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pixieledmemes2025-05-16 12:28 am
Test Drive Meme #3
Welcome to the Pixie Led Test Drive Meme!
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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
"Careful," she grumbles. Sudden movements could be regrettable.
The way things have gone in the past, Lune's also primed to think that crossing paths with Renoir here is not a coincidence. Sometimes the disaster is just too perfect.
"If it's not fighting, what are you here for?"
need to ask! how good are you for spoilers?
"The same purpose as yourself."
His cold tone suggests he really, really loathes the thought of being trapped here. To be pressured to put his skills to work for those to whom he holds not one ounce of devotion. But the reason he is angry is not because of her. It is of being separated from Her.
But why is he in this maze with this expeditioner? That, too, is a question. One that he will keep silent on for now.
I'm good for any spoilers!
"Helping the fae courts? That must be a new experience for you."
There's a barb in her tone. Lune's perception of Renoir is colored by her experience and by Verso's explanation of him. It seems to her that he is motivated by a sort of selfishness. Keeping the immortality Verso mentioned, and something about his family. What a contrast with Lune and her parents, dedicated to their work for everyone.
lovely! can i add you on plurk?
"There are people for whom we are willing to do anything."
Including endure another world.
Still, he has never been shy about his motives. But far as he knows, this woman has never been around to hear them.
thumbs up
"Are you going to be that dedicated to whoever 'adopts' you into their court?"
Anything for immortality, right? Just as he tried to keep Verso from the Paintress.
no subject
But that hardly means he cannot recognise the colour of his stained hands. Red like so many of those petals in Lumiere.
"No." He angles his head. "Do you always make accusations without having access to all the facts?"
no subject
She's done it before. Pinned her hopes on records from generations past still being true. And with people (Verso) being unwilling to be upfront with details (Verso) some blanks will never get filled in by waiting for a revelatory heart-to-heart (VERSO).
She extends her hand toward him, gesturing to go on.
"You're welcome to correct me."
no subject
"You're welcome to stop asking."
He does not share his truth to be understood. But neither does he refuse to share to be cruel.
"Perhaps this comes too late. But you really should have remained home."
no subject
Anger flares bright in Lune. This is fine, probably. Fuel for her work. Just - how dare he keep saying that. It's a fresh sprinkle of salt on a wound opened by the last moments she can remember in Lumiere, kept fresh by the speech at the feast. It's enough to want to grind her teeth.
"You're right, it is too late. Their lawspeaker is right. It's done, for now."
Leaving the door pen at the end, there. It is still Lune.
no subject
"No. We are still capable of making our choices."
One cannot accuse him of lacking determination. But only some understand the source of that determination.
"The question is are we prepared for the consequences?"
She should understand that, too.
no subject
Fuck, but she understands consequences. A consequence: Alan's body and head falling separately. A consequence: Gustave's arm gently placed among Verso's memorials. Likely the unexpected Gommage was a consequence, and Lune keeps wondering if appearing here after feeling herself fade...
She actually looks uncertain.
"We have to accept consequences, no matter what we do," she settles on. "Inaction is still a choice, with its own outcomes."
no subject
Renoir has enacted many of them throughout his lifetime. Search and Rescue torturing his middle child. Expedition 56 torturing his youngest. The namesake of his eldest taking her from before his eyes. That he could never deliver consequences to her boils underneath the skin.
Cold and frozen by time. He returns his focus to the present. Not that his attention ever left.
"We never have to accept consequences." His voice is cold and forceful, intolerant of other opinions. Because consequences are unimportant when it comes to losing everything that matters. "But if consequences are inevitable, one is better off fighting than rolling over to die."
(Verso).
no subject
Almost snapped at him. Out of anyone in the expedition, Lune is keenly aware of the need to keep fighting. They had to go down fighting, or else why go on an expedition in the first place?
"I didn't give up before, and I'm not going to fold now."
no subject
She delivers her words with fire but he delivers his with ice. That cold acknowledgement she is there but unimportant enough to matter. Because in the end, she doesn't matter. She is not family. She is only in his way.
"Just ensure you won't tear yourself apart in the process."
no subject
Lune tips her head, making a decision.
"I'm going taking the next right turn. What are you going to do?"
no subject
"Take whatever turn becomes necessary."
Right. Left. That choice doesn't matter. The only choice that matters is does he act or does he repeat the behavior of another member of the family and wait to die.
no subject
"Enjoy that, then."
Lune puts plan into action, and strides down the path, eventually turning the corner. She's certain Renoir won't stay lost in the hedge, but at if she's marking anything as a takeaway from this, it's that she doesn't think she needs to worry about getting stabbed in the back as she walks.