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.

For prospective players, Invites open on the 18th, Reserves on the 20th, and Applications on the 22nd. Thanks for checking us out and we hope you'll join us!

🦋 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

[pantin]

To say that Pinocchio also brightened was an understatement. Upon realizing he was understood, he promptly dropped the heart and eagerly turned fully to face the human-shaped spider, looking visibly pleased. You understand me, he signed, as though amazed by it, and he was. Not many do. He managed to get by gesturing at things, mostly because he'd never had much time to communicate with anyone in the first place, but this was validating in a way he hadn't expected.

He peered at spider curiously when he laughed, watching for an explanation and though bewildered by it, he was also charmed. I'm a puppet, Pinocchio signed easily, no hesitance in the confession. This isn't my blood. Why hide his identity when Miles was like him? A spider who looked human. He was intrigued, and pleased to meet someone who understood.

Pinocchio, he offered in return, and when Miles' mask came off, he stepped closer, gesturing at the piece of cloth, then the rest of his outfit, eyebrows raised. He was clearly asking for an explanation for it, though the tug at the corner of his mouth hinted at his opinion on it. Pinocchio was definitely teasing.

[aranes]

I'm sorry, man, Miles fires back, frowning slightly. He can't imagine how it feels to be surrounded by people who don't get it. Okay, he can, a little, but it's not the same he thinks, because it's not. Or maybe it is. Miles doesn't know if he wants to get too keep into the politics of it, but he at least wanted to empathize with him, let him know that he had a friend who got it. Because being isolated, feeling isolated? Wasn't it.

Blinking, Miles looked at him close, and that's when he hears what definitely sounds like the ticking of a clock or maybe just gears. Were you always? That seems like a stupid question once it's out there but Miles can't really un-sign it, so he just looks at him, but he laughs at that other comment. That's good man. I'd be worried if it was. I know how to get that out of clothes actually, so I can show you how later.

That... definitely was unexpected. Miles has to stop himself from asking an even stupider question. You go by that or you have a nickname? Not that he wouldn't call him Pinocchio if that was really his thing, but it'd take some getting used to for sure. "What? Oh, uh," Miles chuckles nervously. I'm doing the whole 'superhero' thing. The suit's part of the whole deal. I think. They all have them anyway.

[pantin]

That was unexpectedly sweet. Surprised, but pleased, Pinocchio didn't respond to that, but he did file it away for later. It might be useful to know who he could call on for support, and who he might be able to help in return.

At the question, a small chuckle of silent laughter seemed to overtake Pinocchio, though it wasn't cruel or unkind. Simply amused. Were you always a spider-man? he asked in return, not realizing the answer would be complicated. The offer to clean blood from his clothes was noted with a little tilt of his head and a small smile. Pinocchio decided he liked spiders.

Faltering at the idea of having a nickname, he considered his answer for a moment before signing the letter P in a halting way. He wasn't really sure if that constituted as a nickname. Any other titles he'd been given were purely that — descriptors he'd earned in fights, not terms of endearment. And then Miles used another term he didn't recognize. Superhero. He resolved to ask him about it later.

For now, he turned, gesturing at the path ahead. Did Miles want to travel with him?

[aranes]

Making a drawn-out noise, mostly just to buy time, and that he communicates with his hands by kind of just fidgeting, Miles just shrugs before signing, No, not really. It's definitely complicated, but that's just part of being a superhero, he thinks. Everything got complicated after the bite, especially once he started helping Pete in the city.

I kinda got bit by one and— and Miles chuckles, shaking his hands in a sort of 'ta da' gesture. Spider-Man. There was a lot more to it but he'd need a lot more time to figure out how to get it all out. And Miles is breaking like, a whole bunch of superhero rules probably so he thinks that he should slow down. There's a reason they have secret identities. Except for Tony Stark, but that guy's different.

Shaking his head, Miles looks at Pinocchio and watches him sign P and he smiles. P's cool. If you want, I can call you that. I'm just Miles. He shows off the sign his friend gave him for his name though, and he's proud of that.

Totally, Miles answers as he jogs over, pulling his mask back on just so he's not stuck carrying it around. So, do you always go for the heart?