auroraexpress | The Twenty-Eighth Trial

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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

That's because the lips are one of the most sensitive parts of the human body! They can be as sensitive or even more sensitive to touch and warmth than hands are.

Really? Why is that?

It's useful for eating, vocalizations, and facial expressions.

....how does sensitivity help with that?

Like I can see the use of lips for that stuff, but the sensitivity part...

Aren't lips one of the most sensitive spots on a horse, too?

....you know, I don't actually know? I'm not sure if I ever paid attention to that?

Whether an animal is picking apart something like a seed or just ripping up greens, flexible lips or fingers help a lot. If they're sensitive, the animal has better control and can collect more information.

Maybe we do then. Without magic, the most fine motor control is a pony's mouth.

Right? Plus the face has a lot of nerve endings in general.

Well, that's a little harder to be sure of with fur. Everything feels weird without it.

I can confirm that it’s true from an anatomical perspective. The cranial nerves are among the first to develop in a vertebrate and the facial nerves are some of the most extensive.

Oh? To help all those operations, I'm guessing?

Right! Fine motor control and sensations actually share the same pathways, so it’s very robust.

Really? Huh, maybe that's why the mouth works so well.

[Also she's taking out some of her hair clips, and gonna hold them up to figure out if they'd look good in Eliza, putting back on the 'rejects.']

It might be a little grody, but if you ever get a chance to look at a dissected nervous system I super recommend it!

....I don't think I could ever do that. [MEAT STUFF IS]

[DEFINITELY NOT EASIER AFTER SNAKE GAME]

That's fair, they're pretty creepy looking even as isolated models.

[She shudders.] Yeah. Just models can be rough, the actual thing....

[Takes a deep breath. Lets it out.]

This one might work. [An orange, feathery hair clip held out to her.]

[distantly, maybe, sort of picking up the discomfort vs. necropsies. that necromancer blind spot, man.

but either way she takes the subject change quickly]

Oh! For the 3-point? Here, let me trade you.

[getting out a glittery black scrunchie]

[Herbivore is not a fan of meat and dismembered dead bodies, nope.]

That's the idea.

[And will accept the scrunchie. Will even use it to hold back some of her bangs.]

[tucks her own hair back with the hair clip]

How many points are you at so far?

Twelve points. You?

13! Two kisses and the hair clip.

You're popular.

Not that its a surprise. You are a pretty smart and charismatic person to talk to.

And you just got yourself another handful of points.

(no subject)

daydreamshimmer - 2020-03-14 04:43 (UTC) - Expand

bowtiedbones - 2020-03-14 06:27 (UTC) - Expand

daydreamshimmer - 2020-03-14 12:20 (UTC) - Expand