The Fifteenth Trial: Licorice

[hot_mess_express]

The weird castle/steampunk aesthetic continues in the room, but there’s a bit more of an almost… Prop, vibe to the room. Everything feels real, the stone and the wood are solid, but there’s a certain look like it was taken right out of a fifth grade play with princesses and dragons in the way the stone walls are built, and even the gothic iron window looks vaguely cartoonish.

The room is large, and at one end is a set of five tables, each with the names and colors of the other teams.

Directly in front of you on another table is a big scroll. A quill pen and ink pot sit next to it.

A vase of lycoris and moon lilies decorates the table. There are chairs and couches if you want to sit.

Comments

Round 1

[hot_mess_express]

Thus reads the scroll on the table:

From the traits below, pick four that you believe your team as a whole exhibits the most strongly. You need only circle the words. Choosing more will do nothing, and the first four words circled will be the ones that are considered chosen. Attempting to cross out or underline a word will be the same as circling it.

Traits

[hot_mess_express]

Courageous
Strong
Cunning
Charitable
Just
Noble
Chivalrous
Kind
Aggressive
Humble
Useless
Lazy
Perverse
Wise
Academic
Spiteful
Rowdy
Sadistic
Masochistic
Tired

Decision

[hot_mess_express]

[Please turn in the words in order of most fitting to least, or in whatever order your team interacted with them if they were chosen randomly or on accident somehow.]

Re: Decision

[bad_crowmance]

• Strong
• Cunning
• Rowdy
• Perverse

Discussion

[hot_mess_express]

Re: Discussion

[bad_crowmance]

Hmmm... It's definitely very different if we're going for "all of us" instead of just one or two....

Re: Discussion

[nihilmancy]

We need to think about what we all have in common.

Re: Discussion

[luckyheart]

[FLOPPING ON A COUCH]

I say we just make ourselves look good.

Re: Discussion

[nihilmancy]

Great, I love to eat shit and die.

Re: Discussion

[bad_crowmance]

"Courageous," "strong," "cunning," "humble?"

Round 2

[hot_mess_express]

Five of the following objects correspond to one each of the other teams. There are extra objects that correspond to no team. Using what you know of the other teams, select the correct object to send to that team.

Only one object may be sent to each team.

There is only one correct object to send per team.

Choosing a correct object but sending it to the incorrect team will still count as an incorrect choice.

To send an object to a team, you must place it on the table for that team.

Objects

[hot_mess_express]

The objects that appear on the table are:

an unchecked to-do list

a gold crown

a steel sword

a ball gag

a sugar bowl filled with salt

a book on philosophy

a pillow

rock'em sock'em robots

a medal

Decision

[hot_mess_express]

[List the objects chosen alongside the teams you are sending them to.]

Re: Decision

[bad_crowmance]

Ginger - gold crown
Thyme - book on philosophy
Senna - steel sword
Jasmine - pillow
Clover - rock 'em sock 'em robots

Discussion

[hot_mess_express]

Re: Discussion

[bad_crowmance]

Ginger, Thyme, Senna, Jasmine, Clover.... Let's see... I'm halfway tempted to give the bowl of salt to Jasmine.

Re: Discussion

[luckyheart]

I bet that's the "spiteful" thing. Is that really how they are?

Round 3

[hot_mess_express]

Results

[hot_mess_express]

Your chosen team trait: Strong

The object for that trait: A Steel Sword

The objects you were sent:

A Pillow

Ball Gag

Sugar Bowl Filled with Salt

Pillow

Ball Gag

Conclusion

[hot_mess_express]

All of the objects you have been sent are wrong.

Invisible hands grab onto you, restricting your movement, holding you down as… something crawls up your body. You can’t quite see all of it, but it’s slimy, it’s got spikes, it resembles a dripping maggot with teeth--and it is burrowing into your skin. You feel it crawl in, make a nest for itself among your organs, making you its new host, and even as the point of entry seals, heals over, you can still feel it inside you.

A teammate, a friend, or I guess a random stranger must remove the parasite physically within 3 to 5 IC days, before it reproduces in your body and its young eat their way out of you. It cannot be removed with magic, it will live in you regardless of your biology, and it must be removed physically. It is not advised to attempt solo parasite removal.

As a special note, if actively RPing out the nitty gritty of bloody parasite removal is too much, feel free to handwave that part and just play out the aftermath trauma, the point is fun, so get as gross as you like or not. Do try to at least work out who removes your parasites so you both get to have that as fun CR.

In addition you may optionally choose at least one of the following status effects:

Level 1 Status effects

mini

frog (or other transmog eg. fairy, evil pepper, blade banana)

amnesia

charm (target whoever, can be multiple)

compulsion to tell the truth

Level 2 Status effects

gradual petrify (of somewhere non-fatal)

berserk

confuse (disoriented on who is friend or foe)

curse (skills and strength sealed/stats lowered)

fear

despair

hallucinate

poison (fever, illness, non-fatal)

While you recover from all that parasite-y fun there’s a little mood music for you.

Interact

[hot_mess_express]

You aren't allowed in endgame yet, so now's the time to have a good hangout with your teammates, however that's going for you right now.

Re: Interact

[bad_crowmance]

[ Oh, fuck.

Please hold, Crow is too busy screaming as something starts burrowing inside of him. ]

Re: Interact

[nihilmancy]

[Screaming in pain and terror as the parasite burrows into her, before going silent. It's fine. So many terrible things have happened to her already, so all she has to do is go back to her numb place.]

Re: Interact

[luckyheart]

[this is not okaaaaaaay

Lucky is also doing a lot of screaming but once it's... settled... slightly... He's just going to curl up on the floor and groan.]

Someone's been making bad impressions...

Endgame

[hot_mess_express]

Some more piano to see you back.