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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.
ii.
Tsukasa's gotten used to a lot of things over his time here, despite his own normie status. He's Seen Some Things.
But.
This guy is... truly on another level, isn't he? The eyes, the hair, the get-up, the... the hair--
Oh, wait, he said something.]
Oh!
[A dance. Right. Tsukasa blinks, and then shrugs a little; he's a performer, so agreeing to a dance is easy so long as he can manage to not stare at this guy while they do so.]
Sure, that's fine with me. Let's do it, then.
[It seems they'll be stepping out onto the dance floor just in time for another cheerfully upbeat song to start.]
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Good. I haven't seen you in a while.
[The familiarity with which he speaks surprises himself. He's used to having two memories swirling around in his head, but this third magic intrusion doesn't know where to fit. Even so, he feels as if he's known Tsukasa for so long.]
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[The words come easily even though he really doesn't know why; still, all of a sudden, it feels like he's dancing with someone he's known most of his life. An old friend, in a place where he doesn't have any old friends--comforting, in a way he doesn't want to take for granted. He really has no natural defenses whatsoever against magical mental influences, so he falls into it face first.
Dancing, at least, does sincerely come naturally to Tsukasa after all of the practice he's had at it, so Tsukasa'll pretty comfortably sweep him into a dance that matches the upbeat pace of the music. They've been friends for ages, after all.]
Still, it's so good to see you again! Even if I wouldn't wish being kidnapped here on anyone, I'm glad for that much.
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Dancing isn't really in his skill set, but he's clearly got enough natural grace to follow along well. He'll let Tsukasa lead, just mirroring the steps where it feels natural.]
I'm glad to see you well. [This world can't be as dangerous as Da'at, which he's glad for.] How long have you been here?
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Hmmm! It's been about two months now.
[...
Don't think too hard about that, Tsukasa.
Down that pathway lies more panic attacks.]
--Regardless! I'm sure it's only a matter of time before we get home properly. There's no need to worry!
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Hm. You think so?
[He's not as convinced, but he'll be polite and not say that.]
How bad is it here?
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[He says, confidently, with absolutely unfounded certainty and no reason for it.
It's fine.]
Er, aside from the dragon, it's been relatively fine, I suppose. For a kidnapping.
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[Goddamnit. What is it now. Always some goddamn serpent causing issues out here.
Nahobino's grip on Tsukasa tightens just slightly, tensing, but... the mood here is jovial and light. If there was a dragon, it's clearly gone.]
Did someone beat it?
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So Tsukasa just takes a deep breath in and nods solemnly.]
Everyone did, together. Most everyone who can fight here ended up working together to defeat it. And once it was incapacitated, the fae spirited it away somewhere.
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That's good. I'm glad you weren't hurt. [So there is some degree of danger here, it's just... there's more defenses? Good to know.]
But what about those who can't fight?
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He frowns, brow furrowed, mind only half on the steps of their dance.]
Well, I suppose for now, everyone is fending for themselves as best they can.
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Are they being left behind? [He frowns, just slightly. It's an attempt to test the waters, to measure the temperature of this place. How cutthroat is it, really? Are the weak protected at all, or...]
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[A quick shake of his head. It feels like a disservice to all of the people who are working so hard to try to make sure that never happens again now.]
The dragon was just... a surprise for everyone, I think. There's been a lot of talk since then on patrols and the like to try to be more prepared in the future.
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I'll look into that. [Only reasonable he should offer to help throw his weight around, right? Though something hits him.]
Even the court leaders were surprised?
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I... think so...? At least, they didn't seem prepared for it to happen...
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I don't mean to interrogate you. I'm just trying to get a feel for this place.
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[If anything, he just feels sheepish that he wasn't paying attention well enough to be able to give proper answers.]
But! Even so! I'm certain I can assist with your questions. Don't feel the need to hold back at all!
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What else do they need to know... his eyes sweep over the rest of the crowd.]
Is there anyone who's been... causing issues?
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[A beat, his brow furrowing.]
I've heard some of the fey leaders are kinder than others. One of them--the Spring king--did some sort of extremely unkind hypnosis to one of my friends here.
hell yes. gossip
Spring King. He memorizes that. His brain searches for which friend it could be, which of their mutual friends, but hits the same uncomfortable roadblock.]
I take it retribution isn't an option.
he's here to try to help (keyword: try)
[The thought had never crossed his mind; for a moment, he gets stuck on the word. Well. He supposes... he supposes it makes sense that--that with Till being that badly wronged, maybe he'd want revenge, or someone on his behalf.
It's a thought that settles uncomfortably though. Tsukasa's not used to thinking about things like revenge.
But. This is his friend, right? This shouldn't be a surprising thought. ... Should it? This whole thing feels so... odd.]
I--don't know, actually. I didn't ask. I don't know if they tried.
dont you ever get tired of being nice. dont you ever want to go apeshit?
The question is whether they have the power.]
Hmm. [It's not judgemental, exactly, but thoughtful. It's too early to say if any of them can stand up to a Court ruler, but... he'll keep it in mind.]
These fae like to think they can do with us as they please, don't they?
the character arc every normie deserves!!!
[He trails off, not necessarily out of discomfort, but certainly out of some sort of quiet thoughtfulness. It doesn't really tend to come naturally to him--he's a loudmouth, animated sort of person most of the time.
But when it comes to their captors, and what's happened to them, and what they're supposed to do now that they're here... it's hard not to feel like their hands are tied.]
They've been decent enough, for the most part, but... [Even someone like Tsukasa is aware that could change on a dime, especially once he heard about the brainwashing.
Around them, the upbeat music slowly starts to come to an end, and Tsukasa blinks, straightening.]
Ah. We should move off the dance floor. Thank you for the dance, of course!
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As the music seems to end, something shifts. The familiarity passes. Hm...]
Do you feel something's off?
[Bluntly, without any leadup.]
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As soon as they step off the dance floor, it's like his brain clicks back into place from where it'd been shoved ever so slightly unaligned, and Tsukasa stares at him with wide eyes and then points.]
You-- I?! We?!
[?!?!?!]
Are we... not actually friends?!
[Ah. Tsukasa does not have any frame of reference for this mild mind-fuckery.]
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we can probably wrap soon so i dont have to post us onto the overflow
THUMBS UP that works for me!
🎁