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pixieledmemes2025-07-15 09:03 am
Test Drive Meme #4
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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.
Unlike all of the other parties the Adopted have attended thus far, this one lacks the fae's usual easy elegance and ethereal beauty. Instead of dresses drenched in shining pearls and gems or sturdy tables full of the most mouth-watering food around, this party looks... cheap.
While the chasm between the Seelie and Unseelie courts has stopped growing, it also hasn't started shrinking. But when it comes to party planning, the Day Duke and the Summer Queen have thrown out the more traditional kind of party in favor of a summer celebration that their human pets might be familiar with. A Renaissance Faire.
But this is the fae interpretation of a human Ren Faire, complete with cheap, itchy costumes, cardboard stalls in the marketplace, and soft, plastic weaponry. Even the fae themselves seem to have gotten into the spirit of the event, masquerading - poorly - as humans playing faerie creatures. Everything within this crafted townsquare is absolutely fake, except for the plentiful faire food and drink that can not be avoided. Newcomers will have massive turkey legs, steaming apple dumplings, and overflowing wooden mugs shoved into their hands as they stroll through the faire.
As the party winds down and everyone's eaten, a tall, stately elf 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.
CW: loss of agency, character death
Between the faeries cosplaying as humans - flat, bland wigs and all - Adopted may catch a glimpse or three of strange figures slinking through the crowd, all dressed up in the same cheap robes, wearing masks made up to look like rats. If an Adopted attempts to catch one of these figures, they’ll find themselves drawn away from the lively crowd into some darkened corner of the faire, where the sound of the festival doesn’t quite reach. The rat man will say nothing if spoken to, only holding out a shining, jeweled crown that all Adopted will feel compelled to wear before they scurry away without a word.
And for most of the party, the rat men seem harmless enough, lurking around and handing out crowns, making a point to hit most of the Seelie court’s Adopted in particular. It just seems like another strange misinterpretation of human tradition by the fae, unintentionally sinister when really it’s all for fun.
But then the party goes silent.
One of the rat men descends into the market square with a cheeky little dance, pipe in hand, already playing a jaunty tune that carries from one end of the faire to the other. Any Adopted wearing a crown will be unable to resist the call of the music, dancing along to every note. And as the figure masquerading as a rat begins to step backwards away from the crowd, they'll find themselves following right after him, forced to mimic his every step.
If they are not stopped by those without crowns, the Adopted will eventually dance themselves right into the forest with their piper, blindly following him even as the trees themselves begin to twist in around them. The further they get from the party, the more the brush becomes so thick it suffocates, vines and branches curling around limbs, trapping the Adopted long enough that they'll be swallowed up completely by the forest, returned to their dorm bedrooms by morning.
CW: loss of agency, unintentional harm, blood and gore
There is a veritable trove of activities the adopted can pick from to entertain themselves for the evening as they battle the relentless heat and scorching sun. But don't be fooled, the activities present aren't mundane and offer some thrilling options.
It should be noted that while of the other weapons to be found all over the faire are plastic, Adopted will see for themselves that there is no mistaking that the items used in these games are incredibly real.
- 🦋 Axe throwing & Archery: Of course, this sounds simple enough, but upon stepping up and picking up your axe or bow, you will find that you cannot stop until all arrows or axes are used (the number of which we leave to you). And your target? Why another Adopted, of course. In a blink, some random Adopted (be they known to you or not) will be selected and strapped to the target board, unable to teleport or wiggle free, trapped in much the same way you are. Until the last munition is used, neither of you can escape.
- Hope you have good aim.
- 🦋 Jousting: Three parties are at war for the jousting trophy - the Seelie, the Unseelie, and the Adopted. Now's your chance to ride for your chosen patron's honor and saddle up. Upon getting on the horse of your chosen patron, it will become impossible to dismount until you win or lose. Take up your lance and shield (did we mention they didn't offer armor?) and knock your opponent off their horse first or risk your own impalement and subsequent dishonor.
- Do not fear, no matter what happens during this event, the horses will be perfectly safe. The Adopted however do not have that same protection.
- 🦋 Darts: Seems simple enough. Much like the other games, once you begin to play you cannot stop until you and your partner reach 0. Upon starting, everything is normal other than the compulsion, but once the first dart is thrown? Well, your partner better have a good constitution because when either of you throw, the other will be hurt in turn. The closer to the bullseye you are, the more painful it will be.
- Isn't teamwork great?
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, tell us all of a time when you saw through a facade that fooled everyone around you. Perhaps the most compelling story will receive a reward from us.
no subject
Indeed, and that means we must have some value or meaning to them. Not necessarily as individuals, but our presence here may fuel or enable some process we are unaware of. Or perhaps, much alike primals, they require followers for their purpose, and what that purpose is shall be later revealed. Or determined.
[Then, Venat lifts her shoulders, lets them fall.]
I say 'must', but like as not some explanation exists we've not even begun to imagine. The universe is far too wide a place for even the most learned to uncover but a fraction of all there is to know.
no subject
He nods, though, at her followup. ]
...Even in my own world, there was stuff I really didn't understand, cause the people who could explain it were all gone. I guess it's all like that if we're in a completely different world, right...?
no subject
[At this, Venat pauses a moment to take stock. The last time she stood in her proper body was so long ago she scare remembers what it felt like, but to the best of her ability to sense in a brief attempt, naught feels amiss.]
Still, I possess sufficient strength to make efforts of opposition. That too must not be forgotten.
no subject
...He hadn't even thought about it, but when she mentions strength, he instinctively reaches for his magic and finds it still there-- burning brightly as if he was at the peak of his power, rather than gradually letting it trickle away.
It's a feeling he didn't even know he was missing. His hand curls around his staff in a gesture that became habit, a small fireball blooming at the tip of it as he raises it up. ]
Oh...my magic's back...! [ His tone is wondering, startled. He extinguishes the fireball, suddenly and self-consciously. ]
Oh, um. You said 'strength', right? What kind of strength do you have?
[ Is she a warrior of some kind? Or is she more like Garnet and Eiko, with magic he can't touch? ]
no subject
Are you familiar with the manipulation of aether? Not only for magic, but also to augment your own natural abilities.
no subject
no subject
I in turn have not heard of Mist, so we are both approaching this from a place of learning. Aether is a fundamental concept that underlies all matter and energy. Particularly, life and living things have a relative abundance of aether, and it is the substance of which souls are comprised. Those who can manipulate either their internal aether, or that in the environment around them, or both, can achieve feats that would otherwise be impossible.
no subject
So aether's your soul, and also you just have it if you're alive, and also it's everywhere...? That sounds like a lot of people would be able to do magic... [ Is that a good or a bad thing? He's not totally sure, given the kind of things magic was able to destroy... ]
no subject
Most have the potential, if not the skill or training. There are some people who do not -- the Garlean people, to name one, cannot manipulate ether in the slightest, and so have relies on technology and technomagic to supplement themselves in its place. But I must also add that the manipulation of aether is not confined to magic -- many use it for a level of physical enhancement instead.
no subject
[ He'd honestly never asked. Also Steiner was of the opinion that proper exercise could make you extremely powerful, which he's not sure is correct but maybe it works differently for non-black mages? He tilts his head thoughtfully at this. ]
So does aether come from anywhere? Is there a source that makes it, like a planet core? Or does it just float around...?
no subject
To understand the origin of aether would be to understand the origin of all things. Certainly a worthwhile goal, but far beyond the reach of scholarly lore in any time or civilization I have heard of.
But as for how it functions within the world, the majority of Etheirys's aether forms a vast pool that we called the underworld, and that modern terminology dubs 'the aetherial sea'.
no subject
But they don't come from the same world, so maybe that's just to be expected. He has to have an open mind and all. ]
Oh, it's a sea! That sounds nice... [ It fits, in some strange way, his understanding of what a soul is and what it moves like. More like water or clouds than anything else. ] It sounds peaceful.
What does aether look like? You said it's in almost everything...is it all the same colour? Does it change shape and stuff?
no subject
However, if we set that aside, aether can become visible in some circumstances. Usually this relates to its density. Those who manipulate aether often appear to be emitting a beam or spiral of light from themselves, as they condense it into a channel sufficiently strong enough to be seen by the naked eye. In the aetherial sea, the surroundings take on a glow, much as if you were surrounded by a blend of the sky and the sea. And in its greatest densities, achieved only at the very heart of the aetherial sea or created by immense outpourings of energy, aether may crystallize into a solid form that may not only be seen, but touched and held.
[Venat has long, long since left behind a scholar's life, but some elements remain within her still.]
no subject
...It sounds like aether's strange. But in a good way! The aetherial sea sounds like it'd be really pretty...
Did you study it when you were alive? Is that why you know so much? Were you a teacher, or did you just like it a lot? [ He seems a bit admiring of that; she's smart! ]