[Nexus] Outside XXXI

[Reinholdt]

This place is just as it sounds. It's outside.
Want a change of scenery? Go outside.
Always wanted to visit the beach? Come outside.
Looking to have a climatic fight on clifftops? Attempt outside.
Secret meetings being held where there's no cameras? Try outside.
Want an ambush without nasty base defenses? Yep. Outside.

Any and all are welcome here. There are no NPCs unless you bring them in. The major exception is the creepy eyed squirrel. The creepy eyed squirrel does not interfere with anyone. The creepy eyed squirrel is everywhere outside. The creepy eyed squirrel is always watching. The creepy eyed squirrel never sleeps. The creepy eyed squirrel can not be damaged, manipulated, or killed by anyone. The creepy eyed squirrel will eat anyone's very being who attempts to do so. Anyone can god-mode the creepy eyed squirrel. You may pet the creepy eyed squirrel at your own risk.

Other NPCs currently include:
The menacing crabs. These intimidating creatures are usually found by the shore.
The non-existant duck. You'll miss every time you shoot at it.

There is very little you can't do outside. However, like always, please follow the forum rules and general rules of conduct. Private conversations can be held outside. If it seems like a private (secret) conversation, please respect that. Those having such a conversation should do their best to indicate it as such. Otherwise, other characters may stumble upon you. Those desiring to spy in on private conversations should first PM those holding the private conversation, more out of courtesy than anything else.

There are many areas outside, and people can be in multiple places outside. In order to keep areas outside separated so there's no confusion, consider bolding your outside location at the start of each of your posts, like so:

The Fields

Reinholdt sets up various targets and practices his sharpshooting. All these events recently has made him a bit rusty. To his left, he notes the creepy eyed squirrel. Giving him the heebie-jeebies, Reinholdt decides to head somewhere else.

The Cliffside

Calublufiok broods over his latest scheme as he flies over the cliffs. The creepy eyed squirrel is watching him again. He finds occasionally landing and telling the creepy eyed squirrel his plans helps him find holes in his plotting.

Note Reinholdt and Calublufiok do not interact because they are in different areas outside. They could interact, if Reinholdt moves to the cliffside. Of course, various things like telepathy help bypass this. Also, please note outside has no major buildings, though minor ones crop up from time to time.

And most importantly, enjoy outside. That's what this is all about.

Outside now contains various Outside locations! Such as...

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[Dead Pine Lake]

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This lake lies in the middle of the forest. On the eastern shore, woodpeckers feast on the dead pines that give the lake its name. Sometimes one can find Lady Death here, the Aspect of Eve also known as The Grandmother, or Jedwiga.

(Please PM happyturtle if you wish to interact with Jedwiga.)

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[The Islands]

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An island cluster forms an archipelago along the coast. Some of the islands are settled, some not, but most are at least occasionally visited by the fishermen who work these waters.

[Gersemi's Island]

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Now more commonly known as Melody's Island, since Gersemi has long ago retired.

Where once was a single hut with a few sheep, now stands a single hut, a barn, a few sheep, and a small tented community of orphans. Gersemi's loom still rests in one corner of the single hut.

Melody, like Gersemi before her, is a healer for the surrounding islands.

(Please PM Lex-Kat if you wish to interact with Melody.)

[Redbrick Falls]

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A mountainous, cliffy region with a prominent waterfall. A large quarry once was worked in these cliffs. Now, only a few scattered villages and solitary dwellings remain.

[Norosa, Great City of the Elves]

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A Lawful Evil city with an incredibly strong military and a very charismatic leader (Archmage Tyrion Lannister). It has a few CG resisters, but, otherwise, it is a city of peace and law, despite its evil nature.

[Brillian's Baneful Bestiary]

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A secret series of caves where a mad scientist lives. A mad scientist who creates mutant attack creatures. These can be purchased for the right price.

[Auxiliary MagCave]

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A relic from the days of the Age of Apocalypse, this abandoned cavern was once used by the infamous cyborg Magtok as a back-up laboratory and underground fortress, should Calublufiok have ever stormed the primary MagCave.

[The Katz Motel]

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Located in the middle of Nowhere, our roadside motel is the only decent place for miles near the Taverna that has a bed. Run by a suave anthropomorphic cat, there is a strict No Dogs policy.


A bellhop by the name of Bates is always ready to assist in carrying your luggage. Please ignore his constant mutterings about his mother. Other more unsavory employees can occasionally be found. Please try to avoid eye contact with them.

We at the Katz Motel wish to ensure you have a splendid stay. Any inconvenience due to randomly locking doors, giant spiders, secret passages, vampires, creepy paintings, and the occasional possession and subsequent exorcism are incredibly rare. Just look at our complaint cards! Not a single one mentions dying horribly in their sleep or becoming food for the monster in the basement.

And if you get bored, the owner will always be up for a game of sport, old boy.

((The Katz Motel is a horror filled place with the highest casualty rate of any motel in the Nexus area. Checking in is usually pretty easy and pleasant. Checking out is rare. Anyone can play the Motel and the NPCs within, free to invent their own horror. The NPCs within that can die usually only suffer death temporarily, the supernatural force causing the disturbances bringing them back to life for its own nefarious purposes. PCs get no benefit from this.))

[The Troll Cave]

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A cave in a craggy hill. The undergrowth outside is trampled completely flat, and there's not much wildlife. There's a burned patch where a fire is sometimes there. Inside are a few large caves, linked by surprisingly smooth tunnels that look like something big has been regularly pushing through them.

[Blind Cat's Bluff]

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A sheer cliff dropoff that travels straight down into the water, this is a favored point of people who commit suicide, romantics wanting to watch the sunset and anyone looking to get rid of evidence. The drop is pretty far and there are rocks at the bottom that spell almost certain doom, so watch your step.

[North Forest]

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A magical forest with a mythical spring of beauty. A bit like the Weald, but not nearly as dangerous. For starters, you can find your way back out and the pixies aren't cannibals.

PM Reinholdt if you wish to add locations to Outside.

[Rebonack]

((Repost of DOOM!))

[The Path to Friendship!]

The tree would say that it has been having a wonderful day of sitting around and converting water and carbon dioxide into sugar. But because it's just a plain ol' tree it can't speak. Nor can it tell that there's a rather stressed out unicorn pondering it.

"You just got here, Twi," the chimera replies softly, offering as much empathy as he can manage. "You can't expect to get use to somewhere so different from your home in just one day."

He bounces his hind-end a few times, taking a few hops closer to the MagCave.

"C'mon. We'll go find Rainbow Dash. Once she knows that you're here too we can set up somewhere to meet in case she wants to keep exploring. I know the perfect place, too! It's a district of Inside that is probably the most normal place in the whole Nexus. For whatever reason it's immune from all the rampant weirdness."

[Alloy Mine]

The troll is neatly separated into hundreds of tiny marble-sized spheres.

Well.

That's certainly one way to make something stop being a threat.

"I wonder if this has anything to do with what's going on here," Freddie muses. "I've never seen a crystal troll before."

[Eadin]

[Alloy Mine]

Yay!!

"Well, do you have crystal in your home world? That might explain why you haven't seen one before."
Right.
Cat will continue walking, looking at the shards of troll in case they dropped some loot.
Yay loot.
Still seems a bit distracted, though. Almost trips over a shard!
Almost, so no harm done.

[Halae]

[On The Coast]

A certain half-black dragon girl is sitting here at this point, wearing a pair of jeans and a teeshirt. An astute observer will be able to note the blue one-piece bathing suit under her clothing as she waits for peter to arrive

[Eadin]

[On The Coast]

Ormirrah will find Peter suddenly standing next to her! Sneaky illusions!
She might notice he looks a few inches shorter and a little less skinny.
Probably got all self concious and made some illusionary 'adaptations'.
"Hey there."
He's wearing a basic black t shirt, dark blue swimming trunks and a pair of flip flops.

[Halae]

[On the Coast]

Well, given she didn't notice his approach, Ormirrah is surprised by Peter's sudden arrival! This quickly followed by a "meep!" and jumping slightly when he appears.

She's certainly in good spirits though, as when she stands immediately after she's laughing and punching him lightly on the arm (unless he stops her, of course) "Don't do that! you scared the hell out of me!"

[Mindfreak]

Impact Crater
Kirila think again!
"Now that we have shelter we need a source of water and food..."

[Eadin]

[On The Coast]

Sneaking success!
And it's rewarded with a punch! Aw :(
"Well, a little surprise was sort of the point. Didn't mean to scare you, though."he says with a small smile.
He rummages through his pockets, pulling out her leftover money.
"This is yours , you left a bit too much money in your hurry."

[Halae]

[On The Coast]

Ormirrah quirks an eyebrow at him when she takes the coins, "You know, I was paying for your half as well, right?" She's still smiling though. Well, she's generous at least. She shoves the money into her pocket... before she starts taking her pants off right there in front of him, apparently not concerned about whether or not he's watching. She's wearing a swimsuit underneath, after all!

[Eadin]

[On The Coast]

"I'm not the kind of guy that lets a lady pay for my meal." He's trying to be a gentleman at the very least anyway!
Also looking away when she's taking off her pants. Just respecting her privacy and to not act like an staring creep.

[Chaotic Bob]

[The Path to Friendship!]

Ibby's ability to be so easily right about these things was almost irritating, in a way. Or maybe that was just her current mood.
It was equal parts comforting and familiar too.

"I guess not."
Twilight reaches a hoof up, to fiddle with her hat for a moment. Nothing in particular with it, no adjustments or playing with those goggles. Just...touching it. Maybe confirming that it was actually real, there, and logical, despite its origins.

After a moment, that hoof sweeps further back, to tug a bit of her mane straighter and expunge remaining frays. A faint creeping of self-consciousness, perhaps, as she calms down?
"You're right. We need to at least make contact with Rainbow Dash..."

Not sure what she'd do if the pegasus decided to stick around for awhile...but heading somewhere with Ibby wouldn't be unpleasant, right?

Taking a breath and trying to nudge a little smile onto her face, the mare moves onwards.
"Let's go introduce you to one my friends."

[Halae]

[On The Coast]

She'll also take her shirt off and toss it into a pile with the jeans once she has them off.

"That's very gentlemanly of you," she says, "... you look... different. Not as lanky. Is this an illusion?"

[Eadin]

[On The Coast]

Uh oh. Busted.
"Er, yeah. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable like earlier.."
Also insecurities.
Looks like he's waiting for taking his shirt off until they're actually going to dive.

[Halae]

[On the Coast]

Ormirrah takes a step back from him and looks Peter over, scrutinizing.

"Nah, I think I like you lanky. You being super tall is kind of... well, yeah, but it suits you, I think." she shrugs. A slight blush has creeped onto her face, hinting at a certain fact; she's not entirely sure what she's doing. She's just reacting at this point without putting much thought into it, and her brain has decided most o the decisions so far have been a bit silly. Nervousness is starting to creep back in, but she's keeping a rein on it.

"So take off that shirt; it's time I showed you what I was talking about before."

[Eadin]

[On The Coast]

OMG compliments!
The illusion will fade, returning him to his normal size and also removing his shirt.

Looks like that was an illusion too.
"Heh, thanks. Better?"
The illusion his still hiding his red cheeks, though. SO much blushing in one day.

[Halae]

[On The Coast]

"Much better," she says, "Follow me then!"

And she starts running into the water! She'll be under the waves quickly enough, a flick of her tail sending her into the ocean before her horned head pokes up above the water line in a moment to wait for peter.

[Beans]

Impact Crater
Kirila think again!
"Now that we have shelter we need a source of water and food..."

Did you see any water when we were falling?

[Lady Serpentine]

[Peaceful Field]

In a ditch below the apple tree what appears to be some kind of hobo of the female variety wakes up. Her hair as the rest of her is a dirty muddy mess. She probably haven't washed for days and probably haven't eaten much either.

She turns her head upwards, her green eyes focusing on the tree. "Hey! Miss fancypants, give me an apple!" She orders the woman with a shake of her fist.

[Peaceful Field]

The vampire smiles sweetly at the newly-awakened person, plucking a large apple from a branch next to her, and skimming it at her stomach, fast enough to be hard to catch, and sting for a bit if it hits, but not enough to really hurt her.

"You know, when you're begging food from people, you might want to try being more polite to them," the blood mage points out, lightly tossing a heavy glass bottle of water down, in such a way that it should land unharmed at her feet. "It tends to work better."

[Eadin]

[On The Coast]

Right!
Into the water we go!
He's not so fast a swimmer though, so she might not want to swim ahead too far.
Splash splash.

[Halae]

[In The Water]

Ormirrah will stay still so that Peter can catch up with her, before wrapping her arms around his chest in a sort of hug, "Alright, it's kinda deep under the water, so I'm going to swim for both of us, alright? Take a deep breath and trust me with what I'm doing."

[Rebonack]

[The Path to Friendship!]

The chimera replies with but a nod.

That's all that's needed, really.

Just a nod to say let's go!

And then they're off again!

Once they reach the cave Ibby will shut off the divination so Twilight doesn't have a bunch of weird ribbony things sticking out of her. That would look really silly!

Next stop?

The Mag Cave!

[Alloy Mine]

Oddly enough these trolls dropped no lewts! Maybe they weren't trolls at all? Maybe they were something else!

"Of course we have crystals on my home world," Fredrick laughs. What a silly question. "It's just that the trolls don't usually take on an appearance like that. Usually they're more... earthy..."

[Eadin]

[On The Coast]

Woah! Hug!
There goes the anti blush illusion! Enter lobster face!
"Erm okay?"
He's mostly unsure what to do with the hug thing and close and wearing little clothing.

[Alloy mine]
Awww! No loot!
"That's weird.. Maybe they're not really trolls?"
Just sentient bits of crystal, maybe.
She'll shift to sphinx form, to smell if the crystal troll thingies have the same smell as the 'regular' trolls

[Mindfreak]

Did you see any water when we were falling?

Impact Crater
Kirila thought.
"I didn't...guess maybe I'll look in the air for some water and you look for food?"

[Halae]

[On The Coast]

He may, of course, notice the blush on Ormirrah's own face

"Peter? Deep breath, not just talking." Of course, she doesn't leave the embrace just yet. She's setting up for the dive, after all.

[Eadin]

[On The Coast]

Noticing things is for people who are not panicking!
But he'll stop talking.
And take that deep breath.

[Gullara]

[Woods]

Aiea storms through the trees outside Mithar Keep, moving quickly to get as far away from Bark as possible. She only slows if she starts getting near to the limit of how far apart they can be. He'll have to hurry if he wants to try and stop her for the moment.

[Beans]

[Impact Crater > Forest]
The MS girl nods and will head out to look for things to eat!

[Halae]

[On The Coast]

Once the breath is taken, Ormirrah will twist Peter so that he's under her before starting to swim downwards into the water. She's a powerful swimmer, her tail pushing the pair of them through the water with ease. If peter somehow manages to keep his eyes open, he'll be able to tell that Ormirrah has no trouble keeping her eyes open underwater - it's the reason for her second pair of eyelids, which are mostly clear.

It's entirely likely that, given his semi-panicked state, Peter will lose his breath fairly quickly. If that happens, he'll find Ormirrah pressing her lips against his and breathing air into his mouth.

[Mindfreak]

Impact Crater
She'll find berries, nuts, and animals!

Kirila flies into the air, looking around for a source of water!
Eventually, she sees a lake and returns to the hut!

[Eadin]

[On the coast]

Right. Salt water. Let's just assume Peter put on some swimming goggles before the divide.
This will mean he's sort of staring at her for a moment, trying to get what's happening.

And then the air goes poof and she's sort of kissing him, maybe.
Did the water just turn purple?