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Who: Oz & Friends: The Musical
When: Post-event
Where: Out and about in the city
What: Various nerd bonding moments
Warning: None!

elsa;
[After all the chaos of Fortune-Telling Week From Hell settles down, it's time to make good on that promise for tea! Elsa seems like a neat person to know, after all, and even if their topic at the time had been a little heavy, that's just all the more reason to get to know her a little better. That sort of burden is hard to carry alone.

So after giving the directions and setting a time, Oz can be found sitting outside of the cafe in question. He's got something folded on his lap and seems to be alternating between people-watching and checking his phone, buzzing with the quiet excitement of meeting someone new.]

mabel;
[GUESS WHERE MABEL AND OZ ARE. That's right, on the best friend date ever. Ever. It's only just started and Oz is already having a great time, pressing his face against the CyBuddy displays and being stupidly excited in general over all these weirdass animals. Ciel has his big fat owl, so maybe said owl needs a companion...!

He stops in front of one display in particular though, where a very small dog with very large ears sits at attention, ready and waiting for the next customer to come test its functions. Instead of doing that, Oz just points with GREAT VIGOR and calls over to wherever Mabel happens to be moseying about, clearly excited.]

Mabel! Come look at this one! Look at its ears—!!

[This dog must be stopped.]

taka;
[It's nerd time in the library, time for all library nerds to go perusing at their collective leisure...! SO OF COURSE OZ IS HERE, looking around the shelves for anything that's been added since the last time he'd visited. Nothing really catches his eye yet; even with all of the books here, he's already read his way through most of the fiction section that had struck immediate interest and has yet to find anything actually useful in the non-fiction section, outside of how-to manuals for technological devices. He's almost at the end of the row by the time he spots it-

The familiar spines all lined up in a neat row. Finally. FINALLY.]

They have it—!!

[Oops, were you trying to read in a peaceful corner or actually get some work done?? IT IS PEACEFUL NO MORE, since Oz doesn't know how to use volume control when he's excited.]

yoon;
[Now that Oz has taken up trying to cook some things on his own, it also means that he has to learn to shop for groceries on his own... And normally, he isn't too bad at that! He actually has a fairly good idea of what makes a balanced meal and knows what he likes, so it doesn't take long to finish up and he doesn't spend time lingering in the aisles.

Today is unfortunately not one of those days. Living in the House of Eternal Sweet-tooth means that candy is never in short supply, but with all of the crazy goings-on lately, it's been a little hard to remember to restock the candy jar. Today, the grocery store happens to be having a buy 1 get 1 free sale, too, which means that all of the soup stocks and vegetables and fruits in Oz's cart are buried under a literal mountain of candy.

A mountain that goes sLIDING RIGHT OVER IN AN AVALANCHE when Oz takes a turn too quickly, burying the feet of anyone who happens to be nearby. SO, YOU, YOON. You are the chosen one.]

Oh— sorry about that! I guess I put a little too much in here. [An Understatement™. Oz will immediately move to start picking various bags of M&Ms and jolly ranchers up, though, because he's not a rudeass who makes other people clean up for him.]

ciel;
[IT'S 10AM, DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR OZES ARE?

In the kitchen, tiredly stirring around his oatmeal in an absent-minded way. Horror of horrors, there aren't even any sprinkles in it today.

Even though he tried his best to get some sleep the night before, he couldn't manage it. He's been wound with anxious energy for hours now, and it's exhausting, but there's no reprieve in sight just yet and even if there was, he probably wouldn't take it. He's got a lot of things to think about, some clothing to throw away, and apologies to make - later, after the general insanity dies down. But that leaves him in a limbo of sorts for the time being, and it's why he's staring somewhat absently out the window whenever Ciel moseys out of his sleep coma for the day.

His attention still snaps over regardless, and Ciel gets the same cheery:]

Morning!

sheba;
["I'll be meeting you for tea once all of this is straightened out." WELL THINGS ARE STRAIGHTENED OUT NOW!! And Oz, who needs to check up on everyone that he's watching out for anyway, will take any reason to make the standard "so did you survive" conversation pass a little more smoothly. Good lord, he's going to become one of the cafe's most valued customers in less than a week at this rate...

But that's why he's standing out in the apartment hall at around noon a few days after things settle back down again, knocking on Sheba's door.]

Sheba? It's Oz! Are you here?

[Maybe he should have tried calling first?! What a moron.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The same as usual.

[ Which is generally early, since Ciel is (a grandpa) a kid and has trouble staying up late... Ciel doesn't say as much, since he never does, but he hadn't slept very well the previous night either, but it wasn't for any particular reason. It was the usual for him.

He sets the kettle on the stove, then starts to dig around for his favorite Earl Grey tea, but finding the celebratory tea mug first, he grabs that. ]

What about you? You were out when I retired last night.

[HOW DOES CIEL SLEEP SO MUCH?? Questions that Oz still doesn't have the answer to months later...

But he repockets the watch after that, setting his elbow down against the table and using the flat of his palm to prop his chin up.]

You know, I read a story from the library here that I think you should read, too. It's about a man who fell asleep once and didn't wake up until years and years later. I wonder if he was your ancestor...?

[IN TOP SHITTERY FORM ALREADY... Kind of, anyway. Ciel might still be a little too asleep to notice, but the comment doesn't flow as smoothly as teasing from him usually does. The question makes any stilt stand out a little more starkly, since he actually pauses before answering, though it's very brief.]

I ran into someone from home who was having a little trouble after my shift finished, so I stayed out later than I thought I'd be. You sleep like a real grandpa, but I was careful coming back in just in case.

[ He is indeed still too asleep to notice, so he just levels Oz a flat, unimpressed stare across the kitchen's bar. There's a part of him that's genuinely irritated and annoyed by that comment beyond his usual levels, but he's also not going to reveal why. It's something that he wanted Oz to be ignorant of, which is why Oz's care in coming home was unnecessary, ultimately. Ciel's room was so soundproofed that it wasn't needed.

Ciel grumbles in irritation, but continues to pull out his tea once he's given that unimpressed look. ]

Which one this time, then?

[MAYBE IF SOMEONE WOULD TELL HIM ABOUT THE SOUNDPROOFING... Oz will probably figure it out eventually anyway, especially if he keeps setting things on fire at ass o'clock and calling police over.

But he'll ignore the unimpressed look like a champ of accidental buttheadedness, since he doesn't know why it would be touchy. There's a second after that question where he contemplates what to say, though, since Levi is a tricky person to handle and now all those complex emotions are compounded by a deep guilt. Life sure would be great if the people from his world would stop being unpredictable and crazy...!]

—You talked to Lily once, right? It was Levi; he's part of the same household.

[ At the mention of Lily, Ciel just scoffs as he looks away, wholly unimpressed. It already puts Levi exactly where he should be, at least, which is the corner of poor opinions. ]

Oh, wonderful. Is he as completely childish and moronic as she is?

[ truly, it's amazing ciel isn't surrounded by friends with his charming personality ]

[ON THE ONE HAND, IT'S NOT LIKE CIEL IS WRONG.

On the other, it's probably a really bad idea to underestimate the guy who helped prompt the Tragedy into happening for seemingly little reason beyond "because I needed a laugh".]

Hmm... I think "eccentric old man" would probably be a better description!

[look he may be having an internal crisis but that doesn't mean he won't call it like it is...]

That sounds irritating, then.

[ Because Ciel is imagining something along the lines of helping him cross the street rather than Oz's usual luck... He sighs, setting his tea down before he leans against the counter. He'll just wait here for the water to finish boiling. ]

I don't understand how you can put up with people like that at all. I definitely wouldn't have stayed.

[Oz sure isn't helping much with his misleading descriptions, so that's a reasonable assumption, honestly...]

Well, I couldn't really leave him out there like that... [Case in point: it really does sound like he's talking more about Levi needing help crossing the street than Levi wanting to supermurder him?! But even after all of his Friendship Talks and the steps he's taken to move forward, he's still pretty reluctant to tell people things that may get them worried for his sake. This is also why Oz needs 100 babysitters.]

But if it were any other time, your choice would probably be best! [just ditch grandpa on the roadside]

[ He immediately nods in agreement, since of course his way is better (or so Ciel thinks), so he crosses his arms lightly. He's starting to wake up the more he just stands here waiting for his tea, so he shifts the topic. He feels like he's shifting it a lot, but little does he know he's actually pretty close... ]

Did anyone else you know show up this time?

[HIS WAY IS BETTER IN THIS CASE. In fact, Oz would highly encourage it. His advice for anyone else dealing with Levi would be "just walk away"...

But since his oatmeal has more or less cooled off by now, Oz picks up his spoon again and goes back to stirring. Ciel still has pretty much the entirety of his attention, though.]

Mm, two did. I don't think either were affected by anything, at least, so they'll have time to settle in without having to worry about it.

[Settle into his room at the old folks' home, in Break's case...]

Edited 2015-02-01 22:51 (UTC)

Anyone I should know about?

[ He says it casually, because considering the weirdass world Oz comes from, it's a fair question... Ciel sighs before Oz can even answer, though, because for once, there's someone he has to explain. ]

Well, first, someone I know showed up. His name is Grell Sutcliffe. I don't know him well, mind you, but he's a Grim Reaper and completely insane, so don't even talk to him. He's an annoyance besides that.

[ There's a casual chill to Ciel's words that's not anything out of the ordinary, and yet, it's much deeper than that. Grell would be a nonentity like the rest of the Reapers were, if not for the fact that he had killed Ciel's aunt, but... Unsurprisingly, that isn't a subject he wants to breach. ]

Edited (he needs to be more exasperated ) 2015-02-01 23:02 (UTC)

Ah, that's bad luck... [This is the first he's heard of anyone else showing up from Ciel's world, after all, and it's some guy that he actually feels the need to warn Oz against. TRULY...

But at least he doesn't seem like he's going to argue, since he just nods once when Ciel's finished with his description.]

All right, I'll keep the name in mind. [AND AVOID because he's got enough problems without adding ones from different worlds to the list. And then, looping back around to Ciel's question.]

You might be seeing Break around sometimes! Actually, if you hear any noises coming from the cupboards, don't worry about it; it's probably just him. [PH...] He may tease you, but if you give him a candy he might leave you alone. [except not... It's hard to tell if Oz is giving people intentionally ineffective advice because it's funny or because he's trying so hard to help but there's only so much one can do to ward off Break.]

Leo's the other. He's from the same house as Lily and Levi, but I think you might get along if you met! [THEY'RE BOTH LIL BOOKISH SNARKY NERDSHITS. He pauses for a second after that though, since this isn't something he would have thought of if Ciel didn't prompt the topic with a warning first?! He's a moron...] Ah, but— even though he's been here for a while, you should take care around Gil's brother, Vincent. Levi, too. I don't think they'll give you any trouble, but they can both be a little unpredictable.

[Though honestly, if Oz didn't have "everyone around me is insane" blinders, he'd probably warn Ciel away from all of them... And a little less placidly than just "THEY'RE HARD TO PREDICT", even though that's where a lot of their respective danger comes from.]

[ Ciel listens to Oz's descriptions, but the further he goes, the more Ciel's expression falls. It starts at the idea of a man named Break being in cupboards, and really just continues full speed ahead until Oz ends with what Ciel can tell is a very underwhelming "unpredictable." He opens his mouth to respond, but the kettle starts to whistle, so he pauses that thought to pour the hot water into his tea. He'll let it steep while they talk, though, since he grabs the mug and walks over to take a seat at their table with Oz.

...Still. His actual commentary is brief, since he sits down with a sigh. ]

"A little unpredictable."

[ Ciel repeats that first, since he's thinking to himself that while that's technically true of Grell too, that's also not even the half of it. ]

Now I have to ask. What did helping this Levi person out entail, Oz?

[Welcome to the pseudovictorian rabbit hole, Ciel. Also known as AN INESCAPABLE HELL... this is it, this is the group of people you're being adopted into. There is no going back. There's only mercilessly moving forward...

When Ciel takes a seat, Oz shifts again so he's not sitting sideways in his own anymore. Facing forward properly now, he can cross his arms and let them rest against the table. ALL BREAKFAST-SIDE MANNERS ARE GOING OUT THE WINDOW no one can whack his arms and tell him to get his elbows off the table now. At the question, he shakes his head once, assuming he's given off a horribly wrong impression even though it's actually an accurate one.]

Oh— this time it wasn't really his fault, since he was definitely one of the people who started acting weird. [IMPLYING THAT MOST OF THE TIMES IT IS. Which is true. Everything is Levi's fault, or Jack's - they're interchangeable.

That said, even if he does have a tendency to dance around subjects, he's not an outright liar (most of the time), so:] He started to lose control of himself... I helped to stop him from hurting anyone.

[ Ciel sighs at first, though it at least lessens his frown if nothing else. That explains it, even though it's not exactly the explanation he was hoping for, and that feeling is only intensified as Oz continues. He stares at Oz critically, because he's at least getting used to seeing where Oz is dancing around a subject, so he confronts it a bit more directly. ]

Did you. [ Ciel does not sound impressed... ] And how did he take to that?

[The downside of living with one person for an extended period of time...

Oz seems to struggle a little with maintaining the casual air after a more direct question, that said. He's better than the average person and remaining buoyant even in dire situations, for better or for worse, but having to deal with this on top of everything else has left him worn down.]

...I don't really know. I almost think that that's what he wanted, but he's hard to understand.

[And if Oz of all people is saying that, then he must be really damn hard to understand.]

[ Ciel isn't nearly as observant with people's reactions as Oz is, but still, that struggle is visible enough that it causes Ciel to pause before he immediately responds. He opens his mouth, but then closes it again before he shakes his head, taking a moment to collect his thoughts a bit better. The way Oz phrases his response is confusing to Ciel, since it is hard to imagine someone that Oz wouldn't be able to understand, but...

Someone does immediately come to mind as an example.

So his actual response ends up being more careful than what he had originally intended, and despite himself, there's care in his words. ]

...What's that supposed to mean? What happened?

[Oz seems able to pick up on that care, at least, since his own expression softens a little in turn. Explaining what happened is going to be a little more difficult though, and he puts a little more of his weight on his arms, leaning forward.]

I just wanted to disarm him, but it wasn't that easy... [Levi is surprisingly resilient for a grandpa, especially when under the influence of weird tarot cards.]

So I had to hurt him to stop him.

[There's more to it than that, obviously, but that's the part that Oz is stuck on.]

[ Oz almost doesn't need to say it, because with what Oz is fixated on alone, he can guess what had happened easily enough. He taps his fingers briefly against the table, almost anxiously, but then turns to preparing his tea instead, since it's steeped properly now. It keeps him calm, if nothing else. ]

...He was trying to kill you, wasn't he?

[ It's obvious, actually. Because Oz hadn't so much as raised a hand against Ciel when he had killed him. Oz was a peaceful person by nature, and Ciel had seen it to the point that it had taken Oz's life. He might be mistaken, but to Ciel, for Oz to actually raise a hand to hurt someone, it had to be quite extreme. ]

[Even though that's not the part that bothers him - because of course it isn't, he's a moron without much self-preservation instinct - it's what gets the smile to ease into near-nonexistence. His shoulders tense a little and his gaze shifts to the window.]

I don't think even he understood why it happened, or why it was me. He asked me if I knew, but I didn't have an answer.

[Bad luck, probably. Maybe the connection that they shared once a long, long time ago, when he was still making a transition from observer to sentient being. He still hasn't really thought much about it, since his thoughts are frazzled and he can't unthread them yet.]

[ Ciel watches the shift in Oz's expression, but unlike Oz, he's not able to read as much from it. For him, it's something almost completely foreign to see, because Ciel's view of the world is so bitter and dark that it spurs him into a vicious ruthlessness. He almost speaks to that, since his first thought is that it doesn't matter. Oz is alive, so that's all that matters. It's how Ciel does think of the situation, because if it had been him, it's likely that one of them had died.

That was the difference between the two of them, when it came down to it. Ciel and Oz both clamoured to continue living, but where Oz's clamouring was warm and born out of a love of life, Ciel's was cold, a vicious survivalist's view. Oz had difficultly trampling on others to assure his own life, whereas Ciel would do it without hesitation.

...But it's a sign that Oz is helping Ciel, however small, because Ciel recognizes tat about himself. Where he may have harshly stated his viewpoint before, he can acknowledge now that he understands that view isn't for everyone. It makes him pause, consider his words more carefully, because without that viewpoint, Ciel doesn't know what to say. A silence lingers, except for the quiet clink of Ciel's spoon as he stirs in his sugar, but eventually, he manages something. ]

Why did you feel like you needed one?

[ There's an awkwardness to how Ciel says it, not that his words lack confidence, but more that he's making an effort to try and help. But with his usual viewpoint being to harsh in the face of Oz being disheartened, he's uncertain of how to express it. ]

Why did I feel like I needed an answer?

[He repeats back the question with an addendum for the sake of clarification, but it's enough to draw his attention away from the window. Maybe his stare is a little too close, a little too intent, but it's mostly coming from a place of soft surprise that shifts into fondness. Ciel always seems able to bowl ahead a little less elegantly when the words that he says genuinely come from the heart; that's definitely something that Oz has noticed. So the awkwardness here isn't missed, and Oz can interpret it fairly well.

The question itself is a little difficult, but it's enough to bring his smile back, if only by a little.]

If I understood that, maybe I could have been better help. Levi... he may be hard to understand, but he isn't the kind of person who would do that, I think.

[And on a more personal level, he did want to know why it was him. Not in a "woe is me" sort of way, but because there seems to be a very unfortunate trend indeed regarding the luck of people around him.]

[ Ciel nods to confirm, though it's a slow, thoughtful gesture. The intensity of Oz's gaze isn't missed, so Ciel wonders if it wasn't the right thing to say, but since it is Ciel, he doesn't mull that over long. He's still committed to the idea he wants to express either way. ]

You can't help everyone, Oz.

[ And he shouldn't, Ciel thinks, but he doesn't express that part. He knows Oz well enough by now to know that would be asking the impossible. He withdraws the spoon from his tea and sets it aside, but he doesn't take a drink of his tea right away. ]

There's not always an answer, and there's not always going to be a way to help. That's just the way things are. [ Even though the sentiment is cold, Ciel's tone isn't. There's a very careful warmth to it, because to him, this is meant to be comforting. ]

You can't carry the weight of everyone else's actions, even if you want to.

[The tone is warm, at least, so Oz understands what Ciel is trying to convey here. Rather - even if his tone hadn't been warm, the fact that he's saying things like this at all is enough for him to understand that Ciel is trying to voice comfort. It's something that he understands is true, too; it's impossible to bear every burden. It's impossible to help everyone. Sometimes, things need to be sacrificed. Priorities need to be made. Living like that is difficult, but that's what it is to be human, isn't it?

The intensity seems to bleed from his stare, at least, and he sits up a little straighter in his seat.]

...I know.

[And he does. He just wishes at times that he could change it - that he could do more, or reach out further without being spread too thin to help. His fingers tap against the edge of his spoon before picking it up again.]

That's why I didn't wait to look for an answer.

[At the time, anyway. He still wants to find one.]

Good.

[ Ciel says that more solidly and with a nod, because he is glad that Oz understands it, even though he's slightly concerned that Oz would do it anyways, but. That's Oz. At this point, he takes a drink of his tea, then stares levelly at him. ]

Just be careful. [ That's genuine and somewhat soft, but when he speaks again, it's much harder in tone. ] I can't pay rent on my own.

[ tsuns aggressively ]

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