Quest 136

[primrosella]

...Goodness, when I was baking for the party tonight, I wasn't expecting this many visitors. But it seems you're all here again, are you? It's not quite so nice as being able to visit home, of course, but it's always lovely to have visitors. And especially for the holidays!

Just not Lolotte, please, not her--not again...

Hello, everyone! Do come by to say hello, won't you? It's always such fun to see you and visit with you. And of course, you're welcome to stay for the party tonight, if you'd like! I'm sure it won't be any trouble at all.

...Well, unless we run out of snacks, but it's not as though it's difficult to make a few batches of cookies in a hurry. Speaking of which, I rather ought to get busy with that, shouldn't I?

And of course...if there's anyone here from the land of Daventry, please do stop in to say hello. It's been quite a while since I last heard word of home, and I'd be glad for any news.

...My, what a nice way to end October. I think perhaps it'll turn out to be a happy Halloween, after all.


[OOC: /copies and pastes As always: Canonically, she's from just after the end of Perils of Rosella, and with some very disjointed and vague knowledge of Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder. If something comes up that I don't want her to know, I'll just have her forget it, so have a party--anything goes! HIT HER WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT.

Also, muns, keeping in the spirit of Ye Olde Text-Based Adventure Games, that down below there? Is a command prompt. If you feel like 'directing' Rosella to carry out actions like "get bowl" or "open door", she might just feel compelled to respond...unless it's too complicated, in which you might get a fun error message instead. (Guaranteed acceptable commands include "get", "look", "open", "close", and "use".) Have fun!

And of course, I am totally okay with backdating.]

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Comments

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

I've met more than enough zombies in my day, anyway. If I never meet another, it'll be too soon.

If by that you mean do I dislike them, then yes. They're unnatural.

[somekindofsin.livejournal.com]

Here, here.

Unnatural? Unnatural! Using penicillin as a medicine is unnatural, but should we stop using it to treat bacterial infections?

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

...Penicillin? What in the world is that?

[somekindofsin.livejournal.com]

You haven't--? Oh. Well. It's remarkable, really, but what I'm trying to say is that creating something new from nature isn't an evil thing. I'm something of a glorified mechanic myself, and I've known machinery to do a great deal of good if used properly.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

But it's just--

The gears and...things...it just feels so wrong, looking at it. Doesn't it turn your stomach, all of it?

[somekindofsin.livejournal.com]

[If it takes Carl a while to answer, it's just because he can't imagine not adoring gears and things.]

No. No, it doesn't. It's--erm. I suppose it's not beautiful in the way that... oh, a sunset might be, but have you ever truly examined a piece of machinery? Even a simple gear. There's order and symmetry to it, and every aspect of it has a purpose. There are no superfluous parts, no unpleasant surprises, no chaotic messes...

It's an acquired taste, I imagine.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

A sunset would be natural. There's nothing natural about machines.

Just--the most abhorrent thing you can imagine. The most hideous, unnatural obscenity you can possibly fathom--imagine that, and you'll know how I feel when I think of machines. I have a friend who prefers machines over magic, too. Like you do, I think. For him, it's black magic that makes his stomach twist that way, so perhaps it is for you, too. But for me, it's machines.

[somekindofsin.livejournal.com]

Ah. I see.

Is it simple enough to steer away from machines? You seem quite comfortable with the network device.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

The Network device isn't really a machine, though. I know it's not really magic making it work, but I do know it's more magic than machine. How could a machine possibly manage the things it does?

[somekindofsin.livejournal.com]

Perhaps there's a touch of magic, but the bast majority of it can be explained. Of course, even the 'magic' may have an explanation. Something that can't be explained by science may well have a scientific explanation waiting to be discovered.

The City's different, naturally. Nothing works the way it ought to here.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

And I think it's different in Daventry, too. Magic is a perfectly reasonable explanation where I'm from, and I don't see why it's so very hard for so many people to believe in it. But that's just differences between worlds, I suppose.

[somekindofsin.livejournal.com]

To each world its own.

You seem like a sensible young woman, Rosella. Tell me, what do you think this City's purpose is?

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

Its purpose?

...I've heard a number of explanations, honestly. Things about the clock counting down to catastrophe, and how we're all here to fuel it in the meantime, or how worlds will somehow end because of it, and all that, and I suppose perhaps that's true.

But to me, what I think the purpose of this all is? I think it's so that we can meet people we never could've on our own, and learn things we'd never have had the chance to learn, and somehow become better because of it.

[somekindofsin.livejournal.com]

That's an unusually optimistic interpretation! I suppose it's all the more remarkable for that.

Thank you for tolerating me, Rosella. That was quite enlightening.

[primrosella.livejournal.com]

It's the best explanation I can fathom, really. How could I ever have known, if I hadn't come here, that a vampire could have manners, or that people could fly through space like sailing on a ship, or that putting wheels all in a row on a set of shoes lets one skate on the ground like one would on ice? I've learned so much since being here, and grown so much because of it, that I feel as though there must be a reason for it.

Yes, of course, I'm glad to be of service.