The Twenty-Eighth Trial

[joybound]

Who: trialgoers
When: Day 60 all day
Where: the trial zone and elsewhere

[Sometime this morning (morning? there's still no sun, so what's the difference), you feel the call to a new Trial.

The entrance to the Trial Zone is a new one: a tower has sprung up in the clearing, like a bit of a fairytale castle. It's made of a sparkling pink granite and has lovely star-themed carvings -- if you can see them behind the excess of neon and lights its been decorated with. If the fairy godmother made a dance club, this would be it!

Rather than a disembodied "come hither", your call is a video on a big screen above the entrance -- a young man in a masquerade mask and a flashy, witchy costume (including a big hat) stands... on top of the tower?? It's hard to see up there, but on the screen you can tell he's got twinkly star-filled hair and a black cat with blue eyes perched on his shoulder. He's also striking a pose.]

Heroes of Distant Stars, gather 'round! I, the mysterious and handsome witch of love, have a Trial for you! Come into my party tower and prove your love to me! If you're not a weenie, that is...

[Upon entering the tower, you find yourself in a vast ballroom. Lit with rainbow lights, magic sparkles, and an excess of blacklights and glowing things, it really does look like a club. Bubbly electronic pop blares over the speakers, though there are several tables and curtained-off booths if you'd prefer to avoid the dance floor. One table includes infinitely re-filling glasses of fruity soda, which lower inhibitions incrementally as you consume them (though only for positive urges). If you wish to get even more in the mood, there's a changing room with costumes -- all hybrids of fantasy and neon pop, just like the decor.

Time to get your love on!]

Rules ☆ Turn-in ☆ Winners & Endgame

Comments

[daydreamshimmer]

Maybe that's part of it. You can't really feel when you're holding something with telekinesis unless it's way more weight than you can magically hold and that's less the weight as more the magical strain.

I did say it seems silly to exert the extra effort when there was the table.

I think it's a misconception of vernacular. What does 'will' mean in your world?

[shintaiprotagonist]

That would be a core distinction. The tactile feedback I receive is not identical, but I do receive it.

Yes, and it seemed rather condescending at the time -- as though you expected me to justify something you considered frivolous.

What is the difference you suspect lies between our definitions?

[daydreamshimmer]

Well, it kind of is? Frivolous, I mean. Unicorns use telekinesis a lot because it does alone for more fine tune movement that hooves can't do, but usually if we don't need to be holding something, we put it down. Seems show offy just to hold it up indefinitely.

Though maybe that's because Pegasus and Earth ponies don't....or maybe because most unicorns don't have large magical reserves? I wonder if there's been a study on telekinesis habits of unicorns, that seems like something that would have been. [Tapping her chin thoughtfully.]

You say will like it IS the power that holds something. Like...Essence? Is will? Will can affect magic, yeah, but will and magic are two distinct things. Like if there was something canceling out all magic, willpower still exists. And people of weak will can also do magic, though things usually go real wrong because they lack proper control if they try to do anything fancy.

[shintaiprotagonist]

And why should your standards, rooted in the metaphysics of your world, apply to my use of my own skills? Your judgement is presumptuous and, to borrow a phrase, borderline offensive.

Essence is the power that underlies the world. It is the medium, in this case, by which my will is made manifest. I have drawn a quantity of it into a stable configuration which allows this, and learned techniques to refine my use of it.

[daydreamshimmer]

....'who claims such wisdom in essence wielding.' [Flat look.] I said something was a bit silly. You, meanwhile, told me to prove my wisdom or was my claim false. Then went off on how you don't know if this is well met.

That's two insults at my character, not that something I did was a bit silly. Especially when I'm the one doing the labor in trying to understand the differences here. Which was why I let go those comments because I assumed it was just how your social etiquette runs.

Then there's the fact you started on the assumption that I knew 'essence wielding' instead of a power that has some similar functions, continued to talk like everything you said was obvious without trying to translate the metaphysics into basic terms that should be easily understandable, so you started the metaphysics assumption while I was trying to figure out the differences which is why I was asking the questions.

But if you just want to continue to insult me like it's fine and then be insulted at me not knowing the differences while trying to figure them out?

Then bye.

[And then she turns and walks away.]

[shintaiprotagonist]

[he makes no move to stop her or try to claim the last word, just turns away to more pleasant conversations]