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
She moved in close to him, reaching up to cup his face for a second before she huffed out a breath. Well, at least he was accepting the Slayer part of things even if he wasn't accepting the dying. ]
The first time I lost a fight with a vampire known as the Master. I was technically dead until Xander brought me back. With CPR. Is that even a thing in your time? The chest pumping, the breathing into their mouths... anyway, it's a real thing. The second time was right before I got here. I had to save my sister, save the world... I dived into this, ah... let's just call it a giant ball of energy and the next thing I know I was here.
no subject
So, you are dead?
[ Just like Faraday, then. Dead, but not dead. Brushing his fingers over her cheek, his thumb brushing, he wonders if that means she does not want to go anywhere. ]
How's your second life going so far?
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She gave a nod, and then used her hand to indicate she took a swan dive. It was quickly followed by the universal signal for 'dead' (drawing a line across her throat and sticking her tongue out). ]
Surprise, number two. But I look pretty good still, right?
[ She tried not to give him a sad smile. Really, she'd made her peace with it. The decision had been hers, and hers alone. But she really didn't think there was any going home and coming back like there seemed to be for some. ]
I have a job I'm getting better at, I get to do anything I want, and I found a bad ass bandito to make out with whenever I want. My second life is treating me well. Besides this whole stupid ghost thing.
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You look very good for dead.
[He wants to move away from this, but he also isn't sure he likes to talk about the other things, the part where she does this job that he thinks probably also got her killed.]
If it hurt you once, what if it does again? I can shoot and lasso, but I can't fight a ghost. What if you get hurt again somehow here, because you and I, we couldn't defend you?
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If anything gets the better of me, I kinda deserve it. The Master got the better of me because I was younger, and he was stronger. I have five more years of slaying under my belt and a just can't seem to quit attitude.
V, just trust me, okay? We got this. If you do what I tell you, shoot only if needed. Ghosts don't usually take a bullet. This is my job. I can't not help.
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Trust? Trust is hard, especially for him, and while he likes her, he's still wary about too much trust.]
So, if you're the one to suck up all the ghosts, what's my purpose?
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Instead she focused on the fact that she was maybe asking a little much of Vasquez but this really was what she did. Who she was. She wasn't just his bartender right now. ]
Watching my back. Also, in my experiece there isn't usually just ghosts. There's always an idiot who summoned them. Maybe it's not the case in the city but if it is then we got a human problem and that's something you can fight.
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So we're looking for an idiot? You think they'll be okay if I give him a non-fatal shot? Or would that just get me in more trouble with the people here?
[Maybe it's going to be a lasso kind of night.]
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[ And then she couldn't help but smirk as she gave Vasquez a Look. ] But I think we got any energy debt covered if they do decide to punish you.
[ She pointed towards the forest, still fairly certain that was their best bet. There was of course the creepy house too, but she wasn't sure she was quite ready to relive that particular horror scenario. Then again, if it was as easy as stepping on a tiny, tiny demon with her shoe they were all good. ]
no subject
[This whole morality thing is playing with his head in a way that Vasquez doesn't usually think about, honestly, so he has to play the devil's advocate, he thinks, just because that's who he is. Staring towards the forest, he shrugs, not finding this too frightening. He did live with a corpse in an abandoned house. If spirits were going to come and haunt him, they would certainly do it there.]
I go where you follow.
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[ Buffy gave a shrug. There was plenty of times she never got thanked and even got the blame after she saved someone. Morals when it came to monsters was a lot easier than morals when it came to people.
She started for the forest, only a little more wary of it than she would have been a graveyard. At least they were familiar territory. ]
Saddle up then, V.
no subject
[He is, a little, but not the way the people of Rose Creek had been staring at him when he had been riding out of town. Then he'd ridden his way right into this strange little city, against all logic and explanations.
Heading into the forest, he walks with a hand at his gun belt, scowling because that brings back a thought he's been having for ages.]
Saddling up means my horse, which I very much miss.
no subject
[ Buffy glanced over her shoulder but soon had her gaze back ahead of her as she kept a tight grip on the new weapon. She hoped this thing worked the way she thought it did otherwise there was going to be a whole lot of awkward when they did come across some ghosts. ]
You can't find a horse here?
no subject
[Besides, a horse is a functional thing to get you from one place to another. Here, no one cares about going anywhere, everything is in one place, so what's a horse to do?]
Some people, they have those new cars. I got an offer to learn, maybe instead, I'll take them up on that.
[Vasquez follows her, letting her take the lead even though he keeps a hand on his gun. A bullet might not stop a ghost, but it might slow it. Though, that does make him wonder...]
Are old stories right? Do ghosts fear salt and iron?
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[ Says the young woman who has never been on a horse, but hey, she was also the one obsessed with ice-skating. There was no judging. She was also still trying to slowly introduce the idea of branching out Vasquez's idea of fun, and maybe riding could be one of them. ]
You could let me ride on the back so I can hold on tight. No way am I ready for my own horse and I am definitely not the one you need to ask about driving. Not one of the skills I've mastered.
[ Buffy glanced back over her shoulder at him, speechless for just a moment. ]
Ah... maybe? I don't know if 'fear' is the right word. Usually it's unfinished business they need to deal with.
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[He doesn't elaborate where and how he'd stayed, because talking about how he'd lived with a corpse for weeks isn't a very pleasant topic, so he's glad that they can move on to talk about spirits.]
Doesn't everyone have something unfinished, every day? Wouldn't that make everyone into a spirit when they die?
no subject
[ She knows the events before he got to Cadelle are still relatively off limits. He tells her things when she's ready, and she doesn't mind waiting. It wasn't like with Angel. She's a few years older and wiser, and less impatient. Well, she assumes she's less impatient. Maybe she isn't. Maybe one day pushing for answers will get the better of her. ]
I guess so? I never said the supernatual was built on logic. If it was do you think vampires could just be staked? It's too easy. Too convenient.
no subject
[He says that with a glimmer of a smirk, something with promise, because he means to flirt as he says it, adding a bit of a wink as he adjusts his hat and keeps ambling forward.]
Maybe sometime, you can show me the staking. It sounds like I would enjoy it very much.
no subject
[ But she caught the flirting, and blew him a kiss over her shoulder. She wasn't going to turn around when it was clear he could appreciate the view of her ass in leather pants. ]
Kinda hard without a few vamps to practice on, but yeah, we can try. It's not rocket science. Just grab any bit of wood and poof! Dust. But you gotta make sure you get 'em in the heart.
no subject
[To be fair, he had been an offender, maybe, but that had been before. Now he takes advantage of hot showers as much as he can. He might have been on the run for a long time, but he's secretly a softie when it comes to the pleasures of life. He grins at the kiss, following along and letting his eyes wander south every once in a while.]
That's what makes it sound so enticing. It's not like a bullet, but it's just as much effort. I knew someone who did that with knives, to the heart, but no one turned to dust. Just bled out.
no subject
[ Depending on how well they're all getting along with their energy contributions. She'd been guilty of getting caught up in someone and never leaving the bed even to shower. Of course it had been a spell of sorts, but not the point. ]
Demons bleed. Werewolves bleed. It's just the vamps that turn to dust. I try not to kill people as a general rule. But sometimes it's necessary.
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[He's not like that anymore, though, and he feels like he doesn't have to offer that explanation because she ought to know.]
Well, then, next time you see a vampire, make sure you let me have a chance, si?
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[ Meeting the first Slayer was going to be something she could never forget. Not only because it opened her eyes up to what she was, but because there was something so primal about life back then. Better than that time she drank the magic beer and turned cavewoman. But she wasn't about to try and tell that story to Vasquez any time soon. ]
Not all vampires are evil... so maybe ask questions and then we worry about the stake.
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[Not that he's indulged in them. Plain old liquor does the trick for Vasquez, as far as he's concerned. He keeps following, though he frowns at some point when she says that vampires aren't all evil.]
Aren't they monsters? How can they be not evil?
no subject
[ Buffy wanted to rub her hands over her face, but they were busy holding onto the 'gun' for the ghostbuster pack. Instead she just huffed out a breath and made a face at the road ahead. ]
They're not... well, there's ways. A way. There's a curse that gives a vampire its soul back. They don't always feed on humans.
(no subject)