01 - handwritten and voice

[somedaytogether]

[The page is covered with notes on the roses she has been tending – measurements of growth, records of infections and fungus attacks, times of watering – everything that might be useful to the next generation of plants. Rita reaches over and scrawls the number at the bottom of the page, and then watches in disbelief as half the notes disappear beneath a wall of text.

She reads carefully over as many of the old posts as she can, following the links to the FAQ. As she reads, she mutters out loud to herself.]

This is so weird. It seems so impossible, and yet it’s happening. I’m sure it is happening. I haven’t gone mad, though the world might have. And the roses. How do I explain them? Why do they feel so familiar?

[She realizes that this is being transmitted.]

Well that’s awkward. My apologies to anyone who runs across this. I didn't realize how, ah, flexible the system was. And if you are listening, then I suppose I should say nice to meet you.

Comments

voice {iphone}

[ursoreckless]

[his Japanese accent has gotten rougher over the past couple weeks, and now that someone had pointed it out to him, Shou's been trying to keep his English from becoming pure nonsense.]

Welcome to the secret numbers club. You'll be surprised just how flexible this system can get.

[voice]

[somedaytogether]

Well, uh, yes! It does seem that way. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed to be honest. I really want a cup of tea, but all the messages about the affected water are making me nervous.

[voice]

[ursoreckless]

Tea would be safe so long as you use bottled water. It's the tap water that we're having problems with.

[voice]

[somedaytogether]

I wonder if buying bottled water would be too suspicious? But I will have to do it no matter what, since we don't know when the water will be fixed.

[voice]

[ursoreckless]

Nah, you can buy it bulk and no one blinks an eye at it. I've seen housewives do it all the time.

[Voice]

[scramasax]

It's nice to meet you -- too. [The closing phrase invited response - he'll speak as certainly as he can...]

One of us has made a guide -- ...to - using the system. But I can't - show it to you - from here -- I apologize.

You find it would -- probably... have something to do with the roses -- ma'am.

Re: [Voice]

[somedaytogether]

Oh, that's alright.

[This person seems nervous, so Rita will speak gently, her most calming voice, the kind she reserves for very nervous students.]

Thank you for the help, though. It does seem like these roses are important. And at least they're beautiful. It could have been much worse, I imagine.

[scramasax]

((OOC: And drat, "finding" and not "find" in that last tag!))

[He's a little sheepish on the implementation of that voice - but at the same time he's subconsciously lulled into tuning his own a bit gentler - slips a bit higher.

But that last phrase catches him there. That does imply that she knows - she's already learned about the pulses, at the least...] It could have...

Ahmm -- ...Do you already know -- anything - ...about this? -- I - can -- try to tell you anything that you don't.

[somedaytogether]

((OOC: These things happen to the best of us.))

I think I have a general idea. Although anything you know about the, ah, echoes? Pulses? would be good. I'm still a little vague on those.

[scramasax]

[A beat. Followed by an idle "Er" for confirmation, and a few seconds of quiet - he wishes he'd first responded in writing, and it'd be awkward form to switch mediums now, as would turning the question back around...

Audible breath, and gets himself to a start.] ...We don't know exactly why they happen, but there's a -- there seems to be a cause... It - seems like they - happen in... response to things.

We're - still... coming up with theories on - what they... mean, also. -- Do you, er -- ...know... the - types of things they do -- yet?

[Drawn]

[shiromadoushi]

[[have a doodle of a rose with a long winding stem growing from a wizard's wand slowly drawing itself over the page.]]

[voice]

[somedaytogether]

Oh my goodness, that's lovely. I wonder who drew it.

[Rita looks more closesly, and smiles, a little cheekily. When she speaks her voice is teasing.]

Though the sepals are a bit short.

[Drawn]

[shiromadoushi]

[[a few question marks appear around the rose. While he did actually pay attention in bio class... It wasn't that close attention.]]

[Voice and Drawn]

[somedaytogether]

Hmm, look at this.

[Rita erases some of her notes - are they even useful now? - and quickly sketches a flower of her own. The best you could say for it is that it's anatomically correct. Rita is not an artist, and her drawings have no pop, no life to them. She labels the parts in a neat script. It looks a little like this.]

The sepals protect the flower when it's young. They have to be long enough to cover the bud, you see?

[Drawn]

[shiromadoushi]

[[a few experimental doodles mimicking her sketch before a new, much more wild twisty rose is drawn with the proper size ratios and all parts.

...and then starts to be coloured in dark purple with gold tips to the petals with silver sparkles emitting from the center.]]

[Texted]

[espigeonage]

Roses, hmm? Nice.

Congratulations and condolences. You've found yourself part of the Numbers Club!

[Voice]

[somedaytogether]

They really are pretty. Though they are giving my inner horticulturist a bit of a headache.

Thank you, I think. Do you have any advice?

[espigeonage]

Lol! How so?

Well I think all the important stuff is in the FAQ [Jules doesn't know she's seen it already. Pretend I linked it here, I'm too lazy to find it myself rn. :P] - careful what you say to who, don't trust the police, come to LSR if you want discreet medical treatment, be aware that you may start to mutate or remember terrible things or both...

Ah, also right now it might be good if you either avoid tap water, or only drink some if you've got no pressing business for some time. A good bit of the city's water supply has been contaminated and makes you start laughing uncontrollably, and gets you what some of us are calling a pulse.

[voice]

[somedaytogether]

Well I have several blue roses here, for one thing, and roses don't come in blue. They don't have the gene to make that colour possible. And the green roses are even worse, because green colours in plants are produced by chlorophyll, which isn't generally found in the flowers. In an odd way, the black roses are the most plausible, though real "black" roses are just dark red.

Thank you for the tip about the water. I'll go buy some bottles, I guess. The pulses are the, uh, weird moments, right?

[espigeonage]

Huh. Well, that *is* odd. I've always heard blue roses were impossible. Aren't there green carnations, though?

lol, the other me - the mysterious stranger I seem to be getting memories and body parts from - answers to the Apostle of the Violet Rose.

That's right! Aka extras or echoes. Bathing seems to be fine but drinking a cup or so really isn't, no matter what you do to it first.

[text]

[mezool]

you're getting memories about roses? lucky! that's so romantic...

[voice]

[somedaytogether]

Oh, well thank you. To be honest, I think the roses are pretty creepy. But considering what other people here have told me, I've been very lucky. I've heard some scary stories.

[text]

[mezool]

you're right. there are a lot of people going through weird werewolf transformations, getting some pretty scary memories, and on top of all of that the police aren't on our side. getting some weird info about something you don't like is... well, i guess it can't hurt!

i'm still wondering why you think roses are creepy, though. is there something wrong with them?

[voice]

[somedaytogether]

Indeed. It's a rather precarious position to be in, this Secret Numbers Club. I find myself hoping that nothing too precarious happens to me, and then feeling bad that I'm being so selfish.

They smell strange. Especially the black ones. And they make me feel sad but I don't know why. I'm definitely classifying them as creepy.

[voice]

[mezool]

i think we all feel the same way, more or less. so... since we all happen to be neck deep in this together, i feel like the best thing we can do is look out for each other.

so no matter what the name, they still won't smell sweet. i don't know if i can relate, but i believe you.