changehistory | Completely stolen from prometheusrise

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Completely stolen from prometheusrise

Because there needs to be something fun among the angst...

Because kissing under the mistletoe is an ancient and festive tradition... and because I feel there can always be more kissing about.

Two ways to play:

Request kisses.
If there's someone you'd like a kiss from, repost the picture above in a comment. Please be considerate--tag the muse's in-character contact post, or an old meme post, something like that. Don't tag a prompt response, a fic, or an RP thread. You may also post the picture to your journal, and mark the entry locked to whomever you want the kiss from.

Offer kisses.
If you're feeling particularly bold or adventurous, post the picture in your journal, note that it's open to all, and let people ask for kisses from you. Give them at least a sentence or two in response, though--none of this "*kiss*" nonsense, that's no fun.

When you post, kindly either repost these rules, or link to this post of Shelley's.

Consider this an open offer for kisses to anyone who would like them from me, and utterly and totally meta with no binding on either muse without full consent of both writers involved.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He chuckled and sipped his whiskey, leaning back on the sofa, watching her with a curious sort of intensity. "Now what?"

She closed the fingers of both her hands around her glass, flashing him an apparently offhanded smile. "Now we go back to having a pleasant conversation, all the while pretending we both are not thinking the completely filthy things we are thinking about one another the whole time."

He smirked and let his eyes wander down over her, plenty of filthy thoughts clear in his eyes. "And what shall we talk about?"

Her mouth curved into rather a wicked smirk, letting him know the attention did not go unnoticed... or unappreciated.

"What are you keeping yourself busy with?" she asked, raising her glass to her lips once more.

He chuckled softly, leaning back a bit further on the sofa.

"I find myself in the awkward position of being somewhat aimless at the moment. But I have an idea or two, a project perhaps, brewing. And you?"

"Aimless?" She shuddered, making a bit of a face. "I couldn't imagine. I'd go a bit mental, I think."

She settled in comfortably, smiling. "I have several things going on or just ended. I hired myself out to a businessman who needed my particular expertise. A very hands-on sort of situation... I'm still recovering from that," she said, grimacing slightly as she shifted. "Bit of stock manipulation here, bit of research there, and a personal project of my own I'm working at when I can find time. Whilst also juggling more personal attachments and relationships at once than I've had in all the rest of my lives combined."

Adam's smile was a bit wry. "I know what you mean by the latter. For three hundred and fifty years I managed to float through time unattached. Now I find myself surrounded, besieged even, by connection after connection that I find myself reluctant to break free from."

"Tell me about your research?" he asked, head tilting. "And the stock manipulation..."

"I've been doing a comparative study of human brains and their nervous system, versus my own," the Rani explained. "I just have some ideas kicking around, if the similarities are strong enough.

And as far as the stocks..." She grinned. "Dylan tells me which stocks have done well over time. I go back and buy them at their initial public offering, and then come back to the present and sell our shares, making a huge profit."

"So, you're well versed in the human brain?" Adam looked intrigued, sitting up straighter. That could be interesting.

"Very nice. It sounds like a very profitable venture."

She nodded. "I am, yes. Well versed in a lot of brains, actually, but human brains are the closest I've found to Gallifreyan brains, so I've studied those the most intensively."

She laughed, and nodded. "And yes, it is. Though I can't take the credit for the idea. Dylan was the one who thought it up. When I met him he was engaged in small-scale credit and identity theft to keep himself funded. I was able to help him expand that, but a lot of the ideas have been his own."

Adam fidgeted with his glass for a moment. "Have you found human brains with...differences? Genetic mutations, as it were?"

"Dylan sounds very enterprising indeed. And here I just thought long-term investing was the way to go."

She raised an eyebrow, studying Adam across the table. "Not personally, no. But I've read of cases. And I see where the potential exists. Why do you ask?"

She drained the whiskey that remained in her glass, and set it down. "And I'm sure, if you wanted, Dylan would be happy to play the same game with your money."

"I'm just wondering if people like me, like those I know, if there is something different about our brains that hasn't been found, or if it is something more genetic. Could abilities be predicted?"

His smile broke out. "Do you think so?"

"Hmmm." She refilled her glass, and then took a sip, sitting back in her chair and pondering the question. "I don't see why not. If not something in the brain, then perhaps a genetic marker. Some change in the DNA that makes these abilities manifest. It could be easily located if one knew what to look for."

She grinned, and nodded. "I do. I think he rather enjoys the game, personally. I doubt he'd mind helping a friend."

"Could it be found by a comparison to a non-evolved person's DNA or brain?"

He grinned brighter, the alcohol and company clearly cheering him up. "That's brilliant."

"It's possible..." Her brow knit again, and she had another sip of her drink. "Though if we're to use that as a screening process, I'd need a very large data pool. I don't know, for instance, that I could just compare your blood or brain to another person's, and just know. I'd need large samples from both populations in order to find the pattern."

She glanced at him, coming out of her thinking, and she laughed softly. "I'll speak with him, though I don't foresee an objection. You'll just need to get him the seed money."

"Ah...." He frowned a bit more, thinking, trying to see how it could be turned to his advantage.

"That I can do. I've rather a large amount invested in an associate's bank."

"I'll think it over," she said, noticing his frown. "If I think of how to do it, I'll let you know."

She grinned. "Do you? And he won't be upset if you withdraw a bit? Though we won't need an obscene amount..."

"I'd appreciate that," he said with a smile.

Adam shrugged. "I told him I would need some ready for a rather quickly for a new venture, so he is expecting it."

She returned the smile, nodding. "You're welcome. It's an interesting problem you've presented me with... I'll enjoy seeking an answer, I think. And it's good that your friend will be ready. If it would make things easier, he can wire the money or prepare a cashier's check. Dylan Hartnell... he does his banking in Washington DC and the Cayman Islands."