[Mostly Closed] August Catch-All

[alchemyfreak]

who: Anyone that wants to interact with Ed during August (Hit me up to request a top level at TransmutedSelf or post your own!)
what: Various
when: Anytime during August
where: Floor six, the Gardens, The General Store, Trixie and some nice burger joint in the city
warnings: Amnesia effects August 12th-19th, nightmares, religious talk etc. The nightmare thread has the potential to get pretty dark, warnings will go in individual tags.

Top-levels will be posted below.

Ed also has an open mingle posted if that's your thing.

Comments

[alchemyfreak]

Was it a place like this? The question Ed got all the time and it never got easier to answer. No, there was no comparing Riverview to Purg but depending on his mood he would elaborate more or less on the differences, lately he'd been sticking to the easiest explanation possible.

"Like this? If this entire place was outside the wall, maybe." No electricity, monsters to fight and a forest no one dared go in because they just didn't come back. "No, it wasn't really like this. Neither of the places I've been before have been much like this."

At the last part though Ed offers a questioning look. "Information? You mean... The fact that I ran a store before I came here, so it somehow showed up too? As if the portal knew I was running it." The portal had been alive, but that didn't mean it could think on such a level to reunite people with their stuff from other worlds, did it? Then again, what else would explain the gift giving party that Chloe had mentioned when they first arrived here?

[mysophobic]

Oh...well, that sure is something. Shigeru's expression turns dour upon hearing the conditions the other had to live in prior to this place.

You must be very strong...to have gone through something like that.

He can't imagine being in a place without electricity and monsters. Some small villages near patches and places like the void lands were like that. The miasma of the dark god's blood did something to electronics that would hamper their use. He's never really been to any of those places before, but he could only imagine the struggle people had to face.

That's right. It seems like such a specific thing to know about one person. But then when you think about how many of us are here...and put together all of our specific histories. No one person could remember all that detail. Not even him and he had a eidetic memory.

[alchemyfreak]

"It was no big deal." Don't listen to him, he just doesn't like anything remotely resembling pity. The Upper Level was much safer and that's where he lived after the first month, but that was also complicated. He had to take care of the store, and there were several reasons over the years that he'd moved back down to the Lower Level. Ed doesn't fuss about it much, but some day the full details will probably come out when Shigeru least expects them.

"No one should know that about us, but no one should be able to pull us through portals against our will and tell us we did it to ourselves either." Skeptical? Nah.

[mysophobic]

He doesn't press the matter then. But he's always there to lend an open ear should Ed ever wish to talk about it.

That's very true too. It's...strange to think of all the different people that are stuck here now. I kind of wish I could go visit other people's worlds, just from listening to people talk about them. Especially Earth! It seems like an amazing place.

[alchemyfreak]

Ed is so used to casually bringing up the horrors that are Purg, that he probably will randomly mention something when Shigeru least expects it. He dropped the god takeover and lack of a sun on a few people already in the Quarantine, because mentioning it in conversation certainly didn't come with a warning.

"There are some interesting ones out there... but you might want to be more specific, considering how many versions of Earth there must be." He smirks some at that, shrugging a shoulder. "I'm good here, though. I think I'm done exploring other worlds."

Ignoring that this is only a quarantine, and everyone is supposed to move on from it in time, as well.

[mysophobic]

You really don't want to see anymore places? He sighs as he looks around them before he responds.

I'd love to go somewhere and just...draw. People. places, animals, whatever I can find. For a lot of my life I was stuck inside and never able to get around much.

Being able to see even this much is amazing to me.

[alchemyfreak]

"There's more here to draw and observe than any one place I've been to before. It must be a lot to deal with, coming from being inside all the time."

He frowns slightly at that thought but shrugs, finally answering Shigeru's first question.

"Would you really be happy with portals pulling you from world to world without warning? Not being able able to control it or even say goodbye to your friends first?"

Ed glances around them curiously, "It's funny. I took traveling for granted as a kid. We went everywhere, traveled the whole country and never settled, but we had consistency despite having no home. Our friends were always there, and we never thought about it for all those years. It wasn't until I had to settle in one place that I started to appreciate that. Everything I had back home, everything I had there- now I'm here and I'll probably see neither of those places again."

"Yeah, I guess it must sound disappointing, but... I think I'm done with traveling for awhile. At least- I hope so."

[mysophobic]

I've gotten better at being outside more. But if I was younger...I'd never have consider doing anything like this.

Ah, well, Edward has a point. Maybe it's just because this is the first time for him. He's not sure how he'd feel if this was the third or fourth time.

You're right. I would definitely start...missing home. And not being able to say goodbye to anyone. He frowns and shakes his head.

I guess I spoke too soon, I'm sorry.

[alchemyfreak]

"You don't have any reason to apologize." He knows Shigeru wouldn't have a reason to think of things in those terms, but Ed hated it if he was going to be honest with himself. Hated losing all of his friends from Purg, hated disappearing on everyone in Lang, hated that he knew he was just going to repeat all of that here, because that's how these places worked.

"Who am I trying to kid, anyway? No matter where we are, it's the same story. Never leaving our home world doesn't stop people from disappearing on us, walking out the door and never coming back or dying without warning. I guess it really doesn't matter where you are, the only thing that changes is the technology."