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pixieledmemes2025-05-15 12:28 am
Test Drive Meme #3
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You wake up at a party.
You're not sure how, exactly, you got here. You may have just been walking in the woods or at a meeting for work or doing any other normal activity for you. But you know you weren't supposed to be at this party, you're fairly certain.
Anyone you ask about it will say the party is for you. You and the others also waking up and looking confused. Further questions will lead to the partygoers insisting you have something to eat. You're starving and others are eating the food without repercussion, so you figure there's no harm in a bite. You finish your portion.
It's another garden party near a large hedge maze in the middle of the night. With his penchant for games the Ruler of the Spring Court decided it would be nice to hold an actual game for all the Adopted present. None of that dreidel game a couple of parties ago. This time, he wants more spectacle with higher stakes. Forced to participate and host aspects of this gathering as well, the Ruler of the Dark Court wanted nothing to do with this, so he figured his participation in itself is for the party to happen at night, during his rule, when his mood is at its most pleasant.
Of course, there is no shortage of light sources such as candles and torches, much to the Earl's chagrin, as well as no shortage of food. This time, the fae decided to try their hand on some pasta. They heard it's a good delicacy from the mortal plane. Thing is, sauces look and smell bizarre. One's purple, while another's bright pink, and they taste fruity, as well as flowery, much like the cookies from the last gathering.
As the party winds down and everyone's eaten, a tall, stately woman stands up and speaks. You feel her voice more than hear it.
I am the Lawspeaker of the Fae, elected by Seelie and Unseelie alike, and you are all, now, subjects of Faerie. You cannot leave this realm once you have eaten our food, and even if you could, there is no saying how much time has passed back where you're from. Your loved ones are likely dead, your problems have likely played out. We require assistance in various matters, and each of you has been chosen for your talent and skill. You will be adopted by one of the Seelie or Unseelie Courts based on your strengths and personality. Your Court will decide what to do with you from there.
As suddenly as she stood, she sits back down.
So, what about this hedge maze that seems to have appeared out of nowhere and looming quite eerily beside this night's gathering? For one, peculiar noises can be heard whenever one's near its entrance. From the rustling of leaves to a woman crying, everything seems to be coming from inside.
Of course, the Adopted's participation is required and paramount. Anyone who refuses will be met with harsh penalties and consequences, whatever those may be. They also hint of a prize to anyone who comes out victorious on the other side. It's unclear what it is, though.
The fae know that while the Adopted have been very useful so far, they are also vulnerable and susceptible to fear, so to mitigate that, they have some colorful shots on a table marked LIQUID COURAGE near the entrance to the maze with such effects:
- Gold: Essentially a strong drink that gives you profound energy for 24 hours.
- Red: Downing this will make you feel warm like an aphrodisiac.
- Blue: Basically functions like a normal tequila shot. Or three. Comes with a little bag of salt.
These shots are not compulsory for the Adopted to take, but they will be highly encouraged to do so before entering. Once inside, the rustling of leaves and the sounds of someone crying become louder and even more evident. There are also a few key things that seem to be very clear the longer an Adopted is within the maze's walls:
- The maze is moving. How it's doing it, nobody knows. But it appears to be alive somehow, much like the castle grounds, so finding a clear pathway is almost impossible.
- Whenever an Adopted turns right two consecutive times, they will see a more positive outcome from a terrible event in their lives. Lost someone? They're now here and alive. Gave up on a dream? You find yourself currently living it.
- If an Adopted turns left two consecutive times, they will see someone, a family member or a friend who's still alive and had a deep impact on their lives, bleeding and dead on the ground.
It would be great if no one else can see an Adopted during their most vulnerable, but since the maze moves constantly, another Adopted or two might be able to see them trying to parse out what they're seeing, even if their fellow Adopted can't see it themselves.
CW: dismemberment, body horror, forced body transformations, mild gore, asphyxiation, drowning of children, death
The Spring King only wanted some good-natured fun within the maze, but unbeknownst to him, some Unseelie creatures and Unseelie magic have appeared inside, threatening the safety of the Adopted traversing every nook and cranny. Surely this will not have any lasting consequences between the relationship of the Seelie and Unseelie court rulers. Not at all.
A few of these Unseelie beings and Unseelie magic roaming around the hedge maze that the Adopted will have a chance to meet are as follows:
- Manananggal: Capable of severing its torso from its legs, this vampiric creature usually preys on sleeping pregnant women and unborn babies. But not anymore. Due to magic put on it, this manananggal will strike anyone it comes across. Better pour salt on its severed lower torso once you find it, or else.
- La Llorona: Remember that woman crying? Well, somewhere in the maze alongside the eerie sounds of water flowing, you'll come across a weeping woman cloaked in white with her back turned against you. Be careful not to approach her because once you do, she'll try to choke you to death, reminiscent of how she drowned her own children.
- Jersey Devil: The first thing you'll hear once you turn is a high-pitched, blood-curdling scream then the sound of bat wings flapping. You better run as fast as you can to the other direction because this devil is out to attack anyone it sees on its path.
- A fountain: How odd. Running from the jersey devil or the manananggal might have made you thirsty so perhaps there's no harm in drinking from it. But just coming in contact with its water will make any Adopted soon realize they have transformed into an Unseelie creature.
Fighting off these creatures might be best with a fellow Adopted. After all, there's power in numbers. Just be careful not to die within the hedge maze. There might be some dire consequences.
You feel a vibration in your pocket sometime after the Lawspeaker addresses everyone. When you search for the source, you will pull out your Leaf, the device the Fae use to stay in touch with each other. Anyone who's used a smart phone will easily recognize how it works.
Greetings, Adopted. This is your Lawspeaker.
To be on theme with our festivities for tonight, we want to know a time in your life when you felt lost and wandering about. Perhaps the most compelling story will receive a reward from us.
Party
She shifts her weight. “You know who I am cross with? The people who let us eat and not say. Perhaps we would not eat if we knew?”
Eponine would still have eaten though. She’s glad to be there.
no subject
There's no home for her but 12 where her mother and Peeta are and this place, no matter how pretty, is always going to look like the Capitol to her. And now she's stuck here? It's agony.
"I would have starved versus eaten if I knew."
no subject
"Perhaps it'll be nicer here?"
no subject
It seems that she's walked into that, though, by eating these pretty dishes that she shouldn't have trusted. She should never have trusted it.
"I don't trust when things are pretty on the outside. Means they're hiding something."
CW: DV
Eponine shrugs. She wouldn’t mind being a slave really, not if it meant a roof and a bed and regular food. She has the loosest grasp on slavery, but honestly, compared to the knowledge that she will die soon, and probably painfully, she’ll take it.
“Do you think? I’ve always wanted to be pretty. I’d do anything to have nice hair and pretty teeth. I sold some, you know? Teeth? I bought brandy and my Pa were mad when I couldn’t give him all the money for ‘em. So then it were a sore arse to go with my sore mouth.”
She laughs ruefully. “I’d still like to be pretty. Do you trust me, though, because I am ugly?”
cw: sex work
Katniss falls a little quiet. "If you were really hungry and you were a pretty girl, you'd go to the Head Peacekeeper's house and sell yourself for a meal. I was never old enough to do that when he was alive but if I had been, I probably would have done it for my sister. I'd starve before I let her starve."
cw: underage prostitution, domestic violence, child abuse, prostitution, murder
Eponine's quiet when Katniss speaks of prostitution. She looks at her hands jammed between her thighs, at the rents in her skirt, at her bare feet.
"My Pa sends me with letters. He writes 'em, to claim he's a famous actor or old nobility or - or anything he can think of. Lies. He asks for money, and he says his daughter will do the man's bidding."
Her lips twitch.
"I were small the first time, and I were that scared. But after it, it is how it is and it don't hurt nothing but your pride no more. But I ain't got none of that anyway, so..." She shrugs.
"My sister, 'Zelma, does it too. She's stupid, that one. I try to take some of her's, but there's that many. And if she did none, she'd say, and my Pa'd take his belt to both our arses, her for disobeying and me for lying. I fucking hate my arse being belted. The buckle makes you bleed and it fucking hurts. I'd do anything to avoid that. So Azelma can do her share. I love her, and I didn't kill myself for her because she cannot cope with our father anyway, but I cannot save her."
She looks up at Katniss through the tangle of hair she's let drip over her bowed face, as if hiding behind it.
"And now they're gonna kill me. I'm glad I can't go home, because my father is going to murder me, or my husband will, and they'll fucking make me feel every second."
Re: cw: underage prostitution, domestic violence, child abuse, prostitution, murder
"Any man who does that to you, you tell me. I'll end him," Katniss says. "I can do it. I know how to fight and I know how to kill if I have to. Nobody is ever going to make you do that again."
prostitution
“And it’s a way to keep warm. You know, we spent a winter under the bridge and it were that cold, we should wake with rats to nibble your toes, only you couldn’t feel, and your eyes were iced shut from your tears. So then I went with anyone what’d have me to keep warm. My ‘Parnasse called me a slut, and I suppose I am, but it were warm.”
She laughs gently. “Miss, I am an old whore now. All used up and disgusting. It don’t matter now. Save your fights, truly. But don’t let it happen to you.”
Re: prostitution
Katniss shrugs a little. "His name was Finnick. So maybe I'm thinking a little of him when you tell me about that. He didn't want the life he got forced into even if it meant luxury for him because it wasn't the life that made him happy. What would make you happy, you think?"
Re: prostitution, gender views
She puts her hand on Katniss', in what is supposed to be comfort. "I am sorry for your friend. It is not right for a man especially, I don't think."
She tilts her head. "Happy? Me?" And then she laughs. "I want a dress. And boots lined with rabbit fur. And pretty hair and nice teeth so men don't grimace at the sight. And a big, fat bottle of cheap wine to get drunk on when they do."
Re: prostitution, gender views
Katniss feels a kinship with this girl. It isn't the same as how she feels with Prim but it feels more like Johanna, especially how hard this girl's life has been.
"My name's Katniss. Katniss Everdeen. And we're the same age, actually. As soon as I find out how to trade around here, I can get you what you want. It's never hard. Everyone always wants something."
no subject
Eponine doesn't understand this level of generosity. Nobody is that generous as to do that for a stranger.
"What do you want for it all?" She half shrugs. "I ain't got much, but if you want..." she casts around for something and then reaches into her tangle of hair. After a minute, she pulls out what once was a shoelace and is now a disgusting bit of string probably crawling with lice.
"I got this? I guess? Or... well, if it's in someone's pocket? Like a handkerchief or that?"
She grins. "I'm 'Ponine. Eponine Jondrette. And if everyone wants something, what do you want, Miss Katniss?"
no subject
Katniss has always been fiercely protective of the poor in District 12 and Eponine reminds her of so many people back home, people who only scraped by on meager supplies from the Capitol and whatever they could find to trade or beg for.
"I can't survive if I can't go hunting. It's what makes me happy. Why would I waste what I get in return for it?"
no subject
She picks one of her feet up so Katniss can see her thick soles blackened with dirt so engrained that it will take a good few baths and a lot of scrubbing to get out.
"But I'd like 'em. And a pretty dress. I want to be pretty."
She smiles though. "I'll watch for you. Me, I am good to find out things. It is that people think you are invisible and they just talk. Or they do not notice you following them. Or, because you are poor, they think you stupid so they tell you things not expecting you to remember or understand. You hunt and do such things, and me, I'll be sly and find out what this place is about."
no subject
"Friends, then?"