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Glasswing
Name: Dr. Edain Callaghan.
Age: 31 years.
Gender: Female.
Occupation: Entomologist.
Nationality: Irish.
Species: Plural, yes.
It had always been a curse, albeit one she never much minded herself. Insects always seemed drawn to her, even when she was a girl- wonderful news for a bright-eyed child with a fascination for that sort of thing, but not great news for said child's social life.
That being said, Edain hardly did herself any favours. She was shy and awkward and never quite knew how to fit in, even when she wasn't being followed by bugs. So she was bullied, of course. And she resented that, of course. And she never quite got over it, of course. Even in adulthood, when she found her people and her doctorate, there was always those walls around her.
It was only since her metamorphosis that those walls started to crack.
Hivequeen's Ichor
A strange insect pheromone, quite unlike any that have been documented before. Edain never knew what it did before. She never even knew she had it, and, even when it manifested, it was never anything spectacular. As a girl, whenever she bled, insects would swarm towards her, descending upon her flesh as if she were a corpse long-dead.
The irony being that, on death, she barely had time to decay before they took her form.
The pheromone—Hivequeen's Ichor, for a more poetic name—had a very particular purpose. It drove any insects exposed to take a particular form, a particular structure: to rebuild her conscious mind, and give her a new body of many. Edain is not just the queen, but the hive as a whole- the waking dream of thousands of tiny minds, each extending to her the same care and mercy she had shown them through her life and work. Any insects exposed to the pheromone will be drawn into the gestalt. They will make her whole.
Oh, it also seems to act as a mild deliriant. Not enough to be noticeable, but enough to smooth out any... imperfections her form may have to the eyes of those who look too closely.
The Lucid Swarm
Edain does not have a human body. Not anymore. The swarm first consumed her, using her flesh to map out their path, then rebuilt her where she lay, their bodies constructing hers.
Face to face, due to the pheromone's milder effects, she appears to be perfectly human- a little strange, perhaps, but human. When viewed at a distance, or through a barrier, however, Edain seems... uncanny. It is never immediately obvious just what is wrong with her, but something seems wrong.
Thankfully, due to being a socially-reclusive, overly-passionate entomologist, Edain is used to being off-putting.
Besides, despite some skin-deep flaws, this really is a better way to be. She doesn't have to sleep, only set certain parts of her to rest. She's able to detach parts of her to enter locations a normal human body may struggle getting into. She can shapeshift, effectively, changing her form at will for aesthetic or practical purposes. Most pertinently, of course; she's an awful lot harder to kill now. Sure, insects tend to be a tad less hardy than humans, but swatting a fly is one thing.
Stopping a swarm is another.
Glasswing
Name: Dr. Edain Callaghan.
Age: 31 years.
Gender: Female.
Occupation: Entomologist.
Nationality: Irish.
Species: Plural, yes.
It had always been a curse, albeit one she never much minded herself. Insects always seemed drawn to her, even when she was a girl- wonderful news for a bright-eyed child with a fascination for that sort of thing, but not great news for said child's social life.
That being said, Edain hardly did herself any favours. She was shy and awkward and never quite knew how to fit in, even when she wasn't being followed by bugs. So she was bullied, of course. And she resented that, of course. And she never quite got over it, of course. Even in adulthood, when she found her people and her doctorate, there was always those walls around her.
It was only since her metamorphosis that those walls started to crack.
Hivequeen's Ichor
A strange insect pheromone, quite unlike any that have been documented before. Edain never knew what it did before. She never even knew she had it, and, even when it manifested, it was never anything spectacular. As a girl, whenever she bled, insects would swarm towards her, descending upon her flesh as if she were a corpse long-dead.
The irony being that, on death, she barely had time to decay before they took her form.
The pheromone—Hivequeen's Ichor, for a more poetic name—had a very particular purpose. It drove any insects exposed to take a particular form, a particular structure: to rebuild her conscious mind, and give her a new body of many. Edain is not just the queen, but the hive as a whole- the waking dream of thousands of tiny minds, each extending to her the same care and mercy she had shown them through her life and work. Any insects exposed to the pheromone will be drawn into the gestalt. They will make her whole.
Oh, it also seems to act as a mild deliriant. Not enough to be noticeable, but enough to smooth out any... imperfections her form may have to the eyes of those who look too closely.
The Lucid Swarm
Edain does not have a human body. Not anymore. The swarm first consumed her, using her flesh to map out their path, then rebuilt her where she lay, their bodies constructing hers.
Face to face, due to the pheromone's milder effects, she appears to be perfectly human- a little strange, perhaps, but human. When viewed at a distance, or through a barrier, however, Edain seems... uncanny. It is never immediately obvious just what is wrong with her, but something seems wrong.
Thankfully, due to being a socially-reclusive, overly-passionate entomologist, Edain is used to being off-putting.
Besides, despite some skin-deep flaws, this really is a better way to be. She doesn't have to sleep, only set certain parts of her to rest. She's able to detach parts of her to enter locations a normal human body may struggle getting into. She can shapeshift, effectively, changing her form at will for aesthetic or practical purposes. Most pertinently, of course; she's an awful lot harder to kill now. Sure, insects tend to be a tad less hardy than humans, but swatting a fly is one thing.
Stopping a swarm is another.