Voice: Un: Diggs

[justoscar]

[It had been nearly a week, and Oscar was becoming worried.

Lessons he has learned on the other side of the Dream had taught him that sitting in the worry and letting it overcome him did no one any good-- least of all himself. Knowing this, Oscar tentatively turned on the Audio function of his new device and, with an obvious case of awkward nerves, started talking.]

Um... Hi.

I'm Oscar Pine and... I'm sure some of you know me already, but some of you don't and that's okay.

There was just a couple of things I wanted to say.

First: I know that things have been stressful lately and that we all need something to do, so I'm willing to teach people how to garden if they want a hobby that lasts a little longer than baking all the time. I'm a farmhand... And I did the baking thing. Growing and taking care of your own vegetables helps a little more, for a longer time.

And-- you can share your extra zucchini with your friends and loved ones. Isn't that cool?

I managed to bring along some seeds to get started. Just... Contact me if you're interested.

... and thanks, Mako, for the idea.

Second: is anyone else having trouble sleeping since they got here? I know being nervous makes sleeping hard, but this feels different. Anyone have any ideas about why this is happening, or how to help?

Last: ... I don't know about everyone else, but there's still some people I'm looking for that haven't come ashore yet. Can people just...chime in to let everyone know that they're safe? And let us know if there's anyone else you're looking for?

Maybe we can make everything a little easier if we work together. I don't know...

I'm just kinda worried, and some of you all probably are too.

Comments

[justoscar]

Um...

A voice that wasn't me started talking in my head?

No, my Aunt wouldn't trust a story like that!

[imaglyphwitch]

Yeah, you mentioned that, but...how exactly did that happen?

It would have seemed too fantastic?

[justoscar]

Finishing an afternoon with a voice calling himself the headmaster of an academy on another continent? Who later told me to leave home?

She would have called the nearest doctor on me!

[imaglyphwitch]

That does sound pretty crazy. I know my mom would have had a heart attack!

But things haven't turned out too bad, right? When I met Mr. Ozpin he seemed all right.

[justoscar]

It's not a matter of Good or Bad, Luz. It's... complicated.

[He heaved a sigh, in the way that adults did when they really didn't want to discuss the true meaning of 'complicated', but knew that the inevitability remained anyway.]

A lot of mistakes were made along the way, and a lot of people were hurt. More people than you think a single person could possibly affect. But... when you're destined to keep surviving even after body after body dies? It's possible to mess up entire cultures and generations of people.

[imaglyphwitch]

Oh. That DOES sound way more complicated than they way I was talking.

I never really thought of it in that way. If you don't mind me asking, how does one even get chosen as a host for someone else?

[justoscar]

[Oscar sighed.

There was no answer to this.]

The only one who knows that is the God who put us in this situation. The only clue we have is that every 'host' has a has... A like-minded soul.

[imaglyphwitch]

A "like minded" soul. Hmm. That's curious. So something about you and Ozpin is similar in your intentions?

I must be biased then. You guys both seem like really good people, so maybe that similarity has something to do with the goodness you try to give out?

Does that make sense?

[justoscar]

Maybe? It's honestly hard to tell at this point, because we've already become more alike than I was at the farm.

It's like... I'm Me, but I'm also someone that never could have come to be if I had stayed on the farm. I'm the Me that I dreamed of being when I read my books. But, I don't know how much of that is actually Me or because Ozpin and I have grown too alike.

[imaglyphwitch]

Hmm.

So wait, how exactly does this work? Does Ozpin occupy your body and become himself, or does he have his own body but can jump into yours? I'm still a little confused how this happens.

[justoscar]

....He's dead on Remnant.

[Spoken plainly, so there was no ambiguity.]

His body was destroyed when the academy he ran fell-- and then I woke up with him in my head. That's how this works.

[imaglyphwitch]

Oh, Oh no.

[Luz turned and looked at Oscar plainly].

So he jumped from that body to yours? And when I see him, does that mean its really you, but looking like him?

[Man, she was really trying to figure out how that worked].

[justoscar]

I... think you're thinking about this too hard.

[He heaved a wearied sigh.]

The dream gave him his own body again. So we both have our own body, and we're not *in* each other's body. Leaving Remnant stopped that process of the both of us becoming the same. Now, I've just got whatever power's we've got left, any memories that were available to me before, and we can talk in our minds together.

[...Hopefully that explanation would cover further questions.]

[imaglyphwitch]

[Oh good, explaining that helped a lot].

Sorry! I know that sounded weird, but I have read a lot of stories where some people can take the body and sort of morph it like that.

That makes way more sense now. So that's what the two of you share. Even though you have your own bodies again, there's still a connection.

[justoscar]

Well... once you pour milk into your tea, you can't really take it out again.

[Oscar shrugged. It was the best explanation he had.]

You have have a cup of tea and a cup of milk. You can even pour some of the milk into the tea... but you can't take the milk out, and the tea isn't the same anymore.

That's kinda what happened. I was a cup of sweet tea, and now I'm a cup of milk tea.

[imaglyphwitch]

Heh, not in mine! That's make me go to the bathroom and be out of commission for awhile!

[That was half a joke. Luz was lactose intolerant].

I think I get what you're saying though. You're totally changed now, because of him.

[justoscar]

[He'll remember that if he ever has the occasion to cook for Luz. No dairy-- it's bad news.]

Yeah. Change isn't always bad. We're supposed to change as we grow up.

I just worry about my Aunt... but I know the Me that's still in Remnant will make it right with her, someday.

[imaglyphwitch]

Sure. I think any of us that lived in Deerington has done some major changing, personally.

[Sometimes not for the better, really].

I know what you mean. I think the same thing about Eda, or my mom. But I also wish there was a way I could know for sure.

[justoscar]

Yeah... it's hard.

[He sighed. There was no hiding the weight of this on his shoulders.]

Maybe someday we'll find out for sure... but I guess we'll just have to Trust what the people here say.

And Trust Ourselves.

[imaglyphwitch]

It is. Real hard. But we're also strong, so I have faith that we'll be all right here. We always find a way!

[And she included him in that. Oscar was strong, and he'd given up some of his fear in a literal sense. She had nothing but respect for that].

I'll always trust a Sleeper can find their way out. And if they need help, we'll be there to lend a hand.

[It had happened for her enough times, after al].