primrosella | Entries tagged with bad memories

[Voice Post]

I, er...yes, hello again, everyone, it's so very nice to see you again! My, it's that time of the year again, isn't it? This must be our visit for the winter season, since the last one we had was, er, in the fall. It's, um, been quite some time since then, hasn't it?

...Yes, well, um. Yes. Er...

...Oh, honestly, this is ridiculous, I've never had such trouble with the visitors before--er, mostly, anyway, since there was that one time when--well, but that's beside the point. Um. It's just that there's someone here and I think he's been following me and I can't for the life of me puzzle out why, since every time I turn around he just up and disappears again! Honestly, I've never seen anything like it; normally the people who come to call are so eager to say hello. They don't usually sneak around in the shadows and turn up in nothing but glimpses wherever I go.

But, er, in any case, I am eager to say hello to people, and so please do stop by if you have a moment, since I'd like very much to visit with you if you have the time. And, er, I suppose if the person following me--or even if you aren't following me, but simply happening to turn up wherever I go on coincidence--can see this, too, then please do come out and say hello, yourself? I can't imagine why you wouldn't...

I'll be looking forward to it, very much so!

[OOC: As per usual, she's canonically from just after the end of Perils of Rosella, and with some very disjointed and vague knowledge of Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder. ~~Not that that really means anything to anyone, but.~~ 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. Troll, threadjack, have a ball!

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

(COMMENTS)

Current Mood: unsure

[Filtered from Known DELILAH Members | Blue's Codes | Unhackable]

Dear Father Christmas,

The first time I wrote to you was because of a curse, you know. It seems so long ago, really; that was for my first Christmas here in the City, and I'm already coming up on my fourth now. I remember I wished for all sorts of silly things then, too--for you to take the curses away, to bring me something that all the modern girls in the City would want, even to bring me a rather nice prince if you could manage it. I'm still not very good at being modern, you know, but I think I'm better at it now than I was then.

Oh, and I wished for my horse, but I think that was a bit more Sam's doing than yours, wasn't it? All the girls were wishing for horses, as I recall, but I think I'm the only one that got hers when the day at last came around.

But this year, there isn't anything I want for Christmas. I don't mind going without. I won't ask for a single thing, not to see Sam again, not for Daddy and Mother and Alexander, not for Blue or Penny or Duo or anyone else. I won't ask for horses, or princes, or anything for modern girls, or even that you do anything to make sure I'm happy when it comes around. I don't mind even that. I won't hope for a tree or a great big dinner or sleigh rides or presents or any of it, big or small. I'll go without a Christmas at all, and I won't mind it a single bit, if you'll only take away one family and reunite another in its place.

I'm terribly sorry to bother you--I think I must be cursed again. Still, I hope this letter finds you well, and that it hasn't been too much trouble, reading it.

Yours very sincerely,
Rosella

[OOC: All links are completely OOC and for reference only, and everything under the strike is fully illegible! She definitely scribbled over that one for about five minutes straight, making sure she got rid of it after she wrote it. o/]

Current Mood: quiet

( Private to Self || Hackable by Friends )

[Filtered from Known DELILAH Members | Blue's Codes | Unhackable]

I, er...that is, this may sound like a terribly odd question, but the Network does seem to be rather full of strange feelings and experiences today, so perhaps it's not so odd after all. But it's something that's been bothering me all day, and if anyone could help me find an answer to it, I'd really very much appreciate it--

What in the world is Turkish Delight? And, er, would anyone happen to know where I could get some? I know it sounds terribly silly, but I was promised some in a dream, and I never did get to have any before I woke up, so...

Well, er. I suppose I'd just like to have a taste of it, that's all. Whatever it may be.

[OOC: And today Rosella has

wandbreaker memory of...selling out his family for Turkish Delight. OH BOY. The dangers of having a sweet tooth!]

Current Mood: puzzled

[Accidental Voice Post]

[The audio opens, as most posts of the accidental nature do, with some shuffling, some rustling, some gentle flurry of movement--the swishing of skirts, the whisper of wind, the soft thud of footsteps against a well-worn path. Branches snap, leaves crackle; the footsteps abruptly go silent as a voice, startled, cuts through the background noise.]

Is that--

[A few rapid steps swish through the grass; the suspense hangs in the air another moment before the voice speaks again, this time heavy with uncertainty and disbelief.]

But it can't be--!

[Another pause, wavering amidst the wind and the rustling of nature. And then at last, quietly this time, as if the speaker were remarking to herself under her breath--]

I'd know that old house with the ghosts anywhere. The graveyard, the crypt...no, that's it, there's no doubt of it, but why is it--

[She trails off, hesitant, before something occurs to her--and the words take on a new, eerily emphatic tone.]

I wonder if that box is still there...

[The footsteps begin to rustle again, a little quicker this time, and shortly thereafter the audio switches off.]

[OOC: So there actually is a haunted manor in Rosella's canon, in which she meets some ghosts and robs some graves and dodges zombies like a boss. Oh, and it's also where she hid Pandora's Box all those years ago, locked up tight in the crypt. (Good old Whateley Manor, withdrawn from the charming little town of Innsmouth to the world of Daventry.) Obviously, the one she's seeing isn't the exact same one that she visited in Tamir...but of course, Rosella's cursed out of her mind and doesn't know that. :D]

Current Mood: curious

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I suppose there really isn't a great deal to be said about the past few curses we've had lately, other than to acknowledge that they were just as ridiculous as they always are, and to be thankful that it all seems to have blown over now. I hope everyone can be as understanding as possible in the aftermath--after all, the hardest curses to forgive really are the ones that need it most. I'm doing my best to be as understanding as I can be, too.

Oh, which reminds me--Sparrow, I'm not certain if it really was a fair trade, a yam and some other things in exchange for your movie, so if you'd like it back, I'll be happy to return it to you. But if it's all the same to you, I'd really rather like to keep it, if I may. I think I'm going to make a day of watching movies tomorrow, and this one looks wonderfully fun.

And, er, I know this is a rather odd question to ask, but it's been on my mind lately, so I thought I'd...well. It couldn't hurt to ask, I suppose, if anyone is willing to indulge me a little. There's...no real reason for my asking, other than that it's just something I'd like to hear:

What is your best friend like, City?

[OOC: So tomorrow marks the anniversary of Sam Witwicky's departure, and therefore one year Rosella's spent without her best friend in the City. Hence the curiosity. Also, my dreams have come true and she's acquired a VHS of Mary Poppins, which she'll be viewing tomorrow along with Sam's old copy of Transformers in memory. Good stuff! ~~Bodice-ripper? What bodice ripper. DENIAL IS NOT JUST A RIVER IN EGYPT.~~ What shenanigans will ensue from this? Only time will tell!]

Current Mood: thoughtful

( Personal Journal | Accidentally Left Out on a Writing Desk | Ideal for Dramatic Reveals )

{Correspondence Penned to a Helpful Matron | Unintentionally Viewable to All}

I cannot thank you enough for your discretion in this matter. As I mentioned when we first spoke, I am only newly arrived here, and have not yet had a chance to establish myself properly. Your kind offer, therefore, has come to my rescue at a time when I was otherwise at a loss.

If you could recommend me to a suitable modiste, and perhaps a way of securing some fresh flowers to brighten my rooms, I would be very much in your debt.

[OOC: THE PLOT THICKENS. So Rosella's got a secret; whatever could it be? ~~Hint: it's a cult.~~ The last entry in her journal is a painfully simple substitution cypher that I will gladly decode for anyone who doesn't want to do it themselves. Shenanigans, ho! o/]

Current Mood: weary

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[Filtered AWAY from the Deities | Attempted Unhackable]

I'm sure most everyone has noticed by now the carousel animals' recent habit of jumping off their posts and stampeding throughout the City. It's an unexpected occurrence, I think, but hardly a surprising one at this point. It's May, after all, and strange things always seem to happen in the month of May, just as October tends to be a particularly horrifying month when it comes to the curses.

Still, I think this May is turning out to be much different than the ones I've seen before it. It isn't the first time I've ever heard the clock wind down into silence, and it's not the first time I've seen the animals leave the carousel and attack the passerby. What is different, though, is how long things have gone on--and how quiet the deities have been in response to it. Horrible things have happened before, but it's strange that the deities have been so silent. Moreover, they haven't stepped in to intervene this time, as they sometimes have in the past. Last year they fairly finished off the shepherdess for us, and spent a certain amount of time talking amongst themselves about her, as well. But this year there's nothing, and there haven't been any unusual invaders the way there have been in previous years; on the contrary, it almost seems as though this year the City itself is acting to cause the mischief.

It seems clear, though, that the deities aren't willing to step in this time. They left us to manage the problem of the barrier for ourselves, and it seems as though they plan to do the same for the clock and whatever else might be tied to it.

Two words have shown up now, since this trouble seemed to begin--"death", and "IECENVDE", which we think might unscramble into the word "evidence". Death and evidence could point to any number of things, really: to blood, to wounds, to the graveyard, or to the dead in the City themselves. Blood and wounds, of course, are evidence of death on their own; a graveyard is evidence of death because it's where the dead are laid to rest, and where those places are marked with headstones. And it doesn't seem to make much sense, having a graveyard at all in a place where the dead are made to live again, but it's played a role in a few times of trouble before this--once when people that tried to escape the City were put into graves instead, and another time when it filled with all new gravestones, ones that bore the names of visitors that had come to see us, and digging down into the graves only led to a set of catacombs beneath the graveyard itself.

And then there are the dead in the City, who can't help but be evidence of death just by existing here. Adrastus's mother once suggested that she was the one who paid for the dead in the City, who gave them the chance and ability to live again here. And the first time I met her was just around two years ago this month, when she came to collect Adrastus in the beginning of May.

It's hard to say, with all this in mind, what might be going on. Whatever it is, it's certainly not a series of events we've seen before, though bits and pieces of it have shown up in other places here and there--the clock stopping, the harpies, the carousel animals. And all in the early days of May.

But I think what's becoming clearest of all is that things can't go on like this, and something will have to be done because the deities certainly don't seem inclined to do it for us. There was a second way of restoring the barrier, after the first came down; what's to say there isn't a similar way of restarting the clock, if we can only find it? That seems to be the problem most at hand; if the City revolves around the clock and it's the City that's against us at the moment, then perhaps mending the clock will also mend the City. Perhaps that's the thorn in the lion's paw that only needs to come out for things to resolve themselves again. ~~But I can't face that clock, I can't--~~

Which I suppose, at the risk of mixing my fables, leaves just one question: who, then, will bell the cat?

[OOC: Bzns has officially become srs. Anybody with information about the Omens Plot who wants to get together and chat it out, consider this an open forum to do so! Threadjack, talk amongst yourselves, whatever. Rosella, for her part, is still suffering from phantom pains and is fixin' to get that clock fixed; if she answers you in voice or video, feel free to notice she sounds rather strained and tense. o/]

Current Mood: determined

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...Yesterday was quite a curse, wasn't it?

I do hope everyone's all right today, and that no one found themselves seriously harmed by any compulsions yesterday. I suppose that's the sort of curse that could be as harmless or as dangerous as one cares to make it, really--or rather, as the one in power cares to make it, I should say. I know there were some people who tried very hard to make things easier on the people who had the misfortune to be cursed, certainly, and from what I saw on the Network, there were others who did everything they could to take advantage of the situation instead. I suppose I should count myself lucky I wasn't made to do anything worse than a few silly errands and some running around, really. It certainly could've been much worse.

Curses like that always put me in mind of marionettes, somehow. I had one as a girl, a gift from a gnome who was a friend of the family, and he showed me how to make it dance by pulling on the strings. I think that's a rather apt analogy for a curse like yesterday's, as well--one person dancing, and the other tugging at the strings to make it so. It's the same sort of thing, I think; the marionette can't help how it moves, and it's so all on the puppetmaster to determine how gently or cruelly it dances.

But of course, there's a difference between a person and a toy, just the same. ~~Some people on this Network would do well to remember that.~~

Still, it's over now, and I think I'm going to spend today doing whatever I want, however I please, in whichever order I care to do it. It's often said that we never properly appreciate what we have until it's gone, and if there's one thing yesterday's curse has taught me, it's that free will goes underappreciated far, far too often.

[OOC: Yup, she was cursed yesterday. Fortunately, Cain found a loophole and got her out of obeying everyone (at the expense of obeying him alone), so she didn't have nearly as bad a day as she could've. Which is why she's just kind of thoughtful and introspective instead of a nervous wreck, because control issues are big with her. Also, yes, she really does get locked in a torture chamber at one point in canon. Sierra, what are you even.]

Current Mood: pensive

( What immortal hand or eye could frame thy fearful symmetry? )

~
[Accidental Video | Open Action]

[It's late afternoon, dwindling into early evening, that finds Rosella in the Turnabout Cafe, seated at a table near a window and carefully sipping at a hot drink. Oddly, there's a bit of dirt and mud on the skirt of her otherwise neat dress--not near the hems, where one might expect it from some casual walking, but further up and streaked around where her knees would fall, as though she'd been kneeling on it somewhere outdoors. To anyone who knows her merely in passing, she seems normal and content as she drinks her beverage; for the people who know her well, it's a bit more obvious that something has rattled her. It's something about the eyes, the shoulders--she's decidedly more fidgety than usual as she talks to herself, the words almost too low to hear.]

...who lived upon a barge; in fact he was the roughest cat that ever roamed at large...

[She sips her drink, and looks out the window, and drums her fingers on the table as her lips keep moving, absently, repeating the lines of some rhyme or another she's nearly forgotten and trying valiantly to recall.]

[OOC: Please assume this is backdated a few hours! And so the Iconomancy plot marches on. The first part is a solo log and merely there for reference; the second part is open action for anyone who wants it, and Network for everyone else.]

Current Mood: shaky

HER MAJESTY QUEEN ROSELLA
Daughter of Graham and Valanice
~

Death came while she slept
To serenely dispatch her;
He'd tried while she waked
But he never could catch her.

[OOC: Funnily enough, ridiculous epitaphs are a part of King's Quest canon; graveyards are rare in Daventry (mostly because people tend to turn into zombies upon being buried in them, erk), but they do exist, and the stuff on the headstones is almost always humorous, ironic, or tongue-in-cheek in some way. Go figure. Anyway, thanks to the zombie thing, I doubt they'd actually bury Rosella, but I bet she'd get a memorial similar to this.]

Current Mood: oblivious

[Filtered AWAY from the Deities | Attempted Unhackable]

The word "harpy", it's Greek--it comes from a word I can't quite recall, harpa-something, I think, but it means "to snatch", and that's where "harpy" comes from: it means "that which snatches". Which I suppose means they're scavengers of a sort, and rather a bit like vultures in their own way, too. When things go missing suddenly and mysteriously, it's often said to be the fault of harpies. They're also often linked to storm winds, somehow, which I imagine is likely because they're both noisy, fierce, and generally harmful. Their talons are made of bronze, their wings of steel; they're always depicted as ugly, they live in filth and squalor, and their purpose, for the most part, is to torment.

I think, from what we've seen of the harpies, most all of that fits with the ones we've been encountering here. They're different in some ways--I think there's more metal to these ones than just talons and wings, to begin with--but they're certainly noisy and fierce, and there's no doubt that they've been tormenting us ever since they arrived.

The part about snatching things away and living in squalor seems to fit, too. It seems a great group of them have taken up residence in the remains of the fallen tower; I didn't dare get close enough to really look at it, but there's certainly some sort of structure there now, in bits and scraps of metal all put together, and I saw quite a cluster of harpies circling around it, as well.

I suppose it's both good and bad news, if they are settling in. Bad because the last thing we want is for them to get comfortable and entrench themselves here, but good because if they're mostly all in one place, then it's somewhat easier to avoid them. Or to deal with them all at once, as the case may be.

~~Or leave, but we can't--the storms outside the barrier, they're too awful, and yet I can't seem to get the thought out of my head, that we could just leave...~~

Still, there's something that I can't--that is, as odd a question as this may seem to ask, has anyone noticed a...stranger on the Network lately? Someone urging people to leave, perhaps, or claiming responsibility for the harpies? It seems as though there ought to...

...Well. In any case, if you have seen someone like that, please do let me know.

( Filtered to Iacho | Attempted Unhackable )

Current Mood: distracted

They do say history repeats itself, don't they?

This isn't the first time something has happened to the barrier. It was a little over a year ago, now, the first time I recall it happening; it was December, and Sam had been in the hospital, and the animals came off the carousel and started to lead the way out of the City. The barrier started coming down in bits and patches, and people saw all sorts of things through the holes--mostly visions of home, bu some people saw other things, too. Horrible things. And there was a man, one who claimed to be an architect, who arrived and said he'd done this to set us free and encouraged us to leave while we had the chance, but it turned out to all be a trick, and people who tried to escape only found themselves--trapped, instead.

And something happened to it just a few months ago, when we were all on that horrible train, didn't it? I remember looking out the windows and seeing things there, and there were monsters that jumped at the windows. Something went wrong with the Network devices then, too--they didn't seem to work properly while we were underground, and people had trouble calling out. And there was something wrong with the barrier then, too.

This isn't the first time harpies have come here, either, though I've never been here to see them myself. I've heard word of them, though. A cat, a harpy, and Adrastus all came to call a long time ago, and the clock stopped ticking then, too. I wonder if the barrier came down back then? There aren't many people around who would remember it, if it did; still, it'd be a useful thing to know, either way.

Adrastus has come several times, himself. I was expecting him this time of year last year, wasn't I? I always expect him when things like this happen. Last year we were waiting for an angel of death, and I thought he might be the one to come, and he did. I saw him, just for a minute, and gave him the lemon cake I'd saved for him. And then no angel ever came at all. That was this time of year, wasn't it? Which makes Spartacus a year old now, already.

The trouble always comes first, and then a stranger arrives. That architect, the shepherdess. Adrastus and his mother. We've had the harpies for two days now; if a stranger does arrive, it'll be soon. And they'll tell us we're all free to go, and we'll be left to decide, as always, if they're really telling the truth or if it's all just another trick to make us miserable and leave us as trapped as we were before.

The Carousel opens; that's how they got rid of the shepherdess last year. It opened into cogs and gears and they drove all the sheep into the hole it left behind, and the wool came back out of the mountain like an explosion. And the Carousel has something to do with the clock, and if the clock has something to do with the barrier, then the Carousel might be the way to find it. It's all tied together somehow, it has to be, and there must be a way to fix it all. The deities haven't spoken about it, and there's no telling if they will. They have before, but that doesn't mean they will again.

But what matters is staying safe until we figure out how to manage this. It seems as though the harpies are keeping their distance from the city proper today, doesn't it? There are more of them, one can see them flying about in clusters, but for some reason they aren't as quick to come swooping in as they were before. I'm not certain why that might be, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't take advantage of it while it lasts. So.

FOR ANYONE IN NEED OF REFUGE FOR THE DURATION:
Anyone is welcome to take shelter at the Warehouse for the time being. We're well stocked with provisions and have plenty of room for anyone in need of a safe place to stay in the midst of this chaos. If the Warehouse is too far to go, please feel free to call me and we'll find a way to bring you here safely; if it's still too much of a problem, I know we're not the only ones offering shelter in the midst of this, so there are plenty of options.

If there's one thing I've learned from history, it's that we all need to pull together in times like this. And if there's a second thing I've learned, it's that things always get better, if one can just hold out long enough to see it through.

[OOC: Yup, she's cursed today; her horoscope for the day is "Today is a reflection of the past, but that doesn’t mean you’re trapped in a loop. If you don’t like where you are, perform acts of kindness to improve your karmic balance. Things should pick up soon!". Hence the tl;dr. Enjoy this blast from the City's past? >>]

Current Mood: busy

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Last year, Penny told me that the holiday today is St. Patrick's Day, and that it's celebrated with all sorts of things, like green beer and shamrocks and four-leaf-clovers. It's a holiday I'll have to take back with me to Daventry, I think, when it finally comes time for me to go; I'm sure the King of the Leprechauns would be absolutely delighted by it. They're very fond of four-leaf-clovers, leprechauns, and the king in particular is quite partial to them. We'd always make certain to wear them when he came to call, back when I was only a girl.

He was rather fond of me, too, back in those days. I have a feeling it was something to do with the fact that we were the same height.

Though I've heard tell of people being pinched today, and it's something to do with the color green? I suppose that's not so difficult a thing to avoid, really, if all one has to do is wear a bit of green. Tuck a clover into one's cap or tie a ribbon in one's hair and that's that. I have a few green dresses I could wear, myself, but I haven't met my resolution of wearing a modern outfit yet this month, so I suppose I might as well manage both at once today, just the same. I'm growing quite attached to those sweaters with the hood and the zipper down the front, even if they don't go very well with a dress.

Only four more days until the first of spring! If that's not something to look forward to, I don't know what is. The party's coming along well, too, or at least as well as I can make it; it may not be the grandest of events, but I think it'll turn out nice, just the same.

[Filtered AWAY from the Deities | Attempted Unhackable]

But of course, there's still the matter of the tower near Building Three.

There's sand everywhere now, and unlike some other times when damage has been caused to a part of the City, it hasn't gone away on its own. I'm told that people found writing inside the tower, as well? The verses to a song about a bridge falling down, I think--which isn't so different from a tower falling, really. I'm also told that there's talk in those verses about how to build the tower back up again, to keep it from falling further. If that's so, I think it'd be wise if we all set about getting some of those materials together, in case this wasn't the only building that should chance to turn to sand and fall.

But that leads to the problem of what might've caused it. Has anyone spoken with a little creature named Iacho? He was on the Network playing with a sand castle just the other day, and he told me he lives in the Deity Building--which, I think, is a few too many coincidences to truly be one.

To say nothing of the fact that the tower fell on the Ides of March. I do wonder about that, as well.

[OOC: Whew! My apologies for the infodump; Rosella had a lot to talk about today. Yes, she is wearing green and therefore is safe from pinching, because she actually bothered to read the Network in advance for once. FRIENDS OF HERS, please feel free to assume you received an invitation to her ~~birthday~~ first-of-spring party this coming Monday; if you've spoken with her once or twice, you probably qualify. Also, if memory serves, there's really no such thing as filtering away from the deities on the Network, but she's trying it anyway. ♥]

Current Mood: determined

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[Voice Post]

Would anyone--

[A brief pause; a careful swallow. And then she tries again, her voice more steady than before, but thinner somehow, and a bit too cheerful.]

That is, I was thinking of spending the evening out tonight, if anyone would care to come along? Cain? Neil, Todd? Or Claire, or--it's just, I thought it might be exciting to make a bit of an adventure of it, and try something different, and of course adventures are always more pleasant with company, aren't they? And perhaps we could walk around and find someplace new to visit--a restaurant we've never been to before, or that building with all the lights and colors and games, or something else new and interesting to look at...

[Another pause; she feels as though she's doing terribly at this, but she's already lost out on one resolution after only a week of the new year, and she's loath to break another. So she pushes on.]

I think it'd be lovely to...that is, if it isn't too much bother, I'd like to see you. That's all.

[She's quiet another moment, but she's said what she needs to say, and so she quietly clicks the audio off.]

[OOC: More friends leaving = one sad Rosella. Please try to cheer her up, someone? She's having kind of a rough time of it.]

Current Mood: glum

( Private || Hackable by Friends )

This Year's Resolutions
1. I resolve to make peace with friends leaving, and learn to remember them without missing them.
2. I resolve to keep being happy and hopeful as best I can, since it's what I know my friends would want.
3. I resolve to make at least one new friend this year!
4. I resolve to try wearing modern clothes at least once a ~~week~~ month.
5. I resolve to keep learning about magic, and to make sure I don't forget everything I've learned already.
6. I resolve to continue beating Cain at things, because it's really quite fun when I do.
7. I resolve to be better about telling people when I need help, even if I feel as though I'm bothering them when I do.
8. I resolve to get enough rest every night, even when it's difficult to sleep.
9. I resolve to beat Edmund in a sparring match. At least once.
10. I resolve to stop fretting about turning twenty this spring, even if it does make me a spinster to do so.

I suppose it's still a bit early for resolutions, since we have another two days left before the end of the year, but I've been thinking about them for a bit and I had some time to write them out this afternoon, so I thought I might as well get them out of the way and have one more thing set. Especially since it seems I did quite well with my resolutions last year, looking back on it! I managed to keep all of them, and I even fulfilled one from two years ago that I didn't quite get to until the beginning of this past August. But it's better late than never, I should think, and managing eleven resolutions in one year is an even better record than last year's nine, so I'm already improving in that respect.

Oh, and thank you again for such a lovely Christmas! I had a lovely time with everyone I saw that day, and all of the gifts were just beautiful. I think I'll try Miss Saya's red coat one of these days, rather than my usual red cloak, since it seems we're back to snow and ice rather than sun and warmth. And all of the jewelry is so lovely that it really makes me a bit sorry I only have one neck to wear it on! Oh, and Percy, thank you especially for such a lovely time, and if you'd like to meet Ellington someday in the same way, I'd be very pleased to introduce you.

I do wonder if we'll see anything special on New Year's Eve, though. I seem to recall we've had fireworks before, which are always quite lovely to watch, even if they are a bit fearsome in the way they roar when they go off. And I think we've had a celebration in the Square before, too. So perhaps that will be something else to look forward to, as well.

But of course, that's the proper thing to do at the end of a year, isn't it? Looking forward? So that's just what I'll do.

Current Mood: contemplative

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Oh, it's Christmas again! Merry Christmas, everyone!

Goodness, just look at the weather outside! It's certainly not the same weather we had last year--as I recall, it was beautiful and snowy and white that day, and I was so excited because there wasn't a curse in sight--but it does seem to be traditional to have a bit of summer in the middle of winter here, doesn't it? And Christmas is as fine a day as any to have it, I should think. There won't be any snowball fights or skating on the ice, I'm afraid, but perhaps skating along the ground on wheels will work just as well, and I'm sure there are plenty of other fine things to do on a lovely summer's day in December. Wouldn't you agree, Cain?

Valor will be pleased about all this, I'm sure. I'd planned to go sleighing today and visit everyone I know, but with the sun shining so brightly and not a bit of snow in sight, I suppose I'll just have to go for a ride instead, and I'm sure that will do just as well. That was always tradition on Christmas in Daventry--going around to visit everyone and wish them a merry Christmas in person. But of course, we always had snow for it ourselves, and never any weather like this.

Oh, and, speaking of traditions...Nigel, Miss Saya, I put your gifts under the tree in the Warehouse, if you'd like to open them all together? It's...it used to be tradition, in my past Christmases here, and I'd like very much to continue it with the both of you, if you think you'd like that as well.

Merry Christmas, everyone! And I do very much hope your holiday is merry and bright.

( OOC: Gift List )

[OOC: Gift list ~~of DOOM~~ is underneath the cut! And Rosella went a little crazy with gifts this year, so if you've talked to her, like...more than once in the past month or two, be sure to check this list and see if you're on it. And as usual, all friends and acquaintances get a plate of home-baked cookies to munch on in their holiday season. Merry Christmas, Poly!]

Current Mood: content

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...I suppose this should likely go without saying, but it seems there's a curse today, the second of two in a row, just as we've been having for the past few weeks now. The good news is, if the pattern holds out the way it has been, then that means we shouldn't have one tomorrow--and I'm sure we'll all be glad for the respite. But at least this is an easy curse, unlike--well, some of the others.

Tempting though it might be, I do think it'd be wise to avoid eating any unusual mushrooms today. It's hardly wise to eat unusual food in general, but mushrooms do tend to be rather the worst of the lot, as unusual things go, and they often lend themselves to all sorts of trouble. My father ate one once that ended up turning him very small for a period of time, and while it turned out to be fortunate at the time that he did try it, it's still a rather dangerous thing to eat a mushroom without knowing exactly what it does or whether or not it's poisonous.

Though it is worth admitting that we've had a nice mushroom around before, too, but there was only one of those--since it was a rather special sort of mushroom--and it went to a very good use besides.

And it's Christmas in a week! That's certainly exciting, isn't it? So I think I'll be spending my day thinking of holidays instead of curses; it's much more cheerful that way.

[OOC: Badger badger badger MUSHROOM MUSHROOM. No, Rosella is not eating any of your mushrooms today; she's had a rather unusual week and is taking time out to recover, instead. Mostly by shopping, since it's some important guy's birthday tomorrow. >>

Also, unicorn shenanigans are on the horizon! Swing by that post if you'd like to be, er, mauled? :D]

Current Mood: busy

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I'm sure by now most people have seen these around the City; it's quite difficult to miss something like that, I imagine, when they're littering the whole Square like leaves from a tree. And likely that was the whole purpose of sending them in the first place, too--just to add a bit of insult to injury, and make us all the more frustrated at everything that happened this past weekend. ~~And it worked.~~ Something like this treats the whole ordeal as though it were nothing more than a joke, as though people weren't suffering and worrying and frantic throughout the whole thing, and it was all just another one of the City's games that lasted awhile and now has come to an end.

I remember a time once before when the deities took 'donations' from us. It was a whole month of tasks to complete--borrowing something from an enemy, making a loved one cry. And I remember the last was that they asked for our hair, as a donation to some unknown cause. And then that was the end of it. Or so we thought, until a few months later when suddenly all our hair was returned to us. It had been taken wrongfully from us, we were told, and some balance had been disrupted by it.

That was a long time ago, almost two years by now. I remember it was January or February, one of the winter months, because Sam and I had to go outside and bury onions in the snow because I never wanted to see them again after I puzzled out what he'd gotten them for. But I wonder what might come of all this, now, since the deities have made certain to thank us for donating our blood to them. Were our accounts really so out of balance that we owed it to them? Or have they cast things out of balance themselves by taking it from us? Because if it turns out to be the latter, then I expect this won't be the last we hear of it. Our dues may come due again, after all.

I wonder.

In any case, no matter what happens this coming Thursday, our Thanksgiving party will be going on as planned. Please do let Penny or me know if you'd like to come, if you haven't already--everyone's invited, but it would help to have a count of how many people to expect, to make sure we have enough of everything to go around. And please do come, if you think you'd like to; I think we could all use something to look forward to, at the moment.

Tamaki, if you'd be so kind as to introduce me to your friend Miss Maria, I'd be very pleased to meet her. I have a package here with her name on it, as it turns out, and I'd like very much to deliver it.

For anyone else that needs me, please feel free to call. I'll be in the Library most of the day, I think; there's something I need to take care of.

[OOC: Well, someone's in a bad mood. People dying needlessly at the whims of the deities kind of does that to her. >> If you're in the Library, feel free to action her up; if not, have a Network post! ♥

ALSO: regarding Thursday's dinner, is anyone interested in doing a (possibly heavily backdated, considering the holiday) log for the party? I can put one up if there's interest, or assuming is cool, either way. Just let me know!]

Current Mood: annoyed

[Accidental Video Post]

[It's just a bit past noon when the video flickers on--then off--then on again, wobbling in and out of darkness before finally bringing into focus the sight of a train compartment, and a slightly rumpled-looking girl sitting on the soft blue cushions, gazing intently out the window. Her own silence makes the noises of the train around her more pronounced--the rattling, the clanking, the whispering rush of air--and careful observers may notice that this girl's face is a shade paler than it normally would be, that her fingers are twisting in the fabric of her skirt in rhythm with the noise.

She hates this, the roar of the engines, the hum of machinery. There's a reason she never goes down to use the subway system beneath the City, even if it means a much longer walk above ground to get to the same place. There's a reason she has avoided this at all costs. She hates it here, buried underground in these tunnels, surrounded by the sound of the machines she loathes so much.

Her fingers twist again, the knuckles turning white, and the video dissolves into static.

But then, a few seconds later, it flickers back in again, and now Rosella's hand is pressed against the glass of the window as she leans toward it, as if that extra few inches will somehow give her a clearer look at--whatever it is she sees. Her voice, when she speaks, is quiet--and a little anxious.]

It's...it's a trick. It can't-- [A crackle of static; the video flickers.] --al. Can it? No, it can't, it's not...

[She slides closer, both hands cupped against the window now, her face pressed close with her fingers curled to reduce the glare off of the glass.]

They did this last ye-- [Static. But a bit of audio filters through, even if the video is still obscured.] --re we going?

[And then, after another few seconds, the video clicks on again--just in time to see a faint shape, deathly white, SLAM against the window from the outside of the train, and to witness Rosella jumping a mile at the sight, recoiling with a shriek that is half from surprise and half from horror.

Another flicker of the video, and now she is curled on the bench with her knees pulled to her chest, her hands over her ears, and she is mumbling frantically under her breath.]

It has to stop sometime. It has to stop. It always stops, don't look, don't-- [Static.] --ere, it's fine, it's fine, there's nothing there, it's nothing, it's--

[The train rattles, the door creaks, and the video flickers once--twice--and then finally cuts out.]

( OOC TL;DR )

[And mods, if I've gotten any of this wrong, please let me know and I'll fix it. o/]

Current Mood: anxious

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My goodness, wasn't that an interesting Halloween? It was certainly less busy than the one we had last year, since none of those visitors came to call this year, but I should think this one was plenty exciting enough on its own, just the same. That curse has happened before, I've heard--the one about people turning into their costumes, that is--and it is rather a shame to have to worry about things like that when picking out a costume for the occasion. But October is always an unusual month around here, and it's always better to err on the side of caution, really.

I do wish people would stop looking at me strangely, though. It's only a bruise, and there are much worse things I could've ended up as for a night than the princess and the pea, anyway. I wonder if there's anything around that might help cover it up?

But in any case, it's November now, and it seems things are finally settling down after the past few weeks, which means I finally have the chance to say thank you to everyone that was so kind to me throughout last month. I know some of you visited my, er, dreams, and that others of you were very concerned for me when I thought I was an angel, and I really do appreciate it. I'm quite all right now, if a bit sore and weary, and now that October is over with, ~~I hope~~ I'm sure we'll have some time to relax and enjoy some peace and quiet.

I think I'll go for a ride today, too. It'll soon be too cold out for it, if I wait much longer, and I have some things to deliver around, anyway. And Valor would be glad for the exercise, I'm sure.

[OOC: And thus ends another Doomtober! Which means Rosella's slowly getting back onto her feet, though she does have a rather nice bruise on her cheek from the curse on Halloween. Such are the hazards of dressing up as the Princess and the Pea when the City turns you into your costume. Also, she'll be riding around today dropping off wrapped plates of treats for her friends, so feel free to say she left you one, if you're friends with her!]

Current Mood: hopeful

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Princess Rosella of Daventry

Polychromatic

March 2025

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Princess Rosella of Daventry

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