The Seventeeth Trial

[catcophonous]

Who: trialgoers
When: Day 39, evening
Where: The Cat's Zone

[Have you enjoyed your day playing in your new train cars? Great! Because now it's Trial Time.

With the usual alert, the Cat's bar appears in the clearing. There's no "come hither" -- instead, just the pounding of bass from the speakers as the door cracks open. Inside there's flashing party lights, upbeat club music, and high-top tables surrounding a wide dance floor. The stage in the corner is empty except for a single microphone.

At the bar you can get free drinks, but you'll have to contend with the bartender -- a black cat curled up on the shelf between the bottles.

On the bar, and on every table, is a sign showing the rules of this game, titled:

Kiss or Dare

If you want to dress up for the club, or want costumes for daring purposes, there's a dressing room behind the stage with a magic closet. You'll find whatever you like in it, but when the trial ends you can only take home what you're wearing!

Good luck!]

RULES | TURN-IN | THE CAT / DISQUALIFICATION

Comments

[schrodingerscockroach]

[....yeah, he's definitely noting all the stuff that's Off and it's kind of weirding him out A BIT because he's good at noticing that.]

[But he's good at hiding his reaction to that.]

I've already talked to someone who doesn't know what planets actually are, so that's going to be a thing to explain.

....do you know what planets are?

[wellhanged]

... I may need drinks before I need explanation of what planets are.

[look. if he must get a dose of cosmic realism, you gotta let him. have this.]

[schrodingerscockroach]

....at this rate I may just bring everyone who doesn't know to watch another bunch of my memories.

Might be easier to show space than explain it.

[wellhanged]

You really don't mind sharing your life that much, huh.

Admirable...? Maybe.

[schrodingerscockroach]

[More like his concept of memory is jacked up, THANKS EPSILON.]

Doesn't take long for people to pick up my life is one of a lot of violence, and no real reason to hide I'm special ops here.

[wellhanged]

Violence doesn't bother me.

... though you'll have to explain "special ops".

[schrodingerscockroach]

I'm in the military. Special ops basically means I'm a highly trained specialists for jobs that are hard to do, with few people involved, and also may or may not be strictly legal.

[wellhanged]

... so. Like a favored knight?

That's what Cat is like, I think.

[though like. lol. that whole story is. uh. a thing.]

[schrodingerscockroach]

[He makes a so-so gesture.] It's probably a good translation. Military is just a whole lot bigger than a monarchy might be, so it's more complicated.

Cat?

[wellhanged]

Catalina. Or, during her time in official service to the Ravanges, Sir Catalin.

It was quite the scandal~

[schrodingerscockroach]

Sir Catalin....

She pretended to be male?

[wellhanged]

That is the kind of world I'm from. Knights are exclusively a male profession. And especially when it's the favored knight of the Lady Valya--my, how the nobility had a fit. Threw her into the Pit and had her try to prove her worth.

Unfortunately, other things happened that derailed all of that, but it seems she still has the Lady's favor, at least.

[this is the smile of someone who is anti-monarch, so y'know.]

[schrodingerscockroach]

Good on the Lady for having her head on straight. Badassery isn't gender specific.

Not that there isn't the occasional idiot who thinks otherwise, but at least by my time, women are free to rightfully destroy them when they talk shit.

[wellhanged]

Well, I'll agree that women are tougher than most men give them credit for, at least.

I'm purely biased against the Ravanges, however. And in that way, Catalina could stand to have much better taste, even if she'd skewer me for saying so.

"I'll kill you!" [in a clearly feminine but harsh voice, mimicking Catalina's voice no doubt.

and here, he gives a mocking gesture to the empty chair that's apparently where Catalina would be sitting.]

Ah ha! It's much too late! I've beaten you to it!

[schrodingerscockroach]

They really are. Carolina is one of the most terrifying competent I know. She was basically my boss in special ops. I'd almost feel sorry for anyone who told her she couldn't do something. [Except they'd deserve it.]

And Ravagers were the favored knights? Yeah, probably, anyone who'd risk an asset is dubious management at best, but ambition is a double edged sword.

[He tilts his head at that.] ...you've died too?

[wellhanged]

Ravanges. They're the royal family. And they've ravaged enough of the people in their kingdom to leave a mark for many generations. Preferably this being the last generation, but that's a personal opinion that would get a man hanged.

[l-laughs]

Not that that's what I was hanged for--but yes. I've died. More or less.

[schrodingerscockroach]

...wow. Sounds like great people. [So dry.]

[....huh.]

I have no idea how to react to that by this point.

[wellhanged]

My world's a bit of a complicated set up.

Hmmm... basically, I was destined to die. So I found a way so that I would still be around even if I died.

[waggles hand in the kinda-sorta manner]

[schrodingerscockroach]

You'd think with the name like the Ravagers, there's be at least a little self reflection.

Destiny a big thing there too?

[wellhanged]

[eh. Ravagers is close enough.]

Not traditionally. I've just met the creators of my world, so I happen to know how it works, more or less.

[schrodingerscockroach]

[I may have only been reading Ravagers, but really is close enough.]

....that has to be disorientating. [Also something that can just happen he guesses????]

[wellhanged]

It's less confusing than I thought it would be, really. All the religions back home were always these big affairs or at least some big thing, but turns out it's just two guys. One is an asshole who thinks our pain is a game, the other's like a puppy.

[guess which one Levi prefers.]

I mean, there's supposedly some "Manager" above them, but they've never met 'em and I guess they're not directly involved with my world, either.

Makes it real simple.

[schrodingerscockroach]

[Puppy's are always a win even if they're frustrating.]

[Which he assumes is probably a thing?????]

Well, it does seem unlikely for anyone to have their gods exactly right and then people always have their own agenda for what they say is the 'truth.'

So they just...told you that you had to die?

[wellhanged]

Well, it was really more of an off-handed kind of "it's not like you're that relevant to the story" thing. But I can't really be offended by that. It's not like I minded such a fate, to start with.

[schrodingerscockroach]

Still kind of a dick move on their part.

....so what did you do?