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TDM #1

TEST DRIVE MEME

This Mess We're In The city sun sets over me...

You awaken slightly disoriented on a beautiful, smooth stone floor. A look around will tell you that this place is a hilltop temple with a good view of the beautiful city below. On opposite sides of the temple are genderless depictions of deities. One is clearly powerful, made of onyx, held up in an imposing stance with one hand holding a gilded flogger and the other outstretched with an open palm as if to enforce a command. The other, made of polished white marble, has taken a knee to the dominant statue across from them. One of their hands is a vase for fresh flowers and you can see that new ones have been placed there today.

The music of an unseen harp begins to play and a golden light permeates the temple. Suddenly, you know what is happening here. The duality that is worshipped here, the figures in the temple, they have a name. The onyx one is Ceannasach and the marble one is Cuiristeach and together with their combined power they are the ones who have brought you to Parthas.

What is Parthas? Parthas is paradise! You have either been brought here because Ceannasach believes you contribute to your world in some glorious way and deserve to be honored and served or because Cuiristeach believes that you would be excellent in a service role, perhaps they even feel sorry for the state of your life back home and want to show you something better.

The deities here also brought you because they need lik which is the energy that allows them to exist. Lik is created in small amounts when you interact with other people, in greater amounts when you grow fond of certain people, and in greater still amounts when you begin to use physical affection. However, when you orgasm, that creates the purest form of lik there is.

Ceannasach and Cuiristeach reward you in a special way. When you have sex with your soulmate or your hjarta, your vördr, or spirit, leaves your body in a time-frozen moment to commune with the deities and ask for something big or small that you might like. Sex carries on as usual and only you will know that you asked for something. If you ask to be sent home, the deities will send you into a hyperaroused state when you least expect it. Hey, you offended them.

The deities also believe you should know of something they have placed in Parthas for your benefit. There is a river in a valley in the middle of housing that will give and take anything you like from your body if you should so wish. This can mean a illness, sadness, a memory or anything else, but be careful because this river runs on fickle magic.

As the harp music continues, you become aware of a new power of yours. You can hear any thought that any other person sends your way, even the ones sent accidentally, and you can see images and moving pictures, as well. Don’t limit yourself to one person! Send that thought to everyone!

The harp music comes to an eventual end and you are left with the knowledge the deities gave you. Your intuition leads you down a southbound path towards a city where a celebration seems to be taking place, if the colorful banners are any indicator. Welcome to Parthas!

Dancing Barefoot She, intoxicated by Thee; She has the slow sensation that He is levitating with She

There is indeed a celebration going on in South City as this is the month of Feabhra. Where it was daylight when you left the Main Temple, now that you have reached the city the only lights are colorful paper lanterns strung up across smooth stone roads. The warmth of the daytime has cooled, so it might be smart to snuggle up with someone in one of the city’s various gazebos – each of them has a swing made for two (or three if you snuggle close enough.)

Harps, flutes, guitars and drums play lively music for everyone to dance to in the city square where garlands of brightly colored and white flowers hang for people to do with as they will. A stately woman dressed in black and wearing a brooch with the face of Ceannasach stands off to the side, her dark hair pulled back in a chignon. Whispers circulate, getting to you and informing you that this woman is E’ara Fraoch, owner of the most successful brothel in South City, and she is paying 50 gold pieces to the best dancers and 100 more if they will come work for her at Where The Wild Roses Grow, her establishment.

I Feel You I feel you, your precious soul, and I am whole

Food and drink is plentiful at this celebration and some of it is even free! The vendors believe that this is a good promotion for their stores during the rest of the year. They wheel their carts about, humming jaunty tunes and offering delicious things to you, the new arrivals, and everyone else in the city.
There is a man named Sam wheeling his cart of beverages and chocolate dipped waffles through town. If you catch him, he’ll probably suggest you order the alcoholic drink The Spirit of Feabhra. This drink does not come without side effects. It tastes like a fancy gin cocktail, sparkling and sweet with the flavor of berries and mint hitting your tongue, but the moment you get close to someone you actually have feelings for, you start to feel it… Them. Their thoughts, their emotions, their dreams… It’s as if they have melted into you.

Is This Desire? Is this desire; Enough, enough; To lift us higher; To lift above?

You have been told repeatedly throughout the night by smiling (creepy) faces not to wander out of the city limits into the wilderness, but now that you are here you just don’t get it. Lichens and fungi light up the night with a soft glow from the tree trunks, seemingly drawing you in.

In the forest, the music fades and the chittering of small animals creates a different tune. You don’t seem to be in danger. You might come across the healthiest, most beautiful apple tree you’ve ever seen. It is completely free of pests and only the dew clings to the apples’ shiny surface.

Should you pick one for yourself, you will feel a strange compulsion to bite it. Go on. Do it. If and when you have, you will find yourself incredibly aroused, but you won’t be able to bring yourself to orgasm – another must do it. If you didn’t bite the apple, maybe you gave it to someone else. In that case they will be unstoppably attracted to you with arousal to match. If you chose to plant it near your home, a tree like the one it came from will grow there and you will ICly receive a special reward.

Dead of Night When delirious fun; Has seriously begun; You'll be down on your knees; You'll be begging us please

Now you’ve done it. You’ve wandered into the woods without a spiritual guide from the temple. Now the vættir have been awoken and they are ready to fuck shit up… Sort of. Right now, these spirits kind of only want to ruin this party, but who knows what they’ll do later?

A low-lying cloud of black smoke crawls down the hills from the forest to the city until it covers the smooth stone roads and reaches up into everyone who is either of weak constitution or just simply tired and possesses them. It doesn’t take total control, but rather influences them, and causes them to destroy decorations, vendor carts, and do wild things they wouldn’t ordinarily do. Basically, these spirits want to cut through the façade and see you party like a rock star.

The only way to exorcise one of the vættir from a friend or loved one is to call on the deity of light – Cuiristeach. They accept demonstrations of service as the highest form of prayer, so get on your knees for your friend and get this done!

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i: I Feel You

It's a drink, and Jessica desperately needs one after finding herself here in the middle of some kind of fuck-fest. She drinks more than her fair share, because someone wants to drink herself into waking up from this bullshit drug dream. That's what it was to be, right?

Nope. But she's at least feeling not quite so anxious, not quite so angry, and she settles in with a large mug of it, sipping and pretending that she can just figure this out somehow. She's unaware of anything else until soft thoughts start to make their way into her head that don't feel like hers. That has her jerking her head up and looking over at the person who'd sat down beside her. She would have normally ignored them, like she did at any bar she frequented, but there was... something. Thoughts. Words. Feelings. She looks over suspiciously at the person next to her. "Did you say something?"

ii: Is This Desire

She'd found herself leaving the festivities as night fell, not wanting to be around anyone else since there was just one thing after another with people falling all over each other, and she felt... odd. Like someone was trying to wheedle into her head. Had she been told to stay out of the forest? Yes. More than once. Was she going to listen? Fuck no. Maybe the forest held a way out of there. But it was the walking and the getting away from the noise that let her know how tired she was. Mentally, not quite physically, but then- ah. It was the scent that drew her first. Fresh, crisp and sweet. She hadn't been near an apple tree since that class trip where they all went to the orchard back before her accident, but that smell stuck with her. Fresh, sweet apples. God, she was hungry. Thirsty. She grabbed one and took a bite without really thinking of it.

It wasn't until she'd finished that she realized she'd made a mistake. After the drink, she'd planned on avoiding anything not packaged here, which might be hard to come by, but she figured fruit off a tree was safe.

Fruit off a tree was not safe. She felt a sudden heat bloom through her, something that had her squeezing her thighs and pressing a hand to her stomach as if that could just make it stop. "Goddammit," she bit out, looking at the almost finished apple in her hand in disgust before dropping it. With all the stupid fairy tales about apples, she should have known better. Instead, she was going to find herself drawn back to the festival, the music filling her ears and the potential for a warm body filling her thoughts. Her cheeks were flushed when she leaned against the wall of a nearby building, eyeing the male bodies that strolled past with an obvious hunger. That hunger will grow if an eye catches hers.

iii: Wildcard?

Want to just talk? Maybe plot escape? Curse whatever deity brought them here? PM or drop a starter if you have ideas.

It's a force of habit. Ever since he was taken from Kenari, whenever Cassian sees a woman who could be his sister he tries to get close enough to see if she is or not. Slight build, dark hair, big dark eyes. Jessica is a candidate, at least. Twenty years of disappointment hasn't made him lose hope that maybe, this time, it'll be her. And that he'll know, somehow.

Would she even recognize him? What would she look like, now? He ponders this as he sips from his own mug.

Wait. Did he say something? "Um, no?" He smiles slightly. "Do you want me to?" Now that she's talking to him, he's sure she's not his sister.

No, she was pretty sure she'd heard something from his direction. She was now scowling at him, because maybe he was pulling her leg. Wouldn't be the first time she'd had people muttering about her and pretending they hadn't been. She pointed at him over her cup, scowl still there. "No, because I'm probably not going to like any of it."

Truth. But only because Jessica didn't like anyone. Not lately, anyway. Someone was angry with the world, and getting displaced from hers to this one hadn't made it any easier.

He laughs softly at the scowl. Definitely not his sister. More like Bix. After the last breakup. "Really? You seem like somebody who is easily impressed."

He snags a couple of chocolate-covered waffles from one of the vendors and offers her one before tearing off a piece of the other and tasting it.

If he'd just offered her that out of nowhere, she'dve turned it down. Jess had learned at an early age not to take food or drink from strangers. Especially ones trying to be nice to her. That spoke of either a mental illness or ill intent. But she'd seen where he'd gotten it from, and maybe she could eat something. Maybe. "You might want to get your eyes checked if that's the impression you're getting."

A force of habit from Ferrix. Whenever one has anything, everybody has something. Although that's gotten harder to maintain ever since the Empire started exerting control. Another wave of homesickness tries to drag him into the undertow, but he resists.

If only he hadn't gone to Morlana One...

He focuses on the taste of the pastry. It's rich and sweet, with an edge of saltiness that cuts through the heavier flavors.

"Maybe I'm just an incurable optimist."

There is absolutely nothing in his demeanor to suggest something so lighthearted as hope that the future might get better.

She heard something, a whisper of his voice, but his lips hadn't moved. Her eyes narrowed again, worried that he was doing it intentionally.

He tries that mind control shit and I'm breaking his neck.

It was to herself, fear of someone taking control again and it was fastened in every part of her to react badly. "Optimist is just a roundabout way of spelling idiot."

He leans back, suddenly concerned. "What's a roundabout way of threatening somebody without speaking?"

Whatever subtle flirtatiousness was in his demeanor is gone. He's tensed, prepared to do what's necessary to survive. But he's also at a complete loss as to what that could be, and he's not even sure what just happened. Is he losing his mind? Is he really still in prison?

He works very hard to keep breathing normally, to not give in to the panic that is brewing.

She's sipping at her drink, watching him react to something she doesn't understand he's reacted to, and still suspicious as all get out. She'd heard a thought. She swore she had. But she'd thought she'd heard one when she'd gotten here. Jessica's paranoia was at an all time high.

"Punching them in the dick? Or face. Dick usually gets more attention." What? It was an answer. Probably a good one.

Not for the first time and not for the last he really, really wishes he had a blaster right now. Or a knife. He starts cataloguing materials available he could use as a weapon in a pinch, if he had to.

"Or breaking their neck?" That is what she said. He's sure of it. His jaw sets.

"That's reserved for mind controlling rapists." She sipped at her drink, eying him over the top of it. "You a mind controlling rapist?" She had a feeling he wasn't. Her hackles had been ruffled the moment she'd seen Kilgrave. That same edge of danger wasn't around him. If not for the sudden tension in him, he'd look almost... harmless.

This explanation does little to calm his nerves. Before his unexpected arrival, Cassian was one month in on a six year sentence at a hard labor prison for the crime of... perspiring lightly while on a walk near where some people were running. This constituted "anti-imperial activities", apparently.

So the talk of rape and mind control is leaving him with a panicked feeling of what new fresh hell is he going to be convicted of now, and why do they never manage to arrest him for the things he's actually done?

"What are you talking about?"

"What are you talking about?" He was acting pretty sketchy and reactive for someone that hadn't done something. Then again, most guys hated that word. Even when it applied to them.

For as violent and oppressive as life in a galaxy far, far away is, sexual assault is exceptionally rare. The way she spoke of it so casually is shocking to him, and the addition of mind control as if it were possible is setting his mind reeling.

"I can program a droid not... not a mind."

Well, he should be lucky he wasn't a member of Earth, then, because it certainly wasn't rare there. His surprise was more shocking to her than his vehement response. "Yeah, well, good. Because running into one nutjob who can do that is bad enough. But I'm still hearing shit and your lips aren't moving when I hear it, so explain that."

It's unclear how he would even process such information. But now he's sure she's fucking with him. He leans in, his voice going very low. "You explain it to me. How you did it to me."

"Me? Hah. I may be a freak, but I'm not a brain freak. Whatever it is you're doing or however you're doing it, just knock it off."

Because I can't have another voice in my head. There was fear there, something that slithered down her spine at the sound of a sibilant voice, hissing her name at her.

Cassian slides off his seat and begins to back away. He doesn't take his eyes off of her. He's doubting his earlier assumption that she was human. Maybe she is really some kind of other life form who can manipulate his senses. She can definitely affect his thoughts.

This bizarre, seemingly pointless psychological manipulation makes him weirdly appreciative of the straight-forward cruelty and exploitation of Narkina 5. The image of the Warden's ice blue eyes and unnerving grin upon greeting him on arrival are stark in his mind. "Those who've been incarcerated before will be surprised by the calm, sanitary conditions and our minimally-invasive enforcement techniques."

Minimally-invasive is better than this.

"I can't stop something I'm not doing."

"Uh huh. Well, you think I'm doing it?" His fear was adding to her own, echoing inside her like something shallow and whispered. It was also pissing her off. Jessica had a pretty base reaction to fear- get pissed enough to forget you're afraid. So her anger was starting to rise.

Depends on your definition of invasive.

"Because you are doing it!" Maybe she's just lost her mind. He's frustrated, no, angry about the situation. But he usually keeps a better handle on his temper than this. Other than when he's talking to his mother, of course, but she's not here. It's just this strange, paranoid woman who keeps broadcasting her thoughts into his brain and accusing him of doing it to her.

He continues to edge toward the door. "And why do you keep lying about it?" He needs to get control of himself. He's not thinking clearly. That probably makes it worse, whatever she's doing to him.

Maybe that's why she accused him of being a rapist earlier. So he'd be more vulnerable to her attack.

"The hell I am!" And now she was getting pissy, scowling over at him, then getting up and moving to point her finger at him, stalking closer to him. "Don't. Call. Me. A liar." She said, walking in and poking her finger at his chest, shoving him up against the wall.

"And I didn't call you a rapist, you jackass. I said I hoped you weren't one. If you're going to start flinging around bullshit accusations, you might want to make sure they're the right ones." Because I am sick and tired of people not saying what they mean and hiding behind social crap.

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(no subject)

TDM #1

Jessica Jones | NMCU | F/M

i: I Feel You

ii: Is This Desire

iii: Wildcard?

I Feel You bc who doesn't love a pair of emotional hedgehogs getting all affectionate?

Ew, affection. Gross.

Affection who is that I don't know her

Sounds like something you pick up in the sewer

Dunk them in a bacta tank, it'll clear right up

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Congrats you've found the only Star Wars character who's never heard of the Force

She hasn't either. (I'm not very canon familiar myself)

no worries! just bog standard human, no knowledge of Jedi, would be surprised by superpowers

:)

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