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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.
no subject
"Good," he replied, rushed, almost too relieved. "Great," came right after. Gustave was buying time because he hadn't actually thought that far ahead, only that he had been ready and willing to pay whatever price was demanded if it meant he could protect Maelle. "What would be a fair price for something like this? Because I would pay anything," right up to and including his life, though that went unsaid.
(( ooc : that makes sense! i'll definitely queue up a request for after the app cycle once it's done and i make sure they're all still willing to do the plot! thank you!! ))
clair obscur expedition 33 spoilers!!
"There. Much better." No escaping now, Gustave.
"I much prefer to give humans the chance to come up with their own price. Their creativity can be ssso amusing. But in this case, I might be willing to make an exception." As the woman speaks, her fangs flashing in the light, that tail of hers never stops moving, looping around the man's middle, around his legs, his arms, coiling loosely around him. There's no threatening squeeze of muscles under those lovely scales - yet - but there's a certain possessiveness in the way she curls her tail around him.
"I wonder, little pet, your essence is so soft. Gentle. Protective. Have you ever felt the kind of fury that suffocates you? A desperation for revenge so powerful that it consumes your every thought?" A beat, Zorya tips her head back up just enough to give him a better look at her eyes, shining like amethysts and burning with hate. "Does it bother you that the man who came after could have saved your life?"
continuing the warning: clair obscur expedition 33 spoilers!!
He's nervous, because who wouldn't be, but he's curious, too. As curious as she seems to be about him. A spike of anxiety shoots through him as he's well and truly caught between the coils, knowing that there was no backing out now. This was what he'd asked for, so he tries to focus on the bargain instead of the trap.
"I'll admit," and he chuckles softly, jittery, "that I've never had the occasion to make a deal with these kinds of stakes. It's usually a little bit of labour for a nicer set of tools, you know. Things like that." Gustave is rambling a little, as he does. "My creativity goes into my projects really. If I had my drafts, I'd be happy to show you."
His thoughts trail off as he's squeezed.
"Have I—?" Gustave's eyebrows knit together, pieces falling into place around him. "I wanted to find the Paintress," he replies weakly, the gears turning furiously in his head. "After everyone we lost, I thought I wanted to face her." The suspicion that had been building, the hesitation, Renoir's demands... Gustave didn't know that it was rage, but it might have been close enough, as close as a man like him could get. The righteous kind that burned through men like dying stars, and it would burn through him too, but he'd burned out once already and he didn't fear death. "I've been desperate," Gustave admits, his gentle, easy expression giving away to something harder, lines etching into his face. "And I'm willing to do anything to protect the ones I love," and he knows this isn't exactly what she's asked, but Gustave rarely finds his point without wandering to get there,
"I don't— My life isn't worth more than theirs. If he's a threat to them..." It's clear Gustave isn't a man who makes threats, he's a guardian, plain and simple, and violence doesn't come naturally to him, not even the words for it. "If I'm angry, it's for them."
no subject
It isn't quite the explosive reaction that Zorya might have wanted to see - a kindhearted man suddenly overwhelmed by just how powerful the hatred growing in his heart had become - but it's enough. It will give the Countess somewhere to start when coming up with an appropriate trade off for Gustave, something that will give him no choice but to face that darkness that lives within himself.
It's just too early to fully put her claim on him. Even here, with the man wrapped up in her coils, it's easy for her to see him sliding into Lux's or Sahar's courts. Or worse even, the Prince's. Ugh.
"Then let us hope you learn to harness that anger for their sake, my pet." And just as quickly as he was overtaken by her tail, Zorya releases the man from her hold, though the cold palm pressed to his chest remains. "As boring an answer as it may be, courtly proceedings take time. Come seek me out after you've been officially taken into a court and I will give you exactly what you're asking. All discussion of price will come then. Does that satisfy you? Can you keep the girl from murdering him until then? Or vice versa?"
no subject
Gustave doesn't know how to harness that anger or the type of man it would turn him into, and he's more than a little afraid to find out though something tells him that he will sooner rather than later. He just hums nervously, nodding his head, but he doesn't move even as he's released, standing firm, intrigued and terrified and maybe a dozen other things all at once.
"It uh, yeah. It satisfies," he echoes. "I'll keep the peace." He has to, and he'll do whatever it takes to ensure it. "Who do I ask for when the time comes?" Because he didn't get her name, he's sure of it.
no subject
For now, she's content to release the man entirely, her tail giving him a little bump back up to his feet, even if the very end of it still curls loosely at Gustave's ankle. That last little tether between them before he is thrust back out into the chaos of the party.
"Don't worry yourself with it, my pet. You'll know exactly who I am and who you belong to by the end of the night." And the way she grins up at him, Gustave may get the feeling there's something at play that he isn't aware of just yet. Soon though. "You may go now. I'll speak to you again shortly enough."