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

[deploy]

I know.

[Jim is with someone. John's known that since they first met, and has heard plenty about him since. Jim's in love with him, too. Has told him as much. John isn't so chatty on the topic of relationships, but he listens to him while they fly.

Lately, Bones is all Jim talks about. And for good reason.

Which is why this is wrong, and John's wrong for pushing it farther than it should have gone. He knew what he was doing. He always does. It's been a long time since John Sheppard could plead innocent to anything.

He should be the one apologizing.

Jim's breath had tasted so sweet against his lips. Forbidden fruit always does. The sound Jim made when he pulled away, echoing John's want, albeit purely physical, had gone straight to his gut.

At the very start of this, John had pushed Jim away. As if he were the one who needed protecting, knowing full well the damage he's capable of. The things he's done. All the ugliness he keeps under lock and key, hidden stealthily behind a smile.

John's got a lot going on under the surface, more than Jim could, or would, want to know. Now that Jim's gotten a taste of it, John wonders if he won't see the rubber stamp come Monday. He's been remustered for less. Jim is cavalier about a lot of things, but his heart isn't one of them.

John pats Jim on the shoulder, and pulls away. Even if it's the last thing he wants to do. He wants arms around him. A head on his shoulder. Someone to hold. Which is exactly why he needs to let Jim go.]

Now that's what I call a Hail Mary.

[He points up with one finger. The mistletoe is gone.]

[winscenario]

[ It feels wrong. Jim feels as though he's just done something terrible, even if he did it to be rid of the plant's barrier. It's worse than just that, though.

Because he knows he teased John, and he enticed him more than he should have. He probably touched him more than he needed to before they kissed, and worst of all, he enjoyed it all a little too much.

He of all people can recognize attraction when he feels it, and that's what it is. He's attracted to John. Granted, it changes absolutely nothing, because he's still in love with Bones and he still wants to be with him, but it feels wrong. It feels as though he was just using the circumstances as an excuse.

Distance is something he needs, something they both need desperately. A clear head that'll help them move past this, and maybe then Jim won't feel like the guilt might just swallow him whole.

He looks up at the plant when John points at it, swallowing dryly. ]

Right. [ He drops his hands from John's chest and takes a step back. He tries, but finds it a little difficult to keep his gaze on John right now. ]

I'm sorry, John. I didn't mean to... [ To egg him on, basically, which is what he did. Jim can't exactly play innocent right now, either. ] I should... probably go.

[ Distance will do them good, he thinks. Time to clear their heads. In the morning this'll all b easier to deal with. ]

[deploy]

It's fine, Jim.

[John wants to say something more, but Jim is already retreating. And John's a coward.

He's never known how to face his personal issues head-on. So he runs, or he buries them.

But like a body in a shallow grave, his skeletons always seem to find their way back to the surface. The best he can do is bury them again.

He folds both arms over his chest, and does his best impression of the guy he pretends to be. The smiling one.]

Seeya.

[winscenario]

[ Jim bites the inside of his cheek, stopping himself from calling John out on that blatant lie. It's not fine. It's not fine for John, and it's not fine for him either. This was a terrible decision and he knows he's in large part to blame for it.

He started it, after all. The teasing, the flirting, getting a little too close— shit, he even started kissing John first. What the hell did he think would come from this? ]

See you.

[ Jim doesn't smile, despite being good at feigning that too when need be. He can't muster the focus or energy to look like anything but the sorry and miserable mess he feels like right now.

He's not really sure what he can do to fix this, honestly, but he does know being close to John won't help either of them. So, glancing away, he turns around and starts walking, only daring to take a deep, cold breath when there's a considerable amount of distance between them. ]