Flowers Part 2 (Death)

She smells a flower
But she is lost in the dark
Blind, in the pitch fog

He sees the flowers
They cascade before his eyes
Picks one, holds it high

She tastes the flower
Bittersweet memories burn
But ghosts cannot feel

He feels the flowers
As he falls into her grave
Heartbreak is soundless.

I hear the flowers
They tell a tragic story
A life ended here

 

Rearranging some words and lines, the 5 haiku from The Flowers can be given an entirely different meaning.  The love of his life is dead, and unable to cope, he dies next to her in a heartbreak.  The flowers here are mere witnesses.

The Flowers

He smells the flowers
But is blind and cannot see
Lost in the meadow

She sees the flowers
Their eternal beauty shines
But ghosts cannot feel

He feels the flowers
Brings a petal to his mouth
His taste is extinct

She tastes the flowers
Bittersweet tears cry in pain
But their voice is mute

I hear the flowers
They tell a tragic story
Dead, fragrant no more

Five Haikus, in a cycle of gaining one sense at the expense of another.  If there exists any message behind the words, its probably that if a human and an object of great beauty coexist, one will succumb to the effects of the other.

This idea is not new.  In The Odyssey, there were Sirens whose songs were the most beautiful sounds to ever grace the planet.  Unfortunately, anyone unlucky enough to hear the sounds will meet an impending doom of hearing the songs and forsaking all other necessities including food and drink, possibly even breath.

Many poisonous animals employ vibrant moving colors which would captivate the eye, but should one approach too closely, a downfall involving potent neurotoxins awaits.  Of course, some people kill and preserve these animals to admire their beauty, but this of course leaves said animal dead.

To survive, everything needs some form of defense mechanism.  An object/animal/plant of beauty’s defense lies not in its appearance, so they more often use the element of surprise.  Woe to the innocent observer who gets too close then, and is jumped upon by such a defense mechanism.  Either it is potent enough to harm the observer sufficiently, or it is not and the observer retaliates, destroying the object/animal/plant of beauty.  Thus, unless under special circumstances, they cannot coexist.

Chromomancy Update #11

Starting from the last paragraph of Red, there is now a level 7 with flowers.  They shoot bullets.  Now, after doing a bit of research, I discovered there were only a small number of flower species that shot pollen at stuff.  In general, they’re all of the Impatiens genus.  Now I am not a botanist, but the fact is, Impatiens sounds a lot like impatience, so why not make a hidden level to test the player’s patience?

And that’s exactly what level 8 is.  It is a secret level, deeply connected to the number 42.  And at it’s center will be the Monarch of Impatiens, Lizzie (because one of the most prominent flowers of Impatiens is called the Busy Lizzie).  Anyway, I made a small drawing for it that will be way harder than the lightbulb to code in graphics, but here is a prototype picture of our “Lizzie”.

And this here is the upside down Lizzie.  Don’t look at it too closely or Freud will begin to mess with your mind.

Our Lizzie has read of a legendary Yuuka Kazami, queen of flowers, and shoots pollen and summons flowers in basically the same way she would shoot bullets.

However, take note that our dot protagonist may not have to fight the great Lizzie at all if you use reason and patience when dealing with her.  Of course, if you don’t fight Lizzie, you probably will not be eligible to receive the item(s) she will drop.  Keep in mind though, that level 8, where Lizzie will reside is a secret level triggered by something involving the number 42.  This is not in any way at all related to the plot of the game, it’s just something on the side.

Also, just because I used red ink to draw it, does not mean that Lizzie will be red.  There are no screen shots yet, but the flowers currently change colors based on how much pollen they have.  Lizzie will also change colors.