bottlecaplogs | Garden of Delights [Flowey November Catch-All]

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Garden of Delights [Flowey November Catch-All]

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).

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He flinches at the sound of a snap, but the sight of flying teeth immediately has him ducking his head low. Most don't land, but a few more inevitably manage to pierce into him, pulling out a growl that's been waiting at the back of his throat for what feels like this entire fight. It's low, guttural, almost inhuman. Then, instinct suddenly takes over.

He bares his fangs at the opening now in front of him, finally able to wrap them around the Sunkern with a quick Bite. The loss of blood and energy both are forcing him to run on empty, but his teeth sink deeper and deeper against a hard shell, threatening to crack it open the longer he holds on. It should be over, just like that.

Instead, his legs start to tremble, ready to give out at any moment. Realization dawns on him again. Maybe he really is weak, or maybe this is just a game that's gone too far. Either way, he can't end it here. He tosses Flowey aside into a pile of snow, turning his back to him to lick at his paws, the bitter taste of copper filling his mouth. There's nothing else he can do.

"You idiot."

It's at this moment, when they should be licking their wounds after this disaster of a 'sparring match', that a Blast Seed is launched directly at Laios.

He doesn't stop to see if the attack connected or if Laios is even alive after the attack clears. The Leech Seeds that missed earlier sprout choker vines that wrap around his paws. Flowey picks up one of the largest Sharpedo teeth with a vine and closes the distance between them, holding it to Laios's throat.

"You thought I was someone you could just mock and get away with it? Stupid. Weak. I'll spare you the rest of the speech, since it's so embarrassing to you. I think I'll go right to eating you instead."

His grin spreads, a strange sap oozing from his wounds like blood. "Sorry, 'friend'. At least you get to experience being part of the food chain just like you wanted."

"Flowey—"

He turns to face the Sunkern in question with a snarl, only to be met with a Blast Seed hurdling his way. His face falls, ears pinning back, eyes closing shut. It lands with a quick burst of heat.

When the smoke clears, he’s curled up on his side, gagging on his own blood before coughing it out on the snow. The scent of singed fur fills the air. Somehow, despite the pain searing through his entire body, he’s still hanging on to whatever consciousness he can. Through blurred vision, he sees Flowey move closer before feeling another prick at his neck. His ears are ringing, but he can hear every muffled word Flowey spits at him.

The vines wrap tighter around him. If he could only Bite through them, struggle his way free, but there’s no strength left in him. His heart pounds against his chest, adrenaline still pumping despite the inevitable. He feels like he’s losing himself more and more, mind slipping bit by bit. This is exactly what he gets for hesitating against a monster.

"Hah.. ahaha..."

"Just like..." He wheezes in between each breath. "...a Baraselia."

Flowey’s past words echo through his mind. Vines crawling under his skin. Flesh rotting into bones as roots take hold. His body trembles, but he pushes aside instinct for once to smile with blood stained teeth. What a privilege to be his first kill.

He laughs.

And laughs.

And laughs.

And laughs.

"I am weak... all along. I knew it. I knew it." He’s still laughing, louder and louder. Images flash through his mind. Falin and the Red Dragon. Chara and Asriel. What a privilege, to become part of something stronger. It should have been him. It should have been him. "But so are you."

He laughs and coughs all at once. Red dribbles from the corner of his mouth as he snaps with frenzied glee.

"I saw it, Flowey! I saw all of it! You needed them to be stronger, but even that wasn’t enough! And now you have me!" Every word comes out as a desperate pant, tail suddenly thumping hard against the blood-covered snow. "Rip me apart, limb by limb, and devour every piece of my flesh and bones. Let me rot into your soil and become the part of you that you need. Think of what you can be! What we can be! I know what kind of monster you are, and it's everything I've dreamed of being!"

Flowey expects apologies, begging, some element of humanity. He doesn't expect laughter.

Stolen memories flood back-- a hatred for humanity, for his father; reflecting on all the times he was cruel toward and absent from the life of his younger sister while staring at her bones; depression and anger and grief, most of all, envy.

(So he wasn't lying, Flowey realizes. Laios really would accept his death like this, something he himself never had the courage to do.)

Flecks of blood land on his face from Laios snapping his jaws. At first, he thinks Laios started trembling, but then he realizes it's him.

Just do it, a voice urges him. Kill him! Kill all of them! After all, isn't that the 'natural order' of this place? This world really is kill or be killed. If he wants to survive, he needs to get stronger. And he knows that souls exist in this world because of Kris, and god he wants a soul again so bad, and Laios is offering, and together they could show them all--

Chara may be in this world again, but the version of them shouting at him in his mind as dozens of human hands tear him apart never, ever left.

The Sharpedo tooth falls into the snow. The vines wither away, dropping Laios unceremoniously into the dirty, bloodied snow.

Pathetic. He couldn't even kill one person. What has he become? He's worse than physically weak-- he really is just an embarrassing child playing pretend.

Flowey turns his back to Laios. Even now, he feels nothing towards him. They aren't 'friends'. Nobody can really be friends with someone who doesn't feel anything towards anyone.

(But if that's the case, then why didn't he just make that one simple flick and slice open his throat?)

With his back turned, he's defenseless. Is this his way of paying penance? Or is he still too cowardly to take responsibility and end his life himself? Bigby was right about him. They all were.

Seeing the tooth hit the ground makes him go silent. His face finally falls.

"No. No, you can't—!" His eyes dart around to watch the vines slowly pull away. It's not fair. It's not fair. He snarls up as Flowey turns away, head shaking violently like a little boy who can't ever get his way. Anger and resentment buried under years of guilt begin to resurface, until it's all he can think about. He's not the child he used to be, but he's still part of him, still filled with that primal desire he thought he could let go along time ago. "You said! You promised! I know you want to!"

Why? Why is it never him? Even here, in a place filled with monstrous beasts and ferocious dragons, he can never be what he's always wanted. It's enough to push him back onto his feet, unsteady, swaying, shambling toward the Sunkern. His fur bristles with sparks, hackles raising while his lips pull back with a ravenous growl.

"A real monster wouldn't hesitate." A mix of blood and drool slowly drip onto the ground as he speaks. "You're nothing. A mistake that shouldn't even exist. I could still crack your shell open in one bite. Swallow your guts whole. Finally make you part of this world instead of some abomination without a purpose."

Cold words. Vacant stare. His mouth opens, ready to lunge, but instead his eyes roll back. He falls onto his side, exhaustion finally hitting its limit. With how delirious he is now, it's hard to say how much he'll remember when he eventually wakes up in the clinic after this.

At least, that's what he'll blame it on, if asked.

A cold wind howls. Bloodied snow mixes with mud. A small, joyless laugh escapes him. "I won."

He's no stranger to pyrrhic victories. This, though, feels especially empty. What was he thinking? Just because Laios looked down on him? He knows he has a temper, but he's never been this stupidly barbaric.

At least now Laios knows what he really is. And yet... and yet.

This isn't all he could be. A real monster wouldn't care if Laios died alone and forgotten in the cold.

Laios may find that it smells sterile-- none of the natural earthiness of Bottlecap Bay, not a whiff of fresh air.

Slowly, the other sensations of the clinic will come in. It's just a little chilly. Medicine and bandages only slightly suppress the pain--

"... Howdy."

-- a certain Sunkern is there by his bedside, only a little bandaged up, though some teeth marks are visible.

Waking up in a completely different setting is always a bit jarring, but the weariness overwhelms all else. Bandaged though he might be, it'll be a bit before he builds back the energy drained out of him. For now, he's too tired to respond, only stirring slightly at the sound of Flowey's voice. There's a heavy sigh at least, before he moves a bit more to avoid having to look at the Sunkern altogether.

As much as he wants to ask why Flowey is even here, what's the point.

"... Laios, I--"

Nurse Chansey arrives to check on Laios and take his vitals. Perhaps more importantly, she brings him some food-- a mix of winter vegetables and eggs. There's a lack of seasoning, likely for the sake of sensitive stomachs, but it's warm and filling.

She brings Flowey some plain porridge and leaves it unceremoniously near him. Then she leaves.

Flowey is quiet for a while longer so they can eat. But eventually, he starts again.

"... A while ago, I told you I can't really mean it when I say sorry. But that was stupid. I can't hide behind not having a soul forever."

Even though he could have had one, he still thinks, if he killed Laios. Maybe Laios is thinking the same thing.

"For what little it's worth after all that, I'm sorry. ... You were right about me."

Laios looks up at Chansey before she leaves. He knows better than most that he should eat, but the food remains untouched. All he wants to do is go back to sleep. When Flowey starts talking again, his body slowly starts to tense until he can feel himself shaking.

Now? Now Flowey wants to be sorry? He doesn't get it. He doesn't get any of it. They were both so close to getting what they really wanted, and now they're here, miserable in their own skin. His teeth clench until his jaw starts to hurt. He hasn't felt this much anger in years, and now he doesn't know how he can manage to bury it all over again. There's so much he wants to say in that moment, but he stays silent until his body can finally settle.

"... You were right about me too. I am weak." That's all that seemed to stick from everything Flowey said. Laios is still not looking at him, but his ears are flicking with frustration. "I've been too complacent. Too willing to hold myself back. This place is filled with real monsters. I have to become stronger, but I don't need you to do it."

It almost sounds like he's talking to himself at this point, but slowly he turns his head back toward the Sunkern. His eyes narrow on Flowey, fixated, unblinking, more animal than human.

"Now leave."

Flowey goes dead silent. This is new. This is interesting. He's managed to whittle Laios down until he can see what he really is.

But he can't go back. And he doesn't feel interested or excited about this new 'discovery' at all.

He quietly leaves without another word.

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Garden of Delights [Flowey November Catch-All]

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cw blood, attempting murder (?)

(1/2) cws continued

cws continued, death ideation, body horror

1/2, cws continued

2/2

cws continued

1/2

2/2

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