Test Drive Meme #2

[changelinged]

TDM #2 - March/April 2025

🦋 Introduction

Welcome to the Pixie Led Test Drive Meme!

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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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Comments

01 / wildcard

[meforsaken]

[Oh, that is absolutely their sister threatening someone. And there's some sort of enchantment over her? Sure, Asgardians stereotypically love to fight, but this is different.

Loki teleports in between her and this poor soul, tilting their head back to quickly say something to them,]

I'd run if I were you. Perhaps try the punch?

[Ha, punch. Looking back to Angela, they flourish their scepter.]

Really, sister, this isn't how I pictured our reunion.

[hevenly]

[ Angela looks somewhat stunned, if only for a moment, by Loki's sudden arrival. But surely enough she recovers and continues glaring towards the now retreating form of her former dance partner. ]

Loki... Stand aside so I may hunt my prey.

[ No "nice to see you, little sibling" from this reunion, sadly. Maybe once the enchantment breaks, she'll be more welcoming. ]

[meforsaken]

[They laugh, despite knowing that's not going to help the situation much.]

You sound like Mother. You must be as foolish as her too, if you think I ever do as I'm told.

[Loki's choice of weapon has always been their words, of course.]

[hevenly]

[ Queen Freyja must hold some powerful magic indeed, because the mere mention of her name is enough to sever the enchantment's hold on Angela's mind. Especially considering the last memory she holds before finding herself at this party is of speaking with her mother, about finding a home for the Vridai.

Angela's face softens, the rage leaving her features. (For now.) ]

Do you truly think I sound like her?

[ From the flat tone in which Angela speaks, it's hard to tell whether she would consider that a good thing or a bad thing. ]

[meforsaken]

[Loki blinks, not expecting that response.]

Ah. Well. Goddess of the Hunt, yes? Hunting your prey, the comparison seems obvious.

[hevenly]

[ It would seem that Angela is fully free of the enchantment, as she bows her head and presses a palm to her forehead. ]

I believe I have had enough of dancing. Come, walk with me.

[ She'll lead Loki away from the dance floor, over towards the outer ring of torches where they can speak further without risk of being overheard. ]

How long have you been here, sibling?

[meforsaken]

[Loki follows, trying to hide a bit of a pout at the fact there will be no epic fight. Fighting with Angela seems more fun than fighting with Thor somehow.]

Two months or so.

[Which is a blink for beings like themselves, though being away from the main story makes it feels longer to Loki.]

Where were you in our tale? Do you recall all the Odinspawn gathering, even Bragi and Ullr?

[hevenly]

[ Angela glances at Loki with a confused look. What cause would Odin's children have to gather? ]

No, I remember no such gathering. Has my memory been tampered with also? Or is there another explanation?

[meforsaken]

The fae playing with our memories is not out of the question, but I think it's more likely we're simply from different points in time. I won't spoil you on the plot unnecessarily, you shall live it eventually.

[And they don't really want to explain what happened with Tyr and Hermod and also Thor banishing them.]

[hevenly]

[ Angela nods, understanding Loki's words implicitly. The concept of being taken out of both their realities and their times is a bit outlandish, but even the outlandish sounds plausible when explained by Loki. ]

Then I will not inquire further. Instead I will ask, what has been done to try to free us from this captured state?

[meforsaken]

[Almost annoyed, they sigh. They should have expected this question to begin with. Heroes! Ugh!]

Everyone’s tried something. But if the plot wants us here, here we will remain.

[hevenly]

[ Sorry, Loki. You should know that Angela of all your siblings isn't the type to take a kidnapping lying down. ]

The plot. Hm. I suppose then your plan is to let it play out with minimal interference?

[meforsaken]

Not minimal interference, no.

[They smile, a mischievous glint in their eyes. When has that ever been their way either?]

I only mean to say that this is not a problem that can be solved by punching your way through it. And perhaps there is something to be enjoyed in the stillness as well. After all, I hardly ever see you unless there’s some world ending event!

[hevenly]

[ Fair enough. Angela should have known that Loki is not one to let a story play out without some kind of commentary, at least.
She lets a soft smile creep onto her face, reaching up a hand to cradle her younger sibling's cheek. ]

Then, let us make the most of the time that has been forced upon us.

[meforsaken]

[Loki laughs, less mischievous and more genuinely familial. Of their siblings, Angela’s definitely near the top on the list of those they would wish to get stuck with. The number one is so unfortunately obvious it need not be stated. Bottom’s currently Bragi or Tyr.]

So gentle, and this from the woman who moments ago would have had my head for simply standing in the way!

I do think you shall like it here, as the Fae follow your rules rather closely. Everything is an exchange.

[hevenly]

I would not have had your head, Loki. Not unless I discover you were responsible for taunting me with that song.

[ If that was the case? All bets are off. Sorry, sibling. ]

Is it now? That will be a refreshing change. I often grow tired of explaining myself to others who believe in things freely given.

[meforsaken]

I've yet to take up DJing as one of my many extraneous skills, perhaps at the next party.

[Everyone will love their mix of Daft Punk, musicals, and sad girl indie!]

The Adopted may still give you pause, I'll warn you, but most of them seem to be receptive to learning.

[They wait a moment, the only polite thing about what they're going to do next.]

So. Your reaction to being compared to Freyja, that was rather interesting. There's more there, I presume.

[hevenly]

[ Sad girl indie? Add some acoustic folk and Angela's in.

Her expression hardens somewhat at Loki's shift in the conversation, but she will allow it. ]

I spoke with Mother not long ago. Shortly before waking up here, in fact.

[meforsaken]

And? A real heart-to-heart, I take it?

[Obviously there's no way they're letting her leave it at that.]

I was with Thor before waking up here, but I doubt mentioning him would have worked on me.

[hevenly]

[ As much as she trusts Loki, Angela knows she can't go into details about why she had gone to Svartalfheim, both for Loki's safety, and for that of the Vridai. ]

It was... a more encouraging conversation than I had anticipated.

[meforsaken]

You know, I wasn't going to bring this up, but-

I did save you from that situation on the dance floor.

[She owes them.]

[hevenly]

[ She levels a flat look at them, but there is something pleading in her eyes. ]

Loki, I will repay you however you like, but I cannot tell you more about this.

[ Will they accept her at her word? ]

[meforsaken]

[They actually didn't care at all about what Freyja and Angela discussed, but her saying that has made them dreadfully curious. But. They shouldn't. They can still probably get what they wanted in the first place.]

I care little to hear the full details. [A lie.] I only wished to know if you're attempting to emulate Mother these days.

[hevenly]

[ That, at least, is a satisfactory line of questioning to Angela. ]

I aim to emulate no one. I fulfill only my own desires.

[meforsaken]

I feel similarly. I am myself, in all things.

[And yet,]

We're getting to that age where Thor and I sound more like Odin than ever before. I'm certain we sound like Freyja at times too, the stubbornness is merely more obvious.