful thinking at best.
The foyer is ominously silent. If there is anyone else present, they have not made their presence known to Lucas or Rags.
The next step is yours. Tread carefully.
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Last edited by Marion Ette; 04-21-2017 at 10:23 PM.
I make cryin' babies weep
Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 2,243
Krow. A curt caw jolted the mesmerized trainer out of his stupor. Landing on a crumbling mass nearby, Chord shouted another call to get his trainers attention, straining his voice to emphasize his tedium.
Look, Im sorry you got bored up there, but Id rather you suffer through a little flying than get jumped by any of those thugs, Spark responded as he returned to his trek towards the tower, passing right by the irritated Murkrow. Not a second later, an ear-splitting explosion detonated in the distance, followed immediately by a resounding cacophony of gunfire and screaming. Even though none of the violence was near the edifice thanks to the stigma surrounding it, the sheer magnitude and suddenness of the noise caused the two to flinch in shock. After a few moments, the current spell of street warfare had died down, but it was obvious to the two that it would only be a matter of time until the next turf war would begin. Recovering from the aural bombshell, Spark shook his head and pressed onwards down the litter ridden street.
Murk, Chord grumbled, reluctantly catching up to Spark and perching on his shoulder, a peeved expression plastered on the birds face.
Complain all you want. We arent going home any time soon. Even if theres nothing left here, I want to make sure thats the case before we go. But given whats happened who knows whats waiting inside, Spark wondered, a robust sensation of anticipation swelling in his chest as he turned his attention back to the imposing bastion. Ignoring Chords annoyed grumbling, Spark readjusted his backpack and kept walking straight ahead.
FB Profile | ASB Squad | WF Quest Log
Brains over Brawn.
The havoc commences.
I'd like to welcome Missingno. Master and 134/Tate to my fold, and it'd be my enjoyment to give the two of you something memorable. I'm aiming for one or two updates a week, given college will be returning fairly soon for me. That said, the wait is over.
And I'd like to reiterate to others here thay you're free to take up others if you wish.
The Ribcage Mall
134: The skies were full of clouds of moisture as though Kyogre yawned and breathed the very blobs out, as your displeasure at the rain had led you to panic through the silent streets, Kakahai less than impressed with your position while ignoring the drizzle. You had stumbled upon the city on your travels, yet misfortune had it that the settlement was in a state of uproar and discord, and you found yourself in a rather rundown part of the city.
Your single-track mind ignoring the surroundings, your sight drifts to a structure, abandoned and decrepit yet still standing strongly, a fortress against the weather, though you fail to recognise or even notice the sprayed murals dotted across the war-torn landscape. Rushing for safety through the rear of the mall, your collision with the door and then realisation the door pulled only made you feel sheepish. Your Vaporeon, giving a slight roll of the eye at your terrible attempts at humour, starts to paw at the door, and you receive the hint as your clothing starts to yield to the constant downpour. Giving a gentle but firm tug of the handle, your heart rises as the door begins to creak open...then sinks swiftly as you open it an inch before a thick chain snags, a rather loud rattle echoing into the hallways, leaving you stuck outside.
Not to be perturbed, you shake at the door, rattling the chains in the hope of someone coming, taking a glance behind your drenched form in hopes of attention, which is when you notice the many, many tags sprayed, what appear to be a set of four vertically aligned circles, bottom open and ends tapered, connected to a strip with an hourglass repeat. Suddenly concerned for yourself, a sudden thicker raindrop lands on your shoulder, though on inspection is revealed to be a white and dark streak, droppings only familiar to...
Looking up, your eyes catch the rear end of a small grey object, which then turns around, big yellow eyes on the small pigeon connecting with yours, looking at you with curiosity. The Pidove cooes at you, tilting its head at you as your bird keeper roots has your sunken heart suddenly aflutter, until the bird turns around and hops towards the building, out of sight. As you continue to soak, Kakahai hits your leg lightly, the Vaporeon alerting you to the faint echo of approaching footsteps, and a proper look into the door's window reveals more of the sprayed tags as whoever is within slowly approaches. You could wait it out in the rain for whoever is coming to arrive, but the tiny pigeon and the ledge, too high for you to reach by mere jumping, seems too tempting. To the left, you spot a pile of rubble and bricks that seem to form a makeshift staircase up to the ledge, which you could scale without too much trouble, though it would mean getting soaked, and there's no telling what's on the ledge without heading into the thick of the rain.
Wait for the approaching figure with no idea on their temperament, or climb onto the ledge and pursue the Pidove: What path will you choose?
Crystal Grove
Missingno. Master: You were no stranger to adventure at all, even in the circumstances which brought you to the city once known as Goldenridge. Astride your dark steed, the Scolipede's swift movements and great size serving you well in travel, and with your Meowth's complaints on the location shot down with your list of achievements in defeating disorder, you were confident that the Shells and Ribs would be no match for a man who could very well be considered for a spot on the Elite Four...if they were still in Fizzytopia.
Pointing Salazar in the direction of buildings, your first impressions of Bedlam City from the hillside road was inspiring to say the least. To the right, a magnificent cathedral structure hid the heart of darkness of the Shells, a group you had heard rumours of being an offshoot of your longtime nemesis. To the left, a militaristic structure that stood as the base of the Marshals, who were fighting to restore order and kick the criminals out of the city. Ahead, the gates of the Crystal Grove, your destination, with a colossal castle structure beyond it, giving you the feeling of unease just looking at it, despite the grandeur.
As your group entered the city, your eyes are drawn to the buildings. Masterfully constructed of the likes of granite, marble and sandstone, the noble quarter was resplendent with some of the most impressive gardens you have ever seen, with all sorts of wildlife in them milling around their daily lives. Bugs, grass types, even a few pond pokemon here and there. To the right, a gentle Torterra soaked up the sun's rays while a Beedrill tended to their Weedle, gnawing on the tortoise's tree leaves, though it did not mind. To the left, an artificial waterfall cascaded down rocks, with Lotad floating in the waters and unusual spidery pokemon skittered around, heads enveloped in an orb of water, the Dewpider playing around.
Riding past them, the Scolipede slows down to a trot as you and Meowth only then begin to notice the people in the grove are making efforts to put distance between themselves and you. A pair of women shoo their children to the side indoors, glaring at you with suspicion, while men close their window shutters, the feeling of alienation quite obvious. It isn't just the wealthy either, as the servants also make it their duty to get away from you and your steed. Was it you or your pokemon that was the problem?
This behaviour continues for a couple of minutes as clouds billow over the sun, rendering the area overcast as you come to a clearing, stopping to get your bearings. You had came here to help the city out, yet their distrust and apparent fear was unusual, and not due to social standing either. Stepping off Salazar, you and Meowth begin to discuss the problem when something suddenly zooms past you at alarming speed, whirling around you and Salazar before striking the ground, embedding into the cobblestone as a sharp pain erupts in your ankle and Salazar growls in pain. Glancing down, you spot a ring of energy around your leg and another around two of Salazar's, a spiritual chain extending between the ring and the object...a rather strong looking arrow formed of a feather of sorts. Attempting to move away from it, you get five feet before realising with dawning horror that you've been trapped - shackled, it seems.
A low croon from behind you fixes your attention to a rooftop, where a humanoid figure stands, clad in green and tan brown, with a colour exactly like the arrow. A swift consultation of the pokedex on this unidentified avian confirms it after a few long seconds of scanning to be a Decidueye, the avian's nasty gaze with those piercing eyes making it quite clear it's plotting something...and appears to have a bone to pick with you.
You and Salazar are for the most part trapped, though Meowth appears to be perfectly nimble as the bird hops down to a lower wall, preparing an attack. What's your plan?
His name is Goggles. :)
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Virbank City
Posts: 6,018
"Dewpider, the Water Bubble Pokémon. A Water and Bug-type," droned the Pokédex. "Dewpider lives in the water, though goes ashore to search for food. Its water bubble helps it breathe while offering protection to its soft head."
"I ain't neva seen Dewpider before," Meowth remarked.
"Yeah, neither have I," Keith agreed.
"Scoli," nodded Salazar.
Before long, however, not even as unusual a sight as Dewpider could distract Keith from the sort of welcome he was getting, for lack of a better word- for indeed, the welcome Keith and his Pokémon were getting from the locals was as warm and welcoming as a Regice's ass. "Yeesh," Meowth remarked as some women shooed their children indoors at the sight of them. "Is it just me, or do dey not seem happy ta see us?"
"It ain't just you, Meowth," Keith responded. "I mean, I can't exactly blame them for being wary of newcomers, considering what's going on, y'know? Salazar, stop here," he added as they came to a clearing.
"Scoli," nodded the Bug/Poison-type, coming to a halt so as to let his Trainer dismount.
"Alright, so... the question is, what are we gonna- WHAT THE-" Keith exclaimed, for as he started to try and discuss matters with Meowth, he was rather abruptly interrupted by something flying past him. Whatever it was, it whirled around both Keith and Salazar before stabbing the cobblestone path. As that happened, Salazar gave a pained growl, and at the same time, Keith felt a stabbing pain in his ankle. "GAH!" he exclaimed.
"Wat was dat?!" Meowth exclaimed.
"I dunno, but it felt super effective!" Keith grunted, looking at what had flown their way. It seemed to be some sort of odd arrow formed from a feather of some sort, and a few ghostly chains connected to it were binding it to Keith and Salazar. Both Scolipede and Trainer tried to move away, only to find that the ghostly bindings had them trapped. Before Keith could begin to panic properly, however, a sound reached his ears that made him whirl around, fixing his attention to a rooftop. More to the point, fixing his attention to the odd humanoid figure clad in tan and green stood. "Wha- what's that?!" Keith exclaimed, pointing his Koffing-purple Pokédex at the newcomer.
"Decidueye, the Arrow Quill Pokémon, and the evolved form of Dartrix," the device responded. "A Grass and Ghost-type. Decidueye fires arrow quills from its wings with great precision, allowing it to pierce a pebble over a hundred yards away. Its special attack is the Spirit Shackle."
"Spirit... Shackle?" Keith repeated, glancing once again at the ethereal chains what bound him and Salazar in place. As he glanced back up at Decidueye, the Pokédex continued.
"Spirit Shackle- Decidueye's special attack. Decidueye fires an arrow quill imbued with ghostly energy. This Ghost-type move inflicts damage and traps its target, preventing it from fleeing."
"Well, that explains a lot," remarked Keith, though his concern at the moment was with Decidueye- the adept avian archer made it clear by the look in its eyes that it had a bone to pick with Keith, and that it was about to try another attack.
"Meowth- you're a Normal-type, that's why Spirit Shackle didn't affect you," Keith remarked. "We're gonna need to battle Decidueye! Think you can do it?"
"Ehhh, guess I ain't got no choice," Meowth said shakily.
"That's the spirit," Keith said sarcastically. "Look, just get in there, OK? Use Icy Wind, then go in for an Aerial Ace! And as soon as you got a clean shot, see if we can't stun it with a good Zap Cannon!"
Big Fluffy Pancakes
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Under the Gay Cloud
Posts: 3,157
Speaking of the Ribs, you find yourself wandering into their territory, perhaps on purpose. You think of the gang's supposed similarity to Team Skull, wondering if they could offer you the sense of family you hadn't felt in so long. Even with your team beside you, there was something about a group of other people having your back that simply couldn't be replaced. Gazing around at all the graffiti tags scattered around the edifices, the broken windows resembling mangled jaws of glass, somehow you feel more at home here than you had at Virbank.
As you take a moment to rest on some nearby rubble and note to yourself to use more conditioner, you hear some shuffling from around a corner. Quickly turning to look, you see no one there. A light rain begins to fall on the area. Deciding that getting out of the rain is more important than some spooky noise, you decide to get up when you hear the shuffling sound again. This time, however, it's accompanied by a voice.
"Hey! You want some?" you hear, a girl's voice, a young one at that. You turn around to see a girl approaching you. She is fairly pale, with matte blue eyes-or at least, the one you can see is such a color. Her hair, a somewhat messy undercut, is jet black, and bangs cover her right eye. She wears a dull green crop top and short, worn denim shorts, complete with worn-looking gray crew socks, likely once white, and equally grimy tennis shoes. Spiked bracelets adorn both her wrists. She has a Poké Ball in her hand, and she doesn't seem happy with you. Suddenly, however, another voice cuts in as well, from the direction you'd just been facing.
"This is Rib territory, trespasser! You're not going anywhere now...besides with us!" it says nastily, the speaker stepping out from behind the other side of the building next to you, another young girl, probably friends with the first. This girl has a slightly darker complexion, her eyes a dull red, probably from contacts, with messy cornrows of a similar color. She wears a solid green dress mottled with mud spots and patches, with ripped-up striped knee socks and a similarly dirty pair of shoes. She also has a Poké Ball with her, and has just as fierce a look as her friend.
"That's right! Just give up and come with us, or there'll be trouble!" the first girl says, clearly confident in what she's saying. The two expand their Balls, ready to deploy their contents at a moment's notice, slowly closing in on you. Even though these girls look no older than 12, they seem to be with the Ribs, and they mean business. They don't seem like they'd be willing to talk, either, and they have you surrounded, leaving you with no safe means of escape. You haven't much time to make a decision...
What will you do?
Last edited by Heather; 04-23-2017 at 02:57 PM. Reason: removed signature
Pale Blue Dot
"Why should I come with you? Am I going to get punished? Tortured?" He sneered, chuckling a bit at the thought. He had gotten a lot more snarky in the past year. Anyone would when dealing with Marie. Speaking of the Gengar, he clutched her ball in his pocket. Wisp's was in the other pocket, and he had quick enough fingers to get both out if things started to turn ugly.
"Relax relax. I was looking for you guys anyways. You see I've heard about you guys. Somethings good, somethings bad. A lot of people compare you to Alola's Team Skull. And knowing anything about them, they treat each other like family. I don't want to fight, okay? I'd like to join. So if we could drop the hostilities and if you two could please take me to whoever is in charge, that'd be great," he responded in a much more calm, welcoming tone. It's always hard with people... But he had no one now. They were all gone...
Big Fluffy Pancakes
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Under the Gay Cloud
Posts: 3,157
The first girl hears your comparison of the Ribs to Team Skull and snorts. She makes a mockery of the Team Skull pose, before making a crude imitation of their manner of speech.
"Yo, yo, check it, I'm Team Skull and I can't even beat a tiny Diglett, cause I'm a big dummy like the rest of us!" she says, before both her and her friend double over in laughter. Apparently, this is a Rib injoke of sorts. Perhaps you ought to watch your comparisons in the future. When they finally calm down, the other girl pipes up.
"Sure, we run like family, but we're not a bunch of weaklings like those numb Skulls. If you wanna join up, you gotta show us that you're tough enough to make it here on the streets of the Ridge and beat the Shells right outta town! You know what that means!" she says, clicking the release of her Poké Ball, a Yamask materializing in front of her. Its golden mask is covered in dings and scrapes. The face on it is missing an eye, the mold of a large gash going over it instead. It's said a Yamask's mask resembles the face of who the Yamask was in life, and it would seem this Yamask had had some grisly experiences before it kicked the bucket.
"And don't think it's just her you're fighting!" the first girl pipes up again, doing the same with her own Poké Ball, a Carvanha leaping out from it, jaws snapping, a fierce glare in its eyes. It's jaws are wickedly sharp, and small spatters of a darker crimson decorate the area...blood, certainly. It seems quite eager to begin, perhaps even too impatient for a normal Pokémon...
You are challenged by Young Ribs Aimee and Tara, with a Carvanha and Yamask! What's your next move?
Pale Blue Dot
"Ladies, you know two on one isn't fair right? Anyways, you've been naughty kids, so I think I need to give you some punishment~" he cooed as he drew out Wisp and Marie's balls. He saw they already had their Pokemon out. A Yamask with a gruesome demise, and a ravenous Carvahna with blood-stained teeth. Perfect.
He threw the Poke Ball and Ghost Ball into the air. Out came a Litwick and a Gengar, who both seemed to be happy to see him. The Litwick tackled him with a hug, causing Austin to give it a small bat on the head. At this point, Wisp never feasted on him. The Gengar gave him a snigger and hten stuck out her tongue. She then cleared her throat, and started to speak.
"Hey Gingy, I was having a fun nap you know," Marie sighed, not even noticing her foes behind her. Austin sighed, then gave his answer.
"Sorry mother, we have a battle to do."
"Oh we do now?" she asked playfully before turning around. The girls seemed to be a bit surprised at a talking Gengar. "HEY! Didn't your mother ever teach you to not stare at strangers? Oh, what happened to your Pokemon? I didn't know that trainers were starting to put makeup on their Pokemon too now. Oh well, they'll be needing it once we're done."
"Marie that was too harsh," Austin responded, shaking his head. Wisp just gave the Gengar a stern look.
"Hey it was all in jest, orders sir?"
"Anyways girls. Time to play! Marie, how about we start off this match by giving the Yamask a nice Shadow Punch! Then a Night Shade should do nicely... Finish off by shooting a Confuse Ray to the fish. A fish out of water isn't fun now, isn't?" He ordered.
"Yes sir!"
"Wisp, let's assist Marie for a second. Trap the Yamask in a Fire Spin. No escape from the flames of judgement. Then let's make some tempura... fry the fish with Shock Wave, and then an Energy Ball!"
Let the show begin.
Big Fluffy Pancakes
Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Under the Gay Cloud
Posts: 3,157
"Life isn't fair, buddy! Ya better learn to deal with that quick if you're gonna be a real Rib, ya got that!?" She says, her Carvanha snapping in assent. She's right, you know: even the unfair is fair game in a gang war, after all. But you knew that already.
You shrug, and bring out two of your partners, a Litwick and a Gengar. You pat the Litwick on its head to get him off of your leg, the Ghost type turning to face its adversaries with a glare that looks more cute than anything else, at least to you. Your Gengar, however, is slightly less enthused to be outside, informing you that they were just napping. You tell them to get over it, for battle is nigh, and you are in need of her assistance, after all.
"A talking Gengar? That's weird." Tara says, slightly surprised, but not intimidated. Aimee is much the same, more curious than anything.
"Yeah, how'd you manage that, huh?" she asks.
Marie then delightedly rips into your opponents, metaphorically at least: shaming their lack of proper manners probably wouldn't do much to affect a gangster, but the Genger's quip about makeup sets Aimee off.
"That's not makeup! It's blood, Shredder here tore off a Yungoos' tail just yesterday!" she says, clearly meaning to make it sound as intimidating as possible. Perhaps it wouldn't be a good idea to provoke either girl any further-the Carvanha seems to only grow angrier, especially as Aimee does. Thus, you instruct Marie to belay her trash talk and prepare to fight, and give both your Pokemon their orders.
"Henchy, Imprison that Gengar then hit it with Payback! Finish with a Shadow Ball to the Litwick!" Tara orders.
"Shredder, Taunt that Gengar, then put the Litwick in a Whirlpool! End off with an Assurance to Gengar!" Aimee says, the Carvanha grinning, pleased to finally have orders.
The battle begins in earnest, Marie quickly floating over to the Yamask, Henchy, and delivering a shadowy punch right into its face. The opposing Ghost type begins an ominous chant, and a glowing black ring wraps around Marie, leaving her Imprisoned, unable to use any moves the two Pokemon have in common.
Wisp takes the opportunity to jump into action, conjuring a vortex of flame around the Yamask, leaving it singed for its every attempt to escape its prison. Henchy is fed up at this point, muttering incomprehensible curses between groans of pain, and its hands glow an ominous purple before twin bolts of retribution strike Marie dead on-a strong dose of Payback, as it were. Though the attack was executed, flawlessly, and Marie will be feeling the sting, it certainly wasn't devastating.
Shredder seizes the opportunity to jump in, mocking Marie's foolhardiness to simply rush into battle like that, Taunting her quite effectively. In anger, she attempts to use Night Shade, but the black ring's glow intensifies-it seems that move is sealed off for now. Frustrated, she doesn't even bother trying Confuse Ray-it's probably sealed off anyway, in her mind.
Henchy takes advantage of the confusion, launching a dark purple orb into Wisp, the Litwick grunting in irritation at the super effective attack. Wisp charges its body with electricity, loosing a potent Shock Wave into Shredder, who howls in pain and snaps its jaws menacingly. It's glare intensifies, and suddenly you notice that something's off about the rain. It has begun to intensify, and...swirl, even, and now you see it: the droplets concentrate around Wisp and coagulate into a Whirlpool, washing the poor Ghost-Fire Type in a circle.
Pleased with its work, Shredder looks towards Marie, who has a not-so flattering look towards the Carvanha. Entire body glowing black, Shredder lunges at Marie, the Assurance attack reacting to the prior damage, causing Marie a great deal of discomfort, but she shakes it off. Wisp concentrates on finding its footing, and charges an Energy Ball, timing its shot so as to graze the Carvanha's top fins. The piranha cries out once more, snapping wildly. Is this thing even under control!?
Wisp and Marie aren't badly damaged, though Marie is Imprisoned, and Wisp has a Whirlpool around them that only gets stronger in the rain...
What's your next move?
Fizzy Member Post: Mint Earhart
Pale Blue Dot
"You idiot you gonna just stand there?" Marie yelled, the Gengar's mood souring even more. Why was she always such a sourpuss. Whatever, he knew what he needed to do.
"Hey Marie, wanna know what the best way to relive anger is?"
"Shooting something?"
"No. Shadow Punch the Yamask three times. Let your fury consume you," Austin ordered, and he saw Marie smirk.
"Wisp, use Acid Armor to become one with the water a phase out of the Whirlpool. Cover the fish in a Smog before roasting both of them with Heat Wave!"
He could hear Wisp respond. It was a risky tactic, but no pain meant no gain, right? Besides, things were about to become... extra toasty.
Sayonara Bye Bye
Join Date: Feb 2017
Posts: 995
Meet me at
Spirit ★ World
Last edited by Nerd Violence; 04-25-2017 at 01:31 AM.
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text:
About "Feel Free"
Type of Vessel : Spencer 51, Hull # 1, cutter-rigged sloop, center cockpit
Length : 51'
Beam : 13'2"
Draft : 8' (externally mounted keel)
Year built : 1970
Port of Registry : Vancouver, B.C.
Gross tonnage : 28
Net tonnage : 22
Material : Fiberglass hull and deck (above turn of the bilge -- Airex core; solid fiberglass below turn of the bilge), with skeg-hung rudder.
Tanks : Single fiberglass fuel tank with 140 US gallon capacity, single fiberglass water tank with 130 US gal. capacity.
Builder : Spencer Boats Ltd., Richmond, B.C. Canada.
Machinery and propulsion : 4-cylinder, 70 hp Isuzu (fresh-water cooled); Shaft size 1 1/4" with hydraulic shaft break; Propeller- fixed 3-bladed bronze prop with left hand turn, 21" diameter, and 18" pitch; Yanmar 2.5 KVA air cooled diesel genset.
Ground tackle : 66-lb Bruce, 65-lb CQR, 35-lb CQR, 600-ft 7/8" double-braided nylon line, 300-ft 3/8" high-tensile chain.
Dinghy : 9' Malaysian, custom-built, hypalon inflatable; 2 outboard engines (8 hp Mercury and 3 hp Suzuki).
Deck hardware : Maxwell 2200 electric windlass; 13 winches; aluminum mast (57' above deck with double spreaders, stepped on the keel, 21' boom); Beaufort 8-person liferaft; Sayes Rig wind vane; Harken Roller Furler; running backstays; stainless-steel arch on stern; Furuno 16-mile range radar with scanner mounted atop mast on transom; 4 solar panels, putting out approx. 150 W of 12-volt power; hard dodger and bimini; hydraulic wheel steering (pedestal mounted).
Electronics : 2 handheld GPSs; 2 laptop computers; Brookes and Gatehouse depth sounder; Brookes and Gatehouse wind speed and wind angle indicators; Sea 222 SSB radio; ICOM VHF radio; Benmar 210 hydraulic autopilot; CPT autopilot (backup); BC 911 battery charger.
Down below : Forward double cabin with forward head and hanging locker; main cabin forward; walk-through passageway on starboard side leading aft to galley; engine room under cockpit; aft double cabin and aft head with shower. Aft cabin and galley, and head are aft of cockpit. In the galley, fridge and freezer with dedicated compressors; Force 10 three-burner propane stove/oven. Two Jabsco 3000 GPH bilge pumps; pressure water system; two Brydon head pumps; one manual bilge pump.
Toys : Ipod; 9-foot Malibu surfboard; scuba gear; World Space Radio.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Charles Langer Park
Marshall, Wisconsin 1 course · 28 holes Driving directions
Course reviews
Most votes | Newest first | Oldest first
+3 votes Dan Sinkey › November 21, 2012
Top notch champion course in a beautiful park in the middle of the country long open and tight woods great elivation all around challenging with great tees and good signs as you can see in Tony's pictures
+2 votes Bee Yang › March 4, 2013
This course has it all. From long open shots to short tight wooded shots. There are two pin placements and two different tees. The tournament tees placements are tough from the short tees and ridiculously hard from the long tees. Shooting even par from the longs will be a great feat. This course is the most balanced of the Madison Area courses. It is open year round so get out and play a round or two.
+2 votes Matt Hendricks › March 1, 2013
B-E-A-Utiful course. Well designed, nice change between open prairie shots and wooded tunnels. Elevated basket on 13 is a nice touch. Truly a Championship level course.
+2 votes Scott Zwicky › March 3, 2013
This is a new course, it is well balanced with open long and short wooded holes very technical with good use of elevation. It challenges all styles of throw, left handers, right handers, forhand and backhand alike. Some trip hazards remain but the course is well maintained. There is a bathroom, shelter and water onsite. Love it!
+2 votes Chris D. › March 12, 2013
Awesome course!!!! totally worth the drive out to Marshall. You play every Disc in your bag. A great mix through out the course. Long open prairie, tight thick woods. Don't forget about hole 19...
+1 votes Nate Nospmis › August 26, 2014
+1 votes ANTHONY CASSATA › May 13, 2019
this was a champion course but they have chopped out to many guardians,they have widened the fairways and overall have made it easy to play it is now just an average place to play so sad it used to be so much better. now it has gone to pay to play its even worse.
+1 votes Mikey R. › December 4, 2012
+1 votes David Whiteside › February 15, 2013
+1 votes Lucas Carriola › March 1, 2013
+1 votes Jim Hewitt › August 4, 2013
nice course but be sure to bring bug spray
+1 votes Lee Krysiak › August 4, 2013
Really liked this course! Great fairways, very clean and maintained. Plenty of long drive opportunities and more challenging holes that require some accuracy as well. Multiple tees' and basket placements,uphill and downhill shots. Looking forward to tournaments there. My advice: skip hole 19, lol.
+1 votes Aaron Goofy Mitchell › July 17, 2016
My favorite course we played during AM Worlds this year
+1 votes Jessica Naaf › July 2, 2016
+1 votes Winston MaHomes › June 9, 2014
Nice Park, Very Difficult, Lots of fun.
+1 votes Myron Waite › March 5, 2016
Beautiful course. One of my top 5.for courses I have played, before and after joining site.
+0 votes Sean Curley › February 18, 2013
Beautiful course. Probably the finest in the area. On my way out to play there right now.
+0 votes Mike Dahle › July 12, 2012
This was the 2nd time playing the course today.
+0 votes Mark Olver › September 10, 2012
+0 votes Erik L › February 12, 2013
+0 votes Tree 'd › July 29, 2014
Nice course! Super ROUGH rough, probably the tallest densest weeds/grasses I've ever seen. Try and stay on the green! Hole 19 is an amazing shot across the river to a peninsula. Coolest hole I've ever seen.
+0 votes Chris Covino › January 17, 2017
+0 votes Aaron Stone › August 8, 2013
+0 votes Jason Callen › August 23, 2017
Played for the first time this weekend. A little confusing to navigate but a beautiful course with 28 permanent holes now. Rough is serious rough, use a spotter and save a ton of time. Can't wait to go back.
-1 votes Alex Grimes › May 16, 2016
Half open crazy long holes half short wooded holes with very tight lines.
-1 votes John Murphy › March 18, 2014
Lots of pros and cons to this course. Pros: Challenging course layout, water, elevated basket, up shots, Elevation. Cons: Blind shot towards water, 6 foot tall grass on each side of fairway, once in the woods, the up and down hills get very monotonous. Path from tee to tee is confusing. I play this course once a year and am reminded why each time.


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Church of Sinai
The Church of Sinai is an autonomous Orthodox Christian church whose territory consists only of St Catherine's monastery which is located on the Sinai peninsula at the foot of Mount Sinai in present day Egypt. The church is headed by an archbishop who is traditionally consecrated by the Patriarch of Jerusalem.
The Church of Sinai owes its existence to the Monastery of the Transfiguration which better known as St Catherine's Monastery. The monastery's origins are traced back to the Chapel of the Burning Bush that Emperor Constantine I's mother, Helen, had built over the site where Moses is supposed to have seen the burning bush. Between 527 and 565, Emperor Justinian I ordered the monastery built to enclose the chapel. The monastery became associated with St Catherine of Alexandria through the belief that her relics were miraculously transported there.


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Sammy Shore currently performs his standup comedy routine in nightclubs and casinos across America, including most recently, Las Vegas, Reno, and Laughlin, Nevada.
Throughout 2009 Sammy performed his "Two Gals & a Geezer" show at the Tropicana Laughlin and performed regularly at Sammy's Comedy by the Shore, a comedy room named in his honor at the River Palms Hotel in Laughlin. For a full list of 2010 performances please see the Tour Dates.
Sammy's new book, The Man Who Made Elvis Laugh, can be purchased at amazon.com and all other book retailers near you. For details, visit elvislaugh.com.
Sammy Shore Is The Man Who Made Elvis Laugh
An American comedy legend who founded the Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip and was hand-picked by Colonel Parker to be Elvis' opening act during the King's infamous 1969-1972 "Comeback Tour" in Vegas.
Sammy Shore was voted as the best comedy act in Atlantic City by the Atlantic City Press.
"Keeps audiences in stitches and manages to evoke empathy, respect, tears and searing laughter …this is an eternal comedian."
– Back Stage West – Critics Pick
"Shore worked the place like he was thinking about buying it. And one could say by the end of the evening he owned the house."
– Nancy Chumin, Los Angeles Times
He's a hilarious little giant who is capable of filling a room with laughter…he possesses more than a mere funny bone…he has heart."
– Milton Berle
"Bob Hope was great, but Sammy Shore stole the show."
– President Gerald Ford


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Posts Tagged 'Fitoussi'
Austerity and Ideology
January 8, 2013 6 comments
Wolfgang Munchau has another interesting editorial on austerity, in yesterday's Financial Times. He argues that the US may become the next paying member of the austerity club, thus making the perspective of another lost decade certain.
Munchau's article could be the n-th plea against austerity, as one can by now read everywhere (except in Berlin or in Brussels; but this is another story). What caught my attention are two paragraphs in particular.
48.856614 2.352222


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- Read the Reviews
- Apple MacBook Air
- Sony Vaio Z Series
- Acer Aspire S3
- Samsung Series 9
Tablets dominate the headlines, but ultrabooks are nearly as light, start up as quickly, and offer the screens, keyboards, memory, and processing power of full-fledged computers. If you're in the market for a laptop, this is where you should be looking.
The Basics
What does ultra even mean here?
This category has settled on a nearly universal configuration, with only minor variations. In most cases, including our test units, you get a 13-inch screen, solid-state drive, 13 x 9-inch footprint, and maximum weight of 3 pounds. Compare that to the typical 15-inch laptop: 15 x 10 inches and 6 pounds or more.
What do I give up?
All but the essentials, which means no optical drive and a minimal collection of ports (usually just a couple of USB ports, a video output, and a headphone jack). Storage is generally less, since the hard drives are usually solid-state. And the slim profile often means awkward keyboards. Processing power can be stripped down, too. Oh, and there's the money: Expect to pay up to twice the price of a standard laptop with similar specs.
So what am I gaining?
Portability. Portability. Portability. The weight and dimensions make a bigger difference than you'd think. Unless you're rendering 3-D models or playing high-end games, the leaner specs won't hurt much. And since more and more of our data is moving to the cloud, the smaller drive isn't a big deal at all. You'll be fine.
Buying Advice
Ultrabooks aren't for everyone. Price is the major obstacle, and if you're usually tied to your desk, the cost might not be worth it. But if you spend the day hopping from client to client—or café to café—go ultra and don't look back. If you require high-end performance, make sure you get a Core i5 or i7 CPU. And pay close attention to the screen. While resolution is good across the board, brightness varies wildly. -- Christopher Null
Apple MacBook Air (2011 Edition)
When Apple launched its ultra-thin line of MacBook Air laptops four years ago, it seemed more like a gimmicky display of gadget porn than an eventual successor to the company's most popular portable computers. It was is if Steve Jobs was just showing his team's design mettle, subliminally singing showtunes to the other titans of Silicon Valley -- "Anything you can build, we can build thinner!"
2010's MacBook Air revamp was a considerable step in the product's evolution toward the mainstream. And the latest revision, made in 2011, raises the bar to a level we can safely peg as the first true "ultrabook" on the market.
First off, there's much about the MacBook Air that hasn't changed. It comes in the same two sizes, 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch, and it has the same all-flash storage options: 128 GB or 256 GB, plus a 64 GB option for the 11-incher. Price ranges from $1,000 to $1,600, and there's still no integrated optical drive, which Apple seems set on writing the obituary for, even if it's not quite ready to be published. Each model still only measures 0.68 inches in height, and their respective weights are also identical as before: 2.96 pounds for the 13-inch, 2.38 pounds for the 11-inch. And the 13-inch model still comes with a handy SD card slot on the right side.
- Read the Other Reviews
- Overview & Buying Advice
- Sony Vaio Z Series
- Acer Aspire S3
- Samsung Series 9
What makes 2011's refresh particularly noteworthy is that Apple, as it is long famous for doing, took a solid product and rounded the rough edges, so to speak, to make it even better and more appealing to a wider audience.
Most welcoming among the upgrades is the introduction of Intel iCore chips optimized with Intel's new Sandy Bridge architecture, which reach clocking speeds of up to 1.8 GHz and more than doubles performance. Also, the MiniDisplay Port on the right side has been removed in favor of Apple's new Thunderbolt, which is capable of transfer speeds 20 times faster than traditional USB 2.0. Perhaps more immediately useful is the reintroduction of the backlit keyboard, which was shockingly absent from the previous refresh and is the MacBook Air's killer re-feature. Battery life is decent -- the 13-inch model boasts some seven hours of juice, about 40 percent more than its 11-inch counterpart.
However, this svelte design doesn't come without a price. The MBA is so light that (unless you're really deft of hand) when you raise the lid up to open it, the bottom half actually comes off the desk, as if it were some scale-model see-saw on your desk. With the heavier 13.3-inch model, which weighs just under three pounds, this happens with almost every open-up. Sure, it might seem like a small gripe, but why should anyone ever have to use two hands to open up their laptop again?
And while it's been a staple of MacBook Airs since their 2008 debut, the continued absence of any built-in optical drive still means all your media comes via download or external USB storage. Lion's recent download-only launch only further cements Apple's anti-disc position. -- Erik Malinowski
WIRED Thunderbolt port, Sandy Bridge CPU provides unprecedented zip. Backlit keyboard a welcome re-addition. Unsoldered Flash chips make storage upgrade easy.
TIRED Optical drive RIP. No SD card slot on 11-inch model. Fan whines loudly under load. Extreme lightness causes frequent tip-backs when opening closed lid. You'll have to be careful you don't accidentally throw yours out with the recycling.
$1,300, Apple MacBook Air (2011 Edition)
Sony Vaio Z Series
It really is the Sony Way. Take a product that's been around for a while, soup it up, throw in every possible feature imaginable, and make it smaller and lighter than everyone else's machine.
Then double the price.
Such is the state of Sony's entry into the suddenly white-hot ultrabook space, a market experiencing a full-scale pile-on as a half dozen competitors all attempt to outdo the nearly three-year-old Apple MacBook Air.
If anyone's going to best Apple at its own game, it's probably going to be Sony, and for one reason: If you're looking at sheer specs, Sony has this round won with the new Vaio Z Series.
- Read the Other Reviews
- Overview & Buying Advice
- Apple MacBook Air
- Acer Aspire S3
- Samsung Series 9
Versus the 13-inch Air, the Vaio Z is faster (with a 2.7GHz Core i7 versus a 1.8GHz CPU on the Air), has better screen resolution (1600 x 900 versus 1440 x 900), and -- the critical measure for ultrabooks -- is a half pound lighter (2.5 pounds versus 3 pounds).
Those aren't trivial differences, and it's clear that Sony has spared no expense in bringing the Vaio Z to market. The benchmarks, at least the non-graphics ones, are exceptional, especially for a computer this thin and light. It's not a gaming machine -- what ultrabook is? -- but its PCMark 7 score was more than double that of the Acer Aspire S3.
But man does not live on specs alone, and the Vaio Z, officially the VPCZ214GX/B (again, the Sony Way), does have its share of problems. They start with the physical interface: The keyboard buttons have almost no travel, and the touchpad is a disaster. Not only is it incredibly small (with even smaller buttons), it is positioned way too far to the right, centered on the computer instead of centered with the space bar. It's so far out of whack that when your fingers are at rest on the "home row," your left thumb doesn't even make contact with the touchpad, and it blends in so well that even the backlit keyboard doesn't help to find it. It's baffling how a design mistake this glaring could have slipped through QA.
I'm not sold on the hinge design, either. When you open the Vaio, the rear hinge causes the base of the laptop to prop up a few millimeters. It's not enough to make any difference whatsoever to keyboard comfort, but it does make opening the lid with one hand much tougher, and it tends to grab on to anything underneath, dragging papers around your desk. Overall it just feels like an awkward and unnecessary design feature.
There is also some confusion over the Z's hard drive, which has been wrongly reported elsewhere as consisting of dual 128GB SSDs. The Z actually includes a single 128GB SSD with two controllers. This does seem to offer some performance improvement, but it's not in the same class as having real dual hard drives.
The Z also includes a docking system of sorts -- a standalone box that includes a slot-loading Blu-ray drive, and an exact duplicate of the ports on the Z itself (1 USB 2.0, 1 USB 3.0, HDMI, Ethernet, and VGA). Few other ultrabooks even have this as an option. Curiously, the docking station also includes a discrete graphics processor, an AMD Radeon HD 6650M, which offers much better video performance, about triple the gaming framerates over the (non-docked) on-board graphics. That said, the point of an ultrabook is to be a featherweight traveling companion, and I doubt many users will spend their time with the Vaio anchored to both the breakout box and a power brick. (And gamers can get far better performance for this kind of cash.)
But that elephant in the room just isn't going away: At $2,500, the Vaio Z is $900 more expensive than the most expensive MacBook Air. Is there any possible way to justify that kind of outlay? For me, it's an impossibly hard sell. Put it another way: Is it worth it to pay an $100 extra per ounce of computer you don't get? -- Christopher Null
WIRED Awesome display: Great resolution and brightness, and very vivid colors. Truly impressive performance. Unrivaled combination of musclebound power with feather weight. Fair battery life (4.5 hours).
TIRED Very loud fan under load. Invasive Vaio software suite bundle is simply unnecessary. Cost equivalent to feeding thousands of starving children for a month.
$2,500, Sony Vaio Z Series
Acer Aspire S3
If you're considering buying an Aspire S3, it's probably because you desperately want a MacBook Air but can't justify the $1,300 price for Apple's 13-inch base model.
The Aspire S3 is a glorious knock-off of the Air -- stripped down to the basics and slashed to just $900. Is a 30 percent price cut a compelling enough reason to buy it over its inspiration? That's debatable, but it's at least worth a look.
The tale of the tape tells the story the best: The Acer Aspire S3 is almost dead-on the same size as the Air in every dimension -- just a fraction of an inch less deep (front to back) -- right down to the weight, just a shade under three pounds. The design also closely mimics the Air, including the upturned-saucer-shaped lower chassis, spacious clickpad, and silvery-gray color scheme. Slap an Apple sticker over the Acer logo on the back and unless someone touches it (it's plastic, not metal like the Air), or closely examines the profile (it's flatter and untapered), no one will be the wiser that you went the budget route.
- Read the Other Reviews
- Overview & Buying Advice
- Apple MacBook Air
- Sony Vaio Z Series
- Samsung Series 9
But the tradeoffs, they are a-plenty -- a necessity to get the price down, of course. The resolution on the 13.3-inch display is lower, 1366 x 768 pixels versus 1440 x 900 on the Air. Also, the brightness of the Aspire's display leaves much to be desired, especially if you're not viewing the screen absolutely head-on.
Performance is another key issue. Despite the 1.6GHz Core i5 CPU and 4GB of RAM, benchmarks were just average on general apps and on par with most netbooks I see when graphics (there's only Intel's integrated GPU) got involved. I'm not sure what to make of the hard drive solution: There's a 320GB standard hard drive plus a 20GB SSD (non-user-accessible) that Acer says it uses to store various system files as part of a quick-boot scheme. Acer makes a bigger deal out of this than I would; while it's faster to wake from sleep most laptops, it's not fast enough to be a deal-maker or -breaker.
I also didn't love the somewhat creepy, rubbery keyboard, its white-on-gray buttons difficult to make out in low light (keyboard backlighting is also axed here), and featuring arrow keys smaller than the tip of my pinky. It doesn't help that Page Up and Down keys are wedged in that box too, making it near impossible to use any of them to navigate efficiently. You might have better luck with the clickpad, but I found its utility to be only average compared to most others. I'd prefer discrete buttons, but the multitouch pad at least worked well enough most of the time.
The bottom line is that with this ultrabook, Acer is at least sending a message that real price competition can exist in this rarefied category of notebooks. Whether that will actually amount to a real price war is still an open question, but if nothing else, this category has at least become one worth watching now. -- Christopher Null
WIRED A rather inexpensive and decent way to play dress up and fit in at Starbucks. A nice feat of engineering at a respectable price. Fair enough battery life (four and half hours under load).
TIRED Two USB ports may mimic the MacBook Air, but it's still not enough. Performance is average at best. Surprisingly loud and aggressive fan. Stuffed to the gills with shovelware. (When's the last time you saw an eBay icon on the desktop?)
$900, Acer Aspire S3
Samsung Series 9
Samsung's Series 9 was one of the first Windows-based ultrabooks out of the gate during the 2011 revival of the category, and little has changed since its launch.
And who can blame Samsung for its unabashed focus to out-design the MacBook Air with a different, snazzier, curvier, blacker look?
At its core, the machine doesn't wander far from its inspiration: Same 2.9-pound weight, nearly the same dimensions (though, like most PC ultrabooks, it isn't tapered), and a near-identical keyboard layout, complete with the weirdly conjoined, half-sized up- and down-arrow keys. Like the Air, the Series 9 is made from aluminum, but the metal is covered with a powder coating that, for better or worse, feels exactly like slick plastic. This is not necessarily a bad thing on, say, the palm rest. On the whole the machine is sturdy, with the notable exception of the LCD lid, which flexes a bit more than it should (and far more than the Air's screen does).
- Read the Other Reviews
- Overview & Buying Advice
- Apple MacBook Air
- Sony Vaio Z Series
- Acer Aspire S3
Under the hood, the Series 9 comes in a variety of configurations. Our setup included a 1.4GHz Core i5 CPU, 4GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD -- almost the same as the lower-tier Air but with a slightly slower CPU. The large clickpad and backlit keyboard are also familiar accoutrements. Even the power brick, which attaches directly to the wall instead of sitting in between two cables, is clearly inspired by Apple.
The only differences you'll readily find here are the slightly lower screen resolution -- at 1366 x 768 pixels, it's got the same resolution as all other PC ultrabooks -- plus Ethernet available (via an included dongle), an upgrade of one of the two USB ports to a chargeable USB 3.0 port, and the subbing in of a mini-HDMI port for the Mac's Thunderbolt connection. Samsung also goes for a microSD card slot instead of the full-sized SD reader on the Air, which is probably less of a drawback than it seems given our rapidly shrinking tech world. In a curious move, the Series 9 secrets all of its ports behind flip-down covers. If you look at the laptop from either side, you'll see no exposed wiring.
These distinctions aren't that substantial, but there are also some non-trivial performance differences between the two machines. In Windows-based benchmarks, the Air was about 30 percent faster at general apps, and twice as speedy or more at gaming and graphical tests. In fact, the Series 9 is easily the pokiest of all ultrabooks we've reviewed when it comes to gaming -- though at least it managed to crawl to a finish in most of our tests.
But for the most part, Samsung gets the equations right. The laptop looks good (especially the ultra-bright display) and stays both cool and quiet, the feel and action of the keyboard are solid, and the audio is plenty loud. The clickpad has its problems when multiple fingers get involved, but that's about par for the course.
All of this brings us down to what has to be the true Achilles' heel of the Series 9: the price.
Considering it's substantially slower and lower in resolution than the Air, I was hoping for an Acer-like price tag (in the realm of $900), but that's not to be. At $1,650, the Series 9 costs $350 more than the similarly equipped Air. I expect Samsung will start slashing prices to something more appropriate as more sub-$1,000 ultrabook competition arrives on the market, but for now this machine's performance just can't back up its hefty outlay.
WIRED An all-around capable ultrabook, with thoughtful features and a quality design. Dazzlingly bright screen. Average battery life (about 4.5 hours).
TIRED Much too expensive. Surprisingly lackluster performance, particularly at graphical tasks. SOL if you need a full SD card reader. Bummer clickpad problems.
$1,645, Samsung Series 9
When you buy something using the retail links in our product reviews, we earn a small affiliate commission. Read more about how this works.Go Back to Top. Skip To: Start of Article.


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Authorities in the central Chinese province of Henan were holding several ethnic minority Muslim Uyghurs on Friday following a riot triggered by the lifting of a girl's veil, an exile group said.
Meanwhile, officials and residents said the town was "back to normal."
"According to our understanding, the Uyghur detainees have been beaten, and they haven't yet been released," said Dilxat Raxit, spokesman for the Munich-based World Uyghur Congress.
He said 6 or 7 Uyghurs had been detained.
"The injured are still receiving medical treatment," he said.
Around 50 people were injured in Thursday's clashes between riot police and some 1,000 angry Uyghurs who had protested at the Zhenping county offices after a Han Chinese man reportedly lifted the veil of a Muslim Uyghur girl.
Shops, businesses and even banks quickly shuttered their doors when the county's Uyghur residents marched through the streets of Zhenping town, an eyewitness said on Friday.
"There were several hundred Uyghurs ... and lots of business owners and even a bank hurried to shut up shop," he said.
"Not long after that, a lot of armed police showed up, sent from Nanyang," he said, referring to a town around 30 kilometers (19 miles) from Zhenping.
"The armed police came in buses, and sealed off the area around the county government, before surrounding the Uyghurs in a pincer movement," he said.
"They brought in some buses and took the Uyghurs back to Shifosi township."
'Working normally'
An employee who answered the phone at the Zhenping county government offices said, "We are working normally today," but declined to comment further.
Raxit said clashes escalated to involve different groups of residents after some Han Chinese bystanders taunted some of the Uyghurs who were marching to the government buildings.
"The armed police didn't intervene directly to sort this out," he said. "On the contrary, they detained the Uyghurs and beat them up."
Zhenping is known as a jade-carving town and many of the 3,000 Uyghurs living in the county are linked to Hotan, a city famous for high-quality nephrite jade in Xinjiang in northwest of China where the Turkic-speaking Muslim Uyghurs form a majority.
Uyghurs in Xinjiang often complain of policies favoring Han Chinese migration into the region and what they call the unfair allocation of resources to Chinese residents.
In 2009, attacks on Uyghur workers by their Han Chinese colleagues at a toy factory in the southern Chinese city of Shaoguan in Guangdong province triggered protests in the Xinjiang capital Urumqi that sparked China's worst ethnic violence in decades.
Reported by Qiao Long for RFA's Mandarin Service and by Wen Yuqing for the Cantonese Service. Translated and written in English by Luisetta Mudie.


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Kitsch Kitchen Pannier from CycleChic for a review. Founded by Caz Nicklin, this independent London-based online store offers an array of stylish cycling accessories for women, including Clothing, Helmets and of course Panniers.
6 July 2011
Product Review: Kitsch Kitchen Pannier from Cycle Chic...
Kitsch Kitchen Pannier from CycleChic for a review. Founded by Caz Nicklin, this independent London-based online store offers an array of stylish cycling accessories for women, including Clothing, Helmets and of course Panniers.
10 comments
- tog_girl said...
me want! what a beauty! i need a new bike first though :)
- 6 July 2011 at 20:04
- invisibleplanet said...
Your new pannier looks as though it would hold a picnic-lunch. I'm interested to know how many people you can feed from it!
- 6 July 2011 at 23:38
- Lady Vélo said...
@ tog_girl: It's a gorgeous bag, isn't it?! We need to go bike shopping together... can't wait! x
@invisibleplanet: Hehe! It's a very roomy bag indeed! Me and Ian have already discussed taking a picnic in it and in his Pannier too! x
- 7 July 2011 at 09:51
- char said...
i love this bag, i need to think about getting a rack for the back of my Poppy!
- 7 July 2011 at 11:14
- Lady Vélo said...
@ dinoprincesschar: I 100% recommend them when you get a rack for your Poppy! I reckon it would look fantastic on your Pashley :) This is my 1st Pannier Bag and I love it... you must give them a look on CycleChic!
- 7 July 2011 at 11:20
- eva.lu said...
I LOVE the bright yellow color! I've been on the fence about panniers for years. Though , after reading this post I may take the plunge!
- 11 July 2011 at 17:43
- Lady Vélo said...
@ eva.lu: It's certainly an eye catching yellow - love it! They are are also in the sale on CycleChic at the moment too, so if you wanted to take the plunge... ;)
- 11 July 2011 at 18:05
Do the clips mark the paint on your bike? Obviously if you get these they are intended to be put on and off frequently. My gazelle is brand newand I love this bag - just worry it might mark it up over time.
- 20 July 2011 at 15:30
- Lady Vélo said...
@hey9irlie : Hello :) No - no marks on my Pashley from the Pannier, and none on the rack either. The clips are covered in plastic, so will not scratch your bike... which sounds lovely btw!
- 20 July 2011 at 21:42
- Jo Waterhouse said...
Thank goodness I've found this post! I've been looking for a rack for my few month's old Pashley Princess and this is the first time my google search stars aligned to take me here! Thanks so much for the info, will order myself this rack and those panniers look just the job too, fab! Jo
- 13 May 2013 at 23:05


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Versatile Excell - I Can't Lose (Suicidal Thoughts)[Unsigned Hype]
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DiVERSity2: Growth coming out May 2012.
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Hotel Weekend Deal Price – $ 175
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Cooper Mega Table - The King of Folding Tables Many Applications for Home & Office 💻 Laptop stand for bed / couch🍱 Food &...View full product details
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This coming weekend, I'm going to be assisting one of our priest healers with setting up GRID as a trial to see if he likes it, as his current raid frames seem to be falling a bit behind, which is impacting his healing. While I am confident in the actual setting grid up part of the project, I want to make sure that I am providing him everything that I can for priest healing.
I set my own priest up awhile back, but as she's just a baby priest still (70), I haven't really perfected, or figured out, what all of the pertinent, priest specific, information I may want to see. I know there are the basics: Raid Debuffs, what I can cleanse, etc. But what else is there and what GRID tools are there available for him?
Here is a list of things that I think will be beneficial for him (he is holy/disc dual spec):
- Renew – I am comfortable setting this up with Grid Status HoTs for him
- Power Word Shield – I have seen set ups using Grid Side and Corner Icons.
- Weakend Soul – I have seen set ups using Grid Side and Corner Icons.
- Grace – I have seen this set up with charges on it, how was that done?
- Inspiration – perhaps just a normal corner indicator for this?
- PoM – What is the best way to track this in Grid?
- Power Infusion – I think this can be set up with either timers, a corner indicator, or an icon indicator.
- Pain Suppresion – I think this can be set up with either timers, a corner indicator, or an icon indicator.
- Inner Fire – I was thinking that just a corner indicator would be good for this, like I use on my shaman for earthshield and water shield.
So what am I missing? What are the best ways to set things up as a priest? I've seen a module for GridStatusShields, is that any good? Is it worth recommending? Gah! Any help would be wholeheartedly appreciated! I just really want to make this switch a pleasant experience for him! 🙂


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The Harris County-Houston Sports Authority has agreed in principle on a lease agreement with the Houston Dynamo for their proposed downtown soccer stadium, it was announced today.
In a Thursday press conference held at the corner of Dowling and Walker streets -- the southeast corner of the six-block stadium site -- HCHSA chairman Kenny Friedman and Dynamo president Chris Canetti were among the dignitaries celebrating the agreement.
READ: Stadium deal a long time coming
"This is the site of what's going to be the new Dynamo stadium," Friedman said to open the press conference. "As you look behind me, you can see the Houston city skyline, and after today we hope to add one more building to this exciting landscape."
Friedman emphasized that no public taxpayer money was being used to build the facility, which will also host Texas Southern University football, entertainment events, and other sporting events.
"It is the first sports venue that we're aware of that doesn't have any public money involved, and we think this is a phenomenal deal for the taxpayers of this community, because it's not costing the taxpayers anything, and it's going to be a terrific facility," Friedman said.
While the lease agreement must be agreed on by the Houston City Council and Harris County Commissioners Court, all parties appear to expect groundbreaking in January.
"We're hopeful to break ground in January some time, and should we be able to do that, and if construction goes on time, our plan is to open in April of 2012," Dynamo president Chris Canetti said.
Houston City Council member James Rodriguez, representing District I, was one of the politicians on hand for the event, and he spoke of his excitement over the stadium deal.
"This is a shot in the arm, clearly, for the city and for the East End and for my district," Rodriguez said. "We're retaining our MLS team, which has done wonders for our community. They're a great community asset and community partner. I'm excited about the number of jobs and positive economic development that this facility will bring to our great city."


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Listed below are the product categories offered by Emerstone that Beatty Lumber Company carries. Click on a product category below to view more of what we offer, and contact us if you have any questions or would like to place an order.
From home to wherever your heart takes you, you will love our stunning stone. Because whatever the area, Emerstone sets the bar for premium, innovative stone surfaces. And at a very competitive price.
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We are open M-F 6:30 am to 4 pm, and closed on Saturday. If possible call ahead with your order, so we can all minimize interaction. Thank you.
Starting March 1, 2020 we will be open Monday-Friday from 6:30 am until 4 pm, and from 8 am until noon on Saturdays. We will no longer stay open until 6 pm on Wednesdays.
Kitchen Displays Sale
Beatty is renovating our showroom and we are selling the displays for huge discounts. Call us for details.
Home Improvement Financing to Fit Your Needs
The GreenSky® Loan Program's focus is simple: to help you create the home of your dreams. From deferred interest promotions to affordable budget-minded options, our loans are an easy and convenient way to pay for any home improvement project.
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