#New Conservatory Roof Guide

[winterpinetrees]

Assigned Reading (The Gap Years 2x5)

September 20th

Boulder, CO

Three royal elves (the youngest of whom was born in 1933) try to read a book about the Roaring 20s. They have their lives about as figured out as Nick Carraway does; that is to say, not at all.

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The book he sets down in front of the cashier is deep blue and only as thick as the side of his hand. He’s not much of a reader. Usually the human books that cross his path are tomes, like Lord of the Rings, fifteen years ago when his mother declared that the english translation for their kind would now be elves instead of fairies. This book isn’t fantasy, though it still carries an air of magic. It’s from the electric time before he was born, when his mother sang in speakeasies and wasn’t apex in anything but name. It’s a classic, a representation of the Jazz age, or that’s what the back says. Sierra looks over his shoulder in line and squawks. Apparently the mere existence of The Great Gatsby in his hands is a joke worth shouting across the store. 

He pays anyway, despite Clay’s complaint that if he’d wanted to read the Great American Novel they could’ve gotten one of the dozen copies at his house. Apparently there’s a movie. Apparently the movie has an actor that… and now they’re making fun of Brian. Apparently the movie has an actor that bears a passing resemblance to Brian and falls in love. Well, a lot of humans are blond-haired and blue-eyed. Notably fewer are hooking up with a princess. Is there a princess in The Great Gatsby? He has to assume not, it’s an American story. Maybe this Daisy Buchanan is simply part of a rich family, but then again, that’s Brian too.

In the parking lot, the Adusts wait for them on the hood of their car. Jezero hugs one leg up to his chest and Zerada sprawls like a fox soaking up the sun. This summer they and the humans spent hours arguing about what to “buy”, even though Zerada would probably steal whatever they decided on for the thrill. His old friends wanted something flashy, his new friends warned that this was war and they wanted to travel unnoticed, and Sierra didn’t add much except that most luxury cars can’t stand up to the long-distance driving that this quest requires. She specifically warned them against anything made by her father’s company. 

“He sells style and dreams, but doesn’t actually know anything about cars”. 

“What about The Audacity?” Jezero had replied. 

“My mama and I built this one,” she said, banging a fist on the roof.

They’d scoffed, but the next time he saw the duo, they were in a car that Sierra had approved. In bright red, that is. Their family color is orange, but elves in the human world make due. It’s like Jezero’s thin pants and the stacked bracelets around his right wrist. They’d prefer elven clothes and their noble vambrace, but it’s better than a prisoner’s uniform. Like his sister, Jezero looks good in human clothes. Zerada was quick to share with the humans that Marin’s had a longtime crush on an additional Adust, but they’ve changed since the breakout. Even after six years at the Conservatory and a confirmed kill, Jezero was casual and charming. Now the Lord of Genus Adust is all too aware. Besides, after everything he’s seen from Brian and Zerada, Marin does not have the emotional space for a relationship. The last coup was marked by his mother stabbing her boyfriend in the heart, after all. 

He’s nervously joking with Jezero when the humans follow him out of the store. First, Clay, with a book about epidemics and disease and something else hidden under it. Of course he does, the man is twitchy and guarded and on the verge of a breakdown. Then Sierra with a how-to guide and a bookmark. Lastly Brian hoists himself onto the hood of the car three books, and presses a thin novel into Zerada’s hands.

 “So you can argue with Marin about what the Great American Novel is,”

She flips to the back and cracks a smile. “Is this a compliment or an insult?”

He attempts a sly grin of his own, then breaks and starts beaming. The other humans roll their eyes and look away. “It’s a controversial book. I think you have to decide for yourself. We’re a bit more important, at least”. 

His betrothed would be a better apex than him, and no one has ever tried to hide it. There’s still something of a thrill to seeing her in action, magic and manipulation and something honest underneath it all. She’s always had more going on than him. More adventures, more ambitions, more spilled blood when all of it goes wrong. When they scaled the hundred-foot-tall statues in the capital, she always led the way. As far as he can tell, Brian’s hobbies are about the same. Surfing, wrestling, mountain-biking, chasing lovers or sky-high view counts: everything at a breakneck speed. The only time his heart isn’t racing is when he’s reading poetry or old classics like the ones he’s trying to put into the magical messenger bag. Marin can see why they’ve been dancing around each other the past few months. It’s just that she’s playing a second game that he refuses to engage in. The governor’s son must suspect what is happening, but then again, he’s the idealist of the three. 

“So, where to next?” Jezero asks.

In the days since the dozen “terrorist” attacks against nuclear labs, they’ve been doing damage control. Their winding path has brought them to Boulder, Colorado, a place with a surprising bond to Voyager settlements on coasts two thousand miles away. He’d never have risked a trip before the attacks, seeing as the new apex had a kid with a Voyager spark, but apparently people are pissed. The contact they spoke to (a human!) had bruised knuckles from what she only described as a political disagreement. 

“Something indoors, at least until after dinner,” Zera replies. “This has to be hotter than usual for the season”. 

Sierra mutters about weather patterns and climate being an average, but Clay just shrugs his shoulders and says global warming as if anything else would be burying the truth.

Brian (already without his heavy varsity jacket) disgrees. “There’s some sick rock climbing nearby”.

“It’ll cool off tomorrow,” Marin guesses. “We can afford to stay the night here. Any soldiers nearby will be busy with the scientists”. 

“Well, if we’re that confident, there’s a lab I’d like to visit”. Sierra takes a step towards her car, and pauses when Jezero jumps down to follow. “Everyone is trigger happy right now. This should stay a human thing”. Clay grimaces. He was always more subtle when splitting the party.

They all nod and retreat. Jezero rolls his shoulders back in a way that reminds him of a prowling beast, but doesn't say anything else. Three elven nobles stand in a parking lot. This is why they’ve got to conquer the human realm. It’s too hot already. 

“I guess I’ve got a book to read,” she says, flipping through the pages. 

“I was going to get their help with this one,” Marin adds. “I don’t know American culture”. And he can’t ask his mother, not unless he claims the scepter and helm and the rumors are true. 

“Internet?” Zerada replies. 

“Sierra will kill me if I another phone”.

They all nod. There’s a reason the nobility of the post-Lazarus world never invested in tech. 

Not long after, the three of them are all by a broad linden tree with a single laptop open to sparknotes and one copy of The Great Gatsby. Zera lies with her arms behind her head, Jez calls down interpretations from a low tree branch, and Marin actually reads the thing, stopping every few paragraphs to question whether the Middle West is an old word for the Midwest or to confirm that Yale is a fancy college like the one's Clay and Brian will attend. Between their tutoring in history, Marin’s mother’s habit of telling stories on her good days, and Zerada’s decade living in the human realm, they think it’s working well enough. 

It’s a compelling story. The writing has a cadence that some human books are missing. He sees burned-out relatives in hulking Tom Buchannan, though their epic accomplishments had been war games at the Conservatory instead of college football. The Carraways are cowering war profiteers and the narrator is a fool. Daisy is smarter than she acts, caught between love and a kind of betrothal. 

(Poor thing, Zerada mutters when the lady voices her hopes for her daughter)

Then, Zerada approves but he has his concerns, the parties. It’s clearly supposed to be depraved, what with the affairs and the excess and the narrator waking up half-naked in another man’s bed, but Marin did run off to the human realm. Uselessly elaborate gadgets and drama without consequence are the draws that bring nobility from their world to this one. He guesses New York City isn’t full of speakeasies anymore, mostly because Zera has talked about Macau and Monaco but never Manhattan, but it’s still the same familiar desires. Did his mother call for a direct path through the void between San Francisco and New York City so she could feel like Nick again? So she could leave the nobility behind for an evening and imagine that the unreality around her was a glittering skyline?  He hasn’t seen New York in fifty years, and those few memories he does have are of smoky subway lines and Harlem streets. 

Clay’s father has an apartment in the heart of the city though. They’ll go northeast someday, over that old bridge, and he’ll see the city “in its first wild promise of all the mystery and the beauty in the world”. The lights will be like the sun against a melting glacier, knowing that his old friends are following behind him. 

After an hour or two they reach the end of the fifth chapter, and Zerada has remembered or deduced that Gatsby dies at the end. 

“He’s not one of the real human nobility, so he’ll lose it all to show the fallibility of the American Dream. Can you tell I’ve been spending too much time with Brian?”

“How’s that going, sister?” Jezero laughs. It's more forced than Marin remembers. 

“Wonderfully. He’s not what I’d expect from a governor’s son. Brian is… clear”. 

Brian is idealistic and full of passion, but any clarity he has is like staring into the sun: Objective, immediate, and blinding. All he has are theory, then, completely unrelated, and blood on his fists. 

“He sees so much, but won’t engage with any of it”, she continues. “And well, I can read him like a book”. 

“Something about those eyes too. They’re certainly clear”. 

He turns to glare at Jezero. “Be normal about that boy or so help me Lazarus…”

“Oh please, like his Ascendance didn’t conquer the world because he missed his human boyfriend”.

Marin raises his hands and lets his eyes glow. “Lazarus Sondaica? Highest and most powerful ancestor? You’re being insulted. Feel free to drag these two back into the void”.

“We’re descended from him too, you know,” Zerada adds, and throws a handful of grass at his head. Them and the entire high nobility. It’s been over four thousand years and at least twenty generations since their way of life began. 

“Do you believe in that anyway? Throwing yourself into the void once there’s an heir old enough to take over?” Her sibling adds. 

Marin gives a casual shrug. If their regalia means that death isn’t permanent, then why not? Of course, he’ll have to get his hands on it first to find out. Immortality isn’t a topic to mention lightly though. 

“Well, from the way everyone talked, I’m glad I never knew my great-uncle”.

Zerada’s eyes, with their perfect makeup, go wide. “Life and death, of course! It’s a miracle we had anyone to rescue, considering how many non-combatants he had killed in the last coup”. 

“Maybe he should’ve finished the job. Would’ve saved me trouble, at least”. Jezero swings down from the bough of the tree and holds his sister’s gaze. “Some of us weren’t partying at the end of our era”. 

“If I hadn’t been, then all three of us would be under the ice. Or buried somewhere else,  with the worms”.

In his mind, Sierra makes a gadget from nothing to scatter a squadron of elves. The lights of a carnival game scream and Brian hands him a toy tiger for his stash. Clay drove them through the high desert for six hundred miles to reach Zera, but were they doomed without her? The book in his hands is about power and how it dies.

“There was a coup for a reason. My mother got soft, the humans kept getting stronger, and something snapped. Even if Apex Tyern had slaughtered half the high nobility, then we’d still have had Lazarins like Devana Marolak turning traitor. Maybe it'd have even been a revolution by the sparks. Nothing we can do now but fight it out”. 

It almost shuts both of them up. Zerada still says one last thing before they return to the car. 

“That sounded a lot like Clay. I guess we're both seeing things differently”.

.................

Sierra's father was once meant to resemble a better version of Elon Musk. Unfortunately, that man is a fascist. He no place in my story.

@lokiwaffles @reggie246 @wishndreamer

[thoughtportal]

WHEN it opened in 1910, the 12-story Alwyn Court, at 58th Street and Seventh Avenue, attracted attention with its fabulously intricate facade.

Now the dark streaks of damaged terra cotta panels spot the landmark building, as the co-op that owns it evaluates repairs.

By 1900 Seventh Avenue around Carnegie Hall had New York's most important collection of apartment houses: the block-long Van Corlear, from 55th to 56th Street: the Rembrandt (New York's first co-op) at 152 West 57th; the massive Osborne at 201 West 57th and the eight-building Navarro Flats, stretching east from Seventh at Central Park South.

The apartment market had been invigorated by the new popularity of the co-op, a concept revived beginning in 1902 in a series of buildings on West 67th Street. Their sponsors were several artists, including Walter Russell. In early 1907 Russell had the architects Harde & Short begin work on the cathedral-front studio building at 44 West 77th Street. That summer Russell, working with the developer Alwyn Ball Jr., bought a Seventh Avenue plot at the southeast corner of 58th Street; in September the Real Estate Record & Guide said Russell would build a ''studio palace'' co-op, designed by the same architects.

For some reason Russell dropped out, and Ball reworked the project into one of the most lavish apartment buildings up to that time. The Alwyn Court had two apartments per floor, each with 14 rooms and 5 baths, renting for up to $10,000 a year; one 32-room duplex was offered at $22,000 per year. Harde & Short created a plan with a square, 12-story central light court and groups of entertaining spaces -- music room, living room, library, dining room, gallery and conservatory, which could be thrown together to create 2,000 square feet. In the typical apartment, the largest room was 18 by 30 feet.

Using the new medium of glazed terra cotta, Harde & Short developed the most intricate apartment facade in New York, executed by the Atlantic Terra Cotta Company. The delicate, Gothic details at the entrance and the expanse of French Renaissance styling, all in light gray, rebuked the Victorian brick and brownstone of Seventh Avenue's earlier buildings.

The magazine Architecture praised the ''consummate skill'' of the terra-cotta work and the ''considerable charm'' of the entrance. But it added that while the design of the facade ''if made by a pastry cook, would be of the highest excellence . . . it can hardly be considered at all in the light of architecture.'' The overall result it said, ''defies description.''

In late 1909, the Alwyn Court opened to tenants. Most of them moved from private houses, like Jacob Wertheim, president of United Cigar Stores, who left a 50-foot-wide house at 5 West 76th Street to occupy the duplex. Another was Frederick Steinway; in 1925, as president of his family's piano company, Steinway moved the firm from East 14th Street to its new headquarters at 119 West 57th Street. In 1910 The New York Times noted that these new apartment houses could be just as palatial as private houses, but needed half as many servants. Repairs by the building staff were quick and it was easy to close up the apartment for travel; many tenants spent only a few months in the city.

Only five apartments had been taken by the night of March 4, 1910, when Patrick Quinn, a doorman, saw the reflection of flames in the windows of the Navarro Flats across 58th. He raced to alert the occupants, and Edward King and Robert Casson ran the elevator through the smoke until the motor shorted out.

No one was seriously hurt, although three housemaids, thinking the entire building was in flames, almost jumped from the roof to Seventh Avenue.

''Great Blaze Lights the City,'' said The New York Tribune on page 1, and 10,000 people watched; The Times described the Alwyn Court as ''a huge torch.'' The fire had started in an unoccupied apartment on the ninth floor, and broken through the windows; tongues of fire leapfrogged the blaze to the top.

Despite its luxury, the Alwyn Court was short on fire protection: with no fire escapes and without fire doors, its single narrow stairway served as a perfect chimney flue. There was no central standpipe so firefighters had to thread hose up floor by floor.

The damage was repaired and census records for the 1910's and 1920's indicate the Alwyn Court was fully occupied. But by the 1930's Seventh Avenue was no longer a desirable address and there were only six residential telephone listings in the building in 1936. By 1937 the building was empty.

The Dry Dock Savings Institution foreclosed and gutted the building in 1938, creating 75 apartments where there had been two dozen. Their architect, Louis S. Weeks, removed the heavy cornice and balustrade, and reworked the apartments to retain most of the large rooms.

The original corner entrance was closed, replaced with the present one on Seventh Avenue, and the new Alwyn Court was soon 100 percent rented, producing a gross income of $137,000 a year.

According to research by the architectural historian Andrew Alpern, one of the last tenants, John MacEnulty, salvaged four decorative stone lions for his house in Sands Point, L.I. The paneling from the Wertheim apartment -- described as taken from a French chateau -- was moved to the Squadron A Armory on 94th and Madison Avenue.

IN 1980, with a co-op conversion underway, the architects Beyer Blinder Belle supervised a $500,000 facade restoration, cleaning the terra cotta and replacing damaged blocks with cast concrete replicas. The artist Richard Haas painted a full-height trompe l'oeil mural in the central courtyard; with a new skylight, it became an atrium. The corner entrance was reopened as an entrance for a commercial tenant.

Now, 17 years later, the facade needs more work. Because large chunks of masonry are missing from the fifth-floor balcony, a sidewalk bridge has been erected on Seventh Avenue to protect pedestrians. Although the flat panels on the facade appear intact, about one-third of the window and balcony soffits are visibly damaged.

Gerard Meehan, the property manager for NRK Management, which oversees the building, says that last year a piece of terra cotta fell to the sidewalk. Now engineers are being interviewed, and any work will flow from a consultant's recommendations. Mr. Meehan says he doesn't think this project will be a major one.

[herbiesrestaurant]

Discover the Best Restaurants in Exeter City Centre

Exeter, a charming city in the heart of Devon, is known for its rich history, stunning architecture, and vibrant culinary scene. Whether you're a local resident or a visitor exploring the city, Exeter City Centre offers a diverse array of dining options that cater to all tastes and preferences. From cozy cafes to elegant fine dining establishments, there's something for everyone. Restaurants Exeter City Centre Here's a guide to some of the best restaurants you should consider when dining in Exeter City Centre.

1. Herbie's Restaurant

Located at the heart of Exeter, Herbie's Restaurant is a must-visit for lovers of wholesome, delicious vegetarian and vegan cuisine. Known for its welcoming atmosphere and creative dishes, Herbie's has been a staple in Exeter for over 25 years. The menu features a wide range of options, from hearty mains to delectable desserts, all made with fresh, locally-sourced ingredients. Whether you're a dedicated vegetarian or simply looking to try something new, Herbie's is sure to delight your taste buds.

2. The Conservatory

The Conservatory is a hidden gem tucked away in the city centre, offering a unique dining experience in a beautiful setting. The restaurant is housed in a historic building with a stunning glass roof that creates a bright and airy atmosphere. The menu is inspired by European cuisine and changes seasonally to reflect the best of local produce. With its elegant ambiance and exquisite dishes, The Conservatory is perfect for a romantic dinner or a special celebration.

3. On The Waterfront

For those who enjoy a picturesque dining experience, On The Waterfront is the place to be. Situated along the Exeter Quayside, this restaurant offers stunning views of the River Exe. The menu boasts a variety of mouthwatering dishes, including their famous pizzas, which are served on large wooden boards and perfect for sharing. The relaxed atmosphere and scenic location make On The Waterfront a popular choice for both casual lunches and evening meals.

4. Harry's Restaurant

Harry's Restaurant is a family-run establishment that has been serving the Exeter community for over 25 years. Known for its friendly service and diverse menu, Harry's offers a range of dishes that cater to all tastes, from classic British fare to international cuisine. The restaurant's cozy interior and welcoming vibe make it a great spot for a relaxed meal with family and friends.

5. The Old Firehouse

If you're looking for a lively and vibrant dining experience, The Old Firehouse is the perfect choice. Famous for its generous portions and late-night pizzas, this historic pub is a favorite among locals and students alike. The Old Firehouse also offers a great selection of local ales and ciders, making it an ideal spot for a casual night out.

6. The Cosy Club

Located in the historic Dean Clarke House, The Cosy Club offers a unique blend of vintage charm and modern comfort. The eclectic menu features a mix of British classics and international dishes, ensuring there's something for everyone. With its stylish decor and relaxed atmosphere, The Cosy Club is a fantastic place to enjoy brunch, lunch, or dinner.

7. Rendezvous Wine Bar

For a more intimate dining experience, Rendezvous Wine Bar is an excellent choice. Nestled in a secluded courtyard, this wine bar and restaurant offers a sophisticated menu that focuses on seasonal, locally-sourced ingredients. The extensive wine list complements the delicious food perfectly, making it a great spot for a special occasion or a romantic evening.

Conclusion

Exeter City Centre is a food lover's paradise, offering a wide range of dining options to suit every palate and occasion. Whether you're in the mood for a casual meal with friends, a romantic dinner, or a special celebration, Restaurants Exeter City Centre the city's diverse restaurant scene has got you covered. Next time you're in Exeter, be sure to explore these fantastic eateries and enjoy the culinary delights they have to offer.

For more information and to make reservations at one of Exeter's top vegetarian and vegan restaurants, visit Herbie's Restaurant.

[aevumisles]

╰┈➤ AEVUM ISLES :: VIDERENOX OBSERVATORY ❂

The summer celebration has finally reached its peak. The golden moon is full, and casts its glow across all of Aevum. This morning, all Echoes and Aercon alike receive, a golden envelope. Inside is a letter that reads:

Dear Starlights and Starbrights, We cordially invite you to attend the Solstice Ball, held this year at the Vidrenox Observatory in Downtown Arcanus. Please wear your finest black tie attire to the event, and be prepared to dance the night away among the stars. Hors d'oeuvres and refreshments shall be provided. Simply bring this letter to the observatory in order to enter the celebration. We look forward to your presence. With regards, Dr. Janus Astrophel

Throughout the days of June 16th - 30th, multiple gatherings will be held inside of the Vidernox Observatory.

(After the festival, the Observatory will become a permanent addition to Arcanus Isle. See below for details regarding the activity and information about the new location!)

Viderenox Observatory

A building dedicated to the study of the stars above Aevum Isles. The structure itself is round and made up of two stories. The observatory is owned and operated by Dr. Janus Astrophel, who is well-known for his dedication to studying the cosmos. He is very kind, albeit anxious and especially particular about no one touching his papers. Some say that he will even fly into a frantic panic if even a single paper is moved!

He has long grey hair, often braided with gold or silver threads ( put there by his 8-year-old granddaughter, Stella Astrophel, who can often be seen helping her uncle run the observatory ), and wears a long galaxy-patterned robe. He loves teaching and discussing his findings with anyone who happens to have a minimum of three hours of free time.

FIRST FLOOR

The first floor is a vast, open space, with a giant telescope sitting right in the center. There are offices and labs at its base where researchers toil endlessly studying the galactic bodies. (There is also a gift shop! Wares include various space-themed wares, books, and star maps native to the Aevum Isles.)

SECOND FLOOR

The second story (which sits along the perimeter wall, and shares the same roof as the first floor) has many educational exhibits, detailing common knowledge of the galaxy, as well as published research journals and guides to space and the stars. These cannot be taken from the observatory. However, copies of these books may be found at the Arcanus Archives Second Floor for further reading inside the Archives.

Throughout the day, the main room on the first floor becomes a Planetarium, where a live show will talk about the planets, stars, and other novelties found in space. While it is primarily education in function, the Aercon take pride in putting on spectacle, and bring the show to life with the help of floating star lanterns.

At night, the ceiling opens up like a flower, allowing for viewing of the night sky with more impromptu demonstrations.

Solstice Ball

During the last two weeks of June, the main event held inside the observatory is the highly anticipated Solstice Ball. The ceiling of the conservatory opens, allowing for the light of the golden moon to shine upon the dancers below.

In order to attend, the invited must present their golden letter to the attendants at the gate. Inside, arrivals will find the well-decorated room full of people dressed in their finest, fanciest attire.

Attendants walk between guests with trays of drinks and hors d'oeuvre, though larger portions may also be found at the open bar and snack tables. The food was catered by the famous Chef Trop Chere, owner of the Casa Nova restaurant. The featured wine is, of course, Honeyglow Meadery's Sunflower Wine.

The telescope is also open to those who may wish for a closer look at the stars. Janus Astrophel can be found there assisting visitors with the equipment and teaching them about Aevum's galaxy. The studies and offices are closed during the event. Echoes who prefer to explore will find these doors have been locked. Fortunately, other exhibits may be explored, creating quieter areas of rest during the party.

Of course, the main activity of the ball is the dance! A live orchestra fills the hall with beautiful music, while the dancers pair and waltz under the stars. In some of the dance numbers, the floor of the observatory matches the night sky above. This creates the appearance of literally dancing amidst the stars.

Aevum Galaxy

With the observatory comes brand new information about the stars and planets that exist outside of Aevum! These will also be found on a dedicated page once the festival has reached its conclusion.

Aevum is a flat, endless plane in the center of its universe. Everything else rotates around it. Although the ocean seems to have no end, everyone can observe above them an entire universe full of wonders still being discovered to this day.

The Sun

This ball of gas rotates around Aevum, creating the day and night cycles as we know it. It is called Auty in some legends, but is typically just called the Sun regardless.

The Moons

Aevum has two moons: Agat and Alle, with Agat being the bigger of the two sisters (and is the moon that changes appearance which has also given it the nickname "Bearer Moon"). The two moons work together in tandem creating the tides and illuminating the night.

The Planets

There are five planets that orbit Aevum. Each one is unique, though none are believed to have life on them. These can be viewed better during different parts of the year, which the observatory holds special viewings of whenever they do come around.

Ignis - the smallest of the planets and the one closest to the sun. Because of this, the surface is extremely hot and barren. The surface is also covered in lava with wax-like properties. So when one side faces the sun, the lava moves. While on the dark side of the planet, the lava turns firm and hard. It has two moons called Glim and Coal. From Arcanus, it takes on a reddish color.

Lutum - because it's fairly close to the sun, this second can get hot. However, the planet is also observed to be potentially covered in all sorts of precious materials/minerals. In fact, its surface is completely covered in rocks. This planet also has the most moons, having five of them called Basalt, Granite, Mica, Slate, and Quartz. From the ground, it takes on a purple color.

Folium - one of the most observed planets in the system, due to the fact it does appear to be able to sustain life on its surface. There is water and plants, and presumably an entire ecosystem. However, the Aercon have not been able to make any expeditions to Folium. All previous attempts have ended in disaster. This planet only has one moon called Root. From the ground, it takes on a green color.

Ventus - this is the biggest planet in the system. It has two rings that circle it ( resembling an atom ) and is completely made up of toxic gases all flowing in all different directions. The rings rotate slowly as well. This planet has four moons, named Cirrus, Stratus, Cumulus, and Nimbo. From the ground, it takes on a yellow color.

Amnis - the planet furthest away from the sun. This planet is entirely made out of water, which is mostly frozen into ice as a result. It is the hardest to spot in the solar system. It is also the planet that is the least known about due to its rare spotting. It has three moons called Glacier, Droplet, and Steam. From the ground, it will take on a faint blue color.

The Stars

Aevum's night sky is full of many constellations, though, in texts, some constellations appear to be blurred out whenever one tries to read about them. They come and go in cycles depending on the season, with some Aercon attributing personalities to certain constellations.

The current constellations include:

The Kirin - A group of 10 stars that resemble a Kirin rearing its horn towards the north - the tip of its horn is identified as a northern star which many sailors reference in their travels. The constellation is most visible in the winter months.

The Phoenix - A group of 10 stars that resemble a phoenix flying towards the south. The constellation is most visible in the summer months.

The Dragon - A group of 9 stars that resemble the form of a dragon, the head of which points east. This constellation is most visible in the spring months.

The Turtle - A group of 12 stars that resemble the form of a turtle, the head of which is pointing towards the west. This constellation is most visible in the autumn months.

The Tree - A group of 13 stars that appear to resemble an echo tree, located in the Arcanus Isle. Though the form of the tree is contained, many imagine its branches to expand far beyond this connecting all stars in the cosmos.

This list will be updated as more constellations are discovered.

[dsb8]

Budgeting and Financing Your Rear Extension Project in London

When contemplating an extension to your home in London, understanding the budget and financing aspects is crucial. Whether creating more space, adding value to your property, or simply enhancing your living environment, a well-planned budget is the foundation of a successful extension project. This comprehensive guide will explore the costs associated with different types of Rear extensions in london and the factors that influence these costs.

How Much Does a House Extension Cost?

The cost of a house extension in London can vary significantly based on many factors, including the type of extension, the materials used, the size, and the contractor you choose. However, to give you a starting point, here's an overview of the costs associated with different house extensions Interior Painting in London .

Ground Floor Rear House Extension Cost

Ground-floor rear extensions are a popular choice among London homeowners. They are ideal for expanding the kitchen or adding a dining area. The cost for this type of extension typically ranges from £1,500 to £2,300 per square meter. For a standard 20-square-meter extension, budget around £30,000 to £46,000.

Ground Floor Side Return House Extension Cost

Side return extensions in london are common in Victorian and Edwardian terraced houses in London. They fill in the narrow alley next to the kitchen to create a larger, more functional space. Depending on the complexity and finishes, these extensions cost from £2,000 to £2,500 per square meter.

Ground Floor Wraparound House Extension Cost

Combining both rear and side return extensions, the wraparound extension offers substantial additional space and can completely transform the ground floor of your home. The wraparound extensions cost about £2,000 per square meter but can increase significantly with high-end finishes and complex designs.

Whole-House Basement Extension

Creating a new basement or extending an existing one is an expensive but valuable investment, especially in London, where space is at a premium. Expect to pay between £3,000 and £4,000 per square meter, with costs soaring depending on depth and whether underpinning is necessary.

Glass Extension Cost

Glass extensions are an aesthetically pleasing option that can bring a modern touch to any home. They allow natural light to flood the space. Depending on the engineering and architectural requirements, these typically cost between £3,000 and £4,000 per square meter.

Conservatories and Orangeries Cost

Conservatories and orangeries are cost-effective ways to add light and space to your home. The cost of conservatories starts at around £1,000 per square meter, while orangeries are slightly higher at about £2,000 per square meter, reflecting their more substantial construction.

Flat Pack Extension Costs

Flat pack extensions, also known as modular extensions, are pre-fabricated off-site and assembled on-site, potentially saving time and money. Prices range from £1,500 to £2,500 per square meter.

Semi-Detached House Extension Costs

Extending a semi-detached house typically involves either a rear or side return extension or sometimes both. Costs generally start at around £1,500 per square meter but vary widely based on design choices and local planning requirements.

Additional House Extension Costs

Remember to budget for additional costs such as architectural designs, planning permissions, building regulations, and interior finishes. These can add 10-20% to the project's overall cost.

What Affects the Overall House Extension Cost?

Several factors can influence the cost of your house extension project:

Design and Planning

The complexity of the design and the architect's fees can have a significant impact. Custom designs with high-end finishes will increase costs.

Extension Size, Shape, and Height

Larger, more complex extensions will cost more. Height can also be a factor, especially if it involves altering the roof line.

Building Site Constraints

Site access, ground conditions, and proximity to neighbouring properties affect construction costs.

Windows and Doors

The size and quality of windows and doors can significantly affect the extension's cost and appearance.

Construction

The choice of materials and the construction method will impact the overall budget. High-quality materials and specialized labour are more costly but can provide a better finish and durability.

Conclusion

Planning and budgeting for a house extension in London requires carefully considering various factors contributing to the overall cost. By understanding these elements and planning accordingly, you can ensure that your extension project meets your needs and stays within your budget. Whether you opt for a modest glass extension or a full-scale basement project, the key to a successful extension is in the planning and execution.

FAQ

 What is the average cost of a ground floor rear extension in London?

Answer: The average cost for a ground floor rear extension in London typically ranges between £1,500 to £2,300 per square meter. For a standard extension of about 20 square meters, the overall cost can vary from approximately £30,000 to £46,000, depending on the specifications and finishes chosen.

How does the size and shape of the extension affect the overall cost?

Answer: The size and shape of the extension significantly impact the total cost. Larger and more complex shapes require more materials and labor, which increases the expenses. Additionally, unconventional shapes might require custom solutions for construction and design, further elevating the cost.

Are there any additional costs I should consider when budgeting for a house extension?

Answer: Yes, besides the basic construction costs, you should account for additional expenses such as architectural design fees, planning permissions, building regulations, and interior finishes. These can add an extra 10-20% to your overall budget. It's also wise to set aside a contingency fund for unexpected costs during the project.

What are the cost differences between conservatories and orangeries?

Answer: Conservatories are generally less expensive than orangeries, with costs starting around £1,000 per square meter for conservatories and about £2,000 per square meter for orangeries. The higher cost of orangeries reflects their more robust construction and the use of more substantial materials, which typically results in better insulation and durability.

How can I reduce the cost of my house extension project without compromising quality?

Answer: To reduce costs effectively while maintaining quality, consider simpler designs and standard materials that are easy to work with and readily available. Additionally, sourcing multiple quotes from contractors can help you find the best value. Planning the project during off-peak seasons might also reduce costs, as contractors are often willing to negotiate during less busy periods.

[firststepbuilders1]

Leading Trends in Contemporary Home Expansions

Modern Home Expansions

Room additions are increasingly favored by homeowners seeking to extend their living area without moving. As family dynamics and personal requirements evolve, adding a room becomes a viable solution that enhances both the usability and visual appeal of a residence. This piece delves into the leading trends in room addition projects tailored to the contemporary homeowner, with a focus on cutting-edge designs, ecological sustainability, and the integration of modern technology.

Flawless Integration with Existing Architecture

A primary trend in today's room additions is the flawless merging of new segments with the existing architectural framework. Homeowners and designers emphasize making the addition appear as a natural part of the home rather than a supplementary piece. This requires meticulous selection of materials, adherence to architectural styles, and appropriate scaling. By emphasizing a unified design, these additions greatly improve the overall aesthetics and functionality of a property.

Green and Sustainable Practices in Room Expansions

With rising environmental consciousness, the adoption of sustainable construction practices in room expansions is also increasing. Property owners are choosing environmentally friendly materials and technologies that lower energy use and foster sustainability. This includes deploying recycled resources, solar panels, energy-efficient glazing, and living roofs. Such practices not only aid in environmental preservation but also result in long-term savings on energy expenditures.

Integration of Cutting-Edge Technology

Technological innovations are significantly influencing room addition projects. Smart home technologies are being incorporated into new expansions, featuring automated systems for lighting, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning that enhance both comfort and efficiency. Advanced features such as home automation are becoming a standard in these new additions, providing homeowners with both convenience and a contemporary feel.

Versatile Spaces

The creation of adaptable spaces that can serve multiple purposes is another major trend in room additions. With an increase in remote working, these spaces are often designed to function both as a home office during the day and as a guest room at night. This adaptability makes room additions more functional and valuable, catering to the evolving needs of modern households.

Focus on Outdoor Connectivity

Room additions frequently aim to strengthen the connection to the outdoor environment. This may be achieved through the installation of large sliding doors, extending flooring from the interior to exterior spaces, or adding a conservatory. This trend towards integrating indoor and outdoor living not only elevates the aesthetic and recreational appeal of the home but also optimizes the use of all available space.

Evolution of Room Addition Trends

The trends in room addition projects are constantly adapting to meet the shifting preferences and requirements of contemporary homeowners. From seamless architectural integration to the embracing of sustainable methods and advanced technologies, these trends highlight the importance of functionality, sustainability, and style. As you contemplate expanding your home, these innovative ideas can guide you in making decisions that enhance your living area and increase your property's value.

[crazysteve1995]

Choosing the Right Materials for Your Conservatory in Leigh on Sea

Adding a conservatory to your home is a significant investment that not only enhances your living space but also can increase the value of your property. In the scenic area of Leigh on Sea, conservatories have become a popular addition, offering homeowners a beautiful space to enjoy the natural surroundings from the comfort of their homes. However, the key to a successful conservatory project lies in choosing the right materials. This post will guide you through the considerations for selecting materials that will ensure your conservatory is both beautiful and functional, with insights into conservatory installation services in Leigh on Sea.

Framework Materials

UPVC: A popular choice for many, UPVC frames are known for their durability, low maintenance, and cost-effectiveness. They offer excellent thermal efficiency, keeping your conservatory warm in the winter and cool in the summer. UPVC is versatile and can be customized to fit the style of any home, making it a great option for those looking into Leigh on Sea bespoke conservatories.

Aluminum: If you're aiming for a more contemporary look, aluminum frames might be the choice for you. Known for their strength, aluminum frames allow for slimmer designs and larger panes of glass, maximizing your view of the outdoors. They are also highly durable and resistant to weathering, though they tend to be on the pricier side compared to UPVC.

Timber: For a classic or traditional conservatory, nothing beats the natural beauty of timber. It offers excellent insulation and can be tailored to suit any design, perfect for custom conservatory builders in Leigh on Sea. However, timber requires more maintenance than UPVC or aluminum to keep it looking its best and to prevent rot or warping.

Glazing Options

Polycarbonate Roofing: A cost-effective option, polycarbonate roofing is lightweight and offers good insulation properties. It's available in different shades to control the amount of sunlight entering your conservatory, though it doesn't offer the same clarity or aesthetics as glass.

Glass: Glass is the premium choice for both roofing and walls, offering clear views and excellent natural light. Advances in glass technology, such as double glazing and low-emissivity (low-E) coatings, improve its insulation properties, making your conservatory comfortable year-round. Consider solar control glass to prevent your conservatory from becoming too hot in the summer months.

Flooring Materials

Tiles: Porcelain or ceramic tiles are a popular choice for conservatory flooring due to their durability and ease of maintenance. They're also cool underfoot, which is a bonus in the warmer months. Tiles can be heated to add warmth in the winter, providing year-round comfort.

Laminate: Offering the look of wood without the maintenance, laminate flooring is another popular choice. It's durable and works well with underfloor heating, making it a versatile option for conservatories.

Natural Stone: For a luxurious and timeless look, natural stone flooring is unmatched. Each piece is unique, adding character to your conservatory. Like tiles, stone can be cool in summer and is compatible with underfloor heating for the colder months.

The materials you choose for your conservatory in Leigh on Sea will impact not just its appearance but also its functionality and how it integrates with the rest of your home. Whether you opt for the durability and low maintenance of UPVC, the sleek contemporary look of aluminum, the natural beauty of timber, or the clarity and light of glass, ensure that your choice reflects your personal style and meets your practical needs. Engaging with expert conservatory installation services in Leigh on Sea can help bring your vision to life, ensuring that your new conservatory is everything you dreamed it would be and more. With the right materials and expert guidance, your conservatory can become a cherished part of your home for years to come.

[deja-you]

Starlight

m. de lafayette x reader

chapter four | champagne and sunsets

summary: it was never your intent to be anything more than a common thief, but fate—and a rather attractive general—have other plans for you.

word count: 2.5k

masterlist | previous | next

The expression the receptionist makes when she hands over the key to the honeymoon suite is a little too suggestive, but other than that, you find that Ambros is a rather lovely planet. The high ceilings and gilded artwork on the walls of the hotel you were staying at were a mere microcosms for the glistening planet itself, rich off tourists and natural minerals. You had a brief amount of time to read up on the history of the planet from a pamphlet at the front desk while Lafayette was checking in.

The elevator ride to the twelfth floor is quick, and you and Lafayette carry your luggage to room 1215. With the slide of the key, the door swings open and you take in the sight before you. The room is spacious with large windows and a balcony facing out over the rose-colored sea. There's a large king-sized bed that takes up most of the space, rose petals strewn over the sheets. Romantic.

A golden bottle of champagne sits in an ice bucket calling out to you. You drop your bags to the floor and make your way to the champagne where you find a small note from the hotel congratulating you and Lafayette on your wedding. You stifle a laugh and brandish the bottle for Lafayette to see.

"Free champagne," you grin.

Lafayette raises an eyebrow. "Starlight, we're working. This isn't a vacation."

You roll your eyes. "I'm aware, but that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun. Congress is paying for the room, we really shouldn't let that money go to waste, right?"

He gives you a pointed look. "Your logic is flawed."

You sigh and put the bottle back down into the bucket; maybe you'll revisit the idea of opening the bottle of alcohol if he is going to be so uptight for the entire mission.

"I'm going to go scout the area," you mutter to him, coming up with an excuse to leave your shared living area. It's probably a good idea to memorize the layout anyway. You barely register Lafayette's response as you begin to explore the resort.

There are two entire floors dedicated just to the casino, and you make a note to yourself to check them out before you leave. A few restaurants: fine dining on the lower levels, small cafes toward the middle of the building, and a bar on one of the top observation decks. There are many attractions your hotel offers, and you decide to check out the conservatory on the twenty-ninth floor.

It's rather busy around this time of day, but the conservatory is expansive enough that you can walk around freely without bumping elbows with anyone. Walking from section to section, you slyly listen to bits and pieces of conversation hoping to pick up a lead on your target. Some time passes and realizing that you've examined a starfire flower one too many times, you decide it's time to search somewhere else.

In the elevator, you catch sight of the label "pool" on the highest level and don't think twice before pushing the button. Moments later, the elevator has shot into the sky, and with a ding, the doors roll open to reveal the light purple of the twilight sky. The weather is just right when you step out onto the roof, the warm climate of the planet combatted nicely with the early evening breeze.

Most guests are attending dinner at this time or going to see a show in one of the many theaters, so the pool deck is all yours for the taking. It's been a long day for you, so you think you deserve a little bit of self-indulgence. Removing your shoes, you sit down by the pool that seems to stretch on forever, reflecting the sky on its calm surface, and you dip your feet into the tranquil waters. Closing your eyes, you allow yourself to soak in the peace of the moment.

It feels like an eternity, but when you open your eyes and see that the sun has hardly moved from its low place in the sky, you know you haven't been up here too long. You hear the sound of the elevator doors opening and immediately you tense up in annoyance that someone would come to bother your solitude. You're about to pull your legs out of the water when the intruder speaks.

"I had a feeling I'd find you up here."

You turn your head slightly to see Lafayette walking toward you. You relax a bit. Once he approaches your side, he sits down next to you, and to your surprise, he rolls up his pant legs and dips his feet into the water beside you.

"Found any leads yet?" He asks.

You hum a response and shake your head. "No. You?"

"Nothing on out target, but I'm pretty sure there's a young cardshark in the casino that's been conning wealthy guests out of their money," he says.

This makes you smile a little. "Good for them. I used to do similar work."

"I'm just going to assume you mean working in a casino and not being a con-artist."

“What? We met because I decided to con you; are you not a fan of the business?” You lightly nudge his shoulder with your own as you tease him.

“Starlight, it’s illegal,” he points out.

“Only if you get caught.”

“But you did get caught.”

You purse your lips. “Yes, because I saved your life. You wouldn’t have ever found me if I didn’t have that one moral lapse of judgement.”

“Moral lapse of judgement?”

“Mm, yes,” you hum, “I was quite successful looking out for myself and making a living. It’s a shame I suddenly felt a sense of conviction and decided to save your life.”

Lafayette snorts at this. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you had a change of heart.”

You study his face in the dying light, pushing down the butterflies in your stomach that inevitably appear when he gives you that sideways smile. In this quiet moment, you take the time to admire the golden lines that run from his ears up the side of his forehead, intricately linking and marking him as Franco nobility. You want to memorize them and draw the patterns on your own skin; they’re beautiful. Before he can see that you’ve been staring, you look away, eyes falling to the reflections in the pool. You’re happy to be here now with him.

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad, too.”

When the last of the daylight finally leaves the sky, Lafayette stands to his feet and offers you a hand. You accept, pulling yourself up to your full height. It's too cold to stay on the rooftop any longer, so the two of you step into the elevator and press the button for your room number.

The elevator ride is uneventful, and when you get to your floor, the cool evening air greets you once again. The wide halls of your floor have open walls, large columns are wedged between the floor and the ceiling. You and Lafayette lazily walk down the hall, not in a rush to be anywhere. There are a few other guests meandering about in the open air, and that's when you spot the group of New Britannia soldiers making their way down the hall.

Ambros is such a lovely planet, you nearly forget it's currently New Britannia territory in a bordering system. Troops of soldiers police the planet, checking credentials and arresting anyone they suspect have ties to the United Planets of Amerigo.

The troops are making their way down the hall, speaking with guests occasionally and checking their papers. Your heart begins to thrash against the walls of your ribcage as they get nearer. Lafayette bares the markings of Franco nobility, and Francosia has been known to sympathize with Amerigo.

In a split second, you've made up your mind.

Taking Lafayette's hand in yours, you pull him over to a column, adjusting the both of you to where you are placed with your back to the pillar and Lafayette in front of you. You guide his hands to your waist, and while he looks a bit bewildered, he allows your movements. Your hands reach up to cup either side of his face, your fingers deliberately covering up the golden markings on his face. You pull him closer so you are standing cheek to cheek as you hear the soldiers’ footsteps get closer.

“Just go along with it until they’re gone,” you whisper into his ear, smiling against his skin as if you’re saying something scandalous.

His eyes flicker to the soldiers with a look of realization before looking back to you. You press your lips against his cheek, and Lafayette seems to get the message, because the next thing you know, he’s wraps his arms around your waist and pushes you roughly against the stone behind you. Lafayette buries his face in the nape of your neck, leaving a trail of kisses over your shoulder and along your collarbone.

His lips find a sweet spot, and he begins sucking a hickey into your skin, causing a soft moan to escape your lips. With one hand shielding his face from the passing soldiers, your other hand finds its place at the back of his neck. You can’t help but wonder when the Amerigo Army had time to teach its generals this technique.

The soldiers pass you with no problems, muttering something about “lovebirds” under their breath. Lafayette seems to have forgotten all about them, his lips moving up your neck to your cheek. He’s placing a kiss on the corner of your lips when you come back to your senses and lightly tug on the lapels of his suit.

“Love,” you say, and the both of you are both hyper-aware of how desperate and breathy your voice sounds. “Maybe we should take this back to the bedroom.”

His eyes meet yours, and he seems to understand the meaning behind your words. To your surprise, Lafayette picks you up bridal style and carries you back to the room. Once inside, he kicks shut the door behind the two of you and sets you down gently on the bed. Now that it’s just the two of you, Lafayette takes a step back from you. Tension lingers in the air.

“I… I’m sorry about that.” Lafayette’s eyes trail to the ground, obviously embarrassed.

You clear your throat, skin still warm from the moment before. “There’s nothing to apologize for. It was all just part of the cover.”

There is an awkward moment of silence between the two of you. Finally, he nods and moves toward the bathroom.

“Well, we have a long day tomorrow.”

“Yes, we should probably get ready for bed then,” you agree.

Lafayette spares you one last look, attempts a smile, and disappears into the bathroom. You hear the shower being turned on seconds later and take that as your cue to change into your nightgown. You slip into the cool covers of the bed, propping yourself up on the pillows until you find a comfortable place for yourself. While you wait for Lafayette to finish showering, you pull out your tablet and begin reading up on Ambrosian customs; you can never be too informed.

You have no idea of how long it has been, but eventually the shower shuts off. A few moments later the door swings open, and Lafayette steps out.

"About time," you tease. "Thought I'd never get a chance to brush my teeth."

"Next time you can join me. I hate to think you've been sitting out here bored," he responds.

You'd like to take a moment to think about how incredibly flirtatious his comment is, but your mind goes blank when you look up at him. He's fresh out of the shower, hair still wet. Lafayette wears a pair of dark sweatpants that hang too low on his waist. He's not wearing a shirt, and you can't help but stare at his toned skin. His stomach and arms are well-defined, and you catch the golden glint of the small medallion he wears around his neck.

He shrugs on a white t-shirt, and you can tell his body is still wet from the shower by the way the shirt clings to his torso. Never before have you wanted to be a t-shirt so badly in your life. You feel your face heat up, and you are in the process of pulling your gaze away from him, when he looks up and meets your eyes. The way his lips curved up into a smirk left you with a visceral feeling.

“S’there something I can help you with, starlight?” His tone is light and playful.

Your throat is dry, but you manage to get out, “I can think of a few things.”

Lafayette throws his head back and laughs quietly at your response, and you despise the way your heart crashes against its cage at his actions. You slide out of bed and move past him into the bathroom, putting toothpaste on your toothbrush and then shoving the toothbrush into your mouth before you say or do anything more that you’ll regret. Lafayette doesn’t notice the way you are aggressively brushing your teeth, and you don’t notice the way his eyes linger on the neckline of your nightgown and the hem that ends at your upper thigh.

When you finish brushing your teeth, Lafayette is taking a pillow off the bed and moving it to the floor.

“What are you doing?” You ask, knowing perfectly well what his intentions are.

He looks at you bewildered. “I just thought it would be—”

“I’m not going to make you sleep on the ground.”

“You’re not making me do anything.”

“Am I really that deplorable to be around?”

“That’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”

Lafayette sort of resembles a deer in headlights at this moment. He shakes his head. “Starlight, we shouldn’t. It’s just that…”

“What? What is it?” Your hands have found their place on your hips and you quirk an eyebrow up at him, waiting for a response.

The answer is on the tip of his tongue. He knows why he shouldn’t share the bed with you, but truth is something he can’t say out loud. Lafayette sighs in defeat, picking up the pillow from the ground and tossing it back to the head of the bed.

Content with your victory, you climb under the covers on your side of the bed. Lafayette is still hesitant, but eventually he climbs into bed as well, keeping an absurd amount of distance from you. You consider making a comment about this, but you’ve already argued with him enough about the bed itself, so you bite your tongue. The light beside your bed is the only thing keeping the room from darkness; you turn it off and settle into bed.

“Goodnight.” You say this quietly, the darkness imbuing the room with a sense of peace that you are all too afraid to mess up.

Lafayette must feel this, too, because his response is a whisper as well. “Goodnight, starlight.”

[imjeralee]

Comfort in Despair: Chapter 5 - Life as a Researcher

Leon x F!Reader

Disclaimer: Do not own Pokemon

Summary:

Galar is rich in folklore and tales of the supernatural.

As a Pokemon Researcher who specialises in ghost types, this is a great opportunity for you to investigate and learn more about the paranormal.

Along the way, you meet Leon (in the most awkward way possible) who becomes embroiled in your adventures.

^ Basically this story is about ghosts :/

Rating: General/Teen

Note: This is an accurate picture of me when I was writing this particular chapter

Warnings: Don’t read this fic at night

Life as a Researcher

...

...

[The coldest recorded body temperature a person has ever survived is 56.7 degrees F (13.2 degrees C)]

...

...

You're on your way to Wedgehurst with a small group of five middle-aged ladies who have followed you to the train station and into the carriage. Gengar doesn't appear to particularly enjoy coming out during day nor does he like to be around crowds so he decides to stay hidden in your shadow.

You've become a Pied Piper of Hamelin of some sort as the women trail after you eagerly and you take up one entire row. You sit in the middle, flanked by two housewives and three standing in front of you. They are friendly enough but they fire questions about you, your profession and how you can help them.

You answer them to your best ability and the most they get out of you is that you're a qualified Researcher. You're not officially aligned with the police but you know the Chief Inspector, Chris Graves.

They ask you how you know him and you're reluctant to tell them everything so all you say is that you have crossed paths with Graves when you were back in Kalos and now he has transferred to Galar for his work and voila, you have a contact in the force who can help you should you ever get wrapped up in cases such as these.

Usually it's the other way round, though.

You have worked with the police before and although they're under the impression that you're kooky and your methods are unorthodox, Graves doesn't mind if you step in at any point though he occasionally warns you that there are fine lines not to be crossed.

You tell the women that three people have also disappeared near the Giant's Seat.

You didn't realise there were more until today.

If you didn't pass Wyndon police station, you wouldn't have known.

The total of missing people is now eight. The first missing person is a gym challenger called Maisy who has been missing for three months. The second is a gym challenger called James, missing for one month and the third is another male gym challenger. No bodies have been found.

When the train slowly chugs into Wedgehurst, you leave the station and plough down the path with the ladies following you, avoiding the Wooloos that litter the streets. The townsfolk, intimidated by your large group, automatically make way for you. You meander towards your house and once you're at the door, it's unlocked and you enter to see Sonia and Magnolia seated down in the kitchen, fixing breakfast for themselves.

Upon your return, Sonia and Magnolia rise from their chairs and Cutiefly and Polteageist are ecstatic to see you, zooming towards your direction. Cutiefly burrows itself into your hair and Polteageist hugs your head whilst Sonia envelopes you in a warm and tight embrace, followed by Magnolia. Every morning, they do this whenever you return home. You believe they are deathly afraid that one day, you will not return.

However, once they spot the crowd outside waiting to enter the establishment, the sight forces their jaws to drop.

Magnolia and Sonia are stunned to see their home suddenly filled with so many people so you quickly explain that they are your new clients and you ask Magnolia for permission, hoping she doesn't mind that you have brought so many random people to her home. She informs you she is fine with this as long as you keep the noise to a minimum and avoid using the fine china.

You promise and remove your coat, kick your boots off and carefully drop your bags and Leon poster on the ground.

And you are so tired that you could fall asleep right here and now because you've pulled an all-nighter but you need to hear the ladies out.

Magnolia leaves you to it and departs for the research lab so you are on your own. You guide the group to the conservatory where you hold most client meetings and let the ladies sit whilst you stand to write notes. You ask if anyone wants some tea and everyone lift their hands up. Polteageist turns away with his arms crossed, refusing to make tea for them. He doesn't like serving tea to strangers anyway.

Luckily for you, Sonia steps in to assist and comes waltzing in with a tray of cookies and hot beverages after a few minutes, with little Yamper balancing a small tray of his own over his head. The ladies coo and fawn over the puppy pokemon.

You're exhausted, eyelids drooping, but you fight hard to stay awake and listen to everyone's testimony, one by one. Normally you would've preferred a one to one session but group sessions work too.

You flip open your journal to take down notes, asking for the date of the disappearance, time, location and any other crucial information and detail no matter how small. You also ask them if the missing sons have been acting strange prior their disappearance but all the answers are no. They also tell you the missing Rotom phones have also mysteriously disappeared and the GPS doesn't show where they are.

Occasionally, the women lose track to discuss amongst themselves and so you have to snap them out of it and focus on providing accurate testimony.

Eventually, you finish after three or four hours and you're really struggling to stay awake.

Please bring my son back alive, that's what they say before they leave and you promise that you would find them alive.

Sonia escorts the women out and returns to the conservatory only to see that you have fallen asleep, sprawled over the sofa with your journal lying open on your lap. She smiles and grabs a blanket from the cupboard which she uses for occasions like these and drapes it over you. Yamper barks but she puts a finger to her lips and they quietly leave the conservatory.

Hours later, you wake up with a start only to discover that it is now nine o'clock.

Rubbing your eyes, you look around; the curtains of the conservatory are drawn and it's eerily silent. You sit up and the journal threatens to fall off your lap but you quickly grab it before it drops to the floor. Stretching, you peel the blanket off you, glance around the empty conservatory before you emit an impossibly loud groan. Cutiefly and Polteageist are in the room and when you get up, they head over to your side.

"Hey guys," you mutter groggily, as they look up at you before quickly nuzzling your cheeks affectionately. "Arceus, I'm so tired...I'm gonna take a shower..."

Suddenly, Gengar appears from your shadow and Cutie and Poltea both look alarmed at your new companion.

You quickly introduce your pokemon to Gengar and your pokemon curiously float over to inspect the shadow pokemon. Cutiefly leaves the sanctity of your hair after a few minutes of reassurance and circles Gengar for a while before returning to sit on your shoulder. Poltea inches closer to Gengar and it appears they are communicating. You watch as the two ghosts make brief exchange before Gengar looks at you with a sad expression.

You ask Polteageist if he has just told Gengar about Rosie and he nods and returns to your side, choosing to hug your head whilst Gengar looks at you sympathetically.

You tell Gengar that if he can help in any way, it would be greatly appreciated and that you would love to study him but you have a new case to work on so maybe another time.

Yawning, you slide off the couch, head for the stairs whilst the Pokemon stay downstairs and you enter the bathroom to shower, peeling off your clothes and dropping them into the laundry basket to be washed later. As you shower and wash your hair, you briefly think about Leon, thinking about his soulful eyes and long eyelashes, and you wonder what he may be doing right now. He must be training in the Wild Area somewhere. You didn't even check if you had received any messages from him.

When you're squeaky clean, you return to your room to get dressed and you see that Sonia has put your bag and all your Leon merchandise next to your bed; you pick the poster up and unfurl it.

Leon's grinning face appears and you let your eyes wander over his form with a smile and Gengar manifests from your shadow on the wall; he floats in the air and circles Leon's poster then points to him.

"Yeah, that's the guy who was with us back in your house. He's the Champion of Galar."

Gengar grins and points to you then at Leon once more, puts his hands where his hips should be and wiggles his hips back and forth, smacks his mouth, imitating and making kissing noises in the air.

"Oh, shush," you say with a smile, "It'll never happen. He's got plenty of girls pining after him anyway."

As you roll the poster properly and let it stand beside your desk, the sound of the bedroom door opening captures your attention and you throw a glance over your shoulder to see Sonia hopping into the room. "Hey, you're - Ah! What's a Gengar doing here?"

"Hey Sonnie," you say, "He's my new partner pokemon. He's from the haunted mansion and he wants to help me."

"Oh, that's lovely," Sonia replies with a smile, and you watch as they both greet each other briefly before Gengar drifts out of your window and towards the roof. Sonia moves to sit on the edge of her bed leisurely, crossing one leg over the other and casually gestures to your bag with the boxed Leon action figurine. "By the way, why did you buy so much Leon merchandise all of a sudden?"

"I met him last night, Sonnie."

Shocked, she sits up properly, leaning forwards in her seat, "You did? That's amazing! He was really keen to meet you but you were always asleep during the day. I'm so glad that you've finally met!"

You nod, mentally berating yourself that all this time, Leon was wanting to meet you but never got the chance.

"What do you think of him?"

You are too shy to tell her any further details such as Leon holding you and whatnot so your response is a mere half-hearted shrug, "He's really nice."

Sonia cheerfully twirls a strand of curly hair between her fingers, "We don't talk much since he became Champion and he's really busy nowadays, but before all that, he used to always come over to the house."

"Oh."

"Your haunted house client called earlier too. He said he'll pop by tomorrow at eight pm if that's okay."

"Yes, that's brilliant. Thanks, Sonnie."

"No problem! How did it go anyway?"

"It was fine," you reply, before you proceed to explain, bringing her up to speed about the events of the haunted house and the conclusion though you omit the details revolving you and Leon; you do not tell her that you stayed with Leon for the rest of the night and the majority of the morning.

You ask her how her day was but she says she helped Magnolia in the lab for the entire day. With a sigh, she wonders when her big break will be.

"And what's this new case you're working on?" she asks next. She's moved to sprawl over her bed on her stomach, looking at her phone.

"Missing people."

There is a brief silence and Sonia slowly puts down her phone, turning to you with an expression of worry. "Ah...I understand, are you sure about this one?"

"Yeah, I am. And I better get a move on. So little time, so much to do."

"Why don't you take a break for the time being?"

"Can't. I need to do this. The police are working on it but it wouldn't hurt if I try to help too."

She lets out a heavy sigh, shaking her head helplessly whilst you muster a weak smile at her and leave the bedroom. She tells you there is dinner left for you in the fridge.

Magnolia appears to be asleep as you tiptoe past her room. You haven't spent enough time talking to Magnolia because your schedules don't match. You're asleep during the day and she goes to sleep at nine, or on some random occasions, seven or eight if she's extremely tired. You both conveniently miss each other a lot.

You spot Yamper chewing on a poketoy near the stairs and as you pass him, you stroke his head and ears and he emits a cheerful bark.

Driven by hunger, you head into the kitchen, grab the leftovers from the fridge and heat them up in the microwave. It's leftover pie, veggies and mash and whilst it's cooking, you brew yourself a cup of Komala coffee for that extra oomph because you believe it'll be another long night. Once the food is ready, you sink into the sofa in the lounge with your late dinner and journal.

The food is piping hot so you balance the plate over the empty seat beside you and check your phone absent-mindedly, checking for any updates. Your blog's latest entry has been quite popular and you're relieved to see that positive comments has overtaken the troll comment left behind by the anonymous user.

However, you haven't received any texts from Leon since you replied to his message this morning.

Your face falls.

You were hoping you would've received at least one reply. Maybe a short message asking to see what else you were up to or maybe something as simple as a 'okay' would've sufficed. To make matters worse, your reply is marked as 'read'.

You try not to think too much about it. Instead, you think about your next plan of action.

Wracked with physical exhaustion, you've not had enough sleep nor have you had sufficient time to think or work out your next plan of action but you can't afford to sit around and do nothing. Peeling yourself off the sofa, you lay out your notes over the couch, picking up your plate of food and munching on some pie before you take a sip of your coffee.

Your Pokemon arrive to see what you're up to and everyone looks at your notes. Your messy handwriting, random arrows, prompt and other small blurbs circled in pen dominate the papers.

The coffee is working its magic in your system and you discover that the lounge isn't a suitable place to gather your thoughts and conduct research, so you quickly finish your meal and collect your notes together once more. You hastily rush to the door to put on your new coat and sink your feet into your worn boots.

Leaving the house with your pokemon, you balance your notes in your arms and you're still holding your mug of coffee for some reason which you didn't realise but no matter, you make your way to the Pokemon Research Lab as quickly as possible.

You fumble with your set of keys once you arrive and when you have unlocked it, you push it open with your back since your arms are full and head inside, pressing on the light-switch using your elbow.

The lights slowly flicker on one at a time, with one light in particular fluttering limply in the corner. The lab is closed at night but Magnolia has granted you permission to peruse it despite being after hours.

Outside, the sounds of raindrops battering the side of the building makes its presence known and you breathe a sigh of relief, knowing if you had left it a second later, you would've been caught in the rain.

You breeze past the seating area and the bookshelves whilst your pokemon linger near Magnolia's work desk which is chock full of documents and pokemon books. A small desk in the corner near the stairs is your destination and you put your coffee and notes down on the surface before you rearrange them in chronological order.

This is your workspace.

Although it's small, it serves it's purpose well and it's currently and unfortunately covered in a thin layer of dust since you hardly had time to carry out desk-based work most of the time.

Your whiteboard stands next to a large potted plant and you grab the handle, slowly easing it out. It is covered with plenty of sticky notes and random photos of ghost Pokemon and symbols. Gengar watches as you flip it to the other side to reveal a detailed map of the Wild Area stuck down with magnets.

It is accompanied with three photos, one of a young girl and two young boys underlined with 'Missing Person #1: Maisy', 'Missing Person #2: James' and 'Missing Person #3 Ed' and a brief outline of the circumstances of their disappearance in short bullet points.

Gengar, Cutiefly and Polteageist watch as you stand in front of the board and grab a black washable marker from the stationary tub, pulling off the lid.

It's time to start and the coffee is kicking in.

"Let's update our board," you say aloud, and you're awfully jittery so you grab your wooden paddleball from your cupboard that comes with a red ball on a string and begin whacking the ball repeatedly over the wood at the same time, "There are now a total of eight missing individuals. Let's start with the new missing folk."

You take the league card of a boy called 'Scottie' from your pile of notes and stick it on the space beside 'Ed', using a magnet to keep it pinned on the board.

"...Missing person four, Scottie: sixteen years old. Gym challenger. Last seen by a Watt Trader at night near the Giant's Seat...Watt Trader said the boy appeared to be running away from something. Mr Watt Trader assumed it was a wild pokemon and didn't come forward immediately. Missing for eight days."

You hastily scribble bullet points on the whiteboard.

"Missing person number five, Frank. Gym challenger, twenty one years old. Last seen wandering the Giant's Seat at night by a group of female travellers, asking to accompany them because he said he was being followed for the past few days. He didn't tell them who or what it was. Appeared to have seen something or someone behind the group and proceeded to run off. Has not been seen since and has been missing for five days."

You stick Frank's league card beside Scottie's.

"Missing person number six, Simon. Gym challenger, twenty years old. No witnesses, but a pokemon breeder found his intact backpack and the rest of his belongings at an empty campsite near the Giant's Seat."

Gengar, Cutie and Poltea watch as you stick Simon's card on the board next.

"Missing person number seven, Ben. Gym challenger, eighteen years old. Last seen camping on the outskirts of the Giant's Seat with his girlfriend. They fell asleep together in the tent. When his girlfriend woke up the next day, the tent was open and he was missing and he hasn't been seen since. His belongings were left intact. Missing for four days."

You're onto the recent victim now.

"Missing person eight. Owen. Gym challenger, twenty. An eyewitness saw him talking to a girl with blue hair in a white dress, possibly a friend or girlfriend. Missing for two days."

You finish sticking up the league cards and photos of the missing individuals. Using the notes provided, you also use red pins to stick on the map. You realise all the pins are scattered randomly around the Giant's Seat area. Once you are finished, you take a step backwards to inspect the whiteboard.

The whiteboard is running out of space.

"What's the connection?" you mutter as you begin pacing up and down with your paddleball. The pokemon watch you keenly as you grab your coffee, taking numerous sips, "Let's summarise briefly."

You turn to Cutiefly, Polteageist and Gengar and they stare at you expectantly.

"All victims are male except one. They're all gym challengers. They're between the ages sixteen to twenty one. Some of them appeared frightened. Some of them even left behind all their possessions. Their Rotom phones have not been found and their GPS location disappeared. They also disappeared at night."

You eventually decide that the way several victims disappeared sounds fishy.

"A guy goes missing from his campsite, leaving his belongings behind. A guy with his girlfriend goes missing from their camp during the night but leaves his stuff behind. And another victim was seen talking to a girl with blue hair in a white dress."

You tilt your head to the side and rub your temples again.

"What pokemon are known to reside in the Giant's Seat? Stufful, Bronzor, Lombre, Machoke, Machop, Nuzleaf...Wooper, Palpitoad, Snover, Snorunt, Munna, Duskull, Electrike, Ghastly, Natu, Mudbray, Growlithe, Vulpix. None of these pokemon should be capable of kidnapping humans or attacking humans, nor do they have any reason to."

You frown and grunt under your breath.

"I need to make a phonecall," you mutter, before you move to your desk, pull your seat out and plop yourself down.

You call Wyndon Police Department, asking for Chief Inspector Chris Graves. You get through after clearing some security measures and stating your identity and occupation. Luckily, Graves is still in the office. Though he's reluctant to give you too much information, you ask him about the testimony and everything checks out: the witnesses, the travellers, the girlfriend, the Watt Trader, the Pokemon breeder.

The only individual the police can't locate or identify is the girl in the white dress with blue hair. No-one has come forth with any information on this.

You also ask about the weather when the people went missing. So far, it's random...ranging from clear skies, rain, thunder and lightning. Then you ask about Maisy, the first missing victim, and what the weather was like when she went missing. It was a snowstorm, apparently.

You thank the Chief and hang up.

This new piece of information seems to have narrowed some things down.

Maisy went missing during a snowstorm and the rest of the victims since her disappearance have been male.

"Could it be...?" you murmur, shooting up in your seat and making a beeline for the board. The unknown girl is actually a big clue. You grab a red marker and circle 'Girl with Blue Hair and White Dress' before you yell, "Rotom!"

Summoned, your phone flies off the desk and into the air, grinning. "Yezzz?"

"Can you get Jace on the line?"

"Zzzure," Rotom replies, before he quickly changes to phone mode and you see he is dialling your friend for you until it gets picked up and the little screen of your phone shows Jace, presumably in his room and working at his desk, tampering on your radio with his Joltik helping him whilst an Eelektross and Heliolisk jump on his bed in the background.

He's wearing a pair of goggles with enlarged lens, blinking at you with magnified eyes, "Hi duckie, what's up?"

"Jace, can you pop over to the lab right now? Bring some of your thermals if you can."

He lifts his goggles up, letting them rest atop his messy hair, "Uh...why? What's going on?"

"It's for an investigation."

"...Oh, uh. Alright, sure, give me thirty minutes to get everything."

You're grateful Jace doesn't ask you too many questions and that he doesn't mind heading over to Wedgehurst at night but then again, he's used to your awkward requests and he's used to being called at random times during the night too.

"Thanks!" you reply, and Jace hangs up.

He arrives in twenty minutes; you wait for him on the plush sofa with your wooden paddleball, repeatedly whacking the ball against the wood until the door to the lab creaks open and you sit up in your seat.

"Geez...The weather is like a Thundurus..." mutters a disgruntled male’s voice.

You look up. "Jace?"

"Hi, chuck," he replies, grinning widely at you as you leap off the sofa to stand. Despite the umbrella, he's partially drenched, his damp blonde hair framing the sides of his face. His Joltik sits on his left shoulder, holding a large leaf over itself.

"Thanks for coming over," you say as he dumps the brolly into the bucket by the door and Joltik discards the leaf it was using as an umbrella.

He greets Poltea and Cutie as they hover over to greet him, giving them affectionate pats on the head whilst you greet Joltik. "No problem. And I got the clothes you wanted. What're you working on?" he asks, handing you a plastic bag which should contain the various thermals you had requested.

"I'm working on the missing person case."

"Can I have a look?"

"Sure." you say, and you both head to the whiteboard and stand side by side.

Jace scrutinises the board whilst you pull out a male's hooded sweater, a heavily insulated technical jacket, a pair of thermal socks and gloves. "So all these young lads are missing. They disappear at night, they're all gym challengers and no bodies have been found?"

"Yep."

"Well, whoever it is that is nabbing them, they like boys."

"That sounded extremely creepy but you're right, and I have a hunch."

"Let's hear it then."

"It's a Froslass."

"A Froslass?"

"Yeah. She's known to kidnap young men and use them as decorations."

"Fuckin' hell!" Jace cries out, "But she lives in snowy mountains, don't she? And she's not native to Galar."

"Yeah, but there's the occasional freak snowstorm in the Wild Area and check this out, the first known person who disappeared in the Giant's Seat is a female and she went missing during a snowstorm. Isn't it weird that no bodies have been found, even though it's been days... a month even? It's because she's kept them frozen in her lair somewhere in the Giant's Seat. It wasn't obvious until I found out there were new victims today and they're all male."

Jace shivers. "...Or maybe it's a serial killer or a crazy cannibalistic family who's kidnapping young men?"

"Or it could be a Froslass."

"Or it could be Macro Cosmos. Someone could be trying to sabotage the gym challenge," Jace says, "They're a powerful company but they can also be awfully dodgy, if you know what I mean. I heard matches are sometimes rigged so they can rake in more cash from the bookies."

"That's a good point but that's awfully risky and why would they want to do that anyway?"

Jace shrugs. "I dunno. You really think it's a Froslass?"

"Yeah."

"If it's a Froslass, why hasn't anyone seen or found one yet? I'm pretty sure someone would've seen one wandering around the Wild Area by now."

You gesture to the words 'Girl with Blue Hair and White Dress'. "Because she can appear under the guise of a young woman. A lost or hurt young woman, maybe. That's how she's been nabbing folk at night."

"What about their Pokemon?"

"She probably froze them too."

Jace makes a weak noise from the back of his throat before he glances at all the photos of the missing people. "Do you think they're dead?"

"...Froslass likes to freeze people and take them to her lair, so...if that didn't kill them on the spot, then Hypothermia will."

"Do you really have to work on this case?" he grimaces loudly and you nod, "I-I don't have a good feeling about this..."

"Even if it isn't Froslass, it doesn't make a difference to my plan."

"Which is what?"

"I'm going to the Giant's Seat. I'm going to pretend to be a boy and I'm going to be bait."

"That is a terrible plan."

"I didn't say it was going to be a good plan."

"Then I'll do it. I'll be the bait."

"There is no way in hell I'm gonna endanger you, Jace."

"I have Joltik to protect me. Isn't that right, little buddy?"

Joltik nods and trills loudly but you shake your head, "Jace, you're mad. What about your job?"

"I'm a Ball Guy for Pete's sake. Not much of a career nor is there much going on there anyway, and it's fine, as long as we finish by the end of the night and we come home before dawn, I'm good."

"Are you...are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"Jace, you are MENTAL!"

He chuckles weakly.

Remembering how Leon should be still in the Wild Area somewhere, you can't help but worry. "I told Leon to stay away from the Giant's Seat, but I'm really worried about him now."

Jace grins and pinches at your cheek. "Oh, does little duckie have a crush on Galar's unbeatable Champion?" he coos with a wide smile.

You swat his hand away. "N-no, I'm just really worried about him, that's all," you check your watch as Jace's grin merely widens. It's almost eleven. "Wherever he is, I hope he's safe and staying away from the Giant's Seat."

...

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Wild Area, Leon sneezes.

Someone must be talking about him, or thinking about him.

That's what his mum told him anyway. She is superstitious and traditional like the majority of people in Galar, and she worries about a lot of things. She's worried that Rose is working him to the bone, she's worried that he isn't eating enough or staying hydrated enough and she's always wanted him to come home more often than he does.

Leon has never had a girlfriend although the attention he receives from girls is simply astronomical and so are the amount of love letters that gets sent to their home on a daily basis. His mum hopes that he will meet a nice girl who he can bring home one day. She does not want her son to end up hurt and taken advantage of.

Leon chuckles, wondering how his mum will react if she finds out that he had in fact camped with a girl all night. No doubt, his mum would be dying to know who this girl is and who her parents are.

He doesn't disclose to his parents that he's already devised a sort of test to determine if a girl is 'the one' or not and it's to do with Charizard. Call him old-fashioned, but the girl must get along with his pokemon and Charizard doesn't let anyone except Leon and Hop ride his back.

Therefore, if Charizard lets a girl ride on his back, he will know she's a special one.

He recalls how you got on quite well with his pokemon and ponders to himself. You're the first girl he's come across in the Wild Area and to be frank, he can't quite get you out of his head.

You've intrigued him.

Earlier on in the day and he received your message and tried to respond but unfortunately he hasn't had any luck getting any reception in the new area he's moved to.

Instead, he focuses in skimming through your blog.

The main page shows a photo of yourself with Gengar and the brief outline you had written of the haunted mansion. It occurs to Leon that he didn't take a photo with you. Maybe next time, he thinks. Leon scrolls through and reads some of your other articles before he comes across the page with your testimonials.

One of the testimonials is from a young man called 'Jace', who wrote that you had helped him when he saw his poor Joltik levitating off the floor and being flung against the wall by an unseen force for three nights in a row. He didn't know who to go to so called the police but they treated him with skepticism and believed it was simply a trick of the eye which prompted Jace to seek further help.

"She was the only one who believed me," Jace wrote, "And yes, it was a ghost. My grandma's ghost who, bless her dearly departed soul, despised my bug pokemon before her untimely passing."

He also states that you are a great listener and demonstrated strong compassion.

Leon reads the other testimonials and finds himself smiling when he sees the positive feedback you have received from random people who have all said the same thing: you are a great listener, empathetic and most importantly, you believed them when no-one else would.

Another person has written: "She knows her shit, don't question her."

Moving on, Leon reads your 'About Me' page.

You're originally from Kalos. You have researched ghost pokemon for five years give or take. You have an innate gift for sensing evil, to see and hear what most cannot. With these, you aim to discover and learn more about the paranormal and supernatural phenomena which most people cannot explain. Ghost pokemon fascinate you because they are living proof that ghosts exist, and they appear to exist in two planes: the spirit world and the world of the living. They can also act as mediums or guides to the afterlife. This is what your research is all about.

Leon reads all this whilst eating his dinner. It's great reading material.

He's had a full day of training with Charizard and now they're camping again, making dinner to fill their hungry stomachs. He remembers that you had warned him not to go near the Giant's Seat so he hasn't wandered around too much but they've decided to camp for the night and he's not quite sure what this location is.

Charizard tastes the soup and decides there's not enough flavour so he nudges Leon's bag open and rifles through, sifting out a little packet of salt. Leon notices immediately and stops his friend.

"Wait, Charizard," Leon says, "This was a gift, remember?"

With the bag of salt in his claw, Charizard rolls his eyes and snorts. It's salt. Salt, for Pidove's sake. And it's the only salt they have. The soup would taste a bit better if they sprinkled a teeny tiny pinch of salt, but Leon takes the packet of salt out his claws and returns it to the bag.

"Let's use some Chesto berries," Leon replies, grabbing some of the little blue berries out instead and Charizard snorts in disagreement since Chesto berries are more likely to make the soup taste blander.

He's about to toss them in when he hears a rather faint and fragile wail of "Help!".

And he promptly looks up.

"What was that?"

Charizard looks up from his bowl. He didn't hear it.

"Help!" the voice cries again.

It sounds quite close.

Leon gets up to stand, placing his bowl down on the ground. "Did you hear that, Charizard? Someone's in trouble!" the Champion immediately leaves camp, attempting to locate the source.

Charizard bumbles after him, not entirely keen in leaving behind the nice and warm, toasty campfire he created.

Leon returns onto the path, trying to pinpoint where the pleas are coming from and he completely passes the faded wooden sign that says 'Giant's Seat: 5 mins' without realising. Charizard follows his friend, using his tail to act as a light and they head closer and closer towards the source of the voice. Leon shivers slightly, realising the temperature has rapidly dropped all of a sudden and the cries for help has dissolved into mournful, female sobbing.

However, up ahead on the path lies a girl with blue hair in a white dress, her bare legs covered in dirt and blood. She also has no shoes.

Leon arrives first and steps forwards; she looks up at him with her light blue, crystal-like eyes. He drops by her side on one knee, throwing a glance to her leg. "Miss, are you okay?"

"Help me, please. I'm cold and alone."

"Can you stand?"

"Help me, please. I'm cold and alone."

Maybe she is traumatised. Leon loops her arm around his shoulder and immediately notices that she is icy to touch. The frigidness of this girl's hand could be mistaken for a corpse. As he hesitates, the girl looks at him curiously before she places her cold hand on his cheek, pulling him closer to her face.

Leon grows uncomfortable at once as she appears to scan his features, "Um...excuse me, miss, what are you-"

Charizard arrives and the girl turns, appearing to have been caught by surprise. Her eyes widen in a split second before she lets out a hysterical shriek, pushes Leon away and sprays him with a gust of icy wind from her mouth. From her hands, a glowing ball of light materialises from thin-air which she flings towards Charizard's direction.

The flame pokemon is unable to avoid and becomes disoriented immediately, having caught the attack head-first.

His vision is swimming and he's seeing spots. Confused, he roars, turning left and right blindly. His brain has decided not to function properly. He hears Leon yelling for him. The sounds of a girl screaming assaults his ears. He doesn't know what to do.

"Charizard, use flamethrower!"

Flamethrower? Okay.

Charizard unleashes a huge barrage of flames towards a dark figure in front of him which he assumes is his target.

Much to his surprise, Charizard yelps when he feels his own flames lashing at his body. Being a fire-type, it doesn't bother him but he has hurt himself in his confusion.

Charizard looks left and right again but where is Leon? Where is his best friend? As the world spins senselessly around him, Charizard flaps his wings and attempts to fly into the air before he abruptly crashes into a tree trunk. He topples over and lands on his back, roaring wildly and his vision and mind gradually clears up, the effect of the Confuse Ray finally wearing off.

Charizard sits up, clutching his aching, pounding head. How long was he confused?

It's still night-time.

He is alone.

Charizard growls and huffs, glancing around the empty woods but he is alone; Leon is nowhere to be seen. He cannot see hair nor hide of his friend anywhere.

What about the girl?

What was she?

A ghost?

He tries his hardest to suss out where Leon may have disappeared off to but to his dismay, he cannot find any footprints, cannot pick up his scent, nothing. He returns to camp but Leon is not present either.

Emitting a bellow of despair, Charizard takes off to the skies as fast as he can. He leaves the Wild Area, remembering the exact spot where the incidence occurred and heads for the closest town which is Wedgehurst. It lies straight up ahead. Maybe he should've gone to find Chairman Rose or maybe even Raihan, but you're actually the first person he thought of and so he perseveres in his journey, hoping it's the right thing to do.

Landing in front of Magnolia's house with a loud 'thump', he marches up and pounds on the door with his curled claw. Charizard is relieved when you open the door; you're the only person who's awake at this hour anyway. Sonia and Magnolia are fast asleep.

"Charizard?" you utter in surprise.

He nods his head and snorts and huffs loudly, hoping you can understand him.

You glance around curiously then say, "Where's Leon?"

The pokemon growls loudly with anger and frustration at himself before he lowers his head with shame and guilt, because he has lost his friend. His eyes begin to grow wet because he is worried and ashamed.

You know something is wrong immediately. "It's alright, calm down. Let's go find him, okay?" you step towards him and pat him on the head affectionately as Charizard continues to bellow with grief and hide his head under his claws, "It's okay."

Charizard whines and looks at you, then nudges his head further under your palm. You rub his leathery horns and give him a gentle rub behind his ears.

"What's wrong?" says a new voice, and Charizard sees a young man with blonde hair appearing behind you.

"Jace, this is Leon's Charizard. Something must've happened to Leon," you reply, before you quickly rush inside the house and re-emerge dressed in the warm, insulted coat, hoodie and gloves, "Let's go, Charizard. Where did you lose Leon? Can you take me there?"

Charizard nods vigorously and bites on your sleeve as you pull your bag over your shoulder, tugging you forwards impatiently, inviting you to climb onto his back.

"I'll go too!" Jace yells, but the moment you climb onto Charizard's awaiting back and he immediately soars into the sky. Jace is left on his own. "...Oh. Maybe not then."

...

[athenaconservatoriesltd]

Built From Light Weight Tiled Roof Conservatories

Tiled Roof

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Types of Tiles

Steel core tiles increase strength and reduce weight, making them a smart and robust option for your conservatory roof. Other companies offer variations of lightweight tiles.

Flat Ceiling or Vaulted Ceiling

A vaulted ceiling is achieved using your existing roof structure, with outside cladding, the use of foil-backed insulation and the addition of a plastered ceiling. This only offers minimal strengthening and insulation.

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Alternatively, you could remove your existing roof entirely, but with a raised ceiling. This provides the best levels of strength an insulation for your conservatory.

Downlights

Of course, installing a roof means you'll lose some light. Downlights or ceiling lights are usually recommended when undergoing your roof installation, and can help brighten up your conservatory when necessary. Downlights can last up to 30,000 hours, so you can install them without having to worry about regular maintenance. Alternatively, you could opt for a center pendant light.

Other Considerations

Your new tiled conservatory roof should be treated just like any other tiled roof, which means adding fascia’s, gutters and soffits. Gutters should be cleaned regularly or in the event of a build-up, to help maintain and prolong the life of your new roof.

[oncerpotter2018]

archiveofourown.org/works/24794812

CHAPTER 1

There was nothing more they loved to do, than chase each other around the garden. Charles would call to him to catch up while Erik wasn’t far away, as he finally caught up with Charles.

“Got you” laughed Erik, smiling as he took Charles by his waist and kissed his neck.

“Erik, not here” giggled Charles and the both of them ran back to the mansion. Since the summer holidays, and with Raven away staying with Moria and Emma, the house was still preoccupied with the students but Hank has got them covered but other than the occasional student passing by or two, they have it all to themselves. Charles took hold of Erik’s hand and led him to the favourite spot of the whole mansion. Charles had gotten an extension to the home, by adding a large, glass greenhouse conservatory near the back to the school. It was their special place; a secret hide out away from the students. Charles made sure they were alone.

“Come on, I want to show you something” said Charles as he pushed open the doors and the slight of a luxury of a million-dollar paradise was all inside this one safe space. From top to bottom, it was filled with plants, trees, and different shades of exotic flowers, to which even Erik couldn’t name. Erik, without hesitation let the love of his life to guide him. While the downstairs was their personal secret garden, the upper landing where a grand staircase, like the ones inside the mansion, which was pained in white with a splash of gold to add to the luxurious aesthetic of what Charles had accomplished. Charles kept pulling at Erik to hurry up.

“Slow down” laughed Erik. Once they reached the top, the upper level was transformed into a living area, with a king size, four poster bed and a couch and a small shelf that holds their favourite books.

“Charles, you did this?” asked Erik in awe as he looked around, the whole floor overlooked at the garden below. Charles nodded his head as he looked at Erik with a wide grin on his face. He takes his hand again and drags him over the bed. The both of them collapses with Erik on top of Charles; Erik rolls over and faces Charles, Charles does the same and as they got comfortable Charles leaned forward and kisses Erik on his lips.

“I did this for us, I did this for the both of us” he said as he just lost himself in Erik’s eyes. “I love you”

“I love you too” Erik replied as they spent the rest of the evening laughing and trying to spend their moments together before dinner.

After they ate, they decided to spend their sleep and their dreams in what Charles calls their ‘safe haven’, away from their troubles and as night falls, the glass roof was the perfect solution to stargazing. Charles spent hours trying to tell Erik about the stars and their names. To some, they would stop listening to Charles but not Erik, he likes listening to the sound of his voice, to the softness of how he speaks just sends him into a place that he can dream all the time. By the time Raven gotten home from, the silence of the home she shares with her brother and Erik was unfamiliar since summer began. The students were in bed and before she could hang her coat, Hank walks in looking exhausted.

"What happened to you?" asked Raven trying hard not to laugh. Hank smiled shaking his head at her.

"Don't hold your laugh, if you want to laugh, laugh..." and so Raven did. She laughed so hard that Hank had to tell to be quiet.

"Shh, I just got the children to sleep. The younger students are particularly hard to managed by myself, if only Charles or even Erik would help. Speaking of those two, where are they anyway?" whispered Hank, still trying to wipe off the remaining whiteboard marker off his glasses. Raven thought for a moment before smiling, she knew exactly where they are.

"I know, come on" she said gesturing Hank to the far back of the mansion where the entrance of Charles and Erik's secret paradise was. Raven stops presses her figure to her lips and pushes the door gentle. Once they were inside, the glass conservatory was the new addition that nobody knew about.

"Was this really what Charles told us to stay away from?" asked Hank looking at the different species of plants from across the world, just being fascinated by the number of plants, a collection of exotic and unfamiliar plants. Raven told him to lower his voice as she pointed to the upper level. Both walked up the stairs, and from the top, Hank was more impressed as he looked up and saw the million stars above him. Astonished, his eyes soon turned to the two mutants sleeping together on the bed together. Erik’s arm around Charles’ chest, his head resting between his shoulder and neck. Hank just gave out a silent chuckle, shaking his head, while Raven bit her tough to stop her squill as she went over and began to pull the blanket over the couple. She went beside Charles and kissed his forehead.

“Sleep well, brother” she whispered. As she was done, and with Charles and Erik sleeping soundly both Hank and Raven crept away slowly down the stairs and let the two love birds to sleep under the stars.

In the morning. Charles woke to the feeling of emptiness of the space around him and for a moment the sudden thought of lost entered his body and stilled his heart, he gotten up and looked around, a sharp breath entered his lungs but soon the sound of soft footsteps entered his ears. There, walking up the stairs with the tray of food and drinks was Erik as he stepped towards Charles and laid the tray on the bed.

"I was going to surprise you with a breakfast in bed but it seems you are already up" said Erik a little disappointed.

"Ah, baby don't be disappointed, I'm happy you did this for me because you know exactly what I want" replied Charles as he kissed Erik on the lips as they began to eat. Charles and Erik soon started to get ready for work as Charles went to teach his students while Erik kissed Charles goodbye as he went to work. Erik worked just on the corner as to the school as a metal worker, working on mending and shipping metal parts to bigger companies. Erik tried to make amends for the mistakes he did in his past, all the pain he caused and the death came with it. Back than he was Magneto. People would see him as a monster, a murderer. But it was only Charles who saw past his mistakes, that he was more than a monster. He was human too. Once he got home, Charles came running towards him, his arms around his neck as he planted a kiss on his cheek and neck.

"I'm so glad your home" Charles said, his eyes shining with excitement as he began to pull Erik towards their special space again. As they passed students, some have began to spread news and even rumours about what the two went up to. Scott Summers once told Jean, Ororo and Kurt that the professor and Mr Lehnsherr was working on something that is more than what he calls work. But after being wacked on the head by his brother Alex, Scott swore to never spread rumours ever again. But this didn't stop the rest of the students from the following spread of rumours. Despite the rumours though, Charles and Erik made it in time to their special space without having to hear what the students think.

"Did you hear what the students were saying? About us?" laughed Erik as he took Charles hand as he went around taking care of the flowers. Charles just laughed back in return.

"Oh don't worry about them, Raven would have her say, she knows she understands and takes my privacy seriously especially with you" he said, he eyes darting towards his boyfriend as he handed Erik a rose he picked that evening. Erik took it from his hand and in a sudden move he pulled Charles into one big kiss.

"That's why I will always love you" said Erik, taking him by the face, the rose still in hand as the both of them couldn't stop looking at the way they looked so at peace with each other. Oh, how lucky was Charles to find someone like Erik, and it was the same for Erik. Both seemed perfect for each other, probably too perfect. But either way, Charles and Erik won't ever leave each other not matter what fate decides to do with them.

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Tips For Obtaining One Of The Most Roi When Including A Sun Parlor.15 Concerns To Ask When Selecting A Home Builder.

Lennar Homes, Sale Price, As Well As Settlements.

Content

Just How The Property Improvement And Also Refurbishment Providers In London Job.

Rj Refurbishment Providers.

Begin Your Project.

Little Orangery Conservatories As Well As Glass Conservatories.

Let The Sunshine In! Whatever You Wished To Know About Sunrooms

Link your glass space to your home's HEATING AND COOLING system to readjust the temperature when the weather transforms cool. Fireplaces and mobile heaters also work to maintain the location cosy throughout the wintertime. When installing a fireplace, ensure you're complying withstandard guidelines.

You will certainly have numerous options when it pertains to doors, colours, glazing, equipment, as well as surfaces. You might also personalise to operate in the way you desire it to function. There are remarkable benefits as well as attribute which you can not obtain with a conventional extension. If you merely want even more area, we can offer you a no-obligation quote to aid you accomplish your demands.

How The Property Remodelling As Well As Repair Services In London Job.

The Ultrasky Flat Skylight can additionally be coupled with an optional kerb to sit atop. The kerb is likewise highly thermally effective and so is a superb selection to even more boost the heat within your orangery. https://trusted-builders.co.uk/bungalow-extensions/ means that the Ultrasky Apartment Skylight is unrivalled in regards to thermal efficiency among the other flat skylights on the marketplace. This implies it is the greatest option you can make if you are adding flat skylights to your orangery and also desire it to be warm and cosy, all year round.

Rj Repair Solutions.

Is Construction Management stressful?

The downside of authority is the stress that comes with it comes. Construction managers need extreme patience and excellent coping skills. During major projects, they spend long hours on job. Unpredictable weather and other factors that delay timely construction also contribute to stress.

Start Your Project.

No - orangeries are not cold in winter season, in fact they are hot. Orangery roofing systems are highly thermally effective, indicating that orangeries are warm and also comfy, whatever the moment of year. A choice of colour options for your sunroom is available to match your residence.

With so many differences between orangeries and also sunrooms, it's hard to know what one is best for your residence. You can have either mounted with nearly any kind of style of property, yet it is necessary to think about a couple of things before you get to make a final decision. Yes 17k is the best cost since the materials and labour cost will come up to 12k to 13k and also remainder of the cash is contractors obtain which he is entitled to after having all the trouble. However the best place to start will certainly always be with a general price calculation.

That being said, older homes usually have an unique architectural beauty that you seldom discover in freshly built houses, and that can sometimes counter the price of any type of future fixings or renovations.

Now that we remain in your home, everything has been excellent, no major problems.

Skanska is a Swedish based business that has lots of subsidiaries around Sweden and the world, making them one of the largest construction business on the planet.

Skanska's specialties in building and construction are in framework and also basic building construction.

They will develop bridges and roads, in addition to houses, hospitals, and institutions.

The number of houses constructed by the biggest 100 building contractors fell 11% from 40,138 to 35,909.

visit this web-site than understandable to intend to obtain the most effective bargain when we purchase something, and also it's especially real when you are wanting to purchase a "big-ticket" thing like a new conservatory for your house. So allow's take a look at what you can expect with our valuable guide to 2020 conservatory costs.

Tiny Orangery Conservatories And Also Glass Conservatories.

Just enter your information right here as well as among the experts will certainly either meet you In-Person or On-Line to discuss your job. If removing the 'thermal barrier' doors make certain the proper process has been complied with. When a house is valued for sale, the rate recommended is exercised on habitable space. An Expansion, nonetheless, is a habitable space and also the flooring area would be taken into consideration.

If you've determined that it's for you, then you'll need to determine between a three-season as well as four-season porch. Based upon this experience, you could say that the principle of a sun parlor was developed with the Minnesota environment in mind. The covering made use of in the ridge and hips of your roof covering can be provided in a contemporary aluminium or traditional tile capped layout. Fascias in a series of colours-- including rosewood and also oak--. can be supplied to boost your roofline. Our licenced and also expert contractors have years of experience in developing as well as making patio rooms that fit different client lifestyles.

Allow The Sunshine In! Every Little Thing You Wished To Know About Sunrooms

Select White for a contemporary surface, or Lotion, Rosewood, as well as Golden Oak completes for a standard appearance. You can also pick to have a timber grained exterior with a tidy White interior for the best of both globes. • Optional designs - Can be completed with gable ends or be hipped back diagonally from edges. With one wall surface currently built, they are quicker and also less costly to develop.

Preparation your brand-new orangery is an interesting process and there are numerous choices to make along the road concerning just how it will certainly look. It is very important to research your options carefully to make sure that you create the orangery that is ideal for you as well as your house. Orangeries pair better with smaller sized residences, due to their rectangular form. Covering excessive surface with an oversized orangery might ruin the aesthetic allure of your residence. You additionally wouldn't wish to cover way too much of your yard with an orangery, so take that right into account when choosing in between both.

Are Ryan Homes really that bad?

Think twice If you are buying a Ryan Home please don't. They are really bad built. We are having a lot of issues with our house and the problems come after they 1 year warranty expires. The house was built in 2018 and it worst house ever.

But that doesn't indicate there aren't basic guidelines or regulations. Below are some harsh numbers for each sort of extension that can help give you a general idea. As rate of interest start to rise, it may be that you do not wish to actually relocate from the building that you are currently residing in and also may instead want to erect an expansion to your house.

In London and also the South East, the typical price per m2 is around ₤ 1,500- ₤ 2,000+. But this can likewise depend upon your surfaces as well as what you really want from the restroom. It's worth noting that, from a planning permission viewpoint, you can have showers as well as WCs anywhere. Plans as well as consent need to make up plumbing and then the pipes in fact needs to be mounted. And also to guarantee your expansion depends on your assumptions, it's an excellent concept to get this done properly.

Is Lennar better than DR Horton?

Horton stands at 3.7% compared with 29.1% for Lennar. Hence, Lennar is a clear winner in terms of earnings growth expectation. However, Lennar has a superior average earnings surprise of 68.9% compared with D.R. Horton's 8.6%.

The pitch of the roofing can be conveniently adjusted to fit your residential or commercial property. Orangeries have long been a favourite of homeowners with a good budget plan desiring a more "significant" area without the need to construct a bricks & mortar extension. As 2 of the extra bespoke designs of room, both Little Orangery Conservatories and Glass Conservatories are not what you would call "budget conservatories". If you stay with the fundamentals, it is still possible to find a fully fitted affordable 3 × 3 sunroom for under ₤ 6,000. So, as you can see, the sort of conservatory that you want to develop will certainly have a significant effect on costs.

Ensure to utilize these heat resources just when you remain in the space as well as disconnect them when you delegate reduce your energy expenses. Glass rooms allow you to broaden your living location and delight in the outdoors without leaving the convenience of your residence. To find out even more about the Ultrasky Light and also Apartment Skylight and how they can assist to make your orangery warm as well as cosy, see this web page.

So if you properly convert a Conservatory right into an Expansion you could likewise see the value of your home increase. Have thermal splitting up from the primary dwelling with doors of an external quality. You can include many useful elements such as bi-fold doors, vaulted ceilings, floor to ceiling glazing, gliding doors, pitched ceilings, as well as a lot more.

Are new houses better than old?

New homes are typically more energy efficient than older houses, having been built with newer building materials, better insulation, and state-of-the-art tech. Older homes tend to be less energy efficient, and that can lead to higher monthly expenditures for the new owners.

We make use of products that are built with high standards to make sure that the end outcome is a beautiful addition to your residence. Our group makes an effort to finish the job quickly as well as professionally.

[idealroofs-blog]

Solid Roof options for your Replacement Roofs

Solid Roof options for your Replacement Roofs from Idealroofs. Idealroofs have two fantastic new solid roof options with the Livinroof and the real roof.

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How To Pay For Home Improvements

Many home-owners at some time or another want to change some aspect of their house. This could be for a number of reasons. Sometimes it is an emergency repair such as replacing your roof or heating system, whilst other homeowners may opt to extend the living space within their home. This may mean converting a loft space, adding a garage or knocking down a wall to make an open plan space.

You may even choose to add such features as double glazing, central heating or even a conservatory which will not only help make your house more energy efficient, but could add value to your home if you do decide to sell in the future.

By increasing the value of your property, you may want to use the extra equity in your house to buy a new car, take a well-earned trip away or buy a holiday home somewhere.

So, how can you pay for those home improvements that are so desperately needed? One possibility which is proving to be popular is to take out a home improvement loan. This will let you to pay for all the material and work costs and allow you to repay on a monthly basis, spreading the costs out evenly over several months.

Before deciding on how what you will be having done, you need to work out how much you can afford before you start. For large jobs that require professional workers find a reputable and qualified person and get an estimate of work costs. For smaller jobs, such as refurbishing, make a list of what is required and find out what it will cost you. Work out how much you can afford to pay every month in repayments to show how much you can reasonably expect to borrow without getting into problems with repayments.

Before taking out any loan, it is necessary to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of borrowing money [http://www.home-improvements-loans.org.uk/guide-to-home-improvement-loans] Will the work you are having done increase the value of your home? Is the work essential? Are you making changes for yourself or to make the house more salable? What improvements will add the most value to your home for the least cost and will also be desirable for the property market in your area.

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