bottlecaplogs | October Catch-All

[Flowey has never met Umemiya, but he responds to the quest because gardening is easy-peasy and he wants to keep working up the ranks. Plus, it will make his beloved Death Blood Murder Skull Town look nicer. He meets up with the other person to sign up at the site of the garden.]

Golly, good thing nobody put up a scarecrow! Hee hee! [These are his first words to Cedric. He sticks out his tongue.] It's just a joke, pal. I'm Flowey! You must be here for the quest!

Gah!

[Cedric lets out a loud caw when Flowey speaks - oops, that's an Astonish. He really needs to control that. Anyway, he winds up blinking several times at the foot-tall seed next to him.]

Y-yes. Call me Cedric. And you're a... flower seed, I'll presume?

Aaa--

[Flowey flinched!]

Watch it, "buddy". You might end up hurting someone. [This is said with as much malice as a little sunflower seed can muster.]

I'm a Sunkern! Boy, you must be very confused by this whole 'Pokemon' thing? Need someone to explain it all to you? WITHOUT attacking anyone?

'Attack'? I did nothing of the kind, you are the one who-

[Then he stops, as this suddenly reminds him of how the ostrich reacted to his gasp. That can't be a coincidence... right?]

I'm adjusting perfectly well, thank you... but if you insist I'm woefully lacking in information, then by all means, explain away.

Have you ever done magic? Some of you come from worlds without it. You can do 'magic' here! That Astonish attack you just did... it has a certain power behind it that makes it more than just a caw!

[This is always hard to describe. It's about intent. It's about connecting with an instinctual power every Pokemon has. To demonstrate, he leans in and uses 'Absorb'... on a berry that fell to the ground, right behind Cedric. It withers and turns into a raisin before Cedric's eyes.]

See? Now you try using your power however it comes out! Just. NOT. On me.

Magic here? I mean, I knew that! I lived and breathed magic back home, I'd know it if it smacked me in the face! [Don't take that as an invitation.

Despite his insistence, he doesn't even try to hide the amazement in his eyes as the berry prunes up within seconds. This living seed can drain plant life here, just like a powerful fairy! He is impressed, and perhaps at least a little terrified.

Strutting up to another fallen berry, he stares at it for a moment before attempting... whatever he was doing. A gasp? He lets out a caw, but it lacks the frightful energy of his actual Astonish.]

Gah.

[Unsurprisingly, the berry does nothing. Maybe 'cause it's not alive? But then again, the seed- Sunkern- Flowey, seems to think something should happen, so he tries again with more insistence.]

Gah!

[And if only for a second, the berry budges ever so slightly. His eyes widen.]

Did that actually work?

[He's so proud! It's like he's watching a baby bird leave the nest.] There you go! You put a little 'magic' into it! That's why second time was the charm!

[Well. He's assuming that it worked instead of the berry rolling over due to Cedric just shouting with more force, at least.]

Golly, I'd applaud if I had any hands. You're a natural! [He can't resist sounding like a little bit of a condescending asshole, even if he is genuinely pleased.] You were a powerful magician back home, huh?

[He actually looks very pleased with himself until Flowey speaks again - so patronizing to someone of his occupation! So he replaces his smile with a pout and raises his head high.]

Of course I did, I am the royal sorcerer of Enchancia, you know. Saved the kingdom and the second princess, earning me the well-deserved title "Cedric the Great"!

Gee, I didn't know I was dealing with someone so great!

... Wait, hold on, what happened to the first princess? Eaten by a dragon or something?

[It doesn't occur to him that this might be a sibling type situation.]

[He opts to ignore what sounds like sarcasm to him, because he is great dammit, let him have this.

...That is, until Flowey asks that ridiculous question, to which he cannot resist rolling his eyes.]

The crown princess was perfectly all right. Her younger stepsister was the one who needed my help.

[~~A.k.a. the better one what do you mean he has a bias.~~]

[Interesting... very interesting. He picks up on the bias immediately.] Good to hear! It would be terrible if something happened to the crown princess and left the younger stepsister in charge. After all, merit isn't as important as birthright! Everyone knows that!

[He gets to work with Cedric while they speak. Mostly, he clears farmland- using his roots to remove stones and any impurities- and then allows Cedric to handle the planting and watering.]

What are you insinuating? Nothing is going to happen to either of them if I can help it! And if it came down to that, Sofia wouldn't be in charge, it'd be her twin brother Ja-

[Wait, why is he explaining this?]

Oh, that's not important! The point is, none of them are going anywhere! ...Except me, I suppose.

[He visibly droops and lets out a sigh before turning to the plots Flowey's prepared and... all right, dropping the seeds is easy, but it does take him a few tries to angle the watering can in his small form without spilling too much. After about the fifth attempt, he finally gets the hang of it - at least then the mounds are pretty neat for being prepared by a bird.]

Except you, hee hee! Who knows what could've happened by now...?

[He really has no reason to antagonize Cedric. He's just an asshole.]

... Unless you think they'd be fine without you, Cedric the Great.

[Oh, that stings. That stings a lot, and he doesn't want to admit that it stings a lot, but he's visibly ruffled (literally; his feathers are molting), and if he still had teeth they'd be gritted right now.

Ever since he found himself here, he's been trying desperately not to fret over what could be happening in Enchancia without him. The kids enjoying the summer at the castle before leaving for two brand new schools; the presence of these Mystic Isle Protectors that apparently Sofia knew for a while; the bloody "Elf Situation" that only recently got resolved; and all of it going on without his involvement. He knows they'll all be fine, they've easily proven their capabilities - but what if Flowey's right, what if something has happened or will? And last time, he was the only one who could help... if that were to occur again, who could step up...?]

[After much too long a time to really be nothing, he shakes his head and gathers up a stack of seeds to continue planting.]

N-never you mind Enchancia, you nosy seedling. Just worry about getting your cousins in the soil.

You think all us seedlings know each other? I'm touched. [Oh, to have so much family in the world.

He does do what Cedric says, though, if only because he doesn't want to upset the newcomer that much. The guild leaders would get mad at him, for one, and also...

He doesn't take as much joy in pressing people's buttons as he used to. There's lots of other things to discover about people before he gets bored of them.]

... they're probably fine. Maybe not even a second has passed since you left! Who knows...? All we can do is hope for the best and try to find a way back.

[He's quiet for a moment as he focuses on the work; he's picked up a good rhythm, at least, so he's lagging behind Flowey a little less along the rows.

After the attempted assurance, however, his face drops again. He's not even trying to hide it this time, the pathos is clear in his voice when he speaks.]

The whole time we "outsiders" have shown up, there's really no one who made it back home?

Well... not that we know of. Sometimes people show up for a little bit and then disappear. [He's thinking about Pokemon who show up during TDM months but don't apply. Flowey had been assuming they died, to be honest. But maybe an optimist would think they did make it back, Flowey reasons.]

For the rest of us, it's probably going to be everyone or no one.

... Hey, cheer up! [He says, as if he wasn't just tormenting Cedric a few minutes ago.] We've got some great minds working on it, like yours truly! [That may not help him feel better.] Not to mention you, Cedric the Great! Believe in yourself!

[Now that Flowey mentions it, he does remember meeting a couple of Pokémon (people?) who seem to have vanished after Froslass' visit... she better not be related to that, or else he'll have even more reason to be ashamed of falling for her charm...

He cocks his head at the seed's encouragement but does appear less morose. Even if the repeated use of his title is now starting to sound like mockery.]

And what as your great mind found out so far, Flowey the... seedy? [~~The double meaning may work better than he intends.~~]

Do NOT call me that.

... You really want to know? [He has uncovered a lot, but it feels like a lot to drop on a newcomer. Still, he's going to need to know, especially if he wants to help.]

... past guilds have fallen before to some disaster. Some of them look startlingly similar to ours. One of them I explored in Heavy Downmoor had the EXACT layout of the Archives.

Some of us have heard a mysterious voice. When I was in that ruined guild, I heard it say: "How many times have we been here? How many times have we fallen to ruin?"

But I don't think this is some weird time loop. Too many things don't add up. I do think a legendary Pokemon like Arceus called us here to break a cycle, though. Only it could have that type of purposeful power to call us from across time and space and change our forms entirely.

We're still learning more as we explore. You should ask Akechi for more information. He's my assistant-- [Akechi is not his assistant.] -- and we've been spearheading the investigation.

[If there's a smirk on his face from Flowey's reaction to the nickname, it's gone very quickly when the Sunkern mentions another version of the Archives. And from there, he's all eyes on his companion.

If any of this is true, then their existence here is more than just some cruel joke; it's a calling, to those someone thinks may be able to help, and he is one of them.

...As are Flowey and the ostrich, for some reason, but maybe that was a mistake.

Nevertheless, there's a newfound determination in Cedric's eyes - one of a man eager to investigate, yearning to discover more about the secrets of this world he finds himself in.] I most certainly shall.

[He is not at all convinced by the "assistant" title; Akechi doesn't seem much like a follower. Still, there is one remaining question for Flowey as he remembers there's planting to be done.] Who is this "Arceus"?

A god of some kind. Hard to find more information. That's just what I've heard. Apparently, it called some people to the past before. Akari is one of them, but she's in a coma. Ingo, also, I'm pretty sure.

October Catch-All

Brassica Bonanza (for Cedric)

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lets go flowey plot recap

hell yeah

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flowey is talking about what happens to characters who get dropped/whose players go on hiatus LOL

gotta love traumatizing characters via game mechanics (also 1/2)

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/wrap!