You knew this was coming

[starbolts]

•Mistletoe Meme!•

The Situation:
Crew members who were on Stacy last December remember this. Because GLaDOS is a troll, she has positioned little sprigs of mistletoe on the ceilings of areas of the ship. In hallways, at the entrances to quarters, in a department doorway, at a tavern, she doesn't care how inconvenient it is!

It'd be less inconvenient if it were voluntary, but in this case, the sneaky AI has deployed shields around people who wander under the mistletoe that have not been broken by any known alternate method so far. Any attacks against the shield are absorbed. Attempts at attacking the mistletoe get you singed. The only way to be freed from the confines of your little bubble is to receive some form of affection from another crew member---a strong hug will work for the really uncomfortable, but at least a cheek kiss is expected for most. If GLaDOS wants a mouth kiss, though, let her push for one! Species equivalents of kisses/affection are also acceptable.

So---you're stuck until someone comes to rescue you with a kiss, kids. Have fun, thank you for participating in this crew study experiment, and watch out for the nargles!

((Characters not in the game are of course welcome to join too! It's just on this community this year because it's proven difficult to fit the event around December's plots.))

Comments

[killsfengshui.livejournal.com]

Souls!

[governorkang]

...why is there a plant hanging up there?

[morphitudinous]

...not again! Drat.

[Headbutts the shield in protest, then contacts the engineers on the comm ring]

Guys, could someone grab the old shield-disabler on Bench 5 in the lab and bring it to the east hallway outside the Observation Deck? I need to make some adjustments to it, and I'm currently unable to come collect it. But be careful---there are sprigs of mistletoe positioned on the ceilings, and if you walk too closely under one you'll be trapped too.

[boundlesslight.livejournal.com]

I am...trapped? What is this?

[Flies up and down the column, pokes at it, blasts it, no dice. She finds what's on top.]

Is this plant hiding the shielding device?

[She pokes it, blasts it, and gets slightly singed for her efforts.]

[killsfengshui.livejournal.com]

Hm.

[Have a Mei-Xing leaning against the wall.]

Trying to trap people with you? That's not very heroic.

[killsfengshui.livejournal.com]

Because someone put it there, obviously.

[re-engineer.livejournal.com]

Sure, no problem. I'll be right there.

[Okay, it takes her about fifteen minutes, all said. She gets there with the shield-disabler in hand...but get caught just before she gets to Billy.]

Hmm. I see why you were developing this.

[morphitudinous]

No, I'm trying to adjust it to free myself and anyone who gets stuck afterward. They know not to come too close, and they can pass it across the floor to me. It's not how I'd prefer to handle delicate machinery, but objects can be passed through the barrier safely. People can't, unless they intend to kiss.

[Which he doesn't. At least he doesn't have to kiss the machine.]

[morphitudinous]

[Frowns and reaches out to her]

Here, we can still slide objects back and forth. It's actually an old project, but I believe it might be able to help us here.

[allnaturalseed.livejournal.com]

[Look up. Look down.

Poke poke.

Punch - OW!]

...this some kinda joke?

[re-engineer.livejournal.com]

[She bends and slides the disabler toward him.]

This is kind of a pain in the tush, honestly.

[governorkang]

[Have a look, Mei-Xing.]

Obviously. But why?

[morphitudinous]

[Catches it and starts fiddling]

It can get worse. What if no one had heard us? Months ago, I was trapped for several hours and I didn't have the benefit of this device. I was taunted by GLaDOS until someone found and freed me.

[Frustrated fiddling and pushing] I'll get this out as fast as I can.

[killsfengshui.livejournal.com]

And what if this little gift of yours doesn't work?

[She leans in, skirting the shield.]

Is it tested?

[morphitudinous]

It's tested against certain types of shields. I need to determine which type this is and if it's breakable.

[Frowns and leans back] If not, we'll have to fall back on the failsafe plan from last time.

[killsfengshui.livejournal.com]

Why do Americans do anything? They're all mildly retarded over there, it's something in the water.

[governorkang]

[He snorts, and begins to walk away.]

I'll ask someone else - what? The hell is this?

[Aaaaand he's stopped by some invisible barrier.]

[re-engineer.livejournal.com]

Of course, you've been working on that where Stacy could see it since last year, so GLaDoS probably knows about it.

[Angie leans against the shield wall.]

How do we get out of it?

[killsfengshui.livejournal.com]

What?

[Is she all up in your bubble, Billy?]

Which was? If you say 'call Kang', I'm probably gonna slug you. Just so you know.

[killsfengshui.livejournal.com]

[Have a slow clap.]

I'll give that a four out of ten. You could've done that better.

[She's leaning against the barrier. Yes, Kang. That's right. She knew it was there.]

[morphitudinous]

[Mutters under his breath] It's still worth a try.

The expected response is to kiss, and that's always worked, but I'd like to find an alternative---not because I find the idea of kissing abhorrent, but because I understand that not everyone will want to.

[He's not still afraid of cooties, he just...wants to spite the AI]

[governorkang]

[Oh you elf bitch.]

You know what's going on here, don't you?

[morphitudinous]

[Flustered]

Why would I do that? I highly doubt he'd be amused, and it's better if we have willing participants.

Last time, we arranged a network over the omnicoms for people to report where they were trapped. A volunteer would kiss them to break the shield.

[re-engineer.livejournal.com]

[Angie snorts at that, still leaning against the shield.]

That's an interesting one. Though, one supposes, understandable given the mistletoe 'bait'.

[morphitudinous]

Yeah, it's an experiment to 'foster and study affection between crew members'.

[He keeps working, making small noises of frustration]

I've been through the whole spectrum, should I check again? The shields will give a little if your intent is to kiss, but I'd rather we weren't forced into that.