Pretty, he had called her and Elena did her best to maintain a neutral smile as both of them returned to their seats. Perhaps it was the sheer fact of managing to harvest more than a hug that amused him? She merely shook her head at the thought settling down as the bottle begun it's deadly spin of joining two fates together. At this point, she'd made an investment and the girl was good as trapped, her eyes seeking a way out without attracting too much attention but seeing none as her turn came. Regardless, people would talk, some Gryffindor she was turning out to be, Elena thought to her swearing an oath to perhaps read the fine print more carefully of the things her quill scribbled down her name for, it would not be as bad if Lamik was one of the options presented but Elena Jangleton did have not have that reassurance nor security and so she was tasked with making it through this ordeal with total strangers.

Her eyes lifted to meet the other girl's. Perhaps not total strangers, the brunette thought to herself frowning as she tried to wonder where she had seen this girl before. A faint memory tingled in the back of her head trying to come to the forefront but in the sheer pressure of the situation, recalling those moments did not come as easy. She'd half-risen from her seat relieved it hadn't been another boy she would have to mingle with when perhaps coming to the conclusion that any action on her part would perhaps not be a wise idea given the other person's reaction. Elena could read a person's body language and look like the back of her hand, she'd almost practically memorized Robhurst Jangletons' look of displeasure and arrogance every time she dared come near him and while this wasn't the same technically, it was enough to tell her that nothing of the sort would be happening.

Not that Elena was complaining, her eyes following as the girl made to leave perhaps not too keen to stick around in a situation that required most to go out of their comfort level. The brunette's shoulders sagged in relief as she withdrew from the situation at hand. As to why Elena couldn't mimc that same course of action was exactly this, the looks and mutterings that followed. A quiet exit was better than one that caused people to snicker and point although it would be over quickly, it had certainly been a tense moment as the Gryffindor took up her seat fully aware she had only gotten lucky once eyeing the bottle deciding who it was going to throw her up against next taking in a breath wisely choosing not to comment on what she'd just seen unfold.

Interacts with: Milosh Rehnquist (@Annie Morgan's iNPC), @Alec Mason
Mentions: @Dealla Prince, @Jack Warren, @Serena Bowen, @Erin Ryan
Owl sent to Alec Mason and Serena Bowen

Action: attempting to smooch Milo.

Roleplaying as Durmstrang iNPC Arjan Oberoi

Stamina: 15 | Evasion: 9 | Strength: 17 | Wisdom: 4 | Arcane Power: 8 | Accuracy: 12
Abilities: Obnoxiously Strong | The Martial Artist | Spell Spread | Charmer

Interacting with Irina Afanasyeva (Lavinia Cloven)

With a quirk of his eyebrow, Arjan could not help but smirk at her words. He had not joined this event expecting to get a date out of it nor did he really know anything about this girl to even know if she was suitable dating material. But a single date did not mean they were exclusive by any means and he was willing to use any opportunity to get to know a pretty girl a little bit better. Who knows, perhaps he would find the most amazing one during one of these opportunities? "Well then, I do hope that it spins us again," He responded before kissing her back.

With a dip of his head, "Arjan Oberoi. And it's certainly been my pleasure to meet you, Miss Irina," He introduced himself - only a year too late. He was definitely paying attention to her, rather than the rest of the situation kicking off around but it did seem like something was happening. His gaze moved to @Erin Ryan rather suddenly running off. Once again, he had failed to catch her name or figure out who exactly she was. But there was something incredibly alluring about her.

Turning his attention back to the bottle, he watched Irina spin it and the smirk on his lips only grew when he witnessed it spinning round and round... before stopping on him. How interesting. It was time to see if she was a woman of her word. "Looks like it spun us again," He continued, with a look that said 'your move' to give her an opportunity to act on the bottle's wishes. Arjan moved closer, gently running a finger over her face to brush some hair off and tuck it behind her ear as he leaned it slowly - giving her plenty of time to reject the advances if she did not wish to reciprocate the kiss all of a sudden.

Stepping back afterwards, "So, where are you going to take me?" He joked, giving her the chance to plan the date and take lead on this if she wanted to. There were not many places around the stadium that would make a great date but he did actually have a date idea in mind if she suddenly got shy or preferred him to do it. Of course, he was just assuming that she would follow-through on the words.

𝙾𝚄𝚃𝙵𝙸𝚃: Reducio Necklaces:

│ │ │

▪ 𝙴𝙽𝙲𝚈 ▪ ▪ FELIX ▪ KOLBECK ▪ ▪ DURMSTRANG iNPC ▪ FOURTH YEAR ▪

│ │ │

𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂: Reducio @Serena Towers as Arjan >:( @Lavinia Cloven as Irina @Santario Martin

Felix's grin widened at Santario's response, "Damn, you're really not going to let a guy dream, are you?" Did he like the thought of San wearing something just for him? Of course he did. He assumed it was because of how close the two of them were, friends gave each other keepsakes all the time. "Tch." He scoffed at the very idea of him staying this large, though in truth it likely didn't matter how large his arms were, considering how tall he had grown over the past year. "I guess I'll just need to replace them all. We'll have to coordinate our outfits so we don't end up wearing the same one."

He felt his face heat up when San leaned in to whisper in his ear. Dammit, why did she have to ask that? Now he was remembering the damn kiss all over again. Why the hell had he smelled so good? Stupid Arjan. "... Unfortunately." He grumbled, giving the older Durmstrang student a side eye.

He was not expecting San to turn the table on him. When those teeth dug into his lip he grunted in surprise, his own ice blue eyes blinking open. What the hell--? When he saw that expression he knew she was trying to play with him. She would have won too.

Unfortunately the flagon did not favour Santario. Because when she spun it would twirl until it found its way to Felix. A small smirk pulled at the Swede's lips when he realized they had been paired again. He would not give Santario a warning this time. They had already kissed, had already crossed that line. He brushed her ebony locks away from her face, cupping her cheek again before he went in for the kill. There was more passion this time, with a slip of his tongue. An unspoken understanding between the two of what could have been. If she fought him for control she would discover Felix was rather persistent. However if she were to pull away, he would let her. He wasn't a complete asshole. He would, however, give her bottom lip a playful nip before their kiss had finished.

Action: Kissing San. Again.

Interacting| Felix(@Winnie Harper) Mentioning| -

Outfit Reducio

Action| Kissing Felix then leaving.

August 28th, 2022

Arjan. Arjan. Arjan. That was the name of the cute boy that Irina had kissed 3 times now. Did it take them too long to introduce themselves? Yes, yes it did. However, it had happened finally and his name was almost as cute as his face. “It’s a pleasure to meet you again, Arjan” Irina said before taking her seat in the circle again.

The bottle was back to its constant state of spinning while Irina kept glancing at Arjan. She wanted to go on a date, but was this the right way to go about it? Thoughts of doubt kept racing through Irina’s mind as she wondered if she had made the right decision. The fact that the bottle had a tiny chance of landing on them again, helped Irina clam down a bit, there was no guarantee that this date would happen. If fact, the odds were not in favor of the date. The thing was, Irina kinda wanted to go on the date. She’d never been on one before and this was a guy she wasn’t uncomfortable kissing, maybe a date was a good idea.

Grabbing the bottle for another spin, Irina felt her heart racing so fast. What would she do if she spun someone else, what if it was Arjan again? Placing the bottle on the ground, Irina twirled the flagon. It was taking ages, spinning round and round, round and round. Then it stopped. Looking up, Irina saw those soft brown eyes of Arjan Oberoi staring right back at her. Holy shit.

She had spun him once again. It’s like they were destined to be together and go on a date. Shaking off her nerves, Irina got ready to fulfill her promise and make plans for a date. “It has spun us again, I wasn’t expecting it to be this quick, but I guess it was just destined to happen.” Responded Irina who was just speaking her thoughts. At the look he gave her, she couldn’t deny feeling a little excited as she said, “Another kiss?”

Following his lead as he moved forward, she pressed her lips against his in a kiss that meant something more than usual to Irina. This kiss wasn’t the typical kiss a stranger and move on, it had more meaning because it was almost the entrance into a possible relationship. It was a great kiss in Irina’s mind.

Then he asked her the real million dollar question, what was the date plans. “I hadn’t actually thought that far” Irina said with a small chuckle attached. “I don’t have anything in mind at the moment, but I would like to make sure we fulfill the bottle’s wishes and go on a date. Do you have any ideas of where to go?” Irina hoped that he would take the reigns on location finding since she did not know London, but if he didn’t have any ideas then they could always go on a broom flight together.

Action: Kissing Arjan on the lips

Somehow, this idea started as heavenly. Yet as every second passed, Jack could only see the firey pits of hell. This tent was a place of horror, and it was all designed to torture Jack S. Warren. Before his very eyes, the girl he so clearly adored was nose to nose with the wretched harpy that just had her tongue down his throat.

However, thankfully there wasn't immediate reciprocation from the dumb Slytherin hag. He couldn't decide if he wanted to look away or glare at his girlfriend. This wasn't the first time she had kissed somebody other than Jack. The jealousy that ripped at his chest was like a captive wild beast. He wanted to roar and lash out, but he didn't for the first time in his life. Maybe he didn't want to scare away the girl he fancied, or perhaps he was learning from his mistakes. Probably a mix of both.

Dee couldn't even match his eyes as she shuffled back to her spot next to him. Couldn't she tell that he didn't even choose to kiss Erin? Erin had forced herself on him! So why was Dee even trying to take revenge on him? Nonetheless, he wasn't going to be the bigger man. If she wanted to ignore him, he would play that game.

With an air of pure indignation, the boy would lean forward on his turn and spin the bottle as hard as he could without hurting or breaking anyone or thing. But, instead, the damn thing circled for ages before slowly landing directly at the only person he wanted to kiss. Thank god, because if it didn't land on Dealla, Jack would probably not live to see the next day.

Looking up from the bottle, he only could give a small smile to his girlfriend. This is the only thing they wanted. Usually, the bold boy would dive at the opportunity, but Jack only wanted to take his time. Jack could only watch the girl reach out as he inched closer to Dee. The moment her fingers pressed against his neck, the boy pushed himself forward to meet his girlfriend halfway. The kiss would lose any sense of softness in the intensity that Dealla brought. His chest couldn't contain the rapturous beating of his heart, and the boy only pressed himself closer. Wrapping an arm around his partner's waist, Jack could only wish for this moment to last forever.

As Dee pulled away, Jack stood there momentarily before opening his eyes. Why wasn't she saying anything? Had he done something so wrong? Was the kiss that bad? Intrusive thoughts cut through his excitement. 'let's go' were the words that cut through his mind. There was no way he was saying no as Dee pulled him towards the exit. "O-okay-"" So many things were going on that his little chipmunk brain had issues processing.

More chaos, of course, had to be created. Damn you, Erin. The entrance was so close, but so close was not freedom. Erin Ryan stood in the way, and the likelihood of getting past them was very low.

If there were any signs that Dee didn't want to be snogged by Erin, Jack would step in and interpose himself between the two.

Action: Interposing himself in between Erin and Dee

Interaction: @Dealla Prince & @Erin Ryan

@Jack Warren | @Erin Ryan | @M J Davenport
Would have loved to be Erin's gay awakening but alas, wasn't meant to be

For about a minute and a half, Dee had been able to believe that the nightmare this game had turned into was coming to an end. Jack had responded to the kiss just as fiercely, which gave her hope that even if at the moment they weren't, they could be okay. They could go somewhere and talk... or literally kiss and make up, that seemed less daunting. Jack generally responded well to that strategy.

Of course, the moment couldn't last. Erin's lack of reaction had been seen as rejection, and the fact that Marion hadn't instantly moved in on Milosh as a sign that the immediate danger was past. Alec hadn't looked any different on casual observation; perhaps there hadn't been any danger to begin with. Which was admittedly a naive hope, but it would have made Dealla's life so much easier.

Dee paused, taken aback when Erin interrupted her exit. The girl and the attempted kiss had been a means to an end for her, Erin's feelings or desires in the whole matter barely considered. The situation had changed, though. While before, she had wanted to annoy or even hurt Jack, petty vengeance for an event that hadn't really been his fault, that desire was gone.

"I don't-" she began, then noticed a certain redhead moving in the background, and the scene shifted. She let go of Jack's shirt, barely paid attention if he tried to block Erin's way. Stepping to the side to get a clean shot and drawing her wand was a natural, fluid motion, well-practiced, as was pointing it at another student. Or not student, in this case. She'd been silly to try and rely on physical means to stop Marion before. "Flipendo."

Action | Casting Flipendo at Marion

MODERATION POST—Round IV

This group would play host to a new breed of patient zero. The chaos of the previous years... the shadows and the black blood, the curses and the back-alley dealings... they had been tempered, had been removed from the public eye, had even seen a dip in activity and prevalence. But they were never fully vanquished. Never gone. Every so often, they would come strolling back into the limelight like they owned the place, reminding everyone who was in the know that they still lurked on the peripheries just biding their time.

Alec Mason was now the next rendition of patient zero. Dealla's paranoia had been well founded. Not that any of them would know just how well yet. Thus, he would go on, left to the comfort of a tasty kiss with a delicious-looking babe. And the next target, Serena Bowen, would only continue that trend. Fine with a kiss, she would do well to hide her nerves as Alec went in for a quick peck on the lips. Little did she know in that moment the fate she had sealed for herself.

Brooding and angry and hating everything and everyone at that moment, Dealla Prince would try to convince herself otherwise by keeping up the charade of the game. Elena Jangleton had been the intended recipient, but Dealla would suddenly find herself in a state of revulsion for any kind of contact. A shake of a head seemingly in form of apology would have to suffice, eyes instead turning to watch Marion. Not that Elena would seem to mind. Although the specifics might have been unknown, she was keen enough to pick up on Dee's discomfort, and felt lucky not to have had to take to action again quite yet.

Of course, things didn't always go according to plan, and Tatsu fate tended to have a bit of a sadistic streak, it seemed. Jack Warren's spin would land on Dealla, and she would find herself in urgent need of that intimacy despite the flare of anger she still felt. His desire to take his time and take it slow would be lost in the instant of her insistence, however. The two quickly needing to get a room. Or at least out of this one. Which, as it turned out, was exactly what Dealla intended. Emotions still swirled, and she would have a hard time processing. She needed air. She wanted to leave. And her boyfriend was coming with her.

Or was supposed to be. Erin Ryan, having been in a bit of a stuporous state since her face battle with the kiwi head would perk up suddenly. Seeing Dealla's retreat, she would try to cut the girl off to deliver the Ravenclaw a kiss that was just as deep and eventful as that she had bestowed upon Jack. Minus the tackling. Noting Dealla's hesitation, however, Jack would intervene, stepping between the two. Trying to, anyway.

M J Davenport, aka Marion, had similarly grown quiet after her kiss with innocent Alec. In truth, that had likely been to her advantage. Dee had been prepared to attack, to come to his defense, but had been otherwise waylaid by Milo during her attempt to do so. Then, given no obvious evolution of horror and no subsequent attempts to "attack" anyone, M J's perceived level of danger had gradually waned. To a point where she had been all but ignored, her continued existence tolerated. Which meant she could move in freely when the more jumpy were otherwise distracted. M J had spun on Milosh Rehnquist (@Annie Morgan''s iNPC). And she would attempt to deliver on that.

Dealla would have other plans. Ducking out from behind her Erin-meat-shield of a boyfriend, Dealla would pull wand to hand and sling a flipendo in Marion's direction with every intention to try to interrupt her kiss with Milo. Or at the very least, make her regret it if she's still able to plant the kiss. Light would streak from the wand tip, the aim perfect. Apparently Dealla is not joking around in this thread and has been imbued with godly powers of RNG. She should buy a lottery ticket. Anyway, Marion would take the hit squarely. While it wouldn't be enough to knock her flat, it had certainly ruffled her attire and likely hurt. Quite a bit. Perhaps even making her stumble.

Reducio

Marion HP = 530 / 700

While spells started slinging, there were those unbothered few who seemed content to carry on with the game and leave the drama to the others. Arjan Oberoi was one such individual. Irina Afanasyeva had dropped the challenge glove to suggest that if they were paired again, they would obviously have to start listening to the webs of fate that continued to bring them together and actually go on a date. Well. The bottle had spoken not but moments later. A kiss that was a little more than the usual 'just a kiss' would serve to sign the contract. They were going on a date!

Felix Kolbeck would find himself in a situation of growing self-denial as he reflected on his recent interactions with his quill-pal. Just friends. Sure, Felix. Keep telling yourself that. Apparently friends could kiss. And give warm fuzzies when they wore something of yours. And should coordinate outfits. And this definitely wasn't couple-y at all. Of course, that probably all would have been fine and something to look back upon and laugh down the line if destiny hadn't had other plans in mind. Again, the bottle would find him paired with Santario Martin. And this time, Felix would have his revenge for her previous mischievous antics. Passion (definitely absolutely 100% platonic passion of just wanting to one-up a friend haha uwu) would drive their kiss, the crossed line being absolutely ground into the dirt as tongue and teeth were added to the mix. Taken by surprise, Santario didn't pull away. In fact, she reciprocated. And that would leave one very flustered and lost-for-words Slytherin, who (in a moment of smart decisions) would elect to take her leave. Look out, Sancival, there's a new ship in port.

THE BOTTLE HAS CHOSEN AGAIN!

Reducio

@Felix Kolbeck (@Winnie Harper's iNPC) spins the bottle, and lands on @Serena Bowen
@Arjan Oberoi (@Serena Towers's iNPC) spins the bottle, and lands on @Alec Mason
@Elena Jangleton spins the bottle, and lands on @Irina Afanasyeva (@Lavinia Cloven's iNPC)

Additionally:
—The order of the spins listed is not necessarily the order they happen ICly, nor do they have to be posted in that order.

Players have until Midnight on Sunday, August 21st to post

𝙾𝚄𝚃𝙵𝙸𝚃: Reducio Necklaces:

│ │ │

▪ 𝙴𝙽𝙲𝚈 ▪ ▪ FELIX ▪ KOLBECK ▪ ▪ DURMSTRANG iNPC ▪ FOURTH YEAR ▪

│ │ │

𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁𝙰𝙲𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂: Reducio @Serena Towers as Arjan @Santario Martin @Serena Bowen

Felix has made a crucial mistake upon attempting to exact his revenge; he had forgotten about how much he had liked their first kiss. Santario’s warm lips against his own felt nice. It made him forgot for a moment his own terrible luck with relationships, made him forget they were mere friends, it made him forget Arjan was sitting across the circle from him kissing a girl he had once called ‘Queen’.

He was reluctant to pull away. She would need to. When she did, he was left a bit breathless. “San, I…” Cold blue eyes inspected her own warm sapphire, uncertain what to say other than her name. She announced her intention to leave and he nodded slowly,

“Yeah… Right, I’ll uh— I’ll catch you later?” He offered her a grin, though it was a bit shaky, lacking his usual confidence. Fuck. This was not good. He couldn’t go kissing his best friend like that again. He refused to catch feelings after his first failed relationship and— shit, she had a boyfriend already. What the hell was he even thinking? It was so stupid. He was just lonely or something pathetic like that. Surely if he kissed someone else it would result in the same response. Right?

He had almost lost his cool in front of Arjan again, and he couldn’t let that happen. Part of him wanted to follow San and apologize but another part was worried that it wasn’t just him who had felt the spark between them. So he decided to stay, to spin the bottle once more. It landed on another blonde girl, and Felix tried to offer her a grin. “I’m Felix. You up for a kiss or should we stick to hugs? I should warn you that I’m not the cuddly type.” He joked. Hugs were rare, usually preserved for his sisters or certain team members. He had told himself he’d be down with whatever his spin partner wanted this time, especially since two of his former kissing partners were still in the game. He would do whatever Serena wanted, but a kiss would mean more than a simple peck; he was determined to prove to himself that the butterflies from before weren’t just because it was San.

Action: Offering Serena a kiss or hug.