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 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. ]

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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.

[ Glinda nods- though it doesn't make the most sense to her, she's fine with just accepting that. She can't know about every aspect of every world- and even then how much of it can be easily explained?

But as he continues, she finds it easier to smile again, understanding and kind. ]

I can see how that could change your perspective. Though I suspect everything we do, whether we realize it or not, changes us in some way... Allows us to view things in ways we hadn't before.

[ That's a good point, Derek thinks, when Glinda says that everything they do changes them in some way. He hadn't ever really thought about it, but she's right. It's just a more optimistic way of looking at, in his opinion, cause and effect. Somehow, it doesn't surprise him that Glinda is looking at something optimistically. ]

I like that idea a lot better than 'actions have consequences' because your way sounds a lot nicer.

[ He brings her a little closer so that he can lower his voice. ]

If I tell you something else about me that only a few people know, will you promise not to be afraid...?

[ The question is foreboding, he realizes belatedly after the damage is done, but the look in his eyes is warm and hopeful rather than menacing and he's going to have to hope that that's enough. ]

It's all about perspective. [ Of course the way one changes is due to consequences, but it's all what how you look at it. Glinda shifts easily as he draws her even closer, forgetting to breathe for a brief moment...

If she had trusted him any less than she does, his question would have caught her off guard... The fact that she's already placed so much faith in him, however, keeps her from worrying. Instead, she nods and smiles in what she hopes is reassuring to him. ]

Of course... I'm honored you're choosing to tell me something so personal at all.

[ Their dancing slows a little more, but they're still swaying a little once Glinda promises. He's not sure whether she would be freaked out like a normal person or not. Hell, there's talking scarecrows and cowardly lions where she comes from.

For a moment, he just moves with her and looks back at her, silent and searching her eyes to make sure he believes that she won't go running and screaming for the hills when he tells her that he's a monster. ]

I'm not really human...

[ Well, he's got to start somewhere, doesn't he? ]

[ Her hand on his shoulder rubs at it a little, hoping to provide some comfort in what he's about to confess (??) to her. When he finally starts in, her brow furrows for a brief moment- but not as though she's frightened... More in a 'trying to figure out what you mean' sort of way. ]

I know plenty of people who aren't quite human...

[ The Animals of Oz, for instance... Munchkins, Winkies, Arjiki... there were many subsets of 'human' also. But this, she could tell, was something different entirely. If this was normal everywhere like it was in Oz, he wouldn't feel so nervous telling her. ]

I'm not going to look at you any differently than I do now, no matter what you are.

[ As much as he could have already guessed that, Glinda's confirmation that this isn't anything out of the blue and strange for her is actually incredibly reassuring for Derek and he nods a little to acknowledge that he heard it. It does take him a moment to actually come out with it because, like with Felicity, it's still something he's not quite used to being able to do with such abandon. ]

I'm a werewolf. Do you know what that is?

[ It's entirely possible that they're not a thing in Oz or Oz's pop culture, so he feels like he needs to ask before he goes any further. She might legitimately need an explanation and he doesn't want to confuse her completely by skipping that step if she needs it. ]

[ He's right to ask. While there might be some deep lore about such things in Oz? Glinda has honestly never heard of werewolves. When he asks, she shakes her head- appearing more confused than anything else, but not without compassion. ]

I'm afraid not?

[ If he'd like to tell her, she's all ears... Or if he wants to just... skip over that part, she'd understand that too. ]

[ A part of him had sort of hoped that she would already know so that he wouldn't have to explain it, but most of him had been assuming this is exactly the sort of response he was going to receive. So he's prepared. ]

It's basically a wolf man. A man who can be human as much as he's wolf.

[ He pauses and looks back at her in silence for a moment before he sighs softly, blinking slowly and letting his eyes light up the icy blue indicative of a man who's killed an innocent. He can't ever change the way the tragedy in his youth has marked him.

Derek parts his lips to reveal a set of jagged fangs, but he doesn't give a menacing expression or a growl to go with either of those things like he normally would. ]

[ Glinda allows that information to sink in- it's not so far fetched, but perhaps also not what she had been expecting to hear?

Nor was the demonstration something she expected. It shocked her only for a moment- his eyes weren't off putting, necessarily- it was the presence of the fangs that catches her off guard...

The Good Witch exhales the breath she didn't realize she was holding- for all that he may look different, it's still the same man standing in front of her that has been charming and kind to her since they first met. ]

Is this not common where you're from?

[ She thinks that must be the case, with how hesitant he was to confess this to her. ]

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[ Derek closes his mouth again and his fangs ascend, disappearing into his gums before he opens his mouth again to speak, but he leaves the eyes the way they are for the moment. Then, he shrugs a little. ]

It's a lot more common than people think, but people are afraid of things they don't understand. My kind are hunted. They perceive all of us to be a threat just because a very small minority of us legitimately are. It'd be like if aliens came to earth to kill all the humans they could find because of a handful of serial killers.

[ The glow slips out of his eyes and they're back the the human green. ]

So, we tend not to tell people we don't feel confident we can trust not to turn around and exterminate us for it.

[ Being hunted for what you are- for something you can't help. It reminds her a little too much of Elphaba. Glinda frowns and keeps her gaze on his face before slowly bringing a hand up to his cheek. ]

That's not right.

[ Really, what else could she say? ]

I'm so sorry you have to experience that... [ A pause. ] And I am thankful you chose to share it with me.

[ Even though he's not indifferent to it, Derek shrugs anyway to pretend that he is. It's not something he's doing for Glinda's benefit so much as it's something he's just always done by reflex. It's important to Derek that he doesn't look vulnerable to people until he knows that it's safe to do so. Granted, she's Glinda, but reflex is hard to go against. ]

It is what it is... It's been that way my whole life.

[ He gives her a small smile. ]

Thanks for not being afraid of me once I did.

[ His eyes shift involuntarily to her lips before he jerks their attention back to her eyes. He might have started moving slower as they sway together, without realizing it. ]

I'm glad I met you.

[ 'It is what it is'- it sounds an awful lot like deflecting and Glinda shakes her head at that. She refuses to think that that's just the answer. But she doesn't know diddly about his world, and she hasn't even managed to achieve such a change from her own.

The Good Witch's heart skips a beat, she's sure, as he looks to her lips then back to her eyes- she was matching that small smile without realizing it... And it only grows when he admits to being glad they've met.]

I'm glad to have met you as well, Derek. [ Is time moving slower? No? Just them? Her thumb brushes over his cheek- when she was younger she may have imagined this as absolute perfection... And her younger self wouldn't be totally wrong. But in her age (as though she has so many years of experience now), she's a little more cautious. So she moves her hand to join the other behind his neck and rests her cheek against his chest.

Ok. That was probably less caution and more of the fact that she's starting to feel tired from the drinks she's had and the sun she's enjoyed. And it's a great excuse to keep herself close to him. ]

[ Derek's eyes close in a slow blink. He'd leave them closed under her touch, but he doesn't want to be any more vulnerable than he already is and therefore he forces them back open. He does, however, lean into her hand without realizing he's doing it.

Their movements slow still more when Derek feels Glinda move to rest her face against his chest. The way he holds her shifts closer to hug territory than dancing territory, because she's so close. A long pause falls between the two of them as they sway quietly before Derek speaks again. ]

You want to stay out here a little longer? I could walk you home...

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EVENT: LIFE'S A BEACH

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