quaranmeme | MISTLEGLOW: a kissing meme

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!mod meme: holiday

MISTLEGLOW: a kissing meme

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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[ No red or orange for youngsters; game canon or not I am happy either way! ]

[The mistletoe is annoying, but it's not enough to stop Taako from leaving the house, not when he has shit to do, and he's not going to let it stop him from talking to his friends, either.

So when he spots Cisco, Taako all but skips over, announcing himself with a quick what's up before he slings an arm around Cisco's shoulders.

And then promptly feels that little knowledge-drop that he's quickly come to associate with the glowing mistletoe.]

Hachi-machi...

[This is gonna be awkward.]

[ It's been a little while now, that these floating mistletoe landmines have been wreaking havoc on Cisco's schedule. He's gotten good at looking up while he walks and avoiding them, for the most part. It's even been a day or two since he got trapped, and maybe that means he's gotten cocky. But he isn't even thinking about them, when Taako makes a beeline for him and then drapes himself on Cisco's shoulders, making the both of them stagger a step to the left.

Which is when they set the damn thing off, and Cisco knows, right away. He sees the shimmer of the barrier coming down around them, has that flash of insight (so superfluous by this point) that they'll have to kiss to get out. And there's something else, too. Cisco doesn't know if he's imagining it or not, but even when he isn't touching those walls, it's like he can feel them there, hemming him in. It makes the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

The morning has already been ten kinds of shitty, and only looks to be getting worse when Cisco glances up and sees the color of the mistletoe. He'd worked out by this point that the color had some bearing on what was required to get out, but he doesn't know: ]

What's orange mean?

[ If Taako has no clue, they're going to have to go with trial and error. ]

[Taako isn't really fussed about small spaces, but he still lets go of Cisco now they're playing the mistletoe game, just to give him a little space.]

This one's a first for me.

[Still, ever playful, Taako waggles his eyebrows.]

How do you wanna play it, my fella?

Shit.

[ So much for that. It's not Taako's fault he doesn't know, just like it's not Taako's fault that they ended up under this thing. Cisco folds his arms across his chest, letting his head fall back against the invisible barrier. ]

I'ma just assume teleporting out is off the table?

[ But there is still a little note of hopefulness in his voice as he asks that. Taako's a powerful wizard, after all. If anybody Cisco's run into could get out of one of these things by unconventional means, Taako would be that person. ]

Pretty sure the thug that cooked this up planned for that, or we'd be outta here by now.

[If Taako knew he could magic himself out, none of this would be an issue.]

Let's uh, let's compare notes, what have you got so far? If it's glowing blue that's on the hand, red is on the lips, yellow's the cheek...

[Maybe there's a pattern to it?]

Figures.

[ So much for that idea. Cisco lets his head drop back against that wall a few times; he is really trying, to keep his mood from sinking lower, but he's not having all that much success. It's a hell of a lot better, being in this situation with Taako than it would be with just about anybody else save Eddie, but it's just not a good day for it.

Comparing notes is a good idea, though, and Cisco listens while Taako rattles off some colors. He hadn't known about red, and files that information away for later. ]

Green's forehead. No idea about purple. I've seen some of those but I steered clear.

[ Then, an idea occurs to Cisco, and he pulls out his phone, tapping away as he explains: ]

Hang on, this is absurd. What are we doing, just standing here like we gotta Sherlock this shit out, I'm crowdsourcing this mothfucker.

[ And Cisco proceeds to send out a mass text, asking if anybody knows what kind of kiss is required for the orange-colored mistletoe. It's not a perfect solution, because now all of them are going to know he got caught in this situation, but it's better than the alternative. Besides, it's not like everybody else hasn't been ending up in this same awkward position. Cisco is pretty sure everyone in the Quarantine has gotten caught at least twice by now.

Four people text him back right away; one to say they don't know, and three to give an answer that matches for each of them. Cisco only says: ]

Oh.

[Taako laughs at Cisco's solution, because - yeah, that's probably a way smarter way to figure this shit out, so he leans himself back against the bubble while the little text conversation happens.

And then Cisco gets some responses, and it's pretty easy to tell that they're not amazing.]

How bad is it? Don't spare me the gorey details.

[ Wordlessly, Cisco holds out the phone in Taako's direction, where the notification for multiple texts read:

It's the neck
Neck.
No clue, good luck dude!!!
For the orange ones a kiss to the neck

The fact that Cisco isn't ranting sarcastically about the situation, or turning it into a joke, or talking at all, is fairly telling all on its own. When he's sure Taako's seen what he needs to see, he shoves the phone into his pocket once more. ]

[Unlike Cisco, Taako puts a hand on his chest with a sigh of relief.]

Fuck, from the look on your face I thought I was gonna have to suck some dick in the middle of the street.

[But he's not compeltely oblivious to Cisco's situation over here.]

You okay?

[ Taako's casual obscenity is enough to break through Cisco's bad mood; he giggles, startled at first, and then with that particular kind of lightness that comes from a sudden release of tension. Taako is right. It could be much worse than it is. ]

Who knows - maybe that's purple?

[ And then Taako's asking if he's okay, and Cisco stops laughing. He'd thought he was being very subtle, but of course, as ever, he was not. He goes back to being silent, feeling torn. The right thing to do would be to laugh it off as silly, a silly little nothing. It was only Taako, after all. They both knew things between them aren't in any way romantic, and never will be. So what was the issue?

But Cisco can't seem to bring himself to open his mouth and just say go for it, or even sure, get it over with. He tries, but nothing comes out. ]

Can, um. I'm not... [ Cisco stares at a point somewhere near Taako's elbow. It seems so selfish, to ask what he's asking. ] Do you think we could maybe... wait. Please.

Purple would be the blowjob color.

[It just feels Right somehow, as if the universe has decreed it, but for all Taako's jokes, he's trying to keep things light for a reason. This really doesn't phase him, Cisco sits in the same category that Barry does, which is a friend that's completely unfuckable, not because he doesn't think Cisco's attractive or anyything, it'd be the same as the fake kisses Barry would sometimes give him, pretending to fall for the twins switching their clothes.

But if Cisco doesn't wanna do it, they won't.]

For sure, my dude. [Still, in an attempt to make Cisco feel less guilty about the request:] Are you worried you'll suddenly realize you've been into me all along?

[a joke!]

[ When Taako agrees, without hesitation or recrimination, to give up the next hour of his day just to make Cisco comfortable, he shuts his eyes, grateful and relieved. ]

Thanks.

[ Cisco's arms stay folded, but his body language shifts, becomes less tight and defensive. He opens his eyes once more, and his demeanor is closer to his norm as he quips: ]

God help us all if there's a pink one up in here somewhere.

[ He plays along with Taako's joke, smile a touch lopsided. Cisco's discomfort over the whole idea had not, after all, had anything to do with his feelings about Taako specifically. Quite the opposite, in fact. So it's a relief, to joke as if that were the truth: ]

Oh, yeah! Head over heels, like that. I'd be composing you love songs on my guitar and singing them under your window every night, Eddie would be heartbroken and turn to a life of crime, and I would end up dueling Rin to the death. All very messy and unnecessary. Better to leave that Pandora's box of raw animal attraction unopened.

[Thats a little further than Taako had thought about the joke, so he laughs at Cisco's dramatic little future.]

See, you've ruined it there, you know I wanna see two people dueling to the death for me.

[He would, too.]

I'm sure we can still arrange that. I could, like, slander your name or something. Isn't that a thing people duel over?

[ Cisco squints as if contemplating it and then shakes his head. ]

Just not the same if you ask me.

[ He can't help wondering, though, how many people across the city are having tense and uncomfortable conversations with boyfriends and girlfriends over this whole mistletoe nonsense. Probably whoever installed it only meant the best, but really, it's probably sowed the seeds of a whole lot of chaos. ]

So, um, I'm guessing from how fast you listed those other colors that you've gotten caught in these things a few times before?

Do I look like I know shit about dueling?

[He is a delicate flower who's never enacted any kind of violence ever in his life.]

Oh, yup, I got stuck with Poe, Loki and Val. [and then, with a grin.] Turns out Poe's a little bit into me.

[Taako don't gossip about that.]

I guess not. And Magnus is more of a brawl guy than a duel guy, huh?

[ Cisco isn't surprised Taako's never been in a duel, but he's got combative friends and he's basically been alive ten times longer than Cisco has at least, so sometimes he just assumes Taako knows a little bit about everything. ]

I don't know anybody named Val. And wow, alright, Poe. You're really out here breakin' hearts and takin' names. He know you got a boyfriend?

[ He's assuming that Taako mentioned it eventually, but curious whether Poe had already known about it by the time he mentioned he was into Taako - had he been trying to break up what Taako had going, or was he unaware... ]

You know it.

[Magnus is a genuine wrestle boy. Just a good brawling boy. A tough boy.]

Val's one of the Asgardians, a fact I already knew but if I hadn't, the way she accidentally slammed into me would've confirmed it. [Those assholes are heavy as shit.] And yeah, he knows, it was uh, one of those situations where his mouth kinda got away from him, pretty sure he'd rather I didn't have any clue about all that.

[which is to say, Cisco can probably relate to someone getting a bit flustered and blabbing about things they'd rather not have shared.]

[ Cisco's wince of sympathy indicates that he's aware of why an Asgardian slamming into you would be very unpleasant. He'd made Angela's armor capable of short bursts of flight - he knows exactly how dense Asgardian physiology is. ]

Ahhh, gotcha. Poor dude.

[ There's humor in Cisco's voice, but genuine sympathy, too. Goodness knows Cisco's had crushes on many people he shouldn't have, despite all his best efforts. And while he could never look at Taako that way himself, he can understand why someone like Poe would fall for him a little. But there was just nothing to be done about it. ]

I'd offer to help him get over it by setting him up with some eligible types but I learned my lesson after The Magnus Incident.

[Taako, who is aware of a fair bit of that whole mess, puts both his hands on Cisco's shoulder, just to make sure the importance of this gets across.]

You should not be allowed to meddle in people's romantic lives.

[He loves you, bud, but........]

[ Cisco opens his mouth to argue, pointing one finger, ready to defend himself from that accusation. But he never quite gets any words out. His arguments all fall to pieces before he can even begin them. He just stands there open-mouthed and speechless for a few moments before saying, affectionately: ]

Shut up.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

MISTLEGLOW: a kissing meme

cisco ⚡️ ota

u kno i had to do it to em (orange for max awkwardness)

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