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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.
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I'll be waiting.
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She does not normally go to the pub but this time she puts on her best gown that isn’t her coronation gown and fusses with her hair longer than necessary. It’s just Jon, after all. The key thing is that she’s stopped wearing black - this gown is a deep blue instead.
It isn’t hard to spot him outside the pub and she runs to him even if it is unseemly to do so.
“Jon! Jon, it’s truly you. I thought it must be a trick.”
She wants to embrace him but she reserves herself, at least for now.
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"I have heard of the tricks of this place. I assure you I am not one."
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“Gods, how I’ve missed you. You have no idea how much I’ve missed having you near me,” she says, pulling back just enough to look into his face.
“I’ve felt so alone for so long. Come, let me buy you a drink. They let me trade them for songs here so I think I shall give them Bear and the Maiden Fair for such a happy occasion even if it is absolutely unbecoming of me.”
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"Perhaps you don't need to worry so much about 'unbecoming.'" His time among the wildlings had showed him a different way of life, and also a different view. Only for those who care so much about their image does it matter what side of the sheets one was born on -- and even though he knows now that he a trueborn son, it doesn't erase the years he spent being known as the Bastard of Winterfell.
"At any rate, I won't tell anyone about it."
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Sansa goes to the bar and sings the song and it is enough for them to open a tab for them for the evening without a single other payment involved. Sansa thinks that's rather a cheap price, all told. She comes back with a mug of ale for Jon and a glass of wine for herself.
"Well, the song was well received."
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He waits for her with more than a hint of amusement on his face. "It generally is." It had been a favorite among the men of the Watch, and the men of Winterfell, and basically any man Jon has ever known.
He finds a nearby table and settles at it with his ale.
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"This place is a strange one," she says. "Run by the fae, which we do not have back home. They are the closest to gods I suppose that we would relate to but there's far too many of them at far too many strengths to be like the Seven or the Old Gods."
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"They don't seem to be much like us, either. They have courts, but that appears to be where the resemblance to Westeros ends." Of course, he's not telling her anything she doesn't already know. "Although you would know more about that than I do."
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Sansa exhales softly. "I am out of my element, for once, and I do not like it. This is why I have made fast friends with the Targaryens - they are at least from Westeros even if it is not our Westeros. I feel as if I need allies. Now that you are here, I have a staunch ally who will always support me, as I support you."
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"Indeed you do." Even he knows the importance of allies, and not just for political reasons. "You know Targaryens?" Color him surprised, considering how she feels about Danaerys.
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Sansa laughs at that; they had been terribly romantic, Aemon and Naerys, and for a young girl they had been fascinating.
"They were kind to me when I arrived," she says. "And I have been kind in return. They are not the same as Daenerys. They are different, though I cannot explain it without you meeting them first."
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He thinks back through the history lessons he had, which had included the lineage of the Targaryens even though they were not in charge anymore, because the history of Westeros is so connected to the history of the Targaryens that it's not possible to talk about one without the other.
"Viserys I, aye. Who had an older son. Aegon." A man whose name he shares, although he does not know if Sansa knows that.