Post by Inval on Aug 31, 2016 21:21:48 GMT
The bugs are alien parasites, so there's a few obvious thing in there. They're nothing you would see on Earth.
Excluding their youth stages, the adults have three forms.
-Every form retains their ringed eyes. Color and all.
Out-of-body from: -Length: 3In(excluding tail), Height(normal, quadruped stance): 1.5In-
The main form for hostless parasites. They have long and sharp pincer-like jaws with few teeth and a stretchy elastic-like membrane at the back. Their jaws are very study and durable. They have incredible jaw strength. Aside from obvious feeding, they may clack jaws in a form of communication, as a method of opening a stubborn host's jaws, and mainly defense. Just above the upper jaw is a mobile shield-like crest. This structure has a locking hinge joint at the base and can be lowered to lay flat on the head; or raised and locked to form a strong shield. Queens have a mark in the center of their shields in the shape of the shield itself.
Their bodies are stocky around their shoulders and hips but thin in the lower body(which can be retracted into the frontal portion of the body). The lower portion of the body also has a circular marking on the underbelly. They have a quadrupedal build and four legs, each with three joints excluding the shoulder/hip and wrist. The hind legs are a bit longer than the frontal ones, allowing for bipedalism. All 'feet' are hand-like with four 'fingers' on the front of the 'hand', one on either side, and three on the heel each 'finger' possessing a sharp claw; likewise to the legs, the 'fingers' on the hind feet are longer than the frontal ones. Their tail is thin but strong, they're about 9In from base to tip. Normally, they wrap their tail around their thinner midsection to both contain the tail and protect their weaker area, this makes the thinner area seem wider than the rest of the body.
The whole body except for the eyes and tail is covered by a thick exoskeleton. The head, shoulders, hips, mid-back, and tail base possess a spiked ridge protruding as a shield, though the tail base's ridge is often hidden by the larger hip structure. This armor is extremely hard and temperature resistant; it can resist drips of lava. To compensate for the tough shielding skin, their joints are very mobile. They can bend their neck comfortably to position their head to face completely backwards; they can turn it to press firmly against their sides, back and underbelly. Both the upper and lower jaws are mobile and able to form a nearly 180 degree angle. Joints in the legs(except the hip and shoulder) are able to bend in a 180 degree range forwards/backwards and left/right. Their shoulders and hips can also adduct to extend the leg out horizontally.
Blood Stream Form: -Only a few millimeters in both height and length-
The smallest form of the parasite. Designed for transportation and exploration. The jaws are drastically reduced in size in relations to the body size, grow more blunt around the edges, but do grow a sharp blade on both the upper and lower jaws. Their tails shorten and develop a fin-like structure which can be rotated 180 degrees to aid in control when traveling.
They retain their hand shape, tough the claws do grow a bit. Their large spikey shield structures disappear and their exoskeleton becomes sleek and smooth, though conceals several sharp needle-like spines for extra grip. The most noticeable feature is the antennae used for detecting electrical signals and brainwaves.
Brain Form: -Size depends on host-
The most impacted form of the parasite. The jaws are near flat but have very sharp teeth and grow a concealed proboscis which can be ejected from the jaws to feed on the blood supply. They have feelers along their legs, and very sensitive near microscopic 'feeler-hairs' along their bodies, though it's very hard to notice them. Hidden in their bodies are thin wire-like structures that can stiffen and loosen as they penetrate and explore the brain. Dimensions of the body and limbs are influenced by the host's brain, brain shape and skull shape; though the legs tail are usually pretty short. Their claws are sheathable but very sharp for cutting though a dead host's flesh.
