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

skjdfhakjsdf

[justoscar]

[Oscar just laughed. He didn't even mention the painted nails, the exchange of tokens, the sharing of each other's colors...]

Dipper is a great guy. After everything, I feel really lucky to be with him, too.

Maybe we can find someone for you, Luz? It's not necessary to have a partner... but it is fun, and you seem to like this stuff.

Re: skjdfhakjsdf

[imaglyphwitch]

[You are the worst, Oscar. You should know that].

I know, he's awesome and super smart! I'd feel the same way if I were you!

Pfft, me? Come on Oscar. I'm fourteen going on fifteen and there are barely any kids my age! Who would I even potentially date?

[justoscar]

Uh... I just turned fifteen, so I'm in the same position...

And I accidentally hit it off with Dipper!

[He's just. Grinning.]

Look. If I can do it, you can do it too. Even if you think you've got too much baggage... With, Wizard Problems. I think I do.

It's very possible that you'll find someone who wants to be with you. Problems and all.

[imaglyphwitch]

Yeah, but you're also cute and sweet and Dipper is this great guy. So you guys are just gold!

Ok, I think I have more than just witch problems ("wizard problems: how dare you). I'm also manic, fixated on being a witch and notoriously frustrating. Can't see much dating potential there.

[justoscar]

[Jokes and teasing aside... that last comment had Oscar sobering. Taking a breath, he offered Luz a look of concern that seemed to understand far more than his young face belayed.]

Luz. Who said those kind of things? Obviously not you. People don't talk like that about themselves.

[imaglyphwitch]

Well the witch part was probably my mom because no one really says that! But that other stuff were things my classmates said about me back home. I was never really popular there. That's why I preferred the Boiling Isles.

[justoscar]

Then those classmates never got to see you for who you are, and their opinion doesn't matter. It's not worth thinking about.

...Your mom, though, was probably just worried about things she didn't understand. Adults tend to get mad when they're really scared.

[imaglyphwitch]

My classmates are part of the reason why I chose to stay in the Boiling Isles, to be completely honest. I can't say that their judgements were wrong? I'm very different now than I was then. It's still kinda hard to imagine me with anyone in a relationship though. But who knows, I have way more time now that I'm not flying for my life!

[She says way too brightly].

No, I know that...now. My mom is the best thing about Earth. She's the person I miss most there.

[justoscar]

If you haven't done so, you should find a way to give her a decent 'goodbye' if you get a chance.

[Oscar added-- perhaps sounding too mature, too adult for a fifteen year old.]

...I kinda wish I had done that with my Aunt. Now? I'm not even sure she'd recognize me.

[imaglyphwitch]

But that's the thing: she'll see a Luz, hopefully, sometime down the road. I don't want to confuse her. She does so much, I just want her not to worry.

[This was Luz NOT being mature, or at least, thinking more about other people than herself].

Wait, how exactly does that work, with your Aunt? Why wouldn't she recognize you?

[justoscar]

...I've changed a lot since I left the farm. Learned things and become a person who never could have even had that opportunity to if I had stayed.

And, now that I've been away, I'm not sure that I'll ever fit into that kind of place again.

[imaglyphwitch]

Oh, I think I see what you're saying.

But maybe that's ok. I mean, you yourself aren't different, you're still Oscar. You've just changed in other ways that you've moved beyond what you knew to be your world.

Honestly, I think we've all had to do that a little bit.

[justoscar]

I know, but my circumstances aren't typical. From what it sounds like, yours aren't either.

Magic isn't accepted as a thing in my world. There's no way I can explain it to my Aunt because no one believes it's possible... and, even if it were? It's not to be trusted.

[imaglyphwitch]

Actually, you're totally right. Magic doesn't exist on my world either.

So how exactly did you get involved with it at all? And your aunt, she wouldn't trust it?

[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.