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pixieledmemes2025-03-15 08:32 am
Test Drive Meme #2
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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.
2
She turns at the name, squinting at this overly pretty man. He'd fit in just fine in Midgar, even in Wall Market. But there were people from all sorts of worlds here. Surely he couldn't have known...
And the more important question.
"Is he here?"
no subject
She looked, well, almost familiar. Why was that? He shook the feelings of his trepidation away and raised a gloved hand to tap at his chin as he considered.
"Not that I have seen. How do I know you, miss? Perhaps a play enthusiast? Have I given you my autograph? Girlfriend of one of the Soldiers?"
cw: reference of death of a friend
"Never been to a play, but my friend is in them all the time. Was." It still ached when she thought of Jessie, when she remembered what happened. "I was supposed to go see her but...it never worked out."
She knew she was stalling, trying to decide what else to ask, trying to decide if she wanted to know or not. But if there was any risk Sephiroth was here, then this place was in danger. Maybe that was why she was here. To stop him. Had they somehow gotten to the Land of the Ancients? Or...the Lifestream? Maybe that was for the better. If they were here then...he'd failed.
She put on a brighter smile. At least this guy was talking. "I take it you act? Shame I didn't get to see you. How did you know Sephiroth?"
Maybe...it was a more common name than she thought?
cw: reference of death of a friend
"I was not of the stage. I was a Soldier, first class. One of the top three in Soldier. The Crimson General. Master of magic and skilled swordsmaster, Genesis Rhapsodos. And Sephiroth was my rival, friend, and ally!"
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"Sephiroth, like, tall guy with really long white hair?" Maybe...maybe it's someone else. "Were you from Midgar?"
It was hard to believe anyone was Sephiroth's friend, but her rage and grief aside, that made sense, if this was before Nibelheim.
Except that would mean...well. They were in a faerie party weren't they? The stories she remembered from when she was a kid said time could get weird.
That or they were in the Lifestream.
"Sorry, I don't know a ton about SOLDIER."
no subject
Because of his own actions. Oops.
As for her, well, something in the accent sounded familiar, but he still could not place it.
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She was sorry for his loss, but whatever weird competition he had with Sephiroth wasn't her problem. She recalled what he'd said. Friends. Betrayed. Her gaze narrowed.
"Did your betrayal have something to do with him going crazy? They say he was a hero before that."
no subject
"Nibelheim. You're the girl that led them up the mountain. You've grown so much since then I see."
Of course he had been there, at a distance, watching. He'd been so mad in his illness then, so ready to do anything to get his cure. Perhaps being so close to Jenova when he asked for it had been a bad choice. Had the creature's hand pushed him, driven him to harsh words? Or had it been he himself?
"Yes, and no. I believe his fall was more... arranged. While perhaps I gave some push in ways, I wonder now if Angeal and I had still been there for him, would it all have come to what it did? But yes, he was a gentler man once. Of that I can assure you. The one I heard spoken of when I awoke again was not the one you would have met. He told me once that one of his greatest aspirations was to protect those who were weak."
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Her hands are curled into fists, and she's seriously considering just punching him smack in the face. Not that it will change anything. She just...needs to do something with all this raw heat going molten in her veins.
He's lucky it buys him enough of a delay that he's able to keep talking. And...and she deflates a little.
She refuses refuses to have sympathy for that deranged monster. But.
"Shinra did this to him, didn't they?" She frowns, her gaze trying to take in this man too. "And to you, huh?"
Like Cloud.
no subject
That said, he'd not suggest she should have sympathy for a monster. But for the man that monster replaced... perhaps.
"Indeed. My life was as engineered as his own," Genesis says, though he can't say for certain if she would know this. "Our paths were laid before our feet before even our births, and often rearranged before we could think upon it. There is much blood on our hands, and sins writ upon our souls. But still they were men capable of love, and being loved. Men who were denied the chance to know that. Men who suffered as they could not turn away."
If she wanted a villain who was dark to their core, he could list names for her. But there were some that had just a hint of gray to them, once upon a time.
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God damn her bleeding heart, though. She clenched her firsts, lips tight and gaze in the distance. She wanted to hold onto that hatred. Wanted to have found someone she could blame and punish and feel better for doing it.
Instead what came out was, "I could never, never forgive him for what he did, or what he's tying to do, and if I find him, I will kill him or die trying." She swallowed, hard, thinking of the Planet, but also of every Soldier, ever victim of Sector 7, every experiment in Hojo's lab.
"But no one deserved to be Shinra's lab rat. I -- " If she'd been in their shoes, found out she had been experimented on, cursed, would she have acted better? She'd like to think so. She would never go after the whole Planet but. Ugh. She was not sitting here sympathizing with Sephiroth. "I'm sorry that they screwed you over too. They're a poison, and they never should have existed."
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He had not forgiven Gillian, or his parents. Nor would he ever forgive Shinra. Though he doubts this young woman could do anything to slay Sephiroth, even if she found him. Mostly, though, he just laughs. To call Shinra a poison was just so simplistic.
"And there is the secret my dear: the world is inclined toward the creation of the poisons of greed, self-interest, and deceit. It will never be escaped. That is what humanity is capable of, and you will never find a place where only good exists."
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His pretty words and fancy training don’t mean shit. He’s still a judgmental idiot. Figures. Everyone of power she’s ever met has been.
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"My dear, I fight for the planet now. I owe the Goddess a great loyalty, and she will claim it of me. A gift I will gladly give. Well beyond the end of your days I shall walk her surface, protecting her."
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Fists clenched, she looks him over again. A self-assured moron, but...she can't fault him for his beliefs. Or his stance. She nods once, like she's deciding his fate.
"Fine. We don't have a problem then."
Even if her stomach squirms at the thought of her end of days. She's increasingly worried that's already happened.
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"My dear, we had no problem before. It was just not something of which you had come to the realization of."
Besides, it wasn't like she could get at him if he did not will it.
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Especially if Sephiroth shows up here.
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And that was his Soldier's honor.