Puffball

### Age

Biologically only a few months, though they have the physical appearance & mental capabilities of a 19 year old human.

### Affiliation

Feli (Formerly)
The Valley (Formerly)
The Plants
The Forest

## Player Information

### MC Username

Thousand\_Knocks

Puffball is a nonbinary sentient creature made of plant and fungal matter who lives on the outskirts of the Valley.

## Appearance

A humanoid creature with pointed, elf-like ears, curly brown hair, and a mushroom cap sprouting from their head. Their skin, made of fungal stipe, is incredibly pale, and their eyes, which were mutated from irradiated doll's eyes berries, are brown and often accompanied by fatigued eyebags. A smattering of freckles bridges across their face, which typically adorns a neutral, stoic, or grieving expression.

Their "sweater" - which is really more of a shell than it is any sort of clothing - changes color naturally with the seasons; during summer it's green, during fall it's brown, during winter it's white/gray, and during spring it's yellow. They also "wear" a set of torn overalls. When not sporting armor, Puffball is typically barefoot.

After the Rad Roses & Rot began to infect their garden, Puffball's hands became covered in tiny white scars due to attempting to remove & relocate the numerous infected plants with their bare hands, thus being pricked by the rotten thorns upon contact with them numerous times.

There is a small scar across their left cheek due to having been shot at by Gale.

## Personality

*"A reserved, emotionally-repressed being, Puffball has learned through onerous hardship that vegetation and herbs are the only entities in this world that will not lie to or abuse them. As such, their affections lie locked away amidst a damaged heart, and are unlikely to be vulnerable without true, unadulterated trust. Naive to society, but not to survival, their own wellbeing as well as the wellbeing of the natural world comes before anything else. Mistake their stoicism for apathy if you must, but when you've felt things as intensely as Puffball has, when you've endured for years the life of the lone empath, you are entitled to be just a little tired of unforgiving existence." - Personality section of Puffball's original OC Intro*

Puffball is generally known for their blunt, oftentimes confrontational, manner of speaking, as well as their hatred for so-called "flesh creatures." Despite the fact that they already held a stark sort of wariness towards all non-floral and non-fungal life, their interactions with Leif and Gale seem to have exacerbated their prejudice against "flesh creatures" to the extreme. It can be argued that Puffball suffers from paranoia, as their abandonment issues have caused them to be fearful that any and all beings not comprised of plant matter are intentionally hostile, dangerous, or wish to harm The Plants.

Although Puffball claims that they do not trust others easily, they are desperate for any sort of social connection.

They have a soft spot for cats.

## Relationships

### Feli (NPC)

When Puffball had first emerged from the soil, birthed into consciousness, Feli had been the first sentient non-plant creature that they had ever encountered. The two hit it off, instantly curious about one another, and would often talk for hours, much to the chagrin of both Feli's family as well as The Plants. Although Puffball knew of The Plants' disapproval of their interactions with the Feline, they continued to see him anyway and were overjoyed when Feli suggested running away together in search of a permanent place to settle down.

They established a cozy sort of campsite together where they lived off the land in tandem with the plants & fungi, dwelling with one another in domesticity until one day Puffball awoke to find Feli missing. The plantkin would wait for nearly two weeks before tentatively coming to the conclusion that they had been abandoned; a narrative that The Plants only encouraged.

### Gale

Gale was Puffball's neighbor & first friend, prior to the Rot incident.

Although Puffball was slow to trust and wary of making new connections, Gale displayed everlasting kindness and patience towards the plantkin, which did not go unappreciated. The two often exchanged amicable letters and gifts with one another as they built up their relationship, with two of the most influential offerings being newly charted maps of nearby land from Gale, and a potted cornflower from Puffball.

Puffball's fondest memory of their friendship is having shown Gale to The Forest's reclaimed gazebo and watching the sun set with him; it is the moment the myceloid truly allowed themself to believe again in the possibility of close personal relationships.

When the Rot began spreading and infecting the plants around Puffball's home, Gale was the first person that Puffball reached out to for help. In response, the bird secretly came over during the dead of night to attempt to weed out the infected plants, although he did not succeed.

Eventually, Gale and Leif joined forces with the intention of getting rid of the Rot once and for all, although Puffball did not agree with their methods. The three argued with one another before the two birds went ahead with the plan. Puffball watched, frozen and fearful, as the infected plants were uprooted and incinerated, entirely against their wishes. A charred, black, rotten vein was uncovered beneath the mushroom cottage's lawn as well, shocking and disgusting the three before it, too, was purged along with the rest of the Rot.

Another argument broke out between the three, cementing the divide that had occurred between them, with Puffball feeling especially betrayed and upset towards Gale. The bridge connecting Gale's land to Puffball's was subsequently burned down by the bird duo, the three unanimously coming to understand that Puffball no longer considered themself a part of, nor even an ally to, The Valley.

Months passed before another interaction occurred. Puffball, inebriated by guilt, grief, and isolation, slaughtered a coop of their own chickens and stuffed the carcasses inside of Leif & Gale's mailboxes alongside a rambling, nonsensical letter - an attempt to get the two men to understand the pain and suffering Puffball themself had gone through while forced to watch an ailing population of plants be tortured and set ablaze. Unfortunately, the attempt failed, instead merely further cementing Puffball as an unstable threat to The Valley that Leif & Gale would soon need to deal with.

Currently, Gale and Puffball hold an intense vitriolic distrust towards one another, and although it may appear as though the plantkin hates the bird's guts, what Puffball truly wants is a mere apology. They may refuse to admit it, but they miss their neighbor; they miss their *friend.* They want their pain to be acknowledged by the one person they believed might truly understand them; there is terror in them that somehow, someway, Gale will abandon them altogether in the same way that Feli did. Even though Puffball cannot trust Gale, and even though the two of them regard each other with hostility, Puffball fears the idea of never being able to see him again at all.

### Leif

Prior to the Rot incident, Puffball held a genuine, if faint, sense of respect towards Leif as an authority figure. This is the reason Puffball sent Leif a letter requesting help with the infection in the first place.

After Leif's insistence on outright destroying the contaminated plants altogether, however, Puffball came to regard him as a cruel tyrant with an inability to listen to or sympathize with others, realizing that Morgan's warning about him being dangerous had come to fruition.

As with Gale, Puffball attempted to get their point across through the use of slaughtered chicken carcasses & an ominous letter stuffed into the Rex's mailbox, merely furthering the tensions between them.

Now, Puffball uses stranger's affiliations & opinions toward Leif, Gale, & The Valley as a means of determining their character; those who consider themselves wary of the birds generally earn the beginnings of Puffball's respect, whereas those who consider themselves subjects or allies of The Valley's rulers are often viewed by Puffball as cowardly, cruel, & two-faced.

### Morgan

Despite having initially been wary of encountering another feline, given their history with Feli, Puffball trusts Morgan implicitly and currently considers them the most important person in their life.

The two first met in The Valley, where Puffball expressed concern at engaging with another catlike person. This piqued Morgan's interest, however, causing them to inquire about whether or not there were truly others out there like themself. The conversation continued relatively amicably until the feline warned Puffball about The Valley's founder, Leif, and citing him as a dangerous man. Though slightly befuddled, Puffball thanked the cat and assured them that they would keep it in mind.

After the Rot was purged from Puffball's garden, Morgan was the first of few to offer solace and comfort. As Puffball wept and grieved for their lost kin, Morgan remained by their side and attempted to talk them through their sorrow. Puffball apologized for not having listened to Morgan's warning, but the feline made it clear that they did not blame the myceloid, instead far more enraged at Leif, whom they somewhat correctly believed to be the ringleader behind the entire incident. As a show of trust, Morgan even showed Puffball to the Temple, and assured them that it would be there for the fungal being should they ever require a safehaven.

Although Puffball may not hold any particular creed with the feline religion, they do believe that Morgan is a fundamentally good person and are willing to assert that the calico's murder of Leif was justified. To the best of their ability, Puffball will not allow anyone to besmirch the cat's name; they're more than willing to get into an argument to defend their friend's actions.

After Puffball's home was destroyed, the fungaloid sought out Morgan immediately, desperate for solace, comfort, and peace. It was then determined that Puffball would remain in and live in the temple for the time being.

### Toylucent

Puffball considers Toylucent a strong ally and does not mind referring to it as their friend.

Although Puffball had been suspicious of Toy upon first meeting it, fearing that it would harm the plants, Toylucent quickly established itself as an amicable and humorous being. The two occasionally find a kinship in not understanding the whims and wills of modern society, such as the exchange of expected social pleasantries as well as the concept of borders between factions. Puffball is also slightly biased towards the small purple creature, as it is supposedly "made of rock" as opposed to flesh, bone, or blood.

More often than not, Puffball fathoms themself endeared by Toylucent's naive rambling, and does their best to field any questions the inchling might have. Of course, they'd be lying if they didn't admit to occasionally becoming confused by some of Toy's more....curious accounts of its life and the things around it, but they simply chalk it up to Toy having a more limited comprehension of the world than most beings. Puffball also enjoys receiving Toy's odd little notes, which are often scribbled onto loose pieces of paper or etched into stray objects and stuffed into the mailbox; just another one of Toylucent's little behaviors that might coax a chuckle out of the plantkin if they believe no one's watching.

Puffball is deeply concerned about Toy's apparent inability to travel alone in the nether.

Toylucent is currently the only creature that Puffball has trusted with the location of the Pathology Lab.

### Lyman

Lyman's silver tongue has made it quite easy for Puffball to believe that the moth genuinely sympathizes with them. Due to this perceived compassion, the plantkin does not mind Lyman's home dwelling so close to their forest, and in fact believes that it may be beneficial for him and The Plants to be in such close quarters with one another.

### Ebon

Although the two considered themselves amicable upon meeting for the first time, - due entirely to the both of them being close friends of Morgan's - the relationship quickly turned sour. Puffball finds Ebon's neutrality & indecision to be cowardly and has made this opinion quite clear; they believe that Ebon is traitorous for fraternizing with Leif and has alleged that this indicates that Ebon is not, or at the very least unworthy of being, a true ally to Morgan.

Despite the bad blood between the two, Ebon did warn Puffball about an upcoming scheme involving Leif and Gale, providing the plantkin with a couple breakable potions in the hopes that they would stay safe.

### Skips

Puffball considers Skips a cordial acquaintance. Although the two have not interacted very much, the meetings that they have had were either positive or neutral.

### Myst

Puffball finds Myst to be cheeky, difficult, & annoying. This is not to say, however, that they do not like him. In fact, Puffball finds the phantom's ability to fluster and frustrate them just the slightest bit amusing; although, of course, they would rather die than admit this aloud.

### Finch

Although the two have not interacted much, Puffball dislikes Finch due to the inchling's apparent neutrality regarding the Leif & Morgan conflict. Puffball was also disappointed to learn that the mushroom cap on top of the Borrower's head was merely a hat and not an indication of another living plant creature.

### Varos

Despite Puffball's initial patience & willingness to enlighten the enderian to the workings of the world, the fungal being quickly grew frustrated with Varos' apparent inability to comprehend their perspective in regards to the current conflict. This lead to an eruption of emotion on Puffball's part, inadvertently frightening Varos & leaving them both on worse terms than they began.

## Pets

### Wolfsbane

The corpse of a wolf that regained sentience after The Plants infused it with floral and fungal life so as to provide Puffball with a mobile & trustworthy companion. In-game, her collar is purple, but this is mostly to reflect the natural color of the wolfsbane flower, which Leon believes prominently grows and thrives in the fur of her coat. She is missing an eye.

Wolfsbane is very loyal to and protective of Puffball and essentially acts as a sort of guard dog for the high-rise mushroom cottage.

### Caracalla

A snail that Puffball rescued and raised until she grew large enough to be considered a mount. Caracalla is slightly skittish, but her bond with Puffball is deep and trusting. She may not be the fastest creature, but Puffball's loyalty to her as their chosen mount is as significant as her loyalty to them is.

Aside from her saddle, Caracalla is also equipped with a green carpet, although Leon has yet to determine what that means for her appearance canonically.

Her name comes from the Vigna caracalla flower, more commonly known as the Snail Flower.

### Catnip

A domestic cat who became exposed to spores after being in contact with Puffball for so long and now shares an affinity with plants and fungi. This is not a common outcome for those in proximity with Puffball; it is mostly due to the fact that Catnip constantly bites, chews on, and ingests segments of Puffball's clothing & hair, as well as licks & bites at their skin.

Puffball does not realize that Catnip's relationship with plants has changed; they believe that it is simply a normal, hyperactive cat.

Catnip is incredibly energetic, often experiencing the feline phenomenon known as "zoomies." Although this is typically quite inconvenient for the more impassive humanoid, Puffball doesn't mind and considers Catnip an important companion.

### Cattail

A brown axolotl that lives in the pond on Puffball's front lawn. He is relatively calm, but is often curious of new things. Puffball has a friendly relationship with both him and Blackberry, as they both often swim to the surface in greeting whenever the plantkin stops by to watch them. He and Blackberry get along very well.

### Blackberry

A black axolotl who was given to Puffball by Lyman, and who now lives in the pond on Puffball's front lawn. She is a tad shyer than Cattail, often following him around as opposed to exploring things on her own, but her skittish nature has not impeded her from forming a positive relationship with both Cattail and Puffball.

She is very interested in shiny things, and will occasionally attempt to steal items if they are brought too close to the pond's surface.

## Trivia

* The name "Puffball" comes from the species of fungus known scientifically as Calvatia gigantea, or "giant puffball."
	+ This is not the species of mushroom that their cap is modeled after. The cap is actually an homage to the commonly depicted fly agaric mushrooms.
* Puffball's height is 5'5".
* All of Puffball's canon pets are named after plants.
* Puffball was originally created for a different SMP that the roleplayer gave up on trying to participate in.
* Puffball is *kind of* a self-insert sort of character, or at least was initially. Many of Puffball's thoughts & behavioral patterns are inspired by Leon's real life experiences with mental illness, loneliness, hyper-empathy, & grief.
* Puffball probably had a bit of a crush on Gale prior to the Rot incident, even if they themself never recognized it.
* Whether or not Puffball is actually able to communicate with plants is, for all intents and purposes, left up to personal interpretation. While Leon plays its character & determines roleplay actions as though Puffball's relationship with the plants *is* real, Leon also believes that the concept of it all being in Puffball's head is equally as interesting and just as tragic.
* Leon once got very butthurt over their ex unintentionally saying something negative about Puffball's psychology. This is because Leon is the most annoying person on the planet and is very unwilling to accept the fact that the character they created is a literal eco-terrorist.
* If you say mean things about Puffball, Leon *will* cry. This is a threat.