thepurpleone | Cyberformed [] Inbox

[The turtle's already produced a piece of chalk and has started to mark out points. He considers before simply mystic-tech'ing up a frame that fit within the points he'd marked out so he could trace along the outer edges.]

Well, technically pests shouldn't be a problem provided nothing's lurking in the dirt or anything you might transplant. But there are simple enough remedies for those problems. But yes, containing the dirt will be easy enough, and if you have grass then it'll keep any loose earth from spreading around. We could put in a pathway or something too. Actually, what all did you have in mind for putting in this garden?

[He waves a hand at Poinsettia for them to go ahead with answering while he goes over to start getting measurements for the drawers.]

[With their attention now grabbed, Poinsettia approached the edge of the drawer to see Donnie waving them over. In response, Poinsettia waved back at him.]

Oh! I've been wanting to put in the Gracidea flowers so I can access them whenever I need to fly!

[They then began to ponder a bit more before coming up with another answer.]

A-Actually, since there is no rain inside the R2, [Quite obvious.] do you think it would be possible to add in a way to water the plants without them withering away? Or maybe a way to mimic the sun so they can grow big and tall? I think what you are doing so far is really good! Especially with the grass!

Oh, pff. Easy. We can install a sprinkler system. And light arrays that have the proper spectrum best suited for plants to grow.

But Gracidea flowers won't be a problem. How about any trees?

Oh, I can totally take a tree, Donnie!

[Poinsettia then began to ponder over their own words.]

But what kind of tree though . . . I haven't kept up with my trees, so I wouldn't exactly know which trees would best work with those Gracidea flowers. I do know that I like the ones that smell like Christmas, but how tall will the trees be so they don't accidentally break something inside the dorm room?

We can probably figure something out. A tree might be tricky, but I don't think space would be the problem here so much as adequate nutrients. And we can always trim it back if it does look like it's getting out of hand.

[Poinsettia blinked in surprise.]

[Huh. Didn't expect the nutrients to be the real problem, but given Donnie's expertise in plants . . . he could be absolutely right on the money about it.]

I . . . I never considered nutrients to be a part of the problem. [Poinsettia then looked around their surroundings.] How does one give a tree nutrients in a place like this?

Mainly from soil, water and light. And since the soil here is going to be contained and in a consistent environment, it'll need some help in replenishing nutrients. Natural plant cycles help with that a little, when plants die and such, but we can also add like, fertilizer and that sort of thing.

Hm... That might start to get complicated though. Well, we'll workshop it.

Ohhh, that's why. That honestly makes so much sense, now that you've brought up why the soil here might need some help.

And I think the f-fertilizer might help too! I've seen some of the Professors and their assistants do that with their own plants, so that could also be super helpful . . .

[Poinsettia then dipped their head, now discovering how wacky crazy gardening can get when it came to working around man-made settlements such as the R2(?).]

Oh definitely; I think workshopping it can also work . . . but aren't you going to get super exhausted, even with me and Justice [Possibly, though with a rather interesting schedule in mind.] helping you out on the garden?

I've had a lot of experience since any gardening I did back home was mostly in the sewers.

[He says this quite frankly, thinking nothing unusual of it, apparently.]

The most exhausting part will be setting it up. Maintaining it once things start to grow won't be too much, and so long as you do your part to water and take care of things, I won't need to do a whole lot once it's done.

[He waves a hand.]

Anyway, it'll be a welcome change from other projects I've been doing.

[Does this boy ever rest.]

T-The sewers? [Poinsettia couldn't even believe what they've just heard with their own ears.] As in the sewers?

[Poinsettia was practically stunned at this point. But they have other things to look into other than the fact that Donnie apparently used to live in the sewers for all his life until arriving at the R2.]

Oh, Justice can totally help out with the set up! He's a big boy, so it'll be less exhausting with him on our side! [Hopefully, it'll let Donnie rest in a well-deserved break. He probably needs it like right now or so depending on how busy he is.] And I'll be sure that the plants and trees are well taken care of! I'll have to get used to watering them since there is no rain inside the ship. [Unless Poinsettia counts the sprinkler system as rain, but is it really if it's turtle-made?]

Yeah? Back home, that's where my family lives.

-oh! You don't have to worry about going too far for water at least. There should be some pipes I can tap into and install some connections from. We can install a basin aside from sprinklers. I suspect it'd do you some good to have access to water as well, anyway.

[Donnie's family lives in a sewer?]

[Poinsettia looks to the side in an attempt to register how casually cheery Donnie came off with that one comment. But to be fair, Poinsettia has heard of Pokémon who live out inside the sewers, so it may have not been as bad as they thought it would've been for Donnie himself.]

[And besides, there are other things to look forward to! Such as being absolutely stunned that they didn't have to walk all the way to the cafeteria area for a glass of water.]

Wait — wait you can summon water just like that?! And I didn't have to walk all the way to the cafeteria to get a simple glass of water?!

[Cue the awkward yet intense silence.]

Yeah, I can totally have a basin full of nice water, Donnie . . . but how did you come up with this stuff? You're like — super smart!

[Donnie blinks at Poinsettia.]

Wait, that's what you've been doing this whole time? Oh you poor thing.

I thought most of the rooms came with sinks at least. But I guess it's not as important a thing to have for...robot people?

[He grins. But yes, he is super smart, thank you for noticing!]

I've been doing this sort of thing forever. How else do you think my family has running, clean water, electricity and the internet in the sewer?

Anyway, shouldn't be hard. I'll just have to see where the closest pipeline is, then run something between it and a wall here. Maybe right beside the garden area, like over in the corner?

[Poinsettia nodded sheepishly.]

[And speaking of sinks . . . Poinsettia hadn't seen one in Justice's dorm as far as they could tell. Maybe it's bad for robots? Poinsettia remembered seeing a device or two malfunction due to a liquid mishap back at home, but that could be an entirely different thing.]

[And for a young turtle his age, Donnie has done quite the impressive feat in providing for both himself and his family!]

I can totally have the pipeline run along in the corner like that, Donnie. I think that can work out well! Is there anything I can do to repay you or to keep in mind about the garden?

Don't worry about it. I'll see about getting a basin we can use and have Vallum bring it over.

[Donnie doesn't seem worried about getting permission for that, figuring even the Shaymin's roommate will benefit from it in some way.]

I can take a basin! And besides . . . who is Vallum? Are they a friend of yours? If so, I would like to see them! They must be a super cool person for them to bring in the basin like that!

He's my security golem. I stole him from some fae shipping company. [Three of them, actually. And all their Sentry bots.]

He was actually in my room but you probably didn't notice him since he kind of just stands still most of the time. He's like, twenty feet tall.

Wait —

[Clearly, the gears inside their head are starting to turn based on how still they've stood in place.]

— i-isn't stealing from other people bad? Or did they do something horrible to warrant such a theft from their very own shipping company?

[More thinking, especially with how shockingly well Vallum blends into Donnie's room. And to be frank, Poinsettia didn't even realize that he is more than just room decoration!]

I didn't realize he lives with you; does he talk to you sometimes?

[His grin abruptly drops, brow furrowing. Clearly he doesn't hold high opinions of this company.]

Oh, no, not really, if you don't consider stealing people away from their homeworld to be sold as designer pets for stupidly rich people.

I guess he's not technically alive. He's like a magical machine, different class from the Cybertronians and the AI here. Very basic functions. He can talk but only if prompted, and even then he can only answer certain things, but he wasn't really made to be a conversationalist.

… Oh. [Awkward silence.] Huh.

[More silence before Poinsettia finally speaks up on the elephant in the room.] Yeah, you did a good thing in getting Vallum out of that situation. It must’ve been awful for him to be mistreated like that, and you had a good heart in wanting to give Vallum a better chance in living. And besides, did you get to punch them in the face for how they’ve hurt Vallum? If I was there, I would’ve bitten them in the face!

[Poinsettia then looks behind them, wondering if Vallum would be here soon. Then they turn back to face Donnie.]

Vallum is not much of a talker, right? I think he’s pretty much alive if those mean company people chose to dehumanize him like that. Even if he is different from the usual robot that I see in the R2 … I think he’s special in his own good way! No meanie [Like the company Donnie chose to rescue Vallum from, the good turtle boy.] deserves to have him enslaved like that!

Edited 2025-04-28 06:05 (UTC)

Er...

Actually, I wasn't talking about the golems. There's like...these fish-mermaid-looking people? My brother and I rescued a bunch of them from the tanks they had. We haven't been able to check out the possible coordinates for where their homeworld is to return them just yet, and I don't know how many more might've been taken and kept elsewhere or already sold. But...at least these ones won't be.

Ohhh, I see now. [Thank goodness nobody dared to lay a single hand on Vallum. While they may have only known him for about a few minutes or so, Poinsettia is more than willing to protect him if needed.]

[Now visibly horrified, now that Donnie laid it out for them.] Good lord, I didn’t even realize that you were even referring to the fish people. [More silence.] Goodness, I sincerely hope that they’re doing OK so far now that they’re free. They must’ve been homesick from being away from their homes for so long.

Is it easy to find where they live, Donnie?

They're currently in a temporary place. It was pretty awful. One of them was still a baby.

[He frowns, shaking his head.]

Whoever's been poaching them seems to have done a good job of keeping that world a secret. Mikey and I found some coordinates when we ransacked the manager's office, but I haven't been able to look into it further, yet.

A baby?! [Poinsettia, at this point, is now practically stunned at what they just heard.] Wh-Why a baby? Why would they just —?

[Poinsettia then shook their head, now too much to comprehend the actions of that one company.]

Good Arceus, do you think I can help you and Mikey out on getting those fish people home once we finish setting up the garden? I think there is a way to help them, right? [As un-tech-savvy as they are compared to tech extraordinaire Donnie, at least Poinsettia has something to call for in the form of a helping hand. Or paw, to be more accurate.]

Because people can be horrible and selfish.

[Blunt and to the point, but Donnie's seen enough to know the unfortunate truth.]

The help wouldn't be unappreciated. But the bulk of that part is going to require research. Given that we're probably looking at a planet or a system that's been scrubbed off of known charts and had likely only been known to a few, we can't just look it up.

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