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

U CHOOSE

[volitaunt]

[ Poe had been trying to catch up with you sorry about that Finn. He was like. Right within shoulder-grab-and-greeting distance when The Mistletoe happened.

He was trying to escape someone who was trying really really hard to get him under another sprig.

And now he is capable of knocking on the air around them and there's a very annoyed looking man being forced to go about his business. ]

Uh.

[ Kriff. ]

It goes away after an hour.

[ He's had to kiss a lot of people today, Finn. ]

rng said yellow and my ass agreed

[bythehand]

[ He spins on the spot in order to better stare Poe down. The spinning is maybe less easy than the staring, considering how little space there is, but Finn manages. He's long used to operating without personal space.

But boy, he doesn't like this setup. He doesn't like that there are only two options and they seem stacked to encourage one in particular: it gets his hackles up. It's not fair. So the first thing he can think to say, perhaps about as determinedly as humanly possible, is: ]

We don't have to do anything.

[ This is not so much directly to Poe as it is for himself. But he figures if Poe needs to hear it confirmed out loud as much as he kind of does, at least it'll be out there.

Finn glances up at the plant-based sower of discord like he's considering the merit of throwing his shoulder into the invisible wall out of spite. I say "like". He is legitimately considering it. Not for the first or last time since he got here, he wishes there was a person to directly punch in the face or something to shoot to fix this city-wide crisis. Then, almost as an afterthought-- ]

I told you the next holiday wouldn't be as good.

oh no it's gon be cute

[volitaunt]

[ For a second, Poe just stares at Finn, and then he cracks up laughing.

Of all the encounters he's had today, this is the one, the one where he doesn't even entertain the idea of being trapped or afraid. If he's with Finn, one way or the other he'll be fine. ]

Means the next one has to be better though.

[bythehand]

[ Okay, Poe laughing does inherently take the power away from Finn's reactionary tension. At the very, very least, this means there won't be two panicking people occupying the same three-foot space. Which is sort of the ideal for these situations. It takes him down from an 8 to about his default 3 or 4 on the relaxation scale.

HE WOULD STILL THROW HIS HANDS INTO THE AIR IF IT WOULDN'T PROBABLY SMACK POE IN THE FACE IN THE PROCESS. But now for different reasons. Finn finds his way around these limitations, with much exasperation. He doesn't skip a beat: ]

No optimism or enjoying yourself in my half of the invisible magic trap.

[volitaunt]

[ Cue Poe shifting so he can throw an arm across Finn's shoulders, wearing his near-customary shit-eating grin. ]

I told you to practice. Did I not tell you to practice?

[bythehand]

[ Rude. ]

You told me I could pick one thing to practice on. This is definitely not worth practicing on.

[volitaunt]

Sure it is! Master the little things, the big things come easier.

[ He leans back against the barrier, arm still over Finn's shoulders. ] Besides, this is great for me. I could've been stuck with that other guy.

[bythehand]

[ STILL SOUNDS FAKE BUT OKAY. Finn won't shrug him off, he's chill with this.

I'm not saying Finn is a little paranoid, but he's a paranoid dude and he's immediately craning his neck like that guy was just gonna stick around. He guesses they could still track him down if they have to? It doesn't seem like Poe cares all that much, so it's probably fine.

Half-distractedly: ]

Yeah, better you than a stranger. [ Objectively. ] So he was tailing you. I thought he looked suspicious, but everyone's moving differently with these things hanging around. Hard to peg one shady person in a crowd anymore.

[ Mistletoe ruins everything. ]

[volitaunt]

Yeah he... was enthusiastic. [ And a flirt, which Poe doesn't usually mind but he was aggressive about it. Poe ruffles Finn's hair with his free hand. ] You spend a lot of time looking for shady people?

[bythehand]

[ Finn sees no point in Poe ruffling his hair, but he will, without missing a beat, automatically try to get his big floppy hand up to ruffle Poe's right back.

He doesn't even look at him while he does it, he's still scoping out the street for a few seconds. ]

Actively? No. Do I like it better when I know if one's around? Yes.

[volitaunt]

[ And then there's Poe who looks at a shady person who asks if he's Poe Dameron and says "yeah so what".

He half-ducks Finn's hand, though he doesn't put much effort into it.

The two of them seem to be drawing attention from a few passerby--just two dudes hanging out in a mistletoe-induced prison looking perfectly comfortable with one another. It's... not exactly the usual mistletoe scenario, really, since they're not ragingly awkward, making out with enthusiasm, or ragingly wrathful. ]

Have there been a lot of shady people here?

[ MOST OF THEM SEEM PERFECTLY NICE TO HIM. ]

[bythehand]

[ That's exactly why Poe has drawn in so many friends who are suspicious of others.

... he kind of has Finn on that one, though, is the thing. Finn's face says as much. ]

Everything really suspicious is usually higher-level than people out for a walk. [ Governments and their quarantines and their portals and their mysteries. Ugh. Catch him at 4AM when he's properly stewing. ] So no. Not a lot of them. Yet.

[ He doesn't sound super intense about it or anything, though.

And then later that day Ivar presumably sharpens an axe right there in the mistletoe prison while asking about his intentions towards Rey, and the shady person count goes up by one. This is truly a blissful moment of peace in Finn's life. ]

[volitaunt]

[ Like some weird form of self-defense. ]

Fair. [ Which sobers Poe somewhat.

Poe, because he's stuck in a bubble and he doesn't want to be somber and stuck in a bubble, smooches Finn on the cheek.

And then falls over backwards and sort of drags Finn with him because he was leaning on that barrier and now it's gone. ]

[bythehand]

[ Finn is dragged down with a wordless shout, the sentiment of which is roughly something like RUDE WHY DID YOU TAKE HIM WITH YOU POE

I can't believe this is how they die in-game??? My bets were way off. ]

You couldn't wait two seconds to stand up straight just in case.

[ Says impulsive mcgee himself tbh. He doesn't really sound that salty. ]

[volitaunt]

[ Poe lays back, throwing his arms out so it looks like he's going to try and make a snowbird in the middle of the street. ]

Whoops.

[ Does he sound sorry? Fuck no he doesn't. ]

[bythehand]

[ If Finn weren't a good person he'd drop an elbow right here, right now. But he is a good person, so he sits up instead and gives Poe the most side-eyeing side-eye he can muster. ]

Sure, now you say it. [ Where was your "whoops" ten seconds ago! Maybe that would have been too iconic, though. How could any moment in time top it in the future? ]

[volitaunt]

I could say it again? [ Poe sits back up, braced on his elbows. ] We could find some more mistletoe, I could get the timing right.

[bythehand]

[ Why is he even friends with this smartass, he wonders, deliberately ignoring the many, many times he has known exactly why Poe is a good person and a good friend.

Finn heaves a dramatic sigh and looks over at him. Then, deadpan: ]

Guess it's true what they say. If you have to force it, the spark's gone.

[ who are 'they', finn, has anyone ever actually said that to you?? did you see it on a quarantine talk show? were you reading dime novels? Who Knows. ]

[volitaunt]

[ And because Poe is Poe and he's a complete dork, he rolls over enough to grab Finn's head at a really weird angle and yank him sideways to plant another kiss on his temple.

Cue another shit-eating grin. ] Wanna get something to eat?

[bythehand]

[ Get out of here Poe you absolute dork. You'll get yelled at by the referee for extraneous smooching. Or by Finn, who is his own referee.

Finn baps him on the face again with what might be his most long-suffering and amused huff to date. ]

Yeah, sure. If we can get through the magic mine field.

[ He pushes himself to his feet and offers Poe a hand up. ]