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pixieledmemes2025-05-16 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.
two left turns (omg i can't believe it another fan! hello unicorn XD)
"Hey. Are ye alright?"
(hiii)
It got him to tear his gaze from Aubri's plucked and broken form in the dirt, for a moment. When he glanced back over, the dead gryphon had... not moved, at least. Sometimes they did, in his nightmares. It was honestly a relief when the visions were actually dead, and not merely dying despite anything he did to save them, struggling and shuddering and then going still beneath his hands and within the grasp of his Gift.
That was always a lot worse. And not an infrequent thing, in his sleep.
But, back to the stranger with his hand on Drake's shoulder, the kestra'chern turning his attention back onto him. And he was a stranger, indeed.
His shields were only a little lowered, just enough to sense danger in this place. Not nearly low enough to inadvertently drag another person into his dreams. Which meant...
"Are we awake?"
<33333333333333333
The flirting was his default, though he never expected someone to respond to it. Back home he usually crashed and burned on the regular. He patted the guy's shoulder gently, "Do ye want tae tell me wha yer seein?"
no subject
Another time, perhaps.
The Healer looked at Harry for another moment, brow furrowing, then looked over at where he'd been staring before. There Aubri remained, bloody and broken, and mercifully gone past all the pain. Drake stepped toward the body despite the hand on his shoulder, and asked Harry without looking at him again, "...You don't see him?"
no subject
"Are ye seein a friend?"
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"Mind magic," he said quietly, "of course."
If he raised his shields tightly enough, he could block off mind magic. But then he'd be blind to his best way to track the creatures in the maze, who radiated their rage and grief like the sun radiated heat. With all these blind corners, did he dare cripple himself like that?
Even as he thought on that, he moved again, slowly approaching the dead gryphon and then going to crouch down by his body, reaching a hand almost reflexively to check for a pulse in the massive throat that he could tell by sight wasn't there.
"I'm seeing the War," he answered, finally, quietly. The capitalization was audible. Amberdrake took back his hand from the plucked skin of his friend, gaze roaming over his shattered and bent limbs and pulped wings, "It eats, and it eats, and it never has its fill."
no subject
"Weel, don't know aboot mind magic, but this whole place runs on magic in general. The maze reeks of it." When the man knelt down, Harry let his hand fall away, but he knelt as well, staring at the ground where only the man could see anything. And then the man started talking. Harry listened and his hand ended up back on the man's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.
"Can ye tell me who ye see?"
no subject
He shuts his eyes for a second, then asks, "Can I borrow your hand?"
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Harry blinked but smiled and let his hand move from the man's shoulder to offer it for whatever he wanted, "Aye. Anythin ye need handsome. Anythin tae help." He might be a VK and well known to be immune to sob stories back home, but it was a front. Seeing someone suffering, even if it was as subdued as the guy in front of him, wasn't something Harry enjoyed.
no subject
Their hands both pass through. There's nothing there, no matter what his eyes say, or what he can feel when it's only his own hand. The spell can't reconcile them both, Drake's hand can't be stopped and the stranger's continue: his grip is wrong for that, and he's keeping it that way. And the stranger can't -- to Drake's eyes -- to be stopped when Drake's hand is with his as well, feeling how it actually moves.
He relaxes visibly, and lets go of the hand.
"Mind magic," he confirms. "If it wasn't, you would see and feel it too. But it's a direct attack against one person's mind. Targeted, precise, pulling at my own memories for fuel to confuse only my senses."
But now he knows for sure. That... helps less than he wishes, but it does help.
He moves to rise back to his feet.
no subject
As the guy tried to get up, Harry offered his hand again, "Here. Let me help."
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"I'd like to leave this intersection," he says calmly, seeming very much like nothing's fucked up here at all, "you're welcome to come along if you like."
When you see this sort of shit every time you sleep, and then you get up and immediately go to work on others every time you wake, shaking the visions off becomes a skill. A muscle, of a sorts. And Drake's had decades to develop his.
no subject
"Aye. Happy tae go. Harry, by th'way. Uness ye want me tae keep callin ye handsome, ye'll hev tae give me a name too."
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"I have been called worse things in lieu of my name," he said, "now I'm a little bit tempted."
He didn't look upset, didn't sound upset, and honestly wasn't really upset. The three didn't always align; his kestra'chern mask was so good that he could smile and banter while his own heart broke, and none be the wiser.
But this really wasn't... abnormal, except that he was awake and talking to a stranger. Or to Harry, rather.
no subject
"Works for me handsome. Or I could use gorgeous face. Yer tha too. Beautiful maybe?" Unless and until he knew more about the guy, the best he could do was use what he had to think up names. And that face was very attractive. Besides, it looked like he was making the man smile. Even if it was forced, it was worth something.
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"I yield, I yield! You'll make my head swell up until I can't fit it through a doorway anymore, at this rate."
It's like they're not even in the middle of this horrifying maze.
"My name is Amberdrake."
no subject
"Amberdrake. I like tha. It suits ye. So tell me Amberdrake, wha d'ye think o'this place? Fairy, no' th'maze."