Chapter Text
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Your name is JADE HARLEY. It just so happens that today is shaping up to be completely uneventful, as are basically all the days you’ve experienced for the past few months. Wake up, say hi to Dave and Karkat, have some breakfast and do a whole lot of nothing all day. Even living alone on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean was more eventful than this!
No matter how much you try to hide it, life on Earth C is hard for you. And it shouldn’t be! This is supposed to be a paradise, the reward granted to you and your friends for doing the impossible and completing the game, not some unfamiliar land that you’re suddenly being thrust into without any real understanding of how to function within a society.
You’re slowly getting better at maintaining peoples’ personal space, keyword slowly. You opted to live in an apartment with Dave and Karkat instead of living off on your own to help increase the amount of practice you get interacting with people. Of course they aren’t big fans of the random attempted snuggling sessions spurred on by your doggy side, but other than that they’ve been very understanding.
This isn’t the only living opportunity you’ve gotten, Jake offered you a job at Skaianet as the head of research and development which would entail having a luxury highrise apartment suite. But you turned it down. Despite your immense love of and knowledge in all things gadgety and sciencey, the job would’ve been too much for you. It’d involve a lot of pressure, which is practically the last thing you’d want to have right now. And that’s not even mentioning the fact that you’d have to socialize with many different people on a very regular basis, a task which you are almost certain you’d screw up somehow. You’re only just now getting used to interacting with Dave and Karkat regularly!
And speaking of those two, you’re suddenly reminded of how much you appreciate their respect for your situation. Not only do they let you live with them, but they somehow manage to consistently deal with your snuggly nature, Dave especially. Though their patient and understanding attitude towards you hasn’t stopped you from feeling like a fish out of water. Society is overwhelming. A small part of you still creeps up and makes you catch yourself reminiscing over the days on your island.
Today is one of the days that that small part has crept its way up on you and tackled you straight into the memory zone. You’re up to your neck in nostalgic reminiscence.
>Jade: Reminisce
Your life on the island, while far from desirable, still maintains a familiarity that fuels the desire to return to it. Times were much, much simpler. No worries over meeting social norms, no fears about accidentally tacklepouncing someone into a hug because you got overly excited at seeing their face, just you and the beauty of nature.
The ocean wind would blow in through your windows, filling your room with a delightful scent that you find yourself wishing you could go back to smell with your keen canine nose. It was a wonderful thing to wake up to. After waking up, you’d most often find yourself a bit disoriented from your recent dream on Prospit, the transition from a beautifully lit kingdom of gold back to the environment of your island ever-jarring. Yet it was par for the course. A quick consultation of your colorful finger bracelet reminders would tell you to tend to your plants. You’d stand up, stretch, get on a gardening outfit of your choosing, and then pet Bec if he happened to be nearby.
Bec. You try your best not to think about him too often, though you tend to miserably fail at that task. You’re reminded of him every time you look in the mirror. Of all the things you miss about your old life, Bec is the one you miss the most. After the unfortunate passing of your grandpa, he was the only friend you had that you could actually be around. Even if he may have been a little overprotective, he was still your best friend. A good portion of your fondest childhood memories revolve around him. Sometimes you’d try to have conversations with him, spending upwards of multiple hours talking to him with hopes he’d one day speak back. Considering his set of powers and highly above average intelligence for a dog, it wasn’t all that unjust for you to think that he could at least understand you. Something inside you tells you he did. Especially now that you’re merged with him, you’ve got more reason than ever to believe that he did.
Entering the garden atrium you’d find a sunlight-lit room with walls and a ceiling of blue glass. All of your vividly colorful plants would be tended to in order, given the perfect amounts of water needed to keep them nice and healthy. Maybe you’d pick a fruit and snack on it if the mood struck you. To many these would feel like chores, menial tasks only being carried out due to a sense of obligation, but not to you. In your eyes, caring for your garden kept you grounded. It gave you something consistent to keep up with day by day. Now that you’re thinking about it…
>Brainstorm
Maybe that’s exactly what you need. Even with the miniature garden you have going in your windowsill, you’re left unsatisfied. Five little flowers isn’t nearly enough to keep you focused. Of course you have as much fun as possible while hanging out with friends between bouts of worry that you’re acting too awkward, but you still don’t have any specific activity to call yours. Dave’s got his directorial career, Karkat’s got his silly internet blog, Roxy’s got her gaming channel, Jane and Jake have their respective multi-billion boondollar companies, and all you have is a measly five flowers and a part-time career as a dog treat taste tester. In all honesty, it’s a very boring lifestyle.
You glance over at the plants in your windowsill and sit in quiet contemplation for more time than you’d care to admit. There’s no space in this apartment for a garden, even if you somehow converted your entire room into one. What you need is a whole dedicated place for a garden. A greenhouse! You need a greenhouse. Wait, how would you even get your hands on a greenhouse? Boonbucks aren’t the problem, it’s just that you have no idea how you’re supposed to get your paws hands on any form of real estate. Maybe you’ll ask one of your friends about how the whole property thing works!
Jane seems like a fitting choice, considering the fact that her few-month old corporation already owns quite a great deal of property. She strikes you as being particularly well-versed in this sort of affair.
>Jade: Pester Jane
gardenGnostic[GG] began pestering gutsyGumshoe[GG]
GG: hi jane!
GG: can i ask you about something?
GG: Oh, hello Jade!
GG: Feel free to ask away, I’m all ears.
GG: Or eyes, rather. Hoo hoo! :B
GG: hehe
GG: i could always teleport over and then youd be all ears about it!
GG: I don’t believe that’s necessary.
GG: Unless you’d like to come for a visit later when I’m not as busy with all this paperwork!
GG: Hoo, I’m getting ahead of myself. What would you like to ask?
GG: oh!
GG: i almost forgot about what i wanted to ask in the first place :p
GG: i was wondering about how were supposed to buy property and stuff
GG: Are you looking into buying a home for yourself?
GG: Did those two boys get to be too much for you?
GG: no!
GG: they are very fun to live with and i dont have any plans to move out anytime soon
GG: i wanted to get some place to start a garden
GG: A garden, hm? Quite funny you should ask such a thing!
GG: We just closed down a CrockerCorp store to transition it into a larger building yesterday.
GG: Perhaps you’d like to take the space and start a flower shop?
GG: :o
GG: jane that sounds perfect!
GG: Hoo, I try my best!
GG: well your best is very very good!
GG: that is such a good idea!
Your tail is making a racket from slamming down against the bed over and over. The mere thought has that thing going at the speed of light, it’s essentially just a white blur.
GG: Well shucks, I’m glad you like it!
GG: how do i start?
GG: I’ll transportalize some paperwork for you to sign over your way.
GG: Once that’s all done and tidied, you can send the boons over and the shop will be all yours!
GG: sweet!
GG: im so excited to get this started!
GG: :D!!!!!!!