[meme] Test Drive

[citycouncil]

Tag into this post with characters you're thinking of apping to the game (characters who are not currently in-game or currently reserved by someone else). It can be just a tag, a brief EP, a blurb about the character, a line of dialogue, or whatever you want. You can be new to the game, or simply want to test out a fresh pup. Tag each other with these characters or those already in game, and have fun.

Also, please include the name of their canon somewhere in or on the comment or on their profile page.

Comments

[believe_everything]

Me too, kind of. There's a name only my father uses. I don't like it as much.

Shadow offers a smile - he knows he's probably intimidating and crouches down so the kid doesn't strain his neck looking up.

Are you here all by yourself?

[37hours]

That's just like Ma.

The man really is nice. That makes me feel better, like I'm not alone.

Only I get to call her Ma. She has a second name that everyone else calls her, and that name is Joy. But she says my name for her is her favorite.

I look down. I'm not really supposed to talk so much to strangers if I'm by myself. But I think being alone is even more scary if you're quiet.

I'm by myself. I was going to find the police, but I don't know the way.

[believe_everything]

She sounds a little like my mom. Maybe I can go with you? You're kinda small to be out here all alone.

He felt like he couldn't just abandon the kid, and maybe if they found police or something he could get more information about exactly where they were.

If that's okay with you.

[37hours]

I don't like being called small, but I can see that Shadow Moon is a lot bigger than me, so maybe it's okay if he says it. I used to think being bigger than Ma was as big as I could be, but now I know lots more people and some of them are really big. I want to be that big, too.

Yeah. That's okay. If we go together, then we can both look for the police and we can find them faster.

I look up at Shadow Moon.

What's your Ma like? Is she here?

[believe_everything]

Shadow nodded. He didn't mean to sound judgey calling the kid small, but... he sort of was. He stands up again so they can start walking... somewhere.

I was a little kid too, believe it or not.

My mom was... she was great. She died a long time ago, though.

[37hours]

I nod.

I used to think Ma was the only Ma, but then I found out she has a Ma — that's my Grandma. They told me everyone was little once, little enough to be in their Ma's tummy.

I look down when Shadow Moon tells me that his Ma died. But then I look up again, because I think when you're sad, it's better to know you're not alone. My voice isn't so loud when I talk this time. My throat hurts.

I'm sorry your Ma died. I hope she's happy in Heaven. My Ma almost went up to Heaven early too, but the Doctors helped her. She's not one hundred percent okay yet.

[believe_everything]

Thanks, Jack. I think she went somewhere good. Doctors couldn't help my mom, but I'm glad they helped yours. She'll get better.

Maybe that's not true, but he wanted it to be, for Jack's sake.

We'll get you back to her, okay? It'd probably make her really happy to see you.

[37hours]

I'm getting better at hearing lies. I know sometimes people say good things even if they're not sure. They're trying to be nice, but sometimes I wish everyone would just say what's real.

Grandma says Ma will probably get better. I just want her to be happy. She doesn't sound happy on the phone, and if she lies, it makes me angry.

I look up, and I almost smile, but that feels like it would be lying.

Yeah, I want to get back to her. My friend Kate says you can't always choose how you leave this City, but I think it's okay to try. I left last time.

[believe_everything]

I was here once before too, and somehow I woke up... back where I was before. Hopefully we can figure it out. Can I ask where you're from?

[37hours]

I think about when I went back home. It's really weird, because I went back to where I was by school with Grandma, but Sun was in the same place and the time didn't change or anything.

I'm from Akron, Ohio. I went back last time too, but I didn't remember Darrow when I went back. Maybe that's a kind of magic, too.

[believe_everything]

I'm pretty positive that's what it is. Or something like that. Hey, do you like magic tricks?

He reaches into his pocket to find a quarter - he always has at least one coin on him. He showed it to Jack, then made it disappear. Then he reached to pull it out from behind Jack's ear.

[37hours]

I laugh.

Leo does that, too. It's really cool and I don't know how to do it yet. Grandma says that they call it a magic trick because it's a trick and not completely magic, but I still think it's cool.

I scratch behind my ear. I know Shadow Moon didn't do anything to it, but watching him made it itchy.

Can you teach me how? Please?

Manners.

[believe_everything]

He grins and crouches down. He gives Jack the coin and shows him how to hold it.

Okay so, first you hold it like this... then you hide it in your palm. Like this.

He shows Jack how to change the way he holds it, so the coin 'disappears.'

Then when you take it from someone's ear - or wherever - you slide it back into your fingers again. It takes practice, but then it gets easy.

[37hours]

Leo warned me that learning magic tricks might ruin the magic, but I think it's awesome. I like learning something new. I think it would be really cool to do this to Ma once she's out from the hospital. I bite my lip and take the coin, trying to copy what Shadow Moon showed me.

The coin's kinda... big...

It slips, and I reach out to grab it quick. I get it before it drops to the ground and I start to laugh, because I think I look pretty silly right now.

I need bigger hands.

[believe_everything]

Hm... maybe something smaller. My hands are pretty big these days, but I used to drop stuff all the time when I was still learning.

He smiles and digs into his pocket. He finds a nickel - better for a little hand, but with enough size and weight that Jack would have an easier time moving it around than a dime or penny.

Here, try again with this one.

[37hours]

I'm still giggling. I'm not good at this yet, but I know I can be better, and when I get better, I'll know that I'm a little bit bigger.

When Grandma taught me about coins, I thought it was silly that five cents is bigger than ten cents. It doesn't make sense.

I grow quiet and stare at the coin, working on tucking it away just right. I think I can see the coin sometimes, but it doesn't drop this time. I laugh again.

That's really cool.

[believe_everything]

Shadow chuckles, grinning as he watches the kid.

You're already doing great. It took me a long time with nothing else to do to get good at it.

He thinks for a moment, then sort of nods to himself. Why not?

Want to see some real magic?

He pushes his sleeves up so Jack can see there's nothing there, then shows both sides of his hands. Then Shadow reaches into the air and... plucks a large gold coin out of nowhere. He offers it to Jack.

[37hours]

Real magic. I know that it exists. Ma says that real magic is what made me come to her, and Kate says real magic is what brings us all to Darrow. But I don't think it's easy to see real magic. Magic tricks you can see all the time, but all the real magic I know is stuff you can't touch.

I get pretty surprised when Shadow Moon does the coin trick... with no trick. It's the first time I see real magic in front of my eyes!

How did you do that?

My mouth's open, I don't think that's manners, but I can't help it. I carefully pick up the coin. It feels heavy and real.

It wasn't there, and then you made it real! Can you do that with other things?

[believe_everything]

I just take it. A friend taught me while I was-- uhm. While I was very drunk. I couldn't remember how to do it for the longest time. But then I did.

Shadow smiles at the memory. Mad Sweeney had been a messed up guy, but Shadow misses him sometimes. The coin would be warm in Jack's hands, like a little circle of sunshine.

Would you believe me if I told you he was a leprechaun? The biggest one I ever saw - taller than me.

[37hours]

I wish I had real magic. But if I did, I don't think I would use it to make gold — I'd use it to make Ma better. I hug the coin close. It's warm like she is, and it makes me miss her more, even though she's more far away from me now that I'm in Darrow.

I thought leprechauns were pretend. There was one on the television, but he was all flat and colors like Dora, so I don't think he was real.

[believe_everything]

Yeah, I thought that too, until I met one. I've seen a lot of things I didn't think were real... so now I just kind of believe everything is real until I see otherwise.

[37hours]

I look at my shoes for a little while. World is confusing. In Room, I knew almost everything, and if I didn't know something, Ma knew it. In World, no one knows everything. That's why it's hard to say that someone's lying. Because maybe they're actually telling the truth, but nobody knows it.

I used to think lots of things weren't real. And that everything on television was just in Outer Space. But now I know it's more confusing. Sometimes things are real, and sometimes they're made up, and sometimes they're just not real yet. It makes me dizzy to think about it all.

[believe_everything]

Yeah, I know the feeling. But hey, you don't have to think about it all at once, y'know? That'd make me dizzy, too. I think it has a few times. So I try to just... focus on one thing at a time. Or nothing for a while. That helps.