MOVE-IN DAY
Welcome to Cadelle, cuddlers! The city is — for the most part, at least — very happy with the first wave of volunteers who have chosen to spend time here! To help everyone get settled a little easier, Mayor Drake and her team have put together a series of helpful booths, each staffed by friendly citizen volunteers who are more than ready to answer any questions characters may have.
▸ First things first: visitors will need to visit City Hall to officially enroll as a Cadelle citizen. Once complete, they'll receive their Welcome Packet, which will include all of the most important items for settling in. Characters will find keys to their apartment and associated mail box, their housing assignment, and their pre-activated CuddleCard, ready to go. In addition, the volunteer coordinators have included a newly printed map of the city, as well as contact information for various city-run organizations, just in case!
▸ Due to the influx of energy from all of the new visitors, the city’s computer systems have been experiencing some "minor hiccups". While this is nothing to be concerned about, characters may find themselves mildly inconvenienced — they may have received keys that don’t work in their door, or been issued someone else's room assignment unknowingly!
▸ If they've arrived during regular business hours, characters are, of course, able to visit the maintenance office on the first floor of each building for help switching out their mismatched keys or determining their correct assignment. However, getting settled after hours will require a little extra creative problem solving — like asking a new friend if sharing a bed for the night seems reasonable, sleeping on the couches in the public lounges downstairs, or maybe even roughing it for the night outdoors. (Of course, there's always the frowned-upon methods of breaking and entering... not that you heard it from us!)
▸ As with any move-in day, there’s bound to be lots to see and do. Characters may need help carrying their things, or even just help finding their way around. If they're lucky enough to find their room without problem, they may not be so lucky in their assignment. They may find themselves living underneath someone who's got to be part elephant (who stomps that much at 6 AM?!) or just above someone who insists on burning every batch of popcorn they make! Get out there, meet the neighbors, and see what this city has to offer!
CITY SCAVENGER HUNT
A few days after the big move-in weekend, characters will find an unread message on their CuddlePhone, encouraging them to check out the CuddleTalk network for a very special message from two very special guests. When they do, they’ll find a cute (but admittedly very cheesy) video message from Cadelle’s volunteer coordinators, Flora and Cornelius. The video highlights a few of the most popular destinations in the city — Blaze Pizza, for example, the home of the ninety-second wood-fired pizza, or Dinah’s, where you can enjoy a literal bucket of fries perfect for sharing.
At the end of the video, a link will come up for characters to click if they are so inclined. They’ll be directed to a sign-up page for a city-wide scavenger hunt, with a grand prize promised for the first team to complete the challenge.
Want to participate?
▸ Characters will be able to sign up for the scavenger hunt either on their own or with a friend. (The prizes remain the same regardless of the size of the team, so if your character wants all the money for themselves, they'll either want to race it alone or pick a very generous teammate!)
▸ Among the many delicious dining destinations around Cadelle, characters will discover three venues that the volunteer coordinators have tapped as their current favorites. Somewhere in those three venues, characters will find a beautiful framed photo of Flora and Cornelius.
▸ When characters find the photo, they'll be instructed to take their best selfie, being sure to capture themselves, the framed snapshot, and their teammate (if they chose to bring one along) in the shot.
▸ The first group to send in all three selfies will win the grand prize — one month's stipend worth of extra CuddleBucks! However, all competitors who complete the challenge will be rewarded with a token of appreciation — one week's stipend worth of CuddleBucks, just for playing along!
▸ While characters explore the city, they just might find some "bonus" surprises along the way. Keep your eyes peeled!
Helpful Hint: To find the secret locations (and any hidden bonuses along the way), check out our CITY DIRECTORY for all the amazing destinations your character can explore! Feel free to sort by category on the left, and click your way through your first big adventure in the big city!
Mod Note: For fairness, the "grand prize" winner will be determined by RNG in a drawing on August 4 at 3:00 PM. If your character would like to be eligible to win the grand prize, please be sure to leave us a comment so we can include them in the drawing!
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cuddlecity2017-08-01 12:00 pm
no subject
A few pictures get painted in her mind. Maybe he's an undercover cop, not interested in the likes of friendly orientation wifi hackers, but one who's been embedded with a crime mob for so long he sometimes wonders if he's still doing the right thing. Or maybe, he's a vigilante, like Steve Rogers, who, she still can't believe she met the other day. Or- maybe, she watches too many tv shows.
The movement of him sitting back down though, is enough to snap her out of it, and Felicity can't help but feel a little bit excited to know what he's about to say. So, as she pulls her tea in towards her with both hands and blows gently at the top to help it cool down, she waits.
"A T.V. show that had an excellent premise, two beautiful actors, but terrible, terrible plot." It just sort of comes out, because there's no way that she actually thinks he's asking her about the supernatural. She thinks he's just going to use it as a metaphor, like she did with magic, which, also isn't real.
no subject
"I...okay, that's...not really what I was expecting. What if I said...werewolf?" he tries, looking curious but feeling anxious. He's had to spend his entire life hiding and there are only a handful of people who knew what he really was when they got into relationships with him. Two out of three were out to harm him, anyway, and had either been playing dumb or had lured him into a false sense of security in spite of his better judgement. This conversation will likely be different. He doesn't get the feeling that Felicity is all that familiar with...well. The supernatural.
He's not entirely sure he wants to know what that show is really about, come to think of it...
no subject
She makes a mental note-to-self to try to rein it in a little when it comes to stuff like that. Try, being the operative word.
"Werewolf..." she repeats, wracking her brain for what she knows. Mostly what comes to mind first is Remus Lupin, but also werewolves have plenty of stories written about them so she can list off what she remembers. "Let's see. Um ... they, are humans normally, who turn into wolves when it's a full moon?" She's doing that thing people do sometimes when they turn all their statements into questions, mostly 'cause she feels very out of her depth here.
Oh. Maybe ... maybe this is how Derek felt with the tech talk.
"I remember from fairy tales that maybe ... they can't always control what's happening when they become a wolf? And I think I read somewhere once that they're naturally ... at odds with ... vampires?"
no subject
She's asking more than she's telling him what she knows, but he supposes that's more to do with uncertainty with what he knows and less to do with uncertainty of her own bank of information. Derek smiles a little to reassure her. Most of that is generally what he's used to hearing. The vampire thing is new, though. He's never met one of those.
"What if I told you they were real?" he asks, his eyes moving over her face, searching her eyes and lips for tells that she might be uncomfortable, in which case, he'll drop it and keep the information to himself. What she doesn't know won't hurt her, after all. He would just...prefer to be honest if he's finally in a place where it's safe to do that.
no subject
"Well, considering that I met a comic book superhero after I got here ... in the flesh ... " She isn't making eye contact, but it's clear that it's because she's trying to weigh the statement in her head. " ... it's not the most far-fetched thing I could believe."
She looks at him then, tentative, like she's trying to decide if he's pulling her leg or trying to get something serious across. "Are you ..." she starts, eyebrows narrowing, "... for real? Werewolves aren't ... myths?"
No part of her is telling him that she's afraid, just unsure about whether to believe something because nothing about the supernatural has been real for her yet. Maybe if he'd asked her after the Central City accelerator explosion, but that hasn't happened yet in Felicity's timeline.
no subject
His eyebrows lift a little when she looks back at him. He has a feeling she isn't quite finished talking, so he waits a moment. There's something about that look on her face that suggests there's a question coming, most likely why he's asking her about werewolves. He's close, but just a little off, with his guess.
"No, we're very much real," he replies, leaning back in his chair a little, intentionally giving her a bit of space after outing himself in that sentence. He says it nonchalantly in the hopes that it'll take her a second to process and by the time she realizes what she's heard, she'll have had time to realize that he's not a threat to her just because of what he is. "And just like people, there are good ones and bad ones. Werewolves that protect the towns they live in and werewolves who wreak havoc on them." He pauses. "...I'm with the former."
no subject
It does take her a moment to really process it, because even in the first second, she thinks she misheard. Then she thinks maybe he misspoke, because dear lord this is not what he had expected him to say, so much so that there's a slight barrier to her even understanding correctly.
But then he goes on, and it's like her face, which is usually very expressive, freezes in place. It's hung, in suspense, before she can decide what to believe and what not to, as all the scary things about werewolves start slowly fading in.
She doesn't say anything right away when he's done, and that's the first Derek would be able to smell it. That trace of fear. She's scared — not of him perse, but of an uncertain future, because Felicity's imagination has always been too broad for her own good. But along with that fear is a certain stubborn disbelief that the guy in front of her could do any of those things she's imagined for herself.
She takes a sip of her tea, completely aware that it's been a good few seconds now since she's spoken, and she holds up a finger before he can say anything more.
"Just- let me- process that for a little bit."
It's the subtle little details in his body language really, like the fact that he's leaning back, that do help, even if she can't recognize it consciously.
Honestly, maybe he's just like Remus. And- and Remus was a Gryffindor. It's really too bad that she was too old to watch Twilight. Otherwise her image of werewolves would be gorgeous beefy young men. Ahem.
When she's finally ready to talk, her fingers curl unconsciously around her mug, seeking out its familiar warmth.
"What does it mean, exactly, to be a werewolf?"
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It makes sense for her to be afraid. There are a lot of ugly things in the fictional mythology of werewolves. Hell, for all he knows, they're a real thing in her world and what she's heard and thought was myth was real all along. She has ever reason to be fearful, but that doesn't take the sting out of it for him.
So when she puts her finger up, it's in vain because he didn't plan to speak again until she did anyway, but he nods and waits all the same.
His eyes shift down so that he's not watching her any longer, giving her a chance to process it in privacy. It's the first time he's ever told someone without them figuring it out on their own before he could; it's a hell of a lot harder than it looks.
When Felicity speaks again, Derek's eyes shift up to meet hers. "It means that I was born a man who can become a wolf." That's not...technically true. He'd only fairly recently evolved into the sort of werewolf with the rare ability to go full wolf, but he could go half. Most of the time, he prefers to go half, because then he still has opposable thumbs. The human body is fragile as hell, but it certainly is convenient for fighting. "My eyes don't really look like this. I can grow claws and fangs. I could turn into a full-on wolf."
He pauses then and leans forward again, slowly, lowering his voice just for her. "I'm not going to hurt you, Felicity. Or anyone. I have complete control of my turns and the full moon doesn't really effect me anymore. Not like when I was a kid. You don't have to be afraid."
no subject
She doesn't actually have a good reason to believe either of them. She's only known them for a week, tops. And yet ... well, Derek, just like the boy, has been so easy-going, so human. But the fear doesn't disappear, even if she wants to believe him at his word.
In cases like this, Felicity has one instinct really: get more information.
"What scenarios makes you decide to turn? Does it happen ... often?"
no subject
Derek smiles a little, but it doesn't reach his eyes. If he's completely honest, fear makes him want to turn because he feels stronger and more secure in that form, even though he has the same abilities either way. Telling her that isn't going to assuage any worries, though, so he goes with the next best thing.
"When I need or want to feel stronger and more focused, I transition halfway because I identify more with the wolf part of myself than the human one. The human one has always felt more like a mask that just sort of fits especially well, but isn't really me. When I want to feel...free or I need to relax, I go full wolf and go for a run. The latter, I do pretty much daily, but most people will never know it, because I just run in the woods and then switch back."
He keeps a change of clothes hidden in the bushes whenever he does it, too, because otherwise people would catch on quickly that something wasn't quite right about the random naked guy in the woods.
"...what other questions do you have?" he finds himself asking, a little uncertainly. The uncertainty comes from the fact that he's never invited anyone to ask questions about werewolves...except other werewolves freshly turned or people he was planning on turning with their permission. This is different. He couldn't turn Felicity — or anyone — even if he wanted to, but if he could, he wouldn't. He's done with all the Alpha stuff, thankfully. He's not a leader. He was bad at it, people died because he made critical errors in judgement, and he's not keen to have that sort of responsibility ever again. He's letting her ask more questions because...he's interested in getting to know her more and he can't ask to get to know her without letting her get to know him. And, well. This is a new place and he's starting a new life. It's equal parts liberating and terrifying, but he's going all in on starting fresh and being a whole new, hopefully better, Derek.