In the Workshop of Odd Inventions, where half-finished contraptions hum softly and springs ricochet for reasons no one fully understands, the gnomes had recently been gifted a delightful splash of green.
The plants belonged to Petra Mosswhistle, a renowned gardener gnome from the neighboring Mosswhistle Glen. Petra visited the workshop every few weeks to check on the projects she supplied herbs and leaves for - lubrication leaves, scent sprigs, polishing moss, that sort of thing. One day, noticing how dreary the workshop looked, she generously loaned them a handful of her favorite desk plants to brighten the place up.
“It’s simple,” she said.
“Give them a little water now and then. They like kindness, sunlight, and compliments.”
The workshop gnomes nodded vigorously.
They meant well.
They were also very easily distracted.
The Day of Crispy Tragedy
Weeks passed. Petra returned one morning carrying a basket of fresh clippings, only to find her once-lush plants wilted into fragile, sorrowful curls. She gasped loud enough to knock two wind-up gears off the table.
“What happened?!” Petra cried.
The workshop gnomes froze mid-tinker.
“We… got busy?” offered Nerk.
“I watered them in my mind,” whispered Fipple, unhelpfully.
“I thought the plants watered themselves,” said Tully, who definitely knew better.
Petra was horrified. These were not ordinary plants, they housed tiny Kusasei, the gentle “grass spirits” of her glen, known to soothe busy minds and keep mischief at bay. She had entrusted them to the workshop, and this was the result?
She gathered the withered pots to take them home, muttering about “inventors with more enthusiasm than responsibility.”
The workshop gnomes panicked.
They liked the green.
They liked the calm.
They especially liked the absence of Gremlin Mischief Spirits.
“Wait!” Fipple the Tinkerer exclaimed.
“We can fix this! We’ll invent something so brilliant the plants will water themselves!”
Petra crossed her arms. “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
The Kusasei™ Breakthrough
What followed was a flurry of prototypes, mishaps, and at least one minor indoor monsoon. But eventually the workshop gnomes unveiled their solution:
A compact, elegant self-watering planter, designed so even the most distractible tinkerer could keep a Kusasei happy. A hidden reservoir below. A wick that drew just the right amount of moisture upward. A seed bed above, snug and tidy.
Petra inspected it with suspicion.
Tested the water flow.
Tapped the air chamber.
Sniffed the soil.
Finally, she nodded. “This might actually work.”
About the Name
The workshop gnomes named the new system Kusasei (pronounced koo-sah-SAY) after the gentle grass spirits Petra revered—small, living companions who thrived quietly anywhere they were given a little dignity and a nice view.
And the Tiny Tools…
Once the Kusasei began thriving, they began really thriving.
That’s when the gnomes noticed Petra trimming hers with tiny folding shears. To join in the fun (and because competitions are irresistible), they created their own miniature tools:
- A tiny rake for smoothing soil and planting new seeds
- Foldable trimming shears for tidy grooming
And eventually, unofficial “haircut contests” began: flat-top, bowl cut, slanted ridge, and the notorious double-angled swoop
Petra pretended to be above such games—yet somehow always won.
The Result
The Kusasei™ Planters became the workshop’s first-ever horticultural invention, born from forgotten watering, rescued plants, and the desire to keep Petra Mosswhistle from ever scolding them again.
Today, every planter carries the same spirit:
- self-watering design
- growing media & seeds
- foldable shears
- tiny versatile rake
A tiny ecosystem…
A gentle grass spirit…
And a reminder that even the busiest workshops need a bit of green.