This just in: water is wet. You already knew that, though, didn't you? So smart, so wise — and yet, here you are, in a city that's somehow managed to displace an entire group of people with one tiny drop of a shovel. One might assume that flooding a set of recently inhabited buildings and stopping a brand new construction project would be enough damage done for one accidental swing of a shovel, but you know what they say about making assumptions. The fact is, there's always more to the story... and it has been raining quite a bit lately. In fact, it's been raining nonstop for the past few days.
If you've been wondering why, wonder no longer. At precisely noon, a chime can be heard all around the city. Its tinny vibrations are impossible to miss, and those who have been around the block might recognize it from a long-ago treasure hunt — it's an all-call, a broadcast sent simultaneously over local television & radio stations as well as citizens' personal CuddlePhones, containing a message from Volunteer Coordinators Flora & Cornelius.
Like your favorite weather reporters, they've come out to the center of the action to report live on the recent happenings within the city — most notably the curiously shimmering rainfall and its potential impact on those who are exposed to it. It's Flora who delivers the bulk of the message, clearly reading off of a teleprompter in her slight twang, and looking quite confused by the entire ordeal. Also, she's drenched, the rain pouring down on her which she tries desperately to smile through, undeterred.
"The city's scientific community, after much research, has concluded that the pipes affected by the — er, puncture under the building site were filled with water typically filtered by the Energem. Due to the recent, totally innocuous, tooootally nothing to be concerned about fissure — oopsie-daisy, I wasn't supposed to say that — it appears that some of the Energem's magic has also leeched into the water during the fil-ter-ing pro-cess.
While the flooding has now thankfully subsided and the standing water has receded back into the underground reservoirs, it appears the affected water has at least partially been absorbed into the atmosphere, where it is being released in particularly ... enthusiastic rain showers. The rain itself seems to be affecting those who come into contact with it, making them less resistant to unfiltered communication or confessions. Did y'all know that I'm not a natural blonde? It's true! Ahem. Anyways! The current hy-po-thesis, while not yet confirmed by the city administration — well that's silly, we're the city administration! — is the Energem's intention to foster intimate connections has imbued the rain with, um, encouraging properties."
Finally done, Flora offers an friendly, reassuring smile. A voice can be heard clearly from behind the camera, male, and most definitely Cornelius: "Good job, darling! Except you sounded terrible. — I mean! I didn't mean that! I don't know why I said that. Hey, Flora? Do you think we maybe should've brought umbrellas before we —" And then the feed cuts off abruptly. Huh. What did she say about a fissure again? Could that have been a result of the recent earthquake?
Before anyone has too much time to overthink, the chime once again echoes out into the city. This time, it's a text bulletin from an account simply named THE CITY OF CADELLE. Fancy.
The city administration and local scientific community have advised that it may be in your best interest to remain indoor until this weather pattern subsides.
Naturally, such an advisory might make it difficult to attempt moving back in to the recently re-opened Welcome District, so hotel accommodations will be extended for the time being. In addition, complimentary umbrellas, raincoats, wellies, and galoshes will be available for pick-up at City Hall, should you have a need to venture out in this weather.
What will you do? Among the many, there are a few options to consider:
▸ You could decide to continue on, business as usual. It's just rain, isn't it? A little water never hurt anyone, and besides, you've got nothing to hide. If the Energem wants honesty, well, by golly, that's what it's going to get.
▸ You might prefer to be prepared — gather your umbrella and your wellies and trudge on, soldier. Try as you might to stay dry, a few drops might hit you here and there, but you're not panicked. You shower, you brush your teeth; what's a few raindrops on top of that?
▸ You might want to investigate! Collect samples of rainwater, and try your best not to be exposed to it too much in the process. The University's chemistry and life sciences departments are paying handsomely for well-preserved samples of this unique weather event, and while you'll have to battle the elements to get there, the monetary reward might be worth it for you. Or the satisfaction of contributing to scientific exploration, if that's more your thing. Either way!
▸ You may, however, not want a thing to do with it. Stay home — or in your new home-away-from-home, if that's where you're at — and more importantly, stay dry.
The city hopes that all of its citizens do try their best to stay dry and therefore unaffected by any unintended effects of this quite unseasonal rainfall.
Isn't this fun? Characters splashing about in shining, shimmering splendor puddles, getting soaked to the bone with magical rain that makes people want to spill all their secrets? Or perhaps avoiding it all by staying inside with a warm cup of hot chocolate and their favorite book. Of course, it's one thing to have rain that makes you truthful... but quite another to assume the rain just disappears. Any fourth grader will tell you that's not quite how things work.
You see, there's this fancy thing called the water cycle, where rainfall finds its way into groundwater sources, which are then filtered and utilized for city water supplies, which then feeds into all sorts of water-dependent utilities inside. Places like a shower, or perhaps a sink where people brush their teeth, or the tap water used to make coffee in the morning or to boil on the stove... the sky is the metaphorical limit here.
Feel free to get creative — maybe your character doesn't want to heed the city's warning, and continues on business as usual. Maybe they've already been exposed to enough rainwater to feel particularly chatty. Maybe they hole themselves up inside their room, but continued exposure to water via their daily two-hour bath or excessive showering habits (hey, we're not judging, maybe they're part mermaid) has lent its magic anyway.
Of course, you always have the ability to opt-out of any event, including this one. While the rain's effects are certainly encouraging, no one is ever forced to tell the truth — resistance might give someone a bit of a headache, or a queasy stomach, but characters will not drop dead or find themselves grievously ill unless you particularly want them to! (Please don't kill your character.)
Citizens may also respond to Flora and Cornelius's network post! Yes, it's true, we've got Cuddle City NPCs out and ready for action at long last. While they may wait until they return to the office to respond, feel free to speak with them via text, video, or audio and they'll be happy to chat. Simply respond to THIS COMMENT for a little interaction from Cuddle City's favorite (and only) Volunteer Representatives!
As always, 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. In addition, if you've got an idea for a future event, feel free to drop us a line at our EVENTS SUGGESTION POST.
We hope you have fun out there — good, old fashioned, honest fun! |
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cuddlecity2017-11-18 01:00 pm
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"I promise not to hold this conversation against you if you promise not to hold whatever bullshit that comes out of my mouth against me later," he offered hopefully.
Shaking his head, Derek shrugged. "I mean I knew that we were going to be helping them with the energy blah blah blah but I didn't realize it was going to be flood after flood," he pointed out with a frown. Although admittedly, he'd be okay with flood after flood as long as they never turned into anything of the supernatural variety that he had to deal with. Half of the allure of his place was getting away from that finally. Which, yeah, was probably hypocritical since he himself was a werewolf.
"My turn to overshare, I guess," he sighed, running a hand through his hair and rolling his eyes at himself again. "Same here. However much I resent myself for it, it is what it is and I am who I am..."
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She was a bad liar at the best of times. She made a gesture like she was crossing her heart. "You have my word. And it's not like I can lie about it, right? I will not hold a thing against you."
Buffy gave him a wry look before she shrugged a shoulder. "Still not anywhere near as bad as Sunnydale. That was a flood every three seconds. guess it's why I can handle the once in a while thing. It still feels like a vacation in comparison." And the ghosts had been up there with the supernatural but still nothing like what the Hellmouth could offer.
"Three cheers for being the hero, huh? Not sure I could ever really kick the habit no matter how much I say I want to."
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Derek gives a little shrug, looking thoughtful. "That's fair. It felt like every day there was a new threat to take down back in Beacon Hills, so yeah I'll give Cadelle that, too. It's not as frequent, so that's nice. Still a little obnoxious, but definitely an improvement," he agrees.
"I like to think I could kick the habit, but I'm ninety-nine percent sure it's just me trying to fool myself," he tells her. Then, Derek takes a deep breath and huffs it out in a humorless laugh. "Wow, we are a real pair, huh? Imagine if someone were to overhear this conversation out of context, we probably sound ridiculous."
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"So between Beacon Hills and Sunnydale, this place really should be a cake walk and no complaining will take away the fact that Cadelle does have that going for it." Buffy couldn't help herself. Even when she was under the influence of magical water, she tried to see the bright side.
Speaking of - she waved her hand at the general area around them. "But I can do with the truth serum. We just need to find a safe topic that won't end in embarrassment for either of us."
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Buffy suggests a safe topic and Derek laughs. "I doubt there even is such a thing," he replies, and he's only half-joking. Somehow, suspects that no matter what they try to talk about, something embarrassing will sneak its way in. "But we could always try," he adds.
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Her eyebrows went up. "Not even food? Movies? Music? My embarrassment with movies is already out there. I love ice-skating movies. I don't even care that no one else does. I will quite happily sit and watch them on my own."
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"I don't think I've ever seen an ice-skating movie, unless Mighty Ducks counts, but I feel like that probably doesn't since it would fall more under hockey than ice-skating. Point though, I think maybe there are some subjects that would be maybe less embarrassing on the whole, at worst."
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Family wasn't the best subject. Somehow she managed not to mention her dead mother.
"It counts. They're still on skates. I just might not watch it as often as I'd watch one that's definitely about ice-skating. Hey, I'm open for suggestions on topics."
no subject
His smile fades again when she says that she's sorry for his loss. Back to the facts: his family is largely dead. There are a few stragglers, but no one he's still close with, which is almost worse than if they were all dead. Knowing that his sister, cousin, and uncle are all out there and that he hardly knows his cousin, the latter murdered his older sister, and the younger one left the country without him to stay safe is almost worse than if he couldn't be in contact with any of them at all. Almost.
"It is what it is. It was a few years ago," he says, like it matters. It doesn't. It just falls out because he can't stop himself. "I'm more into fantasy movies, personally. Or historical stuff. I feel like we could probably get away with talking movies and music and not make ourselves look too stupid, right?" Until he opens his mouth and blurts out, "my favorite band is Fall Out Boy, but I typically don't tell people that because there's an embarrassing stigma from their earlier work. ...fuck this place," he groans the last bit, scrubbing his face with both hands.