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Test Drive Meme #2
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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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.
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.
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.
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.
no subject
Oh, come on now. Two thousand and eighteen!
[ Though he's not sure how time is kept in the afterlife. ]
Or at least, it was last I knew.
no subject
Okay, this is a time travel thing, then. I'm from Nineteen seventy-three.
no subject
[ He grins. ]
Did we meet in the afterlife then? I can't seem to recall.
no subject
[ Hank smiles. ]
Dancing with you sure is heavenly, but as far as I know I'm not dead.
no subject
[ Still, swaying with Hank is nice. He draws him closer again. ]
This is so odd. I know I've known you for a while!
no subject
Yeah, it's strange... I feel like I've known you forever... But also like I want to keep getting to know you. If you know what I mean?
no subject
Oh, I feel that way too. I'm so glad you do.
no subject
Do you... want to go find somewhere more quiet?
no subject
You read my mind.
[ Reluctantly, he releases Hank and takes his hand so they can sneak off somewhere. He'll keep an eye out for a good hiding spot, though it's just as likely Hank will notice somewhere good before he does. ]
no subject
I, uh. I'm sorry, that was... I don't know what I'm doing.
no subject
Never been with a guy?
[ It's a guess, but one that often turns out to be true. ]
no subject
No, it's— I mean yes— I mean, no, I haven't. But I mean... I don't know why I even asked for this in the first place. I'm not the type to— to move so fast, with anybody.
[ It took several days of knowing Raven before he tried to kiss her for the first time, or even hint that he liked her. ]
no subject
[ He looks at his now unpaired hand, which he's still been holding out a bit, and pulls it back as well. ]
Well, I thought I knew you while we were dancing and now I don't know where that even came from.
no subject
Neither do I.
[ Finally, he looks up, and sees John's face and the defeated way he pulls his hand back. ]
I'm sorry. I... You really do seem like a nice guy? And I would like to get to know you, it's just. This is all very fast, you know?
no subject
[ He is teasing Hank, though. Just a bit. ]
Tell you what, let's get a couple of glasses of wine and we can sit and talk.
no subject
Well, I am a mid-century kind of guy.
[ But he's glad John is taking it so well. ]
Sure. That sounds great.
no subject
[ He takes off for the refreshment table and when he arrives there, grabs a glass of rosé. ]
Shall we?
no subject
Here's to new friends.
no subject
[ He echoes the toast and clinks his glass against Hank's. ]
So, mid-century, huh? Did you ever meet anyone famous?
no subject
No, I don't think so? Have you?
[ As exciting and remarkable as Hank's life has been, he doesn't really think of himself as anyone of note. ]
no subject
[ He pauses, considering, then ducks his head closer as if about to tell a secret. ]
Tell me: do you believe in the afterlife?
[ He knows this is the second time he's mentioned this, but now he needs to actually give details about it. ]
no subject
[ He didn't believe in fairy tales until this morning, but it seems like anything's possible now. ]
no subject
Oh, well; that's where I came from. There's a system where you relive your life and each time you grow from the decisions you make the time you tried before. Eventually you get sent to the Good Place to spend eternity. Well, we do call it eternity, but there's a door you can grow through when you're finished enjoying the Good Place. I know a few people who've used it.
no subject
That's fascinating. What's the point of such a system? It's like... a reformation program, so that everyone can earn their way into this... Good Place?
no subject
Yes. They let me have my memories back of what happened when they were still working out the system—I was part of an experiment the first time I went to the afterlife. Before they switched to the new system there was a Good Place and a Bad Place. But life had become so complicated hardly anyone ever got into the Good Place by the time I lived the first time. You would do something simple like buy flowers for your mother for a gift, but instead of gaining point for being kind, you'd lose points for all the immoral choices that you were making because of the industry that grew the flowers. That kind of thing. When I went to where they were running the experiment they were trying to prove humans could improve if they learned from their experiences and the ethics behind them.
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