ximilia | video; un: toxicodendron

[The woman who appears on the video feed is new, and notable for a couple of reasons. First and most obvious, she is fairly notably green. Not just a little green, either. Her skin, eyes, even her lips are clearly and distinctly chlorophyll green. The second, and somewhat less remarkable, is her expression which falls somewhere between irked and uneasy.

If you guessed she's not much of a public speaker, you'd be right. A fact which becomes abundantly clear when she addresses her audience.

Don't you feel smart.]

Hello. Hi. I know there's a bunch of us who just showed up and started filling up your network with, I don't know, I'd call them introductions but I'm not really sure what some of these assholes are doing. Anyway, I'll try to keep this short and no more awkward than necessary.

[Her tone is dry, and the words clearly enunciated and a little louder than natural. As though she's worried the people watching will have a hard time following and she doesn't want to repeat herself.]

I am Dr. Pamela Isley, a.k.a Poison Ivy. You can call me Ivy. I'm not here to stand on formality or wave around my degrees.

[Time to find out if anyone has heard of her. There's no way they'll be lucky enough that no one has heard of her, right?

Deep breath, and:]

I bring it up because I'm a botanist and a biochemist. Trying not to step on any toes here, but I'd like to find out a few things.

One—who can I talk to about using the lab? Are we like assigned space, or is it a free-for-all in there? I don't want to touch anyone's ongoing projects, because I know how I'd feel if someone started poking through mine without checking with me first.

Two—similar question, this time substitute "hydroponic garden" for "lab." You might have noticed... plant theme. Botanist. Like, my thumbs are literally green. It's sort of my brand. If I could get in on that, it would be aces.

[She is trying very, very hard to play nice where the garden is concerned. Ivy is smart enough to know she's not going to get very far making enemies on her first day. So sort of the opposite of prison. Or boarding school.]

And speaking of plants, three—if anyone has any seeds or any cuttings or starts I could persuade them to part with, then I would owe you a favor.

[Each of those last words is drawn out deliberately, her voice growing quieter as she hesitates between words. When she follows up, it's light in contrast:]

I would kill for a spider fern for my room.

[She's joking, but like, is she joking?]

And that about covers it. Just, reach out to me here with any answers. Thaaaanks.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

You can if you want. You'd be surprised by how many people gloss right over it. [He said with a smirk and a shrug. He wasn't concerned with her lack of enthusiasm--at least she was trying to be polite. She just knew what she wanted: the plants.]

We can skip right to the plants though if you prefer, Ivy-san.

Are you in the mob?

[Might as well get it out of the way. Hell, if there are other criminals around, maybe she doesn't have to walk quite so much on eggshells with this whole thing.]

[Zhao giggled at the blunt question. His smile was flirting with insanity. (Just a show, always just a performance.)]

My gang is the Liumang of Yokohama, Japan. [Liumang didn't quite literally translate to "Chinese mafia" so he offered that himself.] I run the Chinese mafia out of Isezaki Ijin-chō. The red light district of Yokohama.

You ever been to Japan, Ivy-san? It's great, if you're a temporary visitor or belong there.

[Not so much if you're an outcast from a foreign nation that several times has gone to war with the country.]

So you're not just in the mob, you're the boss. Beats being a henchman.

[That answered that question, and then some. She's hardly in a position to be scandalized by it, shrugging off the laugh.]

I don't do much of the tourist thing.

[Which isn't to say she hasn't been there, but she hasn't been there in the capacity where she gets the welcome temporary visitor thing.]

That's right.

[He made a flippant gesture as he posed briefly. But it was just a show and he relaxed in a second. Not that his arrogant attitude left entirely. There was no reason to put on airs here though.

And he wasn't trying to scare her off. If that was even possible. Her nonchalant attitude was refreshing and amusing.]

Fair enough. You travel at all? [Just curious now.] Well, either way. I love my home, but not everything is always perfect. I guess that's true anywhere... but it's not something I can ignore, it's my life. [He waved his hand dismissively this time.] Never mind all that nonsense. You're not here for a life lesson on the underground of Japan. I promise I'm friendly.

Mostly for work.

[Japan is, it might not surprise him to learn, especially welcoming to thieves and/or ecoterrorists.]

You have been very friendly so far. Believe me. I'm harder to scare off than that.

[At least as long as the plants are involved.]

You were going to tell me about the last mission?

[He laughed.] I guess so. No big scary wolf here.

[He left that persona back home. Here, it didn't matter so much. Why bother? Except occasionally on missions when it became useful.]

You bet! It was a lovely planet...

[And handwavey things here for Zhao telling about Ciraiwei in general and the plants in particular.]

Oh, I'm not sure I'd say that.

[Dryly. Ivy's not a wolf, though. She's more like a strangler fig.]

Until it got shot out of the sky like a clay pigeon on a firing range, right?

video; un: toxicodendron

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