It doesn't start all at once. No, on the contrary, you may not even realize anything's going on at first — simply the soft glow of an orb out of the corner of your eye, surely just a reflection from a car passing by your apartment outside. Surely.
Is it just you, or is the cup of pumpkin spice goodness on your neighbor's table at Deja Brew starting to move towards the edge of the table on its own? No, it isn't just you; said neighbor manages to snatch the beverage just as it starts to tip over, grumbling a soft, "Not again." This has, apparently, happened in Cadelle before. A faint white orb that flickers like a flame seems to do a mischievous dance before vanishing into thin air, but not before laughter passes by your ear, sudden and loud like an express subway speeding through the station and then leaving just as quickly.
Later, perhaps you find yourself engaging in a little bit of what the kids call "Netflix and chilling" with an attractive fellow volunteer citizen. Things have never seemed Stranger than when, five minutes into your next episode of binge-watching, the app switches to a shrek-tacular musical starring a bunch of singing and dancing fairy tale creatures. You'll try to go back to the menu and restart your show, and within moments, the ogre has returned. Repeat the process and receive similar results; eventually, you'll notice a hovering, flickering ball of white right in the center of your living room once you resign yourself to your fate that doesn't bother concealing itself any longer, too delighted by the fact that things are looking UP here in Cadelle.
They aren't quite ghosts. They aren't quite spirits. No, they're more akin to will-o'-the-wisps — flickering orbs of light that are fabled to lead travelers from safe paths and guiding them elsewhere. Many of these will-o-wisps that gradually appear in Cadelle do seem to be trying to draw citizens elsewhere, towards the outskirts of the city, towards the rarely-visited forest...
But there are also will-o-wisps that — like most things in Cadelle — seem to divert from their intended purpose. Maybe you'll encounter one that just bounces with excitement and follows you all over your apartment like a stray puppy that just wants some love. Perhaps you won't even realize what's going on until you hear cackling and a burst of white light as you're pantsed by a particularly wily one in the middle of the downtown area. Maybe you'll experience flickering lights and spooky sounds and objects moving — gasp! — all on their own, attributed to a will-o-wisp that takes its spooky potential a little too seriously.
But what of those that you do choose to follow?
There is, contrary to public belief, a winding path that runs throughout the forest at the exterior of the city of Cadelle; sure, it's overgrown with deep tree roots, covered in leaves, and might have some completely trip-worthy holes amidst it, but it's there. And what lies at the end of said path? The Clementine House.
It's a sprawling mansion — dilapidated, yes, from over a century without regular maintenance — far too large to house merely one woman, but Clementine Cadelle was a strong, independent woman who didn't need no man, woman, or child to fulfill her. She founded the then community of Cadelle as a meeting place for selfless individuals to tirelessly devote themselves to charitable causes and helping others in any way that they could. This settlement grew and grew until it developed into a full-fledged town, and as technology in outer cities developed, into an entire city, the very one we know to this day.
No one knows the exact why, how, and when of Clementine Cadelle's passing, but ask any native Cadellian and they'll tell you the same tale, regardless of if it's true or not. Legend has it that Clementine was drawn — nay, pulled — to these grounds by the one and only Energem (and volunteer citizens may relate with this feeling, taken from their native worlds). While a good-hearted, docile woman initially, the Energem's constant rewards of gem fragments for her acts of goodwill proved addictive. With each good deed, she became obsessed with obtaining fragments of the gem and the wishes that it granted her. Her initial wish for more do-gooders is said to have started the volunteer program in Cadelle, followed by a wish to possess hundreds of acres of land on which the city stands today. Each of her wishes grew slightly more absurd, slightly more excessive: wealth beyond measure, topiaries in the shapes of creatures found only in zoos, the stamina to hand-build herself a magnificent estate...
Until one day, she was merely gone. No one ever found her remains; it was simply that nobody had seen her in weeks. Nobody, to this day, knows what happened to Clementine Cadelle.
Step into the Clementine House, its namesake's final, unfinished masterpiece. Upon entering through it's loudly creaking front doors, it's just about what you'd expect from your typical — ahem, haunted mansion. Long hallways are lined with portraits of Clementine's dear friends from the original group of do-gooders, and their eyes seem to follow you with each step you take; glance back at a photo and — was the woman in that painting always pointing at you? No matter. Surely, the sound of doorknobs turning and knockers rattling as you pass is even more unsettling. You might feel like leaving, afraid of getting caught trespassing, but something seems to keep you inside, keep you exploring.
The house is full of oddities in its construction and architecture. Open a door, and you may come face to face with a brick wall. Cautiously walk up each flight of stairs you encounter, for you may come to realize that the stairs lead to nowhere — simply constructed up until they reach the ceiling. In the attic, one may even turn a door knob and expect a balcony, but instead realize that it's a sudden drop off into the path below. Similarly, a door on the third floor will lead to a winding, metal slide and takes you to who-knows-where. Proceed with extreme caution, dear cuddlers.
Some will-o-wisps are better navigators than others; while the one you've followed so dutifully from the inner city of Cadelle may have gotten you this far, things get tricky once inside. If your guide is able to help you avoid the many misfortunate architectural elements of the home, you'll find yourself in the basement. There are gadgets and gizmos aplenty, abandoned and broken, and furniture covered in cloths take up much of the real estate. It's a dark room, lit only by the dim light filtering through the slim, dusty windows near the ceiling, but there is one thing that shines bright:
a fortune teller.
No, it's not a real person, or even the head of a woman floating around the room in a crystal ball. Instead, it's an old-timey arcade fortune teller in all her glory, mysteriously active though there's no power source in sight. Could she be the will-o-wisps' true destination? She must be, as once you approach, and press the button, she'll declare with a strong voice and mechanical motions that for a minimum donation of 1 CuddleBuck, you'll receive a fortune that's as certain as death itself.
Of course, this could be completely fake and a rip-off, but the machine will spit a card proclaiming your future at you once the minimum donation is received. Donate a few extra dollars — or many dollars, the fortune teller isn't picky — and perhaps the stars will align more in your favor. The only way to find out is to TRY IT and find out!
The Clementine House thanks you for your time, but please don't overstay your welcome. And no frisky business!
After the first night of sightings, one may see a multitude of appearances on local television of a very burly man who's definitely, definitely wearing Ed Hardy and fingerless gloves that make his hands look like skeletons. His name is Jack Zagans, and he never believed in spirits until he came face to face with one. He, along with his trusted friends, founded GUC — or, as he'll correct everyone who tries to abbreviate the name or dare to pronounce it phonetically as "guck" — the Ghost Undertaking Collective. Wanting to help his Collective further collect evidence that prove the existence of spirits (and maybe claim a few passionate volunteers as full-time members of the group in the process), he has decided to loan out equipment to you (yes, you) for all of your ghost hunting needs!
Interested parties who would like to learn a little bit about life on the other side and borrow said equipment are welcome to use it at home, at their places of employment, throughout town, or maybe follow the aforementioned will-o-wisps to the Clementine House and try to have a chat with Clementine Cadelle herself (but good luck — she's not very chatty; she'd done enough good deeds in her lifetime to be free from the obligation of speaking with nosy volunteer citizens).
Loaner equipment is as follows:
▸ Ovilus 5B: A device whose most popular mode is "dictionary mode", where it spits words at the user based on environmental energy. Did that will-o-wisp just say the words "CAT",
"TACO", and "YUM" in a row? What could it meeaaaan?!
▸ XCam SLS Camera: A device which maps a room and its objects and detects figures via heat mapping; anomalies are detected and mapped and can be seen in motion and interacting with others. Time for a will-o-wisp dance party!
▸ Digital Voice Recorder: This is your standard audio recorder used for menial uses like recording meetings and ghost hunting uses like recording EVPs (electronic voice phenomena). Ask questions, get answers. It's like your own ghostly talk show. You can even save yourself the secondhand embarrassment of interacting with the GUC and use the Voice Memos feature on your CuddlePhone with similar results!
Will you collect evidence?
Only time will tell. Be the best worst parody of a ghost hunting television show you can be!
Complaints during the duration of these will-o-wisps' visit to the city administration reach an all time high. The city is certainly aware of the problem, as City Hall is being overtaken by these pesky aberrations as well, but truly, what can they do?
Enlist help. And who they gonna call? Cisco Ramon, apparently, volunteer citizen from Central City, developer of high-tech equipment, and pop culture aficionado. While the city administration doesn't want to harm the will-o-wisps, they wish to simply ... contain them, until their time has passed. (While they won't outright admit it, this type of thing has happened before in Cadelle, and the annoying things did end up vanishing on their own after five days.)
It's time to Bust some Ghosts — er, will-o-wisps. Mr. Ramon developed a piece of tech not unlike that of a certain popular movie franchise back in his universe on Earth-1. Brave and willing entities are enticed to visit City Hall and retrieve one of these very vacuum cleaner-like devices, lightweight and worn like a backpack, flip a switch, and sweep up some troublesome will-o-wisps. On the eve of October 31, these entities will be released simultaneously into the sky and will float away into nothingness.
Those seeking action in an otherwise innocuous city, this is your time. Nerdy fanboys looking to live out their wildest fantasies, this, too, is your time. We ain't afraid of no will-o-wisps.
tl;dr: HAUNTED MANSION.
GHOST HUNTIN'. GHOST BUSTIN'. The will-o-wisps, in game, will begin to appear during the evening of October 27 and will remain a factor in the city until the evening of October 31, in which they will vanish and not reappear to torment you. Feel free to play with them as you will — develop personalities for them!
As with most things in Cadelle, things don't quite go the way they're planned so feel free to use them as much of a serious plot device or silly plot device as you'd like. Similarly, the world is your oyster when it comes to the Clementine House; feel free to employ as many spooky haunted house tropes as you'd like, or give 'em a twist. We wanted to offer a number of prompt ideas (obviously, have you seen how out of hand this post got?) but don't feel limited by them!
Regarding the fortune teller, simply fill out THIS FORM to request a fortune! Responses to the questions are simply for fun, and will have no real bearing on your character's randomized fortune. You're free to play with your fortune as though it's come true for your character, or it can simply be another scam by the city of Cadelle to earn some money. If you choose to employ the effects of your fortune, they will remain in effect until October 31 as well.
REGARDING ACTIVITY, we're happy to announce that toplevels and comments in this event are permitted to count for November's activity check! Being a surprise event, we don't want to discourage our players from participating in the fun. Please also note that this event does not replace our monthly welcome event, which will still occur on November 1.
Of course, please don't forget that your mod team is here for you with answers to any questions you might have, whether related specifically to this event or the game in general. 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.
Happy spoopin', cuddlers! |
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cuddlecity2017-10-27 05:24 pm
no subject
[ It's a good-natured jab, just to show she can give, too. She smiles as she says it, amusement already pushing her jangled nerves to the background. In the past, she would have still been on edge, but she makes a conscious effort to stay as even as she can lately. The cuffs keep her worse half in check, but she wants to be better, be stronger, than letting herself become reliant on them. ]
Please tell me you're out here chasing that little ball of light, too.
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the mention of said ball of light, makes him roll his eyes, only kind of to himself, 'cause this is all still super bogus. with a lifted eyebrow, he nods his head towards the flickering ball of white — energy? flames? something? that hovers up and down in midair, soon joined by caitlin's apparent companion, which swirls around the one he's been following. god, these things are whack. )
As much as I hate to say it, yeah. ( he shakes his head, mostly at himself. ) Don't ask me why. I don't believe in none of this spooky shit.
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But her father believed in things like this, and she's seen enough impossible things to keep an open mind. ]
After everything that's gone on in our world, this is hard to believe? And with currently residing in a city powered by intimacy, too.
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caitlin's got a point, sure. metahumans, bad aliens, good aliens? equally hard to believe, but they sure are a thing, regardless of how he feels about it all. but wait — )
You're a doctor or something, right? Ain't you supposed to be on my side?
no subject
At his question, she snorts softly, her smile turning just a touch smirky. ]
I will admit -- being a scientist makes me more inclined to disbelieve things like this. There's a quote from Arthur C. Clarke: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." And while I don't think our glowing little friends are tech, really, that's not to say there can't be some sort of science behind them.
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at least rene's nice enough to slow a little to match caitlin's pace, all too aware of the contrast between his boots and her heels by the way she wobbles, cautiously steps over branches he'd probably just trample without a second thought. ) But I dunno. I'll leave the science stuff to you. I'll punch a ghost if I gotta — if they try any funny business.
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[ There's a quizzical look, complete with raised eyebrow. ] What sort of funny business do you think they'd get up to?
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( and he's not gonna blurt it out right here in the open, but he's definitely got one of his berettas tucked into his pocket, just in case. not that he ever leaves home without one — just to be on the safe side, but. who knows what these things are leading them to? )
We could be like Dory and Nemo's dad being lured in by that creepy ass fish with the hangy-lightbulb and the big teeth.
( yeah, duh, of course mr. tough guy over here has seen finding nemo. he does have a kid, after all. )
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[ That eyebrow just hikes further up her forehead. Sure, she'd learned a lesson in not judging people after Jax, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen every now and again. He wouldn't seem to be the type to go for Disney movies on his own.
So she's going to hazard a guess. ]
Niece or nephew?
no subject
Daughter.
( it's said fairly innocuously, his gaze concentrated on the large tree limb he has to step over instead. rene hasn't really brought up zoe at all since he got here — and it's not that he's trying to hide anything, but ... it ain't really anyone's business, either, he guesses. same reason why he didn't shout it all out to the team when he joined, not till felicity and curtis did their snooping.
he does, however, offer caitlin a hand to help her climb over that meddlesome tree branch. )
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She has so many questions, most of them too personal to ask. ]
Thank you.
[ She takes his hand and leans on him for balance, easing one leg over the branch, then the other. ]
How old is she? If I can ask.
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it's fine. they can continue on, both with the conversation and with the chasing of these weird floaty orbs, like this is all completely normal. )
She's 12. Gonna be 13 next year. ( and there's a little shake of his head, kind of in disbelief. ) Her name's Zoe.
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And at Zoe's age... she'd already lost her dad. ]
My dad always said every time he blinked, I'd gotten older. On my birthdays, he'd tell me I wasn't allowed to get older anymore.
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( he'll have to file that one away for the next time he gets to see zoe — and there will be a next time, if he has anything to say about it. whole reason he's in this damn place to begin with is to survive that blast on the island so he can go back to star city and beg the judge to consider rescheduling his hearing because of extenuating circumstances, beg zoe to forgive him for missing it.
as heavy as this conversation's weighing on him, rene doesn't let it show on his face — well, if a furrowed brow breaking an otherwise fairly stoic expression counts as normal, as forced-looking as it is. easier to focus on the task before him: navigating the path. )
The further out this thing takes us, the more I think this is gonna be some kind of horror movie-style murder. ( changing the subject? not super intentional, but maybe in some part of his brain, it is. )
no subject
Well, now that we’re doing this together, if we split up, it’s pretty much guaranteed that we’re going to die.
[ It’s said with a straight face and a deadly serious tone. Yes. They’re absolutely going to die. Mhmm.
And then she cracks and snickers. ]
I’m pretty sure the city wouldn’t bring us here to only be murdered by little balls of light.
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( idly, he cracks his knuckles, looks around as though he might get an indication of where they're at by the darkness of the trees surrounding them. ) We start getting real friendly up in these woods — the city gets its energy, and we guarantee some kinda gory, spooky ass death. ( mostly, he wants to see her reaction at the implication, an amused smile playing on his lips as she shrugs and turns his head towards her again. )