JANUARY TEST DRIVE!

[rubycitymods]

Thinking of apping a character but not sure they'll fit in the city walls?

Have no fear, a meme for you is here.

Directions:

• Use an RNG to choose a location and prompt, or wait for someone else to tag.


• Post with your character with their name and canon on top!


• If you'd like, leave contact info for people to get in contact for plotting and other such shenans.


• Tag around! Make friends. Don't be afraid to chat OOC while tagging.

Locations

1.TRAIN STATION - The place where everyone gets dumped off at. Your first view of Ruby City, complete with informational posters telling you all about where you've ended up.
2. THE BEACH - Lovely year-round, though in the winter months, you're probably not likely to dip your toes in.
3. THE BLACK STALLION - A rather quaint bar. Supposedly, the burgers are great, but you don't see anyone immediately who's willing to serve you. Maybe you're meant to get it yourself.
4. THE OBELISK - The tall monolith in the center of the city marks the gathering place of many events, though right now it seems to be cold and dark.
5. THE CLOCKTOWER - Offering an impressive view of the city, several residents come here to clear their heads, if they don't mind braving the narrow staircase.
6. THE COFFEE JOINT - the front windows are warm and welcoming, and it seems there's always someone friendly enough to fix you a cup when you wander through.
7. THE CATACOMBS - Intrepid, aren't you? Those weird holes may beg exploring, but go too deep and you're going to be in a lot of trouble, considering the viciousness of the creatures held within.
8. THE CITY STREETS - All told, Ruby City is a lovely place, once you get past the fact that several of the buildings look derelict and on the verge of falling down. There's no harm in doing a little sightseeing.
9. THE PARK - You thought it'd be a lovely stroll, but the park is anything but friendly, if those approaching wolf-like creatures are any indication.
10. CHOOSE YOUR OWN - Don't like what we've come up with? Feel like picking your own place? There's a whole host of lovely locations to choose from in the City.


Scenarios


1. NEW ARRIVAL - Step off that train, walk down the street. People usually latch on to newcomers to try and help them out. Even if you look shy, the other residents probably won't be!
2. WATCH TALK - Feeling lost? Disoriented? Don't worry, everyone feels that way on their first day. Fortunately - if the signs at the station are to believed - the watch in your pocket can be used to talk to whoever else might be here.
3. BAD WEATHER - Aw, man. Whether it's snow, or rain, or just plain cold, today was definitely the wrong day to get dumped off in a City in the middle of nowhere.
4. A RUN-IN - Maybe you weren't watching. Maybe they weren't. Either way, you just bumped into someone. Perhaps apologies are in order?
5. HELP, IT HURTS - Clumsy, aren't you? Perhaps wherever the train brought you from wasn't so friendly, or you just tripped and twisted your ankle. Either way, you're in a bit of pain. Hopefully someone will notice your booboos and help patch you up.
6. HUNGRY - It isn't very obvious sometimes that restaurants are what they are, especially in a place like Ruby City. Where can a person go to get a bite to eat around here?
7. MISTAKEN IDENTITY - Hey, there's someone you know! --Or maybe not.
8. BEING FOLLOWED - Maybe you're just being paranoid, or maybe you've got a reason to be afraid. Whatever it is, it feels like there's eyes on you...
9. CURRENT EVENTS - The City is currently overrun with the DESPAIR DISEASE, which means some people are more violent than normal, the overall atmosphere is more dreary than it normally would be, and there's some pretty vicious creatures roaming the streets! Also, there's hardly anything to eat. What a frightening thing!
10. CHOOSE YOUR OWN - Don't like any of these ideas? Feel free to come up with your own!

Comments

Princess Aurora || Disney's Sleeping Beauty

[cursedtosleep]

[8-1]

It was a dream from long ago and far away. Her eyes fluttered open and her hand throbbed, still remembering the pain from the spindle. She sat up and blinked, putting a hand to her head. Was she dead? She gazed all around her at the strange carriage. She had never seen a compartment like this, a place like this. She was still in her gown. Everything was spinning and she couldn't quite understand what was happening.

Had the spindle killed her? Soft, if unnatural, light came through the window and the station sat before her, smoke and mist curling along the worn wood of the platform. Knowing no more answers would be found in this room, Aurora rose up from her seat. The crown glinted on the seat beside her and she hesitated before reaching out for it. It was a gift from her aunts, and in a place like this, any reminder of home and her loved ones was a welcomed comfort.

The air was different: thicker, harsher in a way. She coughed lightly and in her dizziness and confusion, took little notice of the things around her, of the posters and the signs. She had never seen a kingdom such as this before. She looked all around, holding her hands close to her chest.

What place was this? What had Maleficent done? She was sure that everyone could hear the pounding of her heart, with how quick and loud it beat. She tried to swallow it from her throat back into her chest. What place had she entered?

Was there someone she could speak to? Would there even be others in this strange place? Such strange rivers of black and gray, frozen solid in place and turned off in different directions. She kept looking around. Would she be all alone in such a place?

Finally she spotted someone, should she go up to them? Aurora's hands clenched harder. If this was some doing of Maleficent... then would this person be kind? Or perhaps they were trapped here too. She had to have courage. Nothing was going to be done so long as she stood still. Perhaps they could help her find out where she was, how she might break the curse, how she might see her aunts and parents and kingdom. Her hands fell to her side.

She had never gone up to a stranger before...

"I beg your pardon," she called out to the person, hoping to get their attention. "Will you help me, please?" she asked softly. If not, she supposed she could seek out some animals, if they were in this place, and ask if they might be able to help her.


----


[9-1||Accidental Text]

[She had traveled around the city trying her best to make sense of this whole... situation. A town not under a curse by Maleficent but... then how did she get here? What were these strange objects and monuments everywhere she went? When she saw trees and greenery, she was quick to go to it, needing the comfort such familiar sights gave. She took deep breaths and gazed at the pocket watch that someone told her about. She could hear the voices inside and apparently it wasn't someone trapped in it. How strange all this was.

Could it be a lie though? She didn't want to think so poorly of those who had helped her, but she had to know. She gazed at it and pushed at the watch here and there.]

k...

diw...

dehapbcrknferl

[Ah, it was like writing! She paused for a moment to give it another look and turned to the animals that followed in her wake and smiled as they encouraged her to type out something proper.]

My apologies for any disturbances, [She wondered who on earth was going to see this though. Could she really contact anyone in this city with this?]

I am [She paused. She wanted to write "Briar Rose" but no... no... perhaps she would get more help by using her other name...] Princess Aurora.

Please, so many strange things have happened and I need help. If there is anyone else who may have been brought here by Maleficent's curse, I am sure we could assist one another in some fashion, even here in the land of the dead. [For what else could this place be?]

action

[denialism]

Adachi was just on his way to get something to eat. No big deal. The same thing he did every day. He wasn't expecting anyone he didn't know to go out of their way to talk to him, but suddenly, they did. He turned as he was addressed, blinking at the girl before breaking into a smile.

"Oh, hey! Let me guess... you're new here, right? Sure, no problem. I'm glad to help."

[cursedtosleep]

A wave of relief washed over her and the tenseness in her shoulders eased. She offered a smile in return, grateful to have someone so kind and helpful so quickly. She had been worried but she was a little more at ease.

"New? Ah, I suppose I must be," she replied, a bit unused to the phrasing. New to the curse, perhaps. Was he cursed too, then?

"Thank you so much for your kindness. Where... is here, exactly?"

[denialism]

"Oh, it's no big deal. It seems weird at first, but you'll get used to it pretty fast." Adachi didn't appear to be too worried about it, anyway. He didn't consider himself a "helpful" person, but he was here, and he had nothing better to do. Besides, most people got so stupid about this place, all worked up over nothing... at least he had a good handle on what it was really like.

"No problem! This place is called Ruby City. Wherever you were before, this is a whole different world. Sort of a special little magic place. You could say you've been kidnapped. If you want to look at it that way. But it's just temporary! In no time, you'll be back, and it'll be like no time passed at all."

[cursedtosleep]

"Did... Maleficent make this magical place?" was it a place for the cursed? Or worse... the dead? He seemed to be handling everything very well. However, she wasn't sure she could be so calm on the matter. She wasn't sure she wanted to "get used to it." She had to return home to her kingdom, she had her people and parents and... a prince.

"I can return home?" she asked, a small ray of hope coming through. "Despite the curse?" she may still get to be with her family and people.

[denialism]

"Malefi-who?" He had no idea who she was talking about. "No, we don't know who made it. It's been around a while, apparently." They had some ideas about the place, but they didn't know anything definite, and he didn't feel like explaining anything so complicated.

"Yeah, if you wait around long enough, you'll go right home. I don't know about any curse." This was the first he'd heard of any curse. Probably something from this girl's world. Not something he had to worry about. "Unless you mean the scarcity of Japanese food. That's kind of a curse."

[cursedtosleep]

"Maleficent..." she only just learned the name earlier in the day. The carefulness was for naught, she supposed. "I see..." she didn't know what to think of it. She didn't know what to say to a place like this. It wasn't like anything she knew before. Were such buildings common in a kingdom?

"Japanese food? What might that be?" was it something important to be had here? An herb or root to get them through the winters?

Text

[truestsweeper]

Aurora! It's Henry. Maleficent didn't being us here. It's kinda complicated.

Are you still by the train station? I'll come find you.

[Text]

[cursedtosleep]

[Aurora practically dropped the watch when she suddenly got a reply on it. Henry? Was Henry someone in the city? She never met a Henry. Aurora spoke to the device and then realized she had to write back instead.

She started to respond, but it takes her a very long time.]

Hello, Henry. I'm not sure where I am, I don't know the name, I'm afraid. I'm where there are trees and long meadows. It is not as dense as a forest, however.

[Text]

[truestsweeper]

I think I know where you are. I'll be there as quick as I can.

[And Henry is there within about ten minutes. Sadly, the woman he sees isn't the same woman he saw in the fire.]

Aurora?

[Action]

[cursedtosleep]

[A chipmunk was in Aurora's lap and she was gently stroking his spine and looked up. When she saw the young boy, she was a bit surprised when he called out her name. Was this Henry? She never saw him before. The animals scattered at the sight of him and she offered a smile to the young man. How awful that a young boy was in a place such as this.

She stood up.]

Are you Henry?

8-1

[lothlorienguard]

Haldir had heard the young woman's plea for help, and made his way through the crowd toward her. As he approached her, he pulled back his hood of his cloak.

"How can I help you?" he greeted in a soft voice. He could tell that she was distressed and looked to others as a last resort.

[cursedtosleep]

She looked at the elf and a her shoulders eased as she gazed at the much taller being. While she had never met an elf, she knew a few stories about them; the ears were hard to miss, the way he held himself was different, more sure and graceful... though she only had her peasant boy and her aunts as a means of comparison so perhaps most men stood like this elf did as well? She felt the tension leave and she nodded.

"Thank you," she took comfort in the melodic tones of his voice. "I would be incredibly grateful for any assistance."

[agirlworthfightingfor]

[The watch is strange with its various switches and is unlike anything Mulan has ever seen before. Of course the Enchanted Forest had many devices and magical items, but there was nothing like that. There's writing, and moving pictures, and even sounds coming from the strange little watch, but unfortunately it looked like there wasn't much useful information on it.

She's about the close the watch when she sees a name on the face. Aurora. It couldn't be, could it? But if Hook and Henry were here, then it... could be possible. She stops and reads the entirety of the post. There's mentions of Maleficent, and curses. It's enough proof for Mulan, and she quickly tries responding.]

f486afawk象形aflkf;金afjsdlkfa

[She growls in frustration and pulls her gloves off.]

Aurora, where are you? [She pauses for a moment, thinking of exactly what to say. She never expected to have this chance again and thus, never prepared for it.] This is Mulan. Stay where you are and I will find you.

[cursedtosleep]

[She's still trying to figure out the device. It seems there are many kind people in this place as yet another person has come to find her.]

I am in a place with long stretches of meadows and a few trees. It is not as dense as a forest and seems to be a meadow within the kingdom.

[agirlworthfightingfor]

I'm on my way.


[Long stretches of meadows... Mulan had passed a clearing matching that description not too long ago. Hopefully it was the right one. She grabbs her helmet and put it on before heading through the forest.

The last time she saw Aurora was to tell her that... Well, that never came to pass so there was no reason to dwell on it. But the last time they spoke, Aurora had given her news that she was expecting. The forest is no place for a princess expecting child. Yes, she knows that Aurora was stronger and much braver than she looks, but even so, she needs protecting. After all, she made no mention of Phillip.

She makes her way to a clearing and nearly runs when she sees a figure come into view. Aurora. She would finally get to see her again. But as the distance closes between her and the figure, so does Mulan's enthusiasm.

It's not Aurora.

For starters, the girl is blonde. A little taller, a little thinner, and her dress is not something Aurora would wear. Maybe this is the wrong clearing? She slowly approaches the girl, hoping not to startle her too much.]

Excuse me, but I'm looking for a girl who might have gone through here--A princess named Aurora. Have you seen anyone pass by?

[cursedtosleep]

[Aurora looked up when she heard the soft clinking of metal and a figure heading towards her. As the figure got closer and closer. Aurora got up from her spot on the bench and quickly hid behind the tree, trying to put some distance between her and the stranger. The birds fluttered and watched uneasily.

Aurora had nowhere to go to, to run away, but it seemed that she wouldn't have to, the stranger was slowing down. She swallowed and her eyes widened. She was asking for her? Who was this?]

I-I'm princess Aurora... [She said softly, trying to keep the distance between them.]

[agirlworthfightingfor]

[ Aurora...? But this wasn't Aurora. This was someone else entirely. Had Mulan misread the message? Had she simply misread it and hoped that she would see the princess once again? No, she knew better than to let her feelings get in the way of her duty and was certain that she read correctly. Whoever had written the message claimed to be Aurora and knew of Maleficent.

She looked over the girl again from underneath her helmet. Whoever this girl was, she was frightened and confused, but she was not her princess.]

Were you the one who sent the message? [She stepped forward, hoping to get a better look at the young girl.]

[cursedtosleep]

[She remained peeking out from behind the tree, this wasn't her peasant boy singing to her. The soldier kept talking and came a little closer and she moved a foot behind her, ready to run if she must. The warrior was wearing clothes Aurora had never seen before, but she knew this must be a fighter. At the question she inclined her head.]

Y-yes... Yes, yes I did. [She wondered who this was. Was it-] Are you Mulan?

[Text]

[cempasuchil]

[Oh, well that's certainly interesting! Someone thought they were dead? Pobrecita. She must have had quite the experience before she got here if she thought she was dead. It looks like La Muerte will have to explain things.]

No, no, mijita. This isn't the Land of the Dead. I'm afraid we're all in the land of the living for now. [Because nothing could be as grand and as beautiful as her lovely realm. This place is interesting, but it can't compare to the Land of the Remembered, not even in the slightest.]

[Text]

[cursedtosleep]

This is the land of the living? [She let out a sigh of relief. She was not dead, this was then a different matter of Maleficent's curse, but she is alive. Aurora looks at the strange words this person is saying and smiles though she realizes now this other person can't see it.]

I was told this place is called Ruby City, I didn't want to doubt anyone... but so much has happened recently.

[Text]

[cempasuchil]

That's what I was told, too! And by a couple of very lovely little creatures, I might add.

But why would you think you were dead, hmm?

[Text]

[cursedtosleep]

You have spoken with some animals?

A curse placed on me by a faerie named Maleficent. Have you heard of her?

[Text]

[cempasuchil]

No, don't be silly! I spoke with the little monsters! [Or well, non-humans. Maurice was so precious.

She does frown at the next words she sees, though.]

No, I've not heard of a Maleficent. She is still alive, yes?

Re: [Text]

[cursedtosleep]

Monsters? You were not frightened?

Ah... yes, that is correct.