cuddlecity | EVENT: LIFE'S A BEACH

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EVENT: LIFE'S A BEACH

Is it hot in here, cuddlers, or is it just us? No, it's definitely hot — the end of summer is here, and a few miles out from the city, on the beach, the scene is set: if you’ve been able to follow’s Baby’s clues, they led you here.

The dress code is — surprise, surprise — beachwear, but do think of bringing some layers to cover up these beautiful bikinis and all, because the night could get a little chilly if you stray too far from that bonfire. And, of course, if you don’t want to be that exposed, it’s not like the dress code is a mandatory thing, either. (Just don't be surprised if you hear a few disappointed groans from the audience if you come all covered up.)

The first thing that can be seen is a BAR, with a large poster advertising CriminALES at its front. Like any good beach bar, beers and cocktails with tiny little umbrellas in them can be obtained for a small price — or for free, if you're suave enough to impress the bartender on duty. Nearby, SNACK TABLES feature a veritable buffet of edibles, ranging from chips to brownies to crudites and dips (all courtesy of Kimberly and Clary, thank you!). However, if you felt like bringing your own food and alcohol to the party, you won’t be turned away.

Further down the beach, dry wood has been piled up in what looks like an imminent BONFIRE; if you're a little too delicate to rest on the sand, don't worry — there are plenty of bean bags, cushions, and blankets. Feel free to cuddle up to someone familiar, or maybe a new friend, and enjoy the roaring fire once the sun sets.

Beyond the obvious entertainment of the sun, surf, and sand, your party planners have gone to great lengths to ensure everyone is ready to have a great time. Near the bar, inflated beach balls and other toys are strewn around, and the beach's VOLLEYBALL COURT is no stranger to a game or two. As the night goes on, there just might be a few DRINKING GAMES started — "spin the bottle", anyone?

Of course, a party hosted by Baby himself wouldn't be the same without the all-important KILLER TUNES. Nestled directly to the side of the seating area, a makeshift DJ booth flanked by tiki torches serves as the beating heart of the party, and marks the start of a large square expanse of sand, a DIY DANCE FLOOR cordoned off by a large speaker in each of the four corners, all connected by links of colorful bunting.

As promised, the MUSIC will be blasting until the morning, ranging from massive party tunes (no, but seriously) to romantic ballads for those who feel like a slow dance. There are also, strewn around, some serious dancing jams because what’s a party without some exquisitely cheesy songs? Later on, when there is less dancing and more lounging around, quieter, softer classics will be put on as background music. Feel free to MAKE A REQUEST (or ten), or even steal the mic and sing a little song yourself!

Come on down, Cadelle, and give the summer one last hurrah before it goes away. As the unimitable Ella Fitzgerald would say, "it's summertime, and the livin' is easy."

The mod team is so excited to post our first PLAYER-HOSTED EVENT! If your character has the desire to host an event of some kind, be it a party, a grand opening for their business, or something else all together, please don't hesitate to let us know via our EVENT SUGGESTIONS POST!

For help with this, or for any other concerns, please feel free to reach out to us via our GENERAL INBOX (or SCREENED INBOX, if you prefer). Have fun, cuddlers, and don't forget your SPF!

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[ Derek is admittedly relieved at the smile in response. It means he read her correctly and he hasn't committed some horrible offense by misunderstanding and indulging the game when she'd changed her mind. They seem to have been on the same page and, even more so, Derek thinks so when she says they can quit playing and head to the bonfire. ]

Sounds like a plan.

[ He returns the smile and pushes himself to his feet, holding out a hand to her, intending to draw her up to her feet as well so that they can go.

Glinda doesn't seem angry, so that's good. She seems to be, well...pleased. The game evidently had its novel effect and she's ready to go off on their own. This could've gone worse; he's glad it hadn't.]

Which way is it?

[ Typically, Derek doesn't do fires, not anymore. Not after one took his family, anyway. But for Glinda, he can. How bad can it be, anyway? It's been a long time since the Hale house fire. This one will be controlled. He's going to be fine. ]

[The Good Witch slips her ridiculous shoes back on, takes her parasol in hand- and by the point he's up and holding his hand out to her. Which she accepts graciously. She gives his hand a squeeze as he helps her back up, stumbling only slightly towards him as she vaguely remembers why she wasn't wearing her shoes earlier.

Though sobering enough now, heels and sand don't exactly get along. Regardless, she's determined and manages to keep herself from stumbling completely into him.]

Just over there.

[She gestures with her free hand, not keen on letting go of his hand just yet.]

[ His eyebrows lift a little, in a mixture of amusement and incredulity when Glinda puts her shoes back on. She might as well keep them off, if she wants to walk comfortably, but he keeps that to himself and just lets her steady herself by holding his hand. Mostly because, admittedly, it's kind of nice to hold her hand. It's a sweet, intimate sort of gesture he can honestly say he hasn't indulged in since he was in high school.

Derek nods and starts in the direction indicated, smiling sheepishly over at her. ]

Was that okay? I didn't mean to make it weird or anything, but I didn't want you to waste your turn, either...

[ Might as well check with her directly to make sure that they're still good, after all. It'll be secretly plaguing him all night if he doesn't. ]

[ She is bound and determined to keep wearing the shoes- she went through enough trouble to pair them with her outfit after all. Still, probably through sheer determination, she's able to walk without looking completely ridiculous-

Even if he's second guessing the kiss. Glinda glances over at him and breathes out a soft laugh while shaking her head. ]

It was more than okay- I would have stopped you if it wasn't.

[ She'd like to try again without the bottle and crowd. Longer next time too. But that remains unsaid as she half follows/half leads the way towards the fire. ]

But I promise it didn't make anything weird.

[ Derek easily relaxes when she gives her reassuring response. More than okay suggests something he's not sure she meant to imply, but he lets it slide because he doesn't want to overanalyze anything and this is Glinda of all people. Glinda the Good Witch of the North. It's a little too surreal to let himself think that someone like her could be interested in someone as broken and damaged as he is. ]

I'm glad. That it wasn't weird, I mean; I would've felt bad.

[ They make their way to the bonfire and Derek chooses a spot far from the flames but not so far that they're not a part of the crowd. There, he lowers himself to the sand and finally takes his own shoes off, letting his toes sink into the sand as he looks over at her. ]

You look really nice tonight.

[ In case no one's told her. Someone should. ]

[ Glinda sits next to him- only just now realizing how awkward it is that she's taking off her shoes again. She pulls her knees close to her chest and turns her head to look at him- cheek against her knees.]

Thank you, Derek.

[ You do too? ]

I'm glad I ran into you before you left the party. This is nice.

[ That movement makes her look somehow so much more approachable, even though he doesn't perceive her to be unapproachable in the first place. There's something casual and childlike about it that Derek finds endearing and the smile on his face illustrates that. ]

You're welcome. I'm glad I ran into you, too.

[ He probably shouldn't still be thinking about that stupid game and the kiss that came out of it, but he is. He's glad that happened, too. It felt nice and God knows he wouldn't have had it in him to try to kiss Glinda the Good Witch of the North from the Wizard of Oz otherwise. That much is for sure.

Although, thinking that makes him realize he doesn't actually know Glinda at all. It's not like she played a very big role in the movie. Important, yes, but big, no. ]

So, what have you been doing with yourself lately?

[ Oh that kiss is going to be on her mind for quite some time. Even if it was just that chaste peck. The thing is, the more he smiles? The more she does. ]

Honestly I have been doing much. I've been trying to learn the technology around here... and I've been volunteering my time at the soup kitchen and animal shelter... while I try to find a job.

[ She leans in just enough to knock her shoulder lightly against his arm and wiggles her toes in the sand.

With him, she can forget the difficulties of the past... The lost friends, lost fiance... It's nice to be allowed a break from that mental burden. ]

You? Apart from the job you've picked up?

[ And likewise, the more she smiles, the more Derek does; they appear to be fueling one another's fires in that way. Derek smirks, amused, when she nudges his arm with her shoulder. ]

I'd put in a good word for you where I work, but it's kind of a rough crowd in there. I don't think you'd like it much.

[ Regardless of the accuracy of the perception, Derek sees Glinda as a lot more fragile than someone who would want to work in a place like CriminALES. ]

Me? Ah, not really much. Mostly the job and I've been reading. I kind of gave up on the search through Cadelle's history in favor of Pride and Prejudice. Someone recommended it to me and I'm giving it a shot.

[ He leans back a little, hands in the sand behind himself to keep him largely upright as he looks over at her. ]

What do you do for fun? Unless the volunteering is the fun part?

[ The thought of her working at a bar, even while here in a place so far from home, is laughable... And even with good intentions, she can't help but giggle at the thought. ]

Thank you for that regardless. I'll find something perhaps not so rough.

[ She could handle herself, but it's more that she wants to keep up appearances and all. ]

I haven't heard of that- perhaps I should look into reading more stories to pass my time.

[ Glinda remains as she is as he leans back, still smiling over at him as she does. ]

It's been a while since I've had time for taking a break and doing anything fun. The volunteering was meant to be some of my fun... The parties, though a lot different from home... I would go out dancing a lot when I was younger. [ As though she's 'old' now... even if she feels it. ]

[ Derek nods a little, smiling. It's a knowing sort of smirk; knowing because there's no way she was going to work at CriminALES and he wasn't serious. If she had wanted, he would've put in a good word, but he'd mostly been joking. ]

I'm sure you will. If I can help, let me know.

[ Shrugging a little, Derek looks back at her. ]

It's okay. Some woman on the Ok Cuddle recommended it. Not really my cup of tea, but it's not bad at all. You can borrow it when I'm done if you want? I prefer to buy books over taking them out of libraries. That way, if I feel like making little notes in the margins, I'm not an asshole.

[ A smile pulls at the corners of his mouth as he looks back at her, saying when she was younger as if she's somehow old. If she is, she certainly doesn't look it. ]

I learned how to ballroom dance when I was a kid. My mom made my sister and I take lessons for one of my cousins' weddings. That's the last time I've bothered dancing. What made you stop? If you like it, age shouldn't stop you doing it.

[ Look- if she was determined enough, she'd offer to work there just out of spite. There's probably a spell or five in the Grimmerie that would be useful at more uncouth establishments. ]

You'll be the first person I go to.

[ As he continues about the book however, Glinda finds herself nodding as he speaks, smiling and laughing at his comment about marking up the margins. ]

I would love to read it after you're done- if not only to see what notes you have to say about it in the margins.

[ She's an old soul! Or at least that's what she's telling herself... She's not actually, but recent events have matured her rapidly. That's her story and she's sticking to it... ]

I got a little too busy for it. An elected official doesn't have much time to herself... especially not when everything goes topsy turvy. [ And your fiance leaves you for your best friend whose sister dies shortly after and then your fiance dies and your best friend reveals that the man in charge of Oz is a fraud and horrid person and then she dies...

Not much of a chance to go dancing during all of that. But despite her thoughts going off track as such, she manages a small smile over at him. ]

Would you like to go dancing with me sometime, Derek?

[ Derek laughs a little at the way Glinda gets just that out of it and he shakes his head. ]

I think with this book, you'd be pretty disappointed, since most, if not all, of my notes are little questions I mean to Google for further analysis. Or ask around, maybe, but I hear Google has just about everything, so... Maybe I can find what I'm looking for.

[ He pauses then, thoughtfully. ]

...I wonder if they even have Google here...

[ Shaking his head, he gives Glinda his attention again. It doesn't matter, anyway. He'll figure out what he needs to figure out one way or another.

Glinda's plight earns her a sympathetic look. Derek knows what it's like to lead and it's a lot of work and responsibility. One mistake could cost lives. Being elected into it is almost definitely different than stealing the power and creating a group of followers, so to speak, the way he had, but still. The end game is the same, to some degree. So when she asks whether he'd like to go dancing with her, rather than answer that he'd like to spend more time with her, but that dancing isn't really his thing, Derek decides against it. ]

Yeah. Yeah, I would.

[ He pauses, looking over at her. ]

How about now?

[ There isn't really the kind of music playing that he'd prefer, plus it's distant from where they're sitting, but so? ]

Now this is where I'm going to sound completely ridiculous- but what's Google?

[ Glinda tries to smile in the face of that sympathetic look he's giving her- had this been before everything, she might have enjoyed the sympathy and attention... But anymore it has her forcing back that strong smile she so often hid behind.

She's beaming over at him when he agrees- but it takes her a moment after he suggests "now" for her to actually realize he means it. ]

'Now' requires significantly less planning... [ And waiting. ] I'd like that.

[ Derek actually laughs at that question, but it's a good-natured laugh. ]

Oh thank God, I'm not the only one who isn't an Internet-whiz around here. I was starting to think I was alone in that particular endeavor. It's just a search engine or whatever it's called. You ask it questions, it spits out webpages that give you the information.

[ Glinda might be able to put a smile on her face, but Derek can smell that it doesn't match her feelings. He doesn't ask because he doesn't have to. He's been there. Mistakes are made. People are lost. Guilt clings like a second skin and it takes a long damn time to shake it off, if one can manage it at all. He doesn't need to ask her what she's feeling because he's willing to bet he's felt it.

Derek gets to his feet, instead, taking her hand and pulling her up if she'll let him. ]

It's been a long time since I've danced, fair warning.

[ Alone in his loft to the new Fall Out Boy album doesn't count and he will never admit to it anyway. ]

I am arguably one of the less 'internet' savvy people in this town, I imagine.

[ But she makes a small "oh" sound at the explanation. As he gets to his feet and offers to help her up, she accepts it and gives his hand a squeeze. Pushing those thoughts to the very depth of her mind, so as not to let them bubble up randomly and spoil the fun. ]

It's been a while for me too. So you'll have to forgive me if I step on your toes.

[ At least she's leaving those shoes off. ]

Well...

[ He smirks a bit as he brings her to her feet and draws her a little bit closer so that they can dance. ...to no music... ]

...at least that makes two of us. And I think I'll survive it if you do.

[ He's a little bit clumsy at first, especially because the music playing in the distance is all wrong and he can't keep the rhythm right, but he's not awful. ]

So I've heard about Oz, but what about Glinda?

[ Dancing to no music is likely to be her new favorite thing. She smiles brightly up at him as he draws her closer- and she's quite clumsy herself, just as she warned. But as he asked to hear more about her specifically... She huffs out an airy sort of laugh and shakes her head. ]

Let's see... I'm a witch. I do my best to help others, as I'm a public official... And I'm not entirely sure what else to say? I'm not terribly remarkable, I just try to be.

[ Elphaba was the remarkable one- she just had really horrible people skills. ]

[ His eyebrows lift at the casual confession when Derek is still so used to having to keep what he is a secret because people fear things they don't understand. Then again, he already knew she was a witch and most others probably do, too. Derek just wonders whether she realizes that. ]

Everyone is terribly remarkable in their own way. You're not giving yourself enough credit, I suspect.

[ At that, he twirls her slowly and gently, but all the same completely before drawing her back. ]

Tell me something nobody else knows.

[ She doesn't realize that- but she's also not actually trying to hide it. Glinda finds herself laughing at him suggesting that she's remarkable. ]

You're very kind- [ She cuts off as he twirls her and draws her back in- effectively taking her breath away. Something no one else knows? ]

Something no one else knows? [ I'm a fraud? Elphaba should be the one in charge of Oz? My best friend is dead? My fiance left me for my best friend? ] I almost wasn't let into the selective study program to be a witch.

[ And really, that and her Good-ness are defining factors of who she is. ]

Do I get to learn something about you that no one else knows?

[ Derek looks genuinely surprised when Glinda says that she almost wasn't let in to the selective study program — partially because he didn't realize that one could study to become a witch in Oz, because he'd never really found out any of the mythology beyond what was in the film. And then partially because, well. She's Glinda for Christ's sake. How could she not get let in? ]

What got you in, in the end?

[ They're swaying slowly to music that doesn't fit their tempo at all, but Derek doesn't mind.

He should have anticipated her asking him to reciprocate, but he hadn't and it takes him a moment to respond. It isn't something that no one knows, but it's something no one here knows and no one back home knows for sure so much as they just suspect it. ]

I died once. Death made me a better man when I got my second chance.

My friend... [ It takes her a moment after admitting that for her to continue- ]

She had a far more natural talent for it than I... and she insisted that I be let in to study.

[ She keeps her hand at his shoulder as they sway at their own pace, thumb running back and forth... Though she skips a step briefly at his confession, brow furrowing.]

You've died and come back? How is that possible- you don't mind my asking?

[ Derek finds himself wondering if the friend is the witch of the South. That witch is the only one he's heard absolutely nothing about. The witch of the East, he supposes, was just a pair of legs in horrid stockings under a house, but she at least existed in the film. Sort of. ]

Sounds like a good friend who saw potential.

[ It doesn't really surprise him that she's taken aback by the confession, but he still looks appropriately apologetic before actually answering her question. ]

My kind...sometimes when we die, we can evolve rather than pass on. It's a really rare trait, but it runs in my family. I wasn't sure I was going to get it, but I'm glad I did. This is a lot better than my life was before and I never would've learned to appreciate the world around me enough to come here if I hadn't died.

[ Derek draws her in a little closer, noticing and appreciating that gentle movement of her thumb at his shoulder and craving more of that sort of intimacy when she stops. ]

[ The stories she could tell otherwise. Glinda manages a small smile and nod- that might not have been the original reason, but it ended up being so in the end.

There was a part of her that felt let down knowing that it was just a part of who he was- that there wasn't a secret she could take back to Oz to save Elphaba and Fiyero with. But otherwise- she nods a little as he continues to explain. ]

I can only imagine- it's upsetting, then, that this isn't more common. It might make everyone a better person in the end. [ She smiles as he tugs her a little closer, blue eyes watching him closely. 'His kind' hadn't gone unnoticed, but perhaps that was a conversation better had in private? She decides not to press. ]

Edited (html) 2017-09-24 02:31 (UTC)

I think if I wasn't a good person deep down, I wouldn't have evolved. I would have just stayed dead.

[ He doesn't know that, of course, but he suspects it. There's nothing about being a werewolf that makes one invincible and there's a reason so few werewolves can do what he and his mother and older sister could do. Maybe he had to hit rock bottom and drag himself up by his bootstraps, so to say, in order to be able to do it. He'd died fighting the good fight and he wouldn't change a thing, he remembers thinking in the moment when he'd thought it was his last breath. It's nice, though, that he didn't have to die down in Mexico never knowing whether they won or lost.

Derek can sense that his response isn't exactly what Glinda wants to hear, but he doesn't ask questions, because he just assumes that, being a witch, she'd like to know if she could learn something that would allow her to play God if she really felt she needed to. She's the Good Witch, of course she wants to know if there's a way to learn to magically save a life. ]

But I give it all the credit in the world for making me appreciate life again. Mine's been pretty bleak for the past...almost a decade now. At some point, I just sort of stopped caring and went on living mostly out of habit and spite, I guess. It's a nice change, giving a shit again.

EVENT: LIFE'S A BEACH

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