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

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Comments

[microbrobotics]

[ Hiro is still a scrawny little dude, but there's lean muscle in his build now. And while he hasn't hit his growth spurt yet, he is a year older. Not quite as little as he was the last time Tadashi saw him.

He brushes himself off after, removing the glove for now. ]

I'd have been fine. I'm fifteen now.

[tadeadshi]

And yet, you still took the brother catcher option.

[He gives Hiro a little shoulder nudge as he walks by.]

Let's go grab your stuff and head somewhere else. Got a few places around.

[microbrobotics]

Shut up, I was nostalgic.

[ Nudged!! walkin tho. Despite his security measures, he would really like to get his tech back into his own hands. ]

Yeah? ... Where do you live?

[tadeadshi]

[Walkin! They'll find Hiro's stuff.]

Uh. Well? So the whole place is split up into fae courts, and each court has their own dorms. Been staying in one of those. I think I have a roommate, but I haven't met them yet.

[microbrobotics]

What, like actual fairies or whatever?

[ Hiro's still not fully sold on this magic nonsense. ]

[tadeadshi]

Uh.

Without me being able to test anything serious or get close to them? I think so, yeah.

[It isn't that he 'can't'. It's that he won't. Something feels really off, and his reviving here is only the tip of it.]

[microbrobotics]

... But you think something's up.

[ Hiro already knows his brother, but a year and a half of superheroing has also fine-tuned his sense for shenanigans. ]

[tadeadshi]

Yeah. Just... Weird stuff.

[Narciso You Bastard.

Either way. I would rather get as much info as we can.

[microbrobotics]

So let's do that.

[ He spots his gear, so he dashes ahead to go pick it back up. Starting with purple helmet and visor. ]

Baymax usually does all the scanning, so my helmet's not super well equipped, but it can do the basics.

[tadeadshi]

[At the mention of Baymax, Tadashi brightens instantly. It tells him so much - that Baymax still works, that Hiro uses Baymax at all, that Hiro says it so casually means Hiro's been using his invention for a while and doesn't hate it-

It fills his heart with so much pride and joy, he almost misses the helmet and everything. What is he a superhero?]

Basics might be all we need, but if we need more we can probably figure something out.

[microbrobotics]

[ Casual and fond, like he’s talking about an old friend. Because that’s just accurate. Not having Baymax by his side is frankly the weirder state of being - ameliorated by Tadashi being here instead, but still weird. It’ll hit him harder later.

Anyway, Hiro pops on the helmet. Snags a couple more pieces of his armor, including the other glove. There’s a flicker of light on the visor as his HUD comes up and… That is 100% a superhero outfit. ]

Yeah? So what am I looking for first? Any ideas?

[tadeadshi]

[Tadashi just watches his brother do that. Pop that helmet on like he's done it his whole life and not just in the year and change since Tadashi's passing.]

To be honest? Anything. I haven't been able to find anything useful. I'd take a nickel alloy at this point.

[microbrobotics]

[ It's weird, isn't it? Clearly, this is is Hiro - no question there. And also ... he's different, in subtle ways. Little things he's picked up in the last year.

Like automatically taking in that request and putting it into the helmet. A tap to a button on the side, and then ... no ... other physical input? Not even a virtual keyboard. (Neurotransmitter.) ]

Nickel, got it. Lemme see what I can do.

[tadeadshi]

[Honestly, Tadashi's impressed. He's always been proud of his little brother and how smart he is, but seeing this working in real time in front of him blows him away.

He can't say it though. It'd make Hiro's head get too big for his shoulders.]

I mean, if you find anything else, I'd take that too.

[microbrobotics]

[ Exactly. Once Tadashi makes the first proud comment it's alllll over. Hiro's still operating in "this is normal and expected of me" mode. ]

Yeah, I'll extend it to other metals. Lemme just ...

[ Huh. He frowns? Taps on the side of his helmet. ]

Aww, man. This one doesn't have spectral cameras. Just infrared.

[tadeadshi]

[A beat.]

How many helmets do you have?

[microbrobotics]

Like three? Normal, experimental, and a spare. Same for the others.

[ He does still look around with the infrared, but it's not going to tell him much, alas. ]

I guess the ultra armor counts as its own. And the underwater one. The exosuit can run through any of my regular helmets though.

[tadeadshi]

Are you even doing schoolwork.

[microbrobotics]

Hey! Of course I am! Mmmmost of the time!

[ A beat. ]

Okay so I procrastinate like crazy and I'm not on the dean's list, but my grades are solid.

[tadeadshi]

[Can't believe Tadashi is still capable of feeling disappointed. It's clear on his face the way his brows knot together for a moment before he just shrugs. What can he even do about it at this point? If he were still alive and attending classes, he'd push Hiro to focus more.

He can't do that now.]

Just don't let them slip too low or they'll talk about expelling you.

[microbrobotics]

[ excUSE you, he is SAVING the CITY - ]

I'm fine, sheesh. I wouldn't do that to Aunt Cass. The dean knows about my extracurriculars anyway.

[tadeadshi]

Uh huh.

Still... Proooobably something to keep an eye on, nerd.

[microbrobotics]

[ SCOFFS ]

If you wanna come home and make me, I could work with that.

[tadeadshi]

[He stalls for a split second behind Hiro. The thought of going home makes his heart ache in a way he still hasn't been able to fully process or unpack.]

Yeah, we'll get right on that.

[microbrobotics]

[ Oops. Yeah that was over a line. Hiro sort of swallows thickly. ]

You'd - uh - you'd be pretty proud. In general. I think.