mistleglow: a winter kiss meme

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mistleglow: a winter kiss meme.

The month of December has been a cold one in Anchor, with the bots working hard to bring a little winter joy to the city. This year, there's a little extra surprise - the bots welcome the participation of the nanites, who are able to join in with the winter holiday protocols for the first time in a long time following their long imprisonment.

And what are the nanites doing? Well...this winter wonderland has been missing a conspicuous offender: the mistletoe. That's where the nanites come in...

▶ The nanites will be floating around in little swarms, lit up bright with various colors, and when they run into any sentient creature, they will enclose them in a harmless invisible shield with a radius of approximately three feet by three feet. Once the characters are entrapped, they'll be stuck for exactly one hour...unless they kiss!

▶ There is no compulsion to kiss, and characters are welcome to just wait out the hour and hope they're stuck with a good conversationalist, but if they want to get on their way, they'll have to kiss their fellow captive, in a specific way depending on the color of the nanite swarm that's trapped them.

▶ The bots will be helping by helpfully informing any trapped characters they need to kiss as they pass by. They won't say what kind of kiss because that would make it too easy. But at least now you know, right?

▶ This meme can be counted as game canon and used for AC if threads continue into January (don't forget: December is check-in only) if both parties wish. Characters who are not in the game are welcome, and threads from this meme can also count for application samples! Come join us!

▶ How to Participate: Just post a top-level detailing the types of kisses you're interested in, and then tag around to other people's top-levels.

▶ Kiss Type Legend:

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

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Comments

[benhargreeves]

[ Ben, who is still holding Kieran's hand, does indeed help him to sit, waits a few moments for Kieran to get properly settled before he sits, too. It's not a lot of space, so their knees are inevitably touching, but in a way that's kind of nice. If Ben keeps telling himself this is cozy and weird and fun, he won't have any time to think about being locked up and how much he doesn't like being locked up and why he doesn't like being locked up. ]

You always give such great advice, I don't see why this would be any different.

[ Ben is accustomed, by now, with the way Kieran talks down about himself. As if he weren't a wonderful person and a kind, thoughtful friend. Ben knows better than to trust any expectation-lowering or modest thing Kieran says about himself. He knows his friend better than that by now.

There are some things they haven't discussed, though. And that Ben never would have brought up, before... his attitude changed. ]

I guess I don't really know, I mean... was there ever anyone you, um? [ Ben hesitates, looking for the right word: ] Um, courted? Or that you fell for, even if it never actually... became anything?

[sleepyhollowed]

[Kieran's ears and cheeks turn pink as he considers the question and he starts picking at some hypothetical lint on his pants--even though he clearly can't see that there isn't any there. It isn't that he's uncomfortable--Ben is a close enough friend that Kieran knows he won't poke fun at him for his experience...]

That, uh, I can't say I got much goin' on there.

[...or lack thereof.]

But, u-uh, before I showed up here [re: died], there was a girl who was with the Van der Lindes. Mary-Beth.

[The way Kieran almost whispers that name, breathy and heartfelt, hints at how much she really did mean to him.]

She--she was just so kind to me from the start. Hell, she broke the rules and gave me water and talked to me when they had me tied up to that tree. Only one other person did the same thing.

I remember the first time I got up the nerve to talk to her after they freed me... I was just tryin' to make some conversation, but I wound up blurtin' out that she was pretty.

D-Didn't end well.

She said I was sweet, but then she called me a horrible O'Driscoll. I, uh, I kinda stormed off after that. She didn't really get a chance to apologize, but then again, it wasn't her fault. Far as she knew, that's all I was. That's a-all I was to the whole camp at that point, and I didn't exactly do anythin' to change her mind with how I reacted.

[He takes a moment to rub at the back of his neck. Kieran had been as polite as anyone could be when up and leaving a conversation, but it still sends a guilty pang through his heart when he thinks about the look on Mary-Beth's face when she realized she'd hurt him.]

W-We talked again, though. She was nicer to me after that, but as far as I was concerned, it was water under the bridge, anyway. We joked around, ate together, cleaned together... I even asked her about readin' once--Lord, Mary-Beth loves readin'.

[A smile had already began to cross Kieran's face, but then it breaks out into a full grin.]

Her eyes would light up every time she got a chance to talk about one of her books, and, I-I don't think she knew she did it, but her nose would scrunch up every so often when she turned a page. Sh-She had these real cute freckles that just made it all the more special.

She said she'd teach me how to read after I told her I couldn't. The way she said it, though, I... you know... I think she meant somethin' more.

Probably wishful thinkin'.

[His smile falters.]

Never got to find out, either way.

[benhargreeves]

[ Ben listens without interruption, only moving to hug his legs to his chest and rest his chin on his knee. Kieran knows him well enough by now to know that even if he is silent, he's attentive; that listening quietly and patiently is some of what Ben does best.

It's quite a story. Ben can hear how much Mary-Beth means to Kieran, just from the way he says her name. Like he's afraid of getting it dirty with his voice, like it's some precious thing, to be handled carefully. A few little unanswered questions fall into place as Kieran tells him all of it. This is his friend who loved reading so much; this is at least part of why it had mattered so much to Kieran, when Ben taught him to read. It was something he'd been looking forward to, in a quite different context, before his life had been so cruelly cut short.

There are reminders of how much suffering Kieran had gone through in his life littered through the story. He liked Mary-Beth because she had given him water and spoken to him while he was being tortured. She'd called him no better than the people who ended up blinding and killing him (the ones Ben had dispatched (or at least some version of them) in that awful shift. And just when they had been coming to understand one another, their chance to be together had been taken away.

Ben wishes right then, so badly it's almost a physical ache in his chest, that he could have done something to change it all. That he could do something now to give Kieran some peace, some happiness, a second chance. The way he, himself, had been given a second chance.

When Kieran finally finishes speaking, there is a long moment of quiet before Ben says, softly. ]

I don't believe it was wishful thinking, Kieran. 'Cause I know you, and - I wouldn't say you're someone who assumes people like him more than they actually do. You do the opposite of that. So I think... she must have meant it that way, and had probably been feeling like that for you for longer than you realized.

[ Ben really does like the sound of Mary-Beth. Someone to break the rules to give water to give some small comfort to a prisoner. Someone a little feisty who didn't tolerate then-strangers commenting on her looks. Someone who could recognize when her assumptions about another person were wrong, and amend them. ]

I wish I could have met her. She sounds really wonderful.

[sleepyhollowed]

Yeah, she is.

[For a moment, Kieran wants to bring up the book he received from Finn and how he's pretty sure it's something Mary-Beth wrote (if that pen is anything to go by--he'd recognize that fancy thing anywhere), but that would only bring up more morose feelings. He can wait for another time in the future to tell Ben about that much.]

[Plus, it'll give Kieran a reason to talk about her later. That's always nice.]

I don't think I'd want her to show up here, though. Not with it bein' so dangerous and confusin'.

S-So, uh, w-why'd you ask about all that anyway? You got somethin' goin' on?

[benhargreeves]

[ Ben silently considers, for a moment, making some comment about how Kieran's world seems a hell of a lot more violent than this one, and that even though its dangers are unfamiliar, the Anchor might be an improvement on gangs that tortured and murdered one another. But there's really no way of bringing that up without possibly dredging up some very traumatic memories, for Kieran. And it might sound like he was judging Kieran's world (which he is, but still) and it's just... a can of worms he decides against opening.

Even if Mary-Beth doesn't show up here... maybe Kieran will have a second chance with someone. Who knows. Ben hopes he will find happiness, one way or another.

Then Kieran asks if he has something going on, and Ben feels his face heating. He rubs a hand against the back of his neck. Even without being able to see these clear signs of bashfulness, Kieran will no doubt hear it in the little huff of breath Ben exhales as he searches for the right words. What context should he give? How much is too little, how much too much? And... what will Kieran think? There are any number of reasons he might find what Ben's about to tell him... strange. Unnatural.

His heart is beating hard as he begins, very haltingly: ]

I was asking because... I just assumed for a really long time that I'd missed my chance. For all that stuff. When I was alive I pretty much never saw anybody but my family, plus I - figured with my powers, who would want to get anywhere near me, and then I died when I was sixteen so it didn't matter one way or another. I got really used to just. Not thinking about it ever. But um. I'm alive again and recently. I realized recently there's somebody I... have feelings for. So that's why I - thought it wouldn't hurt, asking for advice or. Trying to talk about it a little. Even though it's... really embarrassing. And hard.

[sleepyhollowed]

[Judge Kieran's world away, Ben. It wasn't exactly a bastion of love and hugs.]

[Speaking of judgment, Kieran refrains from doing exactly that as he listens to Ben. He nods occasionally to show that he's still engaged and doing his best to keep track while understanding.]

[He can't help the smile that cracks at ht emend of Ben's revelation. He's not making fun of his friend--not in the slightest--he's just that genuinely happy for him.]

That's great!

I mean, n-not that you think it's embarrassin', but that you got somethin' worth bein' embarrassed about.

You can keep on talkin' to me about it. If it helps.

[benhargreeves]

Thanks, Kieran.

[ Ben smiles, too - a fragile and shy thing, hidden quickly as he ducks his head forward. He does feel a little guilty, now, sharing his happiness, when he'd just learned that Kieran hadn't gotten a chance to be with Mary-Beth. But then he looks up and sees that coaxing smile on Kieran's face, and when he speaks again, telling him to keep talking, Ben tries: ]

I keep thinking... it has to be too good to be true, you know? Like any second I'm going to wake up and realize it was a dream, or even if it is real, then the next time I see - [ Ben hesitates, just for a second on the pronoun, giving Kieran a quick, uncertain glance. ] - him, I'm going to say something wrong or do something wrong and it'll be over and I'll have ruined it.

[ And Ben can't look up at Kieran, now, focusing his eyes instead on his hands as he picks at a stray thread on the cuff of his hoodie. Silently, he reminds himself of the same thing he's been repeating over and over. He hears it in his brother's voice, reassuring him. He is like anyone else. He isn't separate from other people. It's okay, for him to be the person that he is. That the person he is deserves to exist. ]

Do you... know Cole, at all?

[sleepyhollowed]

[Kieran sits and, true to his word, he listens. He's quiet and focused, tilting his head ever so slightly when Ben hesitates--and he can see why. Such things were, to put it nicely, taboo in his time (although he has no idea what the future looks like), but outside of his initial surprise, Kieran doesn't care either way. It's simply not his business.]

[Scratch that. It is his business, but only insomuch to make sure his friend was happy. If this mystery guy brought Ben joy, then that's good enough for Kieran.]

[So he keeps listening up until that question, and that's when his focus breaks. His brow lifts and his shoulders relax when he hears someone familiar.]

Yeah! He's a nice boy. Takes a little gettin' used to, but he's helped me a bunch.

[benhargreeves]

[ Kieran's lack of a reaction is a relief, to Ben. He speaks a little more confidently, from that point on. Still embarrassed, but with less long gaps, less obvious unease. He should have known Kieran wouldn't be awful about it. Kieran isn't awful, even if he's from such a different time and place. But it's so difficult for Ben to really expect to be treated well, even now.

He glances up from his cuff, sees Kieran's face. There's no disgust or disapproval, there. Not even pity.

When Kieran calls Cole a nice boy, Ben just... beams. ]

He's helped me, too. It's what he does. He helps and helps but if you do even the tiniest thing to help him, he acts like - he's just - not a lot of people go out of their way to be kind to him. And I want to. All I want to do is... is be around him, and make him smile, and hear him laugh, and share the things I love with him, and read to him, and make him feel better when he's scared or sad, and -

[ There are other things Ben thinks about and wants, too, but well. Kieran doesn't need to hear those. Ben is working on being less closed-off and shy, but he's got limits. He's not going to talk about wanting to kiss Cole, even if it's something that's been on his mind just a startling amount, lately. ]

[sleepyhollowed]

[The fine lines under Kieran's eyes slowly deepen as a grin starts to spread across his face, following the list of things he finds wonderful about Cole. There's something almost intoxicating about listening to another person talk about something--or in this case, someone--they care about more than almost anything else in the entire world.]

I startin' to think yer just lookin' fer a reason to brag instead of advice.

[HE'S TEASING.]

[benhargreeves]

[ Ben's face is very flushed, by now, and he covers his burning cheeks with his hands. He ducks his head forward when Kieran very gently teases him, shaking his head and saying: ]

I'm sorry, I promise I'm not trying to brag or anything, I just - can't seem to stop talking about him.

[ Or thinking about him. Ben knows that he's infatuated. He's seen his siblings go through it, he's read about it in books, but he's never felt it before. He'd had no idea how potent it would be, how wonderful and distracting and terrifying all at once. ]

I'm not used to feeling like this.

[ Ben glances up to see that Kieran is smiling at him, that he doesn't just look tolerant or patient, but genuinely happy for him. Still clutching his own face, Ben says: ]

The only advice I was looking for, I guess, was - how to keep myself from screwing it up.

[ Happiness like this feels so impossibly fragile, to Ben. Like it can't possibly last. And he still values Kieran's opinion, Kieran's wisdom and advice. No matter whether Kieran himself believes he is qualified to give guidance. ]

[sleepyhollowed]

[If only Kieran could see him! He'd have plenty to say about those red cheeks and goofy grin. He can hear the gentle tap of ben's palms against his cheeks, however, and can guess what's happened.]

[His smile widens.]

Hmm...

[Despite that smile, he's treating ben's question seriously.]

...Well, uh, w-what are you expectin' to go wrong?

[benhargreeves]

I - I don't know. Nothing specific.

[ Ben does know, though. He knows where his anxieties lie, the cracks inside him, the shattered places. It's just... difficult to talk about. But Ben trusts Kieran, deeply.

So he sucks in a small breath and explains in a low voice: ]

He promised he wouldn't let me hurt him, but I guess - I spent so much of my life convinced I was evil and that anyone who got close to me would be in danger. Part of me is still worried. Cole is so... good, and I just. I couldn't live with myself if I made things worse for him, when he's already been through so much.

[ It's not the kind of worry that has an easy answer. Ben has been striving hard to unlearn all those things Reginald had taught him to think about himself, but the work is long and hard and some days it seems endless. ]

I guess all I can do is just... try to treat him right.

[sleepyhollowed]

[If there's anything in the world that Kieran Duffy can understand, it's the fear of completely fucking something up. If there's anything he can understand even more, it's actually fucking up.]

[The look on his face is nothing short of empathetic as he listens to Ben's concerns.]

[When he first tried to talk to Mary-Beth, the conversation imploded on itself in spectacular fashion, and he hadn't helped.]

Yer not evil, Ben. I-I know you know that, but, uh, it helps to hear, you know?

And yer not gonna make things worse fer Cole. Just by tryin' to treat him right yer already makin' sure yer not gonna.

[He scratches the back of his neck.]

Besides, i-if you accidentally did do somethin' that, I dunno, h-hurt his feelin's? That doesn't mean that you m-messed up everythin'. That's why you talk and make up.

[benhargreeves]

It does. [ Ben thinks about just leaving it there, but instead, he says, voice quiet: ] It helps a lot, to hear it. I don't - know it every day, you know?

[ He glances up at Kieran, a small and slightly rueful smile at one corner of his mouth. It's hard, when he wants to be proud of the progress that he's made, admitting that he still has bad days. That this whole not hating himself thing is a work in progress, still. Ben wishes it were just a switch he could flip, a single choice he could make. ]

Thank you, Kieran.

[ In a burst of fondness he reaches over, taking Kieran's hand. His touch is careful, and he makes enough rustling noise as he moves so that Kieran will not be surprised. He's getting used to small measures like these. Then, in an impulsive moment of fondness, Ben brings Kieran's hand up to his mouth and plants a quick kiss to the back of it. It's an affectionate gesture, childish and noisy and, well, silly. Kieran brings out the silliness in Ben, at times. Makes him feel a little less like an old man before his time.

There is a distinctive POP as the bubble around them vanishes, the nanites ceasing to glow and flying off quickly to harass some other unsuspecting residents. ]

Wait, that's it? Seriously? That was all it took, this whole time?!