→ ( 𝗏𝗂𝖽𝖾𝗈 ) un; gypsygirl

[likeacoupon]

Okay, I did the 'getting-used-to-this-place' thing and I have two questions.

First, where can I buy or borrow a bike. [She'll borrow one and live life pokemon style if she has too.] I'm already getting tired of walking everywhere.

[Willa doesn't make it clear if she's talking about a motorcycle or a bicycle. She's not that picky and either would do. However, she has very little to no experience driving a motorcycle but she's sure she could figure it out.]

Question number two. [She holds up two fingers and holds them in front of the screen.] What did you guys all do before you arrived here? Is it the same as what you do now? Be it jobs or hobbies or whatever.

[Anyone can respond or not, but Willa wants to meet more of the people here and see what kind of crowd she's dealing with. From the small sample she's run into, it's certainly an eclectic bunch.]

Comments

[likeacoupon]

So you played fetch?

[Willa eyes Ed curiously.]

You don't look that old. How young were you when you joined the military?

[alchemyfreak]

[What does that even mean.]

Technically, I shut down corrupt operations.

[He really doesn't want to talk about how much of a sham his supposed job turned out to be when the government itself was corrupt. Too many years to think about it.]

I was twelve.

[likeacoupon]

Okay, that sounds pretty cool.

[Her eyebrows climb towards her forehead.]

That young? Aren't there child labor laws against that kind of stuff?

[Not that she's one to talk since she's been working as a criminal for her family since the age of five.]

[alchemyfreak]

[Well. Okay. There were but that was complicated.]

Against what kind of stuff?

[No child labor laws against kids working at the age of 12 where Ed's from, nope. Joining the military maybe, but there were exceptions.]

[likeacoupon]

Making a child work?

[She sounds SO skeptical.]

[alchemyfreak]

I think our laws are a little different.

[From ... Whatever she's used to.]

I was a special case at any rate.

[likeacoupon]

It never bothered you? Working at such a young age?

[Willa's been working from a young age but she knows that it isn't the norm.]

Good for you, I guess.

[alchemyfreak]

[Just- a blink of confusion.]

Why would it bother me? I signed up for it, spent months studying to pass the assessment.

[likeacoupon]

[That sounds like a lot of work.]

I've never been good at following those kinds of rules. It's a little hard to imagine.

[alchemyfreak]

[That's because it is, but Ed never shied away from work.]

I'm not very good with following rules, either. I kind of got to do my own thing in the military and I'm sure it was largely because I was underage the entire time I was there.

[likeacoupon]

That doesn't sound too bad.

[She remembers the last time that she'd met a boy in the military... oh well.]

So which do you like better? Out of everything that you've done?

[alchemyfreak]

[That doesn't sound good.]

Hard to say, I never really got a job for the joy of it or anything.

I guess- repairing things, if I had to pick. It's good to help people and be part of a community, plus I make my own hours.

[And he'd done it on every world that alchemy worked on, there had to be a reason he kept going back to it, even if it was just 'do what you know'.]

[likeacoupon]

That sounds pretty good but wouldn't it be better to enjoy what you do?

[This guy is kind of depressing.]

[alchemyfreak]

What's important to me is obtaining my goal, enjoying it has never really been my focus.

[She'll get used to it or learn to avoid him, that's a pretty common opinion among his friends. To be fair, though:]

Alchemy's been part of almost every job I've had.

[Not dealing at the casino or bookkeeping for Greed, but details.]

If alchemy wasn't fun for me, I probably wouldn't have picked it up when I was five.

[likeacoupon]

So what happens when you obtain your goal? Will you be happy then?

[alchemyfreak]

Sure, but there are always other goals. When I was a kid, I just wanted to make my mom smile.

[Call that lame, if you will.]

I had more important goals as I grew up, passing the exam was only one. Obtain that, move on to the next one. Winding up in a world that wasn't my own? The new goal becomes going home or... I guess fitting in, instead.

Don't you have goals? Things you want out of life? Having a goal isn't so bad that once you obtain it you stop looking toward the next one.

[likeacoupon]

I do but sometimes they get fuzzy.

[She's still figuring things out.]

Haven't decided what I want to do here yet.

[alchemyfreak]

You don't think making that decision counts as a goal to have?

[She's a strange one, by his standards.]

[likeacoupon]

Maybe. I guess.

I'm not sure what answer you're looking for here.

[alchemyfreak]

Hey, you asked a question. Didn't realize I wasn't allowed to ask questions back.

[likeacoupon]

Are you upset that I don't have the answer to everything?

[alchemyfreak]

[Okay, now he's just laughing. Apparently the smirk wasn't indication enough.]

Do I honestly look upset to you? Besides, you're the one that started with all the questions and didn't seem very happy with my answers.

[So, who's the upset one here? He's amused.]

[likeacoupon]

I don't hate them.

[She's trying not to sound grumpy but it isn't working.]