entranceway | one

Right. That was weird. Those rips were kind of fun, but I was hoping one of them would take me back.

[ as if waving off all that just happened, seemingly unperturbed by the fact that he's in a brand new world with dimensional rifts and portals and what have you. he lifts a piece of bread to his mouth and rips off a big bite. if you look carefully you can tell where he is, but his camera work is shoddy at best. no one needs to see your face this closely, eddie. ]

Not going to lie, I'm loving this dining room. [ talking with his mouth full ] Does it just keep filling up like that?

[ right, that's rude. he finishes chewing. ] I'm Eddie, by the way. If you've seen some old, tall and ugly guy talking funny, or a pretty lady in a wheelchair, or a kid with a fucked up weasel in his arms, let me know? [ his eyes leave the camera, and he's looking at something beyond it. the food on the table, probably. distracted: ]

They're friends of mine.

[ a spark of recognition. ]

Holy mother of god and all things holy, is that pizza — [ and the feed cuts off in his fumble to reach for the food. ]

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It will give you any food you want, for as long as you want.

[Souji is pretty fascinated, watching Eddie eat. He only knows a couple of people (including himself) who eat like that.]

Where you're from, do you not get enough food?

I could never really make my mind up on what I think of magic, but if this is the kind of thing people do with it... I'm all for it. [ he grins, then, as he pours gravy on mashed potatoes: ] Let's say we get a lot of the same stuff, and no hot meals. I left the comforts of decent fries and hot dogs willingly, if you'll believe me.

It must have been something important to do that for. [Which is an invitation to give more detail about where he came from, but Souji won't push for those details if they aren't volunteered.]

I'm Souji, by the way. I've been here awhile, so I'll try to answer any questions you have.

Thanks, pal. [ he gives souji a smile and then takes a spoonful of mashed potatoes. once done: ] Yeah, it was something important. I didn't really... I mean, at first I was fuckin pissed off to have gotten dragged into it, but now I know it's what I had to do. We're looking for something, and I don't think they'd find it without me.

It sounds important. But where did it take you that you don't get hot food?

A road trip of sorts. But walking. Once in a while we walk through a village, and they can whip up some pretty good stuff, but... everyday, nah. We just eat leaves and sometimes crackers if we've got them. Meat, if we find things to hunt. Sometimes we don't for weeks at a time.

That's a pretty intense road trip.

You can think of this place like a vacation from that. We generally get all the food and other necessities we need.

I don't really have time for a vacation.

Wonderland doesn't tend to grab people when it's convenient.

[Souji shakes his head. At least in his case, all the urgent things were already past when he got here.]

No time will pass at home while you're here. You won't miss anything that's going to happen.

I appreciate that, buddy, but it doesn't reassure me in the least. If time's still running here, then I'm wasting it.

I get that. You won't remember being here when you leave, anyway, so anything you accomplish here won't mean much when you go back, except to the people left behind here.

[/Pessimism.]

...Well aren't you just a little bundle of joy. I get it, kid, but you might not wanna say that to every newcomer you meet.

[Souji's expression and tone don't shift out of neutral in his response.]

You seem like you can take it. You also don't seem like the kind of guy who's going to be easily placated by me pointing out the good things about Wonderland.

[He lets out a breath, the only sign of any fatalism in him.]

I apologize. I've been here a long time. [And this doesn't get easier.]

[ His expression shifts to something a little more sympathetic than before. ]

Don't sweat it. I don't think I'd have any good things to say about the place either. And you're right about the placating thing, wouldn't work on me at all.

Edited 2015-08-07 17:54 (UTC)

[Nevertheless, Souji feels obligated to point out some of the more positive aspects of the place.] On a practical level, being here isn't so bad. And you can meet some interesting people.

That tends to happen when you drop a bunch of people from different worlds into one place. You got any examples?

I knew a blind alien troll who taught me more about sword fighting and gave me a dragon.

Christ, alright. That definitely falls into the interesting people category.

All kinds of people show up. Even if you don't want to be here, there are sure to be people you'll get along with.

Yeah, I'm finding that out. It's not home, but at least there's some good company.

[ A small comfort, but he shrugs anyway. ]

[Souji shrugs back. Some consolation is better than none.]

If you ever need anything, feel free to ask. Not just me, anyone, really. But I'll do what I can to help out if you need it.

Thanks. Everyone's welcoming around here.

[A small smile.]

We've all been where you are now.

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