MISTLEGLOW: a kissing meme

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mistleglow: a kissing meme

Some residents may remember that back in September, a love-drunk and confusion-spell-addled newlywed mage from Gramarye Magic Research let loose some pretty little fairy lights that trapped people in the city in little invisible bubbles until they kissed (and any kind of kiss would do). Well, the same slightly-less-newlywed but no less romantically-inclined mage happens to really, really enjoy the winter season, and thinks it's totally romantic. That particular sentiment is pretty common in the Quarantine - while Hygge is the celebration of familial love, the residents of the Quarantine all agree that that family often includes partners and lovers. Besides that, the folklore of mistletoe as being representative of love and friendship is something that the Quarantine has in common with the universes many residents inhabit.

So, as the last week and a half of December rolls around, residents around the Quarantine will see the result of the resident romantic trying to share a bit of Hygge love - small, glowing sprigs of mistletoe will be floating around the Quarantine, ready to trap people up and make them share a bit of affection.

how it works

● Two or more characters walking under one of these glowing, floating sprigs will get stuck for one hour, trapped inside an invisible enclosure with an approximate three foot radius. The only options are to either wait out the hour, or to kiss! Characters will know they're meant to kiss, because part of the magic spell is the sudden and intense knowledge that they should kiss in order to break free. There is no compulsion to kiss, just the knowledge that that's how to get free. This time, instead of any kind of kiss working, there will be different types of kisses that will work to release the trapped residents depending on the color of mistleglow:

RED: MOUTH ● ORANGE: NECK ● YELLOW: CHEEK
GREEN: FOREHEAD ● BLUE: HAND ● VIOLET: BUTTERFLY

Trapped residents will not know what kind of kiss will work for each color and may have to experiment before finding the right one.

● Post up a top-level for your character with the types of kisses you're interested in threading out, and then go forth and have your character kiss (or refuse to kiss) others!
● This meme is for characters already accepted into the game to play with the mistleglow prompt from this month's test drive meme. If your character is not yet accepted into the game, please use the TDM post!
● This meme is GAME CANON, so any threads played out in this meme can be carried through into the actual canon of the game.
● Much like the TDM, threads on this meme can count for Activity Points, but not the monthly Activity Check.

header image is from santa's factory by Clement Danveau

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Comments

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He's not too far behind, swearing low and heated against her throat as she pulls him in close, as she tightens around him. Fuck, she sounded good like that, and she feels equally amazing, and the way she clings to him makes him thrust harder and faster until he's lost the rhythm.

He comes, moaning her name like a prayer, and he buries his face in her neck, breathing in the scent of her, one hand tangled in the hair at the nape of her neck.

Unlike Gamora, once he's spent, he falls against her, almost boneless. He has the presence of mind to keep himself partially propped up on an elbow, though, to avoid smothering her entirely, but he's definitely going to need a few seconds (a few minutes, possibly a few hours?) before he has energy enough to move again. ]

[godslay]

[ There's something thrilling about feeling him come, shaking and gasping against her, filling her as he moans her name.

She loves it.

But in the wake of that intense pleasure, she feels like she's floating as she holds onto him, warm and content and totally at ease, tangled and messy as they are. She nuzzles at the angle of his jaw, dropping absent little kisses over skin that she can reach, and barely paying any mind to how... affectionate she's being.

Apparently, Gamora, the deadliest woman in the universe, is especially cuddly after sex.

Peter will obviously lose every limb he possesses if he tells anyone.]

[talentedscavenger]

[It was cute and sad to see Ivar look down and away from her. It also added to the confusion she felt with her own feelings...

But Rey was above all things, honest.]

You still have the chance...

[...yes, she was willing to have him kiss her even without the aide of mistletoe.]

[scholiast]

(Maybe so.)

That's fine with me.

(How long will this silence last? Lucretia leans back against the surface of the bubble and folds her arms comfortingly across her chest, closing her eyes as she exhales. She's not trying to nap or anything, just... trying to pretend she isn't in this situation right now. She's a bit uncomfortable.)

[nostalgiabomb]

[ A small, irrational part of him had assumed that the instant they were done, the instant Gamora had recovered, she might have— pushed away or something. That the intimacy of the moment might have freaked her out or something, so when he feels her nosing just beneath his jaw, pressing soft, gentle kisses against him, he blinks with surprise.

Then he thinks, Oh.

He could definitely get used to this.

And it's definitely a fact he intends to keep to himself, both because he values his life, and because he likes having her all to himself.

He pulls away just long enough to resettle himself onto his side, lying beside her on the bed, and he lifts up her hand, presses a feather-light kiss to her knuckles. ]

You're amazing. You know that?

[ragnarsson]

[He's not really sure he's hearing correctly and waits for her to take it back. When she doesn't, he sits up a little bit straighter in his chair.]

Are you sure?

[He just had to know.]

[jelmazmo]

( It's strange to adopt a total absence of formality, but such is common here, and she's always attempted to immerse herself in every culture she's come across. This is no exception, strange as it seems. Though perhaps in the long run, it may prove easier to bear than the tokar. Dany listens to him through his initial statement about magic to the tale of two speedsters, and while she may draw herself a little taller, the dragon at her side peers at him as a bird might, tilting his head one way and then the other. Viserion is a good gauge for Dany's emotional state; quite in tune with her.

She huffs a breath of air through her nose, and allows: )

You may have a point, ser; on both counts. Magic simply may not attract good people where I come from. But these men you speak of — it's good that one of them tries to leave your world better than he's found it. I hadn't considered it before, that such power could be used to do anything but harm others. My question is: how easy is it to trust someone to always do the right thing? I wonder that, even in terms of myself. As a Queen, I must keep my promises; safeguard and provide for my people, and never appear weak. If I don't, they won't trust me any longer. I know how easy it can be to be tempted by self interest.

( Qarth, the House of the Undying. She'd nearly stayed in that tent, gods be good — if gods exist. Those warlocks had sent assassins after her, tried to steal her dragons. A witch had succeeded in taking much more from her. Her eyebrows knit together in thought. )

She'd been a slave, and I'd freed her. Still, she took the lives of my husband and our unborn son. It's hard to see any good coming from such power.

( Even though it'd given her her dragons. But, as the topic shifts, her features form a more pleasant look than the expressionless mask she always wears when speaking of her losses. )

Who rules your people — or leads them? How? It's been the way of my world for centuries, whereupon a king rules from the iron throne, and the lords paramount from their seats in the four corners of the realm acting as their arm when it comes to enforcing the law.

[godslay]

[ Reluctantly, Gamora lets him move away to lie beside her, and she rolls onto her own side, watching him with a lazy smile as he kisses her hand. ]

You seem to think so.

[ And it still... awes her sometimes. The way Peter looks at her is so completely different from the way anyone has in the past, and if she's honest, she never thought someone would look at her this way. She feels seen.

It's a gift.

She scoots in, closing the distance between them to rest her forehead against Peter's, her nose gently knocking against his. ]

Thank you.

[talentedscavenger]

[There's a nod of her head. If he truly wants to do it....she won't stop him.

Maybe...she wants him to kiss her too? But she can't put that into words.]

If you want to.

[whosthemonsternow]

[She squints at him and the idea of an ear kiss. Sounds weird but she gives one, looks up at the light, pushes at the box. Nope.]

Good fucking god

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He lets her hand drop in favor of wrapping an arm around her waist, letting their legs tangle together.

Yeah, he could very definitely get used to this. A year ago, all of this would scare the shit out of him – feeling like he was inextricably tied with someone. It would have felt smothering, almost, but now, it just felt— comforting. Maybe not comfortable, because this was still new for both of them, but he doesn’t mind stumbling.

He hummed softly, contentedly, as her nose brushed against his, as their brows pressed together, and he smiled a little. ]

What are you thanking me for?

[ Because if it’s for thinking that Gamora is fantastic then, you know, that’s absolutely not a problem. And he’s pretty sure that’s not worth any shows of gratitude, but he’ll happily take it. ]

[godslay]

[ She lifts one shoulder in a shrug, somewhat dismissive of that scrap of her own gratitude. She doesn't say "thank you" often – or much at all, really – so explaining it feels just as unfamiliar. ]

For... all of this.

[ Vague, but it encapsulates everything she is grateful for – the way he's treated her, the way this thing between them has developed, what they've made of their life here...

Every piece of it. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He bites down on his first impulse to make a joke.

(Do you mean the sex? he wants to ask. Because don’t worry – there’s gonna be a lot more where that came from.)

There’s more to it than Gamora’s saying, he knows, though god knows if he’d ever be able to figure it out on his own. This doesn’t feel like something he can easily joke about – not without Gamora clamming up in a way that sets them back again, or in a way that’d make her feel embarrassed or vulnerable.

So instead, he shifts back just enough to press a kiss to the center of her forehead, his hand running soothingly up and down her back. ]

Anything for you.

[godslay]

[ As his lips brush against her forehead, Gamora releases a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. Sometimes, she's uncertain how Peter will respond to bits of vulnerability from her; not out of a desire to be unkind, but because he might not understand why something would be sensitive.

... The way he reacts now is another thing to be grateful for.

She relaxes slowly, and shifts close again, tucking herself against Peter's chest to enjoy the press of his skin to hers. Their legs are tangled with knees knocking, her own arm slipping out to curl around his back and press her palm between his shoulders. This is... good. Really good.

Even if they're both sticky and messy.

Oh, well. ]

I think I may enjoy this mistletoe tradition.

[ Ha... ha... ha... ]

[naturallywavy]

_{[ That's okay, a small part of Gintoki always wants to argue. About everything. All the time. You're good.
Just like that, this stranger gives in, but Gintoki can read him pretty well by the way he looks away from him. Oh, he's embarrassed about this already? ]}

Yeah, problem is there's a certain place you gotta kiss. I haven't figured out what the trick is to that. Any suggestions where you wanna start?
_{[ 'let's make it quick' Gintoki said as he is stalling right now. Oops. ]}

[nostalgiabomb]

[ Peter tries to smother a grin at that. He forgets, sometimes, how alien Earth must seem, considering he’s spent thirty years entrenched in about a billion different cultures. ]

It, uh. Doesn’t usually end like that. Just so we’re clear.

It usually stops at the kissing.

[godslay]

[ She rolls her eyes, giving his back a light pinch. ]

I assumed kissing was the only expectation.

[ Sex just happened to... happen. ]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ He snorts out a laugh, though with the pinch he sucked in an overblown hiss, batting half-heartedly at her hand. ]

C’mon. That hurts.

[ No, it doesn’t. ]

I just wanted to make sure, man. You’re not familiar with Terran customs.

[godslay]

Undoubtedly excruciating.

[ Another pinch – just slightly harder. ]

How many Terran customs intentionally involve sex?

[vedaandme]

Mm... perhaps. We could try something else.

[BUT WHAT? Tieria was at a loss.]

[deploy]

[It's probably not the mouth. They're kissing, really kissing, and John can still see the glow of the mistletoe through his eyelids.

Just to make sure, John's tongue darts out to tease against Rodney's lower lip, dragging against the ridge of his teeth, pushing the kiss into French territory before breaking away. John's hands fall away from Rodney's wrists and back down to his sides, his fingers curling into loose fists, and nails biting just hard enough into his palms to bring him back down to Earth. Or more accurately, the moon. A moon. One of many.

Thinking about space really doesn't make the bubble feel any less crowded. He's hyper-aware of the rise and fall of his chest, just a little too fast to go under the radar. John doesn't go red easily, but there's no denying he's a little hotter under the collar than he started. He can feel the flush in his throat and his ears, and he turns his face away to clear his throat, and hopefully give himself a moment to cool off.]

Mouth's out. [In case that wasn't obvious.]

[tempredmental]

[OH THANK GOD IT WASN'T THE MOUTH.

Keith visibly took a deep breath and let it out in a massive sigh of relief.]

So, that eliminates those.

[He considered what other types of kisses and places where one could kiss that he'd been experimenting with and trying with other people to figure out the different colors.]

Hand? Forehead?

[Please not feet, either. That was just demeaning to the person who had to do the kissing... Same for the ass.]

[nostalgiabomb]

[ His hiss is slightly more genuine that time. ]

C'mon, man.

[ This time, he takes her wrist, tangling his fingers with hers and drawing their joined hands between them. ]

And you'll be relieved to know the answer is "not many."

[godslay]

[ Rather than continue to be difficult, she seems to think Peter’s gotten the amount of pinching he deserved, and she links their fingers easily, pulling them up for a light kiss when he settles their hands between them. ]

I will remember that the next time you try to insist something absurd is an actual tradition.

[nostalgiabomb]

[ A pause, and he grins at her. ]

So I probably shouldn't tell you about the proud tradition of Groundhog Day, huh?