Shipping Meme

[shadowmods]

Welcome to the ToS Shipping Meme! The rules are simple.

1. Post your character/preferences.
2. Reply to other characters with one of the following scenarios
3. Ship it!

Remember, this is just a fun meme so you can ship things that would NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY in game. Yay for no in-character consequences to bad decisions.

SCENARIOS
1. Stupid Cupid Your characters stumble upon a room in the temple that is dedicated to Berkano, which is the rune of love and new beginnings. Think Midsummer Night's Dream. Your characters may be close friends, strangers, or sworn enemies. Whatever the case is, they are now suddenly and inexplicably in complete and total love. They may or may not be aware that this makes no sense, but they can't help themselves.

2. Some Like It Hot Forget love and new beginnings. Your characters have ACTUALLY stumbled upon a room in the temple that is dedicated to Kenaz, the rune of fire, passion, and sex. There's no stopping you, even if you tried. Luckily, the room is prepared for that, and comes equipped with a bed. Whether or not you guys make it that far across the room is another question.

3. I Can Hear The Bells Your characters are getting married. Maybe it's true love, maybe it's to get out of marrying Tristan, maybe you're being forced into it and this ship is a little dub-con, or maybe it's because you accidentally participated in some Nysgod ritual and weren't aware of its implications. Either way, the wedding is about to happen or just has. How do you feel about that?

4. I Don't Want To Go Your character has been determined to NOT be the one for Tristan. Whether or not they like it, they're being sent home. Do they choose to spend it with a close friend, with the one they love? Or maybe, do they decide to finally tell that person they've always had a crush on just how they feel? You only have one night left, what you do with it is up to you.

5. The First Time Your characters are interested in each other and it's time to do something about it. Either the first date, the first kiss, the first I love you....or some other significant first. Whatever it is, it's definitely time to take that step. So who's going to take the initiative?

6. The Morning After Your characters definitely went at it. Maybe it's the first time, maybe they're cheating on someone, maybe it was out of anger. Whatever the case, for some reason, it was significant and you're going to have to talk about it. Good morning, Starshine! The earth says it's time for some cuddling and/or awkward conversation.

7. Potpourri Have another idea? Pregnancy, proposal, accidental body contact, trapped together, caught in the rain, hurt/comfort, etc? Go for it! Make your own scenarios up and run with them.


NOTE: Feel free to throw any mirrors into play if you're interested!

Comments

[cordelisse]

It was oddly... gentle, of him, and caught her a little by surprise. But he succeeded in cutting off any further apologies. A lopsided, wry smile flickered across her face, and she kissed him lightly.

“Maybe it isn’t. Either way, it doesn’t make it easier when you’ve been... coerced by the bloody room.” One hand slipping up to caress his cheek, the other steadying herself by holding onto his arm, she rose up on tiptoe and began pressing slow, deliberate kisses to the line of his neck, making her way ever-so-slowly towards his ear. She didn’t know what he liked, so she might as well experiment.

It had been a while since she’d had cause to get her seduction on. This was going to be positively comedic.

[to_this_end]

It felt good, to be touched and kissed. To feel warmth against his own, lips on his skin.

"Let's not look at it as coercion, then," he suggested, his voice somewhat breathless. Rush noted with some detachment the signs of his growing interest; increased heart-rate, flushed palms, quickening of breath. "Everything happens for a reason."

Perhaps this was simply the universe's way of telling him to get over himself. Everyone needed someone at some time. Wasn't that how the song went? A brief bit of warmth in the long cold was hardly something to be distressed over. He let his hands do as they would, moving over Zoey's back, from her shoulders to the slender dip above her buttocks. She smelled good. How long had it been since he inhaled the scent of a woman? He had missed it, he knew now. He had missed it painfully and terribly.

Everything happened for a reason.

Rush turned his head, finding Zoey's mouth and crushing his own against it as his grip tightened on her.

[cordelisse]

“That is a more pleasant way to look at it,” Zoey murmured softly, just as breathless. The other way... let to a very unpleasant mindset. And she had had enough of unpleasant mindsets for the time being. Everything happens for a reason... Regardless of how they had gotten there, they were there, and he felt... good. It had been a while since anyone had touched her the way Rush was touching her now. And she had missed it.

Everything happened for a reason. What the reason for this was... she didn’t know. Couldn’t know. But it was happening.

She made a humming sound, low in her throat, lips parting for him as she rose up into the kiss.

[to_this_end]

He was reluctant to pull away from the kiss, but it was impossible to speak with his tongue attempting to gain access to someone else's mouth.

"In my experience, when something inexplicable happens, it's often the universe trying to tell us something. Right now I think it's telling us that we ought to move to the bed."

His days of sex and heavy petting while standing were long behind him at this point. His legs were already starting to ache.

[cordelisse]

“I suspect you’re right, Dr. Rush.” The fact that they were where they were and meandering their way towards what they were meandering, and she was calling him by his last name; and not just his last name, but his title as well, amused her to no small degree. But it was habit. He was Rush, to her. The title... well, that was teasing. And a little bit of nervousness.

It was a very nice bed, all lush bedding and solid four poster wooden frame. Everything one would want in a room such as this. Brushing a few loose strands of hair off her face, Zoey slid a hand down his arm and tangled her fingers with his. Then she walked backwards, tugging him towards the bed.

[to_this_end]

He let her lead him to the bed, chuckling a bit.

"I think," he said, as he sat on the edge to take off his shoes, "that you can call me Nicholas at this point." Being referred to as 'Dr. Rush' in an intimate setting made it feel uncomfortably like he was going to bed with one of his students.

Again he was reminded of those rooms in Amsterdam. Those were pleasant memories, at least.

[cordelisse]

Zoey smirked at him. “Nicholas it is, then,” she replied, trying his name out. It felt... odd, on her tongue. But really, it would be odder to call him Rush, or Dr. Rush while shagging the hell out of him. Not that she could promise that calling him Rush wouldn’t happen. But the attempt would be made to call him by his first name.

Barefoot already, she slid onto the bed, settling comfortably onto its surface with her legs folded beneath her, propped back on her hands and watched Rush as he took off his shoes.

[to_this_end]

"Nick is also acceptable." Socks, too. There was nothing more ridiculous than a naked man wearing socks. Well, that was that, then. He turned to Zoey and considered how to proceed. Other than pushing himself entirely onto the bed. It was comfortable, he noted. Of course it was comfortable, it was the focal point of the room.

"Most of my partners call me Nick," he went on. And then something occurred to him. Well, considering the purpose of the room... He scooted up towards the headboard of the bed and reached for the little bedside table. "Ah...best to check the room was considerate enough to come stocked with the proper supplies."

He wasn't stalling, though he supposed it may look that way. But he certainly didn't have any condoms on him. Thankfully, the temple seemed all too happy to oblige.

[cordelisse]

“Nick does seem a little bit more... appropriate.” For this. What they were headed rather inexorably towards. The words were implied, but remained unsaid. Zoey scrubbed a hand through her hair, brushing it rather haphazardly off her face. She didn’t think he was stalling; she quite appreciated that he was searching for the necessary supplies. Which the room had, of course. That was the whole purpose of the bloody thing. Of course there was a healthy supply of condoms in the dresser drawer.

Licking her lips, she made her way up the bed, towards the headboard and Rush. With a bit of grace, and a lopsided, amused smile, she straddled him.

[to_this_end]

That certainly solved the question of how to proceed.

Nick raised his eyebrows when she straddled him suddenly, but settled back against the pillows comfortably. He wasn't going to complain about the position - this would be much easier on his back. Sex was a great deal more complicated after fifty, as he was rapidly learning. Oh, he'd known theoretically of course, but the last time he'd had sex had been in a simulated reality. He hadn't been bound by the limits of his physical body.

He let his hands find her hips. He was growing more familiar with touching her, more at ease with it. With all of this. He let himself look at her, taking stock of her as a woman rather than simply one of a handful of people he could stand on a regular basis.

"And here we are," he muttered.

[cordelisse]

Zoey’s hands settled lightly on his shoulders. It had been a while since she’d been in quite this position, and it only helped to bring home the fact that they were very much going to shag the hell out of each other.

“And here we are,” she echoed, a lopsided smile flickering across her face. Exhaling slowly, she leaned forward and picked up where she’d left off. Kissing her way slowly up his neck.

[to_this_end]

Nick tipped his head back, closing his eyes as she moved her mouth over his throat. The tactile sensations were physically welcome, and he let his hands go to Zoey's hair. He carded his fingers through it, raking it back haphazardly. She was such a slight thing, hardly even a weight on him. He'd always had a fondness for petite women - specifically petite women with dark hair, pale skin and light eyes.

She was quite attractive.

Not that he'd consider that under normal circumstances. But these were hardly normal, and the fact of the matter was that at the moment, he found Zoey extremely appealing.

[cordelisse]

Zoey hummed against his skin as he carded his fingers through her hair. She’d always enjoyed the hair thing. That he seemed to be getting less... awkward about touching her helped lessen some of her own awkwardness about the whole situation. Because really, this wasn’t where she had expected her evening to go.

Kissing her way up his neck, she paused a moment to nip at his earlobe, before moving down his jawline to his lips. Her hands slid from his shoulders down his chest, and she started working at the buttons of his shirt.

[to_this_end]

He moved into the kiss, opening his mouth as his hands tangled in her hair. He had a moment of everything sinking in, when Zoey began unbuttoning his shirt. They were going to sleep together. Knowing it on the intellectual level and actually lying under her, being undressed were two different animals entirely.

But now...now at last things were beginning to stir, at least somewhat. He hoped she wouldn't take offense at his rather slow arousal. Likely she was used to lovers closer to her own age, men who would already by now be hard and ready.

At least he still could manage arousal. And if nothing else, it allowed them to linger and enjoy the experience.

[cordelisse]

Zoey deepened the kiss, as her fingers made quick work of the rest of his buttons. Then she was slowly, carefully pushing at his shirt, fingertips brushing feather-light against his skin as she shoved it off his shoulders.

She took no offense at all; honestly she was preferring the slow burn. It gave her time to deal with her own lingering nervousness (it had been a long time since she shagged anyone, no matter how close things had come with Jason; almost only counted in horse shoes and hand grenades). And when it came to sex, she would much rather they take their time.

[to_this_end]

Nick made a low sound in his throat, a vague hum of enjoyment. His mouth parted against Zoey's and he let his hands wander. Her slender shoulders, her lean but well muscled arms. It was easier to focus on the small sensations, taking it in parts rather than a whole.

It was a way to keep his mind from straying, as it inevitably did. The first time Amanda had kissed him, he had only been able to think of Gloria. It was a regret he still held close to his heart - time wasted. Opportunity denied. And while there were no deep emotions here, no long simmering love that neither of them had dared to acknowledge, Zoey was...something of a friend.

He wouldn't do her the disservice of thinking about another woman while in bed with her.

So he let his mind stay on the physical. Her fingers against the now-bare skin of his chest. The warmth of her over his hips. The taste of her mouth.

[cordelisse]

Zoey leaned into him, fingertips still mapping his skin as she kissed him. It was all a matter of experimentation, discovering what he did or didn’t like; no matter how much he assured her he wasn’t ‘difficult to please’. Exploration was enjoyable, anyway. Just call me Magellan, she thought with a soft, breathless laugh against his lips.

She began, once again, pressing kisses to the line of his jaw, working her way slowly down his neck, pausing to nip gently at his earlobe. Then she moved lower, kissing leisurely down to the crook of his neck.

[to_this_end]

As she leaned in, Nick's hands moved to her back. He found the hem of her shirt and tugged at it gently, head tipping back again as Zoey's mouth moved along his neck. That flushed feeling had spread, warming his body. His heartbeat was growing erratic. He lifted his hips, pressing himself into the crook of her legs, hoping to get things stimulated. His belt was digging into his abdomen.

"Oh yes," he murmured. "That's very nice."

[cordelisse]

Zoey continued kissing, nipping and sucking her way along his neck, warmth and desire coiling along her bones, making her heart pound. He lifted his hips, pressing himself into her, and she responded in kind, rolling her hips against his. Reluctantly (very, VERY reluctantly), she broke away, letting him begin to tug the shirt she was wearing over her head.

[to_this_end]

Nick pulled her shirt up slowly, noting her hesitation. He wasn't certain if it was due to not wanting to part their contact, or simply because she had lingering reservations regarding him seeing her undressed.

"There we are, lovely," he said, softly. He lifted himself up off the pillows some, sitting to tug off Zoey's shirt completely.

[cordelisse]

Oh, it was mostly reluctance to break contact. If there were any lingering reservations over him seeing her naked, they were relatively minute. The scars on the left side of her back, souvenirs from the Carnival, were a part of her, as much as the tattoo that wound its way up her body was.

But this was the first time she’d been this intimate, this vulnerable, with someone since she’d gotten them. She’d be lying if she said there weren’t any reservations at all. Rush tugged her shirt off completely, leaving her in the altogether from the waist up. His words made the faintest blush ever colour her cheeks, and she leaned forward to kiss him once more.

[to_this_end]

The shirt was tossed aside. Nick shrugged out of his own even as the kissing resumed. It joined the growing pile of clothes beside the bed. His hands returned to her back, now bare, tracing patterns along Zoey's skin. He felt the raised, coarse tissue of scars but it meant nothing to him. Everyone had their scars, whether they wore them inside or out. His hands passed over it without pause.

Sweat was beginning to bead on his skin. His belt buckle was a distracting point of discomfort and he shifted, hips moving as he tried to ease it some.

[cordelisse]

Zoey began kissing and nipping her way along the line of his neck again, tasting the sweat on his skin as she paid the same focused attention to the other side of his neck. She made a low, humming sound as his hand traced patterns along her skin; passing over her scars with pause, without comment. His touch made her shiver.

Her hands slid between them, and she began fumbling with his belt.

[to_this_end]

"Here."

Nick moved his hands to her hips, urging her backwards a bit to make it easier to undo his belt. And to take a moment to look at her again, all of that pale flesh now exposed to view. Half-naked, it struck him again how much Zoey appealed to his aesthetic tastes. He'd always favored pale skin, small breasts, a lean figure. His thumbs stroked the soft skin above her waistband. He'd let her handle the belt, though it would be easy enough to do it himself.

There was a...pleasure, in being undressed during the act.

[cordelisse]

Pressing a kiss to his lips, Zoey followed his urging, moving backwards just a bit. She turned her attention to his belt and the removal thereof; her dark hair falling over her face as she undid the buckle. It took a bit of tugging, but she pulled the belt from where it threaded through the belt loops of his trousers and tossed it to the floor.