[Nexus] Inside 51

[UncleWolf]

Business District => Shabby Apartment

Cleaning up the offices of the three multi-story buildings that Walden was in charge of was a dirty job, but someone had to do it. Or, more to the point, it was the only job that the half-hag, half-satyr could hold. It wasn’t really his fault that he couldn’t do anything else, not when every other job seemed to have strange coincidences happening all the time around him, much to the middle-aged Sagtyr’s Inconvenience. There’s that word again. In-Con-Vee-Nyence. By the Gods I hate that word… Walden couldn’t help but think to himself as he punched out of his last stop, holding in a sigh as he noticed that the computer’s hour log had miscalculated his time and shorted him four hours.

Again.

At least he’d already explained to his boss why it always seemed to happen on his watch. He didn’t believe that his boss thought he was telling the truth, especially since his paychecks always seemed to be light, but at least he’d put forth the effort this time. It could always be worse. he reminded himself, thinking back to when the fastfood place he’d worked at previously had burned down when the fryers sprung a leak at the same time the oven’s heating element burst apart. No one had been seriously injured, but it had forced Walden to look for another job. His third this year, and it wasn’t even half over yet.

He had to admit that there were a few good things about his current gig. The janitorial staff was rather small, leaving interaction with people a minimum and that meant he could listen to the static-y radio all night. He also traveled from building to building, which helped keep the monotony down and made sure that his Curse’s effects on his surroundings were kept to a minimum. The best thing though, was that when he was finished and stepped out onto the sidewalk, he got to watch the sun rise above the horizon. It always gave him a nice warm feeling in his heart, as if someday he might get past his family’s Curse and live a normal life.

As if. He snorted to himself, still smiling as the sun rose. He stood there for a few minutes, watching the scenery and listening to the early risers getting up and about before reminding himself that he had to keep on schedule. If he didn’t keep moving, he’d miss his usual Wednesday Mugging, and if he missed that, something worse would happen. As he turned his back on the sun, he headed towards a cheaper part of town and pulled out his nearly-empty wallet. It was a couple days till payday, but as usual, he was down to his last 40. He might go hungry during his lunch break for a day or two if he gave it up, but that was a mild Inconvenience compared to a beating that he’d get if he didn’t hand it over. He never liked the choice, but after glancing at his flabby stomach, he knew he could afford to miss a meal.

Luckily the exchange took just a couple minutes, with a new bandit simply accepting the money in pay-off for his safe passage before giving him the usual threat about bringing more next time. The rest of his trip home was without incident, but that made the Sagtyr edgy and more wary. He didn’t think he’d been up to quota for Inconveniences for the day, so whatever else the Curse had planned for him, it’d strike soon.

Which of course happened to be when he was riding the elevator to his third floor apartment, feeling pretty much home-free.

Luckily the wait for the repair crews took only a few hours this time instead of the several days that happened last year. It allowed him to snooze some after berating himself for his carelessness. Even though the Curse would never kill him or allow him to ever become permanently disabled, it still kept the (shudder) Inconveniences coming, as if it was its only goal. In all reality though, that probably was its only activity, but he liked to think that it liked to spite him specifically over doing anything else.

The day turned for the better when his key [i]didn’t[/t] snap in the lock like it was prone to, and it turned a little worse when his one-room apartment’s lightbulb burst with a flick of the switch. A little more cleaning in the day never hurt him though, and after replacing the bulb and sweeping up the broken glass, he settled down for some fine dining. Walden never bothered with buying milk anymore, as the stuff would always spoil before he opened it, so simply poured lukewarm water into the bowl with his semi-stale cereal. It didn’t taste too good, but after so many years of eating like this, he didn’t mind much. He had hoped that reading the mail would cheer him up, but it seemed that his landlord had decided to increase his rent again and the rest were various flyers about cheap enhancement pills (Why would anyone be so vain as to need to grow out their horns more?) and ads for things his curse would never allow him to keep for more than a day or two tops. The mail-order brides seemed interesting at least, but knowing his luck, they misspelled male by mistake. And even if they hadn’t, he figured the woman would just Fed-Ex herself back to wherever they came from once they met him, or get lost in shipping.

And he’d still get billed for her.

As usual, his After-Breakfast shower turned freezing cold a quarter of the way through and his hoof slipped on his bar of soap, causing him to do the splits and hit his shoulder on the wall enough to make it throb. After all this time though, he had become flexible enough not to be bothered by the first and could simply ignore the second. Even if the Curse kept him from permanent harm, it allowed him to get hurt.

A lot.

Walden sighed when he saw himself in his tarnished and cracked mirror before he started shaving. Even though he was half-satyr, his mother’s side still more than made up for it. He was a plain-bordering-ugly sort of individual in his mid-thirties with a zit-scarred face, asymmetrical features, and a long lumpy nose that curved slightly to the right. His skin was always pale green-brown and had a somewhat rough texture. Not only that, but his hair had already started to go bald in random patches. He wouldn’t mind so much if the baldness kept to his head, but it spread to his goatish legs too, making it look like he was infected with mange.

Why did you have to piss off a troll witch, gramps? He thought to the heavens, far from the first time. His great grandfather had been a rather lucky individual until he got caught making fun of a troll that’d been sleeping under her bridge. Since then, his family line’s luck had been twisted around, steadily getting worse as the generations went on. It went spectacularly bad when his father had gotten plastered and woke up next to a hag. The literal kind.

Nine months later, Walden had been born and left on his dad’s doorstep with The Curse of Inconvenience, a step down from his father’s Curse of Lucklessness.

It all came back to that. The Curse. Each generation had a slightly different one, worse than the previous. Walden’s was rather bad, but he knew that if he ever had any luck dating and eventually got a family, his child’s would be worse and he didn’t wish that upon anyone he hated, let alone family. The Curse tried to find any and every way to make Walden’s life a living hell in the most annoying ways possible. Electronics constantly burned out when he used them, he’d get stuck in elevators, and vending machines would eat his money or cause his snacks to get stuck. He’d had broken bones, painful wisdom teeth (when he had to get them removed, the anesthesia seemed to be ineffective on him, resulting in the worst Inconvenience yet), bursting lightbulbs, and worse. If he spent too much time around people, the Curse seemed to spread to them for a little while as well.

The worst part though, is that it also kept him alive no matter how bad it got.

He’d always had just enough money to get by, always just enough food, and whenever something tried to change that, it went terribly wrong. Walden had once tried to get out of it like his father had been able to, but all the bullets had been proven to be duds when he used them, the pills turned into placebos, and the beam the noose had been on had been rotten enough to break when he put his weight on it. After the attempted hanging, he took it as a sign and just gave up on trying to end his family’s Curse in a “good” way, and went back to work scraping by in life, avoiding social interaction to the best of his ability. Maybe if he didn’t get a family, the Curse wouldn’t move on and it’d die with him when he got old enough.

Walden had to switch to a normal razor halfway through shaving when his electric shorted out, and of course he nicked himself a few times with the somewhat dull blade, but he got that accomplished before wrapping a towel around himself and heading to his chair. His recliner was lumpy (as usual), but comfortable (not as usual), and he grabbed a book to read while he listened to his static-y TV. The book seemed to be missing random important pages, but he was used to it, and it wasn’t a surprise when the power went out right as the TV was starting to get interesting.

No doubt Old Man Smithers will blame me when he discovers that it’s my fuses shorting out and will raise my rent again. Walden thought to himself as he folded the corner of the penny dreadful he was reading and set it aside before laying back in his recliner with his hands under his head.

He didn’t feel too tired, so Walden analyzed his life for an hour, trying to piece together how pathetic it really was. At the end, he came to a realization that in all honesty he didn’t have it too bad. After all, he wasn’t living on the street and didn’t actually have mange. The Sagtyr smiled a bit to himself as he closed his eyes, a plan in his mind. [i]After some sleep, I’ll pack a bag and grab Gramps’ staff before heading out. I have plenty of time left to have an adventure or two. Maybe rescue a dragon from a damsel or something. It’s damn well time for a change.[i]

Funnily enough, that’s what the Curse was thinking too.

[The Bushranger]

Taberna Lavernalis

Reynard smiles wryly. Excellent. It should go without saying that I expect you to learn as much as possible about this group and what they are capable of. So do try to keep your eyes open when you're blowing things up.

"You got it."
Arina sketches a jaunty salute, then downs her vodka.
"Even though it's usually more fun just to close my eyes and blow everything up around me..."

[Terumitsu]

[Market Street - Twisted Tea Cafe]

"I see." the Entity said as they idly twirled the staff in one hand. "Then what would you say to an opportunity to engaging in a world of dreams without the lack of lucidity that such would imply? And if time is object.. Well, there is that curious factor of dreams where hours may pass but the time spent external to the dreamer is merely minutes." they said. As of now, it was simply dispensing information although being rather nebulous about any goals that might be tied into this line of conversation.

Or it could simply be a repeat of the tea experience where it was just another item that was deemed appealing for whatever reason. Whichever it was, they seemed to be sketching small circles in the air again with the end of the staff although apparently nothing was coming of it.

[FireFox]

Ashley's Warehouse

I'm sure we can come up with something. Ally squeezes Ashley's hand and winks. Maybe you could help me on a job.


Taberna Lavernalis

Call me if you run into any difficulties. He holds up his glass to be refilled and a tricky smile plays across his lips. Oh, I recently learned about an interesting artifact: Il Stiletto. It is said to be able to pierce anyone's heart. I hired NO to acquire it for me. If they do an acceptable job, I may use them in support of our plans.

[Devixer]

Ashley's Warehouse

"I'm more than happy to help with whatever you need," Ashley says, snuggling a little closer to Ally.

[The Bushranger]

Taberna Lavernalis

Call me if you run into any difficulties. He holds up his glass to be refilled and a tricky smile plays across his lips. Oh, I recently learned about an interesting artifact: Il Stiletto. It is said to be able to pierce anyone's heart. I hired NO to acquire it for me. If they do an acceptable job, I may use them in support of our plans.

Arina frowns a bit; she thinks she and Callie can handle all the plans of Reynard, but she doesn't contridict the boss, instead downing her vodka and standing. "If there's nothing else, I'll be off to work, then."

[ThirdEmperor]

Nort's Place

Nort thinks, "Where would I run, you know where I live." He motions to the room they are in. "I don't know any reason you would trust me. I don't like the idea of working on a weapon. But with antimatter leaving you to work on it yourself... well it wouldn't make anyone safer." Nort obviously has doubts about working with the friendly kidnapper.

"You're right." At least about them having no reason to trust him. He could run for Remnant, or go into hiding, find some goodie twoshoes to protect them.

Lawrence considers it, face impassive, looking around the room again before he speaks. "We can offer you one million in standard currency, for your services." This place does look a little bit dingy. Not a proper laboratory at all.


Red Zone- Spirit Questing

Oh. That won't do.

As Marty turns to run Sir Hex suddenly steps from the shadows of the alley in front of him, sticking out a foot to trip the hapless maroon.

[Hattish Thing]

Red Zone- Spirit Questing

Oh. That won't do.

As Marty turns to run Sir Hex suddenly steps from the shadows of the alley in front of him, sticking out a foot to trip the hapless maroon.

Marty runs forward as fast as he possibly can, running and seeking that lodestone. He growls and trips on Sir Hex, smashing into the muddy ground, screaming and gasping as the mud turns into blood in front of him. He bathes in the blood, the mud... He gets up and takes out the little pistol he hid in his coat. He raises it and attempts to fire at Sir Hex, who in his eyes is a horrible wriggling monster...

[FireFox]

Ashley's Warehouse

"I'm more than happy to help with whatever you need," Ashley says, snuggling a little closer to Ally.

This is just the start, Ash. My luck has turned and with you by my side I'll become the best thief in this city. Ally murmurs sleepily.

Taberna Lavernalis


Arina frowns a bit; she thinks she and Callie can handle all the plans of Reynard, but she doesn't contridict the boss, instead downing her vodka and standing. "If there's nothing else, I'll be off to work, then."

As his employee stands, the Trickster muses out loud. The foxgirl's busy tailing the boy, trying to learn more about his dream-walking. I wonder if anyone's cracked my ciphers on the Wall? He may come under closer scrutiny or protection soon. We need to increase recruitment, Arina... I have many irons in the fire.

[Morcleon]

[DMC 2.0]

Mia nods.

"You know that throws the question: Where did you come from that cause you to travel through planes?"

[DMC 2.0]

"The place I came from was a rather backwater place, with a heavy magical presence. I was a doctor of sorts there, but my specialty was in grafts." Yuki settles back in his chair, taking out his scalpel. He offers it to Mia. "As for how I am able to travel through the planes, that would be due to one Kobayashi Haruka, a legendary swordswoman who came to me seeking a very special graft indeed." He smirks, remembering the incident.

"If you look closely, the blade on that scalpel isn't a standard one. It's actually the broken tip of one of Haruka's 7 Metablades, the 4th, the Blade of Space. I can use what's left of it to cut a lot of things, including a small number of metaphysical concepts and the barriers between planes. That final function is what lets me travel through planes."

[OrchestraHc]

[Gothic Roof]

The mage thinks for a few minutes before speaking up. "Find someone you know and trust that is good with mind magic. You might be able to pry something out of my mind. Or at least make sure I am not doing anything to mess with your minds." The mage glances over at Calvin. "Or you could kill me and dump my body somewhere."

Calvin looks upset at this comment. He doesn't say anything just continues to glare at the mage giving Young Star his chance to do it his way.

[Gothic Roof]

"See, that wouldn't be a bad plan back in my universe. I have a decently trusted witch I could ask for help, but it would require us on the opposite side of a wormhole. How do you feel about transdimensional travel?"

Marketplace

Melbourne's brow furrows with thought and he pauses for a moment, before asking in a whisper just loud enough to be overheard, "Is that much?" Whether it's a genuine question or for the crowd's sake, who knows.

[Marketplace]

Pepperjack crouches down to meet Melbourne at eye level. "If you can keep this up all day, by all means. If not, I suggest a higher wage for your effort," he whispers too the shrimp.

[Devixer]

Ashley's Warehouse

Ashley smiles and kisses Ally's forehead. "Maybe you'd like to go to bed for the night first?" she asks.

[Lost_Deep]

Market Street - Twisted Tea Cafe

"Time is rarely an issue for me anymore, and truthfully I do not want lucid dreaming. You see, lucid dreaming is just quality time in your own head, and that is something that I've had more than enough of to last a lifetime or two, and something that I can get more of at will. The lack of lucidity, to see what my brain does without my will to lead it around, is the appeal of dreams for me. On the other hand, it's also why my dreams tend to be so bizarre."

Copi nods slightly. "Of course, I'm probably already able to have lucid dreams. My mind is not as uncooperative as most humans', and I can more or less get it to do anything I want it to. I simply have not tried due to the reasons I listed."

[Lord Magtok]

[Eighth Municipal Bank of Heroes]

Magtok never did seem to get a straight answer to his question.

Even as they stand before the massive and ornately marble-pillar building before them, the present-state of the security remains completely suspect.


Most of the world doesn't seem to care, however. People, creatures, lights, and more filter in and out of the bank with little thought to the two that stand before it.
Many more peculiar things have come here than a cyborg and feline-based humanoid.

"Was there a specific plan?"

MagCave shenanigry may be suspect at present time due to technical difficulties.

Magtok shrugs, seeming to wander in no particular direction at all as he strolls through the bank. People have been lost in such places before, surely they won't think he's trying to gauge security or get some sort of vague estimate on the floorplan, right?

"Not really. Walk in, make demands, wait for giant aircraft to do all the work when everyone's distracted and got their eyes on us. Or, y'know, their eyes just on me, if involving you directly is cheating. Is it? I mean, you're a goddess of death and all, but then this is the Nexus, where fantastic powers are basically everywhere. And I've killed a god. Sort of a gray area. Do you have any non-interference deity rules?"

He frowns, looking this way and that, before turning back towards Libby once more.

"Eeeergh. The place is bigger than I was hoping it’d be. Nowhere to make my demands without leaving my back exposed to at least one super-guard, and whichever one I pick is probably going to turn out to be the super-est, to say nothing of their clientele, of course. Not going to look very intimidating with my back against a wall either, though."

A quandary presents itself. In a room full of superbeings, how does one stand out as a truly superior, menacing being? How does a humble cyborg bluff his way past legions of hideous mutants, bizarrely human aliens, and radioactive strongmen? There are people here who could probably bench-press the entire MagMobile if they wanted to. What’s to stop them from dislocating Maggy’s jaw with a single iron punch?

[McBish]

[Nort's Place]

"You're right." At least about them having no reason to trust him. He could run for Remnant, or go into hiding, find some goodie twoshoes to protect them.

Lawrence considers it, face impassive, looking around the room again before he speaks. "We can offer you one million in standard currency, for your services." This place does look a little bit dingy. Not a proper laboratory at all.

Nort considers this. He never really cared much about money. He admits though that was easier when he had money not to worry about. Still money wasn't what Nort is really interested in. "I also get to keep any data or useful information that is collected in my work. Including access to all your data about this machine I will be working on. If I don't know everything I won't be able to do my job." Perhaps this machine could prove useful in the future.

----------------------------

[Gothic Roof]

"See, that wouldn't be a bad plan back in my universe. I have a decently trusted witch I could ask for help, but it would require us on the opposite side of a wormhole. How do you feel about transdimensional travel?"

"I tend to get sick, only if I do it physically though. Mentally I love crossing through dimensions. Do you really have the ability to open up wormholes?" The mage seems fairly curious. Calvin seems to be getting more impatient.

[Zefir]

Indeed it isn't a weapon, and while Andy builds, the suit of armor goes to try to help him, while Mr Steward heads off to sleep.

So things will be build. Since such a devise can't be done in one day, he will need a bit.

[DMC 2.0]

"The place I came from was a rather backwater place, with a heavy magical presence. I was a doctor of sorts there, but my specialty was in grafts." Yuki settles back in his chair, taking out his scalpel. He offers it to Mia. "As for how I am able to travel through the planes, that would be due to one Kobayashi Haruka, a legendary swordswoman who came to me seeking a very special graft indeed." He smirks, remembering the incident.

"If you look closely, the blade on that scalpel isn't a standard one. It's actually the broken tip of one of Haruka's 7 Metablades, the 4th, the Blade of Space. I can use what's left of it to cut a lot of things, including a small number of metaphysical concepts and the barriers between planes. That final function is what lets me travel through planes."

"Intressting." Mia says. she uses magic, but this kind is something she has no real intressed in. It's using to less technologie. She weights the blade in her hand. Just a magical piece of iron. she thinks and hands back the scalpel.

"Intressting in it's way. I wonder how his blade got broken."

[ThePhantom]

So things will be build. Since such a devise can't be done in one day, he will need a bit.

Mr Steward can wait, and so he does until the device is completed.

[The Bushranger]

[Taberna Lavernalis]

As his employee stands, the Trickster muses out loud. The foxgirl's busy tailing the boy, trying to learn more about his dream-walking. I wonder if anyone's cracked my ciphers on the Wall? He may come under closer scrutiny or protection soon. We need to increase recruitment, Arina... I have many irons in the fire.

"The trouble with having many irons in the fire is that the more irons you have hot the more likely you are to get burned," Arina says, almost under her breath but loud enough it was clearly intended to be heard, just before she phases through the wall to depart.

[Jsaur]

[A Street Not Far from Trog's Tavern]

A young blond man runs down the street. He's holding a large black sphere in one hand that appears to be shaking slightly. He has a worried look on his face, seeming to know what the sphere is.

[FireFox]

Ashley's Warehouse

Ashley smiles and kisses Ally's forehead. "Maybe you'd like to go to bed for the night first?" she asks.

But I want to spend time with you. The thief's tone of voice is the same as a child insisting she can stay up until midnight on New Year's Eve.

[Taberna Lavernalis]

"The trouble with having many irons in the fire is that the more irons you have hot the more likely you are to get burned," Arina says, almost under her breath but loud enough it was clearly intended to be heard, just before she phases through the wall to depart.

Don't get insolent with me, bitch. Reynard's lip curls up in dark amusement. After she leaves, he finishes the rest of the vodka, drinking straight from the bottle, and quietly schemes.

[Devixer]

Ashley's Warehouse

"We'll have plenty of time tomorrow," Ashley says with a grin. "But maybe a few minutes," she adds before leaning in to kiss Ally.

[Morcleon]

"Intressting." Mia says. she uses magic, but this kind is something she has no real intressed in. It's using to less technologie. She weights the blade in her hand. Just a magical piece of iron. she thinks and hands back the scalpel.

"Intressting in it's way. I wonder how his blade got broken."

[DMC 2.0]

Retrieving his scalpel, Yuki corrects Mia absentmindedly. "'Her', actually. It was broken when she tried to rend away the personal realm of the god of war with him still inside. Stupid idea, in hindsight..."

[Terumitsu]

Market Street - Twisted Tea Cafe

"Time is rarely an issue for me anymore, and truthfully I do not want lucid dreaming. You see, lucid dreaming is just quality time in your own head, and that is something that I've had more than enough of to last a lifetime or two, and something that I can get more of at will. The lack of lucidity, to see what my brain does without my will to lead it around, is the appeal of dreams for me. On the other hand, it's also why my dreams tend to be so bizarre."

Copi nods slightly. "Of course, I'm probably already able to have lucid dreams. My mind is not as uncooperative as most humans', and I can more or less get it to do anything I want it to. I simply have not tried due to the reasons I listed."

"I believe I have been misunderstood." the Entity said as they resumed utilizing their for it's intended purpose; a distinctive metallic ringing issuing from where it tapped the pavement. "I speak not of dreaming but of being in a dream. You would not be the initiator from a source such as slumber but be one who could interact with the realm of the dream. It is not a self projection but an experience of a.. Oh dear, the-" Here there was an... Utterance for lack of better descriptive terms. It was something seen, felt, tasted, so fully experienced that it was impossible to misunderstand but there was no word that could fully encapsulate it as a whole. If one tried, it could be likened to the term 'Intent' but it fell woefully short in all respects. "..doesn't seem to translate well here. Think of it as not necessarily an altered state of being but an altered state of perception when introduced to such stimuli that ordinarily would not be detected when in reference to coming in contact with the purest expression of a concept. Mmm.. Even that does not quite cover it.. Such are the limitations of translation, I suppose." they said, breezing by the 'utterance' as if it were nothing.

"But if such is not appealing, then I will not press further. Perhaps I should allow you to be the one who places requests for a time then?" they said.

[Lost_Deep]

Market Street - Walking

"Well, now you have me curious. 'Dream' is not the proper word at all, is it? You are instead describing things not usually detectable by human senses or other mundane means. Don't feel the need to abbreviate, I am more than willing to listen to a lengthy and somewhat odd explanation. I find things that are off-kilter from what I'm used to fascinating, especially things that are off in a way that isn't really translatable into the human experience. I understand that this will most likely be difficult, but I would like to hear as close of an approximation as you can muster."

[Terumitsu]

[Market Street - Walking]

The Entity appeared to pause and consider this before making a second 'utterance.' Rather than simply speaking about something in vocal terms, Copi would be allowed to 'experience' the subject instead. All at once it was like a world of pure forms across a morphic landscape of distance and time which simultaneously were at odds with each other while yet cooperating to form a coherent flow of events, for a given value of 'coherent' of course. Though things were of crystalline purity, they were no less complex as each possessed faucets of their composite whole as easily seen as turning a gem in light, leading to a cacophonous intensity of being as their essence was directed out of only a single faucet within focus. Things were in perfect order but this order was only apparent to the thing that had it and each existence was born of it's own separate set of rules.

And within it all were these tall, masked shadows who traveled between posts that were of paragon concepts like beacons of existence who's presence was both necessary and impossible trimmings of the waves and weaves of being that made up the mundane and eternal places of the grand mess that incorporated it all.

"I will give you a moment to digest that but here is a place that the mind may touch when it wishes not to be shackled by matter. Among other things, of course." the Entity said, speaking in words that were much more agreeable to mundane senses. There would be a sense that this was but a sliver of the whole but it was at least a well encapsulated primer on the subject.

[ThirdEmperor]

Nort's Place

"No. Not about to happen. The technology you will be working on is ours. Any attempt to replicate or sell that information will go poorly." Lawrence snaps. And here they are, back to threats and intimidation.


Market Street

"A little more. Make a show. I'm a fool, don't know how cheap we're selling." Most people tend to get suspicious when they're offered wondrous trinkets dirt cheap. But they're all to willing to believe in the stupidity of foreigners.


Red Zone- Spirit Questing

"Hmph." It's a little ungentlemanly, but Sir Hex aims to stomp his foot down on Marty's arm as the manic goes for a gun. Despite his frail appearance, Hex easily puts enough force behind the kick to break a human's arm. "You are monotonously predictable, you know that?"

[Lost_Deep]

Market Street - Walking

Copi is quiet for a long minute.

"Very interesting. I'm not sure what to make of it... I completely lack relevant context. It was a bit... pure for my tastes. Does this "dream" have a notable affect on real life?"

[Chaotic Bob]

Spoiler

Show

Magtok shrugs, seeming to wander in no particular direction at all as he strolls through the bank. People have been lost in such places before, surely they won't think he's trying to gauge security or get some sort of vague estimate on the floorplan, right?

"Not really. Walk in, make demands, wait for giant aircraft to do all the work when everyone's distracted and got their eyes on us. Or, y'know, their eyes just on me, if involving you directly is cheating. Is it? I mean, you're a goddess of death and all, but then this is the Nexus, where fantastic powers are basically everywhere. And I've killed a god. Sort of a gray area. Do you have any non-interference deity rules?"

He frowns, looking this way and that, before turning back towards Libby once more.

"Eeeergh. The place is bigger than I was hoping it’d be. Nowhere to make my demands without leaving my back exposed to at least one super-guard, and whichever one I pick is probably going to turn out to be the super-est, to say nothing of their clientele, of course. Not going to look very intimidating with my back against a wall either, though."

A quandary presents itself. In a room full of superbeings, how does one stand out as a truly superior, menacing being? How does a humble cyborg bluff his way past legions of hideous mutants, bizarrely human aliens, and radioactive strongmen? There are people here who could probably bench-press the entire MagMobile if they wanted to. What’s to stop them from dislocating Maggy’s jaw with a single iron punch?

[EMBOH]
The more entertaining name.

Absolutely no one would ever suspect the faintly-creepy pair of doing anything suspicious. Ignore the fact that one is the brand of cyborg with the somewhat commonly-evil red eye syndrome, and the other appears to be a fan of grim-style cloakwear.

Not chance that they'd be summing up the vague-and-deliberately-confusing floor layout, or the probably staggered guard change schedules...
Anything of that nature that seems to imply the bank is being deliberately obtuse to rob.


"Apply your brilliance, Maggy. If they have the muscles, you must have the brain."
That's a fairly staple cliche to abide by!
...although usually it's in the other direction.

"Or you could always wildly accuse that dog over there of being a shape-shifting burglar."
Libby gives a half-shrug and jerks her thumb over towards the canine slinking about unsupervised near the door.

[Lady Serpentine]

[Shadowside Arena]

Shadow steps out from a dark corner, and walks calmly out into the middle of the arena, looking around slowly, taking in the group of people sent by Mayhala.

The arena itself (based on what C'nor told me about it looking like the one on Geonosis) is about two hundred meters long and a hundred wide, with tiered seating all around the edge. All of it, like the rest of Shadowside, is made of shadows. Examining the substance, Shadow shakes his head slowly.

"Interesting. This shadow is... alien... to me, hostile. It should not be. I wonder if there is another power at work here..."

Straightening, he concentrates for a moment, and solidity flows through his form. He stands easily in the center, all the time watching Mayhala's people, waiting to see what they will do.

"This place is... Inherently inimical. It promotes, and provokes, discord. Hence why the arena was built here. Few other structures would be suitable, you see... And, too, it has been taking on such characteristics for a long, long, time from the fighters, as well as taking its toll from the dead.

One could even say it is more of a they... It is not, yet, quite sapient, but it is certainly very close. Insulting it, as you have done, is not the wisest course of action."

None of them are truly people, as such, and all are constantly flowing from one form to another, making it hard to tell what they really are.

[GrandDM]

"This place is... Inherently inimical. It promotes, and provokes, discord. Hence why the arena was built here. Few other structures would be suitable, you see... And, too, it has been taking on such characteristics for a long, long, time from the fighters, as well as taking its toll from the dead.

One could even say it is more of a they... It is not, yet, quite sapient, but it is certainly very close. Insulting it, as you have done, is not the wisest course of action."

None of them are truly people, as such, and all are constantly flowing from one form to another, making it hard to tell what they really are.

"I did not intend to insult. I state simply what is, that the shadows here do not recognise me as others do."

Shadow examines the flowing forms closely, but still maintains a watch on the shadow-people.