thefoundation | WEEK 4 - VENUS FLYTRAP

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.]

[ 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. ]

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!

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. ]

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.]

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. ]

Edited 2019-05-13 19:52 (UTC)

[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.]

[ 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.

[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!

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.

If we're just adding more dragons onto the pile, I want to try a kakigoori one, and an icepop one, and maybe also a roast dragon but the glacier isn't going to help with that. How much are you up for eating a bunch of dragons?

[This has gone so far beyond drinking dragon blood and a paltry eating contest, what is even happening anymore. Anon seems perfectly happy to just keep speculating, though, and pushing towards more and more absurd lengths of dragon devouring. At this rate they're seriously going to cleanse some world of dragons.

There's a little quirk to his smile when Natsuno laughs, still that inquisitive tilt to his head but something pleased about it, too.]

Right! Because Shiki are totally weak to all kinds of burning, huh. Then it's decided. Only burning funerals from now on.

[Which still won't help with Nirrti's everything, but they can dream a little here.]

If you're going to have roast dragon then I want dragon hotpot. We can probably find a volcano to help with those. [ Demanded rather than stated, it answers Anon's question on it's own. This is happening now it's settled, for better or worse of all dragons and future worlds involved. ]

That and they can't rise from the dead if they're just a pile of ash. That'd be kinda a pain if they could, but then we could just vacuum them up.

[ They can dream—limitless, full of dragons, fire, and stolen appliance's from a certain plumber's mansion. ]

Ahaha, I don't think I've ever had hotpot from a volcano! You could have enough hotpot for the whole Game and then some. How many eating contests is that??

[There's something silly and somehow delighted about Anon's response, as he rocks forward on his heels a little bit, eyes bright. He's absolutely picturing eating dragon straight out of the volcano?? Who needs the pot in hot pot when you can just use the caldera. No problem, obviously.

(He enjoys the certainty of Natsuno's demand, too, the unnecessary seriousness of it -- between them this is totally going to get done, as ridiculous as it is, and that's something to look forward to.

He's always liked dreaming big.)]

And if the vacuum doesn't work for the Shiki, we can just throw them in the volcano. I'm not sure how good the seasoning would be, though.

[ He falters just a second, but recovers quickly enough. It totally didn't just occur to him how ridiculous this all sounds, but they can work it out later. ]

Neither have I. It would be... a whole lot of food. Enough to feed all of Sotoba, probably. [ Sometimes you need to state the obvious because it's necessary and sometimes you need to because all you can do is pretend you know what you're talking about.

Making a face at the suggestion cause here he does know what he's talking about? As much as he tries not to think about it. Hngh. ]

They don't taste good, it would ruin the hotpot.

[Anon catches the faltering, easily as he catches everything else, but he just cocks an eyebrow at Natsuno -- unrepentant, almost challenging -- and there's something laughing and almost approving in his eyes the deeper Natsuno digs himself into this literal volcano of exploding ideas. All the same, he's still listening and happily considering, because of course he is.]

I bet eating dragon at all would knock all of the town's socks off! It's almost a waste! [they totally wouldn't appreciate it, after all] I'd say we should keep most of it for ourselves, and then use the rest of it to knock everyone else's socks off.

[It's much more likely that they'd kill someone or set everything on fire. But it's fine!! He watches the play of expressions across Natsuno's face. Shiki are totally a complicated topic, huh. Hmm.]

That just means we need a few more volcanoes.

[Good thing those come in chains.]

Half of them would probably die from shock, so maybe it wouldn't be a complete waste. [ Here he grins, fang-fulled and all, this is terrible. ]

Yeah, that would work. I don't know what we could add for spices, though. [ He's clearly riled up from the thought of watching half of Sotoba drop dead, but he taps a finger to his lip, thoughtful. ]

They're really delicate over there, aren't they? Heart attacks, dragon attacks, all kinds of things... There's so many ways for them to freak out and die! Or die and freak out.

[After all, that's a possibility too when it comes to Natsuno's hometown. Apparently.

There's a pleased curl to his grin -- he'll take this as Natsuno's response to his challenge, and it's totally more than acceptable because all these weeks later bloodlust is still an excellent common past time. (It might have gotten worse at this point, but who's keeping score?)]

Hmm, shichimi to start-- [since that's where they started somewhere in the endless roll of this thread, wow] --but if you want something with more kick to it, maybe some spices from the Underworld would work. I hear humans have something called a ghost pepper, but the stuff we have could probably make the ghost pepper into a ghost!

[That makes no sense but whatever. You get the idea.]

Mmhmm and because they're mostly so old too. [ There's almost something bragging about this, because it's the one thing he doesn't really need to worry about anymore. And hey, he's all about embracing who he is now right? ]

Shichimi would be good start, yeah. As long as it's not a Shiki pepper. [ That also makes no sense, but he's joking here going on his expression and delivery. ]

We should try that, though. It's not like it could kill me or anything, just make me really thirsty. I wonder if blood would help there...

[ Licking his needle sharp incisors, it's apparently something he's wondering about for the first time. He really has come a long way to normalizing his blood drinking these past few weeks. ]

It's definitely past time for them to step off the stage already.

[There's laughter in his voice and irreverence all over, because what is respecting your elders. He literally threw that so far behind him it escaped the gravity of the planet and catapulted off into space and possibly into another Fragment -- perhaps one where things went very differently. But that's neither here nor there.]

I don't think I want to eat a Shiki either! They sound like good hunting, but not very tasty for vampires.

[As if he's ever nabbed a vampire?? There's just the most casual shrug here in response to Natsuno's own contemplations, teeth in his own grin.]

Blood for one of the real hell peppers doesn't sound like a bad way to go, though.

[ That earns Anon a dark laugh—respecting your elders had been so drilled into Natsuno upbringing but it amounted to nothing in the end. All they did was sit around and complain about not breaking customs, gossip, and become literal fodder for the Shiki.

When he recovers he gives a sharp nod. He could talk about how it tasted but he only has one experience feeding from a Shiki, and he doesn't want to ruin this mood. Tohru mistakes can be for later in the week. ]

Then that's what I'll do. We can even make the human try one of the peppers first and see if they're strong enough to deal with it.

[ Let's just throw brainwashing on top of murder, why not. ]

[Sometimes you really have to kick the past to the curb; or at least the decrepit and rotting parts of it, the parts that only know how to talk and not how to act, the people who hold you back and everything else they've collectively disowned. Strangely, in a Game where they're trapped as Pieces, freedom seems more within reach.

So there's an answering and familiar gleam in Anon's eye, because here they go again, and he couldn't ask for a better way of discussing cuisine. Apparently. They can worry about secondary vampire cuisine later.

It's really a good thing they're still just starting to explore the kitchen at this point.]

Ahaha, I really don't know what would happen! Maybe it would be like Nirrti's flames, and they'd just get burned up, or there'd be a lot of screaming, so maybe you should get blood first. [because all of the above might happen??] I've really never tried feeding a human Underworld food before.

[From the way he says it, this was definitely an oversight.]

Edited 2019-05-24 01:33 (UTC)

Hmn. Blood first, but just a taste. If they catch on fire it'll be better than nothing, and if they don't then I'll be able to compare how the pepper affects the taste. [ Why is this what they're talking about. How did we get here.

Feeding still isn't something Natsuno likes to do but he's accepted it at this point, and the temptation and curiosity is very real in this imaginary scenario. He's licking his lips just thinking about it, there's still shades of his human likes buried in his jinrou palette and spicy food was his favorite. ]

It'll be a fun first experience, then.

Ooh. So like a taste test! I never really thought about it, but it's kind of like vampire cuisine... if you start feeding your food food.

[Sometimes you end up spending way too much time with a vampire, after finding out very recently about how exactly vampire lore works, and suddenly your perspective on the world changes in all kinds of messed up but interesting ways. Anon's learning a lot, and he has no idea why or how he's here, but he's here all the way. Somehow.

He's absolutely gauging the reaction and taking notes. This is a disaster for the future, please see the following:]

It's definitely going to be fun. I bet we can experiment with other seasonings and things, too.

That sounds funny. [ "Feeding your food, food." but he has a wry smirk on his face anyway. His sample size isn't very large, but he's fed from enough people to know that they all have distinct notes and flavor profiles. Thinking of that, what he likes best so far is... ]

Mn? I think that almost happened at the Foundation with my interviewer. I tried to bite him the first time and when he came back I think he ate everything with garlic he could find.

It is pretty funny. Nothing really changes depending on who I swallow unless they really come with something weird attached. I think the really powerful guys are tinglier, but other than that it's about the same!

Still, I haven't tried with that many weirder SCPs yet.

[Like, they've fed him a few Agents and he's definitely swallowed some less humanoid things at this point, but the Foundation was perhaps understandably nervous about feeding him anything too far off the beaten path.

And then he swallowed Ichigo and the rest is history, but for the moment he's still thinking in terms of flavors. Hmmmm... He definitely snickers at the thought of the interviewer scuttling away to drown themselves in garlic.]

Ah, how did it taste? Did you get him in the end?

Edited 2019-05-24 17:00 (UTC)

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