riverview | [VIDEO .001 | username edward.elric]

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[VIDEO .001 | username edward.elric]

[There are a few things Ed is quick to concern himself with upon arrival, and even though they certainly relate to "how the hell do I get back where I came from?" he's seen this play out enough times to know that asking that question directly is never likely to get results. At least not the ones he wants. He's well aware that this change of scenery isn't just some new challenge, because if it was there certainly wouldn't be any point to the mark outright disappearing, but it was gone. Which likely meant one thing, they were telling the truth - at least about one aspect of all this, and he was not in Muir anymore.]

Does anyone have any idea what's really going on here? Has anyone been doing any research on this place? Or been here long enough to know whether or not it is what they claim?

[Ed's skeptical about this whole situation, but cynicism wasn't enough to go on that something just wasn't right here. He had a hard time taking everything in that little introduction at face value.]

If we can just ask to be sent home given enough time, has anyone actually pulled it off?

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Yeah, that's illegal too.

[Without skipping a beat. Her skepticism is hardly the first he's seen, and it will not be the last.]

He said he did it just to prove that he could, but... I think it was more than that. I think, at the time keeping his certification meant more to him than his daughter. Either way, he lived to regret that decision.... I doubt he ever stopped trying to bring her back to life.

I see. So then that's... what, typical where you come from? Alchemy being a thing?

[More curious than skeptic this time. Though from what he's describing so far, it sounded alchemy could hurt just as much as it could be useful if in the wrong hands.]

He made a choice and he paid the ultimate price for it and realizing too late what was important. And that's something he'll have to live with for the rest of his life, if no other punishment than that.

For the most part. Alchemy's a skill, it's a science that requires studying - not just anyone can pull it off. Some places, alchemists walk the streets with everyone else, and no one even thinks about it. More rural places don't see alchemists as often though, we used to get people commenting that we were the first in awhile.

[He'd be the first to agree with her, if she voiced that thought out loud. Alchemy was dangerous, and he'd paid a hefty enough price for messing with what he shouldn't have. Nevermind the subject matter they'd already discussed.]

Exactly. The last time I saw him... It obviously stayed with him.

A science, huh? I think we must come from very different places, then. Where I'm from, alchemy was something practiced in the past a lot, but it never actually could do anything like what you're describing. Much less have an entire military society based around it.

[She keeps her tone casual, not wanting to offend but merely share information. She does find it interesting.]

As it should. If something like that happened to my daughter, much less because of something I did... I can't even fathom it.

That sounds like the world my brother told me about. Apparently, I'd be there with him now if I wasn't here instead. Alchemy was more of a joke than anything to them, from what I gathered anyway. They built these ... rocket ships and invaded our world, to try to harness alchemy as a weapon for some Great War.

[Luckily, Ed's been around the block enough to take offense in things he might have once. At the last part he pauses, glancing away slightly.]

You have a daughter. It ... must be hard, being here without her.

Uh... not quite my world, but elements of it, maybe. Alchemy isn't a viable science there, but we never started a war or tried to invade anyone. Not over that, anyway.

[They've started plenty of wars, but now wasn't quite the time to get into a history lesson.

She bites her lip and nods, quiet for a moment before she speaks.]

It is. People have been telling me that time apparently doesn't work the same way here, so she probably wouldn't even realize I'm gone, but... it's hard to trust that without proof.

[At that part he laughs.]

There are too many to know for sure, anyway. The ones that invaded our world... were just a handful of people, from the sounds of it. My brother told me what he could about it, but I only have what he said to go on. Something about the Thule Society thinking our world was this place called Shamballa.

[His tone softens, shrugging a shoulder.]

I can't confirm anything about this place, since I'm new here. Where I came from before that's how things worked though, and enough people came and went to confirm it. My brother told me about my own future... Things I haven't experienced- supposedly I will some day, if I ever get sent home.

Sounds like one of the plots straight out of my mom's sci-fi movies from the 80s, to be perfectly honest with you.

[Despite her words, she is paying attention. She can't even begin to imagine what kind of world or worlds he's seen. It ignites the curiosity in her, but there's also a coil of tension there at the prospect of being sent through time and space and never getting to return home.]

You must miss him. Your brother.

Maybe. Talking chimeras were a myth on my world until they became reality, too. It's hard to know what's real and what's fantasy anymore.

[Movies weren't exactly a big thing where Ed came from, but he'd heard enough about them from friends to sort of grasp how they worked. Having modern technology certainly made the comparisons from the stories easier to understand.

At that last part though, his eyes widen and he looks away from the screen. It had been awhile by now, but he still struggled with the idea of facing his brother again after what happened. Even if any new 'version' of his brother wouldn't even remember it.

Talking about Al in the abstract was one thing. Talking about not being with him, or being with him, was apparently something else all together.]

Yeah...

[She's quiet at the sudden display of emotion from him. He's seemed so calm and put-together during this conversation, but it seemed that everyone had their triggers. She can certainly understand that, what with Trixie. Her voice is low but kind when she speaks again.]

Sorry. I didn't mean to overstep.

You didn't.

[It's a simple response. Obviously she hadn't meant anything by it, and it was a natural follow up to his statement about her daughter. After all he was openly talking about Al.

He just didn't want to think about seeing him again, not yet. The guilt hadn't settled to a point that was possible.

So have a reassuring grin, any hint of trauma gone from his expression. Just going to sweep that right under the rug.]

I'm the one that brought it up, anyway.

[She's more than willing to follow his lead and drop the subject, though she imagines there's a lot he's not voicing. Fair enough, considering it seemed like a sore subject. He's entitled to his privacy.]

My name's Chloe, by the way. Chloe Decker. You're Edward, right? Going by your username.

[That might be relief at the easy change of subject. He'd considered other options, but this many years later the code name just felt too foreign. He probably wouldn't know what to do if people started calling him Fullmetal again, now.]

Yeah, pretty straight forward.

[A pause, as if he's not entirely used to formalities. Although despite the conversation, it certainly wasn't insincere, Ed wouldn't bother if it had been.]

Nice to meet you, Chloe.

[There's a polite smile from her end, as if that's opened something up in her.]

Nice to meet you too, Edward. Are you staying in the communal housing center? I might see you around.

Yeah, actually I'm on the sixth floor.

Oh. So am I.

[Well, that certainly made things interesting.]

Guess we'll be seeing more of each other then, since we're at least sharing a kitchen from what I gather here.

Yeah, apparently. Small world.

Yeah...

[A pause.]

You said you're fairly new, right? If we're assigned rooms based on when we show up, I guess it makes sense that new arrivals would end up rooming together.

Yeah. Still an interesting coincidence, though. I know someone from my world who also got taken here, but he's not on our floor.

Someone from your world got taken around the same time as you?

[That, in of itself, was unusual. At least going by his experiences.]

It would probably be an even weirder coincidence if he was roomed with you. It's hard to say if this place operates like the others until we know more about it, though.

And not just taken at the same time, but from the same time. He was preparing to come speak to me when we both got taken; we both remember the same thing.

From what you've told me, let's hope they're not operating the same.

Okay, it's been a few years so I may be wrong but ... I don't think I've even heard of that happening.

[At the last part he smirks.]

Well, some things are different off the bat, anyway. This place is almost like someone combined the last two places I was at, so... There's that, at least.

The portals might be similar even if the purpose isn't the same, though. I'm not sure how many different ways you can make the sort of portal needed to do that kind of work.

Edited 2017-06-16 22:20 (UTC)

Really? So everyone you've ever come into contact with in these worlds have been from different timelines and places?

[Huh. Interesting. Another point she'd have to file away for later to examine.]

True, though I wouldn't be a good person to speculate over that. Particle physics and that whole thing aren't exactly my field. Someone should definitely examine them, though. See if they can figure anything concrete about them.

[That thought really makes her miss Ella. A forensic scientist may not be the best for magical portal observations, but she could imagine her gleeful wonder at getting to see it. The sound of her voice as she babbled on about this and that. It makes something like a smile tinge her lips, though it's tempered by something a bit more somber.]

It's ... more complicated than that. For example, people might work out that they came from the same time in their own worlds, but arrive here months or even years apart. People show up close together, but usually the timeline is varied to some degree. At least... with the people I remember talking to about it.

[At the last part, he can't help but smirk again. Fully aware of the irony in his own words, although someone that's not familiar with him saying as much wouldn't quite grasp his apparent amusement.]

Maybe we don't need a scientist, maybe we need someone who knows magic. Either way, that's what I'm hoping to find out, everything about this place and how it works. The harder to figure out, the more interested I am because that is going to help us uncover how we got here in the first place and whether or not we're being lied to.

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