WEEK 4 - VENUS FLYTRAP

[foundationmods]

Another week dawned.

But after the events at the trial, more than a few people would have wanted for time to stop still.

In this game, even unshakable loyalties....could be broken.🗈

If that were the case, then what was stopping even more horrible crimes from happening this thursday night?
And they knew they could do nothing to stop it from happening.

...Still, they had to continue the game, until one or both of the Witches admitted defeat, or the game itself came to a close.

Yet, they also felt as if something might change. Some big reveal felt as if it was just around the corner....but for now, it seemed as if they had to play the waiting game.

No matter how awful that felt.

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Comments

[sotoshini]

[ Smiling wryly at this, particularly the turtle soup part. ]

Yeah, we can add that to the list. I think I'm starting to lose count. [ As much as he was flustered before, there's something kind of comforting in it. Not that he would say as much, but. ]

[anonnomnomnom]

Heheh, I think we're up to at least five things.

[He's been having fun counting, even if some of it is hard to quantify for various reasons.]

[sotoshini]

[ He murmurs a soft "Hmn" and nods. ]

I wonder how many we'll get up to. My turn, right? [ Not waiting for an answer here, but it's not like he's invested now or anything. ]

- I wish I was taller.
- I've walked three hours to school because I've missed the bus.
- I was a bad student...when I went.

[anonnomnomnom]

Oh, are we taking turns now? I like this idea.

[Two Truths and a Lie is totally new to him but he's up for the challenge?? He always is. There's a happy hum as he considers Natsuno's picks.]

Okay. It's the third one, because you said that school was your ticket out! The second one is something I could totally see you doing, and the first one would be fun to see, too.

[Some of these reasonings are legit and some are pure Anon, I guess.]

[sotoshini]

Right. [ For a brief answer, it sounds pretty pleased. ]

I have. Twice in one day sometimes, but it's not like I was missing out on anything. Gave the obaasan something to talk about too.

And the first one... a nurse told me I might still be growing but I don't think I can now. Maybe if I get better blood.

[anonnomnomnom]

[He gives a little cheer at getting it right.]

It's always good to get some fresh air, but those hags really, really don't have anything better to do, huh... The country sure is boring.

What does better blood mean, anyway? Maybe you can get some once we get out of here.

[sotoshini]

Mhmm. They gossip, they sit around and they die. Maybe we can see if the obaasan in the city are any better when we go.

[ Tapping a finger against his lip. ]

Blood quality between humans. I don't know if it matters and I blew up Tatsumi so I can't ask. [ The one downside to that explosion business. ]

[anonnomnomnom]

I get the feeling they won't be any better, just gossipy in a totally different way. That's true even in the Underworld, actually, but at least most of them are too busy training.

[Gossips are the same anywhere, apparently..... Infernals probably just do it over blood tea and blades. That's a joke.

Anon seems to give this some thought.]

Well, it sounds like this Tatsumi guy was pretty set in his ways, so maybe he wouldn't have given you good advice, especially for here. We have nonhumans, after all. Maybe we can catch you a dragon or an SCP made of blood sometime.

[Does. Does Natsuno really want to drink those.]

[sotoshini]

Least they would beat the other obaasan in a fight. [ Old lady battle royal? It doesn't sound like he would mind seeing that. Natsuno doesn't think too much into this though because then dragons and blood SCP happens. ]

Pass on the SCP. Blood doesn't taste good unless it's from a beating heart. [ Running his tongue over his fangs, thinking... ]

I wonder if dragons taste spicy.

[ Apparently yes, because he's embraced his #yolo unlife. ]

[anonnomnomnom]

They would totally beat them into the ground.

[They spend way too much time talking about old ladies dying but like, it's not like he wouldn't also be up for an old lady battle royale?? Bonding activities are important--]

Hahaha, you're thinking too small! I bet somewhere out there, there's an SCP that is just one big beating heart, or maybe a bunch of beating hearts working together.

Come to think of it, maybe some dragons out there have a bunch of hearts. And they taste like pepper.

[sotoshini]

[ They are and he nods approvingly. ]

I think I'd be tempted to eat the entire thing... [ Which may or may not be a good idea. ]

Like cows with their stomachs? Hmn. I like shichimi so sure.

[ ....just sign him up for this dragon thing. Maybe they'll forget. ]

[anonnomnomnom]

Wow, I knew you were kind of a glutton sometimes, but that's a whole new level. I don't know if even I would manage that in one go.

[That's totally teasing, Anon has no room to talk about being a glutton even if technically he doesn't consume, only absorbs. Sort of. Ish.]

Ah, I don't think I've ever eaten a cow stomach, though. Do you usually eat it with shichimi? Whatever that is...

[He's been puttering around the kitchen sometimes but all these specialty flavorings are still beyond him. And no, they absolutely have to go have Natsuno eat a dragon now.]

[sotoshini]

[ Natsuno knows it's teasing but Anon is getting a playful shove anyway. ]

Shut up. [ No actual pushback here either, he just needs to say it! Moving on though-- ]

Gross, no. I just know cow's have a couple of stomachs. Shichimi is a blend of all different kinds of pepper. You can pretty much put it on anything.

[anonnomnomnom]

Hahahaha, maybe I'd be down for an eating contest with you, though. I've never had dragon before either, so add a really big shichimi pepper shaker and it'd be all new things!

[He shoves back with a big grin -- and then he pauses. There's a moment where he rummages in his pockets and then oh, well, there's totally a red charm now. Thanks Natsuno!!!

Given that his word is eat he totally wasn't going to escape unscathed from this conversation, particularly with who he's talking to.]

Ah. I knew I was going to forget someday, but I'm totally blaming you for this one.

[He's just going to reach out and drop the charm on Natsuno's head with only minor petulance.]

[sotoshini]

[ An eating contest with Anon is a terrible idea but Natsuno just kinda lopsidedly grins at the challenge. He cocks his head to the side at the pause—ah? Oh one of those charms. ]

Aw, thanks. I guess I can ruin my track record of accepting gifts this once. [ That is totally sarcastic and amused. Fishing the charm out of his hair before it gets lost, just like- ]

I don't even remember where I put mine.

[anonnomnomnom]

Hmm? You have at track record of gifts?

[Anon seems to have moved on instantly from the loss of the charm, at least -- probably because it's a little like shooting fish in a barrel. He made an attempt and that's about all that can be said for that.

He seems much more curious about its new destination, at least.]

You should probably find yours eventually, though. Don't waste mine!

[That's probably not entirely serious. But he had to say it anyway.]

[sotoshini]

[ The charm will find a home in Natsuno's pocket, at least for now. ]

Yeah, I don't ever accept them. Even when someone tried to force one on me at a funeral because "she would have wanted you to have it". That time was the worst...she made a big scene about it and I just wanted to leave because it was hot and get kakigoori. [ Sighing like this was the most major inconvenience to him? Because really it was, Tohru promised him ice cream after and he was not about to be denied. ]

I won't throw yours away, I promise. [ Playful, but there's something sincere about it too. ]

[anonnomnomnom]

A gift is something people give you to get favors, right? Father said it's a good idea to be picky about them, but you don't have to be picky about the ones you give, usually.

[There's something a little odd, perhaps, about that philosophy coming from someone like him, but then, judging by previous mentions... He and his father are probably very different people.]

But that time with the funeral was with the useless love letter, huh... Kakigoori was definitely the better choice. If I ever had a funeral... I'd want to be totally on fire, and then I'd make everybody battle for the stuff I give them. It'd go on all day and all night, and maybe for a week.

[Why does he sound like he's given this some thought......]

I still don't know what we win for those things... So if you find out, tell me!

[sotoshini]

Or because you like them. [ Somehow he manages to say this with a straight face, it'll hit him hours later probably. ]

Mmhmm, I did get some after but it really wasn't worth all the trouble. [ Blinking several times at Anon's funeral wishes. ]

...it wouldn't be boring, at least. [ What else is he supposed to say to that? Nodding at the request though. ]

[anonnomnomnom]

Or because you want to blow them up!

[Because they're idiots and need to cover the whole spectrum of ridiculous gifts, and anyway they were already talking about Shimizu's weird letter, self-awareness isn't for a while across the board.]

Mm, it was probably better than nothing, anyway. I bet if we looked for long enough, we could find dragon-flavored kakigoori, too. [this is now a disaster, but he seems to just be getting more exuberant since his funeral is receiving approval] There's nothing boring about funerals if you do them right. If it's the last thing you do, it's gotta be the best.

[Or the last thing you don't do, but y'know.]

[sotoshini]

That too. [ He's amused at the explosion talk as always, of course. ]

Finding dragon kakigoori sounds easier than making our own. [ Speaking of disasters can you just imagine what a disaster that would be.

He falls quiet here for a moment, thinking. ]

Mmn, yeah. There were so many I got dragged to in Sotoba that I lost count. No matter who it is, that person is gone and the whole thing is just going through the motions. It's just a lot of looking at an empty husk and people falling over one another to comfort each other but actually just wanting comfort themselves.

...your way does sound better. [ Less pointless, even though he's slipped into a somber tone here just by association. Natsuno didn't care about funerals in general, but there was the matter of Tohru's, who's been on his mind a lot this week. ]

[anonnomnomnom]

[There's a little laugh from him as he lets his imagination run wild and free. Which is always a signal of impending doom.]

Ah, I wonder how you'd even make dragon kakigoori. I think you'd need to find a really good freezing spell, or someplace icy enough to stick an entire dragon into.

[But it would totally make it easier to share?? Just break up the dragon like one of those double popsicles. That's clearly the point here. He hums briefly and then falls silent, letting the mood settle a little, though his reply is still lighthearted.]

Right, when they all had that summer cold, huh. It's like looking at all the servants here and spending all your time moping at them instead of finding a way to play the Game properly. [zero!! sympathy!!] I bet I'm not the only one who wants a cool funeral, though. Sometime, I want to find out what the coolest funeral in the universe is.

And then I'll totally steal some of it.

[Does that give you the bizarre image of him swallowing an entire funeral. Good.]

[sotoshini]

[ Y'know he was thinking small. Like cutting off a slab of dragon meat and then shoving it into an ice cream maker or reducing it into a syrup and then pouring that over shaved ice. There's a realization on his face that clearly he wasn't thinking big enough, and he's spurred on by that laugh. ]

Someplace icy enough...like a glacier? [ What else does a dragon fit into? Why is he discussing this seriously and enjoying it? It's a mystery.

It's always easy for Natsuno to get lost in things: both the big and the small. Here it's a gentle redirect, connecting two different points together instead of getting stuck on what he usually does. It's this mix that makes him state this next idea completely innocently. ]

Cold, cool... if you had a frozen dragon at your funeral, it would be all of those things. And if it thawed people could fight it.

[anonnomnomnom]

[The real problem with Anon is that his limits are literally sky-high, so he has a tendency to push everything else in that direction, even mundane(??!) discussions of desserts. Think big, always bigger, and the mischief in his grin is just all over the place as he watches the changes in Natsuno's expression.]

Mmhmm, a kakigoori needs to be shaped, right? Glaciers are things that shape the landscape, so I bet they could shape a dragon. I've always wanted to see one work!

[Too bad glaciers move at like 0.5 miles per a zillion years. But look, he's all for brainstorming stupid ideas, that's his (their) entire brand for some reason. Anon cocks his head as the sudden idea smash happens, seeming a bit bemused but unsurprised somehow. He's done it before too, the whims and bounciness of his thought process keep up well with this sort of thing.]

That's not a bad idea at all, actually. Maybe the coolest funeral is the coldest, and it can be all super cold bodies! [why is this them, why is it all weird gallows humor] But the best way to thaw a frozen dragon is dragonfire, I think? So maybe I ought to have two dragons at my funeral. The second one can also set me on fire!

[sotoshini]

Mmn, it needs to be shaved. But first it needs to be frozen, so a glacier still works. I guess we don't need to shave it though, but then it would just be a dragon icepop.

[ Natsuno has no idea how glaciers work, but he has faith. Literally (subdued) kermit nod here until the fire part and then he laughs suddenly, taking a second to catch his breath. ]

I wish you could have given everyone in Sotoba that idea, then we wouldn't have had any Shiki to deal with at all. I'm for it.