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

code

Comments

silco | arcane

[proditionis]

( cw: drowning, death )
✘ the party

[ Fury simmered just below the surface, each dodged question like a fan to those flames. For you. What nonsense. Silco wasn't foolish enough to take this at its face in spite of all the insistence that he do just that. That would have killed him a thousand times over, long before the final shot that did it, the one that he felt like fingers in his chest, pulling and prying, until he could barely breathe. His hands were cold and steady. Another breath in.

The surface of the water is close enough to break through, and he does. Silco always does. ]

Hand me that, will you? [ For all the harshness of his features, Silco's voice is light, purposefully direct yet unoffending. It's almost pleasant. Silco is a master at duality, toeing lines and playing all sides. That, he knows, is how one always comes out on top. He sets his jaw briefly, the muscle fluttering with momentary irritation. ] No. The other thing.

[ Idiot. ]

✘ flower power

[ Smart enough to play along, but wary enough to not touch anything, Silco eyed the selection of flowers. He'd always detested the fragility of flowers, how easily they scarred when touched too harshly, how quickly they withered in the face of adversity. Pinning one to him irritated him, but he was conscious of the eyes on him, as if they were testing, poking and prodding, to get a reaction. Silco did not intend to give that to them. ]

Should I pick one to match my eye? [ His question was directed at his eavesdropper, though he made no indication to which eye he was referring. ]

geis ✘ un: thelastdrop

A second chance. [ They didn't ask who received the gift, and he could have been referring to anyone, or no one. This isn't about some promised reward—he wants to see who bites. So he can bite back. ]

— the party

[victus]

[ Silco. The name surfaces in his mind shaped by another voice, echoes from another time, when the man next to him looked younger. Happier. Free. Viktor holds very still as he's seized by Vander's memory, a flash of the two of them together. It's so sudden and intense that he summons the wrong bottle into his hands when bid.

Exhaling his own irritation, he reaches instead for the right one. ] Magic is useful for some things, I've found, but not all. [ There's a slight tremble in his hand as he sets the new bottle down in front of Silco. ] Perhaps I am too practical for it after all.

[ He tips his head a little to gaze at him, curious. ] Hello, Silco.

[proditionis]

Magic. [ Silco scoffs. Magic is an uppercity problem, except those gemstones had been a chance to bridge the gap between them, to drag themselves out from beneath and sit on top. That fresh air had been so close. ] That's a lesson in not using bomb when a knife would do. [ Taking the bottle, he uncorks it and pours himself a drink. It has no legs, but he can make do. All he needed was something stronger than what he'd been served. ]

Ah, yes. Mirka's son. Viktor. [ A pause, one to put the pressure on the tension in the air. ] Didn't want to be a clockmaker like her, I see. What did you grow up to be?

[victus]

What is the saying — [ Viktor hummed. ] — measure twice, cut once? [ It felt so familiar, almost comforting to be speaking to another Zaunite. Perhaps too familiar, since Silco apparently knew him. That was surprising, and it showed on his face.

He was silent for a brief moment, looking away. ] I am not certain. [ Glancing at Silco again, the curiosity returned. ] How did you know each other?

[proditionis]

[ 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.

[victus]

[ This time, Viktor's surprise is a sharp intake of breath as he gazes down at the watch. It feels like ages since he'd seen that symbol, and the shock of it sends a wave of grief washing over him that he isn't at all prepared for. ]

May I? [ His voice is hoarse, but he manages to hold himself in check. Really, Viktor isn't sure what he's asking — to hold it for just a moment, to commit it memory somehow — but the words are out of his mouth before he can stop it. ]

un: stampede

[bountyfull]

A second chance huh...
What kind?

Sorry, kind of curious!

[proditionis]

What better kind? A rebirth.

[bountyfull]

Oh... So giving someone purpose again.

[proditionis]

You can give someone a lot of things but purpose? That's something you can lead them to but they have to take that for themselves.

[bountyfull]

Then what's a rebirth to you? If it's not that.

— geis. un; QUEENOFZAUN

[opheliac]

[that... username is a very suspicious name. there's only four people who comes to mind and only three out of four are impossible. vander is dead (allegedly), vi (who she ran to earlier, unforuntely), sevika (possible), and silco (also dead). but maybe "thelastdrop" could mean... well, something else entirely. a last drop of blood, last drop of sugar, etc. but there's only one way to find out and it's by replying with her username being what it is.]

of what?

[proditionis]

[ QUEENOFZAUN. silco doesn't think twice who that might be. he's certain. the realization that bothers him the most is that if she's here, with him, there is only one logical answer to how that could be possible. and he's angry. it's a fetid thing in the pit of his chest. someone will pay for that. ]

I see you're making good use of yours.

[opheliac]

my people needed something to believe in. they were so pathetic and desperate that they chose me. the poor saps.

[proditionis]

As the desperate always do. Did you rise to expectation?

[opheliac]

how should i know? i dont know what my old man wanted from me.

— geis, un: hightower

[angotas]

Foolish. The hand that offers too readily will always be bitten.

[proditionis]

Starving dogs bite first but one that is fed is obedient.

[angotas]

[ Huh. This one's interesting. ]

And when they desire more? What then?

[proditionis]

A kicked dog always remembers. And when they get too comfortable, you remind them how things used to be.

Flower power

[cantilevers]

[Vander moved quietly and through crowds of people far more easily than a man of his size should. He slid like a ghost around dancing mingling shapes to the flowers that they were expected to wear to celebrate Spring. These blossoms were soft, demure and delicate, nothing like the angry, robust, often poisonous blossoms deep in the underground.

He slid in behind the other man as the question was asked, and he leaned down their height difference to issue a low familiar growl.]

No blue, so you'll have to stick with red or orange, brother.

[proditionis]

[ 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.

[cantilevers]

[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.

cw: blood, drowning

[proditionis]

[ 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.

smoke break uwu cw weed, i suppose

[ghostlight]

[ Emerick should be used to this state of shell shock by now. For every good day he's had, there seemed to be three bad ones, and the definition of "bad" grew more extreme with each iteration. This place was surely a dream, but that hardly made sense given where he was last and what he had seen. It dredged up too many bad memories for him to think of a place like this. The last 24 hours had been too much. From following Sulfur to meet up with the old Texan's former crew, everything (everything) during that, and now suddenly being here? He needed to get somewhere quiet and take the edge off, so he stepped outside.

Perhaps the man shifted his weight, or perhaps he adjusted his shirt just so, but Emerick's gaze cast sharply at the sound of some movement that no normal human should have been able to hear. He'd known his nerves had been frayed and unraveling - especially after his latest cyberware installs - but the way his heart beat like a jackrabbit running from a fox told him all that he needed to know about his current state of mind. He lowered his gaze in a way that was almost submissive just to keep from seeming rude, then took a long hit of his vape pen. He momentarily closed his eyes in relief as he felt the edges of his anxiety soften and blur along with the too many thoughts cycling rapidly through his mind. Once he felt a little more in control of himself, he spoke up. ] You know, if we're all really trapped here, I couldn't think of a prettier place to be stuck in.

(OOC -- I just noticed I don't have premium for Emmy so I'm just not gonna bother with icons for now, hah. Just imagine a strung out college student who runs almost entirely on coffee and caffeine pills during finals week and you've got him down.)