❀ i. (video, but she will respond with voice and text)

[evanescent]

[For a moment, there is a close-up of what looks like one very bright green eye, then an "oh! sorry!" muffled from somewhere, and the image pans out some to reveal a young woman. She's perched on the edge of a bed in a room with a growing collection of potted plants, her long hair pinned back in a messy bun.

She waves! And smiles.]

This network sure is lively! I didn't expect to see so much open discussion... [Especially concerning the topics, is the implication here, but it's said so cheerfully it's hard to tell if she's being insulting or not.] but that's good, isn't it? It's nice to see so many people getting along, even if they're from different places. It encouraged me to use it too.

For those of you I haven't met, my name is Aerith. For those of you I have, thank you if you helped me, and I hope you're all settling in alright. It's been a big adjustment for me, but I think I'm finding my way around things. It's hard to say! I guess I won't know until something big happens.

More to the point...I wanted to talk about something. Where I'm from, I used to grow a little garden in a church. I've got something of a green thumb, you see. [:)] I've been doing work into finding out what grows here locally, and I was thinking of expanding some. A community garden...that'd be nice, wouldn't it? I've never grown anything with other people. I suppose I'm a little shy about it. [:))] And as I'm learning, it would take Chroma...

But new places are all about expanding your horizons, right? Let's work together. If you've never planted anything before, once I've got everything set up, I can show you how.

So!

What sort of plants would you all like to see? Something edible? Floral? Anything from home? [She fistpumps.] I can try my best to grow it!

Oh, and —

Can anyone tell me more about the plant life here? I want to learn as much as I can.

Comments

« video » un: foxlike

[foxtouched]

[ She watches and listens to this curiously. She must be new too... ]

Hello...! It's good to meet you.

[ Ah, she's still getting used to these modern conveniences. ]

Have you been to any of the Groves here? I help at a flower shop here, and the flower gardens and groves are really beautiful. I even heard there was a wonderful festival with the Queen here, where plenty of interesting flowers grew and some people even planted trees..... but a new garden sounds lovely! It can add to the ones here...

[ Too much information, maybe. She's not sure if this is what she was supposed to do. ]

Ah, you asked another qquestion. Forgive me. I like peach blossoms!

[evanescent]

It's good to meet you too. What's your name, if you don't mind my asking?

I've been to some of them. They're all so pretty...there were so many flowers I didn't recognize! A flower shop sounds like a wonderful place to work — back home, I had a little cart I would sell flowers from, and here, well...

[She motions in the direction of her houseplants.] I'm making things a little greener in my apartment for the time being!

Peach blossoms, huh...those are pink flowers that grow on trees, right? Maybe I could grow something like that...

audio;

[liveandforgive]

[ Cloud still has to take a second whenever he sees her. He smiles though as she talks about all the new flowers and plant life she was eager to discover. ]

Somebody's been keeping busy.

[evanescent]

I'll get bored otherwise! There's only so much I can explore, and this will be a good way to make friends. Most people like flowers.

How have you been, Cloud?

voice;

[blkwings]

[Texting, usually, is the bane of his everything, so voice it is.]

Sup. Got a couple things for you.

There was this planting ceremony a couple months back. We planted some trees as couples. Fast forward a couple weeks later, and the same trees were easily 10, maybe 12 foot tall. Like they'd been there for at least 20, 50 years. No telling for sure, but I guess, maybe, the rate of stuff growing's based on Chroma too.

As for the stuff that grows, there's all kinds. There's some merchant that swings by sometimes. Sells seeds and other stuff.

[evanescent]

Sup!

[She's very excited about this new greeting that she's going to use all the time now to throw people off with.]

That's all really useful information. Thank you! There's some things I can do to push along a plant's growth, but nothing that fast. Chroma burning seems to be what's creating that kind of rapid growing, from what I've noticed with my own plants.

A merchant? Really? I'll have to meet them!

video;

[ringlette]

Oh my... that is, without a doubt, a most wonderful idea! I would like to help, even though I don't have enough skills with gardening. [ Being royalty and all... she wasn't really allowed to do the "dirty" work. ]

As for the flowers, I'd love to see roses of any color... and lillies, too.

[evanescent]

If you don't know how, I can teach you. It's no trouble at all.

Lilies are my specialty! I can grow roses too. I've seen some fascinating colors here...flowers with crystals, flowers with bright neon petals too, if you can imagine it. There was never anything like that where I'm from.

voice.

[fashionicon]

[ This person was kind to Konoha. ]

Fine. I'll lend my assistance. [ But his tone makes it sound like he thinks it is a chore. Cool. ]

[evanescent]

[She sounds like some mixture of taken aback and amused.] Well, don't go out of your way on my account. You don't have to pitch in if you don't want to! It was just an offer to everyone.

video; un: high.priest

[hymnals]

I've been making an herbarium. Lots of new species to document.

[He holds up a page with a tiny white blossom pressed into it. Tapping the dried out petals, he goes on:]

For example, if you offer this one to another person, it'll change color depending on how you feel about them. A fun bit of magic, if you're into that sort of thing.

[evanescent]

[Aerith leans in, wide-eyed, to take in the page, brightening up at the description. Her smile is a little lopsided.] Oh! That's some kind of plant. It'd be a good lie detector, or...

If someone wanted to confess their undying love and didn't have the words...how romantic!

How long have you been working on your project? I'd love to learn more.

voice

[peerlesscucumber]

[ Ah, Aerith! And with such plans for a community garden... it's a lovely thought, and he hopes she does well with it, along with any with a love for plant life. ]

Anything like plum blossoms would be lovely, but usually the ornamental versions have the best blossoms, and no real fruit. Not that I know what is or isn't similar here.

Are you interested in any of the native flora found in the wilds?

Re: voice

[evanescent]

Ah — hello again! It's good to hear from you.

Someone above mentioned peach blossoms, but plum blossoms sound like they might be pretty too. I can look around!

[!] Oh, and I am! Very much so.

( voice )

[amities]

I've no gardening experience to offer, I'm afraid, however I would be interested in documenting the results of the community's efforts. More-so of the edible sort. I'm willing to offer any degree of assistance as well, of course.

[ He at least understands a little bit about tending to flowers. Just the basics. His apartment has a habit of having a touch of a floral arrangement every once in a while and it's always a shame to let them wilt. ]

[evanescent]

Thank you for offering to help. If you're interested in learning about gardening at all, well...I've never taught anyone before, but I'm happy to tell you what I know.

Lots of folks are interested in the edible kind of plants. Maybe I should make it a community vegetable garden instead.

( audio )

[protomateria]

[ vincent doesn't really care about the network much--he's old, leave him alone--but he does try to keep a vague eye on it for anything important, or for aerith and cloud's presences. and normally, he'd take note of whatever they're involved in and that would be the extent of it, but.. ]

Shy, you say. [ does she have a shy bone in her body? ]

[evanescent]

Hm? You know me: I'm a regular wallflower!

[Badumtish.]

Do you want to help with the garden?

text

[zohvin]

I started a small garden in the shared yard for my apartment building, but that's been a one-man effort so far. If you do start your own garden, I wouldn't mind lending a hand.

Re: text

[evanescent]

I'm happy to enlist help from a fellow gardener!
What sorts of plants do you grow?

text;

[mcring]

Hey

[ Oh, since this is text, maybe he should introduce himself. The 'kingfisher' username probably isn't enough to give it away. ]

This is Noctis
A garden sounds nice. I can help out
Flowers and herbs and stuff tho. You can skip the vegetables

[ #priorities ]

Did you work at the church?

[evanescent]

Hi Noctis! It's good to hear from you again. :)
I would love to have your help! ...Do you not like vegetables?

I didn't work at the church — it was in pretty bad shape, honestly. But it was the only place in Midgar where I could grow flowers.

voice

[barkonthetree]

Plant some good shit to eat. Don't waste the soil on a bunch of dumb flowers that'll die in a month.

[evanescent]

[What a rude boy!

There's a sigh on her end, tight and annoyed, but her voice is even and calm when she responds.]

Flowers help with pollinating the food that grows. Without them, you wouldn't have any vegetables or fruit. They aren't a waste.

[...] If you want food, then you should help with the planting too. Are you? Or did you just respond to complain?

[Video]

[erranthero]

[Kerra pops up on the screen in what appears to be her workshop. There's certainly a few tools hanging from the walls, and she's working with a small screwdriver off to one side, only half paying attention to the feed until it focuses.]

So, when I first arrived there was some hostile plantlife. it grew out of proportion and took over one level of the city. Preferably, none of that. And even more preferably, you only plant seeds you know. Just in case.

[Her gaze snaps to the camera and she flashes a grin. Okay, so now that the warning is out of the way, she can get to the good stuff.]

That said, I'd be happy to help. My parents were farmers, and we did a lot of hydroponics when I was little. And I studied xenobotany some in my time at the Academy.

I'd be glad to provide a green thumb, and Chroma, on an as-needed basis.

[evanescent]

[Ah it's that woman she hit on to get her Chroma! She was never drinking here again.]

Hi again!

Hm...

Well, that's troubling. Do you know what sort of species it was? That's why I'm asking for input. I don't want to plant something invasive by accident.

Thank you for your help, but er...

Some of that stuff's whizzing right by me! I'm pretty old-fashioned when it comes to gardening. Hydroponics...that I've heard of. There was a place [Cosmo Canyon, long ago] that did studies on conservation; I heard of it then. But xenobotany?

[Video]

[lightthedarkness]

[Uwaaah! She's so pretty!]

It's nice to meet you, Aerith-san! My name is Usagi Tsukino! I've never planted anything, but I love flowers. Especially roses, those are my favorite! Buuut if we're talking edible, can it be strawberries? I love those! Those are my absolute favorite fruits, I could eat them for hours but I know you shouldn't.

[evanescent]

Oh, hello Usagi. [A little wave.] It's nice to meet you too.

[-san...she's not seen that address before. Maybe it's another title. She'll not ask for now.] And oh, I love roses. Do you have a favorite color?

Strawberries are a good choice. I haven't gotten that suggestion yet — I'll add it to the list!

video

[imaginex]

We'd need Chroma just to grow something here, as well?

[That... seems a little unfair to her, given the rules of other worlds, but Sakura supposes there's nothing for it]

I've never gardened much, but if... you need an extra set of hands...

video

[evanescent]

From what I've noticed, unfortunately yes.

[Aerith frowns some.] At the very least, the way I'm used to growing plants wears me out. [A little put-out huff follows this.] It's a real pain!

[Her annoyance fades though, at Sakura's offer.] Even if you're a novice, if you want to pitch in, I'd be happy to have the company!

audio

[witchwithoutacause]

[ It's tempting to respond 'weed' like the dumb teen she is but this gal seems a little too sweet to just mess with like that. Just. Very. Slightly. ]

Yo Aerith. I'm Amanda. So, uh, gardening... I guess there are some herbs we could use. Chamomile, monkshood... 's not like I'm any good at potions, but there's so much magic flyin' around here that'd be a good idea to have the ingredients. I guess.

Oh, and we should totally grow pot.

[ Never mind just ignore her. ]

[evanescent]

Hi Amanda. It's good to meet you. Potions? Is that something you're able to make? Like an...apothecary? [There were potions in her world, but she'd never seen anyone craft them.]

Chamomile would make for good tea, if nothing else.

...Ah. [A laugh.] I'll think about it! It's not really something I was planning on.

video;

[cheir]

Ah... I was able to learn how to plant trees when I came here, so I'd be happy to join you in growing a garden. I was just thinking I'd like to try my hand at planting flowers.

[ Given her name, it's probably an inevitability. ]

[evanescent]

Another tree grower! I'm sorry I missed it; it sounds so wonderful. If you're interested in flowers, I'm happy to show you how!

[Video]

[sheisthewind]

Something edible would be best. Flowers are nice, too, but grown food is better.

[evanescent]

Another vote for edible things! Is there something you like more than others?

voice;

[grylls]

Herbs for cooking.

[ It's a very simple response, but he would love a community garden that did this. He'd happily donate to it too, if he could. He's the type of person who likes to explore and hunt his own food, so this is good. Especially since he doesn't have the space in his apartment for a garden of his own. ]

[evanescent]

What sorts of herbs?

Are you a chef?