THREE... TWO... ONE...

[shieldofrohan]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Is something nobody says, for the very simple reason that at the stroke of midnight, most people's mouths are abruptly occupied. Anyone within earshot of the bells is drawn to the person nearest them, whether they're familiar or a stranger, and regardless of their intentions, those two people are lip-locked now.

Of course, you can choose to be chaste about this, if you really want. But on the other hand, it's gonna be a long kiss if you're not even trying to enjoy it - the enchantment, whatever it is, lasts until the clock strikes one. That doesn't mean you have to kiss that whole time, but neither of you can break physical contact with the other - some parts of your body always have to be in contact.

Might as well start the year as you mean to go on, right?



[[OOC: This event hasn't been sanctioned by the mods, because I'm a dumbass who didn't think about it until like an hour or two ago. If that's a problem, this post may be taken down, and I apologise.]]

[[Your character does not have to be involved if you don't want them to be. Any characters who are sleeping or out of range of the bells - or out of range of other people - are unaffected. If you do want your character to be affected, either post a toplevel describing where they are/what they're doing, or reply to someone else's]]

Comments

Éowyn

[shieldofrohan]

[Éowyn is on her way back from the night shift when the bells start to strike. Her hair is damp from the snow, she's still shivering a little, and she is really not in the mood for these shenanigans.]

[moonshined]

[Remus, on the other hand, was just heading out of the castle to get a look at the moon—the first moon of the new year! Funny how much more he can enjoy things like the moon when he doesn't have to worry about turning into a ferocious beast because of it.

The point is, he's passing Éowyn when the clock strikes midnight, and he's just lifting his hand to wave at her when he finds himself just sort of...magnetically attached to her instead. Mouth to mouth, even.]

...Mmph.

[shieldofrohan]

[The suddenness of it has her reaching for her sword instinctively, even as her mouth hits his.]

Mmph!

[As far as people to be stuck to go, Remus is a long way from the worst. But that isn't saying much, because she's still stuck to someone by the mouth without explanation, which isn't ever going to be a good start.]

[She tries to pull away, and only succeeds in pulling them both back a step. This magic is strong.]

Mmph?

[moonshined]

[Right okay this is just Éowyn, they've done more than kiss before so by that logic it should be fine, right?]

Mmph. Mm—hmph?

[He's trying to ask if she's okay. He's not doing a great job. One hand braced on her shoulder, he tries again to pull away, and—actually succeeds! Great!

Except now he can't move his hand.]

Sorry, so sorry. This is...weird, right?

[shieldofrohan]

[She takes a deep breath, a little pink-faced, and nods.]

To say the least of it. Are you...

...Have you any idea what just happened?

[Frowning, she reaches up to help him pull his hand free. Which does work, but now her hand's stuck to his wrist. This is going great.]

[moonshined]

[Okay, there is clearly some kind of magic fuckery going on here. Remus half-laughs, flopping his wrist uselessly, and manages to brush his hand against her hip at the same time which means, ah yes, it's now stuck there.]

I'm fine. That was...weird. The clock was just striking midnight, and then all of a sudden we were...

[He clears his throat.]

In close proximity. To say the least.

[shieldofrohan]

Hm.

[She takes a deep breath, nodding, and sighs.]

...Then you do not know how it can be undone, either?

[Experimentally, she tries to shift her hand, and finds she can slide it over his skin quite easily, just not lift it off.]

[Well. That's something. She's holding his hand now, which is probably less uncomfortable, if no less awkward.]

[moonshined]

Not a clue.

[Alright, at least they can make themselves a little more comfortable while they figure this out...? His hand slides a little higher on her hip, to a slightly more chaste position.]</small. It happened right as the bells went...maybe we just have to wait for them to ring again.

[shieldofrohan]

[She looks at him a little sceptically, raising an eyebrow.]

An hour will seem a long wait, if you are mistaken.

Yet I see no better course. Perhaps we should... move somewhere else, if we are to wait it out?

[Standing in the middle of the hallway in a draught is not her idea of a fun way to spend an hour.]

[moonshined]

...Yeah, true. I suppose it's only an educated guess. But...

[Remus glances around, and nods toward the foot of one of the grand staircases. It's away from the door, but not so far away to make getting there a pain, and they can at least sit down.]

Sit over there?

[shieldofrohan]

[She follows his gesture, and nods agreement, starting towards the stairs. It's awkward to move, joined together like this, but not impossible. It just requires some rather undignified crabwise walking.]

All I had hoped for was a good rest ere the morning. [She sounds both resigned and very annoyed.]

[moonshined]

[They figure it out, somehow, together, and Remus is glad to at least get into a more comfortable position so they can wait this out.]

I just wanted to look at the moon before bed. But...if you like, you can rest your head on my shoulder. It...it might be a bit more comfortable.

[shieldofrohan]

[She hesitates a moment - partly because she's weighing the risk of getting her face stuck to him again, and partly because there's still just enough of a sense of impropriety to catch her out - but then she does as he suggests, letting her cheek rest on his shoulder with a little sigh.]

[She will never, ever admit how oddly nice it feels, to rest on someone like that, even under duress.]

[It's some time before she speaks again.]

Do you go out often, then? To see the moon?

[moonshined]

[He figures they're already stuck together, nothing could really make this all that much worse...right?

And, well. It's sort of nice, having her resting against him. He likes Éowyn, after all, so he's a lot more comfortable being stuck to her than he would be a stranger.

His free shoulder raises in a shrug.]

Yeah. Every so often. It's peaceful, now, being able to look at it through my own eyes.

[shieldofrohan]

Oh. [She'd forgotten about that.] The... werewolf?

I can scarce imagine.

[moonshined]

Yes, the werewolf.

[His smile is small, but tight.]

I used to fear the moon. Dreaded it. But now? It's sort of like a victory every time I see it.

[shieldofrohan]

[Again, she's quiet. At last, she gives his hand a little squeeze, since she's holding it anyway.]

I am sorry. I had never thought how it would be, for the very sky to be your captor.

[moonshined]

[The squeeze of her hand is nice. Comforting. Remus smiles down at her.]

Don't be. Most people don't have to think about it. And those of us who do...well, we learn to deal with it.

Kaphlar

[ignisvulpes]

[Kaph is loitering outside the castle, half wondering if the kingdom usually celebrates the new year, half thinking to himself that no Real Bullshit (tm) has happened in a while, when he hears the bells ring.

He might be kicking himself in a second.]

talk of past nonconsensual possession i can't believe ford pines means i have to warn for that

[meteorman]

[He is definitely going to be kicking himself. You know who also loiters around outside the castle a lot? Stanford Pines, because he is apparently drawn to trouble and just can't leave well enough alone. So whoever is closest happens to be someone very outside of Kaph's usual, and also someone who is not really a stranger to his body doing things without his permission. Not in a great way. At least he's so familiar with what it would feel like to be possessed that he can rule that out here, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hit right up against Upsetting Memories.

At least there aren't any stairs for his body to throw itself down. A kiss is fine, comparatively, and under normal circumstances he probably wouldn't even be opposed. His hands grip Kaph's upper arms very hard.]

[ignisvulpes]

[What the fuck? Why did he just collide against this old man? Why are their mouths stuck together? Why are his hands stuck to the old man's waist and holy fucking shit, is he ripped? Why is this old man ripped???

He manages to pry his mouth away, but that means he has to hold on to his waist even harder. And also keep his head at a mildly painful 90-degree angle.]

Hey, what the hell? Get away from me!

[meteorman]

[Why would this old man not be ripped, Kaph. Are you saying an old man can't be ripped? Don't be so narrow-minded, gosh.]

I... can't seem to.

[His voice is rough against Kaph's ear. His hands squeeze even tighter.]

[ignisvulpes]

What the fuck do you mean, you can't...?! [Complain as he might, the truth is that Kaph is also trying his goddamned best to pry the old man away from him and it sure looks like he can't. It's not because he's so ripped, is it?? This feels like it has to be more than that.]

And don't talk into my ear like that! People are gonna get the wrong idea!

[meteorman]

[It's definitely something supernatural going on and not just too many muscles, though frankly it might be a little of column A and a little of column B. Who knows. The point is that Ford really does not like this, because if he can't open his hands of his own free will then something is keeping them closed and it's not something he can see or combat. Bad. Dislike.]

Where else am I supposed to talk?

[ignisvulpes]

I-- I don't know! Just don't look at me while you do it, I guess!

[He's fairly certain that would help it look less gay.]