Question 4

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

How about the Rico Rodriguez school of spies. You know the one´s with the car surfing that get around with an infinite supply of parachutes and grappling hooks.

Sounds like an effective PR action.

Crowbars sound good. Although I always figured someone that only has precog and no further enhancements wouldn´t really stand up to Nighthound. He still physically outmaches them by a couple miles, can outlast them stamina wise and even if she dodges he can adjust his punches, even though that might break his arm. The crowbar still sounds awesome.

Though choice on the one hand dragons aren´t exactly earthnative on the other they are storming awesome.

Susan has two more attributes that make Nighthound more of a danger to her: she is female and attractive. Her favored strategy would be to stay as far away from him as humanly possible. If a fight were necessary, she would use everything at her disposal--guns, explosives, crowbars, etc. Though when she learned about his vulnerability to blunt force trauma, she would search high and low for a wrecking ball.

She wouldn't want to get closer to Nighthound than she had to, is what I'm saying.

[Voidus]

This is a turnip.

That is all.

[Edgedancer he/him]

Susan has two more attributes that make Nighthound more of a danger to her: she is female and attractive. Her favored strategy would be to stay as far away from him as humanly possible. If a fight were necessary, she would use everything at her disposal--guns, explosives, crowbars, etc. Though when she learned about his vulnerability to blunt force trauma, she would search high and low for a wrecking ball.

She wouldn't want to get closer to Nighthound than she had to, is what I'm saying.

She sounds like a reasonable person. I like her, especially the wrecking ball part., which together with explosives spind like her best option. She could also ask this guy for help.

 

This is a turnip.

That is all.

You statement is correct. This is a celery tuber.

Edited November 29, 2014 by Ookla the Edgedancer

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

She sounds like a reasonable person. I like her, especially the wrecking ball part., which together with explosives spind like her best option. She could also ask this guy for help.

 

You statement is correct. This is a celery tuber.

 

"A fight avoided is a fight won," that's her motto. Though if Nighthound insisted on a fight, she would definitely subscribe to the Army's rules of confrontation: "Don't bring a knife to a gunfight. Bring guns. Bring lots of guns. Bring your friends who have guns. Bring their friends who have guns." 

 

Lots of guns. And a wrecking ball. And explosives. Everything she could bring that would tip the balance in her favor and increase the likelihood of Nighthound's death would be present at that fight, because the second she saw Nighthound, she would scan his futures to determine how much of a threat he was. When it was determined that holy flipping cow this guy needs to die yesterday, she would begin amassing all the weaponry and heavy machinery she could get her hands on. And she would bring all the Supers she could recruit—strength, teleportation, invulnerability, precogs running the gamut from "barely Spidey-sense" to as close to her level as she could manage. Because when it comes to Nighthound, there's no kill like overkill. 

 

 

And this is a radish. 

 

[Kobold King he/him]

"A fight avoided is a fight won," that's her motto. Though if Nighthound insisted on a fight, she would definitely subscribe to the Army's rules of confrontation: "Don't bring a knife to a gunfight. Bring guns. Bring lots of guns. Bring your friends who have guns. Bring their friends who have guns." 

 

Lots of guns. And a wrecking ball. And explosives. Everything she could bring that would tip the balance in her favor and increase the likelihood of Nighthound's death would be present at that fight, because the second she saw Nighthound, she would scan his futures to determine how much of a threat he was. When it was determined that holy flipping cow this guy needs to die yesterday, she would begin amassing all the weaponry and heavy machinery she could get her hands on. And she would bring all the Supers she could recruit—strength, teleportation, invulnerability, precogs running the gamut from "barely Spidey-sense" to as close to her level as she could manage. Because when it comes to Nighthound, there's no kill like overkill. 

 

 

And this is a radish. 

 

 

Would she amend her motto to "A fight where Nighthound dies is a fight won"?

 

I think it'd be a tough fight for her, but she'd have a solid chance of at least surviving. (And surviving without a dog collar fixed to her neck, which is important.) If Nighthound were a Super in Susan's world, would be be considered an abnormally powerful specimen or about average?

 

 

This is a kohlrabi.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Would she amend her motto to "A fight where Nighthound dies is a fight won"?

 

I think it'd be a tough fight for her, but she'd have a solid chance of at least surviving. (And surviving without a dog collar fixed to her neck, which is important.) If Nighthound were a Super in Susan's world, would be be considered an abnormally powerful specimen or about average?

 

 

This is a kohlrabi.

 

More like "A fight where Nighthound dies is cause for celebration by women everywhere."

 

He would be considered abnormally powerful. Her world generally operates by the "One person, one power" rule, save for in cases where a passive secondary or tertiary is needed. (For instance, flamethrowers have the ability to conjure and control flame, as well as immunity to fire and heat.) Those single powers are fairly individualized (Susan being blind to her own futures while the as-yet-unnamed-but-definitely-extant Dragon is blind to every future but those that involve him directly) and vary in strength (the weakest precog would have more of a Spidey-sense, while Susan—who can chart out up to a month of potential futures for any given plan—is considered very powerful). There are exceptions, such as one Super who can fly and lift up to ten times her weight, but for the most part that is the rule.

 

Nighthound, with his incredible strength, stamina, healing factor, and mid-range mind control, would be considered extremely powerful and perhaps guilty of some sort of unethical experimentation that allowed him to steal the powers of two or three Supers and leave them depowered and dead or worse. 

 

Most of the Epics in this RP would be considered unusually powerful for this universe. Minor Epics, like Cricket and Mundivore, would be considered average so far as powers go; perhaps not powerful, but their powers would not be considered unusual. Lightwards' resurrection ability would not be considered unusual, since his resurrections are usually quick and brain and organ damage would not be considered a problem within that time frame. His ability to gift and create zombies, however, would be considered highly unusual. Funtimes' teleportation would place her at the powerful end of the spectrum, but her matter transfiguration ability would be considered extremely bizarre. 

 

Here is a beet. 

 

Edited November 29, 2014 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles

[Edgedancer he/him]

More like "A fight where Nighthound dies is cause for celebration by women everywhere."

 

He would be considered abnormally powerful. Her world generally operates by the "One person, one power" rule, save for in cases where a passive secondary or tertiary is needed. (For instance, flamethrowers have the ability to conjure and control flame, as well as immunity to fire and heat.) Those single powers are fairly individualized (Susan being blind to her own futures while the as-yet-unnamed-but-definitely-extant Dragon is blind to every future but those that involve him directly) and vary in strength (the weakest precog would have more of a Spidey-sense, while Susan—who can chart out up to a month of potential futures for any given plan—is considered very powerful). There are exceptions, such as one Super who can fly and lift up to ten times her weight, but for the most part that is the rule.

 

Nighthound, with his incredible strength, stamina, healing factor, and mid-range mind control, would be considered extremely powerful and perhaps guilty of some sort of unethical experimentation that allowed him to steal the powers of two or three Supers and leave them depowered and dead or worse. 

 

Most of the Epics in this RP would be considered unusually powerful for this universe. Minor Epics, like Cricket and Mundivore, would be considered average so far as powers go; perhaps not powerful, but their powers would not be considered unusual. Lightwards' resurrection ability would not be considered unusual, since his resurrections are usually quick and brain and organ damage would not be considered a problem within that time frame. His ability to gift and create zombies, however, would be considered highly unusual. Funtimes' teleportation would place her at the powerful end of the spectrum, but her matter transfiguration ability would be considered extremely bizarre. 

 

Here is a beet. 

 

How about "Every occasion where Nighthound dies is a cause to celebrate for all of exsistence"?

 

It´s interesting how without Calamity Nighthound actually becomes a more nightmarish character.

 

Which means no Superman-like characters that have a whole armory worth of powers. I guess that is safer should your goal not be the complete destruction of a whole state.

 

This is a meme

also known as potatoes.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

How about "Every occasion where Nighthound dies is a cause to celebrate for all of exsistence"?

 

It´s interesting how without Calamity Nighthound actually becomes a more nightmarish character.

 

Which means no Superman-like characters that have a whole armory worth of powers. I guess that is safer should your goal not be the complete destruction of a whole state.

 

This is a meme

also known as potatoes.

 

Or "Happy And Then Nighthound Died Day! Let's celebrate our newfound safety by burning him in effigy!"

 

Calamity at least gives him an excuse. Transfer him to an alternate universe—any alternate universe you like—and his evil becomes even more terrifying. In the Reckonersverse, Calamity pushed him down the wrong path and kept him going that way; in Susan's universe, all of his atrocities would have been committed entirely under his own free will.  

 

And in this universe, Oregon is alive and well, green as ever.  

 

There's a leek in the boat. 

[Kobold King he/him]

Or "Happy And Then Nighthound Died Day! Let's celebrate our newfound safety by burning him in effigy!"

 

Calamity at least gives him an excuse. Transfer him to an alternate universe—any alternate universe you like—and his evil becomes even more terrifying. In the Reckonersverse, Calamity pushed him down the wrong path and kept him going that way; in Susan's universe, all of his atrocities would have been committed entirely under his own free will.

 

And in this universe, Oregon is alive and well, green as ever.

 

There's a leek in the boat. 

 

I wonder if we can use "And Then Nighthound Died Day" for Quiver's December writing prompt.

 

Somehow Super!Nighthound really is more horrifying than Epic!Nighthound. There's something existentially horrifying about a man who chooses to commit atrocities as opposed to a feral beast driven to evil by forces outside his control. 

 

I'd post a picture of a vegetable, but I don't think I could top the leek.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

I wonder if we can use "And Then Nighthound Died Day" for Quiver's December writing prompt.

 

Somehow Super!Nighthound really is more horrifying than Epic!Nighthound. There's something existentially horrifying about a man who chooses to commit atrocities as opposed to a feral beast driven to evil by forces outside his control. 

 

I'd post a picture of a vegetable, but I don't think I could top the leek.

 

"The effigy of Nighthound burned all through the night. When the straw turned to ash and the flames to dying embers, a new effigy was strung up and set ablaze. Little children danced around the figure chanting 'Ding dong, Nighthound is dead' and 'Meanieface, meanieface, Nighthound was a meanieface.' When their throats were sore from cheering and their feet weary of dancing, they returned to their homes and feasted upon waffles and Cocoa Puffs. With Nighthound dead, they all lived happily ever after." 

 

That's what I'm aiming for with my villains. Granted, I don't know them very well yet, but I'm hoping to capture part of that "why" sort of terror—"why does he exist, how did he get this past his own conscience, what in his brain told him this was okay?" I've always found characters who know that what they're doing is wrong, know they could stop at any time, and do it anyway more horrifying than characters who sincerely believe they're doing the right thing. 

 

But Super!Nighthound won't make an appearance. First of all, that would be plagiarism, and second, he's too scary.

Edited November 29, 2014 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles

[Edgedancer he/him]

That's what I'm aiming for with my villains. Granted, I don't know them very well yet, but I'm hoping to capture part of that "why" sort of terror—"why does he exist, how did he get this past his own conscience, what in his brain told him this was okay?" I've always found characters who know that what they're doing is wrong, know they could stop at any time, and do it anyway more horrifying than characters who sincerely believe they're doing the right thing. 

 

But Super!Nighthound won't make an appearance. First of all, that would be plagiarism, and second, he's too scary.

Villains with a let´s call it understandable reason for their action do strike home harder and probably make for the "better" characters, at least from a literary viewpoint. The fact that Epics are just made evil and don´t necessarily have a proper justification is yet another reason why Nighthound and Lucentia are that irredeemable evil, if I can´t make them likable I can just as well go all out with their evulz.

 

To up the ante on super!Nighthound, he also needs the scientific know-how to steal the power from other supers and there might be a way for him to gain even more powers.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Villains with a let´s call it understandable reason for their action do strike home harder and probably make for the "better" characters, at least from a literary viewpoint. The fact that Epics are just made evil and don´t necessarily have a proper justification is yet another reason why Nighthound and Lucentia are that irredeemable evil, if I can´t make them likable I can just as well go all out with their evulz.

 

To up the ante on super!Nighthound, he also needs the scientific know-how to steal the power from other supers and there might be a way for him to gain even more powers.

 

More human, certainly. Maybe even more relatable. I remember one book where both the protagonist and the antagonist were pretty much irredeemably evil, though they both had Emotionally Scarring Backstories ™ to explain why they were the way they were. And it almost worked. I did find myself relating the tiniest bit to the narrator—not in a "Oh, yeah, I'd totally do that if I were in your shoes" kind of a way, but in a "I hope I wouldn't take it that far, but I do understand how you feel deep down inside. Still, dude, tone it down a little" kind of a way. (I stopped reading before the 25% mark because by the time I stopped, the author had abandoned all sense of restraint and the "story" had become little more than nonstop f-bombs and drug references, interspersed with seriously disturbing character insights and "I want to see him bleeeeeeeeeeeed"s from the narrator. Add to that the complete lack of anyone to really root for, and I had a bad case of Ican'tstomachanymoreofthisitis.) 

 

Susan's world had a brief upswing in scientific know-how and technological advances due to Supers and the study thereof. When governments across the world collapsed or split, available technology decreased what with major manufacturing countries like China and India now in little shape to export their products and import countries like the US and Britain in little shape to import them. The countries with knowledge of how to manufacture things like computers still have that knowledge; it's just they've lost the ability to mass-produce it and it is thus unavailable to the average user. Scientific research from pre-Super days still exists, and it is still being conducted. 

 

In this environment, finding a way to steal another Super's powers would be difficult, but not impossible. Nighthound would need to first find research on the few leeches (power-stealing Supers) in existence. He would need to understand what was written there well enough to duplicate the experiments, as well as take them to the point where he could effectively give himself a leech's power-stealing abilities—preferably permanently and with the ability to turn them off and on at will. Once he could leech powers, he would need to find Supers whose powers he wanted. Stealing their powers would leave them permanently depowered, and significantly weakened. Without serious and immediate medical intervention, preferably from a healing Super, these depowered Supers would die or be left in a permanent vegetative state at best. 

 

So in other words, if Super!Nighthound wanted to steal powers, he would need grit, determination, and the ability to permanently shut up that yapping little thing most people call a "conscience." 

[Kobold King he/him]

More human, certainly. Maybe even more relatable. I remember one book where both the protagonist and the antagonist were pretty much irredeemably evil, though they both had Emotionally Scarring Backstories ™ to explain why they were the way they were. And it almost worked. I did find myself relating the tiniest bit to the narrator—not in a "Oh, yeah, I'd totally do that if I were in your shoes" kind of a way, but in a "I hope I wouldn't take it that far, but I do understand how you feel deep down inside. Still, dude, tone it down a little" kind of a way. (I stopped reading before the 25% mark because by the time I stopped, the author had abandoned all sense of restraint and the "story" had become little more than nonstop f-bombs and drug references, interspersed with seriously disturbing character insights and "I want to see him bleeeeeeeeeeeed"s from the narrator. Add to that the complete lack of anyone to really root for, and I had a bad case of Ican'tstomachanymoreofthisitis.) 

 

Susan's world had a brief upswing in scientific know-how and technological advances due to Supers and the study thereof. When governments across the world collapsed or split, available technology decreased what with major manufacturing countries like China and India now in little shape to export their products and import countries like the US and Britain in little shape to import them. The countries with knowledge of how to manufacture things like computers still have that knowledge; it's just they've lost the ability to mass-produce it and it is thus unavailable to the average user. Scientific research from pre-Super days still exists, and it is still being conducted. 

 

In this environment, finding a way to steal another Super's powers would be difficult, but not impossible. Nighthound would need to first find research on the few leeches (power-stealing Supers) in existence. He would need to understand what was written there well enough to duplicate the experiments, as well as take them to the point where he could effectively give himself a leech's power-stealing abilities—preferably permanently and with the ability to turn them off and on at will. Once he could leech powers, he would need to find Supers whose powers he wanted. Stealing their powers would leave them permanently depowered, and significantly weakened. Without serious and immediate medical intervention, preferably from a healing Super, these depowered Supers would die or be left in a permanent vegetative state at best. 

 

So in other words, if Super!Nighthound wanted to steal powers, he would need grit, determination, and the ability to permanently shut up that yapping little thing most people call a "conscience." 

 

That's Darkness-Induced Audience Empathy for ya. 

 

The moral part shouldn't be a problem--Nighthound's the sort of person who'd pull the wings off Jiminy Cricket.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

That's Darkness-Induced Audience Empathy for ya. 

 

The moral part shouldn't be a problem--Nighthound's the sort of person who'd pull the wings off Jiminy Cricket.

 

 

You mean he hasn't already? 

 

I was thinking about Intervention earlier. Namely, how when he was still in idea form, he couldn't affect Epics and was thus considered a gifter. Well, gifters can only gift their own abilities, right? And Intervention's power is getting people drunk. So if he were still a gifter, his primary power would be either 1) becoming drunk at will, or 2) existing in a state of permanent drunkenness. 

 

Either way, Chicago Joe would be jealous.

Edited November 29, 2014 by TwiLyghtSansSparkles

[mail-mi he/him]

I was thinking about Intervention earlier. Namely, how when he was still in idea form, he couldn't affect Epics and was thus considered a gifter. Well, gifters can only gift their own abilities, right? And Intervention's power is getting people drunk. So if he were still a gifter, his primary power would be either 1) becoming drunk at will, or 2) existing in a state of permanent drunkenness. 

 

Either way, Chicago Joe would be jealous.

 

If it's the second, he could always tow around a vanilla that he keeps at maximum drunkenness so that Intevention can be not drunk

[Voidus]

I think Nathan and all the other servers at the casino would have breathed a sigh of relief when Intervention walked through the door, no matter how many other Epics would use their powers for horrible things at least they'd be smashed by the end of the night.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

I think Nathan and all the other servers at the casino would have breathed a sigh of relief when Intervention walked through the door, no matter how many other Epics would use their powers for horrible things at least they'd be smashed by the end of the night.

 

Especially if he showed up on a night when Snakehands was there. Snakehands was hilarious on his own, but drunk Snakehands? That's comedy gold right there. 

 

And if Intervention decided to see if it really was possible to get Fortuity so hammered his enhanced reflexes were useless and the only future he saw was more and more glasses of wine, who knows? Those servers might declare Intervention their hero.

[Voidus]

8 high? Wow Intervention you just keep beating me, I fold. You should just stay here all the time and make your living like this, it's just amazing how good at poker you are. 

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

8 high? Wow Intervention you just keep beating me, I fold. You should just stay here all the time and make your living like this, it's just amazing how good at poker you are. 

 

By the time he stood on the table and belted out a heartfelt rendition of "Ninety-Nine Bottles of Beer on the Wall," complete with the downing of those ninety-nine beers, Nathan decided he loved his job.

[Voidus]

And it was then discovered that Nighthound can die of alcohol poisoning.
And then Nighthound died.

[Lightsworn Panda he/him]

I've never been there, but from what I've heard Australia seems a bit... inhospitable.   If you don't mind me prying into your personal habitat, are venomous creatures like spiders or snakes a problem where you live?

 

Australia isn't that inhospitable. So long as you don't mind every second thing trying to kill you. 

 

In all seriousness, though, it depends on where you live. I live in suburban Melbourne, so apart from the occasional extremely-large-hairy-and-fanged-spider-that-pops-up-every-3-months-or-so, there's not many creepy-crawlies (Probably because of the 4-seasons-a-day weather that Melbourne is infamous for). I certainly have not seen a snake outside of a zoo in Melbourne. Which is a real pity, since snake meat apparently tastes nice. Some of my friends who live further in the outback, however, can attest that venomous cobras and such are an everyday ordeal.

 

People and books often tell you a lot about the "outback" of Australia for a reason. The much-acclaimed outback is a very unique place. Most of Australia (particularly the Central areas) is desert. The strip of land around the coast of Australia is probably the only area that resembles any "normal" and habitable land. The outback is the in-between. The outback is a semi-desert environment that sits between desert and habitable land. Words can't really describe it. Imagine a land of sandy and red soil, stretching for as far as the eye can see. Spotted across the land are various clumps of plant growth, twisted and slightly bleached from the harshness of Australian outback weather. Occasionally, small forests of thin gum-trees (the eucalyptus kind, not the rubber-producing sort) sporadically cover areas. Patches of grass huddle together in random areas, leaving conspicuous bald spots that reveal the unique reddish soil of Australia's outback.

 

It's a beautiful place, in a rugged kind of way. It's also where the majority of Australia's unique animals live. 

 

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

 

Speaking of the poisonous and otherwise lethal creatures of Australia, I am reminded of a certain event that occurred while on a school camp once.

 

Our school had chosen a spot in The Middle of Nowhere, Somewhere In Outback Australia. As I said before, a lot of Ausrtalia's animals lived in the Outback. It's also where the majority of spiders live. One night, we were camped in a particular area that had a suspicious amount of small, volcano-like holes rising out of the ground. Our guides and teachers assured us that no arachnids or other creepy-crawly inhabited the holes, so were semi-placated as we went to sleep. We were sharing two-man tents.

 

In the middle of the night, the friend I was partnered with woke up and told me he was going to the toilet. Regulations demanded that we alert out tent-buddy if we had to leave our tent during the night, in case someone fell down a 50-foot giant ant pit or something. I replied drowsily that I knew what he was doing, and could he please shut the blasted tent flap since the tent was becoming awfully cold. My friend proceeded to leave the tent... and scurry back inside while emitting the most un-manly shriek I had ever heard. Curious about what had frightened my friend, I stuck my head outside the tent, and stuck it back inside as fast as my friend.

 

The ground was carpeted with spiders. Carpeted. I had never seen such a large congregation of the eight-legged critters. The ground was basically a writhing mass of spiders, large, small and ginormous. The holes which our peers had assured would contain no spiders vomited out spiders at a horrifying rate. 

 

Nowadays, I have issues with sleeping in the outback.

Edited November 30, 2014 by Lightsworn Panda

[Voidus]

I nearly got trampled by a roo while on school camp in the outback, middle of the night pitch black and you just hear a steady thumping coming towards you, rather terrifying. 

[Fatebreaker he/him]

I have never had that problem.

 

I did stare down a black bear once. No joke.

When you encounter a bear you're supposed to stay still and look big. I was a small kid at the time, but thankfully I was with my dad.

So when we came across a bear between us and our tent, I naturally tried to stare it down. We maintained eye contact for about a minute when, to my eyes, it cowered in fear and fled. In reality it probably got bored and moseyed off. Towards our camp. We couldn't see it anymore, but the important thing was that my will had triumphed over that of the beast. We were lucky it wasn't hungry.

But bear aren't generally that aggressive, so I wasn't too worried.

 

Prankster post up in the Dalles. I'll be doing his PoV of the Pandemic. It should be fun, since Jaime will be with him.

[Edgedancer he/him]

Prankster post up in the Dalles. I'll be doing his PoV of the Pandemic. It should be fun, since Jaime will be with him.

I bet he´ll start feeling like he´s really going insane once he sees the fireworks.  

Congratulations on spotting the pig formation carrying a suspicious cargo, although the Pandas are being transported in a basket so one wouldn´t notice that they are inside the basket from the ground. After they jump out of the basket potentially but not while they are still in it.

[TwiLyghtSansSparkles she/her]

Australia isn't that inhospitable. So long as you don't mind every second thing trying to kill you.

In all seriousness, though, it depends on where you live. I live in suburban Melbourne, so apart from the occasional extremely-large-hairy-and-fanged-spider-that-pops-up-every-3-months-or-so, there's not many creepy-crawlies (Probably because of the 4-seasons-a-day weather that Melbourne is infamous for). I certainly have not seen a snake outside of a zoo in Melbourne. Which is a real pity, since snake meat apparently tastes nice. Some of my friends who live further in the outback, however, can attest that venomous cobras and such are an everyday ordeal.

People and books often tell you a lot about the "outback" of Australia for a reason. The much-acclaimed outback is a very unique place. Most of Australia (particularly the Central areas) is desert. The strip of land around the coast of Australia is probably the only area that resembles any "normal" and habitable land. The outback is the in-between. The outback is a semi-desert environment that sits between desert and habitable land. Words can't really describe it. Imagine a land of sandy and red soil, stretching for as far as the eye can see. Spotted across the land are various clumps of plant growth, twisted and slightly bleached from the harshness of Australian outback weather. Occasionally, small forests of thin gum-trees (the eucalyptus kind, not the rubber-producing sort) sporadically cover areas. Patches of grass huddle together in random areas, leaving conspicuous bald spots that reveal the unique reddish soil of Australia's outback.

It's a beautiful place, in a rugged kind of way. It's also where the majority of Australia's unique animals live.

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

Speaking of the poisonous and otherwise lethal creatures of Australia, I am reminded of a certain event that occurred while on a school camp once.

Our school had chosen a spot in The Middle of Nowhere, Somewhere In Outback Australia. As I said before, a lot of Ausrtalia's animals lived in the Outback. It's also where the majority of spiders live. One night, we were camped in a particular area that had a suspicious amount of small, volcano-like holes rising out of the ground. Our guides and teachers assured us that no arachnids or other creepy-crawly inhabited the holes, so were semi-placated as we went to sleep. We were sharing two-man tents.

In the middle of the night, the friend I was partnered with woke up and told me he was going to the toilet. Regulations demanded that we alert out tent-buddy if we had to leave our tent during the night, in case someone fell down a 50-foot giant ant pit or something. I replied drowsily that I knew what he was doing, and could he please shut the blasted tent flap since the tent was becoming awfully cold. My friend proceeded to leave the tent... and scurry back inside while emitting the most un-manly shriek I had ever heard. Curious about what had frightened my friend, I stuck my head outside the tent, and stuck it back inside as fast as my friend.

The ground was carpeted with spiders. Carpeted. I had never seen such a large congregation of the eight-legged critters. The ground was basically a writhing mass of spiders, large, small and ginormous. The holes which our peers had assured would contain no spiders vomited out spiders at a horrifying rate.

Nowadays, I have issues with sleeping in the outback.

Nope.

Nope. Nope. Never going to Australia, never ever ever. Nope nope nope.