Test Drive Meme #2

[changelinged]

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.

You do not need an invitation to join the Test Drive Meme, it's open for anyone!

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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Comments

TRAVELING MERCHANT

[changelinged]

Slightly away from the hustle and bustle of the party, you can find a merchant. They've traveled far and long to reach this place, and they have unique and interesting wares for sale: Potions, enchanted objects, maybe even the odd item from home.

The merchant is set up behind a folding table that seems to have burst out of a knapsack. On the table itself is a book with item names and empty check-boxes next to each one. On either side of the table are bins with glass bottles of any shape and size filled with any color of liquid inside. They're all unlabeled though, with a note on the front of the bin saying DISCOUNT. Behind the table is a large, unlabeled box that appears to be dark inside, as well as a coat-and-hat rack pulled out of their bag to hang their umbrella on.

If you want to try your luck, feel free to approach Frostbloom and ask them what they're selling. You won't get a chance like this every party, after all; you might as well take advantage of it.

( The item your character receives will be randomized via picker wheels. There is one wheel for Items and one for Potions. One spin per character; the numbers all correspond to a list of items/potion effects, so make sure to share whatever number you get. The items will not come with instructions ICly; your character will have to find out what they do and how they work, however you will be told OOC. )

:eyeshake:

[amurderofcrow]

[It's impossible to ignore the merchant and their wares, especially when Akechi is purposely avoiding most of the people in the room, so it doesn't take long at all for the teen to wander up to Frostbloom for a better look.]

What is it that you sell?

[aspirings]

[... Ughhhh ughhh curiosity killed the cat. He really can't resist coming closer to peer at everything in the bin. Unlabeled... of course they're unlabeled.

... It's fine! It's not a deal with the fae if it's something bought, right?]

Er... how much does it cost? [What's "it", Tsukasa.]

[soulsighting]

[Okay well. It's kind of hard to ignore the merchant who wasn't here during the last party... They approach with hesitation, staring down at the items rather than the potions.]

Let me guess, you want a favor for one of these items don't you?

[brandingproblem]

"So." Clint's flipping through the book. Isn't looking for anything specific, just looking and trying to sort out what he's looking at as he goes. And the more he's at this here party, the more he's thinking he must have tripped, cracked his head open on the barn door, and is having a very vivid dream reminiscent of a half-remembered version of Alice in Wonderland. "Are parties always like this?"

[bestials]

[ Now that Hank knows he's essentially trapped here, with no likelihood of returning home anytime soon, he's been all too acutely aware of the single vial of serum in the pocket of his bathrobe. As long as he can keep his cool, he'll have enough serum left to maintain this appearance for another 24-48 hours, but after that... He's going to have to find some kind of solution.

So, when he sees someone with a bunch of unlabeled vials of oddly colored liquids, well. The chances that any of these will help his particular problem is probably slim to none, but... Call him curious. ]

So, uh. What's this one do?

[ He holds up a bottle, picked at random. (NUMBER 34) ]

[desireandhope]

[Yusuke Kitagawa has no business trying to buy more fae things from fae creatures and yet here he is, brazenly looking over anything he can see with keen interest.]

What sort of inventory do you have here?

[More paint supplies? Different things he can use for different artistic mediums? More decorations that are terrible eyesores? He's here for it all.]

Rolled a 22 for items

[inseine]

[Javert took hours to warm up, hours of dance and song and pretty visions imparted to him by enchanted flowers. Loosed and emboldened as he's been by the party, he approaches the table now with nothing in his pockets but his police badge and a pouch full of useless francs, and nothing to his name save for the clothes on his back and a policeman's cudgel and sabre strapped to his belt.

What Javert would really like is his old hat back to shroud his vulnerability in shadow when the high from this dreamlike party wears off. He's unlikely to find it among the strange trinkets he sees here, but nonetheless, he naively pulls out his purse and drops it unceremoniously upon the merchant's table.]

That is what I have to trade. Have you a hat to sell for that amount?

[fatalis]

[ It's inevitable, really, that Jayce wanders over to the table. He'd been eyeing it, cautiously, since the merchant had set up and Jayce knew his curiosity might get him into trouble, but he'd spent enough time down at the market to have a better idea of how it all worked. Not that Jayce would call himself an expert; he knows he's nowhere near knowledgable enough for that. But this seemed like something he didn't want to miss. Or maybe he couldn't afford to. It was hard to tell. ]

Evening. Uh... What are you accepting for trade?

[villr]

[ Sylvie isn't one to pass up an opportunity to horde useful random items. She's picked up her fair share of trinkets in her travels, and while she hasn't always been able to keep them, it's fun — and often helpful — to keep an eye out for things she can use. Plus, she just likes collecting weird stuff.

And then something catches her eye. Sylvie plucks it up off the table and holds it up. ] How much?

CLAPS

[renhanded]

[This is... interesting. Ren has interacted with a lot of the shopkeepers here, but he was pretty sure he didn't see this one at the last party. Might as well go check it out.]

So... what's the price that the discount is for? Or is it for a specific thing?

(Pre-Vision) Items wheel - 44

[sod_off]

Spike is a curious sort, and a traveling merchant is always exciting. So he stalks over to examine the set-up and the wares. Even seems like he might recognize an item or two that resembles things he knows. Huh.

"So what's your story?"

Lets do this

[tillimgone]

[He walks up to the table after having a really horrible night and he wants to know what this is all about. Eyeing the table, he cocks his head to the side and looks curiously at things.]

Okay but what's the price?

rolled a 26 for potions

[hasitsthorns]

Rosie is the queen of ingesting dubious things she probably shouldn't, so the potions appeal to her more than the items. "Oh, this is fun!" she comments, bending down to peer closer at the fun various shaped glass bottles.

But she knows the look of a traveler when she sees one having been a nomadic sort herself once upon a time. So, she has to ask: "Did you make these, or get them from other places?"

Rolled a 2 on items

[crosslaced]

[Laurent's not one for parties, so a travelling merchant is a welcome change. While the wares are curious, more curious is the merchant themselves- are they a connection to another plane where they could escape or just another fixture of this one?]

Where do you hail from? I haven't seen a visitor like you until today.

[klutziness]

[Rikku is a sucker for a sale. She oohs and aahs over the items for a few moments before flashing the merchant a smile.]

So, whatcha got?

Rolled a 65 for potions

[myshallowemotions]

[There's no chance Ivan can pass up taking a closer look at a table set up with mysterious bins and items. Even more intriguing are the unlabeled glass bottles with all different color liquids inside. It's not like the night can get much worse anyway. What does he have to lose?

He's already reaching for the bin labeled DISCOUNT before he even realizes and pulls his hand back but eyes it eagerly.]

What's in all those bottles and why are they discounted?

[nightmarescenario]

Tony has lurked along the edges watching others approach the merchant and retreat with a variety of items. Intriguing. Meaning he intends to see what might be available for barter or purchase.

"Don't suppose you have several grams of palladium in that box," he says almost as though in passing, but not.



[ooc: for item roll - 52]

[dreamflowers]

[Jade was often not in the market for haggling. When not many in her country would even bother selling to one of her bloodline, she more often than not had a habit of just taking whatever she needed. It's less of a necessity these days, but every now and again she gets the sticky fingers.

[Not this time, though. Something tells her that trying to pocket something outside of view from these people would probably be a bad idea... tempting as it is to test fate in such a way.

[Even so, she peruses the selection, finding a bottle that catches her good eye. 64. But then her attention flicks to the word "discount" and she grimaces.]

I, er... don't have anything to buy with on me. D'you take... I dunno. Credit or something?

[sakhr]

[ The Egyptian boy currently standing at the stall looks as curious as he does dubious, peering over the bottles on display. There's an urge to grab one and run, but where would that get him? If he wanted to do that he should've picked a one-off form – but even then, he doesn't know what the fae-folk can see of his disguises. Maybe they have access to the higher planes; they certainly operate on them. ]

I'm not going to have to trade something important, am I? Like, I dunno, the colour of my eyes or the memory of my grandmother's voice or something?

[ He doesn't have a grandmother and the colour of his eyes is as changeable as the weather, but it's worth asking anyway. ]

19 and 3

[meforsaken]

[Loki approaches Frostbloom with a curious and then impatient expression. They hold out their hands, like a child expecting a present.]

Gimme.

[sonicstriker]

Traveling merchant? Always a fan.

[ She gives her best "welcome to the bar" smile, which really has become "charm whoever they need help from." It's...been awhile since she's been behind a bar.

And she's been on the road long enough to know supplies and potions are always good to have in her back pocket. ]

Are you up for a trade? I'm new here.

40 on the items wheel!

[interwebs]

[ Peter, having left the hustle and bustle of the party for some air, spots Frostbloom's stand not far from where he's standing. Immediately curious, he decides to approach and investigate. Seeing the huge discount sign, he instantly realizes this is a traveling merchant.

His gaze travels to everything on display, eyes narrowing at each one, before realizing it might be rude not to say something. So he stands more upright and clears his throat. ]

Hey, uh. How much- I mean, what do you want me to trade for the items you have here?

15 on the items wheel!

[firings]

[ John looks at All This and figures it's simple enough. Some traveling merchant. He figures he might as well give it a shot.

Looking through the various items with mild interest, he nods over at Frostbloom. ]

These all you sell?

[oncearanger]

[ Billy is shopping. In uniform. The blue and white suited creature looks comical holding a bag, but given his. Situation? He has few other options.

He lifts a hand to wave hello. ]

Hi. What's for sale today?

[[ rolled a 15 for items! ]]