Name: Happy Dae
Species: Demi-Human Queen Bee (Apis mellifera or European Honey Bee)
Age: Less than a year old
Sexuality: Bisexual for anything that can provide sperm (read: only males and herms) when her spermatheca is running low, asexual otherwise (she derives no pleasure from the act of sex)
Likes: Dancing, singing (melodic), nectar, good-smelling flowers, compliments, friendly people,
Rinse, her girlfriend
Dislikes: Being told what to do, rules, smoke, mean people, cleaning
Girlfriend:
Natalie_West
One of the
Silhouette_Alts
The result of Rinse Mierelle becoming interested in genetic engineering and apiculture at the same time, Queen Dae is the product of a radical genetic experiment gone horribly right. Born an average honey bee princess, Rinse's experiments turned her into a demi-human queen bee with a couple unique abilities.
The first is the enhanced control she exercises over her worker bees. Beyond the capabilities of other queen bees, Queen Dae seems capable of asserting authority over her workers and direct them according to her will without the need to release special pheromones. It's theorized that this is because she is for whatever reason less able to release pheromones in her human form, though the method by which she exerts control is currently unknown (some degree of telepathy is suspected).
Her second ability is manifested in her worker bees. Perhaps related in part to Rinse's other experiments, her brood's stings carry a special venom that will turn even a giantess into honey. Even a single sting is enough to begin the chain reaction-based process, but additional stings, especially to remote areas of the body, will speed the conversion significantly. In addition, the workers will often swarm a target and vibrate rapidly to heat up the victim, not only speeding the process but also causing said victim to lose consistency and melt as they change. It has been observed that victims of this maintain sentience and capacity for thought even when converted entirely into honey and Rinse has developed an antidote to the venom if its use becomes necessary. Queen Dae herself is unable to utilize this ability since her ovipositor lacks venom (it exists purely for laying eggs), and her bees themselves show incredible restraint and patience, likely due to the fact that a sting will usually lead to the worker's death. Only a direct threat to the hive or Queen Dae's direct order will cause her swarm to attack in such a fashion, though, as previously stated, even a single accidental sting is enough to begin the conversion process (careful not to swat!).
The third ability just seems to be an adaptation suited to the survival of her hive. Like normal queens, she can store sperm in a spermatheca (located where a womb would be in an average human), unlike normal queens, she seems able to utilize the sperm of any species for the purpose of fertilizing her eggs (a necessity for creating more workers). Also unlike normal queens, she isn't obligated to fill up once and use that for the rest of her life, but she seems able to fill her spermatheca whenever she receives a "donation."
It should be noted that in addition to her stinger being mostly harmless (it can still stab, though it isn't made for it and would likely break if she put too much pressure into it), her wings are virtually vestigial. Although she can "flap" them and create a loud buzzing noise as well as generate quite a bit of heat in the air and kick up a little wind, the wings are entirely incapable of lifting her weight, rendering her unable to fly. Oddly enough, she's never expressed sadness or seemed the slightest bit concerned about this handicap, when questioned, she just shrugged and said queens don't need to fly, the workers do all the work.
Although she's an incredibly young age relative to most species, she's pretty clearly a full-grown adult, whether due to the experiments that made her the way she is rapidly aging her or simply because bees grow to adulthood fairly quickly. That said, in spite of her adult body, her mind hasn't aged quite so rapidly, and considering how spoiled she is by her tireless workers (and Rinse's hospitality), she has a certain sense of entitlement. She does have a kind heart, however, and when made aware of her attitude inconveniencing others will often do what she can to make things right again, though she also has a tendency of overdoing it just a little. She is incredibly generous with what her hive produces and will freely share honey, wax, or even royal jelly with anyone that asks, her extra-large brood producing far more than it requires to thrive.
In spite of her size and altered genetic make-up, she gives birth to average (in size and shape) worker bees (albeit a MUCH greater number than an average queen) in the form of a little bundle of eggs (which are sorted through and deposited into individual honeycomb cells by a special caste of worker bees) as needed. She will never be without at least a modest number of bees to guard and attend to her no matter where she goes unless said escort has been killed or otherwise incapacitated, such as with smoke, though she'll often send workers out to scout and investigate things or people she's curious about before approaching herself to make sure the situation is safe. One might also notice that an escort seems to be with Rinse at all times now as well, either because the queen is concerned for her first friend's continued safety, or to secure the well-being of the person most capable of helping her with whatever she needs.
Queen Dae has quite an appetite and occasionally gorges herself on honey. She seems to be particularly fond of, and particularly likely to gorge upon, the living honey made from her workers' special venom. Nothing is quite so delicious as a would-be threat to her hive in her opinion. She's not entirely opposed to giving her body to a pred if they can manage to convince her that her life wouldn't be in danger (that means no perma, digestion, or fatality), although incapacitating her workers with smoke is a pretty good way to catch her unguarded and helpless.
(( Much of this bio appears to be pulled directly from the notes of Rinse... ))
