The Puppeteer

Ruby Manabe. Makeup Artist. Wannabe doctor. 24/F/NYC {Roleplay blog for Wild Cards}

[rubymanabe]

Somebody's Lucky Day || Milo & Ruby

[keeper-ryan-blog]

  If there was one thing Milo hated about his job - other than the fact he even had to take it - it had to be the fact that he only got about three or four hours of sleep before school when he had customers.  And it wasn’t even that he couldn’t function at all with that little amount of sleep.  It was more the fact that he knew the lack of sleep wasn’t helping him work on his control.  In any case, the fact that there was a good coffee shop near the Devil’s Roulette saved Milo from falling asleep at school.

The barista knew him from his frequent visits in the mornings, and - bless her heart - had his usual espresso ready and waiting for him as soon as he walked in the door.  He thanked her with a tired smile as he paid, then headed outside to attempt to enjoy the drink in the ten minutes he had before he absolutely had to be on his way to school.  Milo slid into one of the wire chairs on the patio, relaxing with a deep sigh as he tilted his head back to look at the sky.  The sun had been up for barely under an hour, so the sky above him was a light blue that was steadily getting deeper.  

With a start, Milo realized he’d been drifting off in the chair, and was in danger of being late to school.  He leapt off the chair and ran, tossing his empty cup in the trash as he passed by.  He was both so out of it and in such a hurry, that he didn’t realize he’d left his wallet behind until he’d gotten to the subway station.  ”Shit,” he cursed, turning around and sprinting back the way he’d came, hoping no one had picked up his wallet and made off with it.  

When he got back to the coffee shop, he saw a woman bent over his wallet, apparently searching through it.  ”Uhm, that’s mine!” he called out, coming to a halt breathlessly just behind her.

[rubymanabe]

Ruby looked towards the voice to see a young man, out of breath and harried looking. Her foggy eyes slid him over him top to tail before looking back at the wallet. She rubbed the pad of her thumb against it thoughtfully. It was probably his. Just how many strangers tended to jump out and claim a lost wallet like this anyways? Then again...it was New York and Ruby was coming to see that this city worked a little differently. Her own landlord had already tried to gouge her on the utilities and she'd only been living in the place a month.

"Oh yeah...?" Half-turning her body, the joker leaned her hip back against the patio table and picked up her coffee. Her eyes met Milo's steadily as she took a sip. As much of a rush as this guy seemed to be in, Ruby didn’t feel the same. Her brain felt sluggish and her desire to give the ace a prickly reply told her it was still a bit early to be interacting with people. 

"What’s your name?" She asked, her tone a bit more brisk than she intended. Oh well. With a flick of her wrist, she flipped the wallet open to look for ID. If there wasn’t any then she could always just ask the guy to list off what was inside of it. 

[giorgoslanthimos-deactivated201]

[rubymanabe]

The Ghost in the Park || Jac & Ruby

[recklessintel]

Ruby’s power certainly seemed usefully in cases you had to deal with unwanted others. Especially since from what Jac understood, unless you knew what she could do, there was no way of tracing it back to her. Obviously, since no touch was necessary. She didn’t seem all to happy about the using it on others part though, maybe for her it was just self defense? So far Jac wouldn’t put her under aggressive, at least not the type to start fights just for shit and giggles.

"Remind me not to make ya mad", they said finally, despite the darker nature of the topic they managed to sound somewhat amused. "Breakin’ bones is bad enough, like honestly I’d put that right under being stabbed, but then imaginin’ havin’ them crushed.. ow", not to mention that it would take a ridiclious long time to heal. "So are ya interested in Cold Deck stuff or is the bone crushing jus’ for self defense?"

They took a moment before they answered Ruby’s question. “Uhm. Well I can’t say for hundred percent how friendly anything is ‘cause I’m a) not a wild card and b) used to different shit then you. Buuut.. well, I know a lot? There’s restaurants and bars and clubs and all that shit. Usually if a wildcard owns a place they make sure that their place stays good for other wildcards too. An’ there’s a few places that are like.. exclusive? So they just let in jokers or aces or both just as a safe space? Uhm can’t tell you exactly how good any of those are first hand since I can’t get in ya know, but I do know what people say about what place plus if it ain’t super fancy, which honest most things ain’t, at least not in jokertown, I know the owners too and I can tell ya if they’re nice. I mean in the end it’s always how ya see it yourself but if most people say it’s a good place it usually is. Or well if it ain’t there’s a reason why people say it’s good so you’re gonna at least think ya had a nice time, or pretend to so…”

There was a change in how Ruby held herself, which stood out mostly because Jac had seen it before. Not a lot of people took being informed that the person they’d talked to was just out to get info from them particularly well. A reason why Jac usually tried to get it out as soon as the conversation let them, if you waited to long people for some reason always felt betrayed and whatever trust they had build up was pretty much back to zero. “Not jus’ people, everythin’ I-…”

They stopped, telling Ruby the amount of things they knew didn’t seem to helpfull. “Look. I didn’t stalk ya or anythin’ if that’s whatcha thinkin’, honestly if I did I wouldn’t have to ask ya a thing. It’s really how I already told you ok, I knew someone moved in that apartment a month ago and I knew it was a joker. Then I saw ya walk in there. Non of the current people there got a new girlfriend and you had a key, so I figured the new mystery person was you, and when I saw ya again I jus’ wanted to be sure. An’ that’s it. I just saw ya, then did that again and well I got a good memory. An’ it’s not like I’m actively gonna do anything with knownin’ that. No one asked about ya an’ I don’t jus’ give all info to anyone. I just like knowin’ things, I’d be doin’ this even if I never got any money for it, I mean I used to, but gotta live of something, right?”

[rubymanabe]

Ruby’s milky eyes studied Jac closely and not for the first time she wished she was good at reading people. Some people could watch a person and smell a lie in the way they fidgeted with their hair or the cadence of their voice. She, on the other hand, was happy when she got into a conversation that lasted longer than ten minutes. If Jac was lying, they were excellent at it and the joker’s prickly wariness faded away once more. 

She couldn’t hold Jac’s trade against them. Everyone did what they were good at, Ruby would just have to be careful not to divulge anything she wouldn’t want too many people knowing. Like it or not, the joker might very well get her wish to live more openly. She couldn’t imagine who might want to track her down though. Licking her lips, Ruby tilted her head thoughtfully.

"Okay...just let me know if I gotta preface something with a "just between us" or something..." 

“Cold deck fights? That’s a real thing, huh?” As far as she had heard, pitting jokers against jokers was rumor; the kind of barbaric stuff reserved for the ugly underbelly of big cities and the jokers either too desperate for the money or too uncivilized to have any higher aspirations. To be honest, Ruby wasn’t entirely certain she wouldn’t want to give it a try. Odds were pretty good that few jokers would be able to compete with the kind of power she wielded and heaven knows she could use the money.

The joker snorted. Guess that put her in the first category.

"What wildcard friendly places do you recommend? I might try and check a few out sometime." She chewed on her bottom lip as she rolled her thoughts over in her mind and wondered if she'd have to go as her actual self. Assumedly if a joint was joker-exclusive, they'd want some proof that she belonged. Or she could could lie and pass her self off as an ace. Ruby wrinkled her nose at the thought. Lying to the people who were like her wasn't exactly how she wanted her introduction to the community to go. 

[obi-don-kenobi]

Skin Deep || Donnie & Ruby

[obi-don-kenobi]

The conversation kept coming easy and there was no way she was mad he’d got her coffee. Not if her reaction when he brought it over was anything to go by. He’d been smiling pretty much constantly since they’d started their conversation, big dopey grins when they ranted about Neil Gaiman or movies in general, small reassuring smiles to kill tension, gentle relaxed smiles that just sort of happened. He sipped on his drink, listening as she answered his questions. He tried to hold back his compliments, words like ‘well I think you’re really good too’. He didn’t want to oversell it or make her think he was hitting on her. He wasn’t hitting on her. Donnie was almost certain of it. "Me?" She’d said he was passionate. It was hard not to grin about it. "Um, kinda I guess? I’d always loved stories growing up. Costume and making stuff. Theater is like… I guess it just comes naturally. Not the acting part, but… they let me help write some plays and do some costume stuff." He snickered at the memory. It was far enough removed for him to laugh about it now. "The costume fittings with the girls were the worst, mostly ‘cause of their boyfriends. I was a lot more, uh… shy back then, and I can’t like… I can’t flirt. So even if I was trying to hit on them, it would’ve just been a big joke. The actual creation process though… It was the best. I’m hoping to put together a screenplay for next year’s NY Student film festival, actually."

[rubymanabe]

Ruby nodded, resting an elbow on the arm of her chair and leaning towards Donnie to listen. The coffee shop wasn't packed by any means but enough people were talking that there was a chance she might miss something if Donnie was quiet. She couldn’t fully follow what he was describing, but she could imagine. Having not gone to school with other kids after she got the virus limited her understanding of what school looked like for most kids but she'd seen enough highschool movies to imagine. And she could always ask questions. They were her bread and butter and you could never run out of things to ask.

“So you did this in...in high school? They got you writing plays and making costumes that early?” The joker asked. Grinning a little at Donnie’s admittance of his inability to flirt, Ruby brought her drink up to sip at it and she shrugged. She couldn’t flirt to save her life either.

“Hopefully the boyfriends didn’t give you too much crap over the fittings. It was your job, after all.” She commented. The makeup industry wasn’t so different. It wasn’t common for boyfriends to get unhappy with her work, but bossy mothers and controlling friends had made Ruby’s job difficult on more than one occasion. 

“Have you already started? Your screenplay, I mean. What kind of ideas have you been playing with?” 

[asuka-soryu-deactivated20160709]

Visit Original Link

[rubymanabe]

People are connecting Don't know what to say I'm good at protecting What they want to take Spilt the milk at breakfast Hit me double hard And I grinned at you softly Because I'm a fucking wild card

[obi-don-kenobi]

Skin Deep || Donnie & Ruby

[obi-don-kenobi]

He didn’t know how or why, but he got the lingering feeling he’d made her feel awkward. Maybe he’d been coming on too strong from a let’s-be-friends-right-now point of view, but that didn’t make sense. She’d invited him for a coffee, after all. She’d brought up Neil Gaiman and talked about Doctor Who. He must have said something by accident. He made a mental note to be a bit more careful in the future. Maybe it was the fact he’d offered to pay for coffee. Some people didn’t like that, thought it affected their independence or was anti-feminist or something. Really, Donnie would have done it for anyone just so they could keep an eye on all their valuable stuff while the other one went to the counter, but he could see where there might be a mix-up. She accepted it, and called him kind, but she might just have been trying to save face. "Awesome," he smiled, leaving his Captain America zip-up on the back of the chair before disappearing to join the line. He didn’t really want a coffee, even an iced one, so he went for a chocolate and vanilla frappe instead. He loved the campus Starbucks. He loved it even more that all students got a card with a balance for every semester. He always spent way too much on his, but today, both their drinks were free. Shoot. Maybe he should’ve said that so she didn’t feel like a jerk for letting him spend money on her. "There you go," he smiled, putting the drink in front of her as he got back to the table. It was a typical New York summer day, which meant it was sticky, hot, and bright. "Iced was definitely a good idea. And don’t worry about paying me back. Student perks." He lifted up the card before putting it back in his wallet, the drink cold and pleasant on his tongue as he sucked it through the straw. "So how long have you been doing what you do? Was it like a thing you always were good at, or did you kinda fall into it?"

[rubymanabe]

The feminist debate on whether letting someone buy you a drink aside, Ruby was not going to look down her nose at someone buying her a coffee. 

"Thaaaank you," She said with all the reverence an addict gave their dealer. Even at a discount, coffee was more than her budget could handle right then. Not as a regular indulgence anyways and there had been a point in time when she'd had more caffeine than anything else running in her veins. 

Lifting her hands up, the Ruby gingerly cupped her hands around the cold plastic to cool off. As much as she'd like to keep her palms pressed against the cup, too much water would mess with the makeup on her hands, so she lifted them away to rest her hands on the back of her neck. The humid air clung to her skin, making the foundation she wore feel heavier and she had to be extra careful not to accidentally wipe it off. 

"Hm? Uh, fell into it! My mom was always really good with makeup and she taught me all the tricks." Ruby dropped a hand to pick up her coffee by the lid and take a sip through the straw. "Then I got hired by a makeup store in my hometown and they started training me when I was....seventeen?"

She dug her teeth into the end of the straw and tilted her head, trying to count back to when she had started. 

"Yeah, seventeen. I was really good, if I'm any judge, so they started teaching me a bit of theatre makeup." The joker winked at him." Lucky for me, they're a big enough company that they passed my resume on to a store here in New York when I moved here so I had a job right out of the gate. The pay's better than anything else I'm qualified for, so I'm gonna stick with it till I can go back to school..." 

Ruby sat back in her seat and grinned.

"What about you? It's pretty obvious you're passionate about what you're doing....Did you always want to do film and theatre?"

[rubymanabe]

The Ghost in the Park || Jac & Ruby

[recklessintel]

Jac made a face when Ruby mentioned doctors. “You’re probably lucky your parents decided that. Like some of the docs are nice I guess but most of ‘em ain’t jokers, like really almost non of ‘em are, so they’re really not.. uhm, like not the people that should do that kinda thing; and I’ve heard some pretty bad shit. Not even about weird tests jus’ the general treatment is gross as fuck, but ya probably know about that…” Jac knew less about it then they could, but finding out more would mean that they’d eventually have to get close to hospitals and if there was one thing they really hated it was those things.

"It’s mad cool though, your power I mean", not to mention useful. Depending on how good Ruby was and how much she could control she certainly sounded like a good asset to have on hand if you were planning something big. Or small, generally something that involved the possibility of other humans crossing your plans. "Could ya have actually broken my leg? Or is it jus’ like holdin’ down and movin’? Though I guess movin’ would involve breakin’ too."

Walking again felt good. They didn’t even mind that it was the direction they had originally come from. It wasn’t like they actually had to be somewhere, the only plan they’d had before they ran into Ruby was to go back to their current couch and sleep, and they could do that pretty much whenever they liked. When Ruby said she loved the city Jac couldn’t help but grin. Obviously they knew already that New York was the best city to be, but whenever someone said it again it felt like being handed a present. Especially if it was a person that hadn’t lived here all their life, since it meant that they didn’t think this for no reason.

"Do…you know a lot of other jokers?"

"Sure, I know everyone", they answered, their voice sounding more factual then anything else. It had always just been a thing for them, something that was cool of course but nothing to be particularly proud of. The part to be proud of wasn’t just knowing everyone, but knowing a big deal more then just their faces and names. "Why, ya lookin’ for someone?" From what Ruby had said so far it sounded like she hadn’t come in contact with a lot of other jokers, especially since she only just moved here. They looked over to her for a moment, thinking, despite being out alone at four she didn’t strike Jac as the kind of person that enjoyed hanging out alone all times.. "I know a few bars and restaurants an’ that kinda stuff that’s run by jokers, if that’s what ya want."

“What is it you do for work, anyways, Jac?”

"Well uhm, if ya think of work as in official employed person thingy then… nothing." They paused for a moment, it was always strange saying that. Unemployed, someone who did nothing, despite trying not to care about it saying this out loud had a bitter taste to it. And this even though it didn’t mean anything, or shouldn’t at least, they easily earned money their own way. "People pay me if they wanna know things, ‘cause I know what’s goin’ on everywhere. Like doesn’t matter what it is, people, events, organizations… if it’s somethin’ recent that’s goin’ on ‘round here ask me, pay and I’ll tell ya."

[rubymanabe]

A flicker of curiosity lit the joker’s eyes and she looked back at Jac. Her jaw shifted beneath her skin as she bit down on the questions she wanted to ask. Gross treatment and weird tests were exactly why Ruby’s parents hadn’t let the doctors run tests on her but she had assumed that was exaggeration on her parent’s side. What was the worst the doctors could do, anyways? Scenes from Saw II flitted through her mind and she wondered if the sort of torture porn that excited the masses held any truth to what some of these “doctors” inflicted on wildcards.

But that would be illegal, wouldn’t it? And Jac was a nat, so whatever they might know was second hand information at best. 

"Could ya have actually broken my leg? Or is it jus’ like holdin’ down and movin’? Though I guess movin’ would involve breakin’ too."

"Uh, yeah. If I focus hard enough, I could actually crush it," Ruby licked her lips, finding herself nervously glancing over at Jac a little more now that it was open season for questions on her power. By it’s nature, the subject was going to be grim and macabre and the worry that this was a little graphic nagged at the back of her mind. It seemed irrational to be afraid of scaring off someone she had been almost a little scared of herself, but the feeling was there anyway. 

"Well, theoretically at least. I’ve practiced on animal bones and those were all unattached to anything living." She cleared her throat and frowned down at the pavement. The subject couldn’t not bring up memories of what had happened the first time she’d used her powers on the unwilling and her hands balled into fists in her shorts pockets. "Things get complicated when the bones are alive and attached to living flesh. If I grab onto a leg bone and pull one way but the leg muscles fight me and pull another way, well...something’s gotta, uh....give.”

The joker cringed internally at the awkward ending she gave that sentence and was only too happy when Jac went on to answer her own questions. 

“No, I’m not looking for anyone, but...” It’d be a lie to say she wasn’t pretty interested in being around other jokers. Even just to confirm that there really were others out there that looked somewhat less than standard-grade human. The question was if she was ready for it... 

“What sort of places? How do you know a place is wildcard friendly?” 

Jac’s little reveal about what they did for a job confirmed the suspicion Ruby had been feeling all through their conversation and it made something cold and heavy pool in her stomach. The joker hesitated a step, then continued walking at Jac’s side. The thin smile on her lips barely reached the corners of her mouth, let alone her eyes.

“You gather information. On people? Is that how you knew where I lived?” Her voice was forcibly light but her posture was rigid and ready. If this was all some game... Ruby’s jaw tightened. She didn’t like being played with. 

[geniustechnopath]

{Rogue Dryer} Ruby & Max

[rubymanabe]

geniustechnopath:

  With the sound of boots approaching her position, Max’s internal debate had slowed. While she was fully confident in her actions just mere minutes ago, the reality of the consequences never left her consciousness. As much as Max could infer or deduce something about a perfect stranger, it did not mean that it was fact even as much as she liked to believe she was never wrong. The city was filled with strangers, humans. All unstable variables that she had no real means of predicting other than her own educated guesses. So when the woman stopped in front of Max’s position, the ace decided to study her face for any signs of fear, trepidation or anger. Instead, she was met with the sound of voice, not a scream or a yell. Max allowed her shoulders to loosen a bit, attempting to keep her brief moment of panic hidden. 

What Max felt next, however, wasn’t the sensations of a fleeting anxiety attack, but of her hand moving all on its own accord without her brain telling it too. Confused, she tried to pull her hand back towards her own person, but a strange, albeit not painful tingling sensation manifested from her wrist and dispersed into her fingers. Deciding it was better to not fight what her hand was doing, she kept her eyes glued to the woman in front of her. The gears quickly turned in her head, as the cool metal of the quarters fell into her palm one by one. Seconds later, the sensation was gone and a quick test of wiggling her own fingers indicated that Max was now in control of her own hand again. 

Shoving the quarters into her bag, she clasped both her hands together and leaned forward that the other humans wouldn’t hear. “That was so….cool!” She whispered excitedly, nearly bouncing on the dryer she was perched upon. Recovering slightly, she brought her hand back up near her field of vision, wiggling it again in front of the pair as if checking to make sure everything was still connected. “So you can control movements?” She guessed obviously, befogging continuing her line of questioning. “How interesting. What happens when someone tries to resist? Is it different with animals? Well, I suppose that wouldn’t make a great deal of difference if your power controls something physical like muscles, unless you were controlling my thoughts. In which case, I definitely did not feel you in my mind. Very sneaky, I might add.”

Pausing only to take a breath, Max crossed her arms over her chest triumphantly. “So…I was right. I’m, uh, Max by the way. Now that we’ve gotten introductions out of the way….can you do that again?” She added, unable to mask the mixture of curiosity and eagerness in her tone.

Whatever reaction Ruby was expecting, it absolutely wasn’t the sudden rush of giddy curiosity and intrigue. And not with the excitement usually exhibited by grade school kids. The closest she could compare this to was the morbid curiosity one of her childhood friends had given her the first time he had seen her without makeup and that hadn’t been flattering. Cringing a little at the overexcitement, the joker’s lips twisted into a shy smile.

“So you can control movements?”

"Uh… something like that…" Ruby’s eyes scanned the laundromat and the occupants again for anyone watching them. She caught her own gaze in the glass front of the laundromat and stared at it for a second before looking back at Max. As far as Max knew, Ruby was an ace and people didn’t necessarily treat aces poorly. Besides, even if the technopath recognized her at the makeup store she worked at, there was no way Max could prove Ruby was definitively a wildcard. 

“Bone manipulation.” Her voice was hushed, barely more than a mumble and her words came out in a rush. “Human or animal, if it’s got bones or cartilage, I can control it. It, uh, it’s not....good if someone resists.”

She finished awkwardly and her eyes flitted over Max’s face to try and read her expression. For a stranger she’d been on the verge of wanting to be rid of, Ruby found she suddenly cared a lot about Max’s opinion. The triumphant declaration of who was right earned Max a soft glare. By her own actions, Ruby had proven Max’s point but it didn’t make her any less of a sore loser. Heat warmed Ruby's cheeks, the color unseen beneath the layers of cover up she'd applied earlier and she sniffed.

"I still don’t believe prying into a person’s personal life is a good practice.” She retorted haughtily. “You could even say it’s dangerous.”

Max’s persistent excitement and curiosity, however, was strangely endearing and Ruby’s resistance melted a little more. Tucking her hands into her pockets, the joker dropped her gaze to Max’s feet. The same non corporeal grip tightened around the technopath’s left shin bone and pulled Max's leg forward a step before fading away again.

[talesfromacrippledphoenix]

[rubymanabe]

talesfromacrippledphoenix:

Another Joker card.

[rubymanabe]

The Ghost in the Park || Jac & Ruby

[recklessintel]

  No last name, not that Jac minded much. They were admittedly pushing it a little, especially if you took a look at the hour this conversation was taking place. Considering that names were the easiest thing to find out, provided the person hadn’t hidden or changed them in the past, it wasn’t much of a loss. With Ruby’s living place known it would probably be a matter of ten minutes, if at all.

“Sorry…It’s always hard to gauge what sort of reaction I’m going to receive so I take precautions.”

"Yeah no I get that, though I mean honestly even if I wanted to start shit I probably couldn’t, like at least not right now I’m kinda.." they made a vague gesture to their head. "Everything’s spinning a little." Not to mention that it came close to suicide to attack a joker with unknown powers. There was a chance they could pulverize you with whatever power they had, one thought and all that was left of you was a smudge on the ground. Jac could definitely think of better ways to spent their future. "I mean I could still run but that’s like my default state, which is also why I really wouldn’t have appreciated you doin’ somethin’ to my legs, ya know. What was that anyway? Like from your looks I’d say it has to do with flesh or bones, maybe blood but I think that’d feel different. Not so concentrated on one spot."

Talking about privilege and then worrying how it sounded to Jac, aka she didn’t just put her opinion out but wanted them to understand. Definitely interesting. Jac had to send her info to Max and see what she got, whatever outcome this would bring Ruby was already being more promising then any of the other leads the two of them had followed lately.

"I guess yeah, I get that. Not the powers thing of course, I don’t have any, I think we got that far, but I mean if ya get punched in the face for bein’ a joker or, uhm, bein’ not the right amount of normal for some asshole you’re still bleeding, right? It’s probably not the same in your fancy words but there’s blood dripping out of your nose and well in some cases it’s broken and in others it ain’t, but it still hurts as fuck." It was hard not to notice how much more difficult their life would be as a joker, especially since they had build up pretty much everything they had on people telling them things because they were ‘not dangerous’ and ‘just a nat’ someone like that wouldn’t cause harm. Still it wasn’t easy to find reasons as to how being an ace would be a downside. Probably one of the never know until you are cases.

If it was cold then Jac didn’t notice despite not wearing a jacket. They shifted their weight, standing to long and especially that standing without moving at all at first slowly made them feel restless. “Uhm, would ya mind walking a bit? I don’t care what direction or where, you can decide, as I said I don’t wanna start shit I jus’ really need to move.”

Jac nodded at the answer to the where Ruby was from question, appearing as if they tried to place the names and locations together. Technically they knew a) the name of all states b) the location of most important cities but since had they never moved a foot out of New York info like this was about as useful as telling them someone lived on the moon. “Taking that that you’re liking it here then.” They grinned with the pride anyone living in a city long enough started having about said place. “It’s a great city honestly, it actually got even more to offer then ya might think right now. There’s like people getting together for anything, real cool if ya wanna share stuff and all that.”

"Grew up in New York in general, but jokertown’s my favorite", their aunt and uncle’s house hadn’t been in jokertown exactly but it was close enough for Jac to reach quite easily and they started feeling drawn to it. "There’s the best people here, like all the interesting shit worth mentioning goes down in jokertown, perfect place to be." They stopped but then added, sounding a bit less enthusiastic. "And honestly, it ain’t jus’ wild cards who got jack shit for money."

[rubymanabe]

Ruby dropped her gaze, her lips twisting in a thin smile that she hoped was apologetic. When it came to defending herself, she always targeted the leg joints first because of how crippling a blow there could be.

“Uh...I can control bones.” The joker admitted. As far as she knew there wasn’t a registry for wildcards and explaining what her power was, wasn’t giving away what the extent and limitations of it. Lifting her hands out of her pockets, Ruby wiggled her fingers in accent of her statement. The powers that sometimes came along with being infected with the virus seemed to defy the laws of physics and cross into the world of magic. Maybe if she actually became a doctor, she would be able to make better sense of it all but until then, the mechanics of her ability would remain a mystery.

“I can’t really explain it and my parents didn’t let the doctors run any experiments on me so it’s a little bit of a mystery to me too, but, uh...think Magneto from the X-Men but with bones instead of metal.”

Jac’s attempt to explain their understanding of Ruby’s words was a little convoluted but it was on and she chuckled a little.

“Exactly,” The suggestion to keep walking was met with a nod. She could use some warming up and she did want to keep moving. If Jac wanted to start trouble, then Ruby would handle it but until then... Turning away from the direction of her own apartment, Ruby started to walk along the path Jac had just come down. Once they were out of the park, then the joker would make an excuse and slip away. With the sun coming up, people would undoubtably be coming out and while a few people looking at her was manageable, Ruby didn't like the idea of dealing with a lot of those looks. The encounter with Jac was affirming and positive but there was no illusion that it wasn't indicitive of others.

“I’m loving it here. It’s head and shoulders above anywhere else I’ve been." Ruby’s voice was warm with affection for New York. She held no illusions about the steep uphill climb she had set herself on but the city was so vivid and alive. A thought occurred to her and she gave Jac a contemplative look. 

"Do...you know a lot of other jokers?"

A bark of a laugh left the joker when Jac mentioned lack of funds and she rolled her eyes. Fucking. Money. 

“Good point. Unfortunate thing about the capitalist system...you need capital to build capital...” Was she a little bitter? Definitely. Whether it was the economic system that devoured money, the kids that had attacked her or the society that rejected her, the joker carried more than a little resentment despite her efforts to let it go. Breathing a soft sigh, Ruby shook her head and looked out at the park around them.

“What is it you do for work, anyways, Jac?”

[audio-trip]

[hyperdecant]

[obi-don-kenobi]

Skin Deep || Donnie & Ruby

[obi-don-kenobi]

Even with the rise of the superhero movie and the emergence of science fiction and fantasy as a legitimate genre rather than the work of hacks, Donnie still felt like he was an outcast most of the time. Weirdly enough, it wasn’t cause he was an Ace. His mutation was a cool bonus attribute. It was his shyness and social awkwardness that made him the weird one in most circles outside of conventions and film school. He was pretty comfortable here, since almost everyone was a geek. Still, having a conversation about crying over Doctor Who with a stranger wouldn’t have been on his list of things he thought he’d do that day. “Ha. It’s alright. I won’t tell if you won’t.” She seemed embarrassed when he asked about her car. Nobody needed to be embarrassed about not having one. This was New York City. A good percentage of the residents just didn’t feel the need to drive. Traffic was killer and gas was expensive. If you were staying in the city. there was no point. “That’s no problem. We’ll just take ‘em with us.” His mutation might not have been super strength, but he could manage make-up bags. Donnie followed the familiar pathway to the student coffee shop, picking a table for them and strategically placing her bags underneath the table so nobody would trip. It would have been just his luck to end up with a cup full of hot coffee down the back of his shirt right when he was enjoying a conversation - and with a girl no less. “See? I told you. Artists never think they’re artists. Or they boast /way/ too much about being artists,” he chuckled. “What kinda coffee do you want? I’ll get it.”

[rubymanabe]

Ruby's lips twisted in a sheepish smile when Donnie again insisted that she was an artist. Her fingers tightened around the handle of the makeup bag she was carrying so she didn't facepalm. She wasn't a makeup artist. She wasn't!

Artists were dying to create, to twist and shape some medium into a commentary on what they saw around them and that wasn't her. Ruby liked details and figuring out how things worked so she could take them apart and put them back together. She didn't feel that creative spark for colors and textures. The makeup she had grown up playing with had been out of necessity, not curiosity and it just wasn't her. 

But the joker swallowed her thoughts, dropped her gaze and smiled. 

"You're very kind," She said as she nudged the makeup kits a little further under the table with her foot. When was the last time she just chattered on with a stranger like this? Certainly not for several months. Where Donnie's mutation enriched how he experienced the world, Ruby's gave her more reasons to try and withdraw and be careful of who it was she let in. Before moving to New York, Ruby had avoided any real ties. Life in Fairhaven had felt transient and while the people were sweet, they were dead-ends to her. From the moment her family had moved there, all she could think about was getting away and into New York. 

"Thanks, uh, ice coffee with milk would be fine!" Ruby grinned as she settled into one of the chairs. The quiet murmur of talk filled her ears and she let her dark eyes wander over the students studying, talking and relaxing. Soon, she promised herself. One way or another, Ruby would find her way back into school.

[ottersunday]

[rubymanabe]

The Ghost in the Park || Jac & Ruby

[recklessintel]

  The feeling around Jac’s ankles vanished and while they tried not to, they couldn’t help but feel relieved by this. There were a lot of things that could go wrong in Jac’s life on a daily basis but injuring their legs in any way was always one of the worst possibilities. “Thanks for not doin’ that anymore” they said, grinning sheepishly. “Also good to meet you too. Ruby.. any last name to go with that?”

"We are what we are, after all"

They liked the ‘just a nat’ phrase because it made it so easy to tell what people thought. Surprisingly few people knew how to properly hide their emotions and even if they did some kind of emotion still ended up on their faces usually. Even if it was just for a moment, by now Jac had gotten pretty good at guessing what it meant. Not that they had to here, the phrase was enough to bump Ruby up on the interesting list. “Well dunno, i’ve met some people with pretty useful powers.”

"For some reason I thought nats wouldn’t really want to live in this part of town. Too many…oddities."

Well that was a careful way to phrase it, they looked at her, obvious amusement showing. “It’s really easy to tell you’re not from here, you know? Where’d ya move from anyway?” Or maybe Jac was just to used to used to being blunt, they never really got the hang of trying to make things sound nicer, in the end it meant the same anyway. “But you’re right. Most of ‘em- us I guess, don’t wanna live here, I mean if ya got a good job you’d want a good neighborhood to live in too, right? An’ most jokers just don’t get good jobs ‘cause people are assholes. Sorry ‘bout that I guess, though you probably still have a better job then me. I’m just gonna assume you have one. You look like person with a job. But then again you’re taking walks at like 4 am through an empty park, like some people have weird hobbies and need like no sleep and all but parks are really not the thing to go to.. though I guess I’m here now too, which actually would jus’ prove my point.. uhm.” They stopped talking because for one thing they needed air and also realized that this wasn’t their original topic. They looked at Ruby a bit confused before they managed to trace their thoughts back to where they wanted to go.

"Right. Lost my track for a moment, but yeah I grew up here. And I well, home is home right? Wouldn’t wanna be anywhere else."

[rubymanabe]

The joker quirked a brow. Even if it wasn’t the age of internet technology, giving away your full name to a stranger seemed more than a little foolish. She was also getting the distinct feeling that Jac was fishing for information. The question about where she lived, then asking about her last name?

“Sorry...It’s always hard to gauge what sort of reaction I’m going to receive so I take precautions.” If Jac wanted to connect that to her not answering the question about her last name, or for removing her hold on the nat, Ruby was going to let them. Bending her left knee made the shadow of her kneecap shift beneath her translucent skin and she tapped the toe of her boot against the cement thoughtfully. 

“Everything has it’s drawbacks. Only the ignorant think that having a power means that life gets easier.” She looked up suddenly, realizing how that could sound. “I don’t mean that I think you’re ignorant! Just... we’ve all got privilege that we don’t think about. It’s easy to see the privilege of others and compare it with what we ourselves can’t take for granted.”

Not her words, but words she reminded herself daily. Her parents had never let her feel sorry for herself (not out loud anyways). Every frustration met with a gentle counter to get her to pull herself up by her bootstraps. At least she had makeup, at least she could protect herself, at least she had her brains, at least she had the love of her family. It was all true, but it didn’t help the bitter edge that sometimes sharpened her tongue anyways. 

Smiling ruefully, the joker listened to Jac rattle on. She was growing a good deal more certain that they were fishing for information with how they tossed out bait for her to confirm or deny and it made her uneasy. If Jac was the Jokertown gossip then Ruby was going to be very careful about what she shared. 

“Washington State. Little town a few hours away from Seattle.” Ruby supplied when Jac finally wound down. “And you’re right. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I’ve never seen so many wildcards in one place in my life.”

Yeah, Jokertown was the crap end of the city but it was in a major city and it was alive and colorful and loud. Now that she wasn’t walking, the air was feeling a little cool. Glancing towards the sky, Ruby gauged how far sunrise was. She’d only intended to take a short walk before showering and going back to bed. Since it was her day off, maybe she’d even go without putting her makeup on at all. No promises of whether she’d make it out the door, though.

“When you said this is where you grew up, did you mean Jokertown or just New York in general? You said Jokertown's not really first choice for nats...why do you live here, then?” 

[obi-don-kenobi]

Skin Deep || Donnie & Ruby

[obi-don-kenobi]

Donnie was never quite sure whether he’d been in love or not, but he was pretty sure that if songs and movies and TV shows were anything to go by, it felt something like this. His whole body felt lighter, more relaxed, happier. She was beautiful and smart and she wanted to talk to /him/. She had started a conversation about the costumes at comic conventions with no irony. “I know right? Some of the costumes are… amazing. I’m okay at it, you know?” All his con friends would have disagreed with him on that one, but he didn’t like to brag. It always felt so false. “But some of these people make me feel like I couldn’t thread a needle if I had the power of super-dexterity. I knew one guy who built like… a mechanical Iron Man suit, from some super light metal. The eyes lit up and everything, and it had a voicebox! Like Robert Downey Jr’s voice came out when he talked.” He might’ve married that guy then and there if he had been confident enough to go up to him. The conversation continued to Doctor Who, Neil Gaiman, and once again, Donnie’s geek card was showing. “Oh, yeah. I checked the Nightmare in Silver out but I kinda had lost my passion for the show around then. The Doctor’s Wife though… like, that part where she’s like ‘are all people so much bigger on the inside?’ I’m not a manly man but I might’ve choked up a little.” He laughed, looking at her with eyes widened in surprise when she asked him to take the conversation elsewhere. He readjusted his bag on his shoulder, smile plastered across his face as he helped her carry her make-up stuff. "That was my last class of the day, actually." He had been about to go home and work on some costume sketches and maybe fire up a little XBox with Max, but none of it was super urgent. "You have a car? I can help you take these to the trunk and maybe we could go to the student lounge for a coffee or something." Donnie had never asked anyone out on a date before. He wasn’t trying now, but he didn’t have enough experience with romantic entanglements to figure out whether it seemed like he was hitting on her or not. He hoped not. That would’ve been embarrassing. "And by the way, most artists feel like they’re not real artists, at least based on what I’ve experienced. I think if you do what you love, it never really feels like your job, ever."

[rubymanabe]

“The Doctor’s Wife might be one of my favorites. I know a lot of people don’t like New Who, but there was something really, really beautiful about that episode.” Lowering her voice, the joker leaned forward as if she was sharing a secret. “I actually did cry when she said ‘hello’.”

It felt so good to talk about something so mundane and wonderful. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had somebody to talk to these things about that wasn't online. Geeking out wasn’t something she felt any reservation around; what was wrong with talking about how much you loved something? Show or costume, it was all just another way that people expressed themselves.

"You have a car? I can help you take these to the trunk and maybe we could go to the student lounge for a coffee or something."

“Uh...” Ruby licked her lips, trying to get a better grip on the grin threatening to break free. The foundation hid the tinge of color that blossomed over her cheekbones, but the joker didn’t miss the warmth. Donnie was being very sweet and this wasn’t the kind of attention she was used to. Her friends, when they had been her friends, had all been just friends. She hadn’t gone to school with them and while they had talked a little about dating, Ruby had been out of her depth. 

Cool your jets, the makeup artist chided herself. She’d barely spoken more than ten minutes to the guy. Cute as he was. The trickle of students coming into the auditorium was thickening and Ruby pulled her makeup case off of the desk. The black container was heavy and bulky but the company she worked for had given it to her for free. By this point, she was used to it. 

“I actually took the transit here. I can drive, but no car.” She shrugged, “I could go for some coffee. Honestly, I could always go for some coffee. It’s a borderline addiction.”  Nodding her head towards the exit, Ruby took a step back and out of the classroom. 

“About what you were saying..about the art. I really don’t think I’m an artist. I’ve just had a lot of practice with makeup. At best, I’m a good mimic.”

[geniustechnopath]

{Rogue Dryer} Ruby & Max

[geniustechnopath]

Feeling a grin beginning to manifest, Max stopped it before it could reach its full realization and instead, settled for a half smile. It was genuine, though not necessarily formed because of joy or mirth, but from amusement mixed with a small amount of pleasant surprise. She knew she had touched a nerve, it was rare for Max to ever have a light-hearted conversation without someone getting angry or upset to some degree. 

Her typing had slowed to a halt and as she closed her laptop, very delicately placing it to her side, her gaze did not once remove itself from the aggravated woman before her. Slipping off the dryer on which she was so comfortably perched, her legs adjusted as her feet met the ground. Speaking, in no less neck breaking speed then earlier, she walked over to the broken quarter machine gesturing limply for the woman to follow. 

“While my assumptions may be negative, I’ve rarely been met by individuals who have proven me otherwise. It seems it is human nature to be apt to expect too much, so having zero expectations removes the variable for disappointment.” 

Stopping in front of the machine, she placed the quarters on top of it as she placed both her palms flat against the metal surface. Max was well aware her next decision might’ve been considered brash or reckless and could very well backfire in her face, but she also knew this woman was more than just a nat and perhaps needed a little more encouragement. It was nothing she couldn’t fix later, should the need arise and by the look of the other individuals in the mat, they hardly seemed sharp enough to discern what they were doing. 

“As for your second statement, I offer a fair trade, the same one I attempted to offer earlier. In the spirit of learning and discovery, let us consider this an experiment in trust.” 

Glancing around just to be sure at their surroundings, making sure that no one was listening to their conversation and looking in their general direction, Max closed her eyes. Gently their was a low humming noise as the machine responded to her touch. A moment later, her lids snapped open, revealing fully black orbs with lines of code flashing. The machine trembled ever so slightly as the quarters further dispersed on its surface. A second later, the movement stopped and Max closed her eyes once more and pulled her hands away from the machine, placing them into her dark jean’s pockets. 

“Try the machine now.”

Disinterested in the quarters, Max left them and returned to the dryer and began to type away at her laptop as though nothing had happened.

[rubymanabe]

Taking a step back, Ruby moved out of Max’s way when she slid off the dryer machine. The muscles in her jaw twitched and her eyes narrowed as she tried to keep pace with the ace. She couldn’t tell if the torrential flow of words was something Max was doing to be even more of a pain in the ass, or if this was just the natural state of things. Either way, it had Ruby’s fingers eagle-clawing into her biceps.

“Rare, but not unheard of,” She countered, following Max with her eyes. Her head tilted a little in annoyed curiosity. The machine was broken. This was the whole reason for this souring social interaction. Nothing that had come out of the woman’s bag, no matter the odd combination you applied them in was going to fix the damn thing. 

“That thing ate my money. It’s dead.” Ruby pointed out, exasperation dragging on her voice. Obvious, but maybe Max needed the obvious pointed out to her. Forcibly loosening her right hand from it’s perch, the joker raked her fingers through her bleach-blonde hair and carded the strands away from her face. Her boots squeaked on the worn linoleum as she trudged over to lean against the wall to watch whatever magic Max was going to try and work on the change machine. Little did she know she was about to see the closest thing to real magic the world had to offer. 

“Equal tra-”

A frown drew Ruby’s brows together and she looked at the machine in surprise when it hummed. Realization barely had a chance to smooth the joker’s face before Max snapped her eyelids open to reveal glowing code that traveled over the the surface of her black eyes and Ruby’s own eyes rounded to dinner plates. Glancing around the laundromat, she felt the faintest touch of relief to see that no one there seemed to give a shit about what two strange girls were getting up to, but that didn’t completely quell the instinctive wariness she felt. 

So she was an ace? Ruby looked at Max’s face more critically, trying to pick out the seam where makeup ended and unhidden skin began but she didn’t see it. If Max was a joker like her, than whatever her deformity, she was hiding it well. Dropping her head, the joker moved to face the machine and pressed the change-release button. 

Five dollars worth of quarters clattered down the chute and into the open slot at the bottom as if the machine had been working all the while. Tucking her fingers inside, Ruby scooped out the coins into her palm. She made a show of counting them, buying her shocked-brain a little time to decide what to do. Ace or joker, Max was a wildcard. Surely a wildcard was a little safer with another wildcard? Reaching on top of the machine, she retrieved Max’s quarters.

Her boots squeaked again as she turned back to her dryer and fed the machine. Once the metal hummed to life and started to do it’s job, she moved to stand in front of Max. 

“These are yours,” There was no glow, no sparkle in the air, no hum, nothing to give away what Ruby was doing but Max felt it. Something settled over the bones of the ace’s right hand as sudden as a thought and forced her fingers still. Muscles might strain and pull but the joker's grip on the ace's bones was undeniable at this proximity. Like iron filings against a magnet. Slowly, carefully, Max's hand was pulled up and turned over so Ruby could drop the four quarters into her palm. She wanted to demonstrate her power, not hurt her.

Once the last coin fell into Max's hand, Ruby released the hold she had on the ace's metacarpus and phalanges. Her eyes were steady on Max's face, trying to read her reaction.