EVENT ▸ welcome week

[cuddlemods]

EVENT 001: WELCOME WEEK

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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Comments

[smoak]

The craziest part is that when Derek says that he isn't dangerous, it makes Felicity immediately remember a very similar conversation she had a boy who was basically a zombie. Don't worry, he'd also said to her. I won't hurt you.

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?"

[duelo]

The fact that she's still sitting here asking questions is actually weirdly reassuring. It means she isn't so scared that she'd rather come up with some excuse to put as much space as possible between them as quickly as she can manage to. He'll take it.

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.