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]

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?"

[baelfyre]

"Did you make all of this?" he asked, somewhat awed at the different textures. He pulled on the sweater than ran his hands over the pants legs. "What sort of sheep gives wool such as this, papa, and how is it woven so tightly?"

Speaking of tightly...

How.... did anyone wear these things? He was a little afraid to sit. This was all so... so odd. But... there were more important concerns. "Now you, papa," he said firmly.

[magicsprice]

"It's not made of wool, but cotton." He replied to the question, choosing to sidestep the first one. The honest answer was yes after all, just not in the manner that his son meant it.

A small somewhat amused smile came to his lips at the firm words. "Let's head to my room then, so I can get changed." He led him from the guest room toward his own bedroom.

Replying from iPad, appologies for brevity/errors

[baelfyre]

Bae nodded and recaptured his father's hand, walking with him. "Cotton papa? Have we ever tried to spin that?" He tried to remember, but couldn't; most of his memories of spinning time were more about his father and less about the work. Well, that and the few dim memories from when he was really young and he and his mother would sit together, watching Rumplestiltskin spin until eyes heavy, Bae would fall asleep.

He missed the peace he found, watching his father spin, just basic spinning and carding of wool. Small little every day things that he had never appreciated as much as he should have, as much as he did after the dagger made them less..... "Maybe I should learn more, help more," he said.

[magicsprice]

"I don't believe we have, no." He replied to the questions as they headed down the hall. He paused before his bedroom door, his free hand on the door knob as he heard the last statement.

"What would you like to learn?" he asked looking down at his son.

[baelfyre]

"Whatever it is I have to, to help. We can work together," he told his papa, smiling up at him. He didn't want to say the word magic, but his meaning was pretty obvious. That he wanted to show his father that things could still be good... even without power.

"Maybe we could buy some sheep of our own," he said, trying to show his father how good things could be... and how much he could help. "I could help tend them, and learn to sheer them..." he hesitated, wondering if maybe he was pushing too far, asking for too much...

[magicsprice]

He considered that as he opened the door and headed on into the room. "I've never seen any sheep here, but perhaps we can find an animal that is similar enough if you want to learn how to take care of such an animal." He was trying to show he was willing to give him what he seemed to want, only it was hard here when this place was so different to what his son was used to.

"Why don't you go sit on my bed while I change clothes?" He needed both hands to do that and with his son on his bed, he'd be safe and out of the way as he dressed.

[truestsweeper]

Just then, the front door slammed shut and a boy's voice called from downstairs. "Grandpa, I'm home." Henry knew that if he didn't say that, the man would pitch a fit. Thankfully, his coat and the umbrella had kept most of the rain off him. His shoes would need to try and he should probably change his pants but he was hungry so instead, he made his way into the kitchen, not realising the situation upstairs.

[baelfyre]

Bae jumped when he heard the slamming, his response to his papa dying on his lips. He shook himself startled, hearing the voice, and someone moving around down stairs. Down stairs.

The oddity of this place hit him. It wasn't just the bed... it was the walls - so solid - the firm floor, the roof that wasn't so much thatch. It was the fact that they had climbed stairs to get to this room, that there had been so many rooms.

"Papa?" he asked, confused. "Who else lives here?" At his guess, given the size, maybe a half dozen families. Except... this room was about the size of their home, but they had been in a different one before. Why did they have two rooms? A whole second family could live in either of them.

And then he realized something about the voice he had heard. A boy. Maybe his age. Maybe... a friend?

"Papa... who else lives here with you?" he asked, now curious and excited enough to forget - for the moment - about his father's wet clothes.

[magicsprice]

Gold sighed and resisted the temptation to dry the clothes he wore via magic. He had dealt with them this long and it wasn't as if he'd suffer for it if he dealt with them a little longer. "My grandson. It's just me, him, Gloria, and now you here."

He wasn't sure which would be worse. explaining Henry or explaining Gloria. Sadly he suspected it would be far easier to explain the fire lizard's presence than that of his grandson's. Especially given Henry's father stood beside him clutching his hand still with no knowledge he would grow up, fall in love and then have a son.

"I can take you down to meet him if you like."

[baelfyre]

He stared at his Papa blankly for a long moment, then he came to the obvious - to him - and incorrect conclusion.

"I... have a sister?" he asked, stunned.

He had an older sister. Named Gloria. Why... why would Papa never have told him that? Why didn't Mama ever mention having another child? Had they had some sort of fight and she left? He swallowed hard. But if she was living here now, then things were alright now, right?

But... why had they never mentioned her? Why didn't Bae know he had a sister? A sister old enough to have a son his age...

He looked so confused now. "Papa.... how old ARE you?"

Or... had it only been Mama's daughter? The thought rocked him back and he didn't like it. Not one bit.