The Gentle Flitter - Chapter 2 Post

Vinzent Mayer

Hm. The more he simmers on this… The less he wants to find out.

But uh. Better get it to the point.

He tries Bouquet 9.

Time to see, he guesses. Even if… It is… Let’s hope not.

Narrator

Melvin Greene Maybe that’ll count for the clock, so into Bouquet 4 it goes.

While the rose is a pretty red, it doesn’t seem to quite mesh with this bouquet.

Vinzent Mayer Bouquet 9.

Once Vinzent has pulled away, the noose tag morphs into a little ribbon and ties itself round the vase with a bow. What a pretty bunch of flowers with no alarming ulterior meaning!

Abel Lazarus He grabs one more rose- lets it turn orange and puts it in Bouquet 4

The orange seems to go well with this bouquet! Seems like it’d look pretty good now if it weren’t for the extra someone left behind…

Abel Lazarus

Viper And…. probably whizzes past a couple people’s heads.

Well it certainly wizzed past Abel’s seeing as he was standing Right There in front of said bouquet- but as pissy as he is about that he’s not going after Viper right now. Instead he’s just gonna feel all bad. Ugh. Emotions. Terrible.

Right. Well. He grabs one more rose- lets it turn orange and puts it in Bouquet 4 before ducking out Again. No need to be between the rose throwing. He can chill in the garden again. How great they have a bouquet for the hard workers with definitely healthy work etiquette 💖

Vinzent Mayer

Narrator Once Vinzent has pulled away, the noose tag morphs into a little ribbon and ties itself round the vase with a bow. What a pretty bunch of flowers with no alarming ulterior meaning!

…

…….

This has to be a sick joke. right? This… Has to be. This can’t. He… Didn’t want this to be real. He…

This is fucked up. He… He doesn’t know what to think.

… He needs to go.

Before anyone could spot him to talk. Vinzent was already gone.

Roadie 🪶Jack

R.N.A. “So… These flowers and… vases… Represent traits about us…”

Jack managed to follow that shortly before something brushed against his hair and he ducked hard. Whatever it was clinked to the ground. His pulse pounded, but for some reason it didn’t feel as threatening as it could have. Unsure why. He wasn’t quite wrangling any trains of thought back into the station right now.

R.N.A. “Who of us wears… a hoodie?”

Oh, well that was easy to respond to.

“Nooo idea.”

And people were putting flowers in vases, and in other vases, and leaving, and it really wasn’t very engaging. He tapped his finger against one of the thorns in hand. Petals still felt off, but sure seemed like a real flower otherwise. Not that he was the authority on roses. That was probably more of the… what? Video game tester? Whatever the guy with all the hair and the wacko fashion sense was. Heck if he remembered.

Narrator Once Vinzent has pulled away, the noose tag morphs into a little ribbon and ties itself round the vase with a bow.

Oh hey, that was the first time Jack noticed that happening. Pretty peaceful, took away stuff used(?) in the last step, good indicator of a puzzle solved. …Somehow. The guy just put a rose in, same as wherever else, right?

Jack walked up to the bouquet the robot had mentioned and dropped a green rose in. Despite there already being one in there. And despite having watched Vinzent do the exact same doubling maneuver earlier to no success. Well, no ribbon things happened, but nothing exploded. Pretty much on the positive end of things altogether.

Narrator “I- I guess.. I just think it might be nice for you guys to find out what you have in common…

“Lessee…”

“I know two of us got the same dagger.”

Don’t you dare get into that now.

R.N.A.

Narrator The orange seems to go well with this bouquet! Seems like it’d look pretty good now if it weren’t for the extra someone left behind…

Hmmm… R.N.A. decides to pull out Melvin’s red rose from Bouquet 4, hastily shifting it over to Bouquet 10 instead. Since Melvin is currently absent, R.N.A. will take it upon themselves to find the correct bouquet for the red rose, starting with this one. They also remove their own grey rose from Bouquet 3, holding it tentatively.

Roadie 🪶Jack Jack walked up to the bouquet the robot had mentioned and dropped a green rose in. Despite there already being one in there.

“Ah… Jack… You have to… avoid the roses… doubling up in color. Look at the ones that don’t have… green roses in them already.” R.N.A. says, offering some help. Whether Jack actually listened or took it on board is another matter entirely.

Narrator “I- I guess.. I just think it might be nice for you guys to find out what you have in common… um… th-that means you can have more things to talk about? To- to each other? At some point…”

“I see… Thank you for… the advice.” Always be nice to your local denizens.

Narrator

Tsubaki’s fluttering gets faster as flowers start flying through the air. Oh gosh is she glad that she hid behind this little bonsai!

People don’t seem to be having a good time at all here, and she chirps up again, sadness audible in her voice.

“U-um… I, this little flower shop here, um, it’s sort of… s-supposed to bring you guys together… b-but it’s not working…”

It’s said both to everyone present and nobody at all. She’s trying to remind herself at this point.

“I- I guess.. I just think it might be nice for you guys to find out what you have in common… um… th-that means you can have more things to talk about? To- to each other? At some point…”

Matsu

Matsukaze is Tired. They are tired and their leg hurts, they want to be closer to Certain People but also want to be farther away from certain Jacks, and they compromise with themself by… sitting in the floor against a wall as far out of the way as they can in the small shop. The process of sitting is inelegant, but they’re sure no one is actually watching them.

They’re not any help, at least not yet, though they do at least seem to be thinking. (Was it about the bouquets, or about kanji?)

Roadie 🪶Jack “I know two of us got the same dagger.”

Until Jack yanks them out of their thoughts by a very pointed comment. Their eyes widen and snap up to look at him (was he looking at them?), and even with the mask covering the lower half of their face, it’s clear that the color drained from their face.

They had been hoping he’d forget about that.

“Well sucks that there isn’t an arrangement for that,” they snap. Try to not let him know you’re terrified. Matsu’s hand does go to their pocket, like they’re ready to pull the dagger if he moves towards them at all.

Narrator

R.N.A. pull out Melvin’s red rose from Bouquet 4,

Once the red rose is pulled away, the working figure tag morphs into a little ribbon and ties itself round the vase with a bow.

R.N.A. hastily shifting it over to Bouquet 10 instead.

Hmm, doesn’t feel quite right here, either.

R.N.A. They also remove their own grey rose from Bouquet 3, holding it tentatively.

It is removed and held.

Roadie 🪶Jack

R.N.A. “Ah… Jack… You have to… avoid the roses… doubling up in color. Look at the ones that don’t have… green roses in them already.”

While it took way too long for processing, Jack managed to get the gist of it eventually. He frowned and scanned the vases that hadn’t been ribboned off yet.

“But they all have green…” he whined. Apparently he was counting Viper’s shade of green. As well as one bouquet that didn’t have either, but he was an expert on seeing things that weren’t there. Best not to worry about it.

Or maybe he was just misunderstanding… something. Whatever. This was enough standing around.

He went to throw his rose into bouquet 6 just because Melvin was already there and Jack needed to be a nuisance.

Melvin Greene

Here we are again, Luigi. Melvin’s back in an even worse mood than he left in. Just solve the frickin’ friendship puzzle and move on so he doesn’t have to think about any of this anymore. He doesn’t have a clue what they want from him or what the stupid pictures mean. Ughhhh. UGHHH. Where had he even put his, again? Those first two were probably right. Didn’t feel too out of place, until he gets to 10.

That doesn’t feel right at all. What was he even thinking? Ugh. He wasn’t, again, as usual. He huffily plucks the red rose out of B10, not at all realizing that someone else had moved it on his behalf. None of these are really sticking out to him. Uhhh. Okayyyy. Hmmm. They just finished up with Officer Plart’s Mall Call so. Good a reason as any to try bouquet 6. Why not.

Narrator

Melvin Greene try bouquet 6.

Roadie 🪶Jack He went to throw his rose into bouquet 6

Neither feels right here.

Melvin Greene

Narrator Neither feels right here.

Well, Melvin’s officially out of ideas. Red doesn’t seem to mesh that well with either 3 or 8 to his completely untrained and very exhausted eye. He’s got no clue what to do with this thing.

Roadie 🪶Jack Still don’t get half a’ these.

Never thought he’d be agreeing with Jack on pretty much anything, but this is a little over his head too. But damn it, he’s not going to be the one who holds them up if he can help it (not least of all because if the next car is bigger, he might be able to take a second smaller break out of Abel’s line of sight.) Unfortunately he does not know how to help it, and is still a little too frustrated to actually give it more than half a moment’s thought. Just blank out all the vague threats some of these people are tossing at each other, it’s fine. This is fine.

“… ugh, maybe two? Six?” Grumble grumble.

The more observant present might note that he’s already got one in 2, and 6 has in fact already been completed. He seems to be pacing between the tags on 3 and 8 trying to get a better feel for which one it maybe might be.

Abel Lazarus

Sliding an Abel in here to finish a Bouquet for someone else <3

He waits until no one is paying any particular attention to slide a Lime rose into Bouquet 6. He tucks it carefully against the Green rose and the leaves to obscure it as much as he can from any prying eyes. Once he knows it’s correct he’ll leave.

Let’s get this closer to over with y’all <3

Narrator

Abel Lazarus He waits until no one is paying any particular attention to slide a Lime rose into Bouquet 6.

Once Abel has pulled away, the handcuff tag morphs into a little ribbon and ties itself round the vase with a bow.

It really musses up the beautiful arrangement to position the flower so, but there don’t seem to be any consequences! Aside from potentially making an NPC a little sad, who knows.

Abel Lazarus

Narrator Aside from potentially making an NPC a little sad, who knows.

Sorry little NPC! Abel doesn’t care about your feelings as much as Viper’s. After gently moving his own Rose a little to make it seem like that’s what he was up to- He quickly leaves again. Hoping no one paid him any particular mind. (Plus if it helps he’s also bothered by how it looks. He’s just pretending SO hard it doesn’t matter.)

Roadie 🪶Jack

Well, it’s sure easy to go sneaking flowers into vases without Jack noticing, at least. He took his rose back out of bouquet 6 and spun it in his fingers.

Matsu “Well sucks that there isn’t an arrangement for that,” they snap.

He did keep an eye on Matsu’s hand. Always nice when they told you exactly where they were keeping what you wanted.

“Seem awful sure ’bout that. Why don’t we try one, see what happens?”

Viper “Oi. Be nice,” She huffed at him, “Jus’ look at gettin’ this puzzle done, yeah?”

While he managed to completely miss the Look, he at least heard that.

“Sure, I can be nice.” He held out a hand. “$500.”

“And hey, I don’t see you solvin’ it, either.”

He flicked the tag nearest him.

“Still don’t get half a’ these. Too many with other people in ’em, I guess.” Not that he understood the doohickey one, either.

Viper

Just when had Viper left? Who knows. But she was back! Trailing in a good few hopefully not suspicious minutes after Abel, she seems in as good of spirits as normal. Whether she had heard Jack’s jab at Matsu or not, she drifts toward them, pushing her back to the wall and half-sitting just a few shuffles distance from them. Perhaps… she wanted to see if they would move closer.

… that was definitely what her plan was, but the way she was poised also suggested that if needed, she could jump up to defend them. We stan a protective queen? She fixes Jack with a careful Look.

“Oi. Be nice,” She huffed at him, “Jus’ look at gettin’ this puzzle done, yeah?” Maybe its more of a threat than a question, with how she says it. Viper protecc <3

Viper

Roadie 🪶Jack “Sure, I can be nice.” He held out a hand. “$500.”

Viper visibly rolled her eyes, “I ain’t got five hundred. Maybe next time I get a second ta exchange sh-t I’ll trade in some stuff. An I-O-U?” She snorted, but her gaze does flit over to Matsukaze. “'Long as ya leave ’em alone.” Hands off, or… knives off, Jack, thats her tsundere.

She keeps her gaze on him as she momentarily moves away from Matsu’s side.

Viper picks out a clear rose, waiting for it to change colour, before placing it in bouquet 5.

She colours another and puts it into bouquet 8.

Her gaze doesn’t leave Jack for a moment- no matter how much she fumbles with the roses. She’s actually making an effort to show Matsu she cares. Whilst she had moved away, she’s still ready to act if Jack does.

Roadie 🪶Jack

Melvin Greene “… ugh, maybe two? Six?” Grumble grumble.

Wait, two for him or for Jack? Or was that the number of roses in the bouqah screw this gosh frick.

Viper “I ain’t got five hundred. Maybe next time I get a second ta exchange sh-t I’ll trade in some stuff. An I-O-U?”

“Sorry, only ’ccept I.O.U.s overseen by a licensed notary. Maybe next time.”

Viper She snorted, but her gaze does flit over to Matsukaze. “'Long as ya leave ’em alone.”

Ugh. Maybe it’s just a few words, but the general sentiment turned his stomach. Protective, huh? Good luck with that.

“Or what, you’re gonna fight me off?”

But now his soured mood didn’t wanna bother making a big deal of it—or bother even listening to the answer. None of his business what other people thought they could do. He just chucked his green rose back into the pile of clear ones and wandered outside. Maybe things’d be a little easier to stomach thataways.

Narrator

Melvin Greene He seems to be pacing between the tags on 3 and 8 trying to get a better feel for which one it maybe might be.

Well, the illustration for 8 doesn’t look like anything he normally wears. Granted, the illustration for 3 doesn’t look like anything he normally uses, either, but then again it doesn’t actually look like anything specific. So basically, he hates this situation. But you didn’t need me to tell you that.

Viper Viper picks out a clear rose, waiting for it to change colour, before placing it in bouquet 5.

Oh, this one doesn’t go there at all. Fashion disaster.

Viper She colours another and puts it into bouquet 8.

Almost passable, but no, it doesn’t look right here, either.

Viper

Roadie 🪶Jack “Or what, you’re gonna fight me off?”

“Drama queen.” Viper scoffed as Jack turned tail and left after dumping his green rose back in with the clear ones. Regardless she had achieved fending him away from Matsukaze for now, and hopefully they’d stop looking so afraid!

She plucks back out her roses that don’t seem to belong. Instead, she reaches for Jack’s abandoned rose and plops it into bouquet 10.

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