pixieledmemes | Test Drive Meme #2

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Test Drive Meme #2

TDM #2 - March/April 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 a garden party at the crack of dawn, with the sun still in its early stages of climbing through the yonder, casting a good mix of pastel hues of blue, pink, and beige on everything. Heralding the first day of spring, the Ruler of the Spring Court has found it fitting to arrange this gathering where guests can feel the blades of grass touching their ankles, as well as the rich soil beneath their feet. Flowers of all kinds surround the party as if they were carefully curated. With spring as the "dawn of seasons," which marks a transition from winter's latency to the resurgence of life everywhere, the Ruler of the Dawn Court has also seen it fit to host aspects of this party during the one time of the year that dawn occurs the whole day. Tall candles and torches grace the outskirts of the garden party, providing warmth and an orange glow everywhere. Not one flame goes out even with the occasional wind, the Duchess always makes sure of this.

There are also freshly picked blossoms and branches with leaves on every table accenting the festive spread of food and drinks. This time, a lot of the food prepared for the Adopted guests are familiar to them with a little bit of a twist. Burgers might come in small packages and in toothpicks, while hotdogs in buns are also diminutive. Cookies look delectable but they have a flowery flavor to them, as if eating freshly picked daisies or daffodils. Fruits that may have been present in an Adopted's home, such as pineapples and watermelons, have seeds in odd places. Picking this selection of food is an attempt to be more welcoming and to appease the lovely guests the fae have invited.

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.

🦋 Chance at a Dance

A party is not complete without dancing, of course, and while during the last gathering held for the Adopted, different fae danced to music exclusively for them around a glowing tree, this time they are insisting their guests to join in.

This is a party for you, after all.

If the prodding of the different fae hosts won't convince you, perhaps the music will. They play easily recognizable tunes that their wonderful guests must have heard before. These melodies have certain unique effects to their mortal attendees, which are as follows:

Upbeat Music: You will believe that you and your dance partner have been friends forever and have known each other a long time.
Romantic Music: You will become amorous and flirtatious towards your dance partner.
Slow Music: You will develop some tension with your dance partner. It may be negative or sexual; completely up to you.
Quiet Music: You will assume your dance partner is a threat and try to fight them.

🦋 Flower Power

At the Spring King's behest, every Adopted should wear a flower corsage or boutonnière to the gathering. After all, this is to celebrate the coming of spring and what better way to do that than to honor everything in bloom.

The thing is, though, the King of Spring, while amorous and friendly, also has a penchant for playing with mortals' memories, if not also affect their desires and despairs.

So, mischievous as he is, he made sure to enchant the different flowers present in every corsage and boutonnière for the party with the effects below:

Rose: You will recall a horrific trauma
Carnation: You will see a vision of your future, whether it's good or bad
Orchid: You will remember a time you lost someone
Chrysanthemum: You will believe someone among the Adopted is your soulmate
Dahlia: You will believe you betrayed someone important to you, whether you actually did or not

It is perhaps a good thing that no one but the Adopted are allowed to see these visions and memories, but everyone who wears a corsage or boutonnière will be able to see each other's memories and visions when in close enough physical proximity to the vision-haver, for better or for worse.

🦋 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.

Tell us all of a time you gave someone a gift. Perhaps a bouquet of flowers or a box of chocolates. Was it appreciated or not? A reward might await the most meaningful gift given.

🦋 Link to Overflow Post

ｎａｖｉｇａｔｉｏｎ

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One, of course, it wouldn't be me otherwise. [ A beat. ] But he can't do uh- [ Gesture. ] The thing I just did. [ He's not the same kind of asshole, at least not exactly. ]

Two, they're our- [ Deep sigh as Tony tries to come up with a quick and easy explanation. ] We get sorted into two buckets, first off. Seelie and Unseelie. Seelie are the seasons, Unseelie are times of day. I'm in Spring. [ For another example. ] They're our Harry Potter houses, basically.

[ And as for three, Tony is not going to directly promise anything. Because it's got its uses, and he's going to do that again, but just- Maybe not to the guy with the prior experience in this particular area. But he will nod somewhat sheepishly. ] Yeah, got it.

"Like kidnapping a bunch of us for some reason," Tony repeats with a chuckle and a groan. "Nice seein' you guys again, though," he tacks on with a smile of his own. "Not exactly the nothingness I was promised post-mortem, but. I don't hate the company at least." And he didn't hate the company, genuinely. It was all quite weird, yes, but- At least they were mostly all together. They'd figure out a way to get the people who needed to get home, home; no problem.

[ Water is heated as a byproduct of the engine cooling systems, having enough thermal mass to store the energy efficiently for the amount of space it requires to store, Astronema almost argues. The heating of it is literally free, even if the water itself may technically not be. But then, neither is the air.

But, this isn't on a ship.

This is a planet. It has grass and everything.

She lets out a small sigh at that, getting rid of the tension of wanting to debate the finer points of resources management in a system that has no bearing on here. ]

Space.

[ Yes, that's the answer. She's not from any planet, she's from the space in between. ~~Fuck you, KO-35.~~ ]

Out amongst the stars, where things actually make sense. And you...?

[ Astronema has already looked him over, but she gives his over-all self another glance. The clothes, in particular. Nothing about him screams any particular planet to her, but it definitely screams a planet. ]

No offense, but you seem... planetary.

[ She has no idea how often she's going to hear about Earth in this place. ]

Edited 2025-03-19 13:11 (UTC)

[ Silco laughs. It's a hard-edged thing, but warm, the way forged steel was scalding and stronger than its base parts. ] The easiest way to avoid mistakes.

[ Nursing that drink, Silco assesses him and makes no effort to disguise that fact. ] You should figure that out. [ He holds that gaze as he takes something out of his pocket and slides it across the table — it's a watch, old but carefully maintained, with the maker's mark facing up. ] I know everyone.

[ He made a habit out of it. ] She was the only one I trusted to fix it.

[ What bothered him the most was that he was surprised. Silco had made a habit out of never allowing anyone the opportunity, and yet it seemed this one sore spot was determined to be a blind one, too.

There was no need to turn, to see with his own eyes. Silco would know the smell of that pipe tobacco until the day he died, or, more accurately, even after death. It was seared into his mind, burned the inside of his nose, a familiar scent with all the complications that brought with it. ]

Which is it then? [ He did turn now, careful, poised, attempting to regain control. ] Red? Or orange?

[ A beat. ]

Brother.

[Slowly, he rose to his full towering height as Silco turned to face him, the illusion of calm read. He didn't bother to hide his own boiling anger, not even during a dinner party full of guests. No, this man had killed his children, had killed him, and dragged him kicking and snarling back into the fight where Vander had hoped to never tread again.

Where he didn't have to acknowledge how much he enjoyed it. Like greeting an old terrible friend called his temper.

His gray eyes walked down the man in front of him and Silco seemed... older? There was gray at his temples and a streak in his hair that hadn't been there before, and the confusion was the only reason he didn't just sock the man in the jaw. Was this a trick?]

Red was always your colour choice above all others. [He snorted like a bull about to charge then averted his eyes to the choice. Calm. Don't make a scene.] These seem too delicate for you. They look like the types we find in Piltover in their Spring Festivals. That one has thorns though. [He pointed at a red rose.]

But let's be honest, you'd never let anyone make a decision for you.

[The beast snarled and snapped again, flicking thick saliva and tightening grip on his wrist. It was an odd sensation to feel overpowered; even in his twilight, Vander had always prided himself on his physicality. This creature made him feel small, and he expected at any moment that he might have his face bitten off. Yet, there was conflict with the little noises it was making, looking at him like he was someone else.

He convinced himself to turn his head at the sound of his name, and the beast looked with a snap of the head as well. Both of them reacted in a parody of each other. Yet, the beast withdrew, dropping his wrist and curling in on itself as if it were confused and afraid, snapping at air and scratching at its face. It looked about to flee.

Vander meanwhile stood frozen staring at the blue-haired girl. She was the spitting image of her mother except with purple irises and much thinner. He blinked his eyes twice as if to dispel the illusion.]

...Powder? Is that you? H-how? [She had been eleven years old the last time that he had seen here. His gray eyes hungrily drank in all the details in case she was an illusion.] You look just like her....

[ Peter doesn't really know yet what to make of All This. Maybe he's really just dreaming. One of those stress dreams he gets when he has just submitted his portfolio in this job he's trying to get.

In any case, after he has been given a Chrysanthemum boutonnière, he nonchalantly pins it on his shirt, thinking nothing of it, if not also a bit suspicious. But all his suspicions wash away when he sees John, a charming smile tugging up his lips. Everyone else who matters suddenly fades away when the man wraps his arms around his neck. ]

Hey, beautiful.

[ ducktales needed a goddamn musical episode, we were robbed ]

it is pretty good, aside from the whole "makes you stuck here forever" bit

it's more difficult for those who come into immortality later in life. a human who ascends to godhood will have a different perspective.
similarly if the writer is human, they will naturally lean towards writing the human experience but through the lens of fantastical situations

And yet. [ He lets his response hang between them, both a promise of spring and the threat of a storm. Because that's what love is, for beings like them: a threat to all, a sundering of purpose, a monumental shift that changes the very fabric of their existence. Or, you know, he's just being dramatic. That's possible, too.

Dream is quiet again while Cas speaks, continuing to stand so still. He watches the party before them, but his attention is focused solely on the angel. Then, eventually: ] Will you tell him? [ It's an open-ended question, easily interpreted different ways. Will you tell him you love him? Will you tell him you betrayed his trust? Will you give all if he asks, forsaking everything that you are?

These two were clearly a riot at parties. ]

[ She might take a glance upward at the sound of his eye-clicks, but if he were to look back, she immediately went back to her tablet. Doesn't want to give away any sort of interest or care. ]

So you supposed to be some kind of jester?

[ She knows he isn't, he's clearly someone "important" in his world - they probably don't give fancy masks and fancy eyeballs to just anybody, along with that haughty tone of voice - but people like him appear to be easy to needle. ]

The noise means you have a message, or that someone is making an "announcement". Chill.

I'm familiar with... stupid... powerful... MONSTERS, who just... don't care about anyone! Who think they can get away with anything! Who... deserve to be...!

[ She keeps ripping the corsage apart until it's nothing but shredded petals, and lets the destroyed mess fall. Gods, it wasn't fair - if she was just stronger, had better magic... she clearly wishes she could do to the Fae - and to Aunt Magica - what she did to the corsage.

Just rip, and rip, and rip, and rip... ]

They flourish as they spin, and when Stephen draws them back, they move even closer to him.

"It will prove its use eventually, I don't have any clear plans for it just yet. Honestly, I thought it would be funny for him to build such a thing. And it is!"

After the ordeal with the dragon, Loki's sure there's something it'll be good for. If not, it can be an ornate statue in their room.

"Are the two of you close? I'm still figuring out the exacts of your Avengers, dear."

who are u?

[ Unflinching, Silco dragged his gaze up. ] That's more like the man I knew. [ That anger was familiar, too. Once, they'd shared that same righteous fury, directed it at the same things, and then their paths forked and Silco followed his all the way to the end. He couldn't afford to go back, or maybe he was just too proud. Either way, they became people the other couldn't recognize, except in moments like this. ]

Red? Hm. [ In contrast to that barely contained rage, Silco was calm as he plucked a carnation off the table and studied it. It was too soft, too full, and Silco was starved and steel. He tossed it aside. ] You're right. [ He scoffed. ]

I did let someone make a decision for me. Once. [ His look was pointed. Snatching up a rose, he gripped it until the thorns bit into his fingers, visions of silt and sorrow, betrayal and bile, water and fury filling his mind. Silco was no stranger to those memories but detested their rearing their head now. Still, he pressed that bloodied rose into this ghost's hands and pushed past him. ] Never again.

That was a long time ago. [Yet, for him, everything was so fresh, so recent. The gangplank, the stabbing, the feel of Silco's neck in his hand before that almost gentle push over the side. He remembered falling. He remembered stopping with glass causing ta thousand cuts. Find the girl. It was the last thing he recalled, so his temper was only just winding up, desperation mixed with grief.

He clenched his fists then unclenched them, willing himself to push his anger into that box he kept it in deep down within him. He was only partially successful with the memories so fresh, the confusion of being here so jarring, and the fact he was dealing with this man right now.]

We made a lot of decisions for each other back then. Back when we could trust each other. [That trust was long gone, drowned in the Pilt or like blood spreading over the cobblestones where Benzo had died. He shifted and moved to allow Silco to walk.] You look... old. Why is that?

[ Angela hadn't intended to reconvene with Loki so soon after their last parting. It's really only happenstance that puts her close enough to witness the scene that has been put on display. She wasn't planning on saying anything, or even really paying it any mind— Loki's thoughts and memories should be their own, and she does not wish to intrude simply because fae magic forced them into the open— but the Odinson's fury is undeniable, and impossible to ignore.

Angela stands, at a point over Loki's shoulder, not yet close enough to reach out and touch her beloved sibling, but not so far as to be completely removed from the scene. She stands, and she watches the memory play out.

There is much in her family's history that Angela has no knowledge of or context for. Up until now, the ghost of the child Loki which had been sent to inhabit the Destroyer armor was one of those things. This scene she sees displayed before her provides some more context, though still she senses there is much she is missing, to have a complete picture of the reasons for Thor's despondent anger.

The memory ends, and the Loki of the present brushes it off with a flippant comment as they are wont to do. Angela says nothing, merely closing the gap to stand next to her sibling. If they wish to discuss the vision further, she is there. She has questions, of course, but she does not yet feel that she has earned the right to ask them. ]

[Spike watched the outburst cooly, calmly. He got it. And clearly this kid had been through a lot. At least he guessed she was a kid, given she was a duck. Bit hard to judge them compared to others he's met.

Still, he let her get it all out, staying crouched and just being company.]

Still need an outlet, or you feel a bit better?

"Aw hell," breathes Clint, a little exasperated, "is this where you ended up?"

Because Steve's got the suit, he's got the case of Fuck You Rocks, and the last Clint knew, Steve went back and then didn't come back. But. Sam ended up with the shield. And he's not entirely certain about how events shook out. Maybe it was an accident. Maybe it was deliberate. Stung all the same, though. The not knowing.

Pretty sure the machine only did time, though, not space, so yeah, it was probably these kidnapping assholes rather than a malfunction of Bruce's genius.

"It's good to see you, man. Even if it's under less than ideal circumstances."

Edited 2025-03-19 15:25 (UTC)

[It would be easier if anyone else saw that memory. Loki could play it off with a lie. Thor wasn't in his right mind, he was mistaken... this was an alternate universe! It was the reversal spell still lingering! But Loki knows that such lies will not work on Angela, and she will recognize that this is their brother, as he truly is.

There is a strange part of them that feels guilty for sharing this, that it taints Thor's reputation. He is good, and he is their king, their All-Father. Thor often forgets the kind of person he once was, and Loki is there to remind him, but it seems less cruel when it is tales of their youth, and not tales that are still recent enough to sting. Technically, Thor never apologized for this. The story moved on. Loki became a different person, and Thor did too. Some of the threads have been revisited and tied up neatly, but not this one.

Loki sighs, rolling their eyes at Angela's response which is so very Angela. They are all playing their parts perfectly.]

It's worse when you don't say anything. Your pity is palpable, even without words.

Edited 2025-03-19 15:30 (UTC)

[He'd know that big boisterous voice anywhere. Thank god. If anyone's going to have a good idea what the hell is happening around here--well, there are people that would probably have a better idea than Thor, but he's willing to be Thor also has a pretty good idea.

Which is better than the idea Clint has, which is mostly what the fuck.

He laughs, partly in joy, partly in just so damn amused at 'panflaps', as he comes up and nudges one of Thor's enormous arms with his own.] It's flapjacks, big guy. Or pancakes. But I think people are still gonna know exactly what you're talking about.

i find yule often twists one's spirits in unpredictable ways

most everything in life is an unearned privilege, including that very first gift of existence. but around winter we seem to all turn a blind eye and enjoy the festivities nonetheless, hm?

[It takes Clint a moment to truly recognize her. They'd never properly met, but having been involved in New Mexico, and also Thor in general, of course Clint knows of Dr. Foster. The fancy ren faire dress throws him a little, but a flip through the mental rolodex conjures up recognition.

Why...uh...does she have that expression? Why is she looking at him like that... Clint glances around. Surely?? Thor?? is around?? somewhere he can't see??]

Uh. [Great first impression, Barton.] I very much doubt that, ma'am. Flattering as it might be to get mistaken for Thor, you definitely have the wrong guy.

"Oh, I'm sure I don't know, honey," John says, looking sympathetically at Tidus—he'd seen that brief flash of grief on Tidus's face. "It seems like if we had something important to do here, they wouldn't be easing us in with a party, would they?"

Still, he, too, is enjoying the feast. He has a whole turkey leg, and he strips a morsel of the meat off with his pinched fingers. "Or maybe they expect us not to be very happy about needing to do it!" With that, he pops the morsel in his mouth.

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Test Drive Meme #2

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cw: blood, drowning

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geis; un: loki

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