Princess Rosella of Daventry

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You know, I'm really quite aghast at the way everyone is carrying on today. Honestly, going around telling people you "ship" them with someone else, pairing them up into all sorts of different matches and whatnot? It's absolutely ridiculous!

Everyone knows that a pairing isn't a real pairing unless it has a name.

Really, it makes things so much simpler! Why go to all the trouble of saying you ship Blue and his trumpet together when it's so much more convenient to just call yourself a "Swingshipper"? Then everyone knows what you're talking about, and it saves so much time, too. Not to mention it's much easier to declare war on a rival shipper when they have a proper name for themselves. Really, let's at least try to maintain some semblance of order today, hmm?

Perhaps what we ought to do is contrive some sort of master list that everyone can contribute to. That'd be a perfect way to keep everything straight, and then we'd all have a single resource to refer to. It'd make an excellent addition to the Library, too, I think! Yes, I think that sounds like a fine way to spend the day, so that's what I'll do.

Oh, and I don't want to hear another word out of you Threadshippers today, either. I don't know whatever could've given you the idea that it's a viable ship, but there's absolutely no foundation for it, no matter how often you make claims of "UST" and "Foe Yay" and whatnot. So please do leave it alone, won't you?


[OOC: Ahahaha, I couldn't resist. If there is one thing that fandom has taught me, it is that ridiculous ship names are mandatory to the success of any pairing. Feel free to contribute your own, too--she's serious about that master list idea. Yay awkward!]

And so, yet another weekend of silliness comes to an end. I'm sure we're all glad it's done and over with, too, even if it didn't seem to be such a terrible weekend as some of them have been in the past. How many weekends like that have we seen now, I wonder? I can still remember when they started cropping up once a month or so, at some time or another, so it's been like this for less than a year and a half, at least. But it's still such a strange occurrence, and there still seems to be no real rhyme or reason to which curses come when, and who they will strike when they do.

The oddest thing, though--or at least one of the oddest, anyway--is the curses that seem to repeat themselves. I know I've been turned into a child several times now, and I've spent the day as a bird for quite a few of them, too. I was lucky enough to escape being turned into my younger self this past weekend, fortunately, but not quite so lucky as to avoid having the wings. Although spending a day as a bird isn't really such an unfortunate occurrence, honestly. There are certainly much worse curses to be afflicted with, and I rather enjoy the view of the City from the air, rather than simply from the ground.

Still, it's another weekend over and done. Just one more to add to my tally, I suppose.

It's funny; I do seem to have developed a habit of keeping track of these random curse weekends, haven't I? And I usually find myself writing about them after they're over, too. I wonder if I couldn't look back and find a pattern to them, somehow--but if there's a pattern, I haven't noticed it yet, other than that it always seems to come on a weekend and always once a month. Perhaps there isn't one at all, even. But it seems as though there ought to be, anyway. Just like everything else around here.

Or perhaps that's just my time here catching up with me. As I just mentioned to someone yesterday, I reached a full year and a half of time here earlier this month, and I hardly even realized it when I did. I'll have to keep better track of important days like that in the future, really. Speaking of which, it's just under a month now until another important one.

Which reminds me! Blue, I do hope you had a very happy birthday this past Friday. The party was just lovely, and your playing was as beautiful as always. It really brought the house-- Um. It really ended with a ba-- Er. It was a real smash hi-- Yes, I hope you had as lovely a time as I did, and a very happy birthday, too.

And come to think of it, I think I owe you a ball of yarn, don't I, Cain?


[OOC: Links are for OOC reference only! And yeah, I really dropped the ball on tagging the birthday party thread, but Rosella totally would've been there, so just...forgive my fail and assume? And if you want to say you saw her there or handwave any other shenanigans concerning the party, feel free! ♥]

There's really nothing quite like the sound of the commotion that this curse brings, is there? I can't even recall how many times it's come around, now, that I can remember. Four, is it? Or five? I seem to recall that it was Halloween the last time, and summer the time before it, and now this time it's winter. I wonder if it's something to do with the seasons, then, that makes it so that all the visitors can come here to see us when they do.

Still, it's nice, isn't it? That we'll all have the chance to see people we know, either from home or from acquaintance here, for the whole length of the day? And then tomorrow will be Valentine's Day.

Is it too much to hope for, I wonder, that the people they most want to see--Prince Mytho, Mikaela, Riff, all of them--would come today?

In any case, hello, everyone! I'm sure you're all quite busy making rounds and paying calls, but I'd be glad to speak with you as well, if you have a minute for it! It's always so lovely to visit with all of you.


[OOC: As per usual: 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.

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

Drat it all, now this is just getting ridiculous.

Really, I understand that there's a curse today and we can't help the actions we take when we're cursed, but must we all be so violent about things? Honestly, I can understand that being rated by someone else isn't exactly the nicest feeling in the world, but that's no reason to go around threatening to hit them! And particularly not like--oh, what was it? "The fist of an angry god"? Goodness, it's just terrible. What could anyone possibly do to deserve that?

Or that other one. I don't even know what I did to warrant it, but earlier today someone walked up to me all of a sudden and threatened to hit me so hard that it'd take the next King of England to pull him off me again! Really, of all the terrible things... It's horrible! And makes me even more convinced about taking steps to prevent things like this--

Honestly, it'll be over at midnight, and I'm sure we'll all be thankful for that when it comes. But can't we all just try to get along until then without losing our tempers?


[OOC: Yes. Yes I did. And yes, she is a bit cursed today, though she hasn't quite realized it yet. Feel free to rate her if you want, and she'll rate people who reply in one way or another, depending on what fits best. Or just, y'know, break her brain trying to explain "I'd hit it". =D]

Well, now that yesterday's curse has come and gone, and people seem to have successfully managed to keep from sticking to each other today, I think it's finally safe to get out of the house and give Valor some exercise. I'd planned to go yesterday instead, but of course yesterday's curse would've made quite a mess of that idea, wouldn't it have? I doubt it'd be a particularly pleasant experience, spending my whole day stuck to my horse, and I'm sure Valor would've enjoyed it even less so. But such is the nature of the City, and that's why it's always a prudent idea to keep one's plans as flexible as possible, just in case an inconvenient curse should arise at exactly the wrong time.

But now the curse is over, it seems, and I can get back to the errands I wanted to run yesterday. There are still roses blooming in Xanadu, aren't there? Even though it's winter out?

And even if there aren't, I could still use the fresh air--and the time to think.

Mm. In any case, this month has been much milder than some of the other ones we've had, and I'm glad for it. So really, we ought to make the best of it while we can, I think. It's two more months now until the first day of spring and my birthday, and next month is when Valentine's Day comes around, isn't it?

...Yes, I really do think we ought to make the best of things, while it lasts.


[OOC: And she's off to the Rose Path in Xanadu, should you care to see her along the way.]

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Silly as it sounds, it almost feels as though a dark cloud has lifted from over the City, doesn't it? And not just because yesterday's curse is over, though that undoubtedly has quite a bit to do with it. Of course, after so much anger and grumpiness yesterday, just about anything would seem bright and cheerful in comparison, but there's plenty more to be cheerful about than simply the end of a curse. It's a beautiful day in a brand new year, and it won't be so very long before it's spring again, either, what with how quickly time flies by around here!

A few months ago, as September was coming to an end, I remember saying that counting down the minutes until October was rather like watching a terrible storm coming from over the horizon. And for the first time in months, it really does feel as though that terrible storm has finally blown over, and blue skies have come back again to stay. And of course, things always go back and forth when one lives in the City, and of course there will be more troubles ahead--there always are, aren't there?--but for right now, today, it's all just as it should be.

Seven days into the new year, and already they've been absolutely full of surprises--whether those surprises were as great as the chance to see old friends again, or as simple as, say, being struck by a snowball while out for a walk. And sometimes the surprises are...things you never dreamed would happen, never dreamed were even possible, and yet they did and they are. Those tend to be the most marvelous surprises of all, really, and the ones that ought to be treasured when they do come around.

Perhaps it's tempting fate a bit, saying I'm in such a good mood that I don't think anything could ruin it today. But days like this come so few and far between that really, all I want to do is enjoy it while it lasts.

Did you ever manage to find a set of skates for yourself, Cain?


[OOC: So. What do you get when you take one dead best friend, send him home, and bring him back alive, courtesy of Robot Heaven? A veritable explosion of happy, in Rosella's case. It'll wear off eventually, but as for today? She is wired.]

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This Year's Resolutions
1. I resolve to stop tormenting Blue with puns. Well, at least some of the time.
2. I resolve to continue to be better than Sam at Mario Kart.
3. I resolve to listen carefully to my friends when they give me good advice, because I usually need it when they offer it, whether or not I realize it at the time.
4. I resolve to be more modern in some things, and to stay properly old-fashioned in others.
5. I resolve to trust the people who want to protect me, without immediately insisting that I don't need it.
6. I resolve to find ways to protect myself, so I can occasionally insist that I don't need it.
7. I resolve to be truthful. Especially to myself.
8. I resolve to learn how to drive the car, at least enough to get someone to the hospital if there's another emergency.
9. I resolve to stop worrying about love. Well, at least some of the time.
10. I resolve to make my father proud of me.

Well, last year I made ten resolutions and I ended up keeping all but one of them, so with any luck, this year will be the same. I think those are fine resolutions to have, though, aren't they? Even if some are considerably easier than others to keep.

Still, the point of resolutions is to give us something to think about and to strive for, so it only makes sense that some ought to be more difficult than others. There wouldn't be any point if they were all easy, would there? And if they were all impossibly difficult, one might get discouraged and never complete any at all, and then there'd be no point to that, either. So I think these are just fine, the way they are.

There's still a day and a half left, though. I might still--no. No, I think not. It'll just have to wait. And that's all right, too, isn't it?

Now then, other than setting resolutions, how does everyone plan to celebrate the coming of the new year?

[Accidental Video Post]

[The video, slightly crooked, opens on a warm, brightly-lit kitchen; from the angle, it is apparent that the device has been propped up on one of the counters, within reach but safely out of the way of the hustle and bustle that is taking place within. Something seems to be covering one corner of the feed, blocking off a narrow strip of the view, but it's not enough to obscure the lens entirely.

As cheerful Christmas music plays in the background, Rosella walks into view, bouncing along with the tune and half-humming, half-singing along. Her sleeves are rolled up to her elbows, her hair is braided up and pinned back off her face, and her apron (and a good portion of her bright red dress, as well) is covered in flour. She looks supremely satisfied with herself, and clearly hasn't noticed that the camera is on yet.]

Hmm-hmm-hm-hm, hm-hm, Christmas, it's the best time hmm-hmm year...

[She reaches over toward the device, and a moment later the obstruction clears; it was the edge of a cookbook that had been propped up next to it for reference. Still humming, Rosella glances over the book, then sets it down flat in front of the device and returns to her cooking, measuring ingredients into a big yellow bowl and giving them a good stir.]

...but have a cup of cheer...

[A minute later, an oven buzzer goes off and Rosella quickly looks up from what she's doing, wiping her hands on her apron and snatching up an oven mitt as she heads over to the oven and removes a cookie sheet, setting it aside to cool before sliding a new one into its place.]

There! Another batch finished. Just a few more to go. Now, let's see, that's...five by four, that's twenty more of the chocolate chip...

[She stands still a minute, gazing thoughtfully at the cookies, as though she is trying to make up her mind about something. A minute later, she snatches one up off the trap and pops it into her mouth, leaving about half hanging out. When she speaks, it comes out mumbled--and understandably so, what with a cookie taking up most of the room.]

...Nineteen more chocolate chip.

[Chewing happily, she returns to her mixing bowl and resumes cooking, humming along with the music once again and never noticing that the whole encounter has been recorded.]


[OOC: The end of her deity trade, the disappearance of her allergies, and the coming of Christmas have yielded the return of Happy!sella at last. Feel free to call her on her cookie-stealing shenanigans!

Also, people she's invited to Christmas at the Warehouse--is anyone interested in doing a log for it? Let me know and I can see about putting one up, if there's enough interest. =D]

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Thank you again to everyone who came to visit Sam in the hospital these past few weeks; I know he appreciated it very much, even if he may have seemed a bit, er, loopy at the time. In any case, he's back home in the Warehouse now, and doing well, and I'm glad for it. Which reminds me of another thank-you I ought to give--thank you to everyone who offered to let me stay with them while he was in the hospital, and for worrying about me, too. I'm sure I, er, rather gave you good cause for it, but I'm feeling much better now, too, so I suppose it's just a case of all's well that ends well.

I'm glad it's December now. Yesterday was another minor anniversary for me; one year and four months here in the City. It's strange to think it's really been that long, and stranger still that I can remember sitting around a year ago and thinking how I'd been here just four months, and how that seemed so terribly long. But of course, that's just how time works, isn't it? It flies by one day, week, month at a time, and the next thing you know it's been a year and here you are, just the same as ever. Or perhaps a little more grown-up, even.

But in any case, December means that Christmas is coming, and if that's not reason to get excited, I don't know what is! With any luck, we'll be able to have a great big holiday dinner here at the Warehouse, and a tree to decorate, and it'll just be a wonderful time to spend together with friends. That's what's most important during the holidays, isn't it? And if we can't all be with our families, then I think being with our friends is really the next best thing.

So that's that, and we go on, as we always do.

But speaking of going on, I, er...I suppose I ought to ask: did anyone lose a hat yesterday? I seem to have attracted quite a few of them, somehow, over the course of the day, and I'd like to return them to their proper owners if I can.


[OOC: So yeah, yesterday Rosella was cursed with the awesome superpower of Seducing Hats, so if you'd like to say she seduced your hat away from you and you want it back, feel free to assume and harass her about it! ♥]

Entry the One Hundred and Thirty-Eighth
In which Her Royal Highness Princess Rosella finds herself in distress, which is normal, and shortly thereafter drops a bag of peas on her head, which is not.
Once upon a time, in a rather strange land known as the City, there lived a princess with quite a bit on her mind--which was only to be expected, really, from living in a place like the City for so very long. She had made plenty of friends in her time spent there, and she had been through many curses, and that made for a great number of things to think about, especially for someone who, to be perfectly honest, often thinks about things too much, anyway.

As she made her way through the aisles of the little grocery shop, listening to the pleasant click of her shoes on the floor and scouring the shelves for the items she wanted, the princess let herself drift into thought. She'd had a lovely evening the night before, attending a surprise party for the eighteenth birthday of one of her dearest friends, and soon there would be another birthday to celebrate, for another dear friend. And of course, Giving Thanks--or rather, Thanksgiving, she quickly amended with a touch of embarrassment--would be coming up soon, as well. Yes, there were plenty of good things to look forward to, she mused, and placed a bag of flour into her basket.

But alas, her thoughts soon turned to other considerations, and these were ones of the not-so-pleasant variety. Many of the people she cared about had seen friends sent home lately, and while she knew all too well that there was really nothing she could do to fix it, she still felt guilty and worried for them. And then there were her own worries--ones that had been piling up, bit by bit, over the course of a few months now, that she had been trying to ignore and determined to overcome. So many calamities had occurred, arriving every few weeks, and while she always did her best to recover from the horrors of those calamities, she was also aware that she hadn't shaken those horrors completely.

As she added a bag of apples to her basket and then went in search of the yeast, she let her mind drift over the memories of the prison, of the loss of her heart, of the cannibals and monsters that October had brought about, and finally to the horror of her encounter with Lolotte in the pumpkin patch. The joy of seeing her family the previous weekend had helped to counter a great deal of the sadness and uncertainty these events had brought about in her, but unfortunately, countering sadness did not necessarily mean eliminating it entirely, and the princess knew all too well how the City seemed to thrive on misery. She had vowed that it would not extract any out of her in the month of October, and she took a measure of rebellious pride in the fact that she had succeeded in keeping her vow.

However, this was now November, and she had no such vow for this month to help get her through.

(And, of course, had she known there was a curse on this particular day, she might've chosen to put these thoughts off for a later time, so as not to broadcast them all over the Network. But alas, it was not to be.)

Perhaps it was just that the coming of winter made it harder to keep her mind on light and cheerful things, she mused, dropping two packets of yeast into her basket. It was difficult to be anything but cheerful in the spring, when the days grew warm and the flowers came out and the whole world seemed to come back to life again. Now was the time for bundling up against the cold and building fires to keep warm--the normal fires, preferably, ones kept to the hearth and not to couches or straw dolls--and with the evenings coming sooner and sooner, perhaps it was only natural to be a bit gloomy. And at that thought, her optimistic spirit briefly surfaced, and she thought that perhaps she'd just have to hang on that much more tightly to the things that did make her cheerful, to combat the gloominess. It may not be easy, she mused, but she had never let things being difficult stop her before.

All these things she considered as she absently reached for a bag of peas, straining on her tiptoes to pull it down with the use of two fingers, and it was then that the princess learned her lesson about why one should always pay careful attention when retrieving heavy bags of peas from very high shelves.