Test Drive Meme #3

[changelinged]

TDM #3 - May/June 2025

🦋 Introduction

Welcome to the Pixie Led Test Drive Meme!

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🦋 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

[dessendre]

cont.

[ Once, several lifetimes ago, Clea thought Alicia weak. It was easier to believe that, to lean on her superiority and sense of duty to the family, because that distanced herself from the envy underneath. Now, though, Clea felt hollowed out, scarred, tired, and when she looked at Alicia, she saw her own struggle and resilience reflected back. Perhaps she could set aside the envy and allow respect to grow. But then, where could Alicia place her anger if not at Clea's feet? She did it with their mother. She knew all too well the need to aim that energy somewhere. Let it be her, then, rather than the others. It wasn't as if she didn't deserve it.

But then Alicia was closing the distance between them, and she nearly flinched when her sister's hand came up to touch her face. That was surprising. ] It's a long story, [ is what Clea says, because it's the truth. And she isn't hiding anything from Alicia. Not anymore. Not with her.

Struggling to keep her voice even, and not moving away should Alicia wish to touch, she offered instead: ] There should be a device in your pocket. It allows us all to communicate. [ Perhaps it would help. Or perhaps she would regret giving her sister a means by which she can better chastise her, though Clea can't bring herself to mind, her own heart twisting at the thought, fingers itching to reach for Alicia. She holds back. ]

BEWARE SPOILERS ALL THE WAY DOWN

[monochromous]

[Gloved fingertips stop just before touching Clea's cheek, hovering there as if frozen in time, but at the very last second, the touch withdraws, Alicia's little fist pressing against her own chest instead. After so long apart, after everything that they've been through, even if seeing her elder sister disfigured like this tears her in two, Alicia still misunderstands Clea enough to assume the touch would disgust her.

Instead, she huffs out behind her mask - equal parts intrigued and annoyed with her sister's caginess in answering - but the conversation quickly shifts to something that leaves Alicia's breath stuck in her throat.

A way to communicate? How?

There's no hesitation for her to dig into her pockets before she's pulling out the Leaf, brows pinching under the curls of her bangs. She flips the little device over in her hands, poking at the screen, and when it isn't so immediately obvious how to use it, she holds it right back up to Clea to show her.]

[dessendre]

[ That huff makes her smirk just a tiny bit. ] Later. When we aren't surrounded by threats. [ She hasn't had enough time to identify all the people around them, all the ways they could draw their attention — and their ire. For Clea, it was an inevitability. And arming her sister with what she could to protect herself took precedence.

Watching as Alicia took out the Leaf, she waited until the device was offered before making any move to assist. For all her faults, and her perceived chilliness, Clea did want her sister to feel as though she had agency. ] You can send messages here. [ She tapped the screen, ] And this will read what you type out loud. [ She demonstrated by typing the words VERSO SMELLS, which the Leaf promptly read out in a robotic voice. Clea maintained a straight face for effect. ]

And this — [ the pièce de résistance, her tone shifting just a bit, hopeful she might approve, ] — is the camera. It saves the pictures you take.

[monochromous]

[Threats..?

It's pure younger sibling the way that Alicia turns in place from where they're standing, looking this way and that, to see the gentle partygoers enjoying themselves in the garden, the soft music playing for them, the twinkling laughter that chimes out where the pair of them remain on the outskirts.

Sure, Clea. Threats.

But then her elder sister is offering a quick tutorial - Alicia huffing out a little laugh at Clea's example - her excitement already almost palpable when that robotic little voice chimes out the message, but then her sister mentions photographs-

Alicia is blindingly quick at snatching her Leaf right back and flipping the screen towards herself. For someone who has never operated a device like this, she seems to understand it straight away. Which is why she tips the camera on the back of the Leaf up at Clea and snaps a quick picture. Even with her mouth hidden beneath her mask, there's no missing the delight that lights up in the woman's expression. This time, she pushes closer to Clea without hesitation, so they both can view the new image on the screen, a snapshot of the other woman from below.]

[dessendre]

[ Her sister's little show did earn a snort from Clea. In truth, she couldn't exactly refute Alicia's assertion that no immediate threats existed in that moment. But that didn't mean the potential wasn't lurking there, a constant, ever-present hulking thing that loomed all around them. She would root out every last one of them and cut off their arms before any thought to reach toward her family.

The darkness in Clea lifted when Alicia laughed, though, and she watched, both pleased and smug to find her instincts had been correct. It wasn't surprising how quickly her sister took to the technology, but there was still pride glinting in Clea's gaze. ] Careful, [ she added, though her voice was warmer. ] It's quite delicate — [ And then the camera is being turned toward her, and she's surprised, yet again, that Alicia would even want something like that in the first place.

She's still as stone when her sister crowds closer, not breathing at all as she stares down at an image she doesn't recognize. It feels like an age before Clea clears her throat. ] You should take one of both of us. [ Is it wise? No. But she wants this. And that, perhaps, is the most frightening thing of all. ]

[monochromous]

[Even if Clea's suggestion comes as a surprise considering the vast distance that remains between them, Alicia barely hesitates before she's moving to slot herself in right beside her older sister, angling the Leaf out to capture the both of their images on screen. One picture gets snapped, a satisfying click of the camera's shutter, but then after the gentlest of pauses, Alicia reaches up to pull her mask off completely, offering the smallest little smile for the second picture.

And now that the photograph wasn't sprung on anyone this time, the image left on Alicia's Leaf looks good. The younger-looking woman is smiling almost coyly, head tipped in her sister's direction. The way her curling bangs have shifted helps to better hide her empty eye socket, her remaining eye all crinkled warmly, shining with something that almost looks like happiness.

Alicia holds out her Leaf to show Clea the image - but if her sister reaches for it, she is pulling back, that's hers!! - and once she's satisfied, she draws the device back to herself, fingers nimbly tapping and swiping and scrolling with ease. And after a moment-]

Verso does smell- [Chimes that robotic voice, Alicia's tiny smile stretching into something so much more genuine as she laughs.]

[dessendre]

[ For a brief, wondrous moment, all the shadow and darkness in the caverns of Clea's chest are chased away in an instant, and they are just two sisters — the distance between them gone, their history smoothed over, and she has to remind herself to breathe. She blinks away a few stray tears and actually smiles, something that almost hurts as she isn't at all used to smiling.

It's Alicia's coy smile that almost makes Clea grin, an answering glint in her eyes. ] Now be sure to blackmail everyone with that, [ she advises, and while anyone else might have imagined she was being serious, Clea trusted her sister would hear the amusement in her voice.

Allowing the picture to remain where it was (she didn't dare tamper with it, wanting some flicker of happiness to exist between them, however fleeting), Clea actually barks out a laugh at the unexpected message. And she continues to laugh, until there's tears in her eyes again, and it hurts, but oh, is it a wonderful pain. ]

Come here, [ is a request, not a demand, and she opens her arms, waiting. ]