[Nexus] Home 13: Insert Silly Title Here

[Beans]

[Maeve's]

"I would actually," Doc says interestedly, "I'm sort of an art buff. Having a craft may be pretty useful. You can sell anything you make."

Khair slips away, returning with a wooden box, perhaps 12"x12"x1.5" in its dimensions; the top is a chessboard, and she sets it down on the table to undo the brass clasp. Inside is a full chess set; the pieces are clearly hand-carved, and along with the chessboard they seem to have seen a lot of hand-polishing as well. White and black are done in a pale wood and a darker wood respectively and finished with something that makes them smell... lemony?
Scavenged the box and replaced the clasp... the chessboard was intact but the pieces weren't. Went looking through a lot of scrap wood to find the right colors, ended up using vitamin E oil for the finish.
((It actually makes a fairly decent finish, I've tried.))

[Dark Elf Bard]

[Treehouse]

Onto the bed? Oh dear. Gelley doesn't even notice until something cold starts to tickle her side. She squeaks and jumps up, whether Vierzt is still on top of her or not. "Oh no! Vierzt, your sheets!"

The drow sits up. It's okay, I can wash them later.

[Murkus]

[Fettina's Place]

"Just the truth. If being surrounded by beautiful women, eating good food, and having a bank full of money isn't success, then what is?" He grins, "Now come on, let's eat! I didn't cook this so we could stare at it!"

"Amen!" Gelley agrees vehemently, extracting the lid from the roast plate. A chorus of ah's and mmm's goes round the table, whilst Naitiri leans forward to start slicing it up.

"Aw, c'mon, I don't want the end piece!" Tina says with a roll of her eyes. The tone of her voice is rather indifferent, however.

"I cooked it."

"Tell you what, we'll go by age." Gelley says, turning toward Tina and sticking out her tongue. "Youngest gets the end."

No Longer House Hunting

Upstairs, it'll take a bit of looking to find a door a little open with the light on inside. If they go over and look in...

...this was not a padded room earlier. It was a small bedroom, yes, but the walls weren't lined with padding, and the sheets on the bed were not hospital white.

Also, that wall was clean. Right now it has graffiti all over it, in some kind of marker.

THEY STAB IT WITH THEIR STEELY KNIVES
BUT THEY CAN NOT KILL THE BEAST

Creepy.

Tina jumps a bit as she turns to look at the wall, but as she sees what's written there, she only becomes confused. Her brow furrows. "What the heck?" She glances back out into the hallway, then turns her full attention to the marker. "Somebody likes the Eagles way too goddamn much."

The drow sits up. It's okay, I can wash them later.

"Well, it's a little hard to laze around with orange juice everywhere," DB says with a laugh.

[Halae]

[Fettina's Place]

Evan chuckles, "I'll take the end," Drat, their plot has worked!

[Gullara]

[No Longer House Hunting]

"The hell..." Kirk recognizes the song where that came from as well, and the implications behind it. "There's something here with us, and whatever it is, it has a sick sense of humour. This room, definitely wasn't like this before, though. I mean the walls." He gestures to them.

[Dark Elf Bard]

"Well, it's a little hard to laze around with orange juice everywhere," DB says with a laugh.

Wanna do it now then? Vierzt chuckles. I mean, did your mom or family or something teach you, or do I have to?

[The Bushranger]

[Amlin's Apartment]

Amlin leans into the kiss gingerly, "Alright, fair enough. Since... well, I can't exactly feed you at the moment, do you want to go and get something to eat?"

"I wouldn't want to press," Patty says with a smile. "After all, a busy mage like yourself likely has many things to do with his time."

[Halae]

[Amlin's Apartment]

"I was actually rather bored when we ran into each other," he says, "I was out for a walk waiting for my ritual to finish charging." He looks over into the kitchenette, and looks at the microwave's time, "It should still be a few hours."

[The Bushranger]

[Amlin's Apartment]

"Well, then, I would enjoy accompaning you, if you liked," Patty says, then pauses. "I...don't have anything to wear, really, though."

[Halae]

[Amlin's Apartment]

"Well, I've got some robes you can use, but they may not... fit" He puts his hands in front of his chest, as if lifting a pair of weights, a smile on his face.

[The Bushranger]

[Amlin's Apartment]

"Well, I've got some robes you can use, but they may not... fit" He puts his hands in front of his chest, as if lifting a pair of weights, a smile on his face.

Patty giggles in response, shaking her head. "Well, they'll have to do, won't they? I'm sure you won't mind," she teases, standing and stretching.

Slowly.

[Halae]

[Amlin's Apartment]

Patty giggles in response, shaking her head. "Well, they'll have to do, won't they? I'm sure you won't mind," she teases, standing and stretching.

Slowly.

[Amlin's Apartment]

Amlin watches, then clears his throat and stands, going in the direction of his bedroom. Bedroom, where you store your clothing.

He'll pull out one of his moreencombapssing robes from the closet; he hasn't worn it since getting so thin, given it's meant for someone with a larger frame than he had. Patty may notice the way it ties around the wait, and the dark green hue of it.

[The Bushranger]

[Amlin's Apartment]

Patty giggles softly, locking her hands behind her back and following at a slower pace. How long do you think it will be before you need to...well, feed...again? she mentally asks, before giving Amlin a smile and reaching for the robe to put it on.

It probably fits...just about as well as expected.

[Halae]

[Amlin's Apartment]

"Sorry, that's the only outfit I have that actually... you know, will fit you." Amlin will get into a pair of jeans and a tunic, which is probably an interesting bit of anachronism. He'll also grab a coin pouch off his dresser, "Let's go eat, shall we?"

I'm not getting weaker over time because I have a host, Harvey says, I'm always hungry. I think I always will be. But I don't need to feed any more than I already have. So... I'd appreciate it if I could feed as much as possible, but don't feel obligated to push for it.

[The Bushranger]

[Amlin's Apartment]

Well, we'll see what we can do until and unless we can arrange for you to be your own host, Patty 'says', before smiling to Amlin with a nod, reaching to take his arm. "Lead the way, good sir."

[OrchestraHc]

Khair slips away, returning with a wooden box, perhaps 12"x12"x1.5" in its dimensions; the top is a chessboard, and she sets it down on the table to undo the brass clasp. Inside is a full chess set; the pieces are clearly hand-carved, and along with the chessboard they seem to have seen a lot of hand-polishing as well. White and black are done in a pale wood and a darker wood respectively and finished with something that makes them smell... lemony?
Scavenged the box and replaced the clasp... the chessboard was intact but the pieces weren't. Went looking through a lot of scrap wood to find the right colors, ended up using vitamin E oil for the finish.
((It actually makes a fairly decent finish, I've tried.))

Maeve's

Doc whistles appreciatively at the whole set. "If you do stuff like this regularly, you might be able to sell handcrafted stuff like this." he tries to pick up a knife and look it over. "The guild might officially start expanding into sculpture..."

[happyturtle]

Daedalus's Email

An email arrives, sadly not promising Nigerian riches or enlargement of certain body parts.

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I could be interested in an alliance, but that depends on what your goals are. Care to enlighten me?

Regards,
Black Maul

[ThirdEmperor]

Over the Interwebs

Considering the email address was posted over the wall, I've no doubt plenty of that type of communications have already arrived.

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Sure thing. I'm in this for science, development and refinement of, plus nabbing any resources that help with those goals. Thinking about maaaaaybe taking some territory, bringing the poor peasants up to speed technologically, but that's not immediate and only if the opportunity presents itself.

- Daedalus

[happyturtle]

The Interwebs

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What about Enshadu?

[ThirdEmperor]

The Interwebs

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Blegh. Don't even wanna think about that.

Offered a temporary alliance to remove a mutual enemy, in exchange for him sharing some of his tech. Stuff turned out to all be magic, he turned out to be even dumber/more psycho than I'd figured.

Still, I'm pretty sure I can control him. He don't die easy and he's got ways to come back if he does, so it's best for everyone if I keep him on a leash.

[The Alexandrian]

[Fortress Mountain - Timeline A]

...

Wasn't Icarus previously frozen mostly solid from Day flooding the area of the room he was stuck to with loads of supercoolant in a gaseous state?

Are you at acquainted with Evil Dead 2 and 1408? This war isn't over yet. As a matter of fact, I daresay we've only just begun.

Riv's goons are struggling against a plane of existence destroying monster-goddess-creator of everything, after all. She is weakening, but it is no mean feat to put her down, even temporarily!

In fact, her oozes are attempting to hijack Icarus's body, Nameless Cannon Fodder's body, and every other body they managed to come into direct contact with by overriding their nervous systems from somewhere near the very tops of their spinal cords. If that doesn't work, they'll attempt to swim over to the soldiers' eyes and annihilate them, though that likely won't occur during this turn (or next) as it will take them some time to try to hotwire the bodies and move. 'S more or less a heads up.

But that's just the tip of the iceburg...

The oozes are attempting to feed off of the meatbags Riv's troops and manufacture platoons of Mini-Clarissa's inside of the soldiers Alien facehugger style!

They're also trying to engulf Day's entire head with oozes since they can't easily kill him off, but there's probably not enough of them on Day to succeed in that bid for control of his metabolism and respiratory system.

They're also also trying to tinker with Icarus's brain. 'S pretty obvious to Clarissa that all of the soldiers are responding to mental commands that are likely routed through something in their brains, an extra organ, machine, or use of a higher percentage of their brain at any given time or something, that makes them psychic because they are fond of Science! way more than they are fond of Magic! and Day received all his orders earlier when they were playing video games without speaking or listening to anyone, or so it seemed. They're going to attempt to locate this psychic brain piece by bouncing random psychic waves around his brain and methodically determining which sections of the brain react to them most. If they can find the psychic center they will then attempt to isolate it, steal it, and flood it with pain that the human mind cannot normally withstand as though there were thousands of creatures being horribly mutilated in hundreds of different ways all within the same second hooked up to the psychic communications array. She hopes this will effectively sever the communication lines between the soldiers so that they'll be more disorganized and deafened to each other and thus easier to rout.

Lastly, they're attempting to prevent Icarus from dying off by expending energy healing bits and pieces of him similar to a magical salve while Clarissa attempts to establish contact with whatever is left of his mind before he expires for good. If she is able to do so, she'll begin to try to converse with him!

"Death is beautiful, is it not? Life, so fragile and transitory, makes you a slave to the flesh. Life makes you weak. But as your body and mind burn away, you are left with unending purity and strength. 'Dust thou art, to dust returnest was not spoken of the soul,' as your famed poet Longfellow claimed (A Psalm Of Life). Your soul is all that you really have that you can keep forever."

"Now, what would you do if I were to tell you that it is my gift to every living creature existing in this plane? What if I were to tell you that if your flesh perishes, you will return to me? Riv did not give you life. I did.* In my infinite clemency, I offer you that gift once again and, as you have proven your worth to me, I offer you and your family more."

"If you serve me, your brothers live to see the dawn of a new day. I will grant you power in exchange for sin and some level of loyalty or friendship. I will be your coworker. I'm not a goddess that will ask you to worship me or force you to undertake any venture, though I will probably tip you off about opportunities where we both stand to benefit. Perhaps the term cooperation fits the bill better than alliance. Hmm... We can work out the specifics and conditions later."

"You are strong and courageous, Icarus. I feel that there should be more fearless individuals such as yourself in this world. I would like to spare you, but I caution you that if you accept this contract and later break your word to follow me you will die and become a part of me. I guess that if you refuse my generous proposal, you'll do that anyway, so you have nothing to lose and the world to gain as things stand."

*Not valid in all universes. Some restrictions and lies may apply. See your local Clarissa/gods for more details.

Icarus was more than a worthy foe and it would honestly be a terrible shame if he were iced after fighting so bravely and well.

Clarissa and Icarus should totally find an Aperture Science Testing Facility and sign up for the Cooperative Testing Initiative.

-------
[Sparrow's Fall]

Spec, a little bit happier, blinks through sparkling, tear-filled eyes as Trium finishes singing.

"Wow! That was beautiful! I didn't know you could sing."

"Well, I, um..."

"That's really poetic and grim, but yeah. That's basically why you shouldn't die."

Spec nods, nervously glancing over Trium's shoulder right shoulder as though she expects to see something there that she doesn't want to see and hugging her as if she'll never let go.

"But I imagine it'd be a little different..."

Here comes a song!

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To the tune of Viva La Vida.

I used to school a world
Make ‘em die with rank transferred
Now every night I just roam around
Watch the bodies fall to the ground

I used to hack and slice
Feel my mind all clouded with lies
Listen as the crowd would roar
Come on cut off his head! Rank up your score!

One minute I bathed in blood
Next I found you my true love
And all of a sudden I realized
All that I could become deep down inside

You know I love every single minute
That my life still contains you within it
With you beside me this life felt real
Beside you all of my wounds were healed

In this battle with life and death
I need you now and I’ll never
Never ever turn away
And that was when I lost my girl

It was a terribly frightening day
They seize the floor just as we begin
With shattered dreams in dying firelight
Quickly begged you abscond without delay

As you teleport away
The weak lock snaps and gives way
My hands are tied but I smile and sing
‘My heart already has taken wing’

You know I love every single minute
That my life still contains you within it
With you beside me this life felt real
Beside you all of my wounds were healed

But our romance will not be strained
My love for you cannot be chained
Never could keep us down
So I know you’ll be around

You know I love every single minute
That my life still contains you within it
With you beside me this life felt real
Beside you all of my wounds were healed

But their efforts will be in vain
My path will cross with you again
Never could keep us down
So I know I’ll see you around

Spec is a spectacular singer, good enough to do it professionally. What's more, there's an almost magical quality to her voice that evokes strong emotional reactions from people and makes the effect of the music, whatever that effect is, exponentially more visible.

By the time Spec finishes singing, she's crying again, but her tears are not the product of sadness. They are tears of joy.

[happyturtle]

Interwebs

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My goal is the complete elimination of magic from the Nexus, but it doesn't seem likely that your "comrade" would be amenable to that. I'd prefer to stay off his radar as long as possible.

[FireFox]

777 rue Molière

There is a street in the Blue Zone of Inside that appears to have been transplanted from a wealthy area of Paris sometime between the 17th and early 19th centuries. In between the homes of Edmond Dantes and C. Auguste Dupin there is a beautiful mansion that a young man has just purchased and moved in to. His name is Rupert Xaviar von Alucard ibn Sergeyevich and he is new to both the Nexus and wealth. He wants to join the ranks of high society, to better help out the common man of course, but he finds himself lacking a proper gentleman's education. Hopefully he can find people to help him pass as a proper member of the upper class aristocracy.

[Terumitsu]

[Riss' Quarters]

It was sometime later when Riss returned to her room. In what was becoming habit, she undressed and hung her clothes by the door. She was aware that not all that long ago, she would have viewed the practice as strange but not unpragmatic. It put less wear on her clothes in general which meant they not only lasted longer, they didn't need to be washed as often either.

The light had been gently dimmed in her absence to where the glimmering green tips of the artificial grass was the brightest source in the room, giving the area an interesting appearance. Given the few myths she had read through in her copy of 'Extracts,' it was the kind of ambiance she expected to find fey residing near. Well... In the wild I mean. Kinda already know what I'll find here. With a somewhat tired smile, she approached the pool with the intent to lie down and snuggle up if Misha and Mimi if they were still there. She wouldn't entirely mind gong to sleep right there, though.

[Slii Arhem]

Riss' Quarters

Misha is still there, and for a moment she may even be mistaken for being asleep in Mimi's arms quite adorably, but the moment Riss' toes touch the edge of the still-toughened water her eyes flutter open, revealing that she was simply relaxing between the two sources of warmth fully conscious.

"Mmm..." a gentle hum resonates in behind her closed lips as she slowly exhales. The rush of air from her nostrils contains a light mist that quickly condenses over her chest and neck to leave it shimmering in the dim ambient light.

For once, there's very little to say. Just the offer of an arm that was firmly around Mimi's lower back so that their shared love can join the embrace.

[Gullara]

[Riss' Quarters]

Mimi had just about slipped off to sleep. When Riss entered the room, she was sort of half asleep in Misha's arms. It didn't take much at all to rouse her. Her eyes open when Misha shifts and Riss is greeted with a dreamy smile. "Hi Riss."

[Terumitsu]

[Riss' Quarters]

"Hello. You two seem comfortable." Riss said as she knelt down on the yielding surface. Truth be told, she felt a strange pang of... Something she couldn't quite place but it seemed close to anger, when she saw Misha 'asleep' in Mimi's arms. Whatever it was, it was light and passed quickly and the muse chose to not dwell on it. "Would you be willing to let me slide in somewhere or should I just bother you some other way?" she asked, moving to try and take Misha's hand and simply hold on to it. Mimi would in turn possibly have a hand on her shoulder giving an affectionate squeeze if she allowed it.

It was nice. Just being able to be close to them. It was almost all the better because of her troubles as it was like having an anchor to hold to amidst a particularly chaotic aftermath of a blast gone awry.

[Dark Elf Bard]

777 rue Molière

There is a street in the Blue Zone of Inside that appears to have been transplanted from a wealthy area of Paris sometime between the 17th and early 19th centuries. In between the homes of Edmond Dantes and C. Auguste Dupin there is a beautiful mansion that a young man has just purchased and moved in to. His name is Rupert Xaviar von Alucard ibn Sergeyevich and he is new to both the Nexus and wealth. He wants to join the ranks of high society, to better help out the common man of course, but he finds himself lacking a proper gentleman's education. Hopefully he can find people to help him pass as a proper member of the upper class aristocracy.

A drow in a simple button down and jeans, carrying a violin, looks around for the address.

Upon finding it he knocks!

[Slii Arhem]

Riss' Quarters

Misha smiles sedately and with one arm still around the pixie she tries to roll Mimi halfway off of her, leaving a space for Riss to slip in between. The hand that Riss grabbed hold of will swiftly be put into use trying to gently guide her into the spot.

Once they all get wedged together Misha will utter, "Had to close my eyes because I kept glancing at the door every time I heard something, hoping it was you. Missed you." She tries to explain before giving it up as unimportant. Riss is back now, and they're all together again.

[Gullara]

[Riss' Quarters]

Mimi giggles and helps in making room for Riss. "Like you have to ask." She wraps her arm over the muse and gives her a kiss on the cheek before settling in.