primrosella | Entries tagged with the lady or the tiger

[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

( All animals understand love and affection, but only man shows the propensity to place himself into the shoes of another lifeform... )

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[Accidental Video Post]

[The video opens on the Warehouse kitchen as viewed from the countertop, slightly obscured by the edge of a cookbook; a short distance away, busily assembling ingredients near a yellow mixing bowl, is Rosella. She's got her hair braided back as usual, keeping her hair off her face, and there's a bit of flour smudged along her cheek and dusted on her dress.]

Let's see...butter, sugar, eggs, flour, milk, vanilla--oh, and the lemon, of course, mustn't forget that--

[Any baking-inclined viewers in the audience might note the ingredients in question are all for baking something distinctly lemon-flavored. A cake, perhaps?

Any baking-inclined viewers that were around two Mays ago might have a very good idea why she's chosen to bake a lemon cake on this particular occasion.]

That's half a cup of butter, one and a quarter of white sugar...

[But then she stops, rolling her shoulders uncomfortably for a minute. She shrugs it off, resumes stirring, but then stops again and reaches behind her, frowning as she presses her hand against the apparently offending place on her back.]

Sugar...yes, that's right, and five minutes mixing them together.

[She begins to put the ingredients together, finding a spoon and stirring them a bit, before stopping and rolling her shoulders again--as the video ends.]

[OOC: With May comes lemon cakes! Because really, it's just a standard precaution by now, for a month when Adrastus is most likely to come to call. The game is afoot! Preparations are being made! And Rosella's old wound from the Ides of March last year is beginning to twinge up. The first part is a solo log for reference purposes; the rest is open to Network. ♥]

Current Mood: satisfied

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My, it's a lovely day out, isn't it? It's nice, really; I've gotten into something of a habit of separating curses into one of two kinds, either the sort that are awful or the sort that are ridiculous, but it's days like today that remind me there's sometimes a third kind as well--the nice variety. And I know it's rather against the point of a curse in the first place, being so nice when it's a common theory that the curses are there to breed misery to fuel the clock. But there's also been the theory that the clock doesn't only run on misery, but on any emotion so long as it's strong, so I suppose it's all right to have a nice one every so often. Certainly it makes us enjoy the nice ones more, knowing how much worse things could be.

~~The clock still isn't ticking. Why isn't it ticking, even now? Could it have stopped forever, somehow?~~

In any case, there seem to be cherry trees all over the City today, and all in full bloom! It's really just magnificent to see, and it seems quite a few people have had that very idea; on my way home from the Library, I saw all sorts of people just walking around in pairs and groups, enjoying the view and admiring the flowers. Quite a few of them were wearing the most lovely outfits, as well, rather like fine robes with very wide sleeves. There was a shop in the Square selling them, even, and when I stopped to admire them because they were so very pretty, the shopkeeper told me that all this is meant to be a festival of some sort, and that outfits like that were the proper thing to wear when viewing the cherry trees in bloom.

She was wonderfully kind in helping me find one I liked, too, and even said that if I came back a little later when she wasn't so busy, she'd show me how to pin up my hair and help me with the proper way to wear it, since it seems there's quite a bit that goes into it. I'm still a bit confused by it all, but it's such a lovely offer to make that I really can't resist giving it a try. After all, I haven't yet kept to my resolution and worn my modern clothes for the month, and if it's the proper thing to do for a festival anyway, then so much the better. Even if an outfit like that does seem a bit difficult to move around in at times.

But that's a fine way to spend an afternoon, isn't it? Dressing up and enjoying the flowers. I think it's just the sort of afternoon I need, really.

[OOC: Disclaimer: I am in no way an expert on (or even particularly familiar with) Japanese culture, and yes, Rosella's being almost completely superficial in wanting to wear a kimono just because it's different and pretty. So she's being kind of a poseur today. But at least she's not trying to dress herself, having never done it before. >> Anyway, feel free to spot her out and about if you want to action; if not, she's got her device with her.]

Current Mood: pleased

( 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

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[Failed Filter | Accidentally Viewable to Public]

PARTY
--Location

o) Gardens?
o) Palace?
o) Warehouse?

--Guest list
--Invitations

o) Out by Monday at latest

--Food

o) ~~Dinner?~~ No, that's too much for one little party
o) Snacks
o) θάνατος
o) Desserts?
~~o) Cake~~

--Music
--Decorations

o) "Crystal Ball"?
o) Find out about chocolate fountains
o) Fresh flowenslsossffffssssmmsss,usfsfosfff

[OOC: Hello, bad omens! The abrupt ending to this post (and failed filter) is because Rosella's poor skittish cat just jumped on her, which made her stylus drag across her device's screen--which the device promptly translated into a jumble of letters. And due to the fact that she'll be nursing a scratched hand for the next few moments, she won't realize right off that her filter failed--or that she unconsciously added "death" in Arabic and Greek to her lists.]

Current Mood: distracted

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[Accidental Voice Post]

[The snowy weather may be tapering off, but there's still plenty of it on the ground, which would explain the muffled crunching of footsteps through fallen snow that begins the audio. Fabric whispers over the microphone, most likely from the pocket the device has been slipped into; by all accounts, it's fairly clear that this recording is an accidental one. The noises continue for a short while, then slowly fade into silence--which makes way for the faint sound of water somewhere nearby to come through.]

Hello, Ellington. It's certainly been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry I haven't come to visit you more often. I'll be better about it when it's not so cold out, I promise.

[Fabric rustles again, and the device clicks against something solid.]

You're all right, though, aren't you?

[Silence and waves.]

I'm all right, too.

[More rustling, as hands slip into pockets, shuffling for something or another, and then a moment later a match strikes. A beat passes, and then a short whistle of breath follows, presumably to blow the flame out.]

I still don't know how many it ought to be, you know. But even if I did, I don't think I would've been able to find that many candles for it, anyway, much less fit them all on.

[A soft laugh, another rustle, and then a piccolo gently pipes out the notes to "Happy Birthday", which seem to drift in the chilly air until, just before the last note is played--the audio ends.]

Current Mood: mellow

Well, that was...er, certainly an interesting curse yesterday, wasn't it? I'm not entirely, um, sure what it was all about, other than that everyone seemed to be talking in fives. That is, the things people were saying didn't seem to have much in common with each other, outside of the part about it always only being five words. Why five words, I wonder? We've had plenty of curses before that have altered the way we speak, whether it's through forcing us into rhyme or verse or a sailor's brogue, but there aren't many that restrict the numbers of words themselves, I don't think. There's the one that goes in only three lines like poetry, but I don't think I recall one that keeps things to only five words.

I don't think I was cursed yesterday, either, which is lucky enough, I suppose. Perhaps I'd have a better idea of what it really was if I had been, but I'm certainly not about to complain that I wasn't. Still, no matter what it was, at least it seemed...er, harmless enough, and it's over now, anyway.

And wasn't that a lovely ball we had for Valentine's Day? Really, words can hardly do it justice, and I'm sure anyone who attended will agree. Oh, and I do hope everyone who went to Mr. Nekozawa's event had a lovely time, too, even if it was a rather...well, unorthodox way of celebrating the holiday. After all, a celebration is a celebration, and what matters is that everyone enjoyed themselves, isn't it? And it was certainly nice to have something to look forward to and get excited about, too.

But now things are back to usual--or as usual as they get in the City, I suppose--and I've still another four days to go before I can start thinking about the next great event on the horizon. So I think I'll spend the day looking over a new book of mine. Five words at a time is all well and good, but it's just as nice to have a whole book filled with sentences to pore over on a free afternoon, too.

Current Mood: thoughtful

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...That's odd, how did that get there? And it doesn't seem to want to come down, at any rate, so I suppose it will have to stay. It's a bit odd to think of a cat dancing, isn't it? And especially so when his partner has turned herself invisible; one would think she'd want to be the center of attention if she could help it, and show off her lovely dress for all to see. Though perhaps she's invisible because she's shy, or was made to feel ashamed of the dress she had, like Cinderella. Poor dear, I'm sure it was very lovely. After all, fur never does go out of fashion, does it?

Well, in any case, it seems I'm not the only one with dancing on my mind, if these cats are any indication. And how could anyone not, with a ball like Tamaki's on the horizon? And I must admit, I'm quite excited about the theme--I like all the parties we have here, of course, but the formal balls are really my favorites. They feel the most like home, and it's always such fun to see all the lovely ladies in dresses and their dapper partners dancing the night away.

And speaking of dancing, is it true that most people in modern times never learn how to waltz properly? Really, it's such a shame to hear. But there's still a few weeks until the ball, and that's certainly more than enough time for lessons, if anyone should like to learn how. After all, "practice every day has made / Pangur perfect in his trade", as the rhyme goes. And I'm sure there are enough of us around who do know how to dance, that we ought to be able to offer lessons for anyone interested in learning.

[OOC: She's in ur City makin ur lolcats relevant. Link is OOC and there for player reference, but she's definitely advertising for the ball--and yes, she's serious about offering dancing lessons for anyone who wants to learn how. After all, the more people dancing, the merrier! And if anybody else wants to get in on helping teach, feel free to chat Rosella up about it; she'd be more than pleased for the help. ♥]

Current Mood: cheerful

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It's strange how many stories involve a person being changed into something different, isn't it? It can be a bad thing, certainly, like a princess put under a curse and kept trapped that way until a prince can free her, but it's often a good one, too. A girl changes into a tree to keep from being caught by her pursuer, or a hero takes on the shape of something different because he needs an animal's speed, or its strength, or its wings. Sometimes it's a curse, sometimes it's a blessing, and sometimes it's even a disguise, a way of hiding in plain sight.

There are plenty of curses around here that change people into something different. Sometimes it seems as though that's rather the whole point of the curses in the first place--to make people into something they're not, whether in shape or in conduct. Sometimes they make us into completely different people, and sometimes they don't even leave us as people at all; goodness knows I've been changed into a bird enough times to realize that.

I wonder, though, about changes like that. For good or for ill, they're always--and pardoning the pun--changing experiences. And perhaps one of the best ways of learning about who we are is by learning and puzzling out what we aren't.

Dr. Chase, thank you again for the lovely bag you found me for Christmas. It's getting quite a bit of use today, as it turns out, since I'm sorry to say that the pockets that come with jeans really aren't suited to holding much of anything at all.

Which, I must admit, is quite a change in itself.

Current Mood: thoughtful

Oh, rats, it seems it's one of those weekends again, just the same as ever.

...Though come to think of it, we didn't have one of these weekends last month, did we? I do usually try to keep track of them as best I can, whether it's on the weekend itself or on the Monday just after, which seems to be one of the most constant things around here--that the Monday after a weekend like this will never have a curse on it, as though it's meant to be a respite after a whole weekend of trouble. And most every month I say the same thing--that it's one of those weekends again--but now that I think about it, I don't recall saying so last month. Did we miss one, along the way?

Last month was rather strange in itself, though, since we don't often have curses one right after the other, either. And of course, a random weekend like this is two days of curses, one right after the other, so perhaps the two have something to do with each other, after all. It's something to think about, in any case.

The good news is, I seem to have drawn a rather harmless curse today, and one that I've had before, though not...er, precisely in this sense. I do think I look quite nice, though, even if black isn't exactly my color of choice. And of course, the hat is just lovely as well. I suppose I'll have to take care not to let any children knock it off with snowballs, though, won't I? I hear that's rather one of the hazards of having a hat like this, after all.

~~The bad news is, I think I know exactly whose clothes these are, which means--~~

Oh, and I know it's a bit late, but thank you again to everyone who came to the arcade earlier this week! I had a lovely time, and it was great fun seeing all of you. It's always a fine thing to take time out and enjoy oneself, isn't it? And it's always so easy to focus on the bad things in life, so it's good to stop and remember once in a while to look at the good ones, too. And I'm so very glad for that.

Arthur, I know we'd planned for a meeting today, and I've been looking forward to it very much; I do hope you'll forgive that I'm dressed a bit...unusually, today. And of course, I hope you haven't found yourself cursed today either--though if you have, it's no trouble at all to arrange a different time, of course. As I mentioned earlier, the Mondays that follow these sorts of weekends are usually guaranteed to be free of curses. Or at least, as much as anything can be guaranteed in a place like the City.

And Miss Philomena, when you have a moment, I'd like very much to show you the--well, I think it's a rune, but I'm not quite sure, actually. I suppose it might be a sigil or a hieroglyph, just the same, but in any case, it's quite odd and I'd very much like to know what it is.

[OOC: And the name of the game is Wardrobe Switch! Specifically, she's traded clothes with Cain today, which means she's running around looking something like this. Fab Victorian gear, ho!]

Current Mood: thoughtful

[Accidental Video Post]

[The video clicks on with a shake and a rattle, displaying a wobbling view of stacked books on a table and full shelves in the background; given the way the stack of books seems slightly off-kilter, it appears that something has recently jostled the table--which would also explain how the device, abandoned nearby, switched on itself.

For a while, the video shows nothing but books, but eventually Rosella wanders into the scene, hair up in braids and her head tipped back as she surveys the higher shelves, clearly looking for something and absently talking to herself--as she is wont to do, when she is deep in thought--as her gaze flickers over the titles embossed in gold on the leather spines.]

Sigils, runes, symbols...um...hieroglyphs?

[She frowns, absently biting at a hangnail as she continues to think.]

Devices, emblems, logos, pictures...

[And she wanders out of the shot again, only to return a few minutes later with a new stack of books. Setting these down near the camera--which she still hasn't noticed is recording, being so absorbed in her apparent search--she takes a seat and begins to page through the books, studying their contents intently. Eventually, she comes to the book second from the bottom, and pauses in her skimming to frown at the pages.

But no, it's not the pages she's frowning at, after all; she reaches down and plucks a torn bit of yellowed paper from where it has been tucked--perhaps as a bookmark?--into the crease between the pages, holding it up to look it over. Observers with a keen eye may be able to catch a glimpse of this bit of writing before Rosella turns it over to examine it herself; it quickly becomes clear that, while this may not be what she's been looking for, it's something she finds intriguing nonetheless.]

My, that's odd...

[But then she looks up as a new voice rings out across the room, calling something that sounds suspiciously like "Miss, would you like to hear about my fungal infection", and Rosella quickly slams the books shut, which in turn jostles the table--

--and the feed ends.]

[OOC: Research, research! Rosella's in the Library investigating symbols (having seen one elsewhere), and is fair game for assailing with your Stranger Danger tales! Also, any magically-inclined viewers, especially ones with a specialty in runes and icons, are welcome to notice that the drawing on the bit of parchment is magical in nature, though I'd prefer if they weren't able to figure out what it is or does (though speculation is certainly welcome!).

TL;DR: Action if you're in the Library, Network for everyone else. ♥]