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Ash the Amphimorpho

Ash is a former human who was infected by and transformed into an amphimorpho, a genetically engineered chimeric species created through combining the DNA of various Terran species with alien genetic material.

Amphimorpho are very large, relatively light creatures. In this form, Ash is around 6 metres long from snout to tail tip (3.75 metres of which is just her tail) and weighs around 115 kilograms.

Ash is composed and stoic, relaxed under pressure and readily adaptable to change; all traits that came into play when she was initially mutated, with Ash quickly coming to grips with the situation and working to bring calm and levity to the situation.

She is kind and helpful to those who have done no wrong but can be viciously aggressive to those who have slighted her or her loved ones.

She takes great excitement in the unusual, the supernatural and the macabre. She adores and embraces the weird, often encouraging events in her life in that direction. Upon her initial mutation into an amphimorpho, she was excited at the prospect of becoming non-human. When it appeared that the process had reversed itself, she broke down, expressing that she secretly suffered significant species dysphoria.

She is a ‘cosy’ goth, subscribing to certain aesthetic and musical elements of the subculture and rejecting the pessimistic and ‘miserable’ stereotype that comes with it in favour of a more optimistic approach.

In her basal (default) form, Ash appears as a very long, mammal-like animal with black and white fur and softly luminescent neon green skin. Her tail is nearly twice as long as her torso and ends in a 'goopy' green tip.

She has four or six cat-like legs and paws. With six legs, the middle pair are offset towards the front pair.

She has large, rabbit-like ears that are independently moveable and help to express emotion.

She has a snout with no nostrils, sharp teeth, and a slightly forked tongue.

She has black, shaggy, medium length hair with green tips, which is reminescent of her hairstyle prior to being mutated. Her hair often covers one of her eyes.

As an amphimorpho, Ash has enhanced senses and is capable of shapeshifting and accelerated healing.

Amphimorpho bodies are very soft, with a texture akin to memory foam. They lack a well-defined skeletal structure or internal organs; instead transferring energy directly from cell to cell or shifting internal systems as they become required. This lack of structural rigidity allows for great feats of dexterity.

Her tail is strong and prehensile, capable of lifting significant weight.

She has enhanced hearing and sight. In her basal form, she lacks nostrils and has to breathe and smell through her mouth.

Due to the energy needs associated with shapeshifting, amphimorpho are capable of consuming and storing a significant quantity of calories without ill effects and without creating waste products.

As a mutant amphimorpho, Ash is a carrier of the amphimorpho virus and can transmit it to others through fluid transmission, such as through bites or extended exposure to her goop.

Mutant amphimorpho retain traits of their original species and are more adept at shapeshifting than non-mutants, at the expense of shifts being more unstable.

Ash's basal form can change in size, proportions, have four or six limbs (as either two or four “arms”) and have a stomach pouch. She can freely adapt to walking on two, four, or six legs, regardless of how many she currently sports.

She can manipulate her density when shapeshifting, but cannot become dramatically larger or smaller than normal.

Both shifting and maintaining a shifted form requires concentration and a significant amount of energy. Normally, Ash can only reproduce the outside appearance of something, but she can perfectly mimic any living thing if first able to imprint from it by touching it.

She is able to alter her fur pattern and colours at will, these changes remain permanent until manually reverted.

When interacting with human society, Ash shifts into a human appearance that roughly matches her appearance prior to mutation.

She retains the same shaggy hair that her amphimorpho form has, with the dyed tips remaining the luminescent green. Her eyes, upon close inspection, also still appear to softly glow green.

Clothing-wise, she prefers darkly coloured and gender-neutral styles. She usually wears t-shirts, distressed jeans, customised boots, and a black denim jacket covered with patches which she is very protective about.

Ash can change the physical composition of her form, for example, to become a pooltoy or plush toy.

Some of Ash's common alternative forms include:

• a bat
• a domestic cat
• a raven
• a yinglet

Unless purposefully mimicking or trying to disguise herself, she will normally retain a similar colour scheme when shifted.