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Description

Oswin Espinosa is Ryla’s younger sister, albeit unconventionally.
Oswin is, essentially, the remnants of various past victims of the shapeshifting horror that would give Ryla her powers. When the young castaway stabbed it in the nucelus, it absorbed her in a desperate last bid to survive. Inside the entity’s consciousness there writhed what remained of the various creatures it had most recently eaten, fragmented and scattered. When Ryla overcame the entity’s will and pulled herself free, the remnants congealed and took control as the entity’s own consciousness slipped away. From the cellular goo emerged not one, but two newly freed beings.
Being a gestalt of countless dead organisms, Oswin’s mind is a bit irregular, filled with bits and pieces of memories, of contradictory thoughts and feelings, and of a sense of need for things she no longer has any use for.
Of course, the same could be said of the human condition, so she gets by.
Over the years, Ozzy has ironed out her sense of self, though there are still holes in it. Her current goal is to start a normal life and find a way to enjoy the second chance that is her own existence - A rather tall order on Fronterra.
A hopeless romantic(in the classical sense), Oswin loves the written word, and finds herself easily lost in stories. She hopes to one day be able to craft stories of her own, though the focus required to do that is currently beyond her. As it currently stands, she has trouble concentrating on text, and usually just gets her older sister to read to her.
Oswin is a very anxious person, easily overwhelmed by sensory stimuli and prone to overthinking. It takes a while for her to really open up to a person. Though softspoken and kind on her own, she’s quite the snarky, bombastic asshole when bantering with her sister. They enjoy a healthy relationship, and both look forward to the day where she can meet the rest of the Espinosa family.
Ozzy usually identifies as female, though there are days when she’s not so sure. Masculine moods come and go once in a while, making her more casually genderfluid than anything. While her loved ones usually default to ‘she/her’ pronouns, she’s comfortable with just about any set.
Despite being the same “species” as Ryla, she lacks the same shapechanging ability - or rather, she lacks the will to use it. Where Ryla has a strong sense of identity and freely twists her body to her mood, Oswin has a deep-seated fear of coming apart or unraveling, and so holds tightly to her physical form. As a result, although she’s not as flexible as she could be, she has the strength and durability of a bull tundron.
Like Ryla, she requires a regular intake of fresh DNA to keep her shape together. Usually, she gets her fix by draining some of her sister's blood, rather than worry about hunting down some living tissue.

Misc notes:
- Is a massive fangirl of the “Howard: Knight of the Streets” series.
- Feels an odd kinship with fish. Is also terrified of them.
- Favorite animal is the iguanadon.
- Is asexual.
- Has a thing for vampires
- Lays unfertilized eggs every month.
- Has a crippling fear of being used or exploited.
- Has never seen the snow. Longs to.
- Likes to project the image of independence in public. In private, she lets Ryla dote on her mercilessly.

***

Oswin presents an opportunity to write one of my favorite things in fiction: A character just having to live with a condition that affects every aspect of their lives. Identity issues, fragile nerves and contradictory feelings are nothing new in my life, and Ozzy has more than a few reasons to view herself as "broken" or "botched". There are stories to be told for someone living like that!

There's also the simple fact that I love sibling teams. Every incarnation of Horror In Heckville has had a sibling or sibling-like dynamic in the main cast, so I figured I'd just give Ryla a proper sister to hang out with.

The fact that Oswin has never met the parents, the aunts and uncles, the cousins, niblings and even other siblings in the family is a point I'm especially looking forward to playing with. To Ryla, she's unambiguously family, but will the others feel the same?

Description

Oswin Espinosa is Ryla’s younger sister, albeit unconventionally.
Oswin is, essentially, the remnants of various past victims of the shapeshifting horror that would give Ryla her powers. When the young castaway stabbed it in the nucelus, it absorbed her in a desperate last bid to survive. Inside the entity’s consciousness there writhed what remained of the various creatures it had most recently eaten, fragmented and scattered. When Ryla overcame the entity’s will and pulled herself free, the remnants congealed and took control as the entity’s own consciousness slipped away. From the cellular goo emerged not one, but two newly freed beings.
Being a gestalt of countless dead organisms, Oswin’s mind is a bit irregular, filled with bits and pieces of memories, of contradictory thoughts and feelings, and of a sense of need for things she no longer has any use for.
Of course, the same could be said of the human condition, so she gets by.
Over the years, Ozzy has ironed out her sense of self, though there are still holes in it. Her current goal is to start a normal life and find a way to enjoy the second chance that is her own existence - A rather tall order on Fronterra.
A hopeless romantic(in the classical sense), Oswin loves the written word, and finds herself easily lost in stories. She hopes to one day be able to craft stories of her own, though the focus required to do that is currently beyond her. As it currently stands, she has trouble concentrating on text, and usually just gets her older sister to read to her.
Oswin is a very anxious person, easily overwhelmed by sensory stimuli and prone to overthinking. It takes a while for her to really open up to a person. Though softspoken and kind on her own, she’s quite the snarky, bombastic asshole when bantering with her sister. They enjoy a healthy relationship, and both look forward to the day where she can meet the rest of the Espinosa family.
Ozzy usually identifies as female, though there are days when she’s not so sure. Masculine moods come and go once in a while, making her more casually genderfluid than anything. While her loved ones usually default to ‘she/her’ pronouns, she’s comfortable with just about any set.
Despite being the same “species” as Ryla, she lacks the same shapechanging ability - or rather, she lacks the will to use it. Where Ryla has a strong sense of identity and freely twists her body to her mood, Oswin has a deep-seated fear of coming apart or unraveling, and so holds tightly to her physical form. As a result, although she’s not as flexible as she could be, she has the strength and durability of a bull tundron.
Like Ryla, she requires a regular intake of fresh DNA to keep her shape together. Usually, she gets her fix by draining some of her sister's blood, rather than worry about hunting down some living tissue.

Misc notes:
- Is a massive fangirl of the “Howard: Knight of the Streets” series.
- Feels an odd kinship with fish. Is also terrified of them.
- Favorite animal is the iguanadon.
- Is asexual.
- Has a thing for vampires
- Lays unfertilized eggs every month.
- Has a crippling fear of being used or exploited.
- Has never seen the snow. Longs to.
- Likes to project the image of independence in public. In private, she lets Ryla dote on her mercilessly.

***

Oswin presents an opportunity to write one of my favorite things in fiction: A character just having to live with a condition that affects every aspect of their lives. Identity issues, fragile nerves and contradictory feelings are nothing new in my life, and Ozzy has more than a few reasons to view herself as "broken" or "botched". There are stories to be told for someone living like that!

There's also the simple fact that I love sibling teams. Every incarnation of Horror In Heckville has had a sibling or sibling-like dynamic in the main cast, so I figured I'd just give Ryla a proper sister to hang out with.

The fact that Oswin has never met the parents, the aunts and uncles, the cousins, niblings and even other siblings in the family is a point I'm especially looking forward to playing with. To Ryla, she's unambiguously family, but will the others feel the same?