video | un: oz

[swornto]

So~ How hard is to live alone here?

It seems like I'm just a bother at my current place... and really, no helping that! I have sort of been a thorn in their sides for a while now, huh? I'm just causing headaches left and right. Maybe some independence will sort me out and teach me to be less of a hinderance or something?

[And as a vileblood living with a bunch of darkbloods this month, Oz can't shake his paranoid when at home. He's mixed it up with his own identity issues and made a right mess of himself, actually.]

And completely unrelated~ What exactly makes a day your birthday? What if you aren't born like a human? Or didn't even have access to a calendar? Is there a protocol for those situations?

Comments

Video; UN: Filledwithsunshine

[onebadapple]

Oh, I find living alone to be very easy.

But I don't think you're a hindrance at all, Oz! I'm so sorry to hear you feel that way. Is there something I could do to tell you otherwise?

And a birthday is the day you were born. But I suppose, if you weren't born, you could pick a day where you became you! Because there had to be a time when you weren't around, and then you were.

[swornto]

[Ah, right. If he talks like that, it will only cause more people to worry about him. Oz knows it's rude, but he tries to sidestep the issue. Even though he's the one who brought it up.]

A lot must go into living on your own, hm? Cooking, for one. Especially in a place like this, that must be difficult...

["When you became you."

But which 'Oz' is that referring to?]

You make it sound so easy. I must be overthinking it, huh~ Whoops.

[onebadapple]

I could teach you to cook if you like? I've been cooking for myself since I was seven!

[swornto]

[He appreciates the lighter topic. Oz doesn't want Snow to start worrying about him too.]

Since you were seven? That's pretty impressive! But I'd hate to be troubling you. Isn't it difficult to cook when there aren't many ingredients around?

( video | un: duckling )

[danserai]

[ that doesn't sound right. ]

Uh, did something happen? I thought you had a really nice house!

[swornto]

[When she brings it up, Oz is struck painfully by the memory of how happy and almost normal his household was. If he turned off his worries, he could exist quite happily there.

But he ultimately shakes his head. He doesn't want to dive too deep into the specifics of why he feels the need to leave.]

I've... been in the way recently. So I decided to give them some space.

[danserai]

Oh . . . But it's only temporary right?

[swornto]

[... he has not thought that far ahead.]

Ahaha~ Well, I'd hope it would be! But I'd need to know what went wrong in order to go back, right?

... Welp. It's not a big deal. What about you? Have you found people to live with, Ms Ahiru?

video | un: Da Silva

[rosae]

( Yet another Young Person here... Rose is still relatively new to Trench, and each child and/or teenager she encounters makes the worry within her amplify more and more.

...Sorry, she's going to have to Mom a little bit here. )

This place seems pretty dangerous for someone your age to be living alone in.

( Her tone is soft and kind, not chastising in the least. Why would this poor sweet boy think he's a hindrance? )

What makes you think you're a bother....? Do you want to talk about it?

[swornto]

[Oz isn't sure how to respond to such a tone. Truth be told, he's never heard anyone speak to him in such a manner. Even his Uncle Oscar leaned more into humor than this kind of soft approach. Distantly, he does recognize it as being a kind and almost parental approach.

He's stunned like a rabbit, but slowly breaks through the surprise. His instinctive response to something this new is to smile and act like it doesn't rattle him.]

Does it really? I guess the idea of stranger danger was dialed up to one hundred last month, wasn't it?

[Does he want to talk about it?

Oz knows he should. But will talking about it change it, or merely bring a stranger down?]

... They seem agitated by my being there. I can't fix what's bothering them except by leaving, so that's the best course of action, right?

[rosae]

( Rose gives a little smile of her own at that, though there's an odd pang within her too, at the nonchalance with which he says it. For him to be so aware of it — of the dangers of those horrible people from the last month.... That these young people are becoming used to this kind of horror.... She's not sure how to swallow that particular pill. How to handle the fact that he's able to smile about the subject. )

Those people.... they could still be out there. I'd hate for something to happen to you.

( She listens to the boy explain a little, a thoughtful frown easing back into her features. )

I don't think you should have to leave; that's not fair to you. Are the people you're living with your friends? Do you know them pretty well, I mean?

( She knows some young people have randomly grouped together, so maybe he's not close with his particular household? )

video; UN: seeingtheworld

[schoolingfish]

Did you hatch from an egg, too?

[...okay, caution over the network has just gone right out the window lately.]

I'm sure you're not a bother at your current place. Back home I had a friend who sometimes thought like that, but he was the most important and best friend I could possibly have.

For the birthday thing...I guess if you didn't have a calendar, you can pick whatever day you want.

[swornto]

Did you hatch from an egg?

[Oz isn't sure how to easily explain his origins. The birth of his soul and his body were separate events, and Oz isn't sure how to relate those to a birthday. Being born from an egg sounds easier than his birth story.]

I'm not sure about that, quite. They seem agitated by my being there.

[schoolingfish]

Oh, um...

[...okay, he brought it up and practically said it already, there's no turning back at this point.]

Yeah.

And maybe it's not you. A lot of people have been acting weird this month, and I've noticed a lot of people are tense around me that usually aren't.

[swornto]

Oooh amazing~ Well, I~

[Oz holds out this word in a long, playful note. That second is filled with fast thinking. Saying he hatched from an egg can't have been easy. It would be fair to repay that with honesty of his own, right? Then maybe the air between them will lighten again.

The problem is that Oz is not used to being honest. Especially not about this.

He has to pause and take a breath again, finding the courage to continue;]

I was a stuffed animal. A rabbit, actually. [The words may sound easy, but Oz is internally panicked by having said them. Was that okay? Too soon? Too honest?]

Hmm. Seems to be the case for me too. Do you suppose it's a prank of the Trench's doing?

Video; un: rosestorm

[thunderingcourage]

Depends on whether you know how to cook and do the basics really. There are some pretty safe places where staying alone wouldn't be too hard, but the biggest thing is cost.

As for a birthday, I guess you could really just choose whatever day. Probably when something significant happened. It could be whatever day you washed up if you didn't have one before.

[swornto]

... Ah. Money is a concern, isn't it?

[He's reminded again of how spoiled his old life was. Oz never had to worry about money when he was a Vessalius.]

Do you think our squid day could be our birthday, then? I suppose that does make sense. It was a big day for us wiggly folk.

[thunderingcourage]

Yeah, you have to make sure that you have enough for rent, utilities, and of course groceries. I can tell you where to get some pretty good deals though.

[Makoto had been responsible for taking care of herself since a younger age than most, so it was just a habit for her at this point.]

It would be a good choice if you didn't have one before. It's kind of like being born again into this world.

[swornto]

Ah... Rent? Even here...

[Is Break the one handling all of these things? Oz suddenly feels awful. He should have been more attentive to how much Break was doing for all of them kids in the manor.]

Born again is a way to put it, isn't it? This world isn't the reincarnation I had expected, but I suppose it counts all the same. Are you planning to switch your birthdate?

Video UN: glyphywitchy

[imaglyphwitch]

Man. I just...I can't believe you'd be a thorn or a bother. Don't get me wrong, I've had thoughts like that too, but I find that most of the time those are thoughts I projected into my own head. You seem like an OK guy to me.

[Look, she knows that sometimes people get tense, but she still can't believe anyone would find Oz bad to be around].

Without asking a whole bunch of probably personal questions, maybe just find a date that's the most meaningful to you. Like, a day that stands out that really made you feel like you knew what you wanted for yourself.

[swornto]

... You're quite wise, huh, Ms Luz? I suppose there is some truth to that, hm?

[A meaningful date though, huh..?]

I'm unfortunately not sure when that would be. I'm too carefree to look at the calendar much~! [He didn't even understand concepts like time and dates when he was born as a soul.]

[imaglyphwitch]

Let's just say I have experience being the thorn in a lot of people's sides.

[And that she doesn't really have to worry about that anymore, which is a good thing].

Oh. In that case, why not just pick a time that seems decent for you? Like, when the weather best suits you or something?

Video; un: darkness

[survivalthroughhate]

If you cannot survive living on your own without the help of others, you deserve to perish.

[That's Maul's motto anyway.]

[swornto]

... Well. Aren't you the charmer?

[survivalthroughhate]

[Maul smiles in a most disconcerting fashion.]

I try.

[No he does not.]