riverviewlogs | Get In Losers, We're Doing Research

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Get In Losers, We're Doing Research

who: Openish - Floor Six Mingle Post
what: Ed and Chloe Initiate Phase II: Research and Explore
when: Sometime After New Arrivals Show Up (July 10th?)
where: Floor Six
warnings: Please hit up Ed's Permissions Post, as he's a CRAU and may recognize your character or talk about being in various other worlds.

The kitchen is laid out with whatever (reasonable) refreshments one can imagine available within the quarantine, snacks and beverages to accommodate varying tastes spread across the kitchen island and counter tops. Enough seating for 20 (10 from the kitchen, 10 from the entertainment area) had been arranged around Chloe's display, however she chose to set it up - since it had been put on her as the tech savvy one between them to do the presentation.

New arrivals, whether they cared for the research and exploration party or not would easily find themselves surrounded by books, notebooks and other papers with various notations - all regarding Riverview, the history of the quarantine, rumors surrounding it and comparisons to other worlds that similarly pull people through portals. These are out in the open and free to browse, should one be so inclined.

[Anyone with relation to floor six is welcome to attend - resident, friend of resident, etc. If you're unsure whether or not your character would get an invitation please contact the player you have CR with. Should your character be the type to show up uninvited, feel free to crash. Pretty much anyone Ed has CR with would be notified, and he'll be making a public post on the network before this event actually takes place IC. However if you have any questions don't hesitate to hit me up:

TransmutedSelf]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Shiro hadn't really been planning on coming to this, but then Keith had asked him to come. Shiro was nothing if not a good leader and a good friend to the younger paladins so he had dropped everything (not literally; something would have broken) and went with Keith down to the meeting on Floor 6.

He had stood near the back of the room, listening patiently during the presentation. Any information was good information even if it wasn’t a lot. He felt that there was something that could be held there and if need be, he would be able to protect others who might not be as well equipped to do so. Having a weapon permanently grafted to his arm.

Speaking of which, when he had left with Keith, he had left his jacket behind. He had only started wearing it because he didn’t want constant questions about his metal arm. It still felt weird to wear something to hide it, being comfortable with it visible in a smaller group.

So now that the presentation was over, he stood by the refreshment table enjoying some snacks.

Ed had noticed Shiro when he entered the floor, he made a point of noticing everyone. Inviting just whoever into the closest thing they had to a home in this place being a risk was not entirely lost him, the potential for things to go wrong was there. Which meant he made note everyone he saw, no matter who they were - or whether or not they were invited.

He didn't recognize Shiro, but that didn't bother him much, he knew he could feel him out later. If the guy was too closed off for conversation he might not be invited back for the safety of the group - but Ed saw who he came in with, and he was hardly one to judge people too quickly. The number of villains he assisted in Purg was evidence enough of that, some of them too charismatic to detect for what they were while others... Well, others were worth the gamble. What he got out of working with them made the risk more favorable than sitting back and doing nothing.

Things were busy, snacks to put out, furniture being moved, notes taken care of while the presentation was set up. He didn't have a chance to approach Shiro until much later, but he definitely kept an eye on him, and it wouldn't take too keen an observer to notice the way golden eyes kept drifting to that metal arm throughout the evening.

When Ed does approach, he makes a point of pouring himself a drink, as if coincidence brought him to the other's side. Holding the cup in his left hand as he turned to Shiro with a tilt of his head. "I see you got pulled into this by someone." He knew he hadn't extended the invitation, and Keith was familiar so he was able to guess exactly what happened.

No, Shiro hadn't been invited by the "host" of this get-together which was part of the reason he had stayed back. There really wasn't an opportunity to approach him and even introduce himself. Ed had clearly in the middle of setting up so that wasn't the right time to suddenly jump in and distract him when there were others.

He had though come with Keith, who had told Shiro he had spoken with Ed. It wasn't necessarily that he had spent the evening standing with Keith. More that he was there whenever Keith came back over. No, this wasn’t a usual situation that they would find themselves in and he was worried about Keith. At least he seemed to be stepping out and talking to others.

But he had noticed that Ed kept staring at him. Or more specifically, at his metal arm.

As Ed finally walked over after the presentation, he glanced over at him. "I did. Keith asked if I would come to this as well. He thought it was something that I might be interested in."

That's all he was going to say for his reasoning. If Keith had a different one, Shiro wasn't going to tell that to someone. He was after all the Head of Voltron. If one of the other paladins couldn't trust him, he wasn't doing his job.

"He's my teammate back home."

Ed had already had quite the interesting evening leading up to this meeting. Between Al suddenly being here, Chloe discovering his automail and Nico appearing out of his shadow he had a lot going on. A lot on his mind, even outside of what he was supposed to be doing here, if Shiro had approached him he might have seemed a little distracted anyway. He noticed that Shiro arrived with Keith, regardless of how much time they spent interacting during the meeting, that was all he needed to guess where the invitation came from.

"Think it is?" He doesn't know anything about Shiro or his interests, but he's always willing to take on new people if that'll help them build a stronger team. He wasn't really all that concerned with reasons - as long as it wasn't find as much info as possible to decimate the population, it wasn't his business.

The further explanation was mostly ignored, a slight nod in understanding but no comment made as he took a sip of his drink, not looking at Shiro directly. He didn't know how long he'd been here, and he knew exposing himself was going to be a risk - but it wasn't the most dangerous thing he could possibly do.

"You happen to have a mechanic for that around here?"

"It think so. The information that an old structure like that could provide is amazing. It will be a lot of work and depending on how much, it could take a number of people to map out a place like that. Not mention others to stand guard because even assuming everyone is capable of protecting themselves, there is the possibility of an ambush."

Does he talk like he has experience formulating plans because he does. Including Allura and Coran, that's basically what he did on team Voltron. He'd been quiet during the presentation because he had been absorbing the information. Now that he'd heard enough information to get him caught up, he had something to say about it.

As Ed took a sip of his drink, Shiro decided to get a drink himself. The question though did make him stop. After a moment, he spoke.

"No. I haven't really asked anyone about this here. I've been trying to keep it covered for the most part."

"Yeah, that's why we're looking to build a team and head out a few times. No telling what we'll find or how dangerous it'll actually be. Sure, there are stories but I'm the type that needs to see it with my own eyes." He's already thinking Shiro will be good to have on the team, so he's glad to hear that he's interested when he makes those points. They'll need people who can think like that out there, and he's already thinking so that was a good sign.

"We'll be planning a few trips, city that big is going to take some time to explore. That doesn't even include the forest if that also proves useful."

Ed's head tilted some at that response, glancing around as if to make sure no one was paying attention to them before speaking again. "I'll keep you in mind, if I find anyone." Covered? Yeah, he knows all about that. He placed the drink down, using one gloved hand to pull back the sleeve of his right arm enough to expose the forearm a bit.

The last part is added softer, "I've heard there are others here.. but I haven't met anyone yet. At least that I know of."

It felt good to have a purpose that fit with what he did back home. He'd spent his entire training learning to think like that and then of course his career, officially with the Garrison and now unofficially as a pilot of Voltron. Both of those needed him to be fast on his feet to see things that may cause issues. The second perhaps more so because he was working with less experienced pilots who tended to act on instinct more than assessing a situation.

If this mission would give him that purpose, then Shiro would be involved in it. Also know that people could be running out and putting themselves at risk, he couldn't justify it to himself to just let them go out and potentially get themselves hurt when he was able to assist.

He raised an eyebrow as Ed looked away, glancing around like he was trying to make sure no one was watching. Then he found out why when Ed pulled up his sleeve enough to reveal his right arm... which was metal! Shiro couldn't help his eyes going wide in shock. It wasn't Galra; it wasn't sophisticated enough to be Galra. As shocking as it was, there was something oddly... reassuring that he wasn't the only one dealing with something like that and the issues it caused.

"I had someone back home and she was wonderful, a tech guru, but the only other I know is here is Keith."

And that was not Keith's forte.

"If you don't mind me asking," Shiro said in a hushed voice. "How did you end up with your arm like that?"

He knew that if Ed replied, he'd have to reciprocate and he was okay with that.

Ed could relate to that as well, chasing rumors for four years at home before being pulled through one of those portals - this was familiar again, and he liked that. Even if he wouldn't admit it.

He offered the faintest smirk when Shiro's eyes went wide in response. Most people wouldn't notice his automail under enough layers, and he was happy to keep it that way. Even at home, where automail was a normal occurrence and his brother was mistaken for the Fullmetal Alchemist time and time again, Ed wore his layers up until he was a fugitive of the state.

An amused snort is his reaction to that next statement. Of course it was a she. "My mechanic back home is a genius, she always makes the best... I've had a few others since leaving though." At the mention of Keith he quirked a brow, "He can do that, too?"

With the last question, Ed's expression changed - somber now. He took another sip of his drink as if preparing himself before responding softly. "When I was a kid.... I nearly got my brother killed. Giving up my arm was the only way to get him back." Sure, that wasn't exactly how it went down, Edward had been willing to give up much more - screaming for the Gate to take anything in exchange for Al's soul. His arm, his leg, his heart - it didn't matter, if it meant restoring Alphonse - the Gate just happened to take his arm in exchange for binding Al's soul to the antique armor in their father's study.

Shiro hadn't really perfected hiding his arm under layers yet. He had never hidden it back home aside from when he had been wearing his paladin armor, which covered it with no problems. There hadn't been a need to hide it. Everyone knew about it. He would have start working on that since someone else had already noticed it because his hand was a different color.

"Pidge was definitely a genius considering she figured out how to reverse engineer something to upgrade her lion. Keith's a fighter. He should know the basics, but not enough to manage this."

The explanation did make Shiro go quiet. So that's how Ed had lost his arm. He didn't need to ask more questions. That was the explanation that Ed had given him for it. In a way, he understood the feeling. If something had happened to one of the younger paladins, he would have given some part of himself just for them to come back.

"I'm glad you were able to get him back."

Ed left home in layers, someone who ran around in shorts and sandals his entire childhood gave it up for boots and a coat over a jacket over a shirt with gloves. Even that wasn't enough to conceal it all the time, though - clothes got torn when you were as active as The Fullmetal Alchemist. Luckily he lived in a society where technology was more primitive, so his reputation spread over word of mouth rather than anything else. This meant most people didn't know about the automail no matter how many sleeves he had to replace - and his brother was often confused for the rumored state alchemist, due to the full body armor. After four years in Purg Ed had gotten used to no longer covering his automail, people rarely batted an eye at it there anyway. In Attollo there wasn't much of a reason to hide it, but there wasn't a lot going on that would reveal it either, at least to anyone he didn't trust. Riverview was a whole new situation, so he was going to be cautious to start, but only time would tell how long that would last. Barely here a month and people were already finding out about it, even if they were few and far between.

His attention may fade in and out at the mention of reverse engineering lions or whatever that was about. His head turned at Shiro's words, lips pressing together as if to repress the urge to say the first thing that came to mind, voice soft when he finally did respond. "Thanks... Me too. He's all I have."

Asking about Shiro's arm doesn't really occur to him, he could but he figures if the other wants to share he'll offer his story - and Ed's hardly one to pry about things he doesn't consider his business. After all, he hadn't exactly shared the whole story, himself. As far as he was concerned Shiro didn't owe him anything.

Shiro really hoped eventually he wouldn't feel like he had to cover his arm here, but at the moment, he didn't think there was any other option. Would someone accept that he had a metal arm? More importantly, would they be able to understand what he had gone through that had resulted in such a terrible thing?

There was no easy way to explain it that didn't really inspire people to feel sorry for him. There was no plus side to why he had it, nothing righteous he had done. The fact it was beneficial now was purely coincidence.

"I would have done the same thing if something had happened to the other paladins. Anything I could have given to get them back."

He looked down at his hand. When he moved the fingers, the mechanics of his hand whirred faintly.

"That's not how I got mine. Mine was taken from me."

Ed's concerns were more self-preservation. Acceptance was low man on the totem pole in his priorities - he thought about how anyone knowing would have the upper hand in a fight, how someone could remove it or use it against him. Having to slam his arm back into the socket after a serial killer removed it never really left him and that had been so long ago. He also didn't like to talk about what he'd gone through, which is why he didn't tend to bring it up. Committing a certain taboo was technically illegal in his world, and he only got away with it because of the corrupt military state being what it was - and the leader's personal interest in him, not that he really knew all the details of that, just yet.

He couldn't really talk about how he got his arm, although when it did come back - mostly because someone noticed Al's armor was empty - it wasn't something he was shy about explaining anymore. Not because it was righteous by any means, but as a warning not to do what they did. Not to make the same mistake, as he always put it get too close to the sun, you get burned. His own arm serving as a weapon was only discovered by accident years later, when he transmuted it into a blade on impulse as that serial killer approached.

"I would have died... If the price was my life, I would have given it. I offered, but- this is all that was taken." The sound caught his attention and he glanced over curiously, automail didn't really make any noise, metal clinking against metal but nothing like that, it wasn't motorized.

"Taken from you... How?" Honestly, he hadn't meant to ask, but the word slipped from his lips before he even registered it wasn't really his business. Why would someone just take a person's arm was the real question.

Self-preservation wasn't on Shiro's priority for it. As whole, no one had really gone after him because of it being there. As far as he knew, there was no way to remove it. If getting hit by Sendak's own prosthetic hand didn't knock it off, probably nothing would. Only around certain Galra and Galra druids did he have to worry about being targeted because of it. The arm itself was not a target for most though it might be if he showed it more.

Shiro was quiet a moment at the question. He had volunteered that, but it still took a second to form the answer. "They took it the way you'd expect someone to take someone else's hand." Yes, essentially cut it off.

"I was captured by the Galra, the race we are fighting in our world. I was forced to fight in their arena for sport. One of the Galra... druids is what they called themselves, decided I was her pet project so to make me stronger, they took my arm and gave me this one instead."

Answered how and answered why.

Shiro - OTA

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