From being an Abandoned who had rarely left the Hollowed Grounds, to embracing the call of adventure, to dying and being reborn first as an Ascended and then as an Ancient, Maea has gone through quite the amount of changes in her life. One thing remains common, though, in her attempts to find out just where she belongs; she’s always had a craving for knowledge which has brought her to so many places and to meet so many people here in Caido. We can’t wait to see what else is in store for her!
Congratulations, Maea!
Credits
Court of the Fallen was created in October of 2018 by Odd, Honey, and Crooked.
Skinning and hosting by the epically talented Kaons, and functionality fanciness by the coding magic of Neowulf. If you ever see either of them around, make sure to show them some love!
Nephele is not precisely surprised when the rules are announced and the game begins. This seems like quite a strange celebration, but she knows little of Frey or the ways of these people. Their intricacies are just as informative as they are exasperating. Though Neph holds little value in the nature of touching lips in a chaste and platonic manner, she is nevertheless taken aback when a quite young boy is the one to spin - and subsequently land on her.
Though she knows these people age significantly faster than her own, the boy still seems like no more than a babe to her, and it's difficult tog wt past. He's quite cute in a way and she has no qualms with his attractiveness, but as she flutters her wings to drift closer she regards him with a marked seriousness to her expression. "Regardless of these rules, only do as much as your comfort level dictates." Spoken frankly and with no care for who else may hear her, hostess included, Nephele sweeps her hair over one shoulder and holds still, leaning slightly forward for Kaimana to hold the reigns so to speak. She will not pressure him to do more than stare at her face if that is what he so wishes, but she is relaxed and prepared if he would deign to kiss her as well.
2. Having the bottle land on you, indicating you have to perform the first mating ritual.
3. Having your partner chosen for you.
4... A kiss.
You color a vibrant shade of crimson as the pretty (is she pretty? Do you even know what pretty means?) Fae girl drifts toward you on shiny, pearlescent wings. Her comment about comfort leaves you more confused: technically you hadn't even wanted to come this far, yet here you are, about to indicate a willingness for mating you absolutely do not feel.
Nodding slowly, you lean towards the Fae, pausing a moment as you near her. "I don't actually wanna initiate a mating ritual with you," you tell her simply, not unkind at all, your voice sincere and earnest.
Swallowing, steeling yourself, you close the space between your faces and let your mouth meet hers. It is an awkward exchange without finesse, a press of lips, held for the appropriate time (you hope), before you pull away, your blush only deepened beneath your array of freckles.
And just like that, you've had your first kiss. Congratulations, kiddo. You're a real man now.
You watch with interest as your twin is selected for this strange custom. Notebook instantly out, you gawk from the sidelines like some scorned ex-lover, watching with unfettered interest as Kai gives and receives his first kiss. Scribbling notes, your eyes bounce from page to twin and back again. "Describe the sensation. Do you want to mate with this fae? Have you learned anything new from this experience? Has blood rushed anywhere other than your face?"
More questions would follow but you realize that the game is going to continue.
So far so good, Phoebe thought! At least no one was outrightly protesting, and hopefully now that the first round was done, people would relax a bit. "Alright, Nephele, your turn to spin!" the midwife said cheerily.
The first kiss is like watching two awkward teenagers - one who looks like he is, especially if he's Oia's twin - and Hotaru is itching for the good stuff. So when the Fae spins the bottle again and it lands on her, she perks up with a grin like a shark scenting blood. The redheaded woman is distracted but Hotaru fully intends on redirecting that focus to herself. She swiftly stands and readjusts to face the girl, hands coming to cup a delicate face abd drawing her forward into a kiss. There is no hesitance or doubt in this one, Hotaru pressing and playing with the pretty little thing in her grasp. Swiping her tongue to press at the seam of the other woman's lips, and the submission that follows only encourages her to brush and flick their tongues together. Not exactly within the rules, but going further had certainly not been forbidden. With one last parting kiss, and one on the Fae's cheek that she follows eith a smirk and a wink, Hotaru settles back and spins the bottle with a flick of her wrist. Eager for her next partner.
please do me a favor and shut up
I wear heels bigger than your d*ck
Table Code by Sky!
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
Hm. Chaste, brief, she really expected no less. The young man's sister comes to his side, and Nephele's own expression turns curious as talk immediately erupts in rather scientific terms. Curious. Before she can comment or examine it further, she is spinning the bottle and immediately faced with a new bottle. Her distraction is broken by her face is being gently grabbed and tilted, and she's staring into mismatched irises before she is swiftly kissed. It's far different, all-consuming and talented, lingering pointedly in the face of the game's rules. Nephele's stiffness immediately turns into loose-limbed goo as she's promoted by a teasing tongue upon her lower lip to open her mouth. It's no more than a quick indulgence, a brief slide of tongues together that makes her belly clench with desire for more, and then the woman is withdrawing with a last impish peck to her cheek. Nephele stares after her, stunned, lips damp and cheeks a bit pink. The woman winks at her, and Nephele abruptly turns her gaze away, refusing to be flustered but taken aback nonetheless. Quite a good end to the game if she says so herself. Perhaps this Frey deity is not so bad.
Well now! That was a kiss Frey would approve of - at least Phoebe thought so from her vantage point! It seemed that indeed, after the first nervous peck, the group had settled down a bit and were willing to have a good time of it all. The midwife said nothing, simply smiling at Hotaru warmly and gesturing to the bottle that she was now tasked with spinning.
Hotaru grins at Phoebe and spins the bottle, eyes landing on her next victim partner. A handsome scruffy man, the one who had humorously announced he was taken. "I'm not looking for marriage, so come here handsome." With a devilish grin she crosses the circle, leaning forward towards Adam and reaching to hook her fingers into his shirt to drag him closer. Fully intending to be just as devious with this kiss if he'll allow it, if he will care to indulge the brief tease of her tongue or nip of her teeth. Golden hair sweeps across her shoulder as she moves, waiting for him to meet her halfway.
please do me a favor and shut up
I wear heels bigger than your d*ck
Table Code by Sky!
Hotaru has a passive magic that makes her glow with an internal golden light; it makes her appear youthful and her hair seems to look like moving sunlight. Can only subtly illuminate dark spaces.
It seemed Hotaru had taken his warning about his commitments to heart; Adam laughed as he leaned in toward her, winking: "Well, I won't tell if you don't."
Fingers in his shirt tugging him forward and a very attractive woman was a lethal combination. Adam managed to calm down his grin just at the right moment to kiss Hotaru as their lips met, his hand coming up to lightly rest on her neck. He was just as willing as her to give a little tease of whatever it was that seemed needed: a little teeth, a little tongue, his thumb stroking just for a second on her neck.
Hey, kisses from Adam Pikely were gifts. He had to make sure that reputation stayed golden. When he pulled back he smirked at her and blew one more kiss into the air between them.
"If none of you are actively looking for a mate, what is the point of the bottle? Why not simply kiss who you want?" You ask, looking around confused. All of this simply seems like a pretense to kiss someone else under the guise of gameplay. You scribble notes quickly, an unhappy posture crinkling your spine (though it's likely that only Kai will notice).
Oh. It’s that girl again. Lily frows slightly as she seems to condescend their activity. Sticking her head out of the circle and leaning back, she addresses the person (still doesn’t know her name) with a slight tone in her voice. Even though she’s just learned the rules of the game, she answers as if she’s a pro. “Because the anticipation is fun. And if you have a secret crush on someone, you can act on it without anyone knowing.” A slight shrug. “Rejection sucks. Why not find out if they’re receptive beforehand?”
Or, if Oia can translate accurately: fear of being rejected during courtship. And also fun. Subtlety is an art.
You look towards Lily with a bland expression, if only because your previous encounter with her hasn't left the same impression upon you as it has on her. "Anticipation of what? There is only anticipation because of ignorance and a lack of preparation. With the proper tools you could determine where the bottle is going to land based on simple mathematics."
You only vaguely know what a crush is (Kai has explained it to you, but you always get hung up on the absurd wording). "But if the point is to procure a mate, isn't it better to make your intentions known? And if everyone is obligated to kiss someone else based on where the bottle lands, how will you know about their intentions? On the basis of what will you compare their kiss to, to know if it is 'receptive' or not?"
I've got more wit, a better kiss, a hotter touch, a better fuck
than any boy you'll ever meet,
Honestly, this entire conversation is quite reminiscent of how he had explained to Kaimana that sleeping with someone wasn’t just for the sheer fact of reproducing, and he can’t help but to let his steel gaze drift from Lily to Oia as they go back and forth. He remains slightly sprawled out on the blanket, propped up by one elbow as he goes to address her.
“That’s not the point, though.” He rumbles at first, sitting up and focusing his attention entirely on… Kai’s sibling, he assumes. “The point is for fun. Has nothing to do with ‘procuring a mate’. A kiss is a kiss, and sometimes only that.” Though he can safely say he’s already kissed two that sit in this group without there being a spinning bottle involved at all. “But if it’s all basic mathematics, then who do you think you’ll kiss?” A quirk of a smirk toward her and a dark brow raised. He hopes it’s not him, if he’s being honest.
sweetie, you had me
SUNJATA
No permission needed for power play!
Feel free to use magic/force on Sunjata, without killing him <3
Sunjata speaks with an Australian accent and has a passive magic that makes him produce a subtle scent that matches exactly to whatever those around him most desire him to smell like.
"If kissing is for fun, and that is why everyone is here, why doesn't everyone just kiss everyone else? Why bother with the bottle? Surely there are more efficient ways of delegating random pairings." You reply, though you note down what Sunjata is saying just the same.
"I'm not playing." You reply with a shake of your head, indicating pointedly towards your notebook that is already quite full of notes from the proceeding few minutes.
