As the blustery winds and steady snows of January give way to the cool breezes of February, the city begins to notice strange trends amongst its volunteer citizenry: an uptick of online searches for things like flower shops and cheap romantic meals, a surprising increase in chocolate purchases (though, perhaps more surprising, no increases in consumption), and a report from the local pharmacies regarding a sudden shortage in contraceptives, of all things! Consider the administration officially flummoxed — that is, until the city's favorite and only volunteer coordinators begin to investigate further.
You see, Valentine's Day isn't quite the thing in Cadelle. Here, St Valentine never led couples in matrimony under Roman rule, and so, no time-honored capitalist dream could be established. However, the date of February the 14th is still a special one in the city — it's the day that many honor as St Trifon's Day, or "Winemaker's Day". It's a day of celebrating the first pour of the prior year's winemaking, with the first bottle of each vintage reserved for drinking with one's special someone... preferably privately, where post-drink merriment may commence uninterrupted. (Scandalous.)
Not wanting to leave out any of their volunteers from the city's special day, the volunteer coordinators have arranged a collection of meeting locations, each perfect for getting to know a potential special somebody in advance of the big day. To help people get acquainted, they've partnered with that reclusive (and anonymous) mogul behind okCuddle to add a limited time special feature for the season — that's right, a matchmaker!
Simply press the bright red button on your app's home screen to be enrolled in a Match Meeting. There are five unique locations, each offering a different experience to appeal to those who might find true love or common ground in its midst, and each location will host a different couple each day to ensure everyone has an opportunity to meet their one-and-only... or maybe just their one-night-only. (We won't judge.)
▸ Any opportunity to incite a little romantic feeling would be remiss if it didn't include the time-honored date experience: a candlelit steakhouse dinner at the city's best dining experience, DeWolfe's. Whether you're hungering for a porterhouse medium rare or a more demure airline chicken breast, the wait staff here will be more than happy to attend to any needs you may have, and delighted to disappear shortly after, providing plenty of privacy for quiet conversation and those ever-important lingering glances. Feel free to extend your night with a walk through DeWolfe's famed gardens out back, or perhaps a nightcap... the only question left, then, is their place or yours?
▸ Let The Good Times Roll offers those who enjoy athleticism and coordination an evening of nostalgic fun under twinkling lights — courtesy, of course, of the disco ball hung prominently in the center of the risk, a perfect match for the classic jams that are piped out from the speakers on each wall. Strap on a pair of rental skates, and when the lights get low, be sure to hold your honey's hand tight for that all-important couple's skate. When you're done zooming around the linoleum, be sure to try a bite of the rink's famous pizza and popsicles meal, the perfect treat for summer campers and kids at heart alike! Groovy!
▸ The Vinery, while not necessarily a classic first-date location, offers a bit of non-traditional romance with its gorgeous hill country views and a seemingly endless assortment of local blends to sample. Visitors paired up for a Match Meeting here will have the opportunity to enjoy a rarely experienced grape-stomping session, during which they'll become bonafide vinters (winemakers, for the uninitiated) and the proud recipients of a complimentary bottle of the Vinery's own St Trifon's Day special blend — the perfect reason to ask for a second date, no? (And if you don't want to wait, there's always the cover of a gazebo or the fields nearby...)
▸ Animal aficionados, fear not: the expansive nature reserve at Nahtazu offers an opportunity to get up-close and personal with your favorite wild beasts — no, not the ones in your pants — and one of the reserve's most knowledgeable guides to show you the way. Of course, since it's an hour away aboard the local trains, the city has arranged a private compartment for two, where Match Meeting attendees will enjoy a catered lunch, the perfect way to fuel for a long day of hiking, climbing, and maybe even a few jungle swings. On the way back, feel free to enjoy the plush seats for a little post-adventure cuddling... or more, we won't tell!
▸ At The Worm Hole, nerds and geeks and casual gamers alike will find plenty to shoot and score on over pints of everything from sweet ciders to dark ales. There's no shortage of games here, so if your idea of a great night out involves beating your date at Super Smush Brothers — and no, that's not a typo — you'll definitely enjoy your time here. To help set the mood, a special booth has been set aside for Match Meetings in the far corner of the room: get cozy, play some Pong, and maybe make things interesting. Strip Marco Kart, anyone?
Of course, those that opted not to sign up for the city's version of eHarmony won't be left out of all the fun! In preparation for the big day, Flora and Cornelius have put together what they're affectionally calling the single mingle: a weeklong invitation to enjoy the best in everything but romantic films and features at the local theatre. Feel free to come alone or bring a pal or two, and enjoy complimentary admission and select snacks each night — just don't let them catch you getting frisky! That's what the drive in is for!
Surprise! It's a Valentine's event that's almost not about Valentine's Day! For those of you that participated in our survey, you should have received a private message from our moderator journal with information regarding your character's match assignment by now. If you did not receive one, please let us know!
Because this event runs a little differently than many of our other events, we've opted to tweak our process a little as well. For your character's date, please locate your appropriate date and location in our BLIND DATE THREAD HERE. If it's still empty, your character has beaten their date to the punch (and maybe the free food, too). If there's already a reply, greet your date! (Pretty simple, right?) For all other threads, including pre/post date experiences, feel free to post traditional open top levels as usual!
For example: Flora may have a blind date with Cornelius on Monday at DeWolfe's, so she'll comment to the Monday thread's DeWolfe comment with her starter. This will make it easy for Cornelius to find her thread and reply. However, Flora may also be lingering outside beforehand looking nervous, or shopping in the mall the day before and looking for help in finding an outfit — these prompts can be posted as traditional open top-levels!
If you have any further questions specific to this event, we encourage you to ask away on our QUESTIONS COMMENT here in this post. If you have general questions, or prefer a more private venue, our GENERAL INBOX (and SCREENED INBOX) is always available for you. In addition, if you've got an idea for a future event, feel free to drop us a line at our EVENTS SUGGESTION POST.
Peace out, cuddle scouts! |
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cuddlecity2018-02-01 11:13 am
spencer reid ▸ota
▸ shopping
One might think someone preparing for a date would be shopping for clothes, or cologne, or getting a hair cut. This would be normal behavior, which means Reid is doing none of it.
Instead, he's mostly shopping for books. It doesn't exactly make sense given how fast he reads, but that's never stopped him before. He likes just having the books, technophone that he is, and he can also be spotted carting stacks to the used book store to do regular rounds of trade-ins almost literally every other day. On a bad week, he goes through five books a week, and that's a very bad week.
He can also be spotted sitting outside, yes, reading, fast enough to catch attention and subsequent incredulity, or in public spaces at cafes playing chess, either by himself or with any takers, including kids who are learning. Ordinarily he'd play in a park, but it's a little too chilly out right now. In his surfeit of free time, he just doesn't know what else to do with himself, and is accordingly catching up on his only two other hobbies: reading and strategy games.
▸ movie night
Reid is all over movie nights, given it's the right subject material. Romance isn't his taste, needless to say, and neither is action or espionage-- he has enough of that in his real life, thanks. What's left is sci fi (of course) and, well, the quirkier indie movies, which he probably attends the vast majority of. He's not exactly jumping out to socialize, though; it might be singles night but he doesn't typically initiate any social contact at movies.
Unless someone happens to be sitting precisely next to him right when he has an extraneous factoid to point out, about the movie itself, its creation, the historical context, scientific plausibility-- it could be anything, knowing Reid. Just depends on the movie.
▸ card games
Before or after the movies, Reid can be spotted doing the most engagingly social activity yet: running card games. He would play in them, but it feels more than a little unfair with strangers. Coworkers he'll spring his card-counting, eidetic memory, math-oriented brain on without warning, since they only bet for literal airplane peanuts (and pretzels). Strangers, he'd rather not take advantage of, so instead he runs games at request, making it obvious what he's doing even without any current takers by doing elaborate card shuffling at an empty table.
He does sleight-of-hand, too, and confidence suddenly springs from nowhere the second cards are in his hands.
"I'm from Vegas," he informs anyone who looks curious. "What do you want to play?"
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"You haven't heard of Las Vegas, Nevada?" Where or when is he from?
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"Nevada, sure."
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"When are you from?" he finally asks. Having met Sansa and Nate, by now he's more attuned to this as a legitimate question.
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"There's someone else here from around your timeframe. Should we be jumping to tell you things about the future?" Reid sounds a little doubtful, like he thinks more thought should be put into it.
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The point is he's not worried about it.
"So, we playin' or yappin', huh?" He takes a seat at the table, just the two of them. "What're you good at, pal?"
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"I usually play for peanuts. Uh, actual peanuts. I don't like to take peoples' money." This sounds like boasting on face value, but Reid's tone is all factual.
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card games }
"Does that make a difference?"
She hasn't seen a lot of Vegas movies. Hers was a sheltered childhood.
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He shuffles one last time, and then draws five cards and holds them out to her. "Pick a card?"
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"I've never been to Vegas."
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Reid shuffles one more time, less extravagantly, and then cuts the deck and holds out half of it to her. "Sorry, I need it back. Right on top, please."
Reid, actually, is extremely good at magic, good enough that he could perform if he were the performing sort. (He isn't.) But part of being good at magic is having people underestimate you, and he plays right into that.
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"Beacon Hills. It's a small town in California."
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"Then... do you know Lydia? We met earlier." By which he means she's his first and so far only actual friend here, and they bonded fast. But Reid doesn't go around advertising.
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"Yeah! Lydia's my best friend."
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He should probably introduce himself properly if they have a mutual acquaintance. Reid isn't the most socially graceful person, but he's not terrible, either. He goes about separating the card deck into four neat stacks.
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chess
Loki turns away from the window, but where is he hurrying off to? On an impulse, he walks inside and orders himself a drink, some daily special or other, and approaches the single player. Some days, he chooses to look unobtrusive, putting on the black suit he uses to blend in. Today is not one of those days. Having gone back to the familiar green and black and then discovering his long-forgotten sister had favored the same colors (and then dressing so garishly on Sakaar, as protective coloration), he now wears his leathers of black and deep green defiantly. Even the emerald cape, flowing at his heels.
"I see a victory in nine moves by the white army, if the rules of this are similar to the rules of the game I know," he says, surveying the board more than the man.
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He's met a lot of atypical people here so far, but none this visually different. Even Magnus had looked like someone Reid could see wandering around Vegas-- or Brooklyn, as the case may be. Still. Talking chess is something Reid could do with anyone.
He looks back at the board and makes a thoughtful noise. "I can see it. Interesting that chess might be a trans-universal constant. It only developed into its modern form on Earth around six hundred years ago." Reid moves a black piece to counter the mentioned strategy, pondering the game itself and spouting facts without really thinking about it.
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"No wings?" he asks, setting it back down and taking a sip of his "Valentine's latte," which proves horribly sweet on first tasting, cherry and vanilla mixing with the coffee and milk, but after the initial shock, it's better than he expects.
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"Why would there be wings?" he asks quickly. "I take it your references to Asgard and Thor aren't incidental." He can't believe he's asking this, but-- "Æsir?" His pronunciation isn't stellar but it isn't awful, either. It's rote, like he's recreating written international phonemes. (He is.) Reid's already been forced, in his short time here, to come to grips with some incredible things, so his brain veers straight down the implausible pathway as the more likely one.
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There's a pause as a bolt of some concern travels across Loki's face, there and gone. "I may bear little resemblance to the Loki of your myths, however." Now he sets down the horse's head and slowly and deliberately edges it away from himself. He doesn't have any children, but he especially never gave birth to Odin's eight-legged steed. "That would be a Valkyrie on Asgard," he adds, gesturing to the piece again without touching it.
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He's a good enough profiler to catch the concern, and responds to that first. Maybe to other people, a god would seem abstract, but Reid understands the person in front of him to have legitimate family connections, and that's about the only criterion he needs to treat someone as he would any human, with all the corresponding consideration. He's open to being proved otherwise, but for now, he sees no reason not to treat non-humans as humanely as he would anyone else. Which means not making presumptions.
"It would make sense if you didn't. To start with, you're invariably from another plane of existence; secondly, the extant Norse myths have not survived the years particularly well. They were primarily passed on through oral tradition, and when they were transcribed, they were largely subject to the reinterpretations of Christian scribes, who would have had secondary motives in any recordings of pagan religion."
He finally smiles, just a little, enough to be friendly. "Dr. Spencer Reid, by the way. I've definitely never met a god, or Asgardian, of any sort before."
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"A pleasure, Doctor, and you make an excellent point. I was rather startled to find, on my arrival here, that I had suddenly been gifted with four monstrous children and three more ordinary children, as well as a wife I've never met, and that I am apparently meant to be chained in a cave somewhere." That part isn't so farfetched, but he doesn't need to share that. "But I am pleased to be the first god you've met," he adds with a smile that certainly lends some weight to all those tales of Loki's mischief.
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His eyebrows go up at this recounting. "Presumably you didn't find that out because they're here," he answers. Suspiciously, "Was whoever told you that trying to get a rise out of you? Or just not used to the idea that stories can depict real people?"
No matter who he is, Reid would never think it a good idea to tell someone on first meeting how they're supposed to die. Apart from tactless, it's mean. Profilers don't have the luxury of treating anyone as inhuman monsters.
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