❧ The Arboretum: Fanclub!

[radiantly]

whaaaaaaaalllleeeee
sorry... I'm going to attempt the contest soon? maybe? idk. ??

[fuiuki]

Hmm, I imagine the Arboretum would be a really big greenhouse building. Like one of those plant shops where they have decorations and stuff as well as flowers and plants. Although, I imagine the Arboretum to be pretty open, with shelves along the walls and plant boxes in aisles and rows. The shelves would contain decorations and jars, and the plant boxes plants of course :3 There would also be big containers of substrates where you grab a bag and spade and just get what you want, then weigh it for total cost, as well as big boxes filled with water and water-living animals.
Then the greenhouse section would connect to a small reception kind of room where you pay. It would have an ice cream cooler, very important. From there, there would be a door leading to a storage room which also houses one of those spinning disks for clay making, and and a workbench with tools for making decorations.
Lastly, on the back of the building there would be a loading area where shipments of material would be received. It's also where the bug catchers and fishermen would come to drop of animals and such, after which they would be displayed in the reception room if they are bugs.

[Catterpilers4you]

hi there,

i think that the arboretum would be like bath and body works? if that makes sense. like they're would be different things all around the

store, but they would be organized. the new things would always be at the very front. the colors would be green and blue, and there

would be big counter at the back, all the different jars would be behind the counter, and all the plants/decor would be around the

store, you would bring your subtrate, plants, items, and you would bring them all the the counter and then give them to Tubla, or any

staff member working there. The staff member would pour the subtrate in and then you, the customer, you tell them where you want

everthing to go inside of it.




now, what the store wwould actuallly look like, there would be all the plants on one side of the store, and all the decor on the other

side of the store. any new arrivels or special deals would be in the middle of the room. it would be a long rectangle kinda room?

like this viewtopic.php?f=33&t=3177267

[radiantly]

ok so I didn't look at any before writing this and I realize the length got completely out of hand but I'll still post it. -decreases font desperately to make it take up less room-

also, I'm not really sure where I was going with this so... (clears throat) uhm...

a little girl sniffled against the cold. the dirt crusted fingernails and ratty clothing told a story of how she lived. her hair was tangled and had no shine to it and her face was dirty and bleak. her eyes, however, were determined. she had a purpose and she had to complete her mission. she could not fail.
the bitter wind spiraled around her drooping clothing and clawed its way to her skin through the holes in the stitching. a police siren wailed in the distance but the girl was not scared; they were not looking for her. her dark eyes squinted against the coldness and she clutched her hands tighter against the parcel in the paper bag she carried. she knew she must deliver the package at any cost.

she could see her destination; a brightly painted greenhouse brimming with life. the greens and browns of the various flora inside caused her eyes to light up. this building was a gem in a city that was ridden with concrete and nothingness. the great skyscrapers had conquered the great trees that once bestowed their roots deep into the soil, yes, but they could never overpower the will of nature. this thought was reinforced when the child looked down for a clump of leaves was beginning to sprout from a crack in the bricks beneath her bare feet.
her heart grew lighter with each frigid step. her eyes took on a new glow and she almost floated to the doors of the arboretum. the glow from inside ignited a new bravery inside the young human and she felt ready to complete her task. folding open the weathered paper bag, she reached her shaky fingers inside and wrapped her fingers loosely around the object inside.

cautiously she placed the empty pot on the steps outside of the greenhouse impersonating building, touched her fingers to her lips before placing them firmly on the soil and then she was gone. a person, figure illuminated by the light from inside opened the door and almost did not see the pot on their doorstep. their warm hands wrapped tenderly around the cold plastic and they hurriedly brought the thing inside.

after placing the plant on an empty shelf and adding a sprinkle or fertilizer and water to its soil, the stranger smiled kindly at the plant and was off to nurse another sapling.

in the center of the room and hanging from the ceilings or in pots on the floor and shelves, thousands of plants slept peacefully in their pots. a waterfall that had been shrunk to the size of a mouse churned water with dedication alongside several identical ones by its side.
on the shelves adjacent to the black plastic rested a few complete terrariums brimming with plant life. the gardener was flittering through the building and attending to plants.

the most striking feature was the two opposite glass walls that seemed to come alive with ivy and other vines. a few grapes hung from the stalks; their heavy purple orbs ripe for the picking. the green creepers rose for meters and seemed to touch the heavens. the other two walls, one of which housed the heavy oakwood front door, were painted a striking shade of white. they had a few planter pots full of seedlings on them and the sturdy pots were propped full of interesting things.

a butterfly fluttered gracefully atop a daffodil and a small beehive was beginning in a corner where the glass on one of the panes had been broken. the call of a robin sounded and it flew out of an open window from its nest in the rafters. a few fish splashed in the pools near the waterfalls and a snail raced to get to a ripened strawberry. all around the pot, small and insignificant things were happening but they all added up to combat the grey and dead of the city outside. they all made a small face pressed against the glass's heart swell with pride. one day, her sapling would grow strong. it would be part of something great and magical.

that was the reason she had chosen this place. it contained magic deeper than the roots of any plants she had seen and happiness flowed through every person after they brought home their jar. her gift would definitely bring happiness to someone and keep the spirit of nature alive. and if she wanted to achieve that task, the arboretum was no doubt the place to do just that.

with that, she stumbled away. dark eyes scanning for any struggling life. that is what she did; she saved whatever she thought needed saving and gave the future a chance to thrive.

[ladybug astronaut]

Alright, I forgot I left the canvas really big so I'm just gonna link the pictures??

This is the outside! You can see the garden where Tubs grows all the plants and up top, you can see the fanclub (: There's a rope ladder up there, instead of a normal ladder, because why not? That's way more fun.

Here's inside the shop! I drew a smiling Tubs at the counter :0 There's a cabinet full of the items Tubs finds, and a lineup of gravels ready to be scooped into jars. The jars are held in another room, bc they take up a lot of space, but the types are displayed so you can find what you want. The archive is a bulletin board with people's finished products pinned up!

And finally, the fanclub (: I was gonna draw more people but I got lazy :0 I drew the very tall cactus tho!! He says hello (: There's paper and pen for the polls on the table, and a little box to submit your answers in over in the back. There are more chairs all the way around the table, but for the sake of the picture, they're all on one side :U

So?? There it is (: Sorry it isn't colored or anything, it was just a quick sketch. I get really lazy when it comes to backgrounds, and?? This was 100% background so like. (,: Yeh.

[yellow paint]

marking

[yellow paint]

well, here goes nothing.

finished edit: THIS WAS SO LONG I'M SO SORRY I JUST WANTED TO MAKE A CUTE LIL STORY ;~;
read the entire thing, then!

the gravel under your feet crunches as you head down the sidewalk. the town around you is filled with small stores advertising things like vegan ice cream and recycled furniture and locally produced plays, but your sights are set on something else. towards the end of the street, wedged between a bakery and a homemade crafts store, is a shop different from all the other ones in the town. protruding from the brick is a slanted glass roof that immediately catches the attention of anyone who walks past. interested, you raise your head to read the sign saying the roof of the store:
'the arboretum.'

the front of the shop is taken up mainly by larger glass windows. a long tray of succulents grow in the sun and air plants rest inside of hanging glass jars. vines crawl up the awning and clover pokes out of the cracks in the brick. intrigued, you step inside the shop. a small bell rings as you push open the door, and the cashier looks up as you enter.

you're instantly greeted with the smell of fresh plants and flowers, and you think you hear the trickling of water. towards one end of the room, jars and mugs are lined up on shelves. racks rim the room with terrarium decor. lining the back of the room are a few cages covered up by sheets and you think you can hear the squeaking of bats and the buzzing of small animals but you're not sure. the majority of the room is taken up by long aisleways with plants, from what looks like little mossy stuff to tall flowers. from the ceiling hang long vines though each newly trimmed. bags of sand and pebbles sit in one corner, though sand seems to be coating the entire space in a fine layer. pots of succulents are nestled in random places. although the ceiling is glass, wood supports and fairy lights make the room have a more dim, warm lighting. the whole shop seems to have a homely feel, the way a proper plant shop should.

"can I help you?" asks the girl at the register.
"what is this place?" you respond. "I've never been here before."

the cashier seems to perk up, looking at you excitedly. "oh, this is the arboretum! a small plant shop stocked with conveniently sized terrariums. since you're new, let me give you the grand tour. my name is Tubla by the way, the founder and owner of the arboretum."

tubla leads you around the shop, informing you about the things you can get and terrariums you can make. "right now, we have a big event going on!" she says. "since we've gotten so popular, we expanded, and we have water terrariums for the first time ever."
you follow tubla into a small room behind the row of cages. empty tanks are stacked in a corner. two taps, one labeled freshwater and one labeled saltwater, are dripping and you realize that was the water noise you heard earlier. huge aquariums of fish and aquatic life guards one wall and an equally large tank of plants stands next to the other. forms for different parts of the event are layed out on a long table in the middle of the room. "everyone gets one hydroponic tank free." tubla mentions. "you can win decorum and water life for your aquatic terrarium by entering games, which are very low prices. the entire event was a big hit, I had to expand it." she says happily.
"now, let me show you the archives." confused and a little excited, you're led into an area behind the front desk. tubla swings open a big door as your eyes widen.

rows and rows of shelves completely cover the walls, each taken over by hundreds of terrariums of all shapes and sizes. the shelves go floor to ceiling with barely any space in between each jar. small vases are wedged next to huge birdhouses and mugs, tiny pots beside window boxes and flasks. inside or next to each terrarium was a small scroll of paper, assumably listing the owner.
"how many are there?" you ask in awe.
"er- lots." tubla responds. "a record of each jar made is made so nothing gets mixed up or lost. these aren't exact replicas, most just have some vines and moss to represent plants, but each jar is a jar bought here. currently, the arboretum has had over two hundred and fifty clients, meaning more than two hundred and fifty jars displayed here."
you gasp slightly, amazed at the sheer number of jars made. "aren't they really expensive, though? I would've thought not as many people would pay so much."
she shakes her head definitively. "no, they aren't expensive at all. in fact, your first starter jar is free. would you like one? you can have a hydroponic tank too."
you agree gladly, happy that your pockets wouldn't be empty.

tubla sits across from you at the counter as you flip through a large book of tanks, plants, animals, and decorations. she explains how the jars are almost completely self-sufficient as long as they have a good home.
you decide to get just a starter jar and hydroponic tank, but promise to come back later for another one.

"one question though," you say to tubla on your way out as you balance your tank under one arm and jar in the other,
"how am I going to carry these big terrariums home?"

[tubla]

love the entries so far! Some of you have managed to integrate the ongoing event, and that's kinda cool o: I'll probably end up taking some parts from different people and putting them together...


I 'd like to clear something up, though (it won't affect anything, just thought I'd point it out):

George = top hat whale () and also tubs' imaginary sidekick that you're all currently reffering to as tubla herself. Loves tea, and is unquestionably the fanciest of fancypants.

Tubla = hooman female who I've yet to make a ref for because I'm lazy :'B She has dark blue+black wayfarer glasses, dark grey eyes, and is either wearing flip flops or a sweet pair of tan no-heeled ankle-high buckled boots. Mostly flip-flops, though.

[peachyykat]

george is the most posh of whales. everybody's entries so far are awesome!! can't wait to see the outcome of the contest c:

EDIT ;;
wheezing i just typed out like 8 long paragraphs on mobile my thumbs are screaming for mercy hhh

[2FrostyPaws]

wow, what on earth did I miss? o:

Albert is amazing!! I love him tbh and the trumpet variety like whoah?? I named mine as well: the albino Gil and the normal Lud. I'm a bit of fandom trash so if you connect the dots to the fandom, the names make some sense hehe.

Also, instead of a custom Tubla statue, imagine a custom Tubla jar. Tubla, O Leader of the Arboretum, let us take save haven within your blubbery walls against the cruelties of winter.

@Tubla is your mascot a whale bc that's what I think of you as bc of your avatar. A sweet and gentle, very wise whale, blessing us with plants.

I myself don't think of me (?) as a whale, however my imaginary best whale friend is called George <3
He isn't very gentle, but he is, however, the fanciest of fancypants. -snip-

George is adorable XD. Was it in your former sig?