retracedwill

[retracedwill]

@definedeath

Was Oz regretting his choice of a guardian already? Yes, yes he was. He didn't think he would immediately revert into the form of a rabbit, or rather a hare, and one that was much smaller than the gigantic chain he once was. At least he could still swing his scythe around.

Which is exactly what he was doing, while desperately chasing after a normal hare. The irony of the situation isn't lost on him-- but food is food, and they're running low on food stores back at the mansion.

"Hold still already! I'm trying to make this as painless as possible for the both of us, you stupid hare!"

It certainly made for a rather comedic sight. And, as focused on his target as he is, he's unlikely to notice anyone else swooping in...

[retracedwill]

Oz, to his credit, does finish the rest of his soup. It definitely wasn't something he'd willingly eat again if he could help it, but he's very certain Alice would have enjoyed it. It was simple enough, at least, that he probably didn't need to ask for a recipe.

"Oh, I see." Oz nods, a polite hum in the back of his throat. "Are your siblings all like you?" He ventures, innocently curious.

War didn't claim to be a cook; he just did what was palatable to himself and left it at that. He actually preferred the meat raw and bloody. Stewing meat in a pot was simply to make himself seem less terrifying. It was difficult to interact with the local population when nearly all of them avoided him or cowered in fear at his presence.

"Hrm." He slurped up some of what he had in his bowl before responding to the stranger's question.

"Not anymore. It is just myself, and my three siblings."

[retracedwill]

Unsure if I'll be able to get around to actually having Oz participate in the event, but here's his information for it and a plotting call regardless!

Predictably, his guardian is going to be an arctic hare. Even more predictably, he's just straight up going to completely turn into a hare. A melanistic one, of course, since he IS the black rabbit, so he's not going to be blending in well. Should be fine though, right? ...Right?

He's never had to deal with a situation like this, so he's definitely going to need a guiding hand or two. He's a quick learner and stubborn enough to persevere through everything, at least.

Tentatively capped at 3, cast-mates exempt.

[retracedwill]

"Just one right now couldn't hurt," Oz grumbles, sticking out his tongue out of habit. How'd he even know what Oz was trying to do? Sometimes, he swears the old hatter must have some sort of crazy sixth sense or something. Oh, well. To his credit, he doesn't try going for the parfaits a second time.

He does try to squirm away and half-heartedly swats at Break's hand when he goes for his cheek. What was it with old people always wanting to pinch your face, anyways? He's yet to find out the answer to that quirky little mystery of life.

"Oh, like you're any better. How do I know you're not just going to sneak more sweets for yourself when I'm not looking?" He says back, sounding almost serious. It's quickly ruined when he can't stop himself from making an amused snort. Oh, who are they kidding? They're both nothing more than sweet-craving beasts.

break has half a mind to tell oz to stop eating his carefully prepared pastries. he realizes fairly quickly that he only cares this time around because he put actual effort into getting a small display ready for the rainsworth mansion's little crafting session. to put it into different words, it's as though the brat was eating all the cake before morning tea had even begun.

   (not that you're usually supposed to have cake at morning tea ... that's never stopped him in the past, though.)

' you're like a ravenous beast, ' he quips easily, slapping oz's hand away as he tries to reach for the strawberry parfaits. ' i suppose growing up a noble doesn't exactly teach you patience, but it should have taught you table manners. '

   he's one to talk. swinging himself from the edge of the dining table that has been turned against another table to make for a bigger version, he squeezes oz's cheek once. ' i hope you've been feeding yourself. zhilan usually keeps the fridge stocked ... he should be here any second, so try not to eat it all before we even start. '

@retracedwill > @archaictold / crafting session!

[retracedwill]

Ah, that's the great puzzle! – Alice in Wonderland, Chapter II

Hi @the-mad-owl I was your secret santa this year! Thank for the alice in wonderland prompt, I absolutely loved playing with this idea :D

Thank you @i-prefer-the-term-antihero for the organization again this year!!

To make a long post even longer, here's the first three panels in close up & with no text :)

[retracedwill]

"oh! yes, it's rather fascinating hearing about all the other tales that are out there. other stories and variations of the same tales are absolutely a thing. i've seen it with my own eyes, before coming here. is it something rather novel for you?"

he tilts his head. "i personally think it's better to learn about the other worlds firsthand. books can't capture everything about what living there was like, how the people talked and acted. what was your world like?"

conversation isn’t what he was after, intending simply to keep reading in the quiet of the library, but it’s always proved that humans were social and generally curious. it made blending in a bit trickier at times. but as he flips another page and gingerly brushes some dust away he partly turns toward oz.

“recently? i’ve been reading up about things like the multiverse theory and its recent credibility due to the claim of others here that they are from different worlds, further confirming that it’s possible that there are not one or two different universes but potentially many all branching off into their own existence. each instance being it’s own separate setting with different principles, laws, people, and customs… i think it’s fascinating when there are many things to learn and the fact it doesn’t simply end after you read about one person’s world also leaves endless things to learn.”

[retracedwill]

It's a good thing Albedo finally decided to move out of the way on his own, even if he wasn't really paying attention. A moment later, and Oz would've made the split-second decision between simply shoving the man out of the way or using him as a foot stool. Since quiet, polite words didn't seem to elicit much attention.

Nonetheless, he has his sought after novel in hand now. It's a good thing this library accesses things from different universes -- it enables Oz to finally catch up on his favorite series; even if Elliot had already spoiled the ending for him...

"It's alright. Must be a real interesting read you've got there, with how deep your nose is buried in it. What's it about?"

@retracedwill

albedo has a particularly bad habit of hiding himself among the shelves of the library deep in the forest, sometimes losing track of the time that has passed him by until someone finds him with his nose burrowed into a book.

though granted he doesn’t take note at first of the young man reaching to grab something from the shelf nor that he’s blocking the way, until several moments later when he sidesteps away with what he’s reading still open in his hand as if he’d hardly stopped reading for even a second.

“apologies, i barely noticed someone had joined me in this little corner.” he says offhandedly, obviously distracted.

[retracedwill]

"Absolutely not allowed."

   ' resolutions for the new year? '

   ' i'd like to finally die. '

[retracedwill]

collab with @ozwuv for our beloved 12/25 and 12/26 birthday girlies <3 truly nobody is doing it like them

[retracedwill]

Oz merely raises a skeptical eyebrow at him. The man looked and acted so much older than 25.

"I think convenience store is the term used these days. Whether there's much of a difference I have no clue, I've never really spent much time in a city before coming here."

"But, yes! Plenty of tomatoes to come around. Come on then, should be this way."

"Do I? I am but a young...25."

Well with how much stress lines Orson has, many people can actually think different on how old he is. After all when one love one di-

"Is it truly so near? And...a convenience store? You mean a general store? They sell tomatoes in huge bulk? How nice."

[retracedwill]

old stuff i don’t think i posted

[retracedwill]

The cursive wasn't a problem. Oz was raised as the heir to a Dukedom, after all.

.

.

.

That's a lot of tomatoes. Well, at least the list was simple.

"Good news! All of that can be found at the nearest convenience store. I'm pretty sure, anyways. Those are all common ingredients. A lot of the same single ingredient, but that shouldn't matter. Come on, follow me. It shouldn't be too far from here... Well, maybe it's far for you, you look kinda old."

"Hmmm."

There was a piece of paper with graceful looking writing on it, all in cursive which might be a problem. It was a lot of tomato based items in it, well its just mostly tomatos and pasta. It seems that that was all in the list.

And bread.

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"So... meat, meat water, and more water, basically? Heh. I have a friend who would absolutely love this."

He does try it. It's... well. It's something. He preferred things to actually have flavor beyond 'meat, with left meat, and a hint of salt.'

"Nephilim? Never heard of that before. So there's a whole bunch of big guys like you?"

War grunted in response to the apology. "Meat, and broth made from the meat. Also water. Hrm, and some salt. There is no secret."

"My size is due to my blood. I am a Nephilim."

[retracedwill]

what type of love do you attract?

you attract: longing

yearning from a safe distance; endless midnights of your mind being clouded with whoever it is you want to hold; catching small glimpses of the love you wish to have through flitting moments of smiling and gentle glances. you attract longing. whether that be your own yearning or a person yearning for your heart, longing surrounds you and encompasses the entirety of your life. you breathe and the people around you smile, taking second glances, feeling their breath catch in their throat. flowers grow to the direction of you. the sun rises to smile at you and wish you good morning. you attract ladybugs, butterflies, bumblebees, and all the insects that seem to flutter too fast to catch. there's no need for you to catch them, they just want to be there with you. you are a forcefield, a magnet for those who you've wrapped around your finger, perhaps unknowingly. you … are longing personified.

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Oh, well. The offer was made. He still doesn't get what the big deal is, but whatever. People were so strange sometimes.

"The market? Course I know where the market is. There's several all over the city, actually. Depends on which kind of food you're thinking of making, really... you got an ingredient list handy? Maybe I can help you find at least some of the things!"

"No no." He refuses gently, his voice is very quite and insistent on this part. After all what was the point if he knew in the back of his mind, that this fortune was not his own? Besides, he wants to make Monica happy on his own. No other interference...

"But thank you for the offer." he utterly ignores the hundred year old comment, compared to what he seen, one hundred year old people who look younger than him is not that unusual. or rather he's too focused on his wife to care.

"I don't suppose you know, where the market is. I was thinking of making my wife favorite, but I do not know where it is."

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"Not just?" Oz parrots, blinking owlishly at the man, at the hatter behind him. Always so angry. He wonders if it hurts, being so angry all the time. Being angry brought himself nothing but pain, after all. The Black Rabbit never wanted to be a destroyer, but that's what it was made to be. Perhaps the Mad Hatter truly does delight in its purpose. It's not exactly someone easy to converse with, so he can't exactly ask it, but he wouldn't be surprised.

He's grateful that Break can't see the look on his face, at all the blood. He almost freezes, the more of it he notices. It'd have been an awkward thing to acknowledge, surely. He doesn't want to look at it anymore. Looking at Sablier isn't any better, so it seems he's tough out of luck. Even if Break says he can hear something else, he finds himself hesitating; because, he knows what he'll see first. What he always sees first --

Then he hears it. Blinks. Whirls around to try and find the source. The note of the song that's out of place.

"Laughter?" He says, voice faint. It's familiar. He knows that laugh. It's something he hasn't heard in a long time. "It's... But..."

He blinks, and there's no longer broken bricks under their feet. Grass. They're in the yard of the Vessalius estate. There's no scent of blood. None of the echoing screams. The summer breeze ruffles their hair, brushes against their faces like a long lost friend. The sun is warm.

Then there's three distinct, childish voices laughing and shrieking as they run around. Oz and Gil and Ada, all so much younger than they were at the end of the tale. Well, Ada was a toddler and not actually capable of joining the boy's game of tag -- but she was clapping excitedly from the sidelines and shrieking with glee the way all small children do.

And a young Oz is carrying a fluffy kitty in his arms as he chases after a young Gilbert. Who's shrieking doesn't actually sound like childish glee at all. It's just shrieking.

The memories chase each other straight through the both of them.

"KEEP THAT THING AWAY FROM ME, OZ!"

   where everything started and ended, the tale's first and last letter. break is not surprised to hear oz and with mad hatter unbound, the chain immediately announces the presence of the rabbit. it's not because of him, but because of the question he prompts that break sends a burst of mad hatter's power around them and into the nearest portal, a rising and ebbing wave of shadow surrounding him. his gaze does not move from the opening into their world.

   it is rage, then, that keeps him adrift in the drowning of it. for the book to be closed on him, his story finished, and for the stars to so carelessly disregard it. they've found their end— there is no sense in replaying it in front of them. and yet, sablier spills over, the bricks beneath his boot so familiar, a distant sounding of a bell tower.

   ' not just, ' he replies, monotone. his sword remains tight in his grip, yet the only blood on his body is his own, dripping from his chin and nose. he's not unsteady on his feet yet, though. the anger drives him. ' i saw the raven, earlier. or, i heard. when we were first in sablier. '

   a pause. break's voice is tight. mad hatter's voice in his mind echoes, tells him to d̸e̵s̸t̸r̸o̴y̸. ' before i went blind. '

   the burst of power returns some information. break wipes his sleeve across his face, white against red. ' i hear ... something else. can you tell? you possess the same power as me. '

[retracedwill]

bnuuy