Against the flow of pedestrian traffic Edy took off down the sidewalk, the foil bags of her bounty of snacks crinkling in her overall pockets as she dodged yuppies and coeds alike, trying to keep the chilled 40 oz from slipping from her fingertips. Crossing the street she could still hear the bodega shopkeeper yelling after her from the door of his now ransacked establishment. She wanted to believe that she hadn’t meant to steal anything when she visited the store, but the moment she had began to meander down the florescent lit aisles her palms started to itch.
As the voice calling for her began to fade Edy looked back to make sure she wasn’t being followed, but her feet hadn’t slowed down as every instinct in her body told her to not stop running until she reached the subway that would take her back to the Bronx. It was the split second loss of focus that set Edy’s course straight into an oblivious, or otherwise preoccupied bystander. Her delicate frame absorbed the impact leaving her to fall straight on her ass. Hands frantic to catch her fall had only met the ground where the newly broken 40 oz bottle laid in jagged pieces. Edy blinked a few times trying to regain focus as her gaze drifted across the ground around her, now filled with crushed snack cakes and hot chips that had been projected from her pockets on her way down.
“shit, fuck...” The curses escaped her lips no louder than a whisper as she pushed a tangled bundle of curls from her face. As she rose from the pavement she couldn’t help but allow her eyes to pan over the street, still paranoid; Always paranoid. “uh, shit... I’m sorry.” The apology fell from her lips in a docile admittance of guilt before her concentration had even found its way back to the stranger. Unable to meet the their eyes for more than a few heart beats Edy kept her sight on their collar bone, hoping they wouldn’t notice as she fought the urge to stare at their shoes. “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to, yanno... Fuck up, and eat shit like that.”
The girl offered her a small smile, happy to see she wasn’t too angry with her. “Oh… I didn’t mess up your sketch did I?” she asked, moving towards the girl and glancing at her notebook, not only to make sure she hadn’t fucked up what she was working on but also because she was curious and wanted to see what it was she was drawing. As someone who had zero artistic ability herself, peoples art fascinated her and she hoped the girl wouldn’t mind if she peeked at it. “What is it?” she asked curiously.
Edy’s eyes traced the slight relief in the girl’s features, lost in her expression of reprieve, before blinking twice as if somehow she could will her thoughts back into her body instead of high above her head where they preferred to dwell. “Yeah.” She replied absentmindedly before she caught up with the conversation at hand, leaving the one in her head in the clouds. “I mean, shit.” A sheepish flush crept over her bronze skin. “No,” the correction seemed to escape her a beat too late, her head cocking to the side as the stranger’s curiosity over took her personal space “it’s fine. It was just a sketch.”
The lines on the page seemed incongruous, but through the static forms had taken shape leaving the page of Edy’s notebook covered with images of the people that surrounded them. She pursed her lips as she studied the smear of ash on the page before closing her notebook tepidly. “It’s just a hobby, I guess.” A smile had found its way to the corner of her lips, not quite reaching across her cheekbones to her eyes. “It’s beautiful here, isn’t it? It’s busy, but I don’t know... I’ve always liked places I can get lost.”
It was Alana who’d wanted a dog the most, but one of their brothers had helped convince the family too. Since Alana had passed away, nobody cared for it anymore and despite now being the youngest of the family, Ana was the most mature out of all of them. She had to take care of everything that none of the others could be bothered with. She ran her fastest to keep up with the small dog. At least it wasn’t full-sized yet.
“No…No, it’s fine. It’s my fault. I was trying to tie my shoe lace up and the lead just sorta…slipped out of my hand.” Noticing the expression on the other’s face, Ana quickly grabbed hold of the lead and pulled the dog backwards. “You look terrified. I’m sorry. Is there…uh, any way I can make it up to you?” She paused for a moment. “I could buy you a drink? Or some chocolate. I don’t know, I just feel like i need a better apology.”
Edy nodded listening to the girl’s words carefully, as if trying to decipher their meaning. Head cocked slightly, she understood the moment of absentmindedness, Edy had a lot of things just slip from her hands too. She let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding in as soon as the woman pulled the pup away, her tense muscles relaxing, but her guard still up. Past experiences had left a bad taste in her mouth, a lingering fear that didn’t just go away when she joined society. Her soft lips pressed together in a tight line as she ponder the woman’s proposal. Pro: Edy had been raised better than to ignore free sustenance, and wherever she could be taken would most likely have sweet, sweet air conditioning. Con: She didn’t know where she could be taken, and the stranger danger alarms rang in her ears.
It was a battle that her stomach won as she nodded her head, giggling softly at the image of the woman buying her one of those comically large heart shaped chocolate boxes they sold in February. “Okay,” She cemented her acceptance. No take backs. “a drink. Yeah.” The words fumbled from her as she bent down to gather her belongings, collecting them in her rucksack as quickly as she could. Having a dog at face height didn’t invoke confidence. Deep hazel eyes passed over the woman’s form one last time as Edy stood, searching for the woman’s intentions. Edy knew there was no such thing as too careful. “You from around here?”
Zelda’s pen tapped anxiously on the edge of her desk, waiting for the clock to hit 1:45 and class to be over. She sighed softly, leaning back against the chair and stretching her arms out- pushing them on the edge of the desk. She was feeling restless, she needed to get out, needed something besides this stale classroom. Of course she didn’t have to stay, the professor wouldn’t actually care if she got up and left but schooling was important to her, it’s the one thing she hadn’t managed to fuck up while recovering. As soon as the clock hit 1:45 she tossed her bag over her shoulder and practically bolted out of the room. “Thank god” she muttered to herself, moving through the halls and out of the college building onto the campus. She reached into her bag and pulled a pack of cigarettes from one of the pockets, propping one between her lips and lighting it. Sweet relief, if only for this moment. She took a long pull, ash growing on the end of the cylinder before she ashed it towards the ground, only to watch the wind pick it up and carry it, scattering gray matter across someone’s lap. “Oh fuck.” She said “I’m sorry.” She apologized.
The moment Edy zoned out into her own vibe the rest of the world was lost to her. Between classes she had taken up her favorite spot in the campus quad; With her heavy rucksack sat idly at her feet as her hands made quick strokes on the paper in her lap, scribbling the figures of her fellow co-eds as they passed her by. It wasn’t clear to her whether her next class had started yet, if she had been sitting there for minutes or hours; Edy had always had a tenuous grasp on the concept of time.
The earthy smell of tobacco tainted with chemicals hit her nose before she even noticed the girl’s presence, but her apologetic cursing brought Edy’s mind back into the real world. Cocking her head to the side Edy mumbled a soft huh? before her gaze drifted down to ash that had smeared across her hand, and sketch pad. She probably wouldn’t have even noticed if the girl didn’t say anything. Wide eyes stared at the foul mouthed girl, the corners of her eyes giving away her giggle before her lips even began to twist up. “Why?” Was all she managed to ask as her soft laughter died down. After wiping the dark ash from her hand onto her jeans Edy pushed a bundle of curls out of her face. “Sorry, I meant, it’s chill. No worries.”
Ana was out walking her golden retriever across Central Park. It was nice to get some fresh air after days say in a warm room working. The dog was young and not well-trained yet. All of her siblings were too lazy to bother looking after it so somehow it had fallen to her to deal with. “Shit! Sorry!” she was forced to yell over when the dog ran after another person in the park and wouldn’t come back to her. Ana ran after it, catching up with the dog and the other person. “I am so sorry, honestly. I’ve never had a dog before.”
With Edy’s apartment’s lack of air conditioning she had found refuge in the park. A nice shady spot where she had spewed the contents of her backpack around her like she was sitting on her living room floor back home. The day started with her reworking grant proposals, but very quickly devolved into people watching as she sketched away in her tattered notebook. The only thing that broke her focus was when a jogger whirled past her with a golden retriever on his heels. As a self sufficient adult Edy knew she shouldn’t have been afraid of dogs, but she couldn’t help but let out a squeal loud enough to draw the dog away from the jogger and towards her. Something about high pitch noises only dogs could hear.
Instinctively Edy dropped her sketch book, bringing her knees to her chest, and hiding her face like some sort of curly haired armadillo. It wasn’t until a panicked voice approached her that she lifted her line of sight. “I-it’s okay.” The words choked her, coming out softer than she intended. Following a sigh Edy unfurled herself before standing up, and clearing her throat. “It’s okay.” She repeated, this time with more gallantry. “I’m sorry... I should have, like, grabbed the leash or something...” The admittance was sheepish as she tried to deflect from the fact that man’s best friend had her cowering like a scared child.
Have you seen Eden “Edy” Stone Around New York? They look a lot like Brittany O’Grady but I don’t think they’ve ever realised it! Some people say they are ardent & resolute and serious & reticent. But all we know for sure is that they are twenty one, non-binary, pansexual and work as a record store clerk. I guess only time will tell but for now we’ll call them the prophet.
Eden Ayesha Stone wasn’t born with any choice but to survive. It was the only skill her mother managed to instill in her between bouts in county jail or stays in the local detox center, the will to survive. There were times that it was easier to survive, times when her mother was sober, even working, but more often than not survival was a struggle that no child should have to bear. Life went on whether Edy’s mother was there to take care of her or not, and she found herself trapped in a seemingly never ending routine. Disruption came in the form of two police officers in park looking for not Edy’s mother, but Edy herself.
While going through withdrawal in lock up Edy’s mother let slip that her daughter was sleeping on the streets alone. For Edy it was just another day, but the police didn’t see it that way. At first when they picked her up she thought they would take her to her mother, the only family in her life, but instead they took her to Child Protective services to start a new routine Edy would have to survive: Foster care. Although Edy was never actually alone as she traversed the families she was dumped with, she always felt more lonely than she ever did waiting for her mother to come back to her.
Her unusual ways, and timid demeanor made her a target for cruelty as she bounced from home to home; The girl who would rather sleep outside on the porch than in a warm bed, who barley spoke and saw sounds, who carried all her belongings with her even if she was only going out for a minute. It didn’t matter what happened to her body, the degradation caused by others and her own dependance on substances that down out the world around her; because in Edy’s mind, the only place that ever felt like home, she was free. What began as simple drawings in the corners of her school books became notebooks filled with sketches of the things Edy observed. Soon the notebooks weren’t big enough to hold Edy’s thoughts, and her artwork spilled onto every available surface: counters, desks, tables, walls, and floors. Edy had felt small for so long, but her art was bigger life; Unable to be bullied into submission or ignored.
The more her art spilled into the world, the more people took notice. Eventually Edy had friends, a family of sort, who introduced her to the art of graffiti. The combination of art and rebellion attracted Edy instantly, and soon there wasn’t a corner of the city not donning her tag: Stoney Don’t Fuck With 12. Of course the people who took notice weren’t all friends. It became common place for Edy to be gone from her foster homes for days, only turning up accompanied by the officers who had taken away her freedom in the first place. Most families just passed the delinquent on to the next home, and the ones that didn’t made sure she was reprimanded for what they described as acting out.
The more the world around Edy tried to silence her, the louder she got. She never made a decision not to go back to the system the night she climbed out of her window after tucking her young foster siblings into bed, but her feet had a mind of their own as they carried her to the park her mother always met her at when she was freed from her own imprisonment. Edy never expected her mother to show, but part of her hoped, prayed that her mother would be waiting for her on the bench like she had so many times before. It took weeks for Edy to give up, but after checking all of her mother’s haunts Edy finally made the decision to leave Atlanta behind her.
She didn’t know where she was going, she rarely does, but she began walking. When she couldn’t walk anymore she waited on the side of the highway until someone stopped for her. As a young girl, alone and unassuming, she never had to wait long. She went wherever the wind would blow her, leaving a trail of vandalism in her wake. The farther she traveled away from Atlanta the easier it became for her to breath. Even following her convoluted route Edy eventually made it to California where she found refuge on the beach. In California Edy met many other kids just like her, voices that the world had tried to silence, faces that had been forgotten, and when she heard a group of them were going to New York she jumped on the opportunity to leave her mark on the canvas of the city.
Although she lost her friends along the way Edy made it to New York in time to celebrate her 16th birthday. The city was different than any place she had experienced before, the sights and sounds overwhelming to her senses, the millions of eyes watching and waiting for something to happen. It began to take more and more substances to numb the world around her that seemed to scream. After a bad trip in the park Edy was arrested and put on a mental health watch. Once she was cleared to leave she was taken to a group home in the Bronx. It was there that Edy found some sense of what normal life was suppose to be like.
With one of the social worker at the home as her mentor Edy was able to graduate high school despite the fact that she had stopped attending school many years prior. For the first time in a long time Edy had someone on the outside of her busy mind who saw through her chaos. She started to make goals, real, tangible goals. After months of her mentor trying to get Edy to apply for colleges she applied for NYU hoping to study Philosophy and one day become a professor. She never thought she would be accepted, much less receive enough grants and scholarships to cover the cost of her higher education.
It’s been a couple years since she started at NYU, now a sophomore majoring in Philosophy, and minoring in Global and Urban Education Studies. She still lives in the Bronx, working at a small record store in one of the more gentrified parts of the city. In contempt of the amazing things she’s accomplished Edy still finds herself lost in the city, trying to numb the world around her while she screams in silence on the city walls.
What’s up it’s ya boi Spike. I’ve been playing Edy for over a year now so if you have any questions about her I’ll totally be able to answer. Let’s plot, let’s do something, I love any plot so hmu with whatever you got. Here is a tl;dr of her bio as I know it’s pretty long. If you read it all you’re a real one.
History
Born in Atlanta, Georgia
Grew up homeless, sleeping in the local park, staying with someone her mom knew, or sometimes shelters
Despite her mother working hard to keep them together Edy was put into foster care
Discovered the world of graffiti as an escape from her abusive foster homes
Ran away to travel and pursue art eventually ending up in New York
Taking to a group home in the city where she finished high school thanks the mentorship of a social worker there
Attends NYU’s Philosophy program on a full scholarship
Fun Facts
Edy is a she/her nonbinary person
Works at a record store, sometimes DJs parties for extra cash
Is a street artist under the name Stoney (Don’t Fuck With 12)
Has synesthesia, and tetrachromacy, as well as other heighten or sensitive senses this makes too much stimuli very overwhelming for her
Often wears sunglasses when feeling overloaded by sensory information
Because of her test scores and background was given several grants and scholarships to go to NYU
She may seems a little spacey, but she’s really thoughtful the spacey-ness comes from her inability to stop using drugs she shouldn’t be doing in the first place
Used to walking round with a chip on my shoulder
For every last person I loved who folded
I would give grace
But I'd rather give closure
I would take breaks
But I'd rather move forward
I done been chewed up, spit out, kicked out, let down
But I'm still a motherfucking soldier
i. Vibin’ Out With (((O))), FKJ - Vibin’ out to you make me too human, smokin’ out the way I feel emotion
ii. Show Love, Everything Is Recorded FT. Syd - If you’re growing up with no love put your hands in the soil and you can grow love
iii. 8, Willow - The thoughts you think just cause you pain, and don’t make you more free
iv. DJ Khaled Is My Father, Spooky Black - How could I explain this without bringing on concern, or put it into words
v. Terrified, Childish Gambino - You know that you’re the one that’s terrified
vi. Take Me Away, Daniel Caesar FT. Syd - Wherever you go just take me
vii. Space Bootz, Miley Cyrus - I got to be high to deal with your moods, but maybe it’s me I got to change my view
viii. Let Me In, H.E.R. - Just wanna make you feel safe
ix. Prom, SZA - Please don’t take it personal like I know you usually do
x. New Religion, NSTASIA - You should take whatever’s on your mind put it to the side
xi. Girlfriend, NAO - If I was your girlfriend, could you love for two? If I was your girlfriend, could you pull me through?
xii. Two Weeks, FKA twigs - I know it hurts you know I’d put you first
xiii. Facts, H.E.R. - And I don’t let my walls down but I see us building
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