Elwin McGhee/IF-85.471

Yamini Kashyap is an amateur bug enthusiast and semi-professional mycologist from Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India. Within the ILB, Kashyap is legally known as Elwin McGhee because of her symbiotic bond with a fungus of the same name. In English, Kashyap uses she/they pronouns. In Hindi, Kashyap uses वह / उसे pronouns, and in Japanese she refers to herself as watashi and others refer to her with feminine pronouns.
===Before Blaseball===
From a young age Kashyap was fascinated with nature: when frequenting the lakes in and around Bhopal, rather than going swimming, they would examine the mushrooms growing nearby. They wanted to be a biologist, then an entomologist, and then finally a mycologist, which became their eventual career goal.
Kashyap was also an athletic child. They played field hockey throughout their teen years, and developed a personal interest in archery. When asked, Kashyap has refused to say whether they’re good at archery, saying that “the only measure of a bad archer is not hitting other people, and I don’t think I’ve done that yet.” She also had a vague childhood interest in blaseball, but it was distinctly second to the other sports she participated in.
In the early aughts, Kashyap moved to Indore to attend university for mycology. During that time she briefly met a traveling scholar who spent some time in Kashyap’s department. The two of them had a conversation about the ins and outs of chess strategy.
After a year and a half at uni, Kashyap moved back home to help support her family. Despite having to table her dreams of formal academia, they continued self-teaching and learning about mycology and occasionally entomology.
Kashyap eventually got a job at a local national park, coordinating with their wildlife preservation and education network. Kashyap gained a reputation as the “park mom,” as a mother to bugs, fungi, her coworkers, and visiting children. She turned down several opportunities to return to academia in favor of staying with the national park; now in her mid-40s, Kashyap has still not attained any type of formal degree, instead saying that nature itself is the best teacher.
===Becoming Elwin McGhee===
The being known as Elwin McGhee landed in Bhopal in 20XX. As the best local mycologist, Kashyap was called in to investigate McGhee, as it appeared to be fungal in nature. As soon as she touched McGhee the two became symbiotically bonded.
McGhee has provided a number of conflicting stories about its origins, including but not limited to the following:
* McGhee was bonded to a prior iteration of Elwin McGhee in the ILB and was left behind when it hopped dimensions;
* McGhee itself is from another dimension;
* McGhee is an earthbound phenomenon;
* McGhee is Kashyap’s headmate and not caused by an external circumstance;
* and McGhee is confused too and doesn’t know how it got here.
Shortly after the two of them were bonded, they were approached by ILB officials who said that they had been drafted as Elwin McGhee, and that they were being called as the alternate to an existing player of the same name. Neither Kashyap nor McGhee understood anything about the ILB, but the powers that be within the league insisted until they agreed, and the two of them joined the Tokyo Lift.
===Blaseball Career===
Even with their childhood knowledge of blaseball, Kashyap struggled with becoming a professional athlete, not in the least because it meant leaving their prior life behind. Kashyap and McGhee were both overwhelmed by their circumstances and faced difficulties in trying to fit in on the team. Kashyap was at least soothed by the presence of Stijn Strongbody, the traveling scholar from their youth, who encouraged them to fit in.
Following Strongbody’s incineration, Kashyap decided to take his advice to heart and embrace her circumstances. She was the first to befriend Evelton McBlase II and the alternate of Jessica Telephone when they arrived to the team. Kashyap also became a confidant for Gerund Pantheocide, the new co-captain of the team, when Pantheocide had difficulty with her newfound responsibility.
Kashyap and McGhee have both refused the title of “team mom,” saying that they did not feel especially maternal in their capacity on the team. Nonetheless, they’ve provided advice and emotional support to a number of teammates.
===Personal Life===
Kashyap is known for her two distinctive fashion styles and the occasional overlap between them. The first is a retro aesthetic, inspired by 1960s and 1970s Bollywood, which involves bright colors, polka dots, and the color yellow. The second is inspired by the shapes of fungi and mycelium leather; this appears to be more couture and is characterized by being natural, flowing, and a little uncomfortable to look at for too long.
Kashyap has been notably tight-lipped about her personal life, refusing to discuss her parents or any siblings, partners, or children that she might have outside of blaseball. When asked, Kashyap will share facts about fungi and mycology until whoever is asking gives up trying. The record for this is held by a tabloid reporter, who attempted to engage Kashyap in conversation for five hours and fifty-four minutes. Kashyap later expressed disappointment that he gave up before hitting 5:55.
Kashyap has continued with her career in amateur archery. McGhee has been unhelpful in this career and offers bad advice, but Kashyap persists nonetheless.