![DTAE [Poison Blue]](https://cdn2.scratch.mit.edu/get_image/project/827434267_480x360.png)
TW: Little bit of dried ketchup/catsup Note: If the backstory is too long and you don't have time to read it, here's the summary: Pokeweed is a cat who lives on a farm with their father and sister. Their sister is mean. Pokeweed finds out that their sister forced their father to name them after a poisonous plant. When they confront her, they get into a huge argument, and later, they leave. They meet two cats, Cliff and Maple. They stay there for a while, and they all go on a trip to the city. Maple thinks Pokeweed is a bad influence on Cliff, and pours acid on their leg, leaving a scar. Cliff finds out and leaves with Pokeweed, reassuring them that Maple will be fine, and she'll find some nice humans to live with. space/click/arrow keys 1: A drawing of their whole body, with a color palette. (this is what happens when you draw with the trackpad ._.) 2: sad– 3: Behind the bandage 4: Some pokeweed 5: Maple is mean (my art style actually changed before I made this one, and after 1, 2, and 3, so that's why the legs look different) 6: Yeah... B) Credits Design: @-LeviathensTalons- Art: @29yuc Code @29yuc hhhhh this took so long Name: Pokeweed Pronouns: Non-binary Sexuality: Asexual + Aromantic Backstory: Growing up, Pokeweed lived on a farm. Their father, their sister, and many other farm animals live with them. Their sister would constantly tease them, calling them useless, slow, and most of all, small. You see, Pokeweed was a runt. The chickens were nearly as big as them. And Pokeweed's sister weaponized this fact. Day after day, the comments were pelted at Pokeweed, giving them a generally unhappy life. One of, if not the only good thing about this life was the land. Surrounding the farm were dense woodlands, open fields, soggy marshlands, and grassy hills. Pokeweed loved exploring the varying habitat, and each morning they would set off in a new direction. Of all of these places, the one they loved the most was a patch of thin woodland, with a moss covered ground. At least once a week they would visit it, and one day, they found a new shrub growing in one of the mossy clearings. Pokeweed took one of the berries to show their father, and when he saw them, his eyes widened with fear. "Pokeweed! What are you doing with that berry!? Those are very poisonous!" "They are? I didn't realize," Pokeweed replied. "I wanted to show it to you so I could identify it. What kind of berry is it?" "Ah– It's– um..." their father stuttered uneasily. "It's pokeweed..." Pokeweed blinked, confused. "Wh– But– why would you name me after something you're so afraid of..." Pokeweed breathed, hurt. "Oh... It's... Sort of a long story..." Pokeweed's father mumbled. "Oh, I have time." Naturally, Pokeweed wanted to hear the story, and it would give them an excuse to stay away from their sister. "Okay, it's not actually that long, " he began. "Basically, before you were born, your sister was, ah, unhappy, about you. Your mother and I were getting tired of her little "rebellions", as we called them. She would do things like leave dead worms everywhere, "forget" to do her mousing when she was supposed to, and she would hide pokeweed in the nests. As an attempt to try to stop her, we offered her one wish. One request for anything she wanted. And she chose..." "She chose to name me Pokeweed, didn't she." "... yes." came the reply. "She said that if we did, she'd leave you alone." After a short pause, Pokeweed said, "Are you sure? She insults me every day." "I don't think that's what she meant. I think she's refraining from doing something worse." After their father passed away, things got worse on the farm. Every day, Pokeweed's sister seemed to become more and more controlling. Pokeweed wasn't allowed out of the farmland, wasn't allowed to eat without asking, and had to pick their sister's ticks. Eventually, after being told to clean out the dirtplace for the 14th time in a row, they snapped. "Why do you hate me so much!? What did I ever do to you!? I've cleaned your bedding, pulled all your ticks, done your mousing job, and ALL I GET is MORE and MORE work!? You talk to me like all I ever do is lay around being USELESS, but that's all YOU ever do anymore! You say I'm small. How can I not be, when all I get to eat here is corn. Every morning I have to go out to the cornfields and grab as much as I can before the crows get it. After all I've done for you, you don't even remember I'm a living being and need food." Pokeweed took a deep breath. "And why, just why, did you give me this name?" "Wh– how– Where did you hear that?" their sister gasped. "Father told me." Pokeweed hissed. "You hated me before I was even born, and I want to know why." Pokeweed's sister froze for a second in disbelief. (backstory continued in notes and credits)
"Wh– You ruined my life!" she exploded "Mom and dad used to love me! Ever since you were born, I have been nothing to them. We're coming back after an adventure in the snow? 'Oh Pokeweed, I've got you a fresh mouse to warm you up!' We're going out on a rocky path? 'Pokeweed, be careful, or you'll stub a claw!' It's raining outside? 'Pokeweed, stay here! You might catch a cold out there!' And not just that! When mother was expecting, father ignored me. All the prey that normally went to the family food pile went to her. To /you/. I had to catch my own prey /and/ theirs all by myself in the snow for all of winter. Don't you see? You took everything from me." Now it was Pokeweed's turn to freeze up in disbelief. "Excuse me!? None of that is my fault at all! Maybe if you hadn't wanted me named Pokeweed, this wouldn't have happened. I can't believe that, this whole time, you were like this because of our parents." Pokeweed paused. "No. Not our parents. Yourself." "I– I don't– Wait. That... makes sense..." despair clouded her eyes. "I didn't realize... I know before you were born they were just protective... But after... Oh Pokeweed, it really is my fault!" (kinda rushed the character development...) Pokeweed felt bad for their sister, and they knew she felt bad for them. They could guess that she would pamper them for a long time after this, and they didn't want that. But Pokeweed's sister needed help. They took a deep breath. "I... I don't think I can live here anymore. I'm going to leave. I'll stay for a while, and make sure you're feeling better, but I really can't stay here. Not after everything." "O-okay..." Pokeweed's sister murmured. One year later, Pokeweed finally left. Their plan was rushed, and was kinda just: 1: Leave 2: Wander 3: Settle down somewhere So, there was basically no plan. After about a week of wandering (is this too many timeskips–), Pokeweed ended up in a large field of goldenrod. A strange cat approached them. They had pale orange fur, with a pearly white belly, tail, and paws, and yellow eyes the color of newly hatched chickens. The strange thing though, was that Pokeweed could smell them. "Hello!" they said. "My name's Cliff, and I use she/her pronouns. How about you?" "Ah– um–" Pokeweed stuttered. "They/them please." "Ah, ok! And, uh, your name?" Pokeweed felt a wave of embarrassment. "S-sorry, you can call me Pokeweed." Cliff looked amused. "Well Pokeweed, you look tired. Wanna come stay at my den for a while?" she offered. Pokeweed, finaly gaining some control over themselves, replied, "Yes please, that would be very kind of you." The entrance to Cliff's den was a small hole in the middle of the goldenrod. Pokeweed looked at it, uncertain. "Um... Cliff? Are you sure I can fit in there?" Cliff purred with amusement. "Don't worry, there's room." As they walked down the cramped tunnel, Pokeweed thought of their sister. She seemed content with her life when Pokeweed had left. They hoped she was doing all right now. Then Pokeweed started thinking about their journey. This was the first other cat they had seen so far. Was the world really that big? Pokeweed was so wrapped up in their thoughts that they jumped and hit their head when Cliff spoke. "Okay, we're here!" "Oh! Oh, wow..." Cliff's home was an underground cave. It wasn't actually that big, but being cats, and considering this only needed to be large enough for a few, it was huge. A soft glow was shining down on the two cats. Pokeweed looked up. There was a hole in the roof! It was covered with vines, but they still let enough light through so that they could see. On one side of the den, there was an empty nest. Pokeweed guessed this was Cliff's. On the other side, there was another cat. They looked similar to Cliff, but a dark red instead of the soft orange that Cliff had. They had a few white spots on their face, and a golden band on their tail. And they didn't look happy. "Cliff, who is this flea-ridden furball?" Cliff bristled. "Their name's Pokeweed! They're staying with us, and that's that! And they don't have fleas! I don't care what you say, you can't kick them out!" Pokeweed's pelt was hot with embarrassment. "I– I can leave..." "No, it's okay. Maple's got a bit of sass, but she's really nice! Once she gets to know you anyway," Cliff said. "So, Maple, how about you go get some moss and feathers, huh? For our guest?" Maple gave Cliff a glare, but left the den. Now that Pokeweed could look around more without feeling awkward, they notice that Cliff smelled like pollen. Because they had been in a goldenrod field, they couldn't tell the difference. "Sorry about that Pokeweed." Cliff paused. "So... Where're you from?" "Oh, I'm from a farm a long way away," Pokeweed began. "I left a little while ago..." cont. here: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/835899013/ (scratch says it's too long)
