ponuryglass

some backstory

Wren was born in an open field, not a hospital. her biological mother, a former runaway who had taken shelter in a church, tried to escape the night before giving birth, because she was scared of doing it in the holy place like this.

she didn't make it far. the labor started in the middle of nowhere, but her friend, a younger nun who had helped her throughout the pregnancy, followed her. that friend delivered the baby with her own hands. and when she saw Wren... red skin, tiny horns, a tail. she understood why Wren's biological mother left the church. unfortunately, Wren's mother died due to internal bleeding.

that's why Nora, Wren's mother's friend, made a decision that changed her life. she left the church that same night and took the baby. Nora and her husband David raised Wren in a small, remote house. woods around it. no close neighbors. Nora taught her to read. David, who was a mechanic (!!), taught her how engines work. that's where Wren's talent came from.

Wren exhibits a rare somatic mosaic mutation. the demon genome typically carries a dominant allele for erythrogenic pigmentation (red skin) that completely suppresses human melanin expression. however, during early embryonic cleavage, a mitotic error in a single melanocyte precursor cell resulted in the failure of demonic pigment gene activation in one small dermatomal region adjacent to the right orbit.

that patch developed according to the recessive human phenotype — baseline melanin-based skin tone. the rest of her body followed the demonic program. this is not chimerism (two different zygotes) but somatic mosaicism — a random, non-heritable genetic noise. no functional impairment or advantage.

she is stronger than any unaugmented human, but laughably weak by demon or Viltrumite standards. she heals as a normal human. human mitochondrial genetics appear incompatible with demonic energy pathways.

like, uh, the hybrid phenotype diluted the demon genome below the necessary threshold for "active" abilities. she received: muscle density, bone reinforcement, partial fast-twitch fiber remodeling. but not the abilities (magical powers or what is that. maybe something chemical in the demon's body??).

limited theory of mind. she does not instinctively understand sarcasm, social hierarchy, or unspoken rules. Cecil describes her as "blunt, not rude."

Wren does not solve mechanical problems step-by-step like a trained engineer. she sees the fault path. brain imaging during repair tasks shows atypical connectivity between the right parietal lobe (spatial reasoning) and premotor areas, bypassing verbal/logical mediation.

damn i feel like

if you find any mistakes, i apologize in advance, as i have problems with writing the text.

i've never done an AU based on any animated series, to be honest, but the last episode of the third season of Invincible inspired me to create an AU based on Greek mythology. as you might have guessed, Eve is now a goddess, not that she wasn't before haha.

i'm still thinking about the designs of the other characters (+ lore), i only have two sketches and i'm too lazy to finish them :') perhaps later, when i have the energy.