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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.
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"You didn't see anything." It's a question despite Spike not framing it as such. He looks steadier on his feet, but still ready to fight. Ready for an argument, if nothing else.
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"Not that it means much, I'm sure, but you have my condolences. The Seelie Courts aren't much better. I detest how they play dress up and pretend to be leaders when they have stolen real leaders from their homes and prevented them from doing their jobs."
When the blonde man's question comes, Regis shakes his head to emphasize his answer, "I didn't see anything; you are correct. I spoke with another earlier tonight and I couldn't see what he was seeing either. I suspect it is because I "forgot" my flower on a table a very short time after it was given to me. Though," he can't help but chuckle then, looking down at what little remains of the man's crushed flowers, "I think I like your method of dealing with them better."
"Disposal methods aside, I believe in order to fully trigger the flower's abilities, both people need to have them. Otherwise, only the one with the flower sees anything. Think of it as the power of the flowers synchronizing with each other. At least, that is what I am assuming. Fae magic is not my forte. I'm basing my guesses off my own family's brand of magic and how it works."
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He'd paid attention though. The man's name, the implication that he was such a leader kidnapped by the fae. Spike studied him, sizing him up and threat-assessment like the predator he was.
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Which is pretty par for the course when it comes to people with power versus those without it.
While the man is sizing him up, Regis' own demeanor remains open and unbothered. If the blonde is a predator, Regis is a tree unbothered by another part of nature prowling by. He is used to dealing with angry, prickly people; he's also used to being sized up and having people try to intimidate him. For him, it's just another day at the office.
"One of my abilities allows me to share my power with another. To do so, I need to synchronize myself with them. We need to be able to connect on a level that allows them to feel the magical energy that runs through me and grasp it. There are those who try and cannot do it no matter how many times they attempt it, and there are others who grasp it right away and become almost as skilled as I am using it. This power is what led me to think of how the flowers may work, but it also bothers me that the Fae are messing with us on such an intimate level. These kinds of connections should never be forced nor should they be out of control of those involved and that is exactly what is happening with these flowers. I fear what they may do next should this little experiment of theirs give good results."
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"So why do you think it's a test and not just them messing with us for fun? Or both, really."
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"It may be both, but I lean more toward the test side because of the actions of the Court leaders during the dragon attack." He pauses, then, as a thought strikes him, "Were you here for the dragon attack or have you heard about it?"
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"The Seelie leaders promptly claimed it was a dragon and what could they possible do to fight a dragon? They then proceeded to sit by the fire and watch everything," his tone turns very bitter. As a leader himself, their actions--or lack thereof--had disgusted him. At least the Unseelie leaders had worked to help the injured and innocent.
"That is, they did nothing until the dragon was defeated and on the ground. At that point they surrounded it in a shield to prevent anyone from getting near to it. They then turned it invisible and carted it off somewhere. It all gave me the feeling that we passed their test and they were carting off what was "theirs" before we could permanently damage it."
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After that odd little segue, Regis returns to the serious tone he'd had before, "Someone I spoke to when I first arrived floated the idea that they may have gotten themselves into some trouble that they either don't want to expend the effort to fix or that they can't spend the effort to fix, so they want us to eventually fix it for them. Another suggested that they were looking for an army of disposable soldiers to wage a war with. I dislike both ideas, but considering I have to send my own people into war every day back home because someone wants something that isn't theirs, the second idea angers me more."
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"Anger is the right response in my opinion," Regis doesn't like making people mad, but at the same time being angry moves people to action and action is what they need right now. "I have no real proof, but many people I've talked to were pulled from extremely important moments in their lives. I was pulled from the middle of an attack on my city, for example. I firmly believe this is not a coincidence and that the Fae planned it so that people would be shell-shocked enough not to fight what they were being told about the passage of time and their families being gone because of it."
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"We have only just met, so I know you have little reason to trust what I say, but I do believe I have proof they are lying. At the time I was taken from my world, my wife and I have no children. Upon arriving here, I found out that another who was taken by the Fae is my approximately 20-year-old son. If time were moving as they say it is, there is no way my son could be here because I wouldn't have been there to do my part."
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It could be experience that leads Regis to the opinion he has, but also could it be that its safer for him to think that way? If he really starts pondering alternate realities, how long before he starts thinking about there having to be a way to prevent his death? That's not a road he thinks its really safe to start down. Not with the Fae looking to exploit their weaknesses.
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"I'm not saying you're wrong. But it'll take more than that to convince me." Although Spike hoped the larger implication of what the man was saying, was right. Because he'd already failed Dawn before. Failed Buffy. And that couldn't happen again.
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A crooked grin replaces the frown on his face, "Challenge accepted. I'll let you know when I find more proof of my theory. Do let me know if you find more to support yours. We'll see who convinces the other first."
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"I hear you on that. However it comes about, I hope we have a proven answer sooner rather than later."
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"In the meantime, we've got nothing but time." And if Spike didn't have a promise to keep back in Sunnydale, he wouldn't care. He has nothing but time and eternity anyways, being a vampire.