Someone's been doing a lot of thinking lately....

[brother_alone]

The Nexus' resident hobo has been hiding away in whatever garbage dump he's been surviving this unusually harsh Nexus winter in a lot lately, so it's something of a surprise to see him in the Plaza looking groomed and clean.

He's all bundled up because of the ever present winter, hands shoved deep into his pockets. There's a thoughtful, distant expression on his face. He might not be talking to You, but he is talking out loud.

"What makes something a home? What defines that place as yours? Belonging?"

Comments

[heirtothearcane]

The cold bothers Viatorus less because with some concentration he can keep a bubble up to shield him against the wind and warm up the air a little. He's still wrapped up in some fashionably sharp clothing that contrast nicely with the man talking out loud.

Viatorus hesitates and then offers, "Well, um... You... buy it... But usually it's more of a home when there's family history there. Ancestry and inheritance. The longer a place has been in the family, the more you belong there. The more it's linked not only to you, but the history of your family, your blood."

[brother_alone]

Yeah dummy. You buy it.

The remark is so quintessentially iconic of one of Joshua's long gone friends that he has to laugh over it, gaunt face breaking into a wide smile.

"Okay but beyond owning it. I mean. What makes it home? Your Home." The family thing makes sense, but it hurts in a way Josh can't properly explain. So instead...

"Okay but...what if you don't...have a family. Anymore."

[heirtothearcane]

If it seems a little difficult for Viatorus to work through that, it's because it is. The concept of having no family at all is such a foreign concept to him.

"Well... You have history." Yes, that sounds about right. He gives a little nod to himself. "It's where your history ties you to."

[brother_alone]

Wow, that's a really depressing thought, put into Viatorus' perspective. by that definitioin, his home is either a blown up lodge on a mountain in the middle of Canada, orrrr the abandoned mines of said mountain where his sisters died.

Neither of which is a very homey place.

Josh sighs and tugs his beanie down further over his head.

"I take it you're not the type to pick up and start somewhere new, huh?"

[heirtothearcane]

"Oh, um..." He shrugs and swallows nervously. "No. Not... Not really. I'm not sure I could. Not entirely. Family history, ancestral history... it's a part of everyone. I'm not sure anyone could abandon it entirely."

He offers a weak smile, fidgets and then adds, "But, I've been told I'm old fashioned. So... I... I could be completely wrong."

[notalldead]

"Home's where yer posse is. Whatever that may be; family, yer gang, yer friends, yer lady or fella. Hell, even yer dog if that's all you got. Home can be any ol' place, but it better have those people y'all care about and it better be safe. That's what makes home in my mind, I reckon."

Jesse is VERY bundled against the cold, with his bandanna pulled up over his nose and a scarf wrapped several times around his neck. Earmuffs under his hat and his coat buttoned up tight. And said coat is the nice one that Nat gave him; no holes and a good deal more insulated against the cold. Top that off with some woolly red mittens and he might even pass as a human! Except for the bits of green skin still visible and the way his eyes looks milky and dead.

[brother_alone]

It's the eyes that make Joshua blanch, but not for the reason Jesse thinks. He sees them blink snow out of the cowboy's eyes and for just a second it's what's left of Hannah giving him the same milky stare with those opaque eyelids of hers. So close he could smell the rot on her teeth and...

Wheeeeew.

Not the best way to make a frist impression to a guy, slipping off into Crazy for a moment there. josh looks paler when he snaps to attention again, shaking his head more jerky than he meant to.

"Safe. I think...I think here is safe. I can work with that. And..I mean...I've got a friend here. Sort of. I think. I think he's still my friend."

[notalldead]

Yeah, those pretty peepers are kind of familiar. (WARNING: scary monster eyes.)

"It ain't always safe 'round these parts. The cold, fer one thing." He puffs heavily in disdain, but his breath leaves no clouds in the air. Maybe because of the cloth covering it...? "Second, sometimes there's things what ain't makin' no sense. Demons an' shit showin' up and hurtin' a lotta folks. Only happened once, but it were a real horror show. I ain't lookin' to scare y'all, mind. Just don't want it to happen again and yer caught with yer pants down, y'hear?"

Jesse tilts his head to one side, curious. "Y'all okay? Lookin' a lil sickly."

[brother_alone]

"Fine. Just...fine." Josh swallows thickly and averts his gaze. It's when he blinks, man. Josh can't handle that. Luckily the ground looks super interesting right now. All that snow and...snow.

"Wasn't doing too well before I ended up here. Still recovering." Now that the cowboy mentions it Josh is really thin. Not as bad as when he arrived, but still way too sunken in for his frame.

"I was asking...because I don't have a building or a family or whatever. Anymore. But I want to belong, y'know?"

[bestdadinamestris]

Questions related to family and home seem to draw Hughes out from wherever he may be going as he crosses the Nexus. Josh's question is no exception.

He's dressed in his usual blue uniform with coordinated hat, gloves, and coat to keep warm as he approaches. "Family makes a home." Beat. A small chuckle. "Or, less specifically, love makes a home. Doesn't have to be a specific place - so long as you get that feeling, that's all that matters." For someone so practical, that's quite the philosophical answer.

[brother_alone]

"....Okay but...what if you don't have that?" Josh wraps his arms around himself and rocks back and forth slightly. He knows family makes a home, but he lost that a year ago. And more recently, he's lost the lodge itself in a very necessary explosion.

"What if you've lost your family? How do you belong somewhere else? A..anywhere else?"

[bestdadinamestris]

"You've got friends, don't you? Someone you care about and trust?" Everyone's got that, even if they try to convince themselves otherwise. He gives Josh an encouraging smile. "Those people are family, too, even if you never realized it. Wherever they are, that is home. Doesn't have to be anything fancy or even a concrete place - just have to be together for it to be home."

Lots of time spent on the front lines with his best friend taught him that.

[brother_alone]

The knee jerk response is to insist that he doesn't have those anymore either. After all, Josh tried very,very hard to push everyone away with that awful prank he'd set up at the lodge.

And that was before the monsters showed up.

But Chris is here. And had insisted that he's not going anywhere despite the attempts Josh has made to try and change his mind.

"I...I think I can do that..."

[makeachoice]

Guess who's bundled up right next to him? Chris, of course. His body is swaying a bit, eyes looking upwards in contemplation.

"Uh..." He clicks his tongue, and then, with a nod, decides that he has a sufficient answer. "It's a place that makes you happy, I think. A place with memories."

[brother_alone]

Kind of seems like it might not be the best of days for Josh. He looks startled to see the blonde there.

..It's probably not the first time he's gotten that reaction today, either.

"...So home's at the bottom of a six pack of beers?" Josh quirks an eyebrow and decides to roll with Chris suddenly being there. Probably not suddenly but it is in his mind okay.

[makeachoice]

This is something that Chris is going to need to get used to - Josh being a bit spacey and the whole flinching thing. It occurred before, so he's familiar enough with these traits. It's just more occasional now.

"No way!" He lets out a single breathy laugh, eyes rolling off to the side. "Like, literally, it's where you live, right? Metaphorically, it's a place where you feel like yourself, where you feel happy or--" What's the word he's looking for? "--Safe! A place that makes you feel safe. It could be specific like, uh, some park you used to go to. Or it can be bigger than that. Some people say they feel like they're at home when they're, I dunno, at the beach, any beach. Home might not even be a place at all. Could be a person."

[brother_alone]

"Home's a hobo shack with the fireplace going." Josh supplies with a bark of laughter. How sad is that?

"We need to get a place with electricity so I can get my video editing stuff back online. Then it'd be home. Kickin' back watching movies and playing games." It'd be like the summer before college all over again.

[rogueinladysclothing]

"I've heard the saying 'home is where the heart is,' but I call bullshit. If all of your things are in a place and you feel safe in it, then it's yours." Seems the resident rogue has come out of hiding long enough to answer a question. She's still armed to the teeth under her wool cloak, but that isn't anything unusual these days. Note she didn't say anything about owning or having a claim on said place.

"As for belonging..." Amelia shrugs and wraps her arms around herself. "I'm not sure I ever knew an answer to that one."

[brother_alone]

Good, because Josh lives in a condemned shack he certainly doesn't own, but what little stuff he has is there.

"So...I just have to live there. That's...simpler than I thought. It doesn't feel like home, but I guess it could, with some work. "

[rogueinladysclothing]

"No home is perfect. If you don't like something, keep changing it until you do."

Says the woman who is the worst at almost every kind of change imaginable.

She shrugs. "You can get more philosophical if you want, but a home is just a place where you live."

[brother_alone]

"Belonging somewhere's hard for you too, huh." It's more a statement than a question. Probably not wise to poke at the armed to the teeth rogue, but Joshua Washington is not wise in any definition of that word.

[pathfromdarknesstogrey]

It's possibly a little telling that it takes Dia a few long minutes to think about her own response. She hasn't exactly had a traditional home (even in her reality's sense of the word) in long while. "...These days it's where I can go to rest, and not be bothered by the rest of the galaxy's bloody problems. To decompress and let nothing bother me."

[brother_alone]

That's a voice Joshua remembers. He blinks a few times in confusion before turning to find the ex-Sith that was making it. You don't forget anyone you spend an afternoon huddled up against for warmth so easily.

"Hey Dia." Just because he can't forget her doesn't mean they've reached the level of Josh-indoctrinated horrible pun nicknames. It may be for the best, actually.

"So it comes back to safety."

[pathfromdarknesstogrey]

To her credit, as far as the Nexus goes (and as near as her writer can tell), her accent's fairly distinct among the crowd. Plus, as stated, they did stick it out through that blizzard. "Joshua." She nodded.

"For me, it certainly is about feeling safe. The ability to relax and rest are both necessary things in anyone's life, I think. I've never had a 'traditional' sort of home as it was. No home on any sort of single planet or anything." She shrugged her shoulders. "These days, it's been my ship I've been considering more 'home' than anything else."

It's been easier to stay on the move that way, certainly.

[brother_alone]

"Yeah, you get a lot of shit for what you chose." Josh can sympathize and he remembers that conversation. bits of it, anyway. And as much as he ever trusts his memory not to lie to him or make things up. "That makes a lotta sense."

He shoves his hands deeper into his pockets and shrugs.

"I'm the dangerous one, where I'm from. Kinda hard to feel safe when you're sacred of you."