LET'S. GET. GARDENIIIING.

[blessedbyfarore]

Who: Everyone!
What: Gardening!
When: Sunday 14th August, all day
Where: Outside the Welcome Centre
Summary: Finally, the time has come to get Luceti's memory garden on the road.
Rating: ...I sincerely hope this won't go above a PG rating.

Early on Sunday morning, Link can be found outside the Welcome Centre - gathering seedlings and seed packets, setting aside a willow sapling, laying out gardening tools. When it's still fairly early by the standards of most people, especially for a Sunday morning in summer, the following message will go out over the journals:

"Hi, everyone! D'you remember the garden I talked about earlier? Well, all the beds have been dug and I've got lots of plants, so come over to the Welcome Centre today and plant something for your friends that have gone home!"

If anyone heads on over, they'll find Link sitting back and relaxing, keeping an eye on the piles of gardening implements, small pots of seedlings and packets of seeds and a collection of bulbs, and a large sheet of paper and bundle of pencils. Across the top of the paper, the words, 'Leave a message for friends!' is written, and Link has already written the first message - 'Hi Vivi, I hope you like the gardens! Love Link'.

There will be snack runs over the course of the day. And if he can convince certain people, live music. Remembering friends, being outside on a sunny day (refreshing after yesterday's storm!), nice food, and music - what could be better?


((OOC: Forward-dated to Sunday. Open to everyone, mingle away! If anyone has questions or needs help or wants to know WTF is going on, Link will be on hand for the whole day to keep an eye on things.))

Comments

MESSAGES

[blessedbyfarore]

Leave a message for friends!

Subject to so many edits

[consultmybooks]

Willow,
In case we miss one another, I miss you a great deal and I'm glad that I had the chance to know you while I did. I thought the tree would be appropriate.

Xander,
There were days where you drove me up a wall. But you were also far more help than I ever expected, and you are worth more than you've ever let yourself believe. Look after yourself.

Andrew,
You are what I hope Watchers will become someday. I might not understand half of the ideas you come up with. That doesn't mean I don't appreciate the fact that you never stop trying.

Rachel,
One of my fondest wishes while I knew you was to prove a better gardener than you without resorting to magic. A small triumph, but one I'll cherish.

Vivi,
I miss you, and I'm sorry we never had more time with one another. It was my pleasure to know you, and I will always be grateful for the help you gave me. I hope you like the flowers.

Ranka,
Luceti is worse without your songs or your baking skills. You were a wonderful student while you were my student. Knowing you made life brighter, and I thank you.

Same as above 8|;;

[semper_cogitans]

[All of the following notes are penned in a clear, mechanical, crisp script, with entirely too much effort paid on letter formation. Each is signed neatly with Robert's initials.]

Vivi Aislinn,

You have taught me things not even the Randi Institute could have ever hoped to teach me about family. Thank you for being such a wonderful foster daughter. I hope that, wherever you are or will be, you will always be safe and loved.

Ingrid Grimmholtz,

You were always a kind, warm-hearted friend to me, and one that I will cherish the memories of forever. You helped show me that strength can be internal. Thank you for being the wonderfully brilliant, inquisitive mind you were here.

Michelangelo Hamato,

Things may never have been the most comfortable between us, but thank you for keeping your family open to me anyway, and being somebody so important for Doctor Mizuno. Your brothers and I will miss you, and hope you will be safe.

Raphael Hamato,

I only regret that things had to be so strained between us, and that you returned before I had the chance to rectify anything. I hope that you will be happier, wherever you are.

[crisisrain]

Casey,
[There's nothing written here, just a simple drawing of a heart with two short lines on the right hand side.]

Judith & Jonah,
It's not the same without you around, we'll always miss you.

Mayoi,
I hope things will work out better for you now. Sorry for whatever happened before to make you hate me so much.

Charlotte,
Brave Vesperia will miss you. If you ever come back, you'll always be one of us.

Mitsuru,
I'll forever keep a hold of the picture I have where you're wearing nothing but a towel.

Sisuca,
I'm sure that being home with your family is what will truly make you happy. Take care.

Noel's Cooking,
You won't be missed.

[consultmybooks]

Giles was surprised to get the message - what with one thing and another, the experiment had driven the plans for the garden right out of his head. But he can't help but smile at the thought, as he closes his journal and packs up a few things for the day. One of those things is certainly his guitar.

So, while it's probably still fairly early by the standards of most sane people, Giles will walk up the Welcome Center, dressed for gardening and possibly live music in the bargain. He sets his things down against the wall before turning to survey the setup.

...a startled look passes over his face as he notes the willow sapling, fading to a sad smile. It's getting the attention first, moved to a spot by the river at the very edge of the garden to be carefully planted. After that? Well, Giles will probably be around all day, picking out seedlings that best fit the memory of the friends he's lost.

[blessedbyfarore]

Once Giles returns from the river, he'll find one (1) Link approaching, giving him a cheerful grin despite the early hour. "Hi. Thanks for coming," he smiles, "It's a nice day for planting things, huh?"

Nice and clear, already warm - the ground is still soft from the rain the day before, but at least there aren't too many muddy puddles around.

[lostinmyway]

On the way to picking up still more flowers to plant, Grune catches sight of a certain treasured friend. A large smile appears on her face, and she hurries over to greet him.

"Good morning, Giles!" she calls out cheerfully. "I'm glad you could come."

She's wearing the necklace he gave her, as usual. By now, it's rare to see her without it.

[eidolon-soul.livejournal.com]

Rydia arrives fairly early; not the first one there, but still there in plenty of time to enjoy the event. Given the time, she decided to stop by the bakery and bring a box of pastries with her. They're fresh, and the aroma drifts everywhere, hopefully drawing hungry people toward the food.

Upon seeing Link, she smiles warmly and waves, setting the box down wherever there's room. "Good morning, Link!"

Keywords so relevent

[blessedbyfarore]

Pastries! Link brushes his hands off and waves back, heading over. "Morning, Rydia! Did you bring these for everyone?"

Link may or may not have a one-track mind.

Oh, right - tearing his attention from the box, he looks up at her with a smile. "Thanks for coming."

[lostinmyway]

Grune has been outside the Welcome Centre since the beginning of the garden-planting. She and Link had gotten up early to go pick berries for everyone to snack on, and after that, it was all gardening, all the time. ...Well, when she wasn't distracted by anything and everything, anyway.

Right now, she's humming away to herself, planting every flower she can get her hands on. She won't win any points for design, but for exuberance? Top marks.

The only thing she likes better than gardening is visits from friends, and so every so often, she raises her head to see if any of them have arrived.

[blessedbyfarore]

Snacking on a handful of said berries, Link wanders over, watching Grune's enthusiastic planting. "Those are really pretty, Grune," he says with a smile, popping another raspberry in his mouth.

[bemyused]

Pommy's taking a break from gardening by getting some snacks when he notices Grune happily trying to plant all the things. He quickly grabs a second scone in addition to the one he was eating and scurries over to Grune.

"Hi, Grune!" Pommy chirps. "Pommy brought something for you eat if you're hungry!"

The scone in his other hand is a little dirt-covered, seeing as the critter didn't think to wash up before grabbing some eats.

[semper_cogitans]

Robert is at the garden as early as is feasible, possibly organizing whatever there is to organize or otherwise looking like he's engrossed in doing something... horticultural. He is making a distinct point of staying at the sidelines, avoiding the general crowd except for those he knows well or those who approach, but he isn't giving off a go-away-esque vibe, either - he simply seems nervous, as is usual for him in these sorts of situations.

He might be able to be coaxed to do something less professional, though, like have a nice chat.

And maybe, if there's a lull in the crowd, one might catch him planting a few flowers of his own. They all seem very carefully picked for symbolic purposes, and Robert handles them with a delicacy seeming odd for even flowers. He can certainly be interrupted at these points, too.

[lostinmyway]

Grune has finally remembered the berries she and Link picked that morning, and so she's taking a break from planting to wander about with a bowl of late-season raspberries. When she sees a man off on his own, very carefully planting some beautiful flowers, she heads in his direction.

"Hello!" she greets him when she gets closer. "Would you like something to eat?"

[consultmybooks]

It's during one of these lulls that Giles comes up to Robert. He watches as the scientist reverently plants the flowers in the earth, marveling slightly at a new side to a scientist he thought he'd figured out quite well by now.

When he steps up to sit next to Robert, it's with the utmost care to avoid disturbing any future planting plots. A bottle of water is pressed into Robert's hands. "Here."

[bemyused]

Pommy hasn't been here long and doesn't personally know anyone who's gone home. But gardening sounds like a lot of fun, and he hadn't been planning on doing anything else today! Other than eat and try to talk to cute girls.

So Pommy waddles on over to the Welcome Centre, eager to have some fun. He looks around for a bit, seeing other inhabitants of Luceti milling around and/or planting seedlings. He spots Link sitting by the gardening tools and the various plant-like things -- maybe he's the one in charge? He looks like a nice person. Excitedly, Pommy hurries over.

"Myu, Pommy doesn't know anyone who's gone home," he says. "Can Pommy still plant something?"

[blessedbyfarore]

...Little pink blob. Link blinks for a moment, then offers a smile. "Sure! The garden's for everyone in Luceti. What do you want to plant?"

There's definitely a nice-looking range to choose from.

[ombra_lira]

Technically, Sheik hasn't yet been released from the clinic. Today, though, he's been temporarily let out in order to participate in the event, and plant a few things himself. He's among those there earlier in the day, carefully selecting three plants, although two are set aside to wait for others to join him. The third, a selection of wildflower seeds for Rikku, he plants on his own, marking the spots only with a collection of sticks decorated with strings of glass beads.

Later on, when the day gets hotter, Sheik can be found resting in a shady spot to watch others plant their own memorials.

[blessedbyfarore]

Hopefully he's not hogging all that shade to himself? Link settles down beside Sheik, looking hot but content.

"How are you feeling?" he asks, glancing over at the Sheikah. "I can get you some water and something to eat, if you want."

[refinedmaestro.livejournal.com]

Frederic decided to go by the garden today and plant something for Polka along with Poland. He'd brought one of the Heaven's Mirror flowers he kept for Polka and the other he found in the packets of seeds, a red corn poppy. Gently planting both into the ground, he simply stared at the two spots for a few minutes before sighing then getting up to only stare at them for a short while longer.

[lostinmyway]

Oh, what a happy surprise! Frederic's here, and he brought more Heaven's Mirror flowers for the garden. They look so beautiful in her own garden that she's sure that everyone will love them here.

She walks up to his side, and, smiling, says, "Hello, Frederic. It's very nice of you to share your flowers with everyone like this."

[shadedsunlight]

Alice hovers toward the outskirts of the garden, watching everything and everyone going about their business. She knows she shouldn't be there - it's the kind of thing for Ginia, though most things fit Ginia - but being out is better then spending all day hiding inside.

[lostinmyway]

Grune almost doesn't notice the woman standing by herself on the edge of the garden. It's only when she stops to take a little rest that her wandering gaze lands on Alice.

Immediately, she stands and walks over to her. "Hello, Alice! ...Or is it Ginia? Hmm."

[floralphantasm.livejournal.com]

Having just happened to come across this little get together by sheer coincidence, Yuuka is watching people go about planting flowers and writing things down. The planting she can understand, after all gardening is one of the most worthwhile things to do if you're a youkai of flowers. The writing of well wishes in some book however she doesn't care for at all. Partly because she has no one to write about, mostly because she wouldn't do something like that even if she did.

Rather than planting any of the seeds and bulbs provided, Yuuka will be making flowers grow directly out of the soils surface. A marigold here, a few tulips there. Lots of sunflowers too...

And assuming that they know each other's names by now...

[floralprophecy.livejournal.com]

Labrador is just looking around at the flowers that have been planted so far and is pleasantly surprised to find that Yuuka can grow flowers directly from the soil like he can!

He hurries over happily. "Good morning, Miss Yuuka! I didn't know you could do that too!"

[dangerouswind.livejournal.com]

It's not often that Temari will actually say much complimentary about something as sentimental as this sort of thing, but it's also not every day that she's seen her brother leave her behind. And so, quietly, she picks out a seedling -- a short, stout little thing that reminds her of Kankurou -- and she finds a corner of the garden to plant it in.

No messages. No softly spoken words. Just a seedling lovingly and gently planted.

HI I'M HERE

[mush-monarch.livejournal.com]

Ah... the magnificent sight and smell of plants freshly planted on such a nice soil! Peach loved that and it was actually enough to make her forget a little about the things worrying her.

When she heard about this whole gardening deal, she couldn't help but get excited. It felt like forever since she did anything like that. It was good to do something like that.

She showed up at the site with a more appropriate attire for the occasion than her pink dress: a red t-shirt and a some overalls that made her look a little bit to much like a certain plumber she knows. And, she also brought everyone cookies!

[eidolon-soul.livejournal.com]

Rydia smiled upon glancing over and seeing another arrival. She abandoned what she was doing and waved, heading over. "Oh, good! We ran out of bakery goods, so the cookies are most welcome."

Her own attire was her usual style, but then she did her gardening earlier and was now focusing on mingling and refreshments.

[samurinjathief.livejournal.com]

Glancing over Link's message earlier in the day, Goemon had decided he liked the concept of the event – and even though he had no close friends or loved ones whom had returned home, he appeared all the same, planting three bulbs into the earth with deep mindfulness and reverence. No written messages were left; instead, he knelt and pressed his hands together, expressing all that he needed to through quiet prayer. After ten, fifteen minutes, he rose to his feet as if to leave - although he lingered to observe his handiwork.

[gardenerofgaia.livejournal.com]

"I should try that," Aerith said, when she realized he wasn't leaving right away. "Praying." There was a blank piece of paper in her hand, which she glanced down at before looking back to Goemon with a smile. "It's kind of weird to write a message like this."

[floralprophecy.livejournal.com]

Labrador looks around happily, glad that everyone is enjoying the garden. Then he selects a corner of the garden and stands there silently for a moment in prayer, before extending a hand over the soil. Flowers immediately unfurl from the soil - red roses for Makoto for the love she'd given him, gladioli to symbolize the strength of character and will of his good friend Frau and gardenias for his close friend Castor representing purity, joy and... a secret love.

He doesn't label or leave messages for any of them. Then he surrounds those flowers with silver roses, his amulets of divine protection.

fie on your forward-dating! I backdate!! ...that is totally my excuse.

[blessingone]

Fenimore arrives a little late -- not as terribly and awfully late as this comment, but closer to the end. Her feelings on the memorial are quite mixed right now, so she's hoping to come as things are winding down and people are leaving. She wants a little privacy -- not that she would turn people away from talking to her, but insofar as she wants to avoid too much of a crowd.

She carries the flowers to a less populated portion of the garden, kneels, and, silently and slowly, gets to work.

It's little over two weeks since she learned that Shirley had hidden something important from her for over a year, but...it had been over a year of the closest friendship she had. She mightn't be ready to leave a message, but she could plant a few flowers.

And, later in the evening, she could spare a flower for Atsuki.

Works for me!

[blessedbyfarore]

Walking the gardens as the day winds down, Link pauses, watching Fenimore plant her flowers. "They're nice," he says softly, an unobtrusive distance away, "Are they for friends or just for fun?"