Closed Summer Camp '23 Unofficial Spin the Bottle Beans! - Group 1

Outfit | Inspiration

Mikael looked up towards Ginyami as the boy approached the group. His gaze slowly moved to look down toward the white-haired boy that appeared to seek refuge in his sweater. Like a child hiding under their covers as if that would protect him from the monster under his bed. The boy's expression soured as the boy asked him why he was there. A question that was nowhere near easy to explain, and left him in a quiet contemplative manner. How was one supposed to even begin? A faint hum escaped his throat as his vocal cords worked together to produce a semblance of a sound. He wasn't too sure why he had decided to follow the very tall tree. Curiosity was probably the more acceptable term. Hunting was probably more accurate. Stalking his prey. Mikael had never been the best at hunting. Something that he had only done at a far younger age. If he closed his eyes he was sure he could reimagine the feeling of grass tickling his face as his father drew near.

This was nothing more than a dry interest that held no merit than to help heed his boredom. Attempting to understand what Valentin saw when he stared at the tall tree. Did he see monsters too? It was something he wished to ask the boy. Something that had remained in his mind that one fateful night he had beaten him to a pulp. Do you see it too? The thought echoed around his head. Mikael would blink slowly before he finally found it within himself to reply to the white-haired boy. "Coursing." he chortled a faint smile playing across pale lips before disappearing fully. Mikael did not really care if the boy knew what that was nor did he care if the other didn't.

Mikael would turn away from the boy allowing the other to bury into his arm. Mostly due to the fact that the tree had decided to sit down next to him. Mikael would turn his gaze towards the brown-haired boy with an unreadable look. A hint of annoyance pulled at his features. He had wanted to watch the boy the entirety of the game, but that would prove hard with the other's proximity. Mikael would turn away from the tree saving his hardened gaze to stare down the rather weird boy across from him. Mikael stared at Hanako Tone with a blank look on his face. It was hard to tell if the boy was being serious. Most people generally avoided being near him, even more so wanting to kiss him. His scar burned slowly into his right cheek. He hated eyes, and there were far too many pairs in this group. Such a concerning tone for a very concerning person. The idea of being close to the boy made his skin crawl. Brows furrowing he listened to the noise that escaped from the jowls of the dark-haired boy. Annoyance pulled at his features, before being momentarily distracted by the strong response that boiled its way out of his generally meek counterpart.

"I can defend myself Valentin... You, talk but there is nothing but noise produced from your voicebox. Are you English? You Englishmen have always been so..facetious." he would speak. His tone was as chilly as the wind of his hometown before melting into something more curious. The boy's words were nothing but nails against the proverbial chalkboard. A strong look would make its way onto his face as the other attempted to get Valentin to kiss him in his stead. He was not too sure why he really cared. He was used to letting Valentin go about life and all its pains. So why was he annoyed at the dark-haired boy? Maybe it was due to the other boy using him as collateral. "That's not in the rules." he would mutter his tone a bit confused. The boy would look to Valentin as if to try and confirm the rules to this very weird English game.

Mikael turned confused as he looked at the teddy bear in the boy's hands. A frown pulled from his lips as he watched the bear fall onto the ground forgotten as the white-haired boy jumped to his feet. A part of him wished to reach out and touch the bear. Soft. Something he did not experience growing up. Did he even have a stuffed animal? It seemed likely, while still young his family had been doing well for themselves. And yet...there was no memory he could latch onto. It was hard to remember that far back. Before he fell into the lake and died. Mikael looked up at the tree's words flowing through his ears. It annoyed him greatly seeing the other put his hands upon the lighthouse. Mikael would give Romeo a hard look that even himself could not decipher. If he was better at understanding emotions maybe he could understand why he felt that way. All he understood was that Valentin was defending him.. Even now? After everything he had put the other through? How many times did he have to push the other away? How long would take it for him to leave like Yefim...like his Mother?

Mikael's eyes widened ever so slightly as he watched the tall tree pick up the small and insignificant boy. Strong arms squeezing the other as if he were nothing more than a grape. A frown worked its way across his face. Dangerous. Was the only word supplied to his mind. Mikael had never hunted a bear before. The boy pulled at the fabric around his throat. The black turtleneck underneath his already hot sweater was particularly sticking to his skin. A sensation that felt quite horrid. Mikael would stare down the other boy a dead serious expression on his face. Jeg ser deg. En bjørn under huden din. Så skummelt til du går i en felle.
(I see you. A bear underneath your skin. So scary until you walk into a trap.) He spoke his tone hushed. His eyes were wide blue eyes focused on the outline of the boy. His gaze fuzzy and unfocused. Watching as the boy tried to attempt to hurt two birds with one stone. He could hardly find it within himself to care. Instead the boy would reach out and grabbed at Valentine's shirt. As he gripped onto the boy he could not decipher if it was more for Valentin or his sake.

Action: Gripping Val and being generally unnerving

Interacting with: Romeo @Piérre Marchonné, @Hanako Tone
Mentions: Valentin @Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood, Ginyami @Jack Burnett

English | Russian | Norwegian

interacting with || @Jorah Moussa, @Opeila Winters
mentioning || @Aaron Jones, @Akari Sato, & pretty much everyone else in the thread

Aly Salinger may have been a very different person than she had been in November, but one thing would always remain the same: she and the clock were not friends.

After signing up for Spin the Bottle, on the day of she'd completely forgotten about it - and now, here she was, rolling up a fair bit of time late, as per usual. Timeliness had never been Aly's strong suit, and it would continue to be a struggle of hers far into the future, if her entire life was any indication. At least this time she hadn't overslept - the Ravenclaw had just plumb forgotten that she'd signed up, until a thought of Hey, didn't I have something to do this morning? hit her out of the blue and she'd hurried off to the Spin the Bottle location.

Her group was clustered round a large red mat decorated with cranes and flowers, to which the teenager gave a derisive snort of laughter as she approached; how ironic. The flower child on a flower mat, even though Aly had long since let go of wearing crowns of flowers in her hair, which had once been her symbol throughout the school. Sure, she still loved the language of flowers - the symbolism of the cherry blossoms adorning the mat was not lost on her (beauty and new life, but also violence and mortality) - but childish dreams of florals had been left behind with childish romances and childhood itself. She was fifteen now, and a lot had happened to her - just as a lot seemed to be happening in the group to which Aly had been assigned.

The cluster of folks her age were mostly boys, shouting at each other and fighting amongst themselves - some with words, and some with more physicality. Aly mostly ignored them, just slipping into a seat around the rug that would hopefully avoid any stray fists, barbed insults, or thrown wizards accidentally coming her way. She found herself next to one of the two other girls in her group, and for the first time, got a good look at the pair. The one that Aly had sat beside, without realizing at all, was Opeila Winters - someone that Aly vaguely knew and had spent time with before, if one could count "trying to bathe Flobberworms in a bathroom sink" as "spending time with". The Ravenclaw and the Slytherin weren't close by any means, but it warmed Aly's heart, at least, to have one familiar face in the group. She smiled at Opeila, waggling her fingers in a quiet little wave.

Then her green gaze landed on the third girl, who appeared to have just finished receiving a kiss to the hand from Opeila, and without even realizing, Aly narrowed her eyes slightly. Because the only other girl in their group was none other than Akari.

Now, Aly didn't know Akari - or, at least, she'd never truly interacted with the girl. But the same could not be said for Aly's ex-boyfriend, Aaron, who had been nothing short of all over the Gryffindor girl in the month since Aly had returned to school. She'd done her best to avoid both of them at the summer camp so far, but it had been almost impossible to turn anywhere in the corridors of Hogwarts without seeing the pair together for the month in which Aly had been back.

She shouldn't have been angry at Akari - not really. Aly and Aaron had broken up, although they'd never really had a blowout fight or anything - it had just been a lone letter in December, discovered by Aly's mum, and Aly had never gotten the chance to reply. Not that she'd needed to. She had understood that letter quite well. If Aaron didn't want to be in a relationship with her, so be it. He could go and downgrade elsewhere. But seeing Akari here, in her Spin the Bottle game? Well, Aly knew instantly that any tales of her here would almost certainly be making their way back to Aaron.

Suddenly, she wished she'd dressed up a bit more before leaving her cabin. A casual floral skirt and white tank top, hair half-held back by a white scrunchie, and white sandals? It was not the showstopper she would have wanted for her first real interaction with her ex's new girl, no matter how lovely she always tried to look, anyway.

But then - a respite. One of Aly's prior Quidditch teammates, Jorah, joined their group, and upon spinning the bottle in the center, would land on none other than Aly herself. Perhaps not the respite she had wanted, but almost definitely one she had needed, lest she join the violence that seemed to rage amongst their group at the moment.

She locked eyes with Jorah from across the circle, then the corner of her mouth curled in a half-smirk. Aly cocked her head at him, as if to say, Well? The Quaffle's in your court, mate.

English & Parseltongue

ᴏᴏᴄ ɴᴏᴛᴇ: ᴀᴘᴏʟᴏɢɪᴇꜱ! ɪ ʜᴀᴅ ᴛᴏ ᴀᴠᴏɪᴅ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ ᴀ ʀᴇꜱᴘᴏɴꜱᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴅᴜᴇ ᴛᴏ ᴛɪᴍᴇ ᴄᴏɴꜱᴛʀᴀɪɴᴛꜱ. ᴏᴡʟ ᴍᴇ ɪꜰ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇꜱ ᴀɴʏᴛʜɪɴɢ ɪɴᴄᴏɴꜱɪꜱᴛᴇɴᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴅɪᴅɴ'ᴛ ᴍᴀᴋᴇ ꜱᴇɴꜱᴇ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘʀᴇᴠɪᴏᴜꜱ ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ!

A bit before the chaos...

Hanako subtly raised his eyebrow at what seemed to be the white haired boy understanding Parseltongue. Granted, he could just be bluffing and just assumed that Hanako was talking shit about him (and he would be correct). Still, the idea that he could be understood made him a bit more fond of the white haired boy. Hanako always appreciated anyone who knew the language of snakes. This would be seen when Hanako felt more amused than anything at the white haired boys proposal to change the deal, and even talking about fighting and all. This definitely was much more preferable than the sight of him cowering like some wounded animal.

His approach was different from the time traveler from the another era (Thristan). He may have spoken speech fit for a ceremony, and shown clear kindness, even giving a teddy bear to soothe the white haired boys jumpiness. Hanako was different, however. He’d give no kind words, or kind gifts, nor would he ever intend to. Still, between encouraging good fun and just ignoring a kid who before recently, hiding behind someones sleeves, the answer was clear. He didn’t mind being the annoying bugger in the situation if it helped take someone's mind off something. A role he found himself rather comfortable in, not really wanting to be seen as kind and whatnot. Gross.

So at the mention of fighting the white haired boy, he managed to elicit a short lived laugh from Hanako. Especially the mention of hostage tactics, my god that was funny. He looked weaker than even Hanako, but he had seen enough duels to know he shouldn’t underestimate someone just because they didn’t look like they had much strength. Perhaps speed, or an uncanny ability to pinpoint an accurate target. Yet, winning was the last thing on Hanako’s mind. Hell it's not like he even wanted to kiss him. If a little tackle from that boy would have them move on and be in a better mood, then sure why not?

Hanako wouldn't get the opportunity to accept it without causing some other pretty guy to get mad at him. He certainly had a talent for pissing off hot guys tonight. Regardless, something in his gut told him that pretty guy(romeo) or not, Hanako was in deep shit. The incoming doom sensed had made him slightly pale and his earlier confidence faltered immediately. The guy (Romeo) went in a verbal tussle with the other pretty guy (Thristan), and things got a bit…heated? At least it was heated from one side, and the other one just made a rather diplomatic speech about kindness and dead soulmates. Which century was he from? Well, whatever. (Am unaware of what Romeo referred to as impetuous, adolescent, and infant child, so im assuming its in between both ) However, that momentarily peace was shattered not a moment too soon. A bead of sweat trickled from the back of his next when Hanako knew that he was next . What the hell was this simple game forming into?

Were they dating or what? Hanako just wanted to ask. Did he not know where he was right now? It was a kissing game. Why did he make it seem like they had managed to commit every sin possible under 1 minute during the duration of when he bought up the harmless bet or gave some kid a teddy bear? He managed to bring up his hands in meek surrender. Looking less confident as the second passed. Yet, no sound came up. Probably due to the fact that he(Romeo) said words like ‘blood’ which truthfully made the boy want to shut up. Like stat.

And then they kissed.

A sigh of relief escaped the black haired boy. He heard someone say it was canon from another group and he couldn’t help but roll his eyes. So these two had history? He scratched the back of his head, hoping to fade in the background and maybe somehow escape the game. He had seen way too much tonight. Wait a minute that guy who seemed enthusiastic about the new couple sounded awfully familiar. And awfully annoying. Where had Hana heard him before? Oh well, whatever. Good, no attacking or punching. Whatever whatever. Good game, good game. Hanako escaped death once more, it seemed. And it seemed he celebrated too soon. (Giving an auto success to romeo because tea)

He got grappled. Not much to say here, folks. Just that Hanako didn’t enjoy it one bit. Not the first time, certainly won’t be the last, but boy was he annoyed now. Thrown at the same person that's been talking about sincerity and kindness? Not much better. In the midst of all the chaos, there was just one good thing that happened. That he didn’t succumb to more injury when he was thrown aside like some old rag.

It seemed like another participant ( another cute guy, duh. This game didn’t have any shortage of that, at the very least ). Like some sort of last minute hero that appeared out of nowhere, prevented him from crashing into another boy. He let out a strained cough and he rubbed his own neck, as if relishing the comfort of not being grappled anymore, hoping it would ease his heart that seemed to be loud enough for him to hear. A while after being thrown and trying to make sense of the situation, Hanako prompt tried to stand on his own, stepping away from the boy who saved him. Just as another person (Thristan) asked if he was alright, Hanako immediately cut him off, not waiting for him to finish his sentence and just said; “ Fine . Fine. Peachy “he insisted adamantly as he brushed back his hair and took a deep breath. Clearly, he was not as peachy as he said. But that was him - not one to receive pity or concern, especially from strangers. He initially was going to give the same treatment to the guy that saved him from crashing into someone, until Hanako heard the words he spoke. Which genuinely surprised him.

A sense of undeniable relief washed over him. Not being blamed for this whole escalation felt…rather good. He had a careless mouth, sure. And he couldn’t care less if people saw him as the instigator of this whole mess. Or if he was told that he had what was coming to him. But still, it was….nice. He struggled for a moment to say his next words but he stepped closer to the boy and offered a curt “ Thanks “ without even looking him in the eye. He then looked back towards the other guy (Thristan), “ I’m fine” he reinstated, this time he wasn’t lying all that much.

He let out an exhausted breath, he didn’t so much look at other reactions as he made his way out the tent. What good would it do if he stayed anyway? For a game he never intended to win? He had some major frustrations to work out over the situation, knowing his hands were tied. He learned better than to make the situation worse, and this wasn’t a battle he was willing to engage in just to win.

However, before he left, he’d give the white haired boy one last look, a flicker or annoyance in his eyes. “ Make sure you take care of your boyfriend there. Who knows? Maybe he’ll wake up with a snake bite somewhere and have a good longggg ssssssleep. “, the hissing from parseltongue rolled off his tongue smoothly yet unnervingly. Fueled by the unnaturally serious look in his eyes “ Test me any further tonight and that becomes a promise”. And with that, he left the premises, his wand twirling around his fingers just in case.

Well, he didn’t actually plan to do anything. But during this particular moment, boy did the urge to send all the snakes available in the area to attack him (romeo) was almost unbearable, and he hoped that to be conveyed in his warning. He wasn’t even certain if the white haired boy understood him. Even if he didn’t, parseltongue had a way of sending shivers down spines. That was one hopeful victory he could take from this mess of a night.

Perhaps he should rethink from attending these sort of games.

ooc

Reducio

Hana’s pissed but im not! I had fun here writing this and its certainly memorable. It just doesnt make sense for hana to stay longer. Enjoy the rest of the game!

Action : LEAVING BYE

Previously Interacting (that can be responded to though nothing too serious please since this is my last post in this group and it would auto result in Hanako just ignoring your character) :
@Valentin Schnell@Aida Mòrsgor-Ama Ellwood, @Ginyami Midorimori @Jack Burnett, @Tristan Theramin


Mentioning:

@Mikael Halldorson@Percival Rainwood , @Piérre Marchonné& @Romeo Giovanni Marchonné,

“I’m a Barbie girl in a Barbie world,” Jorah quietly sung to himself as he flipped through a weathered Latin textbook. I suppose that would translate to, "Barbie puella sum, in mundo Barbie." It’s not as catchy, but I like the symmetry. Jorah recited the phrase repeatedly until a tune began to emerge. In an effort to improve his spellcasting, Jorah decided to spend this summer studying Latin, particularly pronunciation. Magic was more the just fancy wand movements, but incantations. The mystic arts are both song and dance. This summer Jorah would train his mind as well as his tongue. Speaking of tongue, he had almost forgotten, it was time for spin the bottle!

Jorah hurried over to the games with the taste of revenge on his lips. Dan Palmer would be attending the day’s festivities. Jorah had not yet forgiven the barefooted bastard for assaulting him outside the Great Hall. The event had left him scarred. Jorah remembered awakening in a cold sweat, unable to move, unable to speak. Dan sat on Jorah’s chest, a demented smile stretched across his Irish mug. Dan extended his feet, cupping Jorah’s terrified face. The putrid stench of sulfur burned Jorah’s nostrils as he fought to scream, but there was only silence. No words would escape Jorah’s mouth. Was this sleep paralysis or was he caught again in another binding curse? Eventually the nightmare would end and the devilish leprechaun would disappear, but some nights, some nights the slight odor of sulfur lingered. Was this real?

Jorah focused on the present, arriving to his circle of players, apparently he was the last to show. The game had begun without him, no matter. His eyes narrowed as he stared at Dan across the way, the hate within rising. His time has come. Jorah spun the bottle and it landed on Aly, one of his former Quidditch mates. Aly cocked her head at him waiting for him to make a move. Jorah had no qualms about kissing a fellow Quid kid, they had been through some shit together after all. This would be super easy, barely an inconvenience. “Haha, alright” Jorah said as he rose and planted himself down in front of Aly. He gave her a smile and said, “You should really consider coming back to Quidditch by the way, we need ya.” With that he leaned in closer to her lips to plant a kiss.

Action: Kissing Aly

interacting with || @Jorah Moussa
mentioning || @Aaron Jones, @Akari Sato, & @Dealla Prince

Jorah stood to come over to her, practically sauntering over like it was the easiest thing in the world. It was only now that Aly realised that she was way out of her depth here - she'd only ever kissed one person before, her ex-boyfriend, and so signing up to spin a bottle with a bunch of strangers had been a risky move made far riskier by someone she actually knew coming over here to - to do what? To kiss her?

Her former Quidditch teammate slid down to sit directly in front of her, and Aly's heartbeat tripled in rate in her chest. Jorah was - well, he was Jorah, and Aly hadn't seen him for much else other than the crazily talented (and a bit terrifying) Beater in her year, someone around whom she'd been awkward for far too long following their first meeting (if you can really call "falling directly on top of him after they were both unceremoniously knocked unconscious, one after the other, during her first Quidditch match" a meeting). Considering that Aly had been closer with her teammates more than pretty much anyone else (save her best friend and her ex), it was safe to say that she thought Jorah to be a good friend, if a bit scary on the pitch... and off, with that leather necklace and all its wooden beads that he usually wore.

Aly's gaze fell to Jorah's neck, which was oddly bare. She hadn't seen nor spoken to him since leaving Hogwarts and failing to return in December, for even though she'd been back at school for the month of June, she hadn't really reconnected with most of her old friends during that time. When had her former teammate stopped wearing his necklace?

How much had he changed, from when they'd last seen each other, into... someone new?

Her eyes were forced to dart back to Jorah as he spoke, green meeting golden-brown. Her former teammate was taller than her - much taller, probably, when standing, as he'd always towered over her, but now, sitting down, the two Ravenclaws finally seemed to be on more equal footing. He was smiling at her - directly at her, not at anyone else - and against her fear and trepidation, Aly couldn't help but smile back. Other than after victories on the Quidditch pitch, it was perhaps the only time she'd ever seen him grin... and when had Jorah's smile become so contagious, anyway?

"You should really consider coming back to Quidditch by the way," Jorah murmured as he leaned in. "We need ya."

Aly's eyes widened, her face flushing pink, and perhaps she would have responded, but she would never know - because as soon as Jorah kissed her, all thoughts of Quidditch left her mind. All thoughts of everything, really. It had been months since she'd been kissed, and Aly really hadn't realised how much she had missed being flirted with - for she was assuming that that was flirting, and for once, she was ignoring the little anxieties in the back of her head that always asked maybe if she was wrong. This was fun, damn it. And suddenly she was seeing Jorah as much more than just the scary Beater she'd always felt lucky to have on her team.

Aly leaned into the kiss, leaning her body forward to throw her arms around Jorah's neck and gently pull him closer; it was hard, since they were both seated, and perhaps it was a little bit awkward, but she didn't care. Her fingers found soft root in the brown hair at the base of Jorah's skull as the teenager put her all into this one kiss - long, slow, passionate. Maybe inappropriately long and passionate for a Spin the Bottle game. But she had her reasons - other than just enjoying kissing Jorah, a sentence she never would've thought she'd think a year prior.

When the kiss finally ended and they broke apart, Aly's eyes lingered for just a moment on Jorah's face - he was handsomer than she'd remembered - before giving a quick, nervous dart Akari's way. Had she been watching that? Now that was a kiss that would get people talking, whether Akari had been paying attention or not. Aaron could take his showiness and his heartbreaking and he could eat her dust, because Aly Salinger was back on the scene.

Was she using Jorah? Well, yes... but only partially. Despite all of her flaws, Aly was still a good person, and she'd be lying if she said her heart wasn't fluttering following that intense of a kiss.

A moment from her third year popped into her head - a conversation in the Ravenclaw girls' dormitories, before she and Aaron had ever started dating. Dee suggesting names of eligible bachelors in whom Aly could be interested - Jorah being the last name on that list.

"...and Jorah is - just - no! I think I'd know if I met someone and liked them in that way, thank you very much..."

Well. He clearly wasn't a "just, no" anymore.

"Quidditch. Right," she whispered, trying to bring herself back to her senses. "Yes, I'll... I'll certainly think about it..."

Actions: Taunting Jorah, kissing Cyrus' hand.

As much as Valentin was itching for a fight, not a single punch nor kick came his way. Tristan, for one, protested that he was sincere in trying to comfort Durmstrang’s champion like a child. It wasn’t the plushie nor the recognition of the seeker’s vulnerabilities that were the big problem, however. Certainly the attempt rubbed Valentin’s pride the wrong way, but his deeper issue with Tristan was Val’s own misplaced frustration manifesting in the most stupidly simple of ways. Valentin couldn’t stand seeing the boy’s hair. The seeker had happened to walk into the perfect storm to trigger his buried crisis, and Tristan's actions became the spark igniting a chain reaction that was already waiting to go off. Even Valentin felt sympathy for Tristan for not knowing what the apparent attempt at kindness would manifest, and yet, the furious dragon inside wanted to take on all possible threats while it still had an opportunity to free itself.

At any other time in his life, Val would have chuckled and reassured Tristan that his gesture was unnecessary, but for people who knew nothing about the greater context of the captain’s personality, a short-term calamity could be easily mistaken for identity. Yet, even those present who knew Valya better reacted in different ways to his meltdown.

Romeo, who understood Valentin better than anyone else in the room, was the first to rally to the seeker’s side and spit fire from his horntail mouth. So loyal and threatened and ready was he to defend Valya that the Jötunn’s rage began to boil over. Certainly Romeo had his own perspective and emotions and headache motivating him, but he would not stand for what was clearly causing some kind of destruction to Valentin’s state of mind. How the beater would address the problem, however, was not what the seeker was expecting.

Taking Valentin’s face in both hands, Romeo’s lips pressed in and locked him in place. Here it was, the moment when both the bear and the colddrake had freed themselves to meet one another in exquisite purity, but would such a moment linger? Could people remain free after tasting a single breath of fresh air outside of captivity? Valentin’s eyes froze, blown wide open, staring deep into the pinhole trenches of his co-captain’s cerulean welling up with waves. Is this it? Does the comet’s journey end here, crashing into the sea?

Everything seemed to scintillate white in Valya’s vision, as if stepping outside and being blinded by the brightness of the sky, but it was only a moment before Romeo’s lips and hands fell away. The Italian’s face cast downward with shame, shattering Valentin’s heart on the spot. He could almost see the shackles encircling back around Romeo’s neck, a bear ensnared once more. The seeker’s eye read it plainly emblazoned on the other’s soul: their sliver of time living in valiant freedom would not endure now. At least, not yet for the circus bear.

The embarrassment written on his co-captain’s face burned Valentin to the bone, drying his throat into closing. Romeo would not be embracing the beauty of the universe just as it was with him. Their conceptions of divinity slipped past each other now, out of reach, and all Valentin could do was watch as Romeo moved away, fist lashing out at the dark-haired Parselmouth who’d dared to play Mikael off Val’s protectiveness, attempting to steal a kiss from Valya anywhere he chose. Valentin let Romeo go as the brawler grasped Hanako to throw him. The white king, not wanting to interfere a moment more out of fear of becoming a manipulative hypocrite, could only watch. For all Valya’s yearning, the only love he wanted was one untainted, free from his control or being baited with the lure of ego.

For as much as Romeo and Valentin understood one another, Ginyami did not seem to grasp why Valentin so hated the game of spin the bottle, let alone what he was undergoing now. Leaping out and catching Hanako to prevent him from torpedoing into Tristan, Ginyami took his own stand.

"That's enough! Both of you! If you have a problem with the game, then leave! But a game is a game, nothing more. It is not worth hurting or getting hurt over such things… They are only here to have fun and you're taking all of what they're saying and doing too much to heart!"

At this moment, Valentin learned of a fundamental difference between him and the Mahoutokoro fox.

“I do have a problem with this game. Collecting people as bean trophies for one’s vain self-glorification is not my idea of love, but I’m not here to stop you from treating each other like objects. I just won’t let any of you fuck with Mikael’s head. If you want to try your hand at manipulating me,” Valentin hissed with a glance at Ginyami, “then bring it on. Some people have bigger problems to worry about, though, and I won’t stand idly by and watch them become your toys.” Mikael was not at all toothless, however, and had his own position to declare.

"I can defend myself Valentin…" Val’s head turned as his twin river of blood began addressing the blonde that had so rattled the white seeker. "You, talk but there is nothing but noise produced from your voicebox. Are you English? You Englishmen have always been so..facetious."

Valentin nodded with sudden amusement, admiration silencing him without any further struggle over Mikael’s position. The shadow of a boy was a horntail, after all, if a misunderstood one. The Norwegian’s terrible presence continued to seep outwards, and it occurred to Val that in his own way, perhaps even Mikael had been trying to defend Val -- "That's not in the rules," he’d said in such a strange tone that Valentin thought there might be something more to it than confusion. Blue-grey eyes had caught Valentin’s gaze, questioning him, yet Valentin could only shake his head in disarmed simplicity.

No, those are not the usual rules, the violet orbs had responded. Now, Mikael shifted once again, and Valentin watched him begin staring at Romeo as if in deep thought. Coursing, Valentin remembered Mikael saying. Is that… what is he… hunting…? But why? More words slipped quietly from the voidling, and Val would not fail to hear his tone. Yet, for as lucid as was each slip of Parseltongue, the Turk could only wonder at what his beloved Misha was saying. It was then that Valya felt Mikael’s hands upon him, gripping him through a bundle of white shirt. Valentin peered back into Misha’s seastorm eyes, which he had never forgotten held a most cherished spark as elusive as a golden snitch in the dead of night. There was no resistance remaining inside Valentin when Mikael tugged at him, not after seeing the expression on Romeo’s face.

It was, in fact, great fortune that Mikael’s arm now held onto Valya, tying him to reality at this critical juncture. Knowing it or not, this was how Mikael had always saved him whenever another piece of Valya’s world crumbled – forming a lifeline tethering him to his unseen center like a well of dark matter. Falling in towards the source of the arm’s weight, Valentin sank into Mikael’s torso and buried his face into the darkest fold he could find in his sweater. Focusing on the rough texture of its familiar wool, Valentin’s mind dissolved into nothing more than awareness of sensation. He needed the blackness that had always been safe for him, no matter what violence streamed out of the inverted pulsar that was Mikael Halldorson. For as comforting as this moment was, however, the others in the room were still going about their lives. Hanako, for one, still had something to say about Romeo as he prepared to depart, seething back at Valentin in Parseltongue.

“Make sure you take care of your boyfriend there. Who knows? Maybe he’ll wake up with a snake bite somewhere and have a good longggg ssssssleep...” Before Valentin could understand that he was moving, Mikael was slipping away from him. In a whirl like the arc of lightning, Valentin did not even hear the rest of Hanako’s words as he lunged at him with murder in his eyes. Tearing his wand out with a shriek of rage, Valentin felt a spell surging out of him. Everything was red. The walls, the faces of Ginyami and Tristan warping like nightmarish spectators at Kafka’s trial, everything bled pain. Valentin did not even understand that Romeo was restraining him, and he did not sense it, but no longer was his wand in his slender white hand after it was stripped away by the muscular beater. A scream emitted from Valentin from the very bottom of his guts as he struggled to reach the boy who’d threatened Romeo’s life, but he could not move forward. Valentin was forever held back from being free.

“LET ME GO! I don’t care! Send me to the gulag like my father!!” Valentin’s fingernails clawed in all directions, drawing wetness that seemed only slightly darker than the other crimsons staining the world. “I’ll get you first. No one can kill Romeo. I am his immortality. Fight me, coward! Fuck you! Come back here, we’re not finished!” By the time the seeker bashed and thrashed his way out of Romeo’s arms, Hanako was already gone. Crying incoherently into the distance, now in broken hissing Tatar, tears streamed from Valentin’s eyes.

Valya didn’t know how he got back to Mikael’s side. The gravitational lead the boy had placed on the light only moments ago did not need to be seen in order to be felt. Collapsing against Mikael’s body in some incomprehensible arrangement of limbs and blurry-eyed wailing, Valentin clutched the boy with any angle he could find using every digit, elbow, and knee he had.

“Don’t let me go, Misha. Don’t let me go. I can see it in my head again. You remember, I know you do – the one from the mirror. The white one is still here, with its gaze that enthralls any who get too close. Misha, misha, hold onto me. If you let go, I might break the golden-hair forever, too.”

Mikael’s skin and clothes were soon damp with the torrent of tears that Valentin poured upon him now after year after year of bottling them up into the explosive pressure inside.

Abilities: Keen Eye / Charmer / Evasive Maneuvers / Fearless / Comprehend Parseltongue
Stats: STA 8 - EVA 20 - STR 3 - WIS 15 [17] - ARC 1 - ACC 15

Interacting with:@Tristan Theramin @Hanako Tone @Jack Burnett @Percival Rainwood @Piérre Marchonné

Action: Breaking down

Blanket god mod perms over Val are given to Mikael's and Romeo's players in perpetuity
Godmodding of Romeo and Val’s crying on Mik were done with player consent

Roleplaying as approved Ilvermorny iNPC Cyrus Darsel.
Summer Camp.
17 July 2023.

Cyrus had thought Spin the Bottle was a fun game. After all, he had heard about it in movies and TV shows, and everyone always seemed to be a little goofy but have lots of fun.

This, he was learning quickly, was a lie. Not only was he now red-faced and confused, but he also glanced around himself in horror as social order seemed to break down. The boy who had intimidated him [Romeo] seemed to be more than willing to intimidate others, and Cyrus watched with wide, worried eyes as the tall boy seemed to be fighting one of the other boys.

Cyrus scooted away with a deep frown on his face. What on earth was this supposed to be? Spin the Bottle was supposed to be mindless fun, something kids did because it was silly and dumb. This was too serious for a game of Spin the Bottle.

It seemed that another kid [Ginyami] would have issues with the sudden dark twist to the game. Cyrus decided to let the kid handle it. No, Cyrus wasn't a coward or anything. He just... He just wanted to have fun. Was that too much to ask?

He was honestly rather tempted to leave. He stuck his hands in his pockets and glanced around nervously before a boy spun and landed the bottle on him. The boy was polite ─ thank goodness ─ and introduced himself as Dan Palmer, captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team.

'Wow, captain?' Cyrus echoed. 'That's really impressive, super cool! I'm Cyrus, although you might have known that. I'm from Ilvermorny.'

If he just kept talking, maybe he could forget about the chaos around him.

He then noticed how Dan had taken an interest in a different student. He didn't seem happy that the newcomer had arrived, but he was still cordial ─ an admirable trait, the ability to not lose one's temper. Cyrus liked that. Dan, he decided, was respectable.

Cyrus was rather surprised when Dan went to kiss his hand, but it was Spin the Bottle. Wasn't that the point? Cyrus allowed it, and he stared blankly afterwards, not sure what he should do. Should he say thanks? Or should he ignore it and go back to sitting? He wasn't sure.

'It was nice to meet you,' Cyrus said eventually.

He would continue to look around worriedly, the glamour of meeting someone new beginning to fade as he realised that the situation was still tense for a game of Spin the Bottle. The white-haired kid [Valentin], in a whirlwind of swearing and threats, had ended up crying. Cyrus couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards him, even if he didn't think the entire situation was necessary. He folded his hands in front of himself and wrung them together anxiously. Something didn't feel right.

Interacting with @Dan Palmer. Open to other interactions.
Action: Accepting the hand kiss (albeit awkwardly).

Mentioning: @Piérre Marchonné as Romeo, @Aly Salinger, @Aaron Jones & @Hanako Tone

The bottle went around, making its way over to Akari once more. Akari being consumed by her own thoughts has per usual was rather late to realizing that there was a terrible amount of tension rising across from her where a bunch of the boys were situated.

It was only when there was a large sudden jolt and someone lunged forward, did Akari realize the extent of the growing issue. She gasped to herself has she watched Hanako get thrown in the line of fire, completely forgetting about the game and its entirety. What did that boy get himself into this time? Little did she know the very lad who was currently tossing Hanako at another boy was the very one she was suppose to kiss or hug or whatever. Part of her wanted to run over and see if Hanako was okay, but at the same time she wanted nothing to do with those boys and their drama. She was not about to get involved in whatever ego battle they were engaging in and she was going to keep it that way.

She felt a similar way about the boy had landed on. She supposed he had a nice face, she could not lie, but she was rather too intimidated by the current happenings to approach him about the silly game, so she instead sat back quietly and observed uneasily, not caring that much over a few little beans anyways. She would let the boys be, and leave them to their own devices. This game was supposed to be a fun enjoyable activity to pass the time, not a boxing tournament...but oh well.

It was then that Akari noticed a few late comers to the game. Her eyes immediately fell upon a certain Ravenclaw girl, a girl whom she knew yet did not at the same time. No one other than Aaron's ex - Aly. Quite the coincidence that they would end up here together. Hm. She did not really know what to think. She did not particularly have anything against the girl to be fair, since she hardly knew her, or what had happened between the two, but it was just sort of an unspoken rule that you were not really supposed to be friendly in a situation like this.
To be frank Akari had not done anything to be considerate of the poor girl anyways, not during the month of June, and not the past while that they had been at summer camp. Akari adored the attention that Aaron increasingly began to give her in the past while, so she was certainly not paying any mind to how others would feel to about this development.

Then, the boy's fight became mere background noise, and Akari's attention was fully on Aly. She glanced over as the girl was approached by the boy whom her bottle spin had landed on. She would not have thought much of the interaction if it hadn't gone for as long as it did. Unknowingly a small frown formed across Akari's face, her eyes narrowing a bit judgmentally, though not purposefully. It was just a bit strange to her the production they were putting on for everyone. Not that she was necessarily one to talk, but this was a game after all, there was no need for all that.

She turned away after with a small sigh, what in the world was happening to this game. Barely even the second round and the chaos was already sinking its claws into the group.

Action: Feeling intimidated and side eyeing Aly and Jorah

@Percival Rainwood as Mikael Halldorson

Opeila sent the girl another smile before quickly kissing her hand. Why was she playing this game again? For some reason she joined every time, despite knowing exactly that she would chicken out of actually kissing anyone every time. Well- not every time, there was after all this one time when she kissed Alec Mason. But that had been different... a little? She was still not sure where the sudden courage had come from back then.

Whatever it had been, it was not there when it was her turn to spin the bottle again and it came to a stop, pointing at a complete stranger. This guy wasn't from her house or even her school. Although he at least seemed to be around her age? "Hi, I'm Opeila", she would start, entirely unsure how to continue. Another hand kiss?

"May I kiss you... ?"... your hand? That she had meant to ask, only to consider being bold mid-sentence. By the time she had chosen not to be, she had already asked. Opeila felt heat rise to her face and tried to keep a straight face, although she was sure that her cheeks had just turned an embarrassing shade of red. With her right hand she would turn a ring on her left middle finger over and over to stop either of them from rising to her cheeks.

Action: Sorta asking to kiss Mikael.