foundationmods | Dreamland (round 3)

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round 3

Dreamland (round 3)

[A strange house of some sort sits in the pitch black nothingness that exists around it. For those just now wandering in, they will be drawn to the building, finding it lit up in a way that it should not be. It's as if the whole area- house, yard, fence, and giant sakura tree- all give off their own light, and the newly-arrived are drawn to it like a moth to the flame.

Inside the boundary of the yard, the familiar faces of those who have passed on already will greet them. Depending on who is asked, they might give an accurate explanation. But even if they don't, one thing is clear: you don't want to leave this place. The area outside feels Dangerous, and it is probably best to stay put.

Fortunately, the house is built in an old style, and there are many rooms to explore. One room on the second floor seems locked, but the rest are open to explore as desired. The standard rooms are easy to find: kitchen, a W.C. and a bathroom, a sitting room of some sort, and a couple bedrooms (with plenty of futons for the dead to use). There are also several tatami mat rooms with nothing in them currently, but it seems like there might be some use for those rooms.

Around the house, perches for birds can be found. No birds are on them currently, though.

Sometimes Watanuki can be found in the house, but most of the time the dead will be left to their own devices. The question is, what will they do here?]

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[ Opening the other eye for blinking redux. Yeahhh he def just committed himself to something but that's a problem for future Natsuno. Present Natsuno has better things to be distracted with, including trying to process a monkey who could make portraits. Or something like that. ]

...there's a lot of unique powers in your world, hn? [ Rhetorical question, but he's not sure how else to take it besides accept it with a small nod. His thoughts have already moved onto the next topic, a low hum filling the silence until he figures out how to say this. ]

We need permission to enter, right? Humans don't always sleep next to the window or any entrance, so by projecting our voice we can entice them to come outside or let us in. It works on multiple stories too, so we can talk to someone on the second floor or higher from the lobby or whatever. There's some alluring quality to it too, it's really hard to resist even if you know it's a bad idea. Tohru did that to me, even if my dad had already given him permission. I guess because he felt guilty.

[ There's something to be said about how he kept his tone mostly even here, unlike the other times he's brought up Tohru. The touch helps, but a finality is in his tone that wasn't there before. Tohru is in the past, and has no place in his future. And speaking of the future, he purposefully gazes downward—not with quite a smile, but far from a grimace either. ]

I didn't use it that way on the doctor, though.

Most of the powers for the contestants all came from the Celestials. Not all of them really know how to choose the talents they gave out -- they are Celestials, after all.

[He'll never give up a chance to drag the Celestials, that's just his duty as an Infernal no matter what, it seems. It seems more amused than malicious at this point, though.

Anon is just watching the shifts in Natsuno's expressions now with a little smile of his own; this close it's easy for them to see the little details in each other's faces, and there's something absent in the smile, like he's not quite aware he has it on. It's just there, quiet and a little fond, at least until it widens a little in response to Natsuno's gaze.]

Heh. Tohru really did a lot of weird things because he felt guilty, huh? If he was going to have so many regrets, he shouldn't have done any of it in the first place. Or at least, figured out what he really had the resolve to do.

[Judging by the tone of his voice, he's not talking just about Tohru. There have been plenty of those waffling types in this round of their Game, too. In a way, though, it's also just commentary; this is definitely something that's in the past. At least a couple of deaths in the past, now.]

Jinrou really have a lot of options to lure prey, though, huh? How did you use it on Erhard?

Edited 2019-05-10 02:54 (UTC)

[ A not so silent chuckle of approval at the Celestial drag. He's never met one or any angelic creature in his life and now he's biased against them. It's all pretty natural though, even if he wasn't a conglomeration of evil supernatural entities.

His not quite smile widens into a proper one even if it's understated. Part cognizant realization that the past is behind him, part the mirror that exists between them. ]

Mhmm. But I'd probably have to thank him if I saw him again. And then kill him properly, of course. [ Mostly fond with a side of mischievous. ]

We do, but I didn't need any of that with him. He was desperate from the start. That's never changed I guess, except now he's desperate to get away from me. There was this whole speech where he called me the worst type of hypocrite and... [ Screw impulse control and timelines, he's going for a kiss here that lingers maybe a second too long. ] He told me that if I was willing to destroy a world for someone like you, then I meant nothing to him. If I had no shame or humanity left, then I was as far gone as you and he would hunt me if I wasn't already out of play. For the greater good and all of that.

[ Laughing here, unmistakably dark. ]

And then he tried to escape and Shadow separated us. So I waited a while until I was sure he was alone again and I spoke to him using projection. Even he can't run away from a voice that's all around him. I wasn't going to let him have the last word just because he's a coward and good at hiding behind someone else.

[Considering their closeness all around now, they're an even bigger ball of supernatural and nominally evil entities at this point -- there are enough demons here to chase the bats out of hell, and maybe that's why it's so easy to settle into it like a blanket.

Maybe Anon just really, really likes the way Natsuno looks when they're both talking about dubious existences and even more dubious choices. He has no doubts here, though -- just a question or two, which he muses out loud, leaving it between them for Natsuno to pick up or leave as he wishes.]

Hmm, thanking him...?

[Because there are a lot of other things to be distracted by, the way the dark words and the darker expressions draw a thrill down his spine and the way all the realizations and confessions cascade together, leaving him flushing and a little blindsided for the umpteenth time in the wake of the kiss. That's about the only thing he holds on to for a moment, the rest is a bit of a jumble, and he's already all the way off-balance so what's a little more. That and:]

... Let him try and hunt you and he'll see what regret really is. It doesn't matter where I am or what happens. I have a long memory. So does the universe. [Natsuno wasn't there when Tsubasa was condemned, but the same sharpness surfaces in Anon's voice for a moment; in the next, it drowns in the way his voice sinks into softness, the way he ends up curling closer into Natsuno somehow as though they aren't already cradled together] There's no way a cornered animal like Erhard would get it. This is where I always was.

[It's a little more complicated than that, but there's no way for him to put that into words right now -- instead he reaches for another kiss, warm and a bit unsteady.]

You really are keeping up.

[Another kiss and it's a bit more playful, the half-curve of his grin pressed light and elusive against Natsuno's lips. He's still holding on tight.]

Yeah. If Tohru didn't kill me, I wouldn't have met you. He still deserves to die, though. [ Credit where credit is due even if the end result is hypocritical anyway.

Perhaps paradoxically, Natsuno pulls that sharpness closer—there's something alluring about it, even more so knowing the motivation behind it's existence. He's always been attracted to danger, and that apparently carries even when it's not directed at him. But the softness that follows is just as welcome, even if the reasons are different. Dualities often work this way, his evolving sense of taste just one recent example—salty and sweet, spicy and sweet, there's as much honey in his meals, actions and words nowadays.

The kisses he returns are heavy and warm, pulling up his lips into a keen smile. That'll have to do in response for now, there's still a lot of discovery to be had when it comes to walking this new path they've started on together. Clumsily, he slips in a sprinkling of words as insurance at the end just in case—"I know, I won't forget either." ]

Mhmm, in whatever way I need to. With these [ Bristling his wings around them for emphasis. ] I don't need to worry about growing taller.

[There's a soft little acknowledging hum, Anon chasing more kisses in lieu of delving further into Tohru once more -- both because he agrees on all counts anyway, and because there's something both disquieting and thrilling about the talk that comes up once in a while: all the ways in which they could have never met, all the ways in which both of them could have continued on their own paths and he knows how that would have ended. At least for him, where it would have ended; and for Natsuno...

It's not in Anon's nature to dwell on the past, or on regrets, other than building stubbornly on their corpses; he likes his steps light and his head high, and he refuses (he will always refuse) to let it steer him. He knows where that ends, too.

So he winds himself ever closer instead, just missing climbing onto Natsuno outright but pouring the rest of the momentum into their touches. Insistent, greedy for the sweetness Natsuno unfurls for him like his wings, moving and giving under the heaviness of kisses in return and feeling himself slowly finding anchor again between them. It's a give-and-take that's somehow become easy, like the way they fit together and the way Natsuno's words sink into him even when they're new and strange.]

You're here.

[He whispers that, disjointed but containing everything, and burrows closer to all the feathers, too. Having Natsuno all around him like this really is something he could get used to; maybe he's already gotten used to it.]

You're here, so... I-- We can go wherever we want. And grow however we want.

[He stirs a little, but it's just to press another soft kiss to the nearest feathers.]

You can even grow more wings if you want to.

[ He knows where his end was too, and just like the first death it was something he was counting on. His third was different for so many reasons, but really only one that actually mattered. The past is something Natsuno is used to carrying around, letting it define him in the way it shaped his actions and etched increasingly hard lines on his features. Even now, he'll never forget everything or everyone from his old life. And that's exactly what it is, his old life, strikingly different from his new one in pretty much every way. In proclaiming as much, he's slowly learning to move on. Step by step, beat by beat, there's no time to look back if he wants to keep up. Which of course he wants, needs more than anything in the world.

...maybe there are other things he needs but they're different, more visceral, more selfish. It's the only explanation Natsuno has for the tingle that runs down his spine at the feather light kiss. ]

Mmn. [ The patch of feathers has gone fluffy, a suitable match for the soft smile on his face. ] That wouldn't be fair.

[ He's not beyond complaining, but Anon is the only one who will ever hear him pout (and plead) like this. ]

[There are so many complex ways in which the past becomes the present -- the way the two are inextricably bound together, the way both of their pasts have become entwined on this island and the way they're entwined together now like one big puzzle with pieces scattered across the entire universe.

They really are building something new. Something even Anon, as used as he is to forging the way ahead, can't entirely see the shape of just yet. But he knows what it feels like: the softness of feather fluff against his cheek as he cuddles into it, and Natsuno's smiles are enough to steer by.

He smiles back at him, just a touch teasing because he can't help it when Natsuno pretends to complain like this. It's quickly becoming a vice at this point.]

Maybe not totally fair, but it would be fun. I'm always going to be greedy, you know.

[He calls it greed, easily and without reserve; but it's something else, too, the sum of all these ridiculous plots and plans.]

Yeah, yeah. [ He says mock chidingly, as he leaves his occupied wing exactly where it is. ]

But you know I'm going to keep up there too, right? [ There are more than a couple of ways he could illustrate his point, and here he opts to caress whatever pink strands he can get a hold of without jostling them too much. He's greedy and lazy. ]

[One of these days he's really going to have fun with the way Natsuno emotes with all of himself (even if he pretends not to with his face and his words sometimes), and the way the wings manage to both be a part of that and their own thing somehow -- it's just one more thing that Anon can't wait to learn, as new as it all is.

Every new moment and new thing and new possibility between and around them lights up a little fire in him, and he's always been full throttle ahead anyway -- this is just more fuel.

Even in the slow and lazy moments there's plenty going on: he lets out a sigh at the touches and tilts his head into them, losing himself for a moment in the semi-familiar sensation of fingers in his hair. He can put a name now to the feeling when he couldn't before.]

Yeah... you're totally going to. I wonder how much longer I can grow this, then?

[His hair, he means. He's certainly messing around a little -- at some point it's going to get ridiculous for fighting and just everything else, but for now he's just enjoying himself.]

[ And that's honestly his secret; it's important to look at all of Natsuno and not just what his face may or may not be doing. And as of late, what his wings and feathers are doing, as they're all still too new for him to temper. He may have learned to train himself out of expressing his heart on his wing as it were, but given Anon's reactions, it's doubtful he ever will. ]

Hmnnnn? [ That's just an invitation to run more strands between his fingers as he draws out the one word. ]

If anyone can fight with their hair as a weapon, it's you. [ Natsuno's being silly too, but he's also telling the truth. He's also yet to meet many fighting game characters who can do just that, but even if he knew, he'd still feel the same way. ]

[He lets his eyes slide closed to the sound of Natsuno's voice, everything still slow and indulgent and easy -- they're both settling into the whole wing thing and everything else that's new and fresh and just being learned, and it's where Anon is at his best, really. Just unabashedly chasing feeling and whatever knowledge he really wants, who he wants, woven naturally into each breath and movement.

So Natsuno gets to feel him leaning further into the caresses, not quite butting his head against his hands for more but a similar sort of tacit demand. It probably helps that more hair keeps tumbling over the more he moves.]

... Ah, that would be a fun power. There was a guy back home, I remember, his power was turning his hair into a drill.

[This is definitely being very silly but also. Just. His canon.]

If I could do that, or turn my hair into needles or a lasso or something, it'd be totally worth it.

[ Natsuno's more than happy to comply, humming quietly as he continues to move his fingers through the ever increasing strands. When he picks up a new ribbon of pink, he imitates his same movement from weeks ago; a light and loose braid. ]

Mn, as long as it didn't ruin it or anything. [ Pausing for a second to kiss that crown of pink. ] I like your hair long.

[Anon makes a happy noise and relaxes further at the familiar touches -- he's pretty much a puddle by now, comfortably curled up in a cozy blanket of Natsuno and feathers and the soothing motions of braiding. His arms around Natsuno give him a lazy squeeze at the kiss, Anon's laugh muffled in the middle of it all.]

Hmmmm, I don't think I've ever had my hair short that I can remember.

[So probably not for years and years, since he was really small; he's been growing it for a long time now, apparently having escaped sword haircuts and the like. Maybe that's a testament to his dodging ability, or--]

'Cause my hair is definitely just as strong as me.

[Or he could just make up a reason, too. It's probably not real. Who even knows, with Infernal hair.]

[ He laughs, pausing in the braiding to really soak everything in him, his feathers quivering with pure mirth. That's believable actually, which is why he's so amused. How did he wind up with someone like this? It's a pointless thought, but he can't help but feel this weird sense of pride over it. There was no one else in the universe like the infernal curled around him, and that coudln't make him happier. ]

I believe it. [ Spoken with sincerity and warmth, he picks up the braiding again. ]

I used to keep my hair shorter, but I grew it out in middle school just to annoy the teachers. I never wanted to grow it much longer though, because then it'd be like my dads.

[Anon shifts again, just a little to tuck his face against Natsuno once more and provide better access for the idle braiding; it's harder to tell from this angle but Natsuno might feel the movement of his expression against him anyway -- close and soft and distracted. Definitely smiling.

Anon can feel and hear and see the laughter bouncing between them like this, after all, the way it ripples out into Natsuno's wings in a delicate wave, like the feathers make the sound bigger somehow. The sensation is interesting when he cuddles down into the feathers, too.

(It's so warm he's almost drowning in it, and would definitely be too warm for the island. But in a dream, it's okay.)]

Ah, then it's just the right length.

[There's a brief movement against him, nuzzling what hair Anon can reach without jostling the braiding too much.]

For just me to play with it. Your teachers and your dad can stay away.

I think the only person who would even try is Shimizu. And we know how that would end up. [ There's always time for nostalgia like this he thinks, but it's also an affirmation that he wouldn't let anyone else get close to his hair. Or any other part of him, really.

Just for insurance, he sneaks another quick kiss wherever's most convenient between the braiding, cuddling, and feathers. The past seems so far away now, and the names of those in Sotoba are starting to grow fuzzy, something he didn't think was possible but is welcome. There's a few he'll likely never forget, including the aforementioned Shiki splat on the ground, his dad, Ozaki, ah- ]

Actually maybe Kaori would on a dare. But I wouldn't let her either. [ This name is new which may not be surprising considering how many names he's thrown out during all their talks (how did Sotoba seem so crowded while being empty all at once?), but what is markedly different is how he says it. There's no malice or hardness in this denial, and while it's not soft, it might have been at one point, worn down by age. ]

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Dreamland (round 3)

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