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

♛ hedge maze

[vertegrez]

Smoothing out her skirts, Alicent felt nothing but exhaustion as she proceeded through the maze, hounded by the unnatural noises seeping out from beneath the hedges that crawled across her mind in the most unpleasant of ways. Her palms were slick with sweat, abrasions cutting across her delicate skin from where the roots had bit into her hands. Alicent carried a dagger now, but far from a knight and certainly untrained, she held it cradled against her chest as if it were a delicate thing, not dangerous. Were she to wield it, surely she would only wound herself, but Alicent was not foolish enough to turn away an advantage.

Alicent carefully stepped around a corner, trying, as well as she might, to avoid the wavering sobs of that pale creature she had already had the misfortune of coming across. This time, she was not tricked by those tears and instead moved in the opposite direction, clinging close to the wall of leaves that rose up above her and reached high into the sky, certainly too high to scale and especially impossible given the weight of the gown she was wearing. Propriety had stopped her from tearing into it, though she had rather wished, as the sweat began to bead beneath the brocade and slip along the knobs of her spine, that she cared less for those ridiculous rules but Alicent was stubborn and pressed onward, and tried her best to ignore how vile she felt.

Frightened, she jumped at the sound of a voice, assuming at first it to be another trick of this terrible maze. “I shall not,” Alicent called out, holding the dagger between herself and the next twist of the hedges, anticipating some terrible manner of beast to round the corner. Her hands trembled, her knuckles white as she gripped the hilt with all the strength she could muster. “It would be wise to leave me be,” tumbled out of her, far less commanding than she might have wanted. “And cease this game. You are not…” Alicent swallowed hard, because calling her friend felt like a cruelty. Were they friends? Alicent believed not, that time long gone as the rift between them grew in spite of her attempts to reach across it. Alicent, weakly, forced out, “The princess.”

[verfeuern]

The last thing she expects to hear is the voice of the queen. Even more alarming is the fact that when she finally rounds the corner, she is treated to the sight of the other young woman armed and appearing fully prepared to crawl out of her own skin. A part of her both pities her and mourns the woman she could have become if fate did not intervene. Browbeaten, subservient and trapped with hands, she notes, that are marred by circumstance and powerlessness. Once upon a time she would have reached out, taken those hands, and brought them to her lips to soothe the ache left behind.

"Do you intend to take my life so soon after your declaration?" Where Alicent is a skittish bird ready to take flight Rhaenyra is the steadfast cat ready to pounce even though she looks to be ever nearer to exhaustion. Another occasion unceremoniously tarnished by the one she once loved above all others; she would rather deal with the shrieking woman, a thousand suitors or a limitless army of foreign invaders than what stands before her now. As if testing Alicent's resolve, she takes a step forward so the tip of the dagger rests squarely against the bodice of her gown.

"I am not the one playing games, stepmother. There are no castle walls or Kingsguard to hide behind here, you would do well to keep silent in this maze. If you wield a dagger, then do so with the intention of striking a mortal blow." Unyielding and determined, she pins her beneath her gaze long enough for a quarter of a minute to pass unnoticed. Rather than prolong a conversation that she believes neither of them are in the mood for she retreats a step, turns on a heel and promptly shows Alicent her back. A dangerous choice if there was a predator in their midst but, between the pair of them, the one in possession of the blade does not have the conviction to see it through.

Just when it seems like she intends to leave her to the horrors within the maze she pauses and glances over her shoulder, waiting. It is not love that guides her intent now but duty.

[vertegrez]

The time for mourning that youth has passed for Alicent though there were times when she thought about what could have been only when she was tucked away in the silk of her sheets and the handmaids had put out all but a few candles and the children were quiet. After Aegon, Alicent had let go of so many of her childish dreams. With the birth of Helaena and Aemond, there had simply been no space left in her heart for those fantasies, her life dedicated to protecting her own children, to preparing them for the world that had stripped her youth away so young.

"I would do no such thing," Alicent replied, brow furrowed, the corners of her mouth turned down sharply, offense and hurt etched into her face. "Were you... if you were real, I would not harm you." Holding her breath as Rhaenyra approached, she felt the sound of the tip of the dagger scraping against the brocade of the bodice in her very teeth. Alicent did not move, but she could not plunge it deeper. Gods, she never could, even with all the indignities and pain that they had inflicted upon each other. Once, there had been no one that Alicent cherished more. The princess had, by necessity, slid back three spaces, but the affection there had never quite dimmed, even if it had been twisted.

Stepmother was a wound. It was distance that set them apart. It was... not untrue, by the very definition. But Alicent had never dared fill the space Aemma had left behind.

That arrogance, the flippancy, if this was a spectre of her friend, the fae had been immaculate in her recreation.

"You are playing games, Rhaenyra," Alicent called, far too familiar for the relationship they had now. Adjusting her grip on that dagger, she chased after the princess to stand at her side. "I have seen what lies within this maze and you will only get yourself injured if you act like this. I am not the only one freed from the constant watch of the Kingsguard. You are alone here, too. We are more likely to survive together, if you would cease being so stubborn." Alicent should sooner expect water to cease being wet, or a cut to bleed, but she pressed close to Rhaenyra, determined to find their way out of this terrible maze.

[verfeuern]

"Maybe not with a dagger, not when your weapon of choice is hearsay," Rhaenyra responds cooly. The truth is often more agonizing than the swift cut of a blade and far less likely to cleanly heal. Words can fester in the mind and warp it, building up every perceived slight until the feeling left behind is a raw wound incapable of mending. Can she be cross with her when the information that found its way to Alicent's ears was partially true? Perhaps not but in her own mind, she feels she did tell her the truth — she didn't lie with Daemon that night.

The hurt comes from the fact that Alicent immediately took the information she was given and confronted her, like hers was a villainous soul. But even within the chasm that has become their friendship, she reaches out and takes her hand when she approaches her side. Not to chastise or clutch it but to carefully begin loosening the dagger from her grasp. The warmth of her fingertips and the smell of finely scented oils, likely meant to entice at the celebration, should be enough to validate the fact that she is no ghost.

"Between us, only I have struck a killing blow, and my knife won't save either of us. Your hands are raw. When we find our way back, I'll tend to them, Your Grace." How strange for familiarity to feel so foreign, the words flow out seamlessly and without pause. She adds the title as if to remind her that despite her willingness to help, the bridge has yet to be mended. While they slip through the maze, Alicent might notice Rhaenyra continuously puts herself between her and the unseen danger.

Whose life holds more merit, she wonders. The as of yet unmarried princess or the queen who has already produced male heirs. Loath as she is to admit it, the latter will always reign supreme in the patriarchy, but that is far from the only reason she aims to protect her. Dwellings can be torn apart brick by brick, but the hearth within them will still burn brightly even in the face of adversity.

"In telling me not to be stubborn, you are telling me to cease breathing. As it is, I think a scar would improve my standing in court." The words are on the tip of her tongue, a friendly barb about Alicent's lack of bravery being attributed to the disappointing fact that she chose to decline her invitation to go flying with her all those years ago.