February 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 - None at the moment, but feel free to look through our <href="http://rubycity-ooc.dreamwidth.org/tag/event">event tag!
10. CHOOSE YOUR OWN - Don't like any of these ideas? Feel free to come up with your own!

Comments

[magicsprice]

If not for the fact he'd caught sight of the small huddled form close to the Obelisk, Gold would have used magic to take him from center of the city before the rain had soaked his coat too deeply. However, the size of that form and something about the clothing caused him to refrain from that, and instead he found himself walking toward the stone, though at some point between the point where he'd exited the shop and reaching his destination he'd decided to deal with the issue of the rain and thus he held a parasol above himself and the boy upon coming to a halt before the huddled form.

It took a moment to crouch down on his heels before the form, that uncomfortable nagging sensation worse now that he had a closer view of the clothes the boy was in. It was indeed a young boy he could also tell by now. He reached out with a hand to brush soaked hair away from the boy's face and his fingers froze in mid-withdrawal as he realized abruptly why the clothes had seemed so familiar.

When he spoke, his voice was soft, almost fragile, as if he expected this to be a dream, sure that the boy's image before him would burst apart like a soap bubble upon the sound of the word being spoken.

"Bae?"

[baelfyre]

Startled at the sound of his own name, he looked up. Even with the rain there was no hiding that he had been crying. His face was wet with a mix of saltwater tears and freshwater rain, but the look...the pain in those eyes, the ruddy complexion to his skin...

But then those eyes widened as he realized that standing in front of him was Papa... but... Papa as he was before the dagger, before the magic that destroyed their lives. The papa that had laughed with him and played with him and trusted him. The papa that had loved him. He didn't even notice the odd clothes yet, just the look on his face, and the normal look OF his face.

"P...papa?" he asked, disbelievingly. He had thought that his father had abandoned him, had chosen magic over him but... he was here, and he was free of the powers of the Dark One. Papa had chosen... had chosen...him.

He launched himself at his father, wrapping his arms around his neck, and clinging. "I was so sure... You didn't follow.... you let go...." his words were coming out in a confused jumble, and that they could be strung together coherently was almost a coincidence and relied heavily on the other person knowing what he meant from the start. "You did choose me," he whispered. "I thought you chose magic, but...you chose me... Papa chose me..." the last was whispered to himself as his arms tightened. They could start over. No magic, no fear, no dark one... just Bae and his poppa in a brand new world together. Their own new adventure.

[magicsprice]

The parasol fell to the ground as the boy launched himself at him and clung. The force of it also knocking the man down onto his ass. The wet cobblestone was ignored however in the face of the words being said.

Words that ripped into him the way injuries never could and tears of his own abruptly filled his eyes. It would be so easy to agree with Bae on those assumptions, to say he hadn't made that mistake, to try erase it from existing for his son. Try to live something of a happy ending with his boy here without having to face his wrath and disappointment for letting him go.

That would, however, be the cowards way out, and he couldn't do that again. Not here. Especially not here, given that Henry and Killian were here with him. The pirate would no doubt delight in telling his son all the evil's he had done, starting with the truth in the matter of the portal. He would have to begin with the truth despite how painful it would be and hope that the truth didn't cost him what he was trying not to lose this time.

He held Bae tightly against him but kept his silence, uncertain how to best answer those words and not trusting his voice. He couldn't keep it long though, the both of them were getting soaked and while that would do nothing to him, he didn't want Bae coming down with a cold or god forbid, something worse.

"L-let's get you out of the rain. Into something warm and dry. Then we-- we need to talk."

And hopefully his son wouldn't end up hating him by the end of the night once he knew the truth of things.

[baelfyre]

Bae nodded, comforted. His father didn't magic away the storm or make them appear somewhere warm and dry. No magic. Just the warm firm strength of his father's arms around him. And talking... yes.. he would like that. How long since they had actually talked? Not argued, not one of them dictating to the other or complaining at the other but... talking. Listening to each other.

They would start that new life together that they had discussed. No magic, no dark one, no dagger. Just... Bae and Papa. Nothing could sound better to him. "Okay, Papa," he said softly. "We'll talk." He knew he should let go, that with his father's bad leg he couldn't carry him anymore not without magic. He should let go. He was afraid to let go. Afraid that if he did, his father would vanish, that he would have just imagined this... Torn, he didn't move. He knew he had to let go, but did not dare do so.

[magicsprice]

Gold wasn't inclined to release Bae or insist he let go either, half afraid that if he did, the boy would vanish like smoke before him. Of course, this could still be a dream, but he'd pretend it was real until he woke up if it was. It took him a moment to attempt shifting Bae's weight toward his right, so he could try using his left arm and then leg to help push him back up, at least into a kneeling position.

Actually standing with his boy still held against him wasn't in the cards unfortunately.

While he might manage if he attempted it, it would reveal too much before they got home. So he needed to actually let go before he rose. "I need you to let go so I can get up--I won't leave you, I promise, and then we can go somewhere warm and dry."

[baelfyre]

He hesitated and then nodded. "Y...you promise... not to let go of my hand this time?" he asked in a small, almost desperate voice. He could still feel his father's hand sliding out of his, pulling away, letting him go.

Could he trust that hand again? He pulled back, just enough to look at his father's face, searching for an answer. What he saw... was so much like his papa before the dagger, before the magic... when they trusted each other.

If his papa promised... Bae would believe.

[magicsprice]

The question cut him to the bone and he choked for a second on holding back the sob that threatened to undo him. His voice pained with sorrow and regret.

"I promise, son."

[baelfyre]

He nodded and stepped back, sliding his hand down his father's arm so he could grab the hand and hold tight. Not the hand he held what felt like minutes ago, but a deliberate choice to hold the hand that had clung to the dagger, to hold the hand that hadn't let go.

"Alright, Papa," he said softly, offering him a small tentative smile.

[magicsprice]

The choice of hands his son had chosen to hold had not gone unnoticed. A small sad smile came to his lips and he reached to take hold of the fallen parasol and used it to push himself up to his feet, rather than rising up on his own. Once up, he held it above them to shield them from the rain.

"This way." He told Bae, inclining his head in the proper direction they were to head in. The only thing he couldn't really hide was the lack of his former limp and letting go of the support that kept him from it just to suffer it to the house felt too much like lying and taking the easy road despite the hardship it would create for him. It would just make things worse when he chose to replace that support.

Because despite what Bae no doubt thought, this wasn't that land without magic and he still had his magic -- and that curse his boy hated so much. He wasn't looking forwards to the talk they were to have once they reached the house.

[baelfyre]

Right now, Bae was just so happy to his father, to feel his hand, to have this fresh start... no magic.... that he failed to notice a limp or lack there of. Actually, he was staring mostly at his father's face, at the lack of mottled gold skin, at the smooth planes and features from the time before the dagger, before the magic.

It had been his fault. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that it had been his fault. Now that his papa was back to being his papa, now that the magic was gone... Bae would do everything he could to make it up to him, to make sure his father never regretted his choice to give up the magic... magic he never would have had to deal with, had Bae been stronger....

[magicsprice]

Gold has never once blamed his son for what happened. He's blamed plenty of others in addition to himself, but never once has he ever laid the blame for any of his failures at the feet of his boy.

He's grateful for the lack of mention of his missing limp, though his attention and mind is split between watching the streets their walking through and dealing with the upcoming explanations they'll have to have upon getting Bae home and into dry clothes. Given Henry is with him, he'll have to explain his grandson and his relation to them, which may or may not help in getting his son to believe him when he explains that he and Henry are from his son's future.

Upon arrival to the house, he lowered the parasol to rest on the porch so he could free a hand to open the door properly. "Here we are. This will be home for us while we're here."

[baelfyre]

"We already have a home, papa?" he asked, confused. It hadn't been long enough since they fell through the portal, even if his father had skipped that weird coach ride. "How?" he asked, so confused. But so long as the answer didn't involve magic, or hurting anyone, or threatening anyone.... He looked at the house while he waited for an answer... it certainly wasn't the hovel he grew up in... that was for sure.

[magicsprice]

"Because I've been here longer than you have, son. Don't worry, no one was put out for me to claim it and there was no magic in my obtaining it." Though there had been considerable magic to clean it up and make it fit for him and his grandson to live in. Not to mention furnishing it had taken a bit of magic as well.

"Let's get in out of the cold and get you in some dry clothes. I'm sure I can find something upstairs for you to wear. I'd hate for you to end up catching a cold due to this mix of rain and chill."

[baelfyre]

He nodded a bit, clinging tightly to his father's hand. "How were you here longer?" he asked, confused but not suspicious. He sounds more curious than anything else and the look in his eyes is one that hasn't been there for a very long time. Trust. Also some pride. He was proud of his father, for making the right choices now, and was trusting him to continue to do so. He would make it up to his father. Somehow.

[magicsprice]

It was those things in his son's eyes, things he hadn't seen again until just shortly prior to his own demise, that brought tears once again to his eyes. He hated that he had to tell him things that would no doubt destroy that trust and pride. He knew though that to refrain from it would be worse in the end with less chance of repairing the breech.

If he gave him the truth now, perhaps given time and an effort to prove he had changed, that he was willing to put his son first in everything, then his son might again forgive him here for his mistakes. Regaining trust and pride would take longer he was certain, but he would be content with forgiveness even if he never did see those two emotions directed once again toward him.

He led Bae inside the house, leaving the parasol outside for now as he closed the door behind them. "This place...isn't the world that the portal was meant to take you to. It has a magic of its own, far far more powerful than any I ever possessed. It's what brought both of us here. Only, it brought me here nearly a year ago."

[baelfyre]

He stopped dead, stopped walking at the word magic, staring at his father with an expression that started at horrified, and only went down hill from there.

It was a war inside him as to which was worse. That there was magic here... or that his father had made the choice to come with him then had to spend a year apart, trapped without magic and without him...

"Papa," he whispered, tears starting to fill his eyes. He swallowed hard, trying to get more words out, but... they just weren't coming. Not for nearly a minute of trying. Then finally, he managed a whispered, "I'm sorry, Papa." A large tear rolled down his face as he swallowed hard. This... was all his fault. All of it.

[magicsprice]

That hadn't been the reaction he'd been expecting, but the tear caused him to pull Bae close into a comforting embrace. "This isn't your fault, son. There's nothing for you to be sorry for."

He waited a minute, holding him close and using the moment of offered comfort to steel his resolve. "I'll show you a room you can wait in while I get you clothes to change into." he told his boy as he finally let go of him. "I won't be long in doing that, don't worry."

[baelfyre]

Bae clung to him. "I'd rather come with you, papa," he whispered, trembling like a leaf. "Please... don't leave me papa... I don't know why you were trapped here for a year, all alone, but if you leave again, and something happens and it's another year for you...." He very much did not trust magic not to steal his father, not to drive them apart, yet again...

[magicsprice]

"Oh, Bae." He'd wanted the privacy to conjure clothing for his son and he'd wanted Bae in dry clothing before he'd begun his confession. Yet, to get those things he'd have to convince his son that there was no danger of his vanishing from this place, which was impossible to do truthfully.Especially when the city could send either of them away within a heartbeat with no warning or explanation.

"Very well, you can follow me upstairs to one of the guest bedrooms." He would just have to improvise, perhaps he could use the room's closet to hide the fact he was conjuring the clothes. Fortunately one of the bedroom's closet was being used to store boxes that held future stock for his shop.

Once he had his son warm and dry, they could have their talk while his son ate.

[baelfyre]

He nodded and reclaimed his father's hand tightly. "Alright, Papa," he said softly, clinging to that hand, clinging to his father, afraid of being ripped apart again. The Magic... the potential of the magic...it scared him. Down to the bone.

He swallowed hard as he clung to his papa, waiting for him to walk, for them to go and find dry clothing. He blinked. "You need dry clothing too, papa," he said softly. If he'd only been a year without his magic, he might have forgotten how to take care of himself...

That was okay. They would take care of each other.

[magicsprice]

A small smile came briefly to his lips at the statement. "I know. I'll change once we have you taken care of." Never mind the fact that he could have himself dry in seconds with a snap of fingers and a little magic, but he would need to further throttle back his usage of it more now since his son was here.

Use it solely for necessities and when possible out of his son's sight.

He led him up stairs, and down the hall to the room he had in mind. "You wait beside the bed here. I'll see what clothes I can find in the closet here."

[baelfyre]

He nodded, standing by the bed. Not a pallet of straw but... some thing of wood and softness that smelled clean and interesting. Bae wanted to look at it, wanted to look around the whole room... but he didn't dare. He wasn't taking his eyes off his father. Not for one moment. If another portal opened under one of them, they were going together. He had already cost his father this year apart, he was not going to let him suffer any more. Not when the magic was his fault in the first place; not when he was the one who made his father give it up.

[magicsprice]

He had to admit, it was hard to finally leave Bae behind, to turn away from him in order to cross to the closet and open one of its door's. The fear that once he had the clothes and turned back around to see nothing and no one was a very valid and real thing. He didn't let it overwhelm or control him though. Not now and hopefully never again when it came to his family.

It was a work of minutes, though he stretched it out and made it seem as if he was actually searching the boxes before he finally left the closet with the clothes, held in one arm. A pair of shoes held in the other. Hopefully his memory of the sizes needed were still what he thought they were.

"Here we are. I've found one outfit for you for now. We'll see about getting a few more later." he said as he laid the clothes down on the bed, the shoes set down beside them.

"Let's get you out of these wet things for now, hm?"

[baelfyre]

He nodded a small bit and started climbing out of his wet clothes. Any modesty he might have gained as he grew up that might have made him embarrassed to change in front of his father was weaker than the fear that he would vanish.

He finally got the last of it off, the clothing had been plastered to him by rain and mud, making it more of a task than it should have been. He stood there shivering and reached for the clothes, then hesitated. Um... what? He glanced at his father a bit confused. he glanced back at the clothes again and poked experimentally at the zipper...

[magicsprice]

"I'll help you with them." He picked clothes based on Henry's own tastes to a degree, thus his decision to give his son a pair of jeans. He helped his son first with the underwear briefs and then reached to pick up the pants. He undid the zipper and proceeded to help his son into them, pulling the zipper up and finishing it off by doing the button. "These are called jeans, they're pants made out of a tougher material than linen.

He picked the sweater up and held it out toward Bae. "Do you want to put the sweater on yourself, or shall I help you with it?"