thefoundation | WEEK 4 - VENUS FLYTRAP

[ What's dead may never die, except under the stress of flower crowns. Swaying at the flick looking like he might keel over onto Anon, because clearly there are more things worse than death than he realized. ]

I like accessories. [ And maybe he's not afraid to take on any challenge given to him. Or maybe it's something else, he has no idea right now. ] No. Lost a bet.

[He snickers a little at Natsuno's swaying melodramatics -- with his fashion in full swing and his boa in tow he is totally hamming it up, huh. Anon gives him a little shove to get him back on track.]

I did notice you like to have lots of things hanging off you.

[At some point he'll go full Final Fantasy with like 10 belts, we believe in him. Anon examines both the flowers on Natsuno and the bevy of bouquets decorating the table now. It's quite a spread.]

Wow, all this for a bet, though? Must have been some bet.

[ Jolting upright, he probably needed that. That gives him cover for the comment too, because he's not sure how to respond to it other than to blink a few times. Moving onward...! ]

Not really. But if I'm going to lose I might as well do it properly. [ The enunciation on the ちゃんと couldn't be anymore Japanese if he tried. ]

[Anon just raises an eyebrow briefly at him -- was he really in danger of falling over? are flowers really that bad for his pride and his aesthetic?? -- but allows Natsuno to get away with straightening himself up again. The state of the dining room is a lot more interesting for the moment.]

Ahaha, that's the spirit!

[He... approves, apparently. He's just going to reach out and start sifting through the flowers, sorting through all the different colors and probably just using the excuse the touch the petals and mess around with any leaves that are around. At least he's relatively gentle, so nothing gets too messy.]

I've never really made one of these before... How do you get the flowers to stick together, anyway?

[ They conflict with his edgelord image, and sometimes he's just needlessly dramatic. Nodding to the comment (thanks Natsuno thinks) he turns his attention back to the flowers, picking up a red and a yellow one. ]

You braid them together by their stems like this. [ Going to town and making it look really easy. Maybe he should have played Gardening Mama instead. ]

Oh! It's a little like braiding hair, huh?

[Because like, he has a zillion feet of hair and way too much time on his hands to try out disguises, of course he'd start messing around with it. And Anon is a quick learner, especially when it comes to physical activity of any kind -- he's snagged a pair of red and purple flowers, and he has the theory down, of course.

That being said, flower stems are a bit springier than actual people hair, so he has to focus on not letting them unravel before he's done with them. There's a little laugh when things turn out serviceable but definitely a little crooked and makeshift.]

This is harder than it looks. And you have to just keep adding flowers? I get the feeling this flower crown is going to explode before I'm done.

Edited 2019-04-19 09:38 (UTC)

Yeah or like braiding twine. [ That's why he knows what he's doing, his hairs never been long enough to braid. Nodding approvingly, that's probably the best effort he's seen so far. ]

...explode? [ Equal parts concerned and intrigued tbh. ]

What do you make with braided twine?

[He is not usually a handicrafts sort of person, if that wasn't obvious already.

He looks pleased when Natsuno nods and redoubles his efforts to add flowers again, though--]

And it's totally going to explode at this rate. I don't think they're braided closely enough together, so it'll reach enough flowers and... boom.

[He mimes the flowers flying all over them. It'll be great. We have no idea how many flowers he's planning to stuff into this crown.]

Edited 2019-04-25 11:27 (UTC)

Nets, patterns for furniture, rope to bind things together...stupider heart charms than the ones they gave us here. I think I could braid hair and bread though.

[ Staring at Anon for a second and then laughing a bit. ]

I look forward to seeing if flowers are worse than glitter.

Ah, I kind of want to see all of those things now. I didn't even know you could braid bread like you could braid hair.

[Anon seems somehow impressed by all of this?? Unique skills are cool in his book, okay, especially ones he hasn't had a proper look at before. In the meantime, he's still diligently working on the flower crown, motions becoming faster and smoother -- granted, the earliest flowers are already looking a little rickety, but it's fine.

He laughs a little back as he examines the problematic bits.]

I think flowers are easier to wash off, though, unless you really crush them.

That's what my mother would say. I have no idea how to make bread but I could try the hair braiding. [ Tilting his head towards Anon's hair. This is definitely one of those cases where he'll realize what he suggested after an initial delay, but for now he's playing it real cool. ]

I kinda want to see that now.

Hmm, which part?

[How many facsimiles of Natsuno's parents can he accidentally bring up: the several-part series. Anon also tilts his head for a moment as he looks between Natsuno and then the flowers on the table and also the hair falling over his own shoulder -- after a moment, there's a bright sort of grin about the idea, because it's definitely piqued his interest.]

I don't mind hair braiding, but we should totally make it a bit more challenging. Try flowers with it too? I want to see how good you are at both!

[Yes, that's absolutely some kind of dare and possibly also just messing around at the same time. He's still adding all kinds of flowers to his own crown. It's going to become a real hazard at this rate.]

I'll keep going with this, though it's probably not going to be a real race.

The braiding part, because I only ever did it when my father forced me to help him at the shop. She used to tell me that I could impress girls by being able to do things like baking and hair, but I didn't care so I never bothered to see if she was right or not.

[ Blink, blink and sudden realization. Oh he totally offered to try now didn't he. ]

...sure. [ He's about a second from slipping into way too formal Japanese but hopefully his moving about so he's in the position to start braiding masks it. ]

Maybe. You have a lot of hair. [ Said dumbly. Well at least it should be impossible to see how flustered he is from here. ]

Hmm. I bet she was kind of right, because I'm pretty sure you could impress just about everybody here with food and hair. There's a lot of people with nice hair and good appetites here, after all.

[Not that that describes present company or anything, why would you ascribe self-awareness to his thoughts about mysterious motherly matchmaking and bread. He's just a gremlin being helpful(?) and contemplating everyone's hairstyles.

Natsuno gets a curious glance because Anon definitely caught something there, but since he's so quick at scooting away he manages to escape any follow-up! Instead, he's now trapped in flower braid hell. Congratulations, you played yourself.

There's a bit of a laugh as he adjusts his seat so that he's facing the back of the chair now, and then quite helpfully gathers his hair over his shoulders and shakes it out a little. It falls all the way down below his waist and so it trails halfway to the floor at this point, thick and soft and extremely pink albeit a little roughly grown out at the tips.]

Mmhmm, I haven't had it trimmed in a little while. It seemed like a bad idea to ask the goats.

[He may be extremely carefree but he may also object to having his hair chewed on. There's a little hum as he goes to continue on his flower crown, too.]

I'm not interested in impressing anyone. [ That is the truth, even if it's spoken as he gently takes strands of pink between his fingers to begin the braid. He's maybe surprisingly careful about the whole thing, and there's a note of softness that flickers in his voice which betrays just a hint of something else. ]

Seems like something they would do. I'm not sure if I need to worry about mine because it's not really grown out much since I came here.

[ His locks aren't completely static, but it's likely he wouldn't need a haircut for at least a year at it's current rate. ]

Heheh. I thought you'd say that. I also told Sakura this, but sometimes it's just really easy to feed people cookies instead of telling them secrets. People really like secrets around here, anyway.

[He sounds more like he's idly commenting than actually trying to prod at Natsuno's statement, a little distractedly but still diligently working away at the flower crown that's starting to look more like a flower necklace at this point, drooping a little and not quite unraveling but definitely beginning to gain too many flowers.

There's a little sigh that interrupts his hum when Natsuno starts working on his hair that sounds like it wasn't entirely voluntary; it's not quite the first time he's had someone else do his hair -- but it's probably been a long, long time. He leans his head on the chair back and relaxes a little more into it.]

I think your hair might just get fluffier instead of longer. But the more hair you have, the crazier it gets, so everybody's probably going to look a little scruffy once we finish this Game.

[He's also going to just start passing back flowers since he's closer to the table and actively sorting them. Up to Natsuno if he wants to use the haphazard ones Anon is giving him or go for a color scheme.]

Taiyaki is better than cookies and secrets. [ Which shouldn't be too surprising, cause he's never been one for gossip (just dragging people) and cookies are fine but not his favorite. There's something about getting a steaming fresh taiyaki from a food stall during a festival too. ]

I think it would be both. My father's hair is longer than mine and it's pretty poofy even when he kept it tied back. [ Just a guess though, because Natsuno has always preferred his hair short in comparison. Maybe for convenience and maybe because he didn't want to emulate his dad, who knows. He takes those flowers without protest, trying to sort them a bit before he picks one to star interweaving between the start of the braid. A red one first works. ]

Oh? What kind of yaki is taiyaki?

[There are so many foods he still hasn't tried yet, so of course he'd perk up at the mention of things like this. Besides, if there's something better than both of the things he mentioned, and something Natsuno would insist on, then he's doubly curious.

There's a little bit of a rhythm to it now, sorting flowers and weaving them in, reaching back to pass more to Natsuno and letting himself slowly fall into the same pattern he can feel in the faint tugs coming from the braid. There's definitely something extra soothing about it.]

If your hair were really, really long, I bet you could use it as a cape.

[Because it'd fan out?? Like, totally a Dracula cape?? He's being silly now.]

[ Hmmn how to describe taiyaki... he thinks a bit, pausing in the braiding and letting one of his hands fall to the side. It brushes against something in his pocket, which gives him an idea even if it doesn't solve his food dilemma. Meh, just going with it now. ]

It's basically a pancake in the shape of a fish filled with red bean or custard. They're really good when they're fresh, the red bean are my favorite. We never had them in Sotoba except during festivals though. [ Pausing again at the mental image imagery of this hair cape. That earns a huff, and when he starts again Anon will feel something heavier being woven into his hair. Very sneakily of course. ]

I'd rather just buy one, maybe in a cool pattern.

[The flower crown is now approaching flower necklace-and-a-half, though Anon's actually slowed down a little bit in between everything else, weaving motions smoother and lazier than they were at the beginning when he was just starting to get the hang of things. It's a background hum like the feeling of Natsuno's fingers in his hair, the brush of flower petals as he continues to clear the table.

He's not sure how to describe any of it, but it's something he thinks he'd like to stay in for a while.]

That definitely sounds like something I'd want to try. I wonder if we could make them here? It seems like kind of a waste to have them just for festivals, even if I kind of want to see human festivals, too.

[There's a brief questioning glance back from him when he feels something distinctly non-flower in the braid, but he doesn't bother to pull away to really check.]

A big bright cape to wear for stuff like that?

[Festivals, he probably means.]

[ Consider: flower boa. On Natsuno's end he's also settled into this rhythm they have going on; it feels both strangely natural and refreshing in a way where it would be easy to zone out except his interest is keen as ever. ]

We could try, but we'd need a mold. I guess we could ask the goats for one, but then we'd have goat shaped taiyaki....yagiyaki? [ The glance will be met with a small upturn of his lips: mischievous yet gentle. He adds one more of the heavier weighted object before he's clearly back to weaving flowers only. ]

Not unless I was part of a kagura—a religious dance. That's about the only time I wouldn't mind bursting into flames like the lame vampire stories say.

[A flower boa or multiple flower boas is possible, but at the rate he's going (and the rate his hair is going), they might have at least one flower bomb going off first. Anon is definitely not paying as much attention as he should to the structural integrity of the thing; he's distracted in at least three directions, even if his voice and posture are as relaxed and nonchalant as ever.]

Hmm... What are you up to?

[That's said when he feels the second weight in his hair, though it's semi-rhetorical and he doesn't look back again, content to comment on it and wonder if he should take wild guesses at all of Natsuno's mysterious smiling. He doesn't mind finding out later, either. It could be a surprise.]

I think I'd be happy as long as there was a yaki, it doesn't really matter what shape, right? If it's all fresh and sweet, that should be enough. Unless you want to eat a goat for real. [he may have eaten not long ago but his stomach is definitely going to sit up and take notice if they keep talking about this much longer!!] A vampire being in a religious dance sounds funny, though, is that why you'd suddenly burst into flames?

[...]

Actually, that would just be a jinrouyaki.

[ Semi-rhetorical question or not, Natsuno hums, pausing in the middle of weaving in a flower. He could just leave it at that, but he leans forward in a faux attempt to straighten the braid out, whispering into Anon's ear. ]

It was a promise, mn? [ He snaps back straight into braiding and weaving, like that interlude didn't happen at all. He's nearing the end here, though his pace has slowed; maybe he's being more careful or maybe he's trying to make excuses for himself to keep going as long as he can. Both are likely. ]

Right. There's imagawayaki which is like two pancakes without any animals at all. [ Pausing and letting out a huff that quickly turns into laughter and is entirely too playful. ]

No goats. No religious dances either, I really won't catch on fire so try not to eat me.

[His shoulders twitch a little in surprise at the whisper, leaving him blinking a couple of times before Anon remembers what he was doing and what he's about -- though obviously there's a lot more questions now, he fidgets briefly before poking at his weaving again.

He tilts his head back a little bit into the braiding even as it slows, letting the rhythm settle his thoughts and movements again. He sounds amused, though, when he speaks up again.]

Heheh. I wonder which promise it is?

[They kind of. Ended up accumulating quite a few somehow, same as commonalities, same as all the hats they keep stacking up. Anon is pretty sure he remembers them all, even though he's dancing around it, answering playfulness with playfulness.]

If I don't get a dance and you don't get goats, then we definitely have to get one of those yaki. Or all of them. That's my condition for not eating!

[ There's only a slight pause here, just a second where he lingers too long between laying one strand of hair over the next. They had made a bunch of promises to each other, huh? It stirs a funny feeling in his chest that's not unwelcome, even if he can't really place it. Something to think on later maybe, as he smooths over missing a beat with an answer at the ready, an unbidden hum preceding it. ]

Not the poison oak promise, unless one's going to spring up in the middle of the foyer. [ Adding one, two, three flowers to cap off the braid. The flowers are overflowing as much as the note of warmth that reverberates though his tone. ]

We can get all of them—I'll even buy them for you. But you're buying the kakigoori after.

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