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* AmbiguousDisorder: Lord Vladimir. Also applies to Arthur himself in the later films.
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* BloodBrothers: Arthur and (quite surprisingly) the Sun Wizard become this in the final film.
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* HollywoodDressCode: Used a lot in the series. Justified, as the minor characters are mainly normal citizens and Exterian guards, whose uniformis only a brimmed hat. The RealLife reason for this is that Nosources Movies [[NoBudget couldn't afford]] too many complex costumes.
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** In additon, Henry Ian Istor, the main character of the novella ''Discontinuity'', could be qualified as one, though he's actually a historian. He is known for finding out several mysterious events and conspiracy theories prior to the novella, which depicts him trying to seek out information about someone called "The Renegade" [[spoiler:who is actually none other than Arthur Starling]]. Sadly, he becomes a RedshirtReporter as Emperor Samuel murders him by imprisoning him eternally in the Archives of Latva.
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** In additon, Henry Ian Istor, the main character of the novella ''Discontinuity'', could be qualified as one, though he's actually a historian. He is known for finding out several mysterious events and conspiracy theories prior to the novella, which depicts him trying to seek out information about someone called "The Renegade" [[spoiler:who is actually none other than Arthur Starling]]. Sadly, he becomes a RedshirtReporter DeadlineNews as Emperor Samuel murders him by imprisoning him eternally in the Archives of Latva.
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* WomanInWhite: Kasuga.
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* BiggerBad: The God of Dreams.
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* DrinkOrder: In the fourth film, Arthur orders water in a canteen. In Juuri. During the Battle of Juuri. After he has just escaped from a high-security cell and rescued Samuel. All the while being the Count of Night who technically ''cannot eat or drink anything''.
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* ColorCodedEyes: Shadow creatures have pitch-black eyes, with the exception of Lord Vladimir, who has dark blue eyes to show he has overcome the Shadow energy.
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* WindowsToTheSoul: Shadow creatures have pitch-black eyes, with the exception of Lord Vladimir, who has dark blue eyes to show he has overcome the Shadow energy.
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/excover2_2609.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Awful modeling combined with lousy image editing skills. That's what we all wanted!]]
''The Exterior'' is a four-part fantasy/science fiction film series in development by the unofficial Finnish "filming company" Nosources Movies. It is probably one of the movies whose idea is frustratingly difficult to explain, partially because of its complicated plot and partially because the developers change the storyline constantly.
The basic idea is that two Finnish teenage boys, Arthur Starling and Samuel van Michael fall inexplicably into an interdimensional portal called a "Timeshred". They find two [[ArtInitiatesLife Pencils that have supernatural, godlike abilities]], after which return into their homeworld (Earth), where they find out that they have been away for twenty years (instead of two weeks), and have been proclaimed dead. They go back into the other universe, where they begin a new life, and find out about strange mythologies of the world. Later they decide to build a great empire with the Pencils to control the universe. They do so, and name their empire [[TitleDrop the Exterior]]. And that's only the beginning of the first film... [[labelnote:The whole synopsis]] After two years of construction, the empire is complete, and Arthur and Samuel are respected as Emperors. However, a mythological creature called the Count of Night executes a plan which leads them to believe that his master, the God of Dreams is awakening from his deep slumber. They hire a magician called Leksa Lepääjä to stop the awakening, but due to the interference of the Count of Night, the God of Dreams quite ironically awakens. Soon enough, the world is going to chaos: Samuel mysteriously disappears, there's a revolution in the empire, and Arthur is labeled traitor of the country. The first film ends with the now-evil imperials capturing and torturing Arthur and Arthur making a contract with the God of Dreams to free himself.
In the second film, Arthur awakens in the body of the Count of Night (who was previously killed by the light avatar Sun Wizard), makes his way into the dark Land of Dreams and back, and receives a quest to find the Crystal of Shadows for the God of Dreams. He travels all around the Exterior evading imperial forces, interacting with citizens and meeting a Light creature called Kasuga, who is also looking for the Crystal – to destroy it. Arthur doesn't reveal his true intentions, and the two team up. At one point, they are separated; Arthur later finds the Crystal inside a mountain, brings it to the Land of Dreams, breaks it and sacrifices his life to repair it.
In the third film, Arthur awakens in his old body, which has been thrown into a junkyard. He makes his way to consult Leksa Lepääjä once again, as he doesn't now know what to do – he is a lonely creature against the whole world. Leksa tells him to go find the Shadow Lord Vladimir, who can teach him Shadow magic. Arthur spends the next year in Lord Vladimir's manor, where he discovers he's turning into a Shadow creature, hunts animals, and ultimately becomes the new Count of Night. He finds out there's a civil war between the current Emperors, and then attacks the empire's capital city, Latva, to get his retribution. He conquers the galaxy-sized palace almost single-handed with the help of a small army of Shadow creatures. This is followed by long negotiations with the imperials, and Arthur ultimately gains command of half the army of Latva for leaving the city alone. Then he walks outside and is immediately captured by the new Emperor, General Saskai, who takes him into the city of Juuri.
During the trip to Juuri, Arthur finally meets Samuel again. He has been traveling in time for... quite a long time. In the fourth film, Arthur and Samuel invade Juuri, get captured a few times, fight against both the armies of Juuri and Latva and, surprisingly, find Kasuga again. Arthur also loses his Shadow powers and gains a lot of others. There is a battle, and Juuri is ultimately destroyed. Then there's another battle, this time in the sacred Sun Mountains – the sides are Arthur, Samuel, his army, the Sun Wizard, Light creatures and the newly awakened God of Sun VS the God of Dreams and the Shadow creatures VS General Saskai and the imperials. [[spoiler:[[KilledOffForReal Arthur, Saskai and the God of Dreams die]], Samuel wins and the Light creatures are left alone for good. Samuel then forms a New Empire.]] [[/labelnote]]
So far, Nosources Movies has [[DevelopmentHell only produced the first film, but they have done it twice and are planning to do it thrice]], as they have changed the plot a lot since the first edition. This page has tropes that occur in the current editions. However, the full plotline is ready, and the names of the four films will be: [[note]] Originally the series would consist of nine films instead of four. The films would have been: Revolution (the first film until the point of Arthur's trial), The Desperate Escape (rest of the first film), Land of Dreams (first half of the second film), The Quest for the Shadow Crystal (second half of the second film), Secrets of Shadows (third film until the attack on Latva), Corrupt and Conquer (rest of the third film), Against Your Own (the battle of Juuri), War of the Mountains (first half of the battle of Sun Mountains), and The Last Battle (second half of the battle of Sun Mountains). [[/note]]
* ''Revolution'' (final release... probably not in 2016)
* ''Crystal of Shadows''
* ''Transformation''
* ''The New Empire''
Also "in production" are two spin-off/sister books/book series.
* The first one, ''Lost in Time'', tells the story of what happened to Samuel after his disappearance in the first The Exterior film. It consists of several novellas, which make up the chapters, which make up the book itself. The story is written from Samuel’s point of view and the tone of the text is very fast-paced and analytic.
* The second (but definitely not the lesser) one, ''Borderworld'', is a trilogy of novels much the same genre as the Exterior, but it focuses a bit more on the "fantasy" part. It is set long after the main films, and is in fact probably the main Nosources project at the moment. The novels explain a lot of the functionality of the multiple universes present in the films. It tells the story of Ratenu, a resident of an alternate universe, who goes to war for his country, finds out the enemies aren’t ordinary beings, and ultimately is torn into a conflict concenrning all the different universes... and beyond. The series is much DarkerAndEdgier than the (at times farce-like) Exterior. The books in the trilogy are (will be):
** ''Last Clan''
** ''There Somewhere''
** ''The Citadel''
----
!!The Exterior provides examples of:
* AboveGoodAndEvil: Arthur as the Count of Night. After his redemption he regrets his deeds, though.
* ActionGirl: Kasuga.
* AerithAndBob: From nonsensical names like Buldimar or Khalibah to Arthur.
* AlienInvasion: The formation of the Empire. Arthur and Samuel use an unlimited number of soldiers to conquer thousands of peaceful alien planets, showing no mercy towards their original residents.
* AliensSpeakingEnglish: The people living in the Exterior, considered as aliens, speak either Finnish or the constructed language of Nevdetex (Exterian) in the films. Justified, as Arthur and Samuel force the beings to learn Finnish after forming the Empire.
* AllForNothing: Arthur makes a deal with the God of Dreams: if Arthur finds the Crystal of Shadows for him, he will make Arthur the Emperor once again. When Arthur actually finds the Crystal and brings it to the God of Dreams, the deal is altered and the God only prevents Arthur from dying. And in the fourth film, Arthur spends half the time trying to get the Crystal back from the God of Dreams and/or destroy it.
* AllThereInTheManual: WordOfGod has stated loads of information not concerning the films in any way (from the anatomy of certain fauna inhabiting a sea surrounding a high-security prison in the Sun Mountains to deities worshipped by ''ants'') and are planning to release a guide covering all this. [[DevelopmentHell Sometime in the future. Probably.]]
* AlternativeCalendar: In the Prenevimperial era - the movies themselves - the imperial calendar is "Years of the Exterior", the first year being the formation of the Empire. In the Nevimperial era, the calendar system is changed: eras used are PNI and NI (Prenevimperial and Nevimperial respectively) with the zero point being the Battle of Sun Mountains.
* AmbiguousDisorder: Lord Vladimir. Also applies to Arthur himself in the later films.
* AmplifierArtifact: The Crystal of Shadows is one to the God of Dreams.
* AmuletOfConcentratedAwesome: The Pencils.
* AmusingAlien: Various. Most side characters in the film series have some peculiar quirks in their personality, but most notable are the Shadow creatures and (to a lesser extent) Leksa Lepääjä.
* AncientArtifact: Again, the Pencils.
* AnimalNemesis: Arthur and the mouse. Though in fact, it's the mouse that takes Arthur as its nemesis for breaking into its home.
* AntiHero: Arthur.
* TheApprentice: Samuel becomes one to the Sun Wizard for a while after the Battle of Sun Mountains.
* ArbitrarySkepticism: Certain beings, such as phoenixes or werewolves, are considered "mythical" and nonexistant by the residents of the Exterior, even though things like magic or dragons do exist in the Empire.
* ArchEnemy: The Count of Night vs. the Sun Wizard.
* ArtInitiatesLife: How the Exterior was created.
* ArtisticLicenseChemistry: The magical matter that actually has three basic states is called "magic energy".
* AuthorAvatar: Arthur and Samuel are avatars of the two directors of Nosources.
* BackFromTheDead: According to the ''New Empire'' storyline, quite unfortunately… [[spoiler:Saskai.]]
** Oh, and also Arthur. Four times. Gets KilledOffForReal, though, in the final film… but that doesn’t stop him from returning as a ghost.
** Even the God of Dreams is resurrected by the Court after the final film. He is now dormant, though.
** "There must always be a Count of Night…"
*** It is starting to seem that magical characters do not simply die in the Exterior universe.
* BackgroundMagicField
* BackStory: WordOfGod has told a lot of backstory for a lot of characters, even the ones that don't actually appear in the movies. The most famous example of this is probably the backstory of Leksa Lepääjä and his former nemesis, the [[TomTheDarkLord Boris]].
* BadassInDistress: Arthur, as the third Count of Night, gets easily captured by a group of Light Creature guards during his attack to the Palace of Latva. He escapes, though.
* BerserkButton: The Sun Wizard is this to Arthur, at least until The Reveal in the second film. He still blows up two rooms in rage in the third film, though.
* BigBad: General Saskai.
* BiggerBad: The God of Dreams.
* BigGood: Sun Wizard and the God of Sun.
* BigNo: Completely averted - the creators have stated that they will never, ever use one in their work.
* BigRedButton: Arthur tries to reach one in the third film, but it is never actually pressed.
* BilingualBonus: One will understand the names appearing in the series much better if he/she speaks Finnish - most of them are [[MeaningfulName Meaningful Names]] or words in the language and aren’t translated. For example: Kuori, Latva, Juuri, Leksa Lepääjä.
* BilingualDialogue: Most of the characters understand both Finnish and the fictional Nevdetex language. Both languages are used in the films.
* BittersweetEnding: General Saskai and the God of Dreams are killed and a new Empire is formed, but many characters die [[spoiler:- amongst them Arthur -]] and it is later revealed that [[spoiler:both Saskai and]] the God of Dreams actually survived.
* BlackBox: Most of the Exterior was built using unknown technology. Also, the engines of all starships produced in the Empire qualify.
* BlindIdiotTranslation: In the original Finnish version, the name of the Empire is "Kuori", which stands for "shell", "crust" or "casing". The translation to "The Exterior" was originally the result of a mishap, but the writers liked the name and decided to stick with it.
* BloodBrothers: Arthur and (quite surprisingly) the Sun Wizard become this in the final film.
* BloodlessCarnage: Blood is not shown in the films much or at all. The reason for this is that the creators [[NoBudget couldn’t afford even fake blood…]]
* BodyHorror: Arthur’s slow but steady transformation into a Shadow creature.
* BoldExplorer: Arthur and Samuel are these for a short time before they build the Exterior.
* BrainWashed: In the course of the films 2-4, Arthur is gradually becoming this due to several tumours in his brain created by the God of Dreams, which cause him to obey his bidding. He is never completely brainwashed, though, and in the fourth film, he blows his own head up to get rid of the tumours.
* BreakingOutTheBoss: The ultimate goal of the Count of Night in the first film. He succeeds, but it takes several years for the God of Dreams to regain all of his powers.
* TheCakeIsALie: Conclusion of the deal between Arthur and the God of Dreams in the second film.
* CasualInterstellarTravel: Partially justified, as the characters mainly use teleportation and Jännäkivi engines.
* CatchPhrase
** Leksa Lepääjä: "What time is it? You woke me up!"
** Lord Vladimir: "Only you yourself can know it."
** The God of Dreams: "...I am the God of Dreams..."
** The Imperial guards: "There's somebody!"
** Doctor Šoita: "[[CallingYourAttacks Poison Discs!/Poison Capsules!]]"
** The camel: ''"Honk?"''
** Shadow creatures: "Imma Shadow creature!"
* AChatWithSatan: Arthur just before the Battle of Sun Mountains.
* ChekhovsGun: The Corrosion Knives given to the Emperors by [[MadDoctor Doctor Noita]] in the first film. Arthur later uses his Knife to break into the Palace of Latva and to escape his death sentence in Juuri.
* ChekhovsSkill: Arthur trains bullet dodging while still an Emperor in the first film. The skill later comes very handy indeed.
* ChewingTheScenery: The Count of Night. Also the barbarians.
* ClarkesThirdLaw: Pretty much every second ordinary machine in the Exterior is somehow magical.
* ClingyCostume: Arthur has one as the third Count of Night. Justified, as his entire costume consists of Shadow energy, which makes it his skin.
* CommLinks: Arthur uses ''simultaneously two'' to keep in contact with his two armies and Lord Vladimir in the beginning of the fourth film. Later on, he uses one to speak with Samuel during the Battle of Sun Mountains.
* ConLang: Nevdetex, an artificial language developed by one of the creators, is used in the films as one of the Empire's two official languages. In-universe it is said to be "based on the language spoken by the original residents of the Exterior universe." The language itself was originally highly based on Finnish, but is nowadays much more independent both in grammar and vocabulary.
* CreationMyth: ''Birth of a Certain World'', the mythology of the Hamramists, which reveals how the universe of the Exterior was originally created.
** CreationStory: The story is told as the prologue of the first film, and the characters involved are very prominent and important in the films themselves.
* TheCynic: Arthur becomes this after the revolution. He gets over it, though.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Not a very extreme example, but WordOfGod says that Samuel and Arthur were bullied and discriminated as children due to their families being foreign. This is why they can so easily let go of things that are important to them.
* DarkIsEvil: The Darkness creatures attacking the New Empire[[spoiler:, led by Saskai,]] are all completely evil.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Kind of. As Lord Vladimir says, there is a difference between darkness and shadow. Darkness is AlwaysChaoticEvil, but shadow is just an element among many others. Well, the Count of Night and the Shadow creatures are generally considered to be evil, but they in fact are not - their ways just differ from the [[SaintlyChurch Hamramists]].
* DeathSeeker: Arthur technically becomes one after he is once again torn to life in the fourth film.
* DepletedPhlebotinumShells: The magic-destroying bullets which the guards of Latva start to use after Arthur has slaughtered a few hundred of them.
* DeterminedExpression: Arthur in the first film. Averted in the later films.
* DeusExMachina: The end of the fourth film. After Arthur has destroyed the Crystal of Shadows, around fifty extermely powerful beings arrive in the scene and aid Leksa Hereilläolija to kill the God of Dreams with no effort, meanwhile Samuel’s army (led by the Sun Wizard) destroy every single shadow creature in the Mountains. Again, with little or no effort.
* DeusExNukina: The explosion that destroys Juuri in the fourth film.
* DiabolusExMachina: The revolution in the first film.
* DoAnythingRobot: The EPA mecha suits used by Samuel's army in the Sun Mountains in the fourth film (later also used by the Nevimperial elite soldiers). Well, it's actually a suit, but still...
** The [[{{Mecha}} Shellobot]] robots used by Saskai can be programmed to do anything, but Saskai decides to use them solely for military purposes.
* DraconicHumanoid: Admiral Seŋanu, the successor of Admiral Miriam in the Nevimperial era [[spoiler:and the (very distant) future Emperor]] is this, though his regular form is a "normal" dragon. His species is told to be simply "dragon". [[spoiler:According to the ''Borderworld'' trilogy, he is a sapient, Borderworldian dragon not originating from the Exterior universe.]]
* DreamingOfThingsToCome: The God of Dreams sending Arthur visions of his dark future in the first film.
* DrinkOrder: In the fourth film, Arthur orders water in a canteen. In Juuri. During the Battle of Juuri. After he has just escaped from a high-security cell and rescued Samuel. All the while being the Count of Night who technically ''cannot eat or drink anything''.
* DyingDeclarationOfHate: "Curse you, Sun Wizard!"
* EasilyForgiven: Arthur is forgiven overwhelmingly easily by the Sun Wizard, Samuel, Kasuga and the Light creatures along with the Court in the fourth film, considering that he had just killed trillions of beings and served the God of Dreams. Well, he had just destroyed the Crystal of Shadows and killed himself ''twice'' to redeem himself, but still.
* ElementalAbsorption: All Spirits of Nature and members of the Element Nobility can technically do this.
* ElementalRivalry: The God of Sun and the God of Dreams, along with their respective aides and the Light and Shadow creatures. Also Rubirin and Safiraqa, the Spirits of fire and water, qualify.
* ElementalShapeshifting: All magical creatures can theoretically do this. However, only Arthur is actually seen to do it (as a Shadow/Multi-creature).
* EnergyAbsorption: One of the powers of Arthur as the Count of Night. Also the anti-magic bullets.
* EnergyBeings: Arthur turns into one in the Sun Mountains after a death of his – the massive amount of different magical energies he has absorbed keeps his soul from passing away. However, he can magically create a body for himself even then.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The first appearances of Lord Vladimir, Leksa Lepääjä and Saskai.
* EverythingSensor: The HUD of the EPA.
* EvilLaugh: Saskai. Also Arthur in the later films, due to the insanity and sadism caused by the God of Dreams.
** During the filmings of the scene of ''Revolution'' where Arthur kills some guards in their dressing room, one uncut version shows him laughing maniacally while slaughtering the guards. ''It wasn’t actually intended.''
** The God of Dreams, kind of. In the first film, a high-pitched maniacal laugh is heard near the Chasm of Dreams, where the God resides. According to WordOfGod, it’s caused by the Shadow creatures and not the God himself.
* TheEvilSkyscraper: The Palace of Latva in the third film.
* EvilSoundsHammy: Arthur as the Count of Night, as well as the God of Dreams.
* EvilTowerOfOminousness: Again, the Palace of Latva.
* FantasyMetals: At least Adamantium exists in the Exterior – it is mixed with various other substances to create the "Hardest Substance in the World". It can also be safely assumed that ''every single kind'' of Fantasy Metal exists somewhere inside the Exterior.
* Faster than Light Travel: Averted, as FLT is considered physically impossible in the Exterior. The characters usually use teleportation instead to cross large distances quickly.
* FemaleAngelMaleDemon: Sort of. The God of Sun is female, the God of Dreams is male. Also, Kasuga is female and Arthur is male. But the Sun Wizard and the Count of Night are both male.
* TheFinickyOne: Arthur himself is this, especially in the first film.
* ForeignLanguageTirade: The Sun Wizard does this pretty often.
* ForgetsToEat: Arthur almost dies (once again) because of this in the third film.
* ForgottenPhlebotinum: The Pencils, which aren't really present after the first part. The case seems to be this with the Crystal of Shadows, until it is finally re-revealed after a few subtle hints in the final film.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Arthur.
* TheGeneralissimo: General Saskai.
* GeniusLoci: The Star in the centre of the Exterior is the transformed God of Sun. It is sentient, but most of the time the god is sleeping.
* GoodCostumeSwitch: Arthur does this in the fourth film. Justified, as he has lost all of his Shadow powers and therefore his previous outfit/skin.
* GoodIsNotNice: The Empire of the Exterior. It is a massive, totalitarian country ruled by a dictator with an iron fist, it has extremely strict laws, inhumane penalties and it violently conquers new regions all the time and kills the natives. Even the name of its national anthem is "Isminem el□mpiir" (Loyal to the Empire). Yet it fights and relatively stays on the "side of Good".
** In the ''Borderworld'' spin-off series, the Empire is presented as evil.
* GreenRocks: The Shadow Crystal. Also the literal green rocks called Jännäkivi [[BilingualBonus ("groovy-stone")]] used to power the engines of all starships are obviously this.
* HardLight: Light energy, being a magical "energy", has a solid phase.
* HarmfulToTouch: Raw magical energy to non-magical beings.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Arthur. Arguably Samuel becomes this, too, after forming the New Empire; this leads to the Iroux wars.
* HollywoodDressCode: Used a lot in the series. Justified, as the minor characters are mainly normal citizens and Exterian guards, whose uniformis only a brimmed hat. The RealLife reason for this is that Nosources Movies [[NoBudget couldn't afford]] too many complex costumes.
* HotBlooded: Arthur has some moments of this.
* HumanAliens: The generic "beings" living in the Exterior are basically humans, but according to WordOfGod it's not possible for them to be humans, at least not the same humans as we are.
* HypnoRay: One of Arthur's abilities as the Count of Night.
* InfiniteSupplies: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in the third film, as Arthur is surprised upon discovering that he can, for example, pull a ''chainsaw'' out of nowhere.
* ImpossiblyTallTower: The Palace of Latva. It is a tower [[ScifiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale the size of ''half a galaxy'']]. Arthur lampshades this in the first film.
* InHarmonyWithNature: Most magical creatures apply.
* IntrepidReporter: Tahvo Oimittaja, the most successful reporter in the whole Empire.
** In additon, Henry Ian Istor, the main character of the novella ''Discontinuity'', could be qualified as one, though he's actually a historian. He is known for finding out several mysterious events and conspiracy theories prior to the novella, which depicts him trying to seek out information about someone called "The Renegade" [[spoiler:who is actually none other than Arthur Starling]]. Sadly, he becomes a RedshirtReporter as Emperor Samuel murders him by imprisoning him eternally in the Archives of Latva.
* InventionalWisdom: Why do Latva and Juuri even ''have'' the [[BigRedButton Big Red Buttons]] Arthur is trying to reach?
* ItRunsOnNonsensoleum: Lots and lots of examples. Justified, as magic is actually used to build things in the Exterior.
* JetPack: The EPA suits have these. Also an emergency accessory for the fighter plane pilots of Latva.
* KingpinInHisGym: Arthur testing his skills in Lord Vladimir's gym in the third film.
* KubrickStare: Arthur tends to do this quite often. It is actually improvised by his actor.
* LargeAndInCharge: The physical manifestation of the God of Dreams is [[EldritchAbomination humongous]].
* LargeHam: Arthur and the Count of Night, as the actor who plays both of them often acts in a melodramatic style and articulates very broadly. Also, the God of Dreams.
* LetsGetDangerous: Leksa Lepääjä in the fourth film. After he has finally finished his thousands-of-years-long rest, he has [[TookALevelInBadass Taken a Level In Badass]] and is revealed to be practically the most powerful being in the universe. He also changes his name to Hereilläolija [[BilingualBonus (roughly translates to "the one who is awake"; Lepääjä translates to "the rester")]]. Oh, and he ''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu kills the God of Dreams.]]''
* LightIsGood: Justified, as the main creator of the Exterior universe is the God of Sun. But Shadow is still not evil.
* LikeADuckTakesToWater: Arthur and Samuel become Emperors in the Exterior after realizing they don't fit to their homeworld Earth.
* LoyalPhlebotinum: The Sun Wizard's sword is an example.
* MaddenIntoMisanthropy: Arthur during the first three films. He gets eventually over it, though.
* MadeOfIndestructium: The material only known as the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Hardest Substance in the World"]], whose one ingredient is Adamantium. It is completely indestructible after it has been magically fixed in place.
* MadeOfPhlebotinum: The Iroux, an evil force that almost destroys the New Empire, is this. For example, its members live in a place between universes, and no such place exists[[note]] [[spoiler:In ''Borderworld'', the actual place is revealed and even visited.]][[/note]]. It also uses standard wooden warships to move around ''in space'' and consists almost entirely of beings that should not exist.
* MagicAIsMagicA
* MagicalGirlWarrior: Kasuga is one.
* MakeAWish: Sort of. The God of Dreams makes a deal with Arthur that if he finds the Crystal of Shadows, the God of Dreams will fulfill his deepest wish. Unfortunately [[TheCakeIsALie the god breaks the deal]] after Arthur accidentally breaks the Crystal, and only returns him into his old body after he has sacrificed himself to repair the Crystal.
* TheMultiverse: Our universe and the Exterior are implied to be parts of an infinite multiverse. This idea expands a lot in the ''Borderworld'' spin-off, in which the actual connection between the universes is explored and visited.
* MultiversalConqueror: Not the enemy, but the Empire itself is one. (In fact, the enemy is never one: General Saskai temporarily stops the conquer after the revolution.)
* MundaneLuxury: Arthur desperately wants rye bread after shutting down the Palace of Latva, as he hasn't eaten at all for a long, long time. Too bad the Shadow creatures are too stupid to get any rye bread, and several of them die on the quest.
* MustMakeAmends: Arthur sacrifices himself in the final film to destroy the Crystal of Shadows he has given to the God of Dreams.
* MysteriousPast: Lord Vladimir. Also Leksa Lepääjä before Nosources revealed his past.
* NationalWeapon: The Shadow creature warriors carry the ''šalak vokinm'', or "shadow knives". They are slightly curved short swords which resemble katanas a bit. Even Arthur has one as the Count of Night.
* NeverMessWithGranny: Happens to Arthur in Juuri in the fourth film after he doesn't pay for his food in a canteen. An elderly lady attacks him and pursues him relentlessly until Arthur [[spoiler:destroys her liver]].
* NiceMice: Averted. There is a certain mouse that vows revenge to Arthur for breaking into its home (a pile of hay) while hiding from the imperials. The mouse finds Arthur wherever he goes, and later starts to haunt him. It stalks Arthur ''even when he is dead.''
* OlderThanTheyLook: Arthur and Samuel, along with pretty much every single character in the films. The obvious reason for this is that the actors are actually pretty young.
* OnlyOneName: The residents of the Exterian universe usually have only one name (and sometimes a title). Even Arthur (Starling) and Samuel (van Michael) drop their surnames after forming the Empire, going by FirstNameBasis.
* OpeningMonologue: ''Revolution'' begins with one, telling the myth of the Birth of a Certain World.
* OppositesAttract: Arthur and Kasuga.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Arthur from the third film onwards. Leksa Lepääjä is also revealed to be this in the fourth film, as well as the Sun Wizard.
* PersonalityPowers: The first Count of Night is dark and moody, the Sun Wizard is prideful, noble and ”pure”. Arthur, as the Count of Night, is equally dark and gloomy, but this is mainly due to his extreme stubbornness and he has some lighter, polite and more flexible sides too. Completely averted with Kasuga, a Light creature who is pretty melancholic and cold-blooded.
* PhlebotinumBreakdown: After over two years of continuous use, Arthur's Pencil suddenly fails to work when he tries to break into the palace of Latva in the first film.
* PhlebotinumHandlingRequirements: The EPA suit drivers have to be at least 1.9 metres high.
* PhlebotinumOverdose: Subverted in the final film – Arthur seems to absorb too much magic energy and die, but manages to become a multi-creature and somehow survive. He loses his Shadow powers almost entirely, though.
* PhlebotinumPills: Arthur has to swallow a sleeping pill in the first movie, so that he cannot see the [[SecretPath Secret Smuggling Route]] from Latva to Juuri. He later awakens in Juuri, only to find himself in the middle of a trial where he's eventually declared a traitor.
* PresentAbsence: Samuel after he disappears in the first film, at least until he reappears in the fourth.
* PureEnergy: The magical matter is incorrectly called "magic energy". Arthur even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this.
* PutOnABus: Samuel in the first film, Kasuga in the second. Both reappear in the fourth film.
* Really700YearsOld: A lot of characters fall under this trope. Examples: the God of Sun, the first Count of Night, the Sun Wizard, Lord Vladimir, Leksa Lepääjä...
* RebelLeader: Khalibah, the leader of the Anti-Imperial Movement. Arthur also leads his own army of Shadow creatures and former Guards against the Empire. Oh, and Samuel in the fourth film of course.
* RedOniBlueOni: Arthur (red) and Samuel (blue), although Arthur has some blue traits as well.
** Count of Night (red), Sun Wizard (blue).
** The Spirits of Nature: Rubirin and Smeraldetr (red) – Safiraqa and Obaldniv (blue).
** God of Dreams (red), God of Sun (blue).
** The [[TomTheDarkLord Boris]] (red) and Leksa Lepääjä (blue).
* ReluctantWarrior: The Sun Wizard. "This time I wish not to fight." He fights anyway, though.
* TheSacredDarkness: The Sacred ''Shadow'', to be more accurate. The Shadow Lord Vladimir is pretty much the manifestation of this trope – his skin is not jagged and crude like most Shadow creatures, his eyes are deep blue instead of black (indicating he has overcome the "corrupt" Shadow), and he believes in the equality and purity of Shadow amongst other elements. He is right.
* {{Sadist}}: The God of Dreams definitely is one, along with the torturer [[MadDoctor Doctor Noita]] (name translates to "witch") and General Saskai. Even Arthur shows signs of being one in the third film.
* SleepyHead: Leksa Lepääjä.
* SnakePeople: Averted. The unnamed warden of the Star Prison – a special high security jail for entities that endanger the balance of universe – is a basilisk. He actually ''is just a giant, sentient snake''.
* SolidClouds: The Postmortem Trial Service is composed of these. The subjects' legs are even fixed into clouds to prevent escaping.
* SoulFragment: Kind of. The God of Dreams has, by the fourth (and final) film, left three traces of himself into Arthur's brain, which eventually cause Arthur to blow his own head up.
* StarScraper: The Palace of Latva definitely is one – it is [[ScifiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale half as tall as an average galaxy]].
* StatesOfPhlebotinum: The "magic energy" comes in all possible states.
* SupernaturalGoldEyes: [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment The God of Sun has golden eyes. And is a god.]]
* SupernormalBindings: Two Light creatures restrain Arthur using special Light energy rope in the third film. He later escapes, though.
* SwirlyEnergyThingy: The Timeshreds.
* TechnoBabble: Mostly averted. The bizarre nature of the Exterior is explained (at least tried to explain) entirely through LaymansTerms.
* TheOlderImmortal: It is very likely that the Sun Wizard is a lot older than most of the other immortal beings in the universe.
* TimeTravel: Usually happens with the Timeshreds, but they can also transport things from place to place. This is also the entire point of the spin-off novella series ''Lost in Time''.
* TooDumbToLive: The Shadow creatures, much to the annoyance of Arthur. A group of them dies trying to use a toaster.
** Also, most of the Empire's "normal" citizens are this.
* TookALevelInBadass: Arthur after the second film. Leksa Lepääjä in the fourth film.
* TookALevelInDumbass: Arthur believes Samuel to be this for a short while in the fourth film, but the "Samuel" is then revealed to be a robot that can only say "Whaaaat." repeatedly.
* ToxicPhlebotinum: The Shadow energy is this, and Arthur has to learn it the hard way. It gives him miraculous powers, but also transforms him into a hideous, dark monster which is entirely composed of Shadow energy.
* TurnCoat: Arthur.
* UpgradeArtifact: Arthur learns all of his magical powers except the Shadow powers by accessing a vault of magical scrolls. Partially justified, as it is revealed that Arthur has had a magical capability his whole life.
* VillainCorner: Happens to Arthur himself starting from the end of the first film.
* WeHaveForgottenThePhlebotinum: Arthur forgets his self-defense knife in Juuri in the first film.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Shadow creatures are weakened by the light, or more accurately the absence of darkness. This also applies the other way around to Light Creatures, though.
* WindowsToTheSoul: Shadow creatures have pitch-black eyes, with the exception of Lord Vladimir, who has dark blue eyes to show he has overcome the Shadow energy.
* WhatTheHellHero: Samuel pulls this on Arthur in the fourth film, even though Arthur is not to be really considered a hero in that point.
* WhereIWasBornAndRazed: It appears that Samuel will conquer and enslave the Earth at some point after the end of the series. This happens hundreds of years to the future, though.
* WhileRomeBurns: Arthur sits eating – or waiting for Samuel to eat – in a canteen during the first hours of the battle in Juuri.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim?: General Saskai really wants to end Arthur's life dramatically. She becomes furious when someone asks the question from her.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Arthur slowly becomes savage and sadistic while transforming into a Shadow creature – in his attack to Latva in the third film, he often has fits of insanity which cause him to mindlessly kill dozens of guards. Justified, as this is mostly due to the influence of the God of Dreams. Ultimately subverted when Arthur finally gets rid of his Shadow powers and gains even more powers.
* WizardBeard: Averted. The Sun Wizard, thousands of years old, does not have even a trace of a beard.
* WomanInWhite: Kasuga.
* WorkingClassPeopleAreMorons: Applies to most of the Exterior's working class/general citizens. They are [[TooDumbToLive utter idiots]].
* WorkingForABodyUpgrade: In a way, Arthur does this in the second film. He is first promised to have his deepest wish come true, but gets "only" a Body Upgrade after failing. Well, in fact it is a body revert.
* WorldTree: When seen from far away, the Exterior actually resembles a leafless tree enclosed in a shell, with the treetop in Latva and the roots in Juuri [[BilingualBonus ('latva' and 'juuri' actually are the Finnish words for 'treetop' and 'root')]].
* YouLookFamiliar: Due to the shortage of actors available, almost every single actor plays at least two significant roles, along with a multitude of minor characters.
** Arthur's actor portrays also the first Count of Night and a few minor characters, being the actor with the fewest roles in the series due to Arthur's status as the main character.
** Samuel's actor portrays the Sun Wizard, Lord Vladimir, Rear Admiral Seŋanu, Doctor Šoita and Major Malgar, along with loads of minor characters such as guards, shadow creatures and Imperial citizens. He also gives his voice to the Magistrate.
** Saskai's actress portrays Kasuga and many minor characters.
** The actor portraying Doctor Noita supposedly portrays also a lot of minor characters.
** Leksa Lepääjä's actor portrays Chief of the Guard Gurdin, most of the barbarians, and many other less significant roles.
** The actor portraying the Fire Lord in ''Revolution'' is also Samuel's personal bodyguard Godruu, the Magistrate (aside from voice) and many other characters. A private joke in Nosources is that the actor's actual voice is never heard in any of their productions.
** Admiral Miriam's actress plays a lot of minor characters, but doesn't have any other significant roles.
** The God of Sun's actress also portrays the Fire Spirit Rubirin, along with many other roles.
** Kasuga still doesn't have an actress to portray her role. EDIT: She has.
[[caption-width-right:350:Awful modeling combined with lousy image editing skills. That's what we all wanted!]]
''The Exterior'' is a four-part fantasy/science fiction film series in development by the unofficial Finnish "filming company" Nosources Movies. It is probably one of the movies whose idea is frustratingly difficult to explain, partially because of its complicated plot and partially because the developers change the storyline constantly.
The basic idea is that two Finnish teenage boys, Arthur Starling and Samuel van Michael fall inexplicably into an interdimensional portal called a "Timeshred". They find two [[ArtInitiatesLife Pencils that have supernatural, godlike abilities]], after which return into their homeworld (Earth), where they find out that they have been away for twenty years (instead of two weeks), and have been proclaimed dead. They go back into the other universe, where they begin a new life, and find out about strange mythologies of the world. Later they decide to build a great empire with the Pencils to control the universe. They do so, and name their empire [[TitleDrop the Exterior]]. And that's only the beginning of the first film... [[labelnote:The whole synopsis]] After two years of construction, the empire is complete, and Arthur and Samuel are respected as Emperors. However, a mythological creature called the Count of Night executes a plan which leads them to believe that his master, the God of Dreams is awakening from his deep slumber. They hire a magician called Leksa Lepääjä to stop the awakening, but due to the interference of the Count of Night, the God of Dreams quite ironically awakens. Soon enough, the world is going to chaos: Samuel mysteriously disappears, there's a revolution in the empire, and Arthur is labeled traitor of the country. The first film ends with the now-evil imperials capturing and torturing Arthur and Arthur making a contract with the God of Dreams to free himself.
In the second film, Arthur awakens in the body of the Count of Night (who was previously killed by the light avatar Sun Wizard), makes his way into the dark Land of Dreams and back, and receives a quest to find the Crystal of Shadows for the God of Dreams. He travels all around the Exterior evading imperial forces, interacting with citizens and meeting a Light creature called Kasuga, who is also looking for the Crystal – to destroy it. Arthur doesn't reveal his true intentions, and the two team up. At one point, they are separated; Arthur later finds the Crystal inside a mountain, brings it to the Land of Dreams, breaks it and sacrifices his life to repair it.
In the third film, Arthur awakens in his old body, which has been thrown into a junkyard. He makes his way to consult Leksa Lepääjä once again, as he doesn't now know what to do – he is a lonely creature against the whole world. Leksa tells him to go find the Shadow Lord Vladimir, who can teach him Shadow magic. Arthur spends the next year in Lord Vladimir's manor, where he discovers he's turning into a Shadow creature, hunts animals, and ultimately becomes the new Count of Night. He finds out there's a civil war between the current Emperors, and then attacks the empire's capital city, Latva, to get his retribution. He conquers the galaxy-sized palace almost single-handed with the help of a small army of Shadow creatures. This is followed by long negotiations with the imperials, and Arthur ultimately gains command of half the army of Latva for leaving the city alone. Then he walks outside and is immediately captured by the new Emperor, General Saskai, who takes him into the city of Juuri.
During the trip to Juuri, Arthur finally meets Samuel again. He has been traveling in time for... quite a long time. In the fourth film, Arthur and Samuel invade Juuri, get captured a few times, fight against both the armies of Juuri and Latva and, surprisingly, find Kasuga again. Arthur also loses his Shadow powers and gains a lot of others. There is a battle, and Juuri is ultimately destroyed. Then there's another battle, this time in the sacred Sun Mountains – the sides are Arthur, Samuel, his army, the Sun Wizard, Light creatures and the newly awakened God of Sun VS the God of Dreams and the Shadow creatures VS General Saskai and the imperials. [[spoiler:[[KilledOffForReal Arthur, Saskai and the God of Dreams die]], Samuel wins and the Light creatures are left alone for good. Samuel then forms a New Empire.]] [[/labelnote]]
So far, Nosources Movies has [[DevelopmentHell only produced the first film, but they have done it twice and are planning to do it thrice]], as they have changed the plot a lot since the first edition. This page has tropes that occur in the current editions. However, the full plotline is ready, and the names of the four films will be: [[note]] Originally the series would consist of nine films instead of four. The films would have been: Revolution (the first film until the point of Arthur's trial), The Desperate Escape (rest of the first film), Land of Dreams (first half of the second film), The Quest for the Shadow Crystal (second half of the second film), Secrets of Shadows (third film until the attack on Latva), Corrupt and Conquer (rest of the third film), Against Your Own (the battle of Juuri), War of the Mountains (first half of the battle of Sun Mountains), and The Last Battle (second half of the battle of Sun Mountains). [[/note]]
* ''Revolution'' (final release... probably not in 2016)
* ''Crystal of Shadows''
* ''Transformation''
* ''The New Empire''
Also "in production" are two spin-off/sister books/book series.
* The first one, ''Lost in Time'', tells the story of what happened to Samuel after his disappearance in the first The Exterior film. It consists of several novellas, which make up the chapters, which make up the book itself. The story is written from Samuel’s point of view and the tone of the text is very fast-paced and analytic.
* The second (but definitely not the lesser) one, ''Borderworld'', is a trilogy of novels much the same genre as the Exterior, but it focuses a bit more on the "fantasy" part. It is set long after the main films, and is in fact probably the main Nosources project at the moment. The novels explain a lot of the functionality of the multiple universes present in the films. It tells the story of Ratenu, a resident of an alternate universe, who goes to war for his country, finds out the enemies aren’t ordinary beings, and ultimately is torn into a conflict concenrning all the different universes... and beyond. The series is much DarkerAndEdgier than the (at times farce-like) Exterior. The books in the trilogy are (will be):
** ''Last Clan''
** ''There Somewhere''
** ''The Citadel''
----
!!The Exterior provides examples of:
* AboveGoodAndEvil: Arthur as the Count of Night. After his redemption he regrets his deeds, though.
* ActionGirl: Kasuga.
* AerithAndBob: From nonsensical names like Buldimar or Khalibah to Arthur.
* AlienInvasion: The formation of the Empire. Arthur and Samuel use an unlimited number of soldiers to conquer thousands of peaceful alien planets, showing no mercy towards their original residents.
* AliensSpeakingEnglish: The people living in the Exterior, considered as aliens, speak either Finnish or the constructed language of Nevdetex (Exterian) in the films. Justified, as Arthur and Samuel force the beings to learn Finnish after forming the Empire.
* AllForNothing: Arthur makes a deal with the God of Dreams: if Arthur finds the Crystal of Shadows for him, he will make Arthur the Emperor once again. When Arthur actually finds the Crystal and brings it to the God of Dreams, the deal is altered and the God only prevents Arthur from dying. And in the fourth film, Arthur spends half the time trying to get the Crystal back from the God of Dreams and/or destroy it.
* AllThereInTheManual: WordOfGod has stated loads of information not concerning the films in any way (from the anatomy of certain fauna inhabiting a sea surrounding a high-security prison in the Sun Mountains to deities worshipped by ''ants'') and are planning to release a guide covering all this. [[DevelopmentHell Sometime in the future. Probably.]]
* AlternativeCalendar: In the Prenevimperial era - the movies themselves - the imperial calendar is "Years of the Exterior", the first year being the formation of the Empire. In the Nevimperial era, the calendar system is changed: eras used are PNI and NI (Prenevimperial and Nevimperial respectively) with the zero point being the Battle of Sun Mountains.
* AmbiguousDisorder: Lord Vladimir. Also applies to Arthur himself in the later films.
* AmplifierArtifact: The Crystal of Shadows is one to the God of Dreams.
* AmuletOfConcentratedAwesome: The Pencils.
* AmusingAlien: Various. Most side characters in the film series have some peculiar quirks in their personality, but most notable are the Shadow creatures and (to a lesser extent) Leksa Lepääjä.
* AncientArtifact: Again, the Pencils.
* AnimalNemesis: Arthur and the mouse. Though in fact, it's the mouse that takes Arthur as its nemesis for breaking into its home.
* AntiHero: Arthur.
* TheApprentice: Samuel becomes one to the Sun Wizard for a while after the Battle of Sun Mountains.
* ArbitrarySkepticism: Certain beings, such as phoenixes or werewolves, are considered "mythical" and nonexistant by the residents of the Exterior, even though things like magic or dragons do exist in the Empire.
* ArchEnemy: The Count of Night vs. the Sun Wizard.
* ArtInitiatesLife: How the Exterior was created.
* ArtisticLicenseChemistry: The magical matter that actually has three basic states is called "magic energy".
* AuthorAvatar: Arthur and Samuel are avatars of the two directors of Nosources.
* BackFromTheDead: According to the ''New Empire'' storyline, quite unfortunately… [[spoiler:Saskai.]]
** Oh, and also Arthur. Four times. Gets KilledOffForReal, though, in the final film… but that doesn’t stop him from returning as a ghost.
** Even the God of Dreams is resurrected by the Court after the final film. He is now dormant, though.
** "There must always be a Count of Night…"
*** It is starting to seem that magical characters do not simply die in the Exterior universe.
* BackgroundMagicField
* BackStory: WordOfGod has told a lot of backstory for a lot of characters, even the ones that don't actually appear in the movies. The most famous example of this is probably the backstory of Leksa Lepääjä and his former nemesis, the [[TomTheDarkLord Boris]].
* BadassInDistress: Arthur, as the third Count of Night, gets easily captured by a group of Light Creature guards during his attack to the Palace of Latva. He escapes, though.
* BerserkButton: The Sun Wizard is this to Arthur, at least until The Reveal in the second film. He still blows up two rooms in rage in the third film, though.
* BigBad: General Saskai.
* BiggerBad: The God of Dreams.
* BigGood: Sun Wizard and the God of Sun.
* BigNo: Completely averted - the creators have stated that they will never, ever use one in their work.
* BigRedButton: Arthur tries to reach one in the third film, but it is never actually pressed.
* BilingualBonus: One will understand the names appearing in the series much better if he/she speaks Finnish - most of them are [[MeaningfulName Meaningful Names]] or words in the language and aren’t translated. For example: Kuori, Latva, Juuri, Leksa Lepääjä.
* BilingualDialogue: Most of the characters understand both Finnish and the fictional Nevdetex language. Both languages are used in the films.
* BittersweetEnding: General Saskai and the God of Dreams are killed and a new Empire is formed, but many characters die [[spoiler:- amongst them Arthur -]] and it is later revealed that [[spoiler:both Saskai and]] the God of Dreams actually survived.
* BlackBox: Most of the Exterior was built using unknown technology. Also, the engines of all starships produced in the Empire qualify.
* BlindIdiotTranslation: In the original Finnish version, the name of the Empire is "Kuori", which stands for "shell", "crust" or "casing". The translation to "The Exterior" was originally the result of a mishap, but the writers liked the name and decided to stick with it.
* BloodBrothers: Arthur and (quite surprisingly) the Sun Wizard become this in the final film.
* BloodlessCarnage: Blood is not shown in the films much or at all. The reason for this is that the creators [[NoBudget couldn’t afford even fake blood…]]
* BodyHorror: Arthur’s slow but steady transformation into a Shadow creature.
* BoldExplorer: Arthur and Samuel are these for a short time before they build the Exterior.
* BrainWashed: In the course of the films 2-4, Arthur is gradually becoming this due to several tumours in his brain created by the God of Dreams, which cause him to obey his bidding. He is never completely brainwashed, though, and in the fourth film, he blows his own head up to get rid of the tumours.
* BreakingOutTheBoss: The ultimate goal of the Count of Night in the first film. He succeeds, but it takes several years for the God of Dreams to regain all of his powers.
* TheCakeIsALie: Conclusion of the deal between Arthur and the God of Dreams in the second film.
* CasualInterstellarTravel: Partially justified, as the characters mainly use teleportation and Jännäkivi engines.
* CatchPhrase
** Leksa Lepääjä: "What time is it? You woke me up!"
** Lord Vladimir: "Only you yourself can know it."
** The God of Dreams: "...I am the God of Dreams..."
** The Imperial guards: "There's somebody!"
** Doctor Šoita: "[[CallingYourAttacks Poison Discs!/Poison Capsules!]]"
** The camel: ''"Honk?"''
** Shadow creatures: "Imma Shadow creature!"
* AChatWithSatan: Arthur just before the Battle of Sun Mountains.
* ChekhovsGun: The Corrosion Knives given to the Emperors by [[MadDoctor Doctor Noita]] in the first film. Arthur later uses his Knife to break into the Palace of Latva and to escape his death sentence in Juuri.
* ChekhovsSkill: Arthur trains bullet dodging while still an Emperor in the first film. The skill later comes very handy indeed.
* ChewingTheScenery: The Count of Night. Also the barbarians.
* ClarkesThirdLaw: Pretty much every second ordinary machine in the Exterior is somehow magical.
* ClingyCostume: Arthur has one as the third Count of Night. Justified, as his entire costume consists of Shadow energy, which makes it his skin.
* CommLinks: Arthur uses ''simultaneously two'' to keep in contact with his two armies and Lord Vladimir in the beginning of the fourth film. Later on, he uses one to speak with Samuel during the Battle of Sun Mountains.
* ConLang: Nevdetex, an artificial language developed by one of the creators, is used in the films as one of the Empire's two official languages. In-universe it is said to be "based on the language spoken by the original residents of the Exterior universe." The language itself was originally highly based on Finnish, but is nowadays much more independent both in grammar and vocabulary.
* CreationMyth: ''Birth of a Certain World'', the mythology of the Hamramists, which reveals how the universe of the Exterior was originally created.
** CreationStory: The story is told as the prologue of the first film, and the characters involved are very prominent and important in the films themselves.
* TheCynic: Arthur becomes this after the revolution. He gets over it, though.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Not a very extreme example, but WordOfGod says that Samuel and Arthur were bullied and discriminated as children due to their families being foreign. This is why they can so easily let go of things that are important to them.
* DarkIsEvil: The Darkness creatures attacking the New Empire[[spoiler:, led by Saskai,]] are all completely evil.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Kind of. As Lord Vladimir says, there is a difference between darkness and shadow. Darkness is AlwaysChaoticEvil, but shadow is just an element among many others. Well, the Count of Night and the Shadow creatures are generally considered to be evil, but they in fact are not - their ways just differ from the [[SaintlyChurch Hamramists]].
* DeathSeeker: Arthur technically becomes one after he is once again torn to life in the fourth film.
* DepletedPhlebotinumShells: The magic-destroying bullets which the guards of Latva start to use after Arthur has slaughtered a few hundred of them.
* DeterminedExpression: Arthur in the first film. Averted in the later films.
* DeusExMachina: The end of the fourth film. After Arthur has destroyed the Crystal of Shadows, around fifty extermely powerful beings arrive in the scene and aid Leksa Hereilläolija to kill the God of Dreams with no effort, meanwhile Samuel’s army (led by the Sun Wizard) destroy every single shadow creature in the Mountains. Again, with little or no effort.
* DeusExNukina: The explosion that destroys Juuri in the fourth film.
* DiabolusExMachina: The revolution in the first film.
* DoAnythingRobot: The EPA mecha suits used by Samuel's army in the Sun Mountains in the fourth film (later also used by the Nevimperial elite soldiers). Well, it's actually a suit, but still...
** The [[{{Mecha}} Shellobot]] robots used by Saskai can be programmed to do anything, but Saskai decides to use them solely for military purposes.
* DraconicHumanoid: Admiral Seŋanu, the successor of Admiral Miriam in the Nevimperial era [[spoiler:and the (very distant) future Emperor]] is this, though his regular form is a "normal" dragon. His species is told to be simply "dragon". [[spoiler:According to the ''Borderworld'' trilogy, he is a sapient, Borderworldian dragon not originating from the Exterior universe.]]
* DreamingOfThingsToCome: The God of Dreams sending Arthur visions of his dark future in the first film.
* DrinkOrder: In the fourth film, Arthur orders water in a canteen. In Juuri. During the Battle of Juuri. After he has just escaped from a high-security cell and rescued Samuel. All the while being the Count of Night who technically ''cannot eat or drink anything''.
* DyingDeclarationOfHate: "Curse you, Sun Wizard!"
* EasilyForgiven: Arthur is forgiven overwhelmingly easily by the Sun Wizard, Samuel, Kasuga and the Light creatures along with the Court in the fourth film, considering that he had just killed trillions of beings and served the God of Dreams. Well, he had just destroyed the Crystal of Shadows and killed himself ''twice'' to redeem himself, but still.
* ElementalAbsorption: All Spirits of Nature and members of the Element Nobility can technically do this.
* ElementalRivalry: The God of Sun and the God of Dreams, along with their respective aides and the Light and Shadow creatures. Also Rubirin and Safiraqa, the Spirits of fire and water, qualify.
* ElementalShapeshifting: All magical creatures can theoretically do this. However, only Arthur is actually seen to do it (as a Shadow/Multi-creature).
* EnergyAbsorption: One of the powers of Arthur as the Count of Night. Also the anti-magic bullets.
* EnergyBeings: Arthur turns into one in the Sun Mountains after a death of his – the massive amount of different magical energies he has absorbed keeps his soul from passing away. However, he can magically create a body for himself even then.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: The first appearances of Lord Vladimir, Leksa Lepääjä and Saskai.
* EverythingSensor: The HUD of the EPA.
* EvilLaugh: Saskai. Also Arthur in the later films, due to the insanity and sadism caused by the God of Dreams.
** During the filmings of the scene of ''Revolution'' where Arthur kills some guards in their dressing room, one uncut version shows him laughing maniacally while slaughtering the guards. ''It wasn’t actually intended.''
** The God of Dreams, kind of. In the first film, a high-pitched maniacal laugh is heard near the Chasm of Dreams, where the God resides. According to WordOfGod, it’s caused by the Shadow creatures and not the God himself.
* TheEvilSkyscraper: The Palace of Latva in the third film.
* EvilSoundsHammy: Arthur as the Count of Night, as well as the God of Dreams.
* EvilTowerOfOminousness: Again, the Palace of Latva.
* FantasyMetals: At least Adamantium exists in the Exterior – it is mixed with various other substances to create the "Hardest Substance in the World". It can also be safely assumed that ''every single kind'' of Fantasy Metal exists somewhere inside the Exterior.
* Faster than Light Travel: Averted, as FLT is considered physically impossible in the Exterior. The characters usually use teleportation instead to cross large distances quickly.
* FemaleAngelMaleDemon: Sort of. The God of Sun is female, the God of Dreams is male. Also, Kasuga is female and Arthur is male. But the Sun Wizard and the Count of Night are both male.
* TheFinickyOne: Arthur himself is this, especially in the first film.
* ForeignLanguageTirade: The Sun Wizard does this pretty often.
* ForgetsToEat: Arthur almost dies (once again) because of this in the third film.
* ForgottenPhlebotinum: The Pencils, which aren't really present after the first part. The case seems to be this with the Crystal of Shadows, until it is finally re-revealed after a few subtle hints in the final film.
* FromNobodyToNightmare: Arthur.
* TheGeneralissimo: General Saskai.
* GeniusLoci: The Star in the centre of the Exterior is the transformed God of Sun. It is sentient, but most of the time the god is sleeping.
* GoodCostumeSwitch: Arthur does this in the fourth film. Justified, as he has lost all of his Shadow powers and therefore his previous outfit/skin.
* GoodIsNotNice: The Empire of the Exterior. It is a massive, totalitarian country ruled by a dictator with an iron fist, it has extremely strict laws, inhumane penalties and it violently conquers new regions all the time and kills the natives. Even the name of its national anthem is "Isminem el□mpiir" (Loyal to the Empire). Yet it fights and relatively stays on the "side of Good".
** In the ''Borderworld'' spin-off series, the Empire is presented as evil.
* GreenRocks: The Shadow Crystal. Also the literal green rocks called Jännäkivi [[BilingualBonus ("groovy-stone")]] used to power the engines of all starships are obviously this.
* HardLight: Light energy, being a magical "energy", has a solid phase.
* HarmfulToTouch: Raw magical energy to non-magical beings.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: Arthur. Arguably Samuel becomes this, too, after forming the New Empire; this leads to the Iroux wars.
* HollywoodDressCode: Used a lot in the series. Justified, as the minor characters are mainly normal citizens and Exterian guards, whose uniformis only a brimmed hat. The RealLife reason for this is that Nosources Movies [[NoBudget couldn't afford]] too many complex costumes.
* HotBlooded: Arthur has some moments of this.
* HumanAliens: The generic "beings" living in the Exterior are basically humans, but according to WordOfGod it's not possible for them to be humans, at least not the same humans as we are.
* HypnoRay: One of Arthur's abilities as the Count of Night.
* InfiniteSupplies: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] in the third film, as Arthur is surprised upon discovering that he can, for example, pull a ''chainsaw'' out of nowhere.
* ImpossiblyTallTower: The Palace of Latva. It is a tower [[ScifiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale the size of ''half a galaxy'']]. Arthur lampshades this in the first film.
* InHarmonyWithNature: Most magical creatures apply.
* IntrepidReporter: Tahvo Oimittaja, the most successful reporter in the whole Empire.
** In additon, Henry Ian Istor, the main character of the novella ''Discontinuity'', could be qualified as one, though he's actually a historian. He is known for finding out several mysterious events and conspiracy theories prior to the novella, which depicts him trying to seek out information about someone called "The Renegade" [[spoiler:who is actually none other than Arthur Starling]]. Sadly, he becomes a RedshirtReporter as Emperor Samuel murders him by imprisoning him eternally in the Archives of Latva.
* InventionalWisdom: Why do Latva and Juuri even ''have'' the [[BigRedButton Big Red Buttons]] Arthur is trying to reach?
* ItRunsOnNonsensoleum: Lots and lots of examples. Justified, as magic is actually used to build things in the Exterior.
* JetPack: The EPA suits have these. Also an emergency accessory for the fighter plane pilots of Latva.
* KingpinInHisGym: Arthur testing his skills in Lord Vladimir's gym in the third film.
* KubrickStare: Arthur tends to do this quite often. It is actually improvised by his actor.
* LargeAndInCharge: The physical manifestation of the God of Dreams is [[EldritchAbomination humongous]].
* LargeHam: Arthur and the Count of Night, as the actor who plays both of them often acts in a melodramatic style and articulates very broadly. Also, the God of Dreams.
* LetsGetDangerous: Leksa Lepääjä in the fourth film. After he has finally finished his thousands-of-years-long rest, he has [[TookALevelInBadass Taken a Level In Badass]] and is revealed to be practically the most powerful being in the universe. He also changes his name to Hereilläolija [[BilingualBonus (roughly translates to "the one who is awake"; Lepääjä translates to "the rester")]]. Oh, and he ''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu kills the God of Dreams.]]''
* LightIsGood: Justified, as the main creator of the Exterior universe is the God of Sun. But Shadow is still not evil.
* LikeADuckTakesToWater: Arthur and Samuel become Emperors in the Exterior after realizing they don't fit to their homeworld Earth.
* LoyalPhlebotinum: The Sun Wizard's sword is an example.
* MaddenIntoMisanthropy: Arthur during the first three films. He gets eventually over it, though.
* MadeOfIndestructium: The material only known as the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin "Hardest Substance in the World"]], whose one ingredient is Adamantium. It is completely indestructible after it has been magically fixed in place.
* MadeOfPhlebotinum: The Iroux, an evil force that almost destroys the New Empire, is this. For example, its members live in a place between universes, and no such place exists[[note]] [[spoiler:In ''Borderworld'', the actual place is revealed and even visited.]][[/note]]. It also uses standard wooden warships to move around ''in space'' and consists almost entirely of beings that should not exist.
* MagicAIsMagicA
* MagicalGirlWarrior: Kasuga is one.
* MakeAWish: Sort of. The God of Dreams makes a deal with Arthur that if he finds the Crystal of Shadows, the God of Dreams will fulfill his deepest wish. Unfortunately [[TheCakeIsALie the god breaks the deal]] after Arthur accidentally breaks the Crystal, and only returns him into his old body after he has sacrificed himself to repair the Crystal.
* TheMultiverse: Our universe and the Exterior are implied to be parts of an infinite multiverse. This idea expands a lot in the ''Borderworld'' spin-off, in which the actual connection between the universes is explored and visited.
* MultiversalConqueror: Not the enemy, but the Empire itself is one. (In fact, the enemy is never one: General Saskai temporarily stops the conquer after the revolution.)
* MundaneLuxury: Arthur desperately wants rye bread after shutting down the Palace of Latva, as he hasn't eaten at all for a long, long time. Too bad the Shadow creatures are too stupid to get any rye bread, and several of them die on the quest.
* MustMakeAmends: Arthur sacrifices himself in the final film to destroy the Crystal of Shadows he has given to the God of Dreams.
* MysteriousPast: Lord Vladimir. Also Leksa Lepääjä before Nosources revealed his past.
* NationalWeapon: The Shadow creature warriors carry the ''šalak vokinm'', or "shadow knives". They are slightly curved short swords which resemble katanas a bit. Even Arthur has one as the Count of Night.
* NeverMessWithGranny: Happens to Arthur in Juuri in the fourth film after he doesn't pay for his food in a canteen. An elderly lady attacks him and pursues him relentlessly until Arthur [[spoiler:destroys her liver]].
* NiceMice: Averted. There is a certain mouse that vows revenge to Arthur for breaking into its home (a pile of hay) while hiding from the imperials. The mouse finds Arthur wherever he goes, and later starts to haunt him. It stalks Arthur ''even when he is dead.''
* OlderThanTheyLook: Arthur and Samuel, along with pretty much every single character in the films. The obvious reason for this is that the actors are actually pretty young.
* OnlyOneName: The residents of the Exterian universe usually have only one name (and sometimes a title). Even Arthur (Starling) and Samuel (van Michael) drop their surnames after forming the Empire, going by FirstNameBasis.
* OpeningMonologue: ''Revolution'' begins with one, telling the myth of the Birth of a Certain World.
* OppositesAttract: Arthur and Kasuga.
* PersonOfMassDestruction: Arthur from the third film onwards. Leksa Lepääjä is also revealed to be this in the fourth film, as well as the Sun Wizard.
* PersonalityPowers: The first Count of Night is dark and moody, the Sun Wizard is prideful, noble and ”pure”. Arthur, as the Count of Night, is equally dark and gloomy, but this is mainly due to his extreme stubbornness and he has some lighter, polite and more flexible sides too. Completely averted with Kasuga, a Light creature who is pretty melancholic and cold-blooded.
* PhlebotinumBreakdown: After over two years of continuous use, Arthur's Pencil suddenly fails to work when he tries to break into the palace of Latva in the first film.
* PhlebotinumHandlingRequirements: The EPA suit drivers have to be at least 1.9 metres high.
* PhlebotinumOverdose: Subverted in the final film – Arthur seems to absorb too much magic energy and die, but manages to become a multi-creature and somehow survive. He loses his Shadow powers almost entirely, though.
* PhlebotinumPills: Arthur has to swallow a sleeping pill in the first movie, so that he cannot see the [[SecretPath Secret Smuggling Route]] from Latva to Juuri. He later awakens in Juuri, only to find himself in the middle of a trial where he's eventually declared a traitor.
* PresentAbsence: Samuel after he disappears in the first film, at least until he reappears in the fourth.
* PureEnergy: The magical matter is incorrectly called "magic energy". Arthur even [[LampshadeHanging lampshades]] this.
* PutOnABus: Samuel in the first film, Kasuga in the second. Both reappear in the fourth film.
* Really700YearsOld: A lot of characters fall under this trope. Examples: the God of Sun, the first Count of Night, the Sun Wizard, Lord Vladimir, Leksa Lepääjä...
* RebelLeader: Khalibah, the leader of the Anti-Imperial Movement. Arthur also leads his own army of Shadow creatures and former Guards against the Empire. Oh, and Samuel in the fourth film of course.
* RedOniBlueOni: Arthur (red) and Samuel (blue), although Arthur has some blue traits as well.
** Count of Night (red), Sun Wizard (blue).
** The Spirits of Nature: Rubirin and Smeraldetr (red) – Safiraqa and Obaldniv (blue).
** God of Dreams (red), God of Sun (blue).
** The [[TomTheDarkLord Boris]] (red) and Leksa Lepääjä (blue).
* ReluctantWarrior: The Sun Wizard. "This time I wish not to fight." He fights anyway, though.
* TheSacredDarkness: The Sacred ''Shadow'', to be more accurate. The Shadow Lord Vladimir is pretty much the manifestation of this trope – his skin is not jagged and crude like most Shadow creatures, his eyes are deep blue instead of black (indicating he has overcome the "corrupt" Shadow), and he believes in the equality and purity of Shadow amongst other elements. He is right.
* {{Sadist}}: The God of Dreams definitely is one, along with the torturer [[MadDoctor Doctor Noita]] (name translates to "witch") and General Saskai. Even Arthur shows signs of being one in the third film.
* SleepyHead: Leksa Lepääjä.
* SnakePeople: Averted. The unnamed warden of the Star Prison – a special high security jail for entities that endanger the balance of universe – is a basilisk. He actually ''is just a giant, sentient snake''.
* SolidClouds: The Postmortem Trial Service is composed of these. The subjects' legs are even fixed into clouds to prevent escaping.
* SoulFragment: Kind of. The God of Dreams has, by the fourth (and final) film, left three traces of himself into Arthur's brain, which eventually cause Arthur to blow his own head up.
* StarScraper: The Palace of Latva definitely is one – it is [[ScifiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale half as tall as an average galaxy]].
* StatesOfPhlebotinum: The "magic energy" comes in all possible states.
* SupernaturalGoldEyes: [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment The God of Sun has golden eyes. And is a god.]]
* SupernormalBindings: Two Light creatures restrain Arthur using special Light energy rope in the third film. He later escapes, though.
* SwirlyEnergyThingy: The Timeshreds.
* TechnoBabble: Mostly averted. The bizarre nature of the Exterior is explained (at least tried to explain) entirely through LaymansTerms.
* TheOlderImmortal: It is very likely that the Sun Wizard is a lot older than most of the other immortal beings in the universe.
* TimeTravel: Usually happens with the Timeshreds, but they can also transport things from place to place. This is also the entire point of the spin-off novella series ''Lost in Time''.
* TooDumbToLive: The Shadow creatures, much to the annoyance of Arthur. A group of them dies trying to use a toaster.
** Also, most of the Empire's "normal" citizens are this.
* TookALevelInBadass: Arthur after the second film. Leksa Lepääjä in the fourth film.
* TookALevelInDumbass: Arthur believes Samuel to be this for a short while in the fourth film, but the "Samuel" is then revealed to be a robot that can only say "Whaaaat." repeatedly.
* ToxicPhlebotinum: The Shadow energy is this, and Arthur has to learn it the hard way. It gives him miraculous powers, but also transforms him into a hideous, dark monster which is entirely composed of Shadow energy.
* TurnCoat: Arthur.
* UpgradeArtifact: Arthur learns all of his magical powers except the Shadow powers by accessing a vault of magical scrolls. Partially justified, as it is revealed that Arthur has had a magical capability his whole life.
* VillainCorner: Happens to Arthur himself starting from the end of the first film.
* WeHaveForgottenThePhlebotinum: Arthur forgets his self-defense knife in Juuri in the first film.
* WeakenedByTheLight: Shadow creatures are weakened by the light, or more accurately the absence of darkness. This also applies the other way around to Light Creatures, though.
* WindowsToTheSoul: Shadow creatures have pitch-black eyes, with the exception of Lord Vladimir, who has dark blue eyes to show he has overcome the Shadow energy.
* WhatTheHellHero: Samuel pulls this on Arthur in the fourth film, even though Arthur is not to be really considered a hero in that point.
* WhereIWasBornAndRazed: It appears that Samuel will conquer and enslave the Earth at some point after the end of the series. This happens hundreds of years to the future, though.
* WhileRomeBurns: Arthur sits eating – or waiting for Samuel to eat – in a canteen during the first hours of the battle in Juuri.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim?: General Saskai really wants to end Arthur's life dramatically. She becomes furious when someone asks the question from her.
* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: Arthur slowly becomes savage and sadistic while transforming into a Shadow creature – in his attack to Latva in the third film, he often has fits of insanity which cause him to mindlessly kill dozens of guards. Justified, as this is mostly due to the influence of the God of Dreams. Ultimately subverted when Arthur finally gets rid of his Shadow powers and gains even more powers.
* WizardBeard: Averted. The Sun Wizard, thousands of years old, does not have even a trace of a beard.
* WomanInWhite: Kasuga.
* WorkingClassPeopleAreMorons: Applies to most of the Exterior's working class/general citizens. They are [[TooDumbToLive utter idiots]].
* WorkingForABodyUpgrade: In a way, Arthur does this in the second film. He is first promised to have his deepest wish come true, but gets "only" a Body Upgrade after failing. Well, in fact it is a body revert.
* WorldTree: When seen from far away, the Exterior actually resembles a leafless tree enclosed in a shell, with the treetop in Latva and the roots in Juuri [[BilingualBonus ('latva' and 'juuri' actually are the Finnish words for 'treetop' and 'root')]].
* YouLookFamiliar: Due to the shortage of actors available, almost every single actor plays at least two significant roles, along with a multitude of minor characters.
** Arthur's actor portrays also the first Count of Night and a few minor characters, being the actor with the fewest roles in the series due to Arthur's status as the main character.
** Samuel's actor portrays the Sun Wizard, Lord Vladimir, Rear Admiral Seŋanu, Doctor Šoita and Major Malgar, along with loads of minor characters such as guards, shadow creatures and Imperial citizens. He also gives his voice to the Magistrate.
** Saskai's actress portrays Kasuga and many minor characters.
** The actor portraying Doctor Noita supposedly portrays also a lot of minor characters.
** Leksa Lepääjä's actor portrays Chief of the Guard Gurdin, most of the barbarians, and many other less significant roles.
** The actor portraying the Fire Lord in ''Revolution'' is also Samuel's personal bodyguard Godruu, the Magistrate (aside from voice) and many other characters. A private joke in Nosources is that the actor's actual voice is never heard in any of their productions.
** Admiral Miriam's actress plays a lot of minor characters, but doesn't have any other significant roles.
** The God of Sun's actress also portrays the Fire Spirit Rubirin, along with many other roles.
** Kasuga still doesn't have an actress to portray her role. EDIT: She has.
