rubycity_ooc | February Test Drive!

Entry tags:

February Test Drive!

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!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Bae looked up at the sound of his name, pain on his face. It was clear he had been crying. No way to claim that all the water came from the sky. Confusion joined the pain in his eyes as he looked at the other boy on the ground. Odd clothing. His face... He blinked a bit. He looked.... they could have almost been brothers or cousins or something. But he didn't have any brothers, and papa would have told him if he had a cousin, wouldn't he have?

But other than looking similar to himself, Bae couldn't place him. And that shouldn't be a surprise. He entered a new world, alone. One without magic. A whole new world. There should be no one here that he would recognize. Except the boy had said his name.

"Do... Do I know you?" he finally asked. He knew he didn't, but it seemed the safest question, and a whole lot more polite than "Who are you?" which is what he almost asked. Maybe... maybe this boy could be his friend. New world, no one here knew his poppa... No one here should know of the dark one, so no reason for anyone to be scared of him.

Except that this boy in the odd clothing knew his name...

Henry stared a little then grinned. This was amazing. His father as a boy. But the Bae spoke and the grin faded slightly. How did he explain this? Best like Gold do it.

"No...But I live with your father. He's spoken of you. Always fondly." He stood, keeping the umbrella over them both and holding out his hand to help the other boy to his feet. "Come on. Let's get you out of the rain. I'll take you to him." It was an offer more than anything else. He knew how much his grandfather would want to see Bae.

"My... papa....?" he asked, confused. No... bewildered was a better word. He swallowed hard then shook his head. "That's not possible," he finally said softly.

The pain felt like it was going to swallow him whole, and it was starting with his heart. Fresh tears came as though they were ripped out of his chest violently. "My papa... he isn't here." The bitterness burned the back of his throat. "He made a different choice." His voice, his pain, for a moment... just a moment sounding the way he would older, sounding like the Neal he would have become, had he wound up in London, rather than Ruby City.

Edited (Hi, spelling, nice to meet you.) 2015-02-10 16:28 (UTC)

Henry felt really sorry for the boy, realising when in time he'd come from. But he wasn't discouraged. He bent down again to look Bae in the eye with a determined look he was sure the boy would recognise.

"He is here. I'm not lying to you. Take my hand and I promise I will take you to him."

He hesitated then gave the other boy his hand and stood. He didn't believe him. Couldn't survive believing him just to have it be a lie. But if this kid was using it to trick him, to get him to go somewhere so someone could hurt him... what did it matter anymore? After all his father did, supposedly to keep him safe... for Bae to get hurt, to die because of this... Well... it would serve him right.

Welcome to the enchanter forest's version of going to play in traffic cause you're ticked at your folks, ladies and gents.

Bae felt like he was half dead anyway, what did the rest even matter...?

Henry smiled encouragingly, squeezing his hand, then set off down the road and round the corner to the house he shared with his grandfather. He wasn't sure what else to say to the teen version of his father as they walked so he stayed quiet and kept the umbrella above them both.

Once in the house, he dropped the umbrella by the door and took off his big coat, hanging it up. He'd let go of the boy's hand once he'd closed the door. Not wanting to should out what he would usually call the house's other occupant, he simply spoke to Bae instead. "Why don't we find you some dry clothes first? Then I'll see if he's home."

Bae shrugged. It didn't really matter, he supposed, but if he was in some sort of trouble, it was just the same wet or dry. A sort of listless numbness was spreading through him. Too many emotions, too much pain too fast, too sharp for his small body to handle. He felt Henry let go of his hand and in it the echo of his father letting go.

Everyone always let him go.

His mother died, his friends were too afraid to play with him, his father chose magic... maybe... maybe it was better to... to not let anyone else in. Did he have that strength? He doubted he did, but to do nothing? At the moment that was easy. Well, nothing was easy. That worked in both meanings. But nothing was easier than anything else. So he shrugged, let the other boy make the decisions while he stared down at the growing puddle of water at his feet.

Once Henry had also kicked off his shoes, he grabbed Bae's hand again and proceeded to drag him up the stairs to his bedroom. He'd clean up any mess later or ask Gold to do it magically. Either worked in Henry's opinion. Magic did have some uses after all.

Entering the master bedroom, Henry looked Bae up and down before nodding to himself. "Yeah, you're about my size. This stuff should fit you." And he had to let go of Bae again to sort through his drawers and closet, picking out some pants, shirt and jacket for the boy to wear. "You can go change in the bathroom if you want." He pointed to the adjoining bathroom before sorting out a pair of shoes Bae could also borrow. "Just yell if you need a hand?"

He shrugged and took the clothing and headed into the bathroom. That was when the weirdness of this place hit him and he opened the door again. "I... am confused..." he finally admitted. Now he took a look at the room that Henry was in. "Is this some weird sort of castle?" he asked. Not that he was overly impressed with castles.

Wood burned.

"Not at all." Henry smiled, almost amused. "I'll explain what I can once I know you're not going to get ill from being cold and wet, okay?" It was so surreal to Henry, seeing his father at almost the same age as he was. But it was nice too. He'd missed his dad, not even remembering him when he lost him. So this was something he'd cherish while they were here in the city together.

Then a thought struck him. "Or are you confused with the clothes themselves?" Henry had picked out some easy ones, or he thought they were easy, but they were still very different to what Bae was used to.

"That too," he admitted looking at the odd fastenings, mostly at the zipper on the jeans. "This is the oddest wool I have ever handled," he admitted. He looked around the room again, steeling himself. Whatever this boy wanted... So far other than knowing Bae's name and claiming to know his father... Other than that he had so far been playing it streight, as far as Bae could tell.

The house, this odd hut-castle... It was odd.... But he didn't see any of his father in it. No spinning wheel as of yet, nothing that looked like anything his father would have liked. So maybe the name thing... Okay, maybe he couldn't explain the name thing, but maybe... Maybe the fther comment is what passed for a greetig in this odd place. Im a world without magic... Any number of things could be odd. Best to learn things, he supposed, sooner rather than later. And it would be nice to have a friend, to finally have a friend again...

Edited 2015-02-11 01:56 (UTC)

"That's because it's not wool. It's cotton." Henry did his best not to look amused as he turned back to his wardrobe. Grabbing a pair of tracksuit bottoms, aka no zips, he handed those to Bae instead. "They might be easier for you." Hopefully the button on the t-shirt wouldn't cause too much trouble.

"Don't worry about it. There's a lot of different things here compared to where you've come from. Just get dry and then I can explain everything." How many times would he have to say that? Get dry first, Dad!

"Al...alright..." he said. He took the other pants and went back into the room. He got himself dressed though the tiny round button was smaller than he was used to. The track suit pants were certainly easier, but he had no clue what to do with the draw string. Finally he tied each side into it's own knot.

Finally he came out, drying his hair with his old shirt after wringing it out on the floor. "This place is so... odd. What is it called?" he asked, looking around.

Henry was sitting on the bed having changed his own pants but kept everything else. His coat had kept most of him dry after all. He'd debated sending his grandfather a message on the watch but had no idea what to say except being blunt, and really, this wasn't something he wanted to do over the watch anyway. They'd just have to wait.

"The entire area is called Ruby City. This is my bedroom in the house I share with your father. I suspect you'll find a lot of things to be odd while you settle here."

"I... I do not know how people speak here," Bae admitted carefully, "but whatever you mean with the phrase 'your father', I would rather if you would please not use it." He was trying to choose his words carefully. Even so he was aware that he was tripping over his own tongue.

"My Papa and I... we parted ways recently, and it... I would rather not think about fathers right now," he unknowingly told his son.

He swallowed hard, hoping he had not just cost himself his first chance at having a friend in... years. He had wanted a world without magic, he had wanted to start over... He had just presumed that his Papa would be with him.

So much for hope. So much for believing anything his father had ever said about using the magic FOR Bae. Bae was an excuse for him to use the magic. An excuse, not a reason... Bae... had to come to terms with that now. That while his father had wanted both - the magic and him - the way someone bartering wanted both the coin they came with and the wool they bought, that had been the extent of it. When he couldn't have both, he chose. And he did not choose Bae.

Baelfire would have to come to terms with that. Would come to terms with that when he was alone next. He had a feeling that was going to be quite soon. He wondered what he would have to trade to keep the warm, odd, clothing...

Henry's amusement vanished at that. He so much wanted to give the boy a hug but he thought that might be overstepping his boundaries a bit.

"It means the same thing here as it does everywhere. Rumplestiltskin lives in this house. I promised I'd bring you to him and I don't break my promises. It's a family thing." He added the last part to lighten the mood within himself. "Why would I lie to you?"

He took Bae's hand again and gave it a squeeze instead, since he couldn't hug. "You'll see. Everything's going to be fine." Henry just needed to have hope and believe. That's what his heart was for, right?

He stared at the other boy, mouth suddenly dry, having no clue what to say. The feeling of one hand in another, the memory of Papa letting go... The hope that he was here warring with the impossibility of it.

He couldn't be here. His papa had let go, and this is where he landed.

But then... how did this boy know their names?

And then more of what he had said caught up with Baelfire. About keeping promises being a family thing. He closed his eyes, and it felt as though his father had not just chosen the dagger over him, but stabbed him through the chest with it.

His father had become all about promises and deals... and had broken the one he made with Bae. He kept his bargains with complete strangers, but something Bae had done had caused his father not to trust him... and to not care of there was trust in the other direction.

Somehow... he had broken them. Himself and his papa. But... his father couldn't be here. Everything couldn't be fine.

He found himself shaking his head as he fought to draw a breath. "He can't be here," he said softly. "He chose magic, and there is no magic here," he spoke the words as if they were barbed - ripping not just his throat, but down to the center of his breathing, through the chest, and then out his throat. He spoke the words as if he knew that saying them would make them true. He spoke the words of someone who... could no longer believe.

Henry was also torn. Torn between explaining the truth so Bae would understand and hopefully believe again, and simply find Gold so the proof would be right in front of him. But since he had no way of doing the latter, he went with the former and damn the consequences.

"Listen to me, Bae. This is not where you were meant to end up when you fell through that portal. This place does have magic. But it's more powerful than anything the Dark One could ever have. Even if your father did chose magic, he is still here and isn't that what matters? That you're together? Because he's not the man he was. I can vouch for that. He looks after me, he protects me..." For the most part. "...and all for nothing. No deal involved. He's a good man now."

Henry was determined to make Baelfire believe him. Because it was the truth. And the truth was always important.

(OOC: I had JUST finished shutting down when my ipad told me a post came in x.x So I booted back up to reply to this. Then bed.... If I don't get distracted again...)

Bae looked away, shaking; but he didn't pull his hands free, if Henry still held them. He couldn't be the one to let go of someone else. Couldn't.

"He made me a promise. We made a deal. Now... not only did he break the promise... and choose magic... over me... he found a way to use magic to drag me back into it all?" he whispered. He didn't know it was possible to hurt this much and still live.

"He doesn't want us to be together. He wants me where he can find me. He... he says he is protecting me... but..."

He swallowed hard. He didn't want to scare this kid, he didn't. But now Bae was afraid for him. He remembered everyone else who had taken any interest in him since his papa became the dark one.

"He looks after you and protects you?" he whispered. "Then you are in more danger than you know."

His whole body was trembling. The tremors would come next, not that he knew it intellectually; he could feel it building viscerally.

"Either he'll protect" the word was said with some bitterness and a whole lot of pain "you from ever being trusted to make your own choices... or he'll decide he doesn't like you getting too close to me."

He looked away again as he realized... Papa might trust this boy... it was Bae he didn't trust.

"Never mind," he whispered as it all fell into place, as it all started to make sense. "He didn't bring me here, did he? This is that everything has a price thing, isn't it?" There was no accusation in his voice, he wasn't mad at the other boy. He was just... breaking....

"The price for having found a new son... one who wanted a papa with magic... was having to deal with me one last time, isn't it?" he asked of the air itself, not expecting an answer.

That... made the most sense. All of this had been his fault, and he had tried to make Papa choose... and he had chosen. He had chosen to start over again... with a new boy. Having a son mattered. Bae himself... did not. Not anymore.

(OOC: Well I had to wait this long to be able to tackle your monster tag. So thanks for that! <3)

Henry had never seen the bitterness his father had had for his grandfather before. They'd always hidden it from him. Like so many other things. And now,he was seeing the pain Rumplestiltskin had caused first hand. It hurt him like nothing else ever had.

Throwing caution to the winds, Henry dropped Bae's hand again but only to wrap his arms around the boy. Bae needed the hug, that was evident, but Henry needed it also. This was his father and while the other boy didn't know that, Henry did and this just helped with the pain of losing him ever so slightly.

After a moment, Henry pulled out his watch and sent a message to his grandfather. Rumplestiltskin. Come home. Don't use magic. Then smiled as best he could at Bae.

"I've sent him a message. He'll be here very soon. And we'll explain everything. But I am not his son. You haven't been replaced. He loves you more than anything else in any land and would do anything for you. You'll see." Henry didn't know what else to say to convince him without the truth. And he wasn't explaining that without Gold present.

The hug had startled him. He had no clue what to do... He had forgotten what any hug other than his Papa's had felt like and... recently hugging Papa...

The hug was over before he was sure if he should be hugging back, leaving him standing there more than a little bewildered. At least the confusion wasn't pain and anger, it was... almost welcome...

He watched the boy do something with... something. Well, apparently confusion was the order of the day. He tried to cling to it... because it wasn't pain. Because it didn't make him look at how badly he had messed everything up.

"Sent a message?" he asked, because that was the only thing said that he thought he could handle. Because the rest? The other boy was wrong about his papa loving him more than anything... so could be wrong about the rest. If his papa loved him more than anything, they would have come through the portal together. If he would do anything for him... he would have given up his magic. But he chose magic. He chose magic and a world that feared and hated him over his son who loved him. He would see? Either more of the same... or some new horror. He... he had to come to terms with it... the truth was that his Papa no longer loved him at all....

Henry held up his watch. "These devices can talk to people across long distances. Hear their voice, see what they're doing or simply send letters. I told your father to come home, meaning here, and you'll see him when he arrives. He shouldn't be long."

Henry hoped he wouldn't be long. He was finding it hard to keep all the truths within him. He wanted to blurt out who he was and why he was here and what had happened in those three hundred years but he knew he shouldn't. He probably shouldn't have hugged him but that was done. He just smiled at Bae and crossed his fingers for this to work out.

Rumplestiltskin. Come home. Don't use magic.

The message raised several red flags upon reading it, not to mention a few fears, despite the fact that home was supposed to be a safe place for Henry and him. Needless to say, he closed up his shop quickly enough and set to walking down the road toward the house despite the desire to use magic to get him to the front door at the very least.

Once he'd arrived, he opened the front door and headed inside the house, closing the door behind him before silently checking the protections on the house. Still intact, untested by anything as of yet. That put those fears to rest. He checked the obvious places downstairs for Henry before heading for the stairs and calling for the boy as he did.

"Henry?"

Once he reached the top of the stairs he called again. "Henry? What is it you wanted?" It must have been something of some importance given he hadn't trusted the watches enough to tell him via them.

Just then, Henry heard the door and smiled wider hearing his grandfather's voice. He turned to Bae with that grin and spoke encouragingly.

"There he is now. Go to him." And if Bae didn't move, Henry would drag him out of the room to where Gold was.

Bae stilled, it wasn't the stillness of one preparing to act, it was a brittle frail thing, as though he would shatter if he moved. How... how could he miss that voice? Different than it had been since the dagger...since the magic... but that voice... it was still his... still Papa's.

He wanted to run. To him. Away from him. He wasn't sure which. His chest felt as though a powerful hand had clamped around it and was squeezing and only getting tighter. His legs felt at once both like tree trunks - rooted and immovable - and like saplings - too weak to hold his weight.

He wasn't shaking. He was too still for that. He didn't know if he could move if he wanted to. His brain was sending conflicting orders. His heart was filled with conflicting feelings. Hope, love, desperation to see his Papa again, to apologize for everything. Fear, pain, betrayal, anger, the desperation to make his papa live with the choice he had made, and the despairing surety that his papa would be happier left to live with the choice he had made.

He couldn't move. He was frozen, he was stone. No... stone... didn't hurt this badly. It couldn't. Nothing could hurt this much.

When Henry tried to drag him out of the room he stumbled, tripping over his own feet. He fell. There was no way to stop the fall and only a second to choose... would Henry let go and save himself from falling also, or would they hit the ground together? Not that Bae was thinking of that, he was hardly even aware of the ground rushing towards his face....

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Replying from iPad, appologies for brevity/errors

Replying when tired so same lol

Re: Replying when tired so same lol

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