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pixieledmemes2025-01-15 09:46 am
Test Drive Meme #1
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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 seems to be a holiday party of some sort, if the large, candle-decorated pine tree in the middle of the tables is any indication. While the party appears to be outside, the temperature is mild and pleasant within the gates and hedges sectioning the party off from the rest of the garden. Stars twinkle overhead, a full moon hanging in the sky, as fluffy flakes of oddly not-cold snow drift to the ground. Some of the hosts dance in a circle around the pine tree, moving their hands around in odd patterns as their feet move; it seems to make the tree glow. The mood seems to be festive, with everyone smiling brightly. Their chipper voices sometimes crescendo louder than the soft chamber music that's being performed in the corner; their laughter rings out like little bells now and then as people get settled.
There are candles and sprigs of pine on every table accenting the festive spread of food and drinks. There are cookies, olives and cheese and crackers, various sliced meats, cranberries and oranges, chocolate coins, fried potatoes of every shape and style, warmed cider and mulled wine, and every other type of food you might be craving.
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.
In front of you sits a spinning top with symbols you don't recognize on each of its four sides. Next to it is a pile of chocolate coins. Someone nearby helpfully explains that you'll need a second player to bet against, but they at least are willing to take a second to explain the rules.
Each round, each player puts a coin into the pot. Then they take turns spinning the top, taking an action depending on the symbol that is landed on. The wind chime means you do nothing. The coin means you take everything in the pot. The sword means you take half of everything in the pot (half plus one if there is an odd number). The hand means you put a piece of your winnings back in the pot. When one person owns every chocolate coin and the other person is left with nothing, they have won the game.
Perhaps you should try and flag someone down to play a game to figure out what's going on around here. After all, half of the party guests look about as confused as you do, and it might be a nice idea to start getting to know the other people here.
Tucked away in a corner sits the dessert table. Each cake, cookie, and pastry has signs next to them:
Warning: Do Not Eat
But everything else you've had tonight doesn't seem to have an effect, so what's the harm in a little sweet treat? You dig in, and then, without your knowledge, something changes about you. What those changes are, exactly, is dependent on the desserts you've eaten. Luckily the effect is only temporary; some only last a matter of minutes, some last hours, but either way as soon as you leave the party, you'll be cured.
Types of Desserts
- Cakes: You will believe you've lived in the Fae Realm your whole life and belong there
- Cookies: You will shrink down to about two inches tall
- Pies: You will forget someone important to you
- Candies: You will no longer be able to tell any lies
- Custards: You will grow a tail, antennae, wings, or any combination thereof
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.
Tell us all of a time you received a gift. It could be one you enjoyed or one you did not. Perhaps a particularly amusing story will be rewarded.
no subject
But Ren allows Akechi to press close, a leg shoved carelessly between the other's, leaning with all of his weight into way he's pinning the other boy to the wall. They've been through this song and dance before, so it's no surprise that Akechi comes at Ren at full strength, without a hint of hesitation behind his actions. Even when they're playing as allies, he doesn't pull his punches, if anything, he pushes harder into his rival, proving just how serious he is.
And though there's no light to shine between the spaces where their bodies are separated, nothing could shine through with how firmly Akechi is pressed against Ren there in that corner, pinning the younger boy in place.
Ren speaks and Akechi is unblinking, staring too intently into his eyes, like he might read the unspoken words that Ren isn't saying. But finally, whether he catches what he's looking for or not, Akechi relents, slipping backwards with far too much ease, his body language loose and casual like he hadn't been seconds away from choking this boy out completely.]
No, you wouldn't, would you? [The hiss is gone, replaced with his normal drawl.] Your stubbornness has always been rather irritating, but I do find some consolation in how predictable it makes you. You're too good to betray us.
[Me, he would say, but that would give more away than Akechi's willing to share.]
no subject
The tension is there for a few moments, and Akechi starts to pull back, like he's decided to stop playing around. Like he's given up on something, on him, and it twists wrong in his stomach. Ren knows what Akechi is looking for-- knows well enough that he hasn't been giving it, that he doesn't want to say it even though he already did and it's been gripping his throat since then-- and the fact he thinks he can just pull away and decide when he's satisfied lights Ren up in a way that is probably unhealthy for his everything.
It doesn't stop him, though, from reaching his free hand out and fisting it into Akechi's stupid bodysuit to pull him back, sideways this time so both of their shoulders are in the wall, Ren between Akechi and the rest of the party.]
I'm not too good for it. We agreed. I'm not-- I'm not breaking a promise, not to anyone. Not to you.
[But it hurts. Even if it's the right thing to do, even if it's the way life should go and the proper answer, he knows the consequences and it fucking hurts. Why can't Akechi get that? Why can't he understand that losing him-- something so trivial as my life-- is not something he wants?]
You said you'd follow me and what I said in Maruki's palace. This is the same.
no subject
Just over the other's shoulder, Akechi can make out the movement of the partygoers in the background, their bright colors and their dancing, all of the elaborate dress that gives him such a headache. But it all blurs together when Akechi's gaze burns into Ren's, refusing to look away for even a second.
It's both infuriating and immensely satisfying to see Ren rise to the challenge like this, to see his passion burn so brightly he's in danger of losing himself in the flames. It would just be easier to watch if the reason for it wasn't because of Akechi himself.]
Our deal remains unchanged. I said that I would follow your lead and I intend to. This shift in scenery changes nothing. [a beat passes, where Akechi is all too aware of their mingling breath and the beating of his own heart, before he tacks on,]
I want to trust you.
no subject
Ren has learned trust in so many ways in the last year of his life, but he knows Akechi hasn't. There's been few chances, only small things, to ensure they could work together while toeing a difficult line of many god's plans. To hear the older boy say he wants to- he wants anything about Ren- turns his brain to action, and not to thought.
So he lets go of Akechi's shirt. Takes his wrist, with that gloved gauntlet enough to pierce, and drags it upwards towards his own neck.]
You had the chance to kill me. A lot of them in the last month. The others would still work with you to stop Maruki even if I wasn't there.
[He won't force Akechi's hand to close, won't press it into his own skin- that's for him to decide. But he will stand resolute, eyes staring forward, undeterred by danger. That's his choice. That's his justice.]
I want you to trust me, too.
no subject
But he refuses to allow the moment to last even a second longer.]
Your confidence in such delusions is honestly pitiable.
[Akechi untangles himself properly from Ren, fingers dancing threateningly along the other's neck before he pulls away, not stopping until there's at least a foot between them, his back turned to Ren, his silhouette outlined in utter darkness. With the way his own clothing looks so tattered and frayed at the edges, it looks like the shadows are eating him up.]
I have no intentions of killing you before we face Maruki. After, however, I make no promise for.
no subject
Maybe being near him just feels normal. Makes him feel whole.
But still, he lets Akechi go, even if he leans just a touch into his grasp as the metal leaves his skin, ready to make some kind of joke or comment. Until Akechi speaks, of course, when the reality catches him again. When the shadows start fading him away to somewhere he can't reach, to somewhere Ren must put him.
After, he says. Does he really think Ren doesn't know? Does he really imagine Ren wasn't thinking about what his wish must have been as soon as they figured out the situation-- what the only thing he'd ever wish for could be? Or did he simply not believe it?]
I guess we'll talk about it after, then. Though without the Metaverse it won't be as easy to fight each other.
[Or nearly as fun, but that's besides the point. He can... pretend. For just a bit. But there is one quiet part he will say out loud, because he can't let Akechi go even out of his sight again without it being said.]
It's up to you to trust me. Because I trust you.
no subject
[Whatever Akechi is thinking, it can't be picked up by looking at his back, the older boy refusing to meet Ren's eyes explicitly because of that possibility. Of course he has an inkling that this infuriating boy already suspects the truth of why he appeared in Maruki's reality - for all of his casually tossed insults, Ren isn't stupid - but it's important for Akechi to keep that distance from the truth.
It makes everything easier. Instead of having to discuss why he'd been brought back and the messy feelings that come with that, instead of having to watch Ren try to fight for his life, they can pretend that there's a possibility of a future for the two of them. One where they bicker over nothing while drinking their morning coffee, where the most important thing in their life is exam scores and paper deadlines. Where they get to live like normal teenagers for once, without the hands of gods puppeting them around a chessboard.
Akechi is content to leave it there, but naturally, Ren has to get one final word in. It's up to you to trust me..
As if trust comes so easily.]
You're deranged. But keep proving to me that you are the man I think you are and we won't have a problem.
no subject
So he steps forward. Doesn't touch the way he wants- to throw his arms around the other man's and pull him close, to bury his face into the curvature of his neck and say how happy he is to see him, how lucky he is to be here, how every touch is one he never thought he'd get- because he can't. But he does come up behind him and rests the front of his forehead to the back of Akechi's, just a little bit of a lean, a point of connection where they're close but so far.]
If I'm lucky, you'll think of me more than that.
[And now he's the one to break it, to think he's gone too far, to take a step backwards and give him a little smile.]
So I'm guessing you want to run around this place more? Figure out if there's any easy way out.
no subject
But whatever Akechi might have expected - a familiar hand dropping to his shoulder, the other boy sliding up to stand at his side, ungloved fingers dragging at his arm - Ren pushes close and drops his head against Akechi's, drawing the slightest little exhale of breath from him. For such a minimal touch, it's still electric, saying far more to the depth of their relationship than Akechi could ever stand to hear spoken aloud.
In the split second where their bodies touch, Akechi's gloved hands flex at his side, as if desperate to turn around and reach for Ren right back, but the younger pulls away with a smile, and everything goes right back to normal.
When Akechi does turn back towards Ren, his mask is firmly in place, aloof and disinterested, even as he nods.]
Agreed. Let's meet in two hours out in the courtyard. Until then, try not to get too distracted. I need you pulling your weight on this one.
no subject
But fear can find even the strongest of men, the most defiant. And after spending the last few hours staring down a life without Goro Akechi, it's the most terrifying thing in the world right now.
So Ren puts his mask on, as well; the slightly turned up corner of his mouth, the smirk that says he knows what he's doing and also will squirm under Akechi's skin, make him wonder what it is he knows.]
You too, huh? Don't get more weapons confiscated. They might just take your hands next.
[He doesn't want to walk away, like he'll lose him in the crowd, but-- it'll be fine. He knows this, somehow. If they were able to make it here together, one party won't be the thing to separate them again. Now it's just a matter of getting the mission started, before he thinks about the pieces that come in-between.]
no subject
In that case, be careful they don't take your tongue.
[...he doesn't mean it like that!
But while Ren hesitates stepping away from this mess of a dead boy, Akechi shows no hesitation on his end. He barely even looks at the thief before he's off into the crowd, his torn cape streaming out behind him as he slinks through the fae, off to find someone in charge to corner for answers.]