Bushroot (1987)

For some reason, my imagination is very plant-based. I actually sympathize with Bushroot because his story is more tragic than villainous. Thinking about plants me happy. I started to LARP Bushroot in stories that I made up. He is not really evil just misunderstood. Bushroot deserves more respect than he got in the show.

(Thank you @Invader Sklir . You gave me just the little boost of confidence I needed to put this out there.)

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“I don’t suppose you’ve heard the tale of the Mad Doctor, have you?

“Once upon a time, there was an old, kind botanist, who cared as deeply for his plants as a mother cares for a child. He wished to create a new kingdom from two; one where humans could feed as a plant does. However, some believed he was a fool. His experiments were sabotaged, his funding pulled, and his beloved plants killed. The old doctor was devastated.

“Still, the doctor pushed his heartbreak aside and persevered. Forced to conduct his experiments on himself, he wasted almost no time strapping himself and his last plant, a beautiful daisy, to an operating table. Without hesitation, he flicked a switch, and lightning from a storm above struck the rod atop his grafter, giving it life.

“When the operation was complete, the doctor waited patiently for results, but there was nothing. Furious, he deemed his experiment a failure as he wept, for his little daisy had died. But the next day, he awoke to find himself changed. Yes, the experiment had worked, but he looked more like a walking lyceum than himself. Nevertheless, the doctor discovered that he could control plant life, and was thrilled at what this could mean.

“He began to turn to a life of crime, unable to find a job or anyone that would accept him because of his appearance, and resorted to thievery as a means for funding. Even though he was a greedy and lonely old man, he never used his abilities to harm others. The one exception, of course, is when he took revenge and strangled those who killed his plants in the very beginning. But that is a story for another time…

“Having no friends or family outside of his dear plants, he decided that, through the power of experimentation, he would create his own. Time and time again, he tried, but ultimately failed. The doctor began to believe he was cursed forever, as again and again, he was apprehended for his crimes. And yet still, no matter how often he was mowed down, run through a woodchipper, or incinerated, a part of him would always find its way back to the soil, and he would walk again.

“Over time, the old doctor’s age took a toll on him, and after a few years, the townspeople celebrated, for he was dead and buried in the park. Twenty years passed, and the doctor was paid no mind by anyone ever again. That is, until one night, when a blood moon bathed the town in red, and deep in his grave, something boomed in the doctor’s lifeless heart. In the dead of the night, when all was quiet, a leafy vine wormed its way through the ground, breaking the surface and dragging forth the corpse of the doctor. His lifeless husk stalks the streets even today with a vicious snarl, nothing remaining of the man he once was, his skin flaky gray and dead, his eyes a pale golden and unforgiving.

“All he is driven by now is hatred and revenge. He uses his plants as a means of murder and savagery. So watch out. He could be anywhere, controlling even your lovely little houseplant. Why, right now, he could be…right behind you!”