Test Drive Meme #3

[changelinged]

TDM #3 - May/June 2025

🦋 Introduction

Welcome to the Pixie Led Test Drive Meme!

The prompts will always be game canon, provided both characters who participate in a thread are either already in the game, or get accepted in the next application round.

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Please indicate character name and canon in the subject line of your top-level. For current characters, you may also indicate your character's court.

For prospective players, Invites open on the 18th, Reserves on the 20th, and Applications on the 22nd. Thanks for checking us out and we hope you'll join us!

🦋 The Party

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.

🦋 Feeling on Hedge

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.

🦋 Can't Unseelie It

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.

🦋 GEIS

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.

ｎａｖｉｇａｔｉｏｎ

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Comments

[lutin]

"There's a library? With books?" There's a spark of excitement in Eponine's eyes.
"My Mama had books when we were little. Just cheap ones, you know? With romances. That's where she got my name and my sister, Azelma. Oh, I'd like a book, you know? Just to look at. I can read."

It feels important to tell Nancy that. "Are we allowed? To look, I mean?"

But Nancy is showing Eponine into her bedroom. She looks around in absolute awe: a bed. Blankets, pillows - dozens of them - and things. Books. Soaps. Shampoo - though Eponine doesn't recognise the word.

"I..."

There's a hint of fear in Eponine's eyes. She hesitates, still stood in the doorway.

"I told you I can't pay you, Miss? Nancy. I told you, yes? You can't get me in trouble after for taking things. You swear?"

[maritorious]

"So can I," Nancy says with pride. She knows what it is to be a poor girl like these two, and be able to read. How important it is. How rare. "We're allowed to take the books home, to borrow." She gestures to her own stack of books by her bed. "So we can look an' more."

Nancy's about to move into the bathroom to get the tub started, when she realizes Eponine is still standing in the doorway. She frowns, and takes a few small steps towards her new friend.

"I swear to you, Eponine, I ain't going to get you in trouble. Honor amongst thieves, yeah? Girls like us, we stick together. The things we've had to do back home? We don't got to do a single one here. I promise." She holds a hand out for Eponine to take, to step across the threshold.

[lutin]

"They let us borrow them? Without payment? Without - they don't care I might not give it back?"

That doesn't make sense to Eponine. Actually, it feels pretty overwhelming. Not just the books, but unlimited food and dresses and pretty things? She can have anything - everything - she's ever wanted and not have to lift a finger?

She looks at Nancy's hand and back to her face, distrust clear on Eponine's.
But after a small hesitation, she takes it and steps inside.

"We can be... we don't have to do nothing?."

Slowly, Eponine begins to smile. "Oh, Nancy, if this is a dream, don't wake me up. I don't want to know. It's the nicest place I've ever been."

[maritorious]

"I mean, perhaps you'll get scolded if you take them for too long, or return them in bad shape, but yeah." It's hard to believe, she knows. She hadn't believed any of it, either, until she was shown how easy it is to get drinks by promising to wash your glass up afterward, how a song could get you a new dress and boots besides. But now, there was no reason not to take advantage of it.

She nods encouragingly, glad Eponine has taken a step into her room. "Nothing at all, save maybe a story or a favor. This is a world without money. Where if we want to trade favors that way, we can. But only because we want to. And Eponine, I haven't." For the first time in years, she hadn't had to sell herself. She could just exist. Yes, it was dangerous out there as it was anywhere, but just removing money from the equation did wonders.

"Just wait till I take you to the market and we get you your own dresses." She's already assigned herself to look after Eponine. Of all the people she'd met so far, she was by far the person she thought she'd have the most in common with.

CW: DV, prostitution, derogatory language

[lutin]

"But a scold? It ain't a belt to your arse, is it? Now that I hate more than anything. I would do anything to avoid the belt. And the buckle? When she cuts? That is the worst. But a scolding, I don't care about."

Eponine's hands have surreptitiously gone to her scarred bottom. She has felt the sting of leather too many times to count, and heard so many scoldings that she's telling the truth. Another won't make a blind bit of difference to her.

She licks her lips though. She's not stupid. Nancy is implying that she was a prostitute at home. She supposes Eponine was too. Eponine's first instinct was to protest that she wasn't a prostitute. She never whored herself out on street corners or in the park or down by the docks. But her father had sold her, and Azelma. All those begging letters.
Her lips twitch. Her expression softens to sadness and vulnerability with just that little spasm. But then her mask comes back: Eponine blinks and her eyes are that dull, almost dead colour. Her expression stiffens and she tosses her matted hair back.

"I don't care anyway," she tries to say proudly. "It is something to trade, and what does it matter? It's only a hole, innit? It's useless so I may as well make money off it."
The harsh words don't sound like Eponine. Clearly, they've been drummed into her, repeated so often it's become a mantra to her, so much so that she almost believes it. She just wishes she didn't.

"But now you're not?" Hope is a dangerous thing. Eponine tries not to hope. Not when it never comes through. But now, the thought of being more than what she was, of being proper and pretty and maybe even popular, gives Eponine hope. Just a tiny bit.

"I want a blue dress. Blue, with a blue bonnet. And stays and bloomers and all that. And a shawl. And boots lined with rabbit fur. That's what I always wanted at home. Rabbit skin boots. And we can have them here!"

[maritorious]

"I can't promise they won't get angry if you do too much wrong, but I suppose it's just words. I haven't gotten in trouble, so I can't say too much. But I'll ask my friends, see what they say. They've been here longer than me." At least, Spike had.

No, begging letters had been how Eponine had done it. But those docks and those alleys, those street-corners, that was where Nancy had spent her hours. She remembers them too well. And in that little flash across Eponine's face, she knows Eponine remembers, too. And her words- oh, Nancy's heart wrenches itself in her heart.

"We can be whoever we want to be here," she says. "People here think I'm a proper lady. They know me by my married name. They don't know about the whore I were, the thief with fast fingers. And you can do that, too." And they'll start tonight. Just as Nancy had.

She nods, smiling, "Everything you want, I promise I'll take you. A few of the shopkeeps, they know me. I got a deal with some, where I'll model clothes for them that they make, in exchange. I'll take you there, and we'll get you boots and bloomers! A shawl of silk so fine you'll think a spider knit it just for you!" She urge Eponine further into the room, gestures toward the bathroom where the copper claw-foot tub waited.

"You can even wear a blue dress tonight, if you want. I got one you'll look real pretty in."

[lutin]

"Who cares about words?" They'll wash in one ear and straight out of the other. Eponine's been called every name under the sun and had insults bandied at her for as long as she can remember. She really doesn't care, and honestly would be amongst the first to insult herself anyway.

"Really? Oh Nancy, I would love to be a lady." She sighs. This Nancy seems so much more hopeful than Eponine, so much more relaxed and so far away from a whore and a thief that Eponine can scarcely imagine the girl on the street. Eponine can't imagine herself. She doesn't dare to imagine herself, not now that it's a reality in front of her. Because what if it isn't? What if it's made up? What if it all comes crumbling around her and Nancy's just mean?
But there's nothing mean in Nancy's expression and nothing cruel in her words. She's not jibed at Eponine and she's not questioned. She's assumed, and she's been right, and she's been there, where Eponine had been merely hours ago, and changed.

Maybe Eponine can change too?

She lets Nancy lead her to the bathroom, clapping her hands in sheer glee when she sees the bath. Honestly, it's all so overwhelming. She can't answer about blue dresses, or Nancy sorting her clothes out. She can't let herself think of anything but the bath in front of her because that at least cannot disappear into the ether. All she can manage is, "Thank you."

[maritorious]

"Then you're going to be a lady," she promises. She's only been here a month, but she's done her best to present herself as something other than a whore. And if she can do it, then Eponine can do it.

And truthfully, it helps that so many people here are just naturally not as formal as Nancy was used to in polite society.

Nancy hangs back a few steps, watching Eponine take in the bathroom. She'd had the same reaction, and cried for several minutes over the softness of her bed, and the hot water that never seemed to run out. Letting Eponine take her time to see, she moves over to the tub and puts the stopper in before starting to run the water. "Of course," she says sweetly, "Just do the same for someone else, one day. That's all I'd ask."

She gestures to the shelves above the tub. "Anything you want, you can use. Just yell when you need me. I've got towels for you, too- big fluffy ones like the King would have!"

[lutin]

Eponine took an age in the bathroom. Nancy could probably hear her childish shrieks of joy when she steps into the warm water. She could probably hear Eponine babbling in French as she tries to work out what shampoo is and how to get her fingers through the matts in her hair. She might have heard the slop of the water from the over-filled bath. She'll definitely see the wet floor and she might find the bottle of bubbles, half empty, hidden under the pile of towels by a sheepish Eponine who got far too carried away.

When she's eventually done, Eponine wraps herself in a big, warm, fluffy towel with a sigh. She has never felt so clean. She'd scrubbed herself in the bath, until the water she was sat in was black with a decade's worth of grime. She'd scrubbed under her broken finger nails and on the soles of her feet until she felt almost shiny and new. She knows she smells better.
After it all now, if she closes her eyes, she can imagine herself a fine lady.
The reality that she'll have to put the rags back on at least to face Nancy almost hurts. She can't bear the thought of the filthy things touching her nice clean, new skin.
So she calls out,
"Nancy? Do you care I am in just a sheet? Or will I put on the chemise again?"

[maritorious]

While Eponine bathes, Nancy does what any English woman would do: she makes them a pot of tea, using the powers she had acquired from her court. While open flames were something she had yet to really figure out, creating heat itself was a nifty little trick. She could heat the water just by putting her hand on the kettle for a long enough time, and it never failed to amuse her.

Besides, it was wonderful to listen to the joy in the other room, she doesn't care about the water or the bubble bath. She'd had the exact same reaction, after all.

"You're fine in your sheet, love," she tells Eponine through the door. "We can wash your things, if you'd like." Or, honestly, burn them. But she'd kept her own dress from back home after a bit of laundering, she imagined Eponine would be much the same.

"I got us a bit of tea- and there's some whiskey besides, if you want."

[lutin]

"Whiskey?" Eponine was already grinning from the bath, but the thought of hard liquor makes her beam.

"I like it, you know? But it is so expensive in Paris. Me, I am for brandy or cheap wine. Anything really. I like it when it burns."

She looks at the rags in her hands. She's fairly certain they won't stand up to a wash. And the crafty side of her brain is already calculating just how she can use them to get more out of people. Already she can see that the people are softer here than Paris. Who knows how much they'll give if they see her in rags and she spins a little tale?

"I think perhaps to keep 'em, you know?" She says. "They're all I've had for such a long time. I know it's silly..."

She curls up opposite Nancy and the tea things.

"I think you're the nicest girl I ever met, you know?"

[maritorious]

"Gin's the cheapest, back home. So that's usually what we all had, but when we could get a good whiskey?" She smiles at the remembrance. "My friend here, Spike's his name, took me to get some bourbon which is a whiskey from America, if you can believe it!"

She pours Eponine a cup of tea, and finishes it off with the whiskey, before handing her the cup and saucer.

"No! It ain't silly. I got my dress I came in, still. Still wear that shawl, half the time." she nods toward her wardrobe where the clothing resides.

Eponine calls her nice, and Nancy washes the complement down with a swig of the whiskey straight from the bottle. "Only doin' what someone did for me. I know how awkward it is, standing on the edge of the dance floor and feeling out of place. Besides, you're about my size." And something about her had just called to Nancy. "And I think we could be friends."

[lutin]

Eponine takes the teacup. She doesn’t mean to be ungrateful, and she’s never had tea, but honestly, she’d rather just have the whiskey. When Nancy gives up the lady like act and swigs from the bottle, Eponine laughs.

“Nancy, I ain’t meaning your pardon, truly, but might I have the same? Just a mouthful. I won’t drink it all!”

She puts down the teacup carefully so as not to spill anything and looks across to Nancy’s wardrobe. She’s slightly shorter, slightly skinnier, but there’s not much in it at all.
“What were your dress from home like?”
She straightens out her rags, smoothing the tattered cloth as she folds them.
“This were my pa’s chemise before it were mine. And this were my cloak when I were a child. It were fine once. Pretty even. I were, once upon a time. Can you believe?”

She grabs for the whiskey.
“I’ve wanted a shawl for ages, you know? What’s yours like?”

[maritorious]

"Be my guest," she says, and offers the bottle to Eponine. However much she wants to have, it's alright with Nancy. "So long as you don't throw up on my dresses, we'll be alright." She offers her a warm smile, and stands to go to the closet.

"Here- I'll show you." She opens her closet door and pulls out a well-loved red dress with black detailing. It's clean now, but thread-bare about the elbows, her petticoats ripping and tearing. The dress was a bit short on Nancy when she'd arrived here, but likely would fit Eponine perfectly. But she didn't need to wear a ratty old thing like that. "And here's the shawl." The shawl itself had gone a muddy brown, even more tattered than her dress. Both items of clothing were in a far better state than Eponine's clothing had been, she realizes now.

"The stitching's beautiful, on the chemise," she remarks. "We'll get you whatever type of dress and chemise you want here. All the shawls you want. And- oh, Ponine. Look at me." She catches the other girl's eye and smiles at her. "You're still pretty. I wish I had dimples like you do."

[lutin]

Eponine takes the bottle eagerly and swigs from it without further invitation. The whiskey burns her throat and makes her cough a little after, but she grins.

"I ain't never had such a fire, Nance. Perhaps it is not so in Paris, but we have brandy and it is much the same."

She takes another drink, slower this time, and holds it in her mouth to really taste it whilst Nancy goes to her wardrobe. She swallows hurriedly when Nancy produces the dress; she's on her feet and round to feel the hem of the old gown.

"She's a pretty gown, Nance. How'd you manage such a thing? And such a shawl as well. You were right lucky finding such things."

She laughs and goes back to her seat for another swig of the whiskey.

"Maybe I should have a red dress. Or blue. Pink? D'you think I could have a whole rainbow of colours? I'd be pretty then."

She touches her face self-consciously. "Nah. There ain't a need to lie. I know how I am now, but I tell you, I could have been pretty. I were a pretty child, everyone said so. If I had nice teeth and my hair all fixed and a bit more meat on me? Then I'd be pretty. Like you."

[maritorious]

"It's good, ain't it?" She grins back at her new friend.

Eponine complements her dress, and Nancy nearly laughs. "Oh- it's an old thing. Had it for forever, you can see it's all threadbare around the elbows." She gestures. "Not right sure how I got it. The shawl used t'be a blanket, my friend and I just cut it in half and sewed the edges. But here we won't have to do nothing like that. Promise."

In her closet, she's already pulled a few options, but winds up holding up a blue dress, with different shades of blue and brown for accents. "Something like this?" She asks. "You can have as many as you want, three of each color if you think!" She holds up the pink dress, weighing it against Eponine's colors.

"Hush! I ain't lying- you'll see it soon enough, I'm sure. We'll get back to the party and have some cake, we'll start there. Your hair can get better here, and for teeth... Maybe one of the fae'd give you new teeth? Don't hurt t'ask."