merry merry christmas, and I want you to know

[mansionstaff]

Who: YOU
What: KISSLETOES
When: December 14th - January 1st
Where: Everywhere
Warnings: Sloppy makeouts.

SUDDENLY, AND WITHOUT WARNING...



The entire school has become covered in mistletoe overnight. It grows out of the walls! The ceilings! Everywhere you least expect it? HOW CAN THIS BE??

It's probably best not to think about it. Attempts to uproot the plants or burn them away only makes the plants grow back faster. For the time being, it seems the school must live with it.

[OOC INSTRUCTIONS:
+ Post dudes, get kisses!
+ Some (NOT ALL) plants are cursed. If you manage to step under a cursed plant, you will exchange a memory when or if you exchange a kiss. The memories will be first-person and very vivid, and characters will feel like they are experiencing the memory in real time, though in reality the transfer is instantaneous. Memories can be as short, long, happy, sad, or traumatic as you like.
+ If you'd like to participate, we highly suggest making a list of a few memories (with accompanying links/descriptions) that are up for grabs, and linking or posting the list in your top-level comment. Memory exchange is COMPLETELY OPTIONAL. When in doubt, OOC communication!
+ PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE TAG YOUR CHARACTERS
+ That's it, we love you.]

Comments

GOD DAMN YOU LMFAO

[thereyouare]

It made her cheeks tingle if only because he was helping her, not so much the kissing. Perhaps a little of both. They were sensations she didn't entirely understand but regarded as natural.

The memory that followed was a bit startling, albeit it quick. First it was overwhelming fear. A sense of need to stop the violence about to happen on the premise of it being violence, not so much because it was directed at her. She apparently deserved it....

It was a moment of her crying out, one that came right before a sudden blow to the head. And then darkness.

8D Winner is me.

[bloodycrow]

To be fair, Caim had braced himself for something more. Something else. And instead, he was greeted by something brief, which he was inwardly relieved over. The memory Midna had received from him was far more in depth and lengthy and it left him feeling more than a little vulnerable.

Vivian's memory, however...

Jarring, to be certain. Enough that when it passed, he did end up leaving a hand against her shoulder as if to keep himself steady.

What was that? he asked himself, without an answer. I could not see enough to tell...

"...Do you often find yourself in times of trouble?" he asked her, a clear furrowing of his eyebrows, for there was very little way to hide his concern.

and loser is me.

[thereyouare]

"YES, AND MOTHER MARY COMES TO ME SPEAKING WORDS OF WISDOM LET IT BEEEEEE"

Vivian quickly whipped her face to the floor, a look of guilt slapping it down.

"I don't mean to be..."

[bloodycrow]

you are the best person ever, said mako to kris, as she rolled around in a pile of beatles 45s

Caim shook his head at her and before he withdrew his hand, he found himself awkwardly patting her, as if he couldn't quite remember how to be gentle or tender. He'd tried to pretend that it was Furiae in Vivian's position, and while that helped, at least a little, it made him almost more near uncomfortable than really certain of his actions, or his motives.

"That was not the meaning I had intended," he corrected her carefully. "I had meant that I am offering my condolences for the things you have endured." Except maybe she didn't know she'd lost a memory. Or shared a memory, in this case.

[thereyouare]

"Oh..."

That was...

Vivian's entire face was nearly peaking in red. Given her skin tone, even the slightest lick of heat made her cheeks glow, but she seemed a tad extra shy about it.

No, perhaps it was more happy.

Yes. Happy.

"That's very nice. Thank you, friend!"

Friend!!

[bloodycrow]

There was a plethora of phrases that didn't define Caim. 'Very nice' and 'friend' were two of them. Somehow Vivian had managed to fit both of them in very close proximity to one another. It was almost like lying to his face, even though she didn't know it. The worst thing that could have happened would have been for Caim to actually begin believing her.

Inevitably he'd wake up and remember the truth. Caim was not a nice person and was not anyone someone should be considering a friend.

"Caim," he corrected her as he motioned to himself. "I am the fencing instructor." He looked her over, more than a little curious. "Are you able to move now?"

I LOVE THEM ALREADY /BREATHES

[thereyouare]

"Yes," she answered, wiggling a foot in the air to present her freedom. She wandered out of the mistletoe's grasp. "Thank you."

And now came the staring. This is where Vivian wanted to talk more, know more, and become friends with someone, but she wasn't always sure how.

"Uhm... How can I be your student, too?"

NO HYPERVENTILATING.

[bloodycrow]

The way she eyed him put him on edge. Because he didn't know what to do about it, or even if he was supposed to do anything. Maybe he was just supposed to do his best at remaining professional. Except he wasn't certain how professional he even was. If he was a pro at anything, it was at killing people.

Not communicating. He might have had a voice, but in his opinion, he had too many years where he'd forgotten how to have a normal conversation with someone. Or a kind one. But he supposed it wasn't too late to start over.

"When classes resume session, you are permitted to attend my class as you see fit. I suppose you would need to pay visitation to the guidance counselor to have your schedule amended."

WHEEZES

[thereyouare]

"Really...?"

Oh man. She's just been kind of, you know, showing up at random.

"U-uhm, okay! I really want to attend, please!" A thought was rolling around in her head. "So.. Caim? Can we still be friends, Caim?"

bless you

[bloodycrow]

"Can we still be friends, Caim?"

Had he actually ever had anyone say that to him? Perhaps once in older days when he and Inuart were not at one another's throats for no good reason other than the love of a Goddess who couldn't live a normal life anyroad. Truth be told, the question caught him visibly off guard.

Girl, you have not the faintest who I am or what I have done, he thought as he eyed her hopefulness with a hidden envy. But how long was he going to punish himself for the past? Maybe others didn't forgive him, but they certainly didn't hate himself as much as it appeared he did.

Regret and remorse. Those were things and too many years had passed for Caim to start experiencing them now.

"I think some here would not be pleased by it," Caim began as carefully as he could. "If you feel it is what you want, then I shall welcome you to the best of my ability." Assuming he could even find that ability.

[thereyouare]

That... statement took her by surprise. She even put the tips of her fingers to her lip as she realized what he had said.

So was he like her? She made friends, yes, things were certainly better than before, as far as she understood, but sometimes things about her were still... frowned upon. Like her entire existence.

But it just brought a determined smile to her face. "I want that, please!" And she quickly swiped to take his hand in both of hers.

[bloodycrow]

He had no way of knowing what was going through her mind, but she seemed so transparent that Caim had very little suspicion in assuming there were ulterior motives. After all, he knew who she was, who she served, and while he had no great love for Eggman, he supposed in retrospect Caim was the true villain. And that he could live with.

Even pridefully, perhaps.

He'd meant to bow to her politely in response, but when she took his hand, it sent a foreign jolt over his wrist and up his forearm, leaving a slightly annoying tingle. After a moment, he reached over and he smoothed her hair.

You seem so well acquainted with loneliness to be so pleased by my acceptance... And he didn't know how to take that. It was almost warm in a way, and that was a sensation he wanted to squash down abruptly. If he could.

"Then it shall be so," he agreed with a subtle nod. "If you are in need of something, you may come to me."

[thereyouare]

"Thank you...!"

He was gentle. Nice. She was almost afraid to ask, but -

"And it's... okay? That I'm different, Caim?"

[bloodycrow]

He almost didn't understand what she meant, as indicated by the loft an of eyebrow in her direction.

"Not everyone is the same," he replied as he patted her hand with his free one. "Just be who you are."

Even though in a way, he felt like he was lying. At least to himself. Having a conversation like that when he couldn't even say what he was. But then, he probably should have shut his mouth some moments before. Except she had that prying look that made it hard for him to try to keep silent. Alas, the power of young girls.

[thereyouare]

For a moment she might have looked like she could cry, but a smile persisted. Caim... She was really grateful to hear that right now.

"I understand," she said, though it was a wonder if she really did.

"I will see you in your class, Caim," she declared then, letting go of his hand and waving a little to dismiss herself.

[bloodycrow]

When she released his hand, he found himself bowing in that somewhat stilted fashion, as if he was still trying to figure out just what he'd done in that conversation to make it go so... right for her.

"That you will," he replied, though he supposed it was more for his own confirmation than for her ears.

And though he was left perplexed, he thought somewhere deep underneath all of the silent hatred and agony, he found a part of himself that he'd ignored for too many years, and was the man he used to be.