Test Drive Meme #3

[changelinged]

TDM #3 - May/June 2025

🦋 Introduction

Welcome to the Pixie Led Test Drive Meme!

The prompts will always be game canon, provided both characters who participate in a thread are either already in the game, or get accepted in the next application round.

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Please indicate character name and canon in the subject line of your top-level. For current characters, you may also indicate your character's court.

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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

ii.

[verfeuern]

To say that she looks amused is an understatement, the corners of her mouth upturned in barely contained mirth. Now this is the reprieve she needs after her arduous journey through the maze but it is so jarring that she nearly misses her cue once his dance comes to its inevitable conclusion.

Let anyone who balks at her enthusiasm come to her and she will silence them. Only when her applause starts does she let out a laugh, tugging at her skirts to free them when they get snagged at a corner of the maze so that she may approach the curious looking, gore-covered boy.

"Well done! An impressive performance. Have you been avoiding me? I could have used your strength at the start of this predicament." Her tone is playful, with no real weight behind her accusatory jab. If nothing else she is grateful for the distraction. What a pair they make, all cherub-faced and caked in the grim aftermath of their adventures.

[pantin]

This was precisely the reaction he was hoping to elicit. He looked quite pleased with himself, too, a satisfied little smirk tugging at his mouth as she clapped. It wasn't often he actually inspired applause. There had only been one person to offer that, though it hurt to think about her now. So much death and destruction. Here, perhaps, he could do good that wasn't instantly and utterly squandered. At least insofar as he could offer brief moments of amusement. There was no stopping a world at war, and this one felt similar to Krat in too many ways.

Bowing at her compliment, he straightened to gaze at the young woman with a curious look. After a brief pause, his eyebrows rose, and his eyes dipped down to take in her appearance, as though saying, Did you really need my help? She looked quite capable, and her standing here clearly seemed to support the idea. Still, he was teasing a bit, his lips tugging in a smirk.

Where's your weapon? he signed. If she didn't appear to understand that language, he then gestured at his rapier, then at her.

[verfeuern]

"It is considered a great offense to avoid a Princess," she begins, linking her hands behind her like she is silently mulling over his fate. "But I am nothing if not merciful. Provided that you honor me with your company through the conclusion of the maze, I will grant you a pardon. I did enjoy your dance." Try as she may to be as regal and poised as such a grace demands, she is unable to hide the twinkle of mischief in her eye.

Having fled from her half-brother part way through the maze, namely, to annoy him, she is far too relieved at the prospect of company that isn't trying to kill her to throw around influence. What a peculiar young man this is, though that only serves to intrigue her further. As new things often to.

It takes her a moment to catch his meaning but, when she does, she holds up both hands to reveal she is presently unarmed. "In the neck of one of those winged creatures, so your timing could not be more opportune. Do we have terms?" She is exhausted and he appears to be as good an escort as any, not that they are far from the exit.

[pantin]

A comically serious expression overtook the young man's face, and he accepted the Princess' words with all the air of a very important noble, pressing a hand to his chest to signal his vow to honor her words. Not that he knew much about what it was like to live that way, but he'd met more than his fair share of aristocrats. They were easy enough to mimic, and besides, they were play acting here. She was amusing, and bold, and he liked that.

Upon hearing she had unarmed herself, however unintentionally, his face turned thoughtful. This was an opportunity. He could help carve the rest of their path with ease, but what would he ask in return? Princesses must have many useful skills. Priceless trinkets, too. But there was one thing he'd never managed to convince anyone to try with him, and a sudden brightness lit his eyes.

With another bow, he extended his hand to her in a far more dramatic way than he had before. The implication, he hoped, was clear: Dance with me. Once they escaped the maze, of course. He snuck a peak at her expression in that moment, raising his head with a mischievous little smirk.