Garden of Delights [Flowey November Catch-All]

[friendlyflower]

Who: Flowey & Akechi, Ren, Fireheart, Siffrinx, maybe more?! And maybe YOU!!!
What: These violent delights are awesome I wonder how they end (Quests, arguing, emotionally charged cat brushing, training...) 
Where: Southern Forest Tunnels, Canopy Low-Tier Housing, Training Grounds
When: Throughout November
Warnings: Pokemon battling (violence/injury), mentions of blood, allusion to Pokemon death. Flowey's typical warnings (child death, depression, depersonalization, unreality).

Comments

Stronger Monsters (Open to all)

[friendlyflower]

Flowey doesn't have much in the way of hobbies.

He's occupied his time these past few months by forcing himself to stay busy. He wanted to reach the top of the ranks and force Ribombee to acknowledge him. He wanted to dive into this strange new world and peel apart its mysteries layer by layer.

But the world wouldn't yield to him so easily. Winter has come early, blanketing the Canopy with snow. As a weak Grass-type, he's been forced to slow down. And now he doesn't know what to do.

He likes to read, but he has to find a way into the Archives somehow, and finding anything specific there is impossible. His other hobby is watching people, but it's harder when most of them are bundled up indoors like he is.

So when he hasn't been questing, he's been filling his time with training. Most Sunkerns sit in one place and wait for evolution. Meanwhile, he's been training like he has something to prove. Nearly every day he's firing Bullet Seeds at training dummies, trying to overcome his weakness. Even that has been limited by the snow.

A. Whether you have beef with him, he's dragged you into participating, or some other means, you've wound up agreeing to spar with Flowey. He has little chance of winning if he's not fighting dirty; he's no idiot, he knows that.

That's why he's set up the training grounds with tunnels (he'll fill them in later, probably), little snow forts to hide in/behind, and more. He hopes to train his agility and try to avoid getting hit at all costs.

"We're NOT fighting to the death... this time," he says.

B. Instead of training with him, you've decided to show him a new hobby. Flowey likely seems apprehensive about it. "So long as it doesn't drag me out in the snow," he grumbles.

C. Something else? Feel free to work out a wildcard with me!

A :)

[dunchies]

With how their recent conversation ended, Laios didn't actually expect an invitation from Flowey to spar. But here he is, looking over the training grounds that the Sunkern apparently set up all on his own. He knows that this is just for practice, but he still notes the obstacles and tunnels, as any seasoned adventurer would. Some battles take more than raw strength, after all.

"... Heh. Yeah." Good one, he almost says, barely catching himself in time. He smiles, strained, before looking at his gift currently wrapped around Flowey. Still so cool. "No hard feelings, right? I didn't mean it. I just — what you said — it reminded me of something else. That's all!"

=)

[friendlyflower]

"Of course not, Laios, old buddy!"

He's smiling broadly, like always-- but there's a swirling emptiness behind his eyes. He summons a halo of Bullet Seeds around his head as shadows play on his face. The match has begun.

"No hard feelings at all."

The seeds fly in an arc, making them trickier to dodge. He quickly follows this move by hopping behind one of his snow forts and preparing a Growth. Building up strength while he dodges will be key.

[dunchies]

"Oh, I'm gl—" Suddenly, he feels his sins crawling on his back, never mind that this is a fight against a flower and not a pile of bones. His eyes go a bit wide once he realizes what's about to happen. "We're already starting??"

He lifts his head up to watch as the seeds begin to fall directly at him. With too many to dodge, a few inevitably pelt against him as he jumps away. Unfortunately, that gives Flowey plenty of time to go into hiding. Laios steadies himself, nose twitching, picking up the other's scent easy enough after a pause.

Despite being here for months, he still has no real ranged moves to speak of. Instead, all he can do is take in a deep breath, bellowing out a loud Roar toward one of the snow forts. It obviously won't scare or knock Flowey away like this, but maybe it could help bring down the barrier for now.

[friendlyflower]

The Roar is powerful enough to knock down the snow fort, but better it than Flowey himself. Powered up now with a Growth, he fires another round of Bullet Seeds- much more potent this time- at Laios.

"Is that all you've got? Don't go easy on me. I'm not going easy on you, either."

[dunchies]

"I... I wasn't planning to," he huffs, hackles raised. Another round of Bullet Seeds. Without cover, Laios needs to weigh his options, and weigh them quick. Rushing into close range would be reckless. Charging up for a Discharge would be foolish.

He bounces between his front paws before letting out one long Howl as the seeds hurdle toward him. He only has one option.

Just as they're about to hit, he jumps right into a nearby burrow, clawing furiously at the entrance until he's completely gone from sight. The seeds fall to the ground. Laios used Dig, but doesn't emerge just yet. Hopefully Flowey won't mind him using those tunnels to his advantage for now.

[friendlyflower]

"Is that so? Seems like you're not even trying! Or are you just that weak?!"

Flowey uses the moment to start another Growth. The belt strains as his body grows. Ground won't be very effective on him, and if Laios isn't careful, he'll get stabbed by the Sharpedo teeth.

Instead, Flowey decides to wait until Laios surfaces and try to hit him with a Mega Drain to heal off any damage he might manage to do.

cw: blood

[dunchies]

Digging his way underground, he hones in on Flowey's voice and scent both. The taunting hardly phases him, but as far as his plan of attack goes, he's still at a loss. He didn't think his gift would ever turn into a problem for him.

Regardless of the type disadvantage, he simply has to go for it.

He bursts from the ground with Flowey right on top of him. The least Laios can do is knock his opponent in the air while he reorients himself on the surface, but once he pushes the Sunkern off, he can feel those teeth immediately graze against his skin. They barely scratch him, but it's enough to draw blood almost immediately. His body shudders. He clenches his teeth to bite back the pain.

Glaring over at Flowey, his first thought is that the belt looks tighter. His second is that his energy is sapping down a lot faster than he anticipated.

"Mega Drain..." he mutters to himself. That's not one he was expecting. His lips finally curl back, teeth bared as he now has the opportunity to build up his own attack in return. Sparks fly as he lets off a Discharge. Whatever damage it might do is inconsequential; it's paralysis he's hoping for.

i rolled a dice for paralysis btw

[friendlyflower]

"What's wrong, Laios, old buddy? Can't land a hit without getting pricked by a thorn?" Oh, the irony of it all is just delicious. Even as he goes flying into the air, the damage from the Dig mostly heals off. He loves being a little parasite.

The Discharge strikes him while he's still in midair. It still manages to hurt a little bit, despite the type disadvantage- he is only a Sunkern- but he doesn't seem to be paralyzed. Regardless, he decides to supplement his own healing.

As he falls rapidly towards Laios, his Sharpedo teeth glinting in the light, he prepares to fire a net of Leech Seeds. If Laios doesn't run, he'll get stabbed by a falling Sunkern. If he does, he'll have to run through the Leech Seeds and give more of his health to Flowey.

Make your choice, Laios, he thinks, his wicked smile growing closer and closer.

everything's coming up flowey :)

[dunchies]

He hesitates. The spread of Leech Seeds seem to dash any hope of a plan. Without paralysis to help sway the fight, his options remain limited. There's only so much he can do if he can't strike at Flowey directly, and only so much he can take before he loses a slow war of atrition.

If this wasn't just a sparring match, maybe he'd be willing to risk drawing more blood. Instead, he dodges into the seeds and feels some inevitably latch on. They dig into him like spurs, too deep to simply shake off. Just as Flowey lands, he kicks up a pile of snow toward his direction, a distraction while he Bites at the seeds to pull them off.

"... Damn it," he huffs with one in between his teeth. As he spits it out, his energy seems to go with it. Flowey may be taunting him, but in the back of his mind, all he can focus in on is one thing: he needs to be stronger. He gnaws at the net faster, trying to get himself free before they drain him out completely.

[friendlyflower]

The seeds can be pried off like leeches, but not before they transfer the last chunk of health back to Flowey to leave him full. Flowey uses the opportunity to get another Growth, the belt straining as he swells with power.

"You're so weak."

He manages to bite back a monologue, instead deciding to punctuate his taunt by launching himself at Laios in a Tackle. In a normal sparring match, he might have waited and given Laios a chance to attack first-- but it's become clear this is no regular sparring match. Buffed by several Growths and angling his Sharpedo teeth forward, the Sunkern throws himself at Laios.

cw blood

[dunchies]

"Don't..."

His breath grows heavy. Maybe it's the exhaustion finally setting in, but Laios shoots Flowey his first real glare since this whole fight started. His eyes focus in on that sash, now stretched to its limit, ready to break with just the right snap of his teeth. The threat remains, but with his adrenaline on high, it's the only shot he has left.

Flowey isn't backing down, so neither will he.

He braces for the incoming Tackle and the set of thorns coming with it. The safest option would be another Roar to push Flowey away this time, but instead he lowers himself, ready to pounce at just the right moment. Teeth bared, he takes the leap: a Play Rough to keep Flowey from pulling back.

While he snarls and whines as he feels the thorns dig deep into the skin of his legs and paws, his focus remains on pining the Sunkern down at just the right angle. But the mix of fresh blood and melted snow makes this a harder task than he bargained for. Good thing he's nothing if not determined, even to his own detriment.

[friendlyflower]

The attack hits him at full force, but what hurts more is feeling the sash snap. The teeth which aren't lodged in Laios's skin go flying everywhere. Pinned, Flowey has far fewer options. Something primal burns inside him-- something he hasn't felt in a long time.

Possibilities race through his mind. Swagger could make Laios knock himself out, but it could also boost him just enough to finish Flowey off. Grasswhistle would render him helpless, but it's unreliable. If he wastes attacking time trying his cheap tricks, it could mean his death. Or, at the least, it should.

In the end, snarling back at Laios, he opts for another Mega Drain, attacking as relentlessly as he can, hoping he can heal enough damage to outlast Laios.

B.! (Let's Teach Flowey Weaving)

[autumnrainrunaway]

"No outdoor activities planned thankfully. I have something else much better planned."

The no heat situation at Cheri Berry had Dolly pretty unnerved. So yeah, definitely, teaching Flowey weaving at the Lum Berry Low Tier Housing. What can possibly go wrong with that? Make an Edgelord woven plush toy?

Before Flowey was a makeshift mini weaving loom Dolly managed to cobble together with twigs she scavenged, the warp being set up already. Looks like the weaving needle being used for it is a tapestry needle, so that's a plus.

"I figured it'd be a good idea to show you how to weave, its a pretty relaxing hobby to do."

[friendlyflower]

"I'll take your word for it," he says, "you know, since I don't have any arms and all!"

He has demonstrated the ability to use vines for some tasks, but he's not that dexterous with them. Still, he appreciates the distraction if nothing else.

You can hear that fail sound effect for it XD

[autumnrainrunaway]

Well that's some twenty twenty hindsight on Dolly's end. Though, she does figure once Flowey does this mystical thing of evolving, maybe Flowey will be able to try it himself then?

"No that's fair, I honestly didn't think about that right there. Would you like to pick out which yarn to use for the weaving? I can do the weft part." Dolly motions towards the big pile of yarns she managed to get in town.

LOL

[friendlyflower]

Flowey makes a point of rolling his eyes before looking at the yarn. After a minute, he picks out a rainbow one. "Here. Use this, I guess."

[autumnrainrunaway]

The eye roll was nothing new to Dolly as she picks up the rainbow yarn with her ribbon feelers. "Good pick, it has a pretty good weight to it as well."

It was a really pretty yarn as Dolly went to work on weaving. It takes about a few rows before Dolly decides this is a good point to ask. "How've you been holding up? I'm not exactly sure what's been going on at Cheri, especially after Siffrin got the personality shift."

[friendlyflower]

Flowey, normally, would not use this opportunity to 'talk' about his 'feelings'. But as soon as Siffrin gets mentioned, he immediately goes off.

"They've really gone off the deep end. They decided they wanted to kill another guild member and changed their entire personality, and it's the most fake and pathetic act I've ever seen. They couldn't go through with it so now they have to put on that stupid fake cheerful act and make it everyone else's problem. What a moron."

[autumnrainrunaway]

Quietly, Dolly listens to Flowey as he gets his emotions out. Upside, it wasn't the same levels of stupid as the Donner Party and the HMHS Britannic. Dolly can rest a bit easier with that thought in mind.

"It's a weird reaction, that is for certain. Like sure, over the centuries of being around humans, I've learned they can say or do stupid things without meaning it out of emotions, but the sudden personality shift is a new one. Did you notice that they've made it somehow sparkly too over on the pearl?"

[friendlyflower]

"No. I don't care what stupid crap they're doing over the pearl," he grumbles-- and then takes a breath. "Ugh. I get they're going through some stuff, but why do they have to be so annoying about it?"

At least he's trying?

[autumnrainrunaway]

"That's something I don't understand either, but I want to though. For now, all I know right at this moment is to be patient with them and leave a door open for whenever Siffrin is ready to talk or just know they're accepted no matter what."

The memory of being made to fit into an apathetic mold after the tournament or being told her 'empathy' was showing was a strong one. She didn't want that for Siffrin, even if it was a temporary or permanent change.

Dolly goes to carefully count the rows to see how many more to go as she shows Flowey the progress on it. "I think the first part is getting close to a wrap up. Would you like me to make it into a plush or a pillow?"

[friendlyflower]

"Pillow," he answers, immediately. He could use more comfortable and warm bedding for the Winter. And he's not a little kid anymore who needs stuffed animals, he's 13. (Cue audience laughter.)

Be patient with them and leave a door open... as if Siffrin would ever willingly talk about anything. Still, he knows she's right. There's nothing more to be done.

Eager to talk about something else, he turns the conversation around on her. "How have YOU been doing? Things sure have changed since you showed up during that whole Froslass fiasco!"

[autumnrainrunaway]

"Pillow it is, just let me know if you'd like me to add anything into it like embroidery." Dolly decides to also keep that door opened for Flowey should he change his mind as she goes to getting the warp ready. It is a good yarn for warm bedding, that was for sure.

Oh sweet Mac Lir, that was true...no one saw the party or incoming NERD VIOLENCE during the Clue testing...that sure was something. Also the pierogis..so many pierogis...

"Things really have changed since the whole Froslass ordeal, I still can't believe there was a fight over a character for a murder mystery board game. Upside, we have pierogis for the winter frozen away." Dolly had to banish Miss Scarlet to the drawing board.

[friendlyflower]

Flowey, who has no idea what she's talking about, just nods. "Peaceful, huh? Just don't let your guard down."

Embroidery designs... he finally adds: "Embroider a giant skeleton dragon breathing poison on a bunch of innocent civilians."