[Catchall] Settling In

[pyrodulia]

Who: Agnes and You
What: The process of getting acclimated to a new body and a new world
When: October
Warnings: Mention of Agnes' canonical death (no details), discussion of gruesome use of human remains, cult activity, fire used to destroy important things.

She never actually put any milk in it. She never even drank it. She’d just take it over and sit there, staring out the window into the street for an hour or so, then stand up and leave. I’d go over to clear away her coffee. It was always scalding hot.

The way she always used to order the coffee, it always sounded like she was enjoying it. The order, I mean. Like the phrase “one black coffee with room for milk” was a delightfully novel thing for her to say.


1. Coffee
There was a cafe back home, the Canyon Cafe. Agnes started visiting in 1991, and she was certain that the staff noticed she didn't seem to age a day between then and 2006, when she...before she arrived here in Bottlecap Bay. She'd gotten into a habit, ordering a black coffee with enough room for milk, and then setting with the cup and not drinking a drop. It was the normalcy of the act of ordering she craved.

Here, though, adjustments need to be made. As a Ninetales (what a silly name), she can't exactly hold a mug, so the coffee is prepared and put into a shallow bowl for her. And as a Ninetales, rather than what she was before, she can actually drink it.

She's surprised, with the first sip, exactly how bitter it is. In fact, the look on her face might be comedic for onlookers. There is absolutely sputtering happening, and her tails all standing up straight like a row of exclamation marks.


2. Canopy
For some reason, Rimbombee went out of his way to ensure that Agnes's living quarters up in the Canopy are water-resistant, if not completely impervious to rain, making her more comfortable than some of the other Cheri Berries. In the meantime, though, she can be found exploring the Canopy as a whole or bringing messages from those standing watch to the main building.

There's a restlessness to her that's obvious if you watch her for long. But that restlessness was one she had since she was anchored by Gertrude Robinson. Then, she existed unable to fulfill her purpose. Here and now, she doesn't know what her purpose is.

If you're around the Canopy, perhaps this is a good time to meet the new recruit? After all, she's fully herself instead of Froslass's pet bitch now.


3. Chitin
Agnes has no issues with bugs, in the abstract. But the first time she sees a spider web bridging the gap from the branch of a tree to its trunk, her response is more than a little 'kill it with fire'. Which is especially dangerous considering she's capable of launching a Flamethrower without even thinking about it.

And now the tree's on fire, and the Joltik whose web she just immolated is very upset. Someone should do something about that. Like, now.


4. Wildcard
Catch me on darkersolstice, wherever you get your social media, to plot.

Comments

[pyrodulia]

She tilts her head at him, speaking slowly and enunciating every word, but not raising the volume of her speech by much.

"Neither of us have thumbs, sprout."

[friendlyflower]

"Don't I know it?" His tone is dry, sardonic. Almost unwittingly for the childish, almost cartoonish voice he uses. "No arms or legs, either. Maybe you could spare a tail?"

[pyrodulia]

"Would I still be a Ninetales if I did? But unless you know any avatars of the Flesh, I doubt I can just give you one."

And even if one were here, asking a favor like that would undoubtedly have a cost.

[friendlyflower]

Yet another weirdo, Flowey thinks. Well, he's one to speak. Still.

"No clue what you're talking about, lady, but it sounds interesting! 'Avatar of Flesh', huh? Is that normal where you're from?"

[pyrodulia]

"Not everyone has it in them to be an Avatar. But. There's a good few around."

Including her, though she was dedicated to a different Fear.

[friendlyflower]

He just blinks.

"Okay, back up a little. What's an Avatar?"

[pyrodulia]

"Someone whose entire existence is dedicated to an eldritch being that feeds on fear and hungers to end the world, so deeply devoted they they surpass humanity's limits completely in service of their patron."

You know, normal stuff from normal worlds.

[friendlyflower]

Interesting. Verrrry interesting. Flowey wishes he could've lived in this world!

(Or, maybe not. Only if HE could've had that much power!)

"And were you one of them?"

[pyrodulia]

"What a nosy question for such a flammable little sprout."

Her ears and tail perk, and she looks down at him in such a way that it gives the impression of a menacing grin.

[friendlyflower]

"Okay, okay, take it easy! I've got more Blast Seeds, you know! If you set me on fire, we're both going down!"

Was this a bluff? He had a tiny little sling where more Blast Seeds could be. He wasn't about to let her find out either way.

Anyway, her threat was all the confirmation he needed. What an interesting person.

[pyrodulia]

"I am taking it easy. You're the one who seems to be overwrought."

If anything, she's amused by him at this point. Like a cat looking down at a plump mouse.

[friendlyflower]

He gets the same vibe and he hates it. Being this powerless feels awful. Yet if he runs away, that might inspire the 'cat' to finally pounce. The best he can do is play along.

"Me? Overwrought? Nah. We're just two new friends talking!"

The one weakness he's discovered: she's afraid of bugs. Unfortunately, they pose little actual threat to her due to her Fire-typing.

[pyrodulia]

Oh, he's going to have an interesting time throwing bugs at her. She's afraid of spiders and their tangled webs, literal and otherwise. Girl would face down an angry Scyther without blinking.

"Please. I don't have friends." Her eyeroll is more a full-head roll, because her eyes lacks pupils and the gesture is wholly performative.

[friendlyflower]

"Wow! That sure is sad!" he says, cheerfully, realizing he is still easily in Flamethrower range. "You're sure are going to have a hard time here, edgelord!" (Pot calling the kettle black.) "Everyone here is so stupidly nice all the time. They want to go on quests together, have sleepovers, share meals..."

He... kind of relates to her. He might have friends, but he doesn't feel love or attachment like a soul-having person would. Though he is aware the hypocrisy of the fact that he's bemoaning others' friendliness while still talking to this near-stranger.

[pyrodulia]

"...tell you what people here are like..."

She's more amused than offended by that hypocrisy, thankfully.

"And I'm an edgelady, thank you very much."

[friendlyflower]

"Huh? What was that?" He heard that amused mumble. "Oh, you think I'm a hypocrite, is that it? I'm not like them. I'll let you in on a little secret, edgelord to edgelady: I don't have a soul."

It's not like it's a big secret anymore. And these idiots still like him without it for some stupid reason.

"I don't feel love or any of that mushy crap. The only reason I'm here is because you're new and I can tell you're strong." And he doesn't want to get burned to a crisp. "That's it. If you want me to leave, just say it. It'd be more refreshing to hear 'buzz off' than all the fake niceties."

[pyrodulia]

"Can you prove that any Pokemon do? Does this world contain such a thing as a soul?"

She doesn't know what to make of the bold declaration that he lacks a soul. She's never known if she has one or if the Desolation replaced it with something else when she was born. And the translation to another world might have affected any soul either of them may or may not have had.

[friendlyflower]

It's an interesting question which has come up multiple times, now. Unfortunately, he has no way of proving this one way or another. Alphys did the brunt of the soul research, and he only messed around with her findings.

"If nobody had souls, or if I got mine back, would we still be ourselves? Are we even who we think we are at all?"

[pyrodulia]

"If we're not, who are we?" She almost sounds amused by the questions. "In the absence of our original selves and the environments that shaped us, who do we become? How much of our previous lives do we cling to, and how much do we adjust?"

[friendlyflower]

"Golly, I guess it varies! Everyone's either trying to answer this for themselves or ignore it and hope it goes away!" Flowey says, still chipper. "My transformation wasn't that big. I don't have anything to go back to, anyway, so I'll be here even after everyone else goes home. But what about you, edgelady? You're good at asking questions, but how good are you at answering them?"

CW: death mention

[pyrodulia]

"Well, I just got killed before arriving here, so I'm not sure there's anything for me to go back to, either."

She seems to be at peace with that fact, moving her head and forepaws in a way that doesn't quite manage to capture the physicality of a shrug, but that implies the same in how the ruff of fur around her neck moves.

continued CW

[friendlyflower]

"Welcome to the club! I'm starting to think that's more common than not," he says with a wink. "So, you're still trying to figure out how to reinvent yourself, then, right?"

[pyrodulia]

"Something like that. Different body, different world, different expectations. It's more difficult than I would have expected. I knew from birth what my purpose was, but here it doesn't apply."

She lets out a sigh, her breath smelling inexplicably like struck matches and incense.

[friendlyflower]

"... yeah, again, join the club." Despite his abrasive word choice, he sounds thoughtful. "I was born with a specific purpose and I was brought back to life with a different purpose. When it was all over, I thought I'd just count away the days on my own. But then I got brought here."

He catches the smokey quality of her breath. He wonders if that's a Fire-type thing or if it has to do with her past... both, probably.

"Look at it this way! Having no purpose means you can make it anything. I've just been trying to figure out why we were brought here. That's a place to start!"

[pyrodulia]

"As you said, you have nothing to go back to. Are you trying to help everyone else get the fuck out of here, though?"

It's...a goal, perhaps. She doesn't know where to begin with it. The esoteric stuff was all intuitive for her.