First Song ♫ Video (Daemon: Apollod)

[hasitsthorns]

[ Hello, Xistentia!

For the most part, Rose has only graced the network with text based off the ice breaker games that F.A.T.E.S. encourages. Today, however, everyone is greeted by a video of the blond. She's pulling a Jenny ala Forrest Gump and appears to not be wearing clothes behind her guitar. She is, of course. A strapless bra and some underwear but the audience don't know that, which is just how she likes it.

The backdrop isn't her house with Vanyel, observant viewers who know where she lives might catch onto. It's actually the apartment she was designated when she arrived but had opted not to live in because of aforementioned prior arrangements. But now she's here and it has surprisingly good acoustics, so! She sets to playing the instrument soon as the video begins, melodic voice following soon after, ]

I woke up, on a wave that crashes, when will the tide return? And if you leave, with only ashes, can't rebuild what has been burned. And down the road, with all the seeds grown, and benefit of view we throw away, the things we want most, depending on our mood. I don't know where you are, I don't know where I'm going but I can't be that far from where your heart is flowing.

[ She continues to play until the song is finished. Once the last bars of the song hum in the air, she lifts her her gaze to look right into the camera. ]

Tell me, everyone. What does the word 'love' mean to you? Not a trick question, I promise, I'm just... curious.

[ There's a slight pause, as she looks away. Then brown eyes are fixed intently into the lens again. ]

Also, does anyone want to do one of those missions with me? I kind of want to get stuff done, honestly. Feel like I'm accomplishing something. Let me know. I'd be happy to do or help with whatever.

Comments

video; daemon: Gildad

[smileslie]

[as much as she would like to claim she's above being distracted by a apparently-naked woman playing a guitar by this point, Mandy most definitely isn't. So it takes her...awhile to actually realize Rose has done more than sing and look gorgeous.

She's grateful the way these things work means she has time to compose herself so she isn't flushed when she does respond. Well, not much]

Well, when I'm feeling cynical I would say it's just another four letter word. In a better mood, I'd say it means you'd willingly give just about everything up every material and intangible thing you have if the other person asked and quite possibly even if they didn't.

[a little pause of her own, because shifting the gears away from why her feelings about love are so--well, honestly, screwed up--is still not precisely easy. But at least there's something less serious, or at least less personal]

And I'm quite sure you've heard this before, but that was a lovely performance.

[that she is definitely not going to read beyond the surface of, nope, she knows the perils of that]

video;

[hasitsthorns]

[ Rose would probably like that reaction a bit too much, honestly, so it's for the better. Especially since that kind of attention has landed her in nothing but trouble lately. ]

Thank you, [ she answers, smiling a bit more sincerely than she might otherwise. Of all the things Mandy could have complimented,
it was her voice. That says a bit more than she even realizes. ]

I guess it does depend, huh? Some days I think it doesn't really a mean a whole lot, other days I think it means everything. Guess this is one of the days I'm feeling more the latter.

[smileslie]

[spending so much time surrounded by plastic smiles--wearing them herself--Mandy knows the real thing fairly well, and it's good to see it on Rose now]

You're welcome.

[it's just as sincere; she may have paid lip service to a lot of musicians in the past if they wore tight enough pants, but that was a long time ago. Now, even nudity won't keep her from telling someone when they can't carry a tune in a bucket. Well, probably not.

She sighs heavily, nodding]

Yeah. I've tried to tell myself it's just drivel made to sell greeting cards and to get us girls to sign a wretched contract without reading the fine print for...well over a decade now. Maybe one day I'll actually get myself to believe it. I'll probably have a bridge and a herd of flying pigs to sell you when that happens.

[hasitsthorns]

[ Rose has worn a veil long enough now to know how to tell the difference herself, in most cases. She'd be interested to know Mandy's of similar vein and the reasons why, exactly. ]

Well, one of the guys I'm with now doesn't really... Marriage isn't really either of our styles. [ She isn't sure about Farraige though, which. Maybe she should. That's a problem for future Rose to deal with though. Present Rose has enough on her mind without contemplating that. ]

Still a believer in love though, huh? Can't blame you. It's one helluva drug. Or so they say.

[smileslie]

I said it wasn't mine either, but it happened. And I can't even claim a spur of the moment Vegas affair neither of us remembered and got rid of as soon as we could. I got a proper proposal in the form of a song and it lasted five years Well. Three, three and a half when we were actually really together.

[she doesn't want to rant about how now she sees that it was a way for Brian to have power over her, even if it was only on paper, and that he'd used the open marriage talk as a smokescreen. Or maybe he hadn't, maybe he'd meant it at the time and just got lost. She'd like to say she understands him now, but she's sure he doesn't even understand himself. She'd also like to claim Ladytron doesn't still have the power to make her cry, but that would be one of the biggst lies she's ever told]

It is. And, having had experience with a fair number of others, I'd say it's one of the hardest to kick and not pick up again. The way I dropped it the last time certainly wasn't much prettier than what I've seen some of the junkies I know go through. I think, like the others, it's a lot easier to say you'll just be a casual user in theory than it is in practice. Like all those other illicit substances, it's got a nasty way of making you want it a lot more than you thought you would.

[she knows logically not everyone is the toxin Brian turned into, but it's hard not to be...well, the bitter ex. She hates that once more, she's fitting so well into the role she's sure he wanted her to fill]

daemon: janad

[bangitybang]

I will go on a mission with you, Rosie

Would you like to discuss what is going on at some point during the enterprise, or is the point to avoid such a conversation?

[hasitsthorns]

Thanks, Janus.
I appreciate it.
Anything you want to do in particular?

The point is avoidance, but we'll see if I'm actually successful in that.
I'm usually not.

[bangitybang]

I'm most adept at hunting and killing, but I think that may sound high-risk if you're feeling impaired. Are you feeling impaired?

There seem to be other ones. We could retrieve something of value to the community.

It might be healthier that you're not. I have read about it before. There is some healthy balance between dwelling and running away.

[hasitsthorns]

I'm pretty good at hunting and killing. And I've been more impaired than this and done it, so. We're probably good.

I'll have to try and find it.
Especially since I can't run away from here.
Not that I would, I
tried before in Eudio and it didn't work out so well.

[bangitybang]

Then we will hunt and kill.

You're the first I've heard who tried to run from Eudio. Others seem to have liked it there

video; daemon: kyd

[mordacita]

[ The view around Rafa is the interior of his farmhouse, and the chest and shoulder he's pillowed on belongs to Hunter, who can also be seen behind him here. He's dressed in a loose shirt with several open buttons, a far more casual look than Rafa ever allows in public. ]

I would be quick to come with you, Rosie, but my answer to your first question is distracting me. [ He looks up, smiling briefly at Hunter and then looking back. ] This is love. My Hunter and my Shane. My Nikolai is absent still, but two out of three...I cannot leave them alone just now.

What does it mean to you? Love. And why do you ask, I wonder? Something must have prompted that.

video;

[hasitsthorns]

[ Rose can't help the way she smiles at seeing Rafa snuggled up to Hunter. It's sweet. Bittersweet, a little, considering that she'd dressed (or didn't, as it were) in a way to show how vulnerable and naked and alone she felt.

Also, she just really couldn't resist the Forrest Gump reference. Who doesn't love that classic? ]

Thanks, dude. We can figure it out, but. Uhm. [ She glances down at the question, hiding the uncertainty in her face. ]

It used to mean weakness, actually. Maybe part of me still thinks it does. Now? I don't know what love really means. Guess that's likely part of the problem.

video;

[mordacita]

[ Rafa's expression flickers. ]

Yes. My father believed the same.

[ Which is more or less his dismissal of that opinion in general. Love as weakness. When he had killed his father for taking the one he loved from him, he had been anything but weak. ]

Nothing is stronger than love. It brings hope, and comfort, and happiness like nothing else in the world. We are nothing without it.

At least in my opinion.

video;

[hasitsthorns]

[ When Rose had killed everyone on her way out of the ring for taking the one she loved from her, she'd seen it only as weakness. As being no better than them. ]

That's... Maybe I'll start to try to believe that more.

Right now, it's a little hard to. Love seems to land me in nothing but trouble.

[ Maybe because she's confusing lust with love these days, but. That's her problem. ]

video;

[mordacita]

[ Rafa leans his head back against Hunter's arm. It's easy for him to take strength from love right now, with Hunter and Shane both with him. But Nikolai is still far away, along with the rest of Rafa's kingdom. Love is what keeps him determined to get back to them. ]

Sometimes it can be that way. Real love is worth fighting for. People would not say that if love was always easy.

What trouble are you in?

video; daemon: samueld

[salveo]

[ That was a lot for him. To hear his best friend sing, and also the nature of her question cut him to his core. He swallowed before he turned on the video to reply. ]

Hey gorgeous, I'd love to do missions with you.

About love, you know it's probably different for everyone, but... When I think of love I think about my family, my children in particular. I see them and I'm filled with pride, hope, the desire to see them happy and fulfilled, safe and healthy. I don't know if there's a simple answer, but that's how it is for me.

ow, i see that strikethrough 8(

[hasitsthorns]

[ She attempts a smile for Zeke, a reflexive sort of thing at the word 'gorgeous.' Even looking like an absolute hot mess, he can still say that? What a guy. ]

Awesome, dude, looks like I'll be keeping myself pretty busy at this rate.

[ Which is... exactly what she wants. ]

That's... a good answer. I don't have kids, so I can't say if I'd feel the same. I hope so? But. Hard to tell right now. [ Though Zeke is aware that she's more right than she knows. ] I think I still see love as vulnerability.

YOU'RE THE WRONG ROSIE, ROSIE 8(

[salveo]

[ chivalrous gentleman, right here. ]

Count me in, I love getting busy. [ wink. ]

I hope you do too. But trust me, the love of your family makes you stronger, not more vulnerable. Remember the stories of human moms lifting up cars to save their kids? Love is nothing to fuck with, it can make you the most powerful being on the planet.

That's how I feel, anyway.

8(((

[hasitsthorns]

You're my kind of guy.

[ Even if wanting to 'get busy' lately has led to nothing but trouble. ]

Does it have to be blood family, or- A family you made, maybe? Because my blood family is as good as dead to me, so.

I get it. I mean, maybe I don't, but. I get what you're saying.

[salveo]

[ You're my kind of guy, that made him grin. ]

Nah, blood doesn't matter. Two of my kids are adopted and I'd do anything for them, just like I'd do with the kids who share my blood.

And there are friends who I consider family, too. [ Like other-Rosie. ]

text; sorry that i want yet another thread with you

[ex_stony881]

[ he wants to answer her question, or try, and he enjoyed her song, but there are more pressing matters. ]

You're not wearing anything. Doesn't that get cold?

text; greedily hoards them all!!!

[hasitsthorns]

[ Clothes are like the least pressing matter always when it comes to Rosie. ]

A little.
But I couldn't resist the dramatic effect.
Or the movie reference!

[ Do you know how hard it was to NOT say something cheesy like 'maybe you should come warm me up,' Kaz. DO YOU. ]

[ex_stony881]

It's one way to put on a show.

I liked the song, even if I missed the reference.

[hasitsthorns]

It grabbed your attention, so I'd call that a good show.

[ whOOPS

well, whatever, it's sent. it's out there now. she'll just have to d e a l with it. ]

The song is from a band called Skyhill.
But the naked guitar playing is a scene from a movie called Forrest Gump!
We should watch it sometime, if F.A.T.E.S. has a copy of it.

[ex_stony881]

A movie?

[ what even. ]