Monster

A **monster** is a creature formed from a part of a human body. They are created when a ghost makes contact with a human.

## Formation

Monsters are formed by a ghost removing a body part from a human host and forming their own body from it. Desmond West has said that the process "hurt a lot", and some characters seem to cry in pain during the process, such as Bina Blum and an Unnamed Boy. However, it does not seem to be a hard rule- Rafi, for example, seemed to recover quickly from having his Unnamed Liver Monster form.

There seems to be no limit to how broad or specific the part used to form a monster can be. A monster can form from a single eye, or all of a person's face, or even the entire head. They can take the whole brain, or a single gland; an arm or less than two fingers; a person's mouth or a single tooth.

A monster's size does not necessarily correlate with the size of the part taken. Though many monsters remain about the same size as the original part, others can become much larger behemoths, turning something even as small as a tooth into something twice the size of its human.

A monster may be affected by body modifications, such as ear piercings appearing on an ear monster. Hypothetically, a monster might also be affected by defects or illnesses affecting the body part; however, Magnolia has stated that she would not pursue such an avenue, as she does not want to claim authority on disabilities and terminal illness when she has no experience to speak of.  As such, no canonical monster will be formed from any body part that would need to be cured, though Magnolia still welcomes any interpretations or connections that readers might make to their own experiences.

After a human has had one monster formed from their body, it is not possible for a second to be formed.  However, the span of this rule is not fully known. For example, it is unclear whether a human who has formed an Autotomic from their body can have a standard monster form as well, or whether a complete reassembly through the Proto-Chakra Machine would make a human eligible for another monster.

Despite being newly-formed creatures, monsters tend to develop with a high amount of intelligence, able to understand the English language within days of forming, if not less.  However, with two exceptions, no monster appears to be capable of direct speech. Monsters have their own personalities, desires, and morals, which may come into conflict with their human.  They can learn complex tasks, such as knitting, though some monsters are clumsy with their appendages.

When witnessing the formation of Guuzy, Dr. Wanda Lulenski notes that the monster took an instant paternal instinct towards his human, a trait that seemed to be common in most of SHELL's testing.  However, this is not the case for all monsters: Some are violent and erratic, while others take on the temperament of a small child.

## Stablization

Stabilization refers to the process by which the connection between monster and human is formed. Stabilization happens naturally on its own, however, it does "take a while", and in the case of a vital organ, it may take too long for the host to survive. (For example, had Bina not been stabilized shortly after Ayo's formation, her body would not have Ayo pumping blood, and she could have died from the lack of blood flow) During natural stabilization, both monster and human are very vulnerable.

Artifical stabilization is done by administering a chemical to the host's body, usually through the use of a syringe that can be fired from SHELL guns. The effects cause "a huge shock to the patient's system".  It is only necessary for a part the human body cannot live long without.

## Possessing a monster

A monster will still retain much of the functionality of the original organ. A heart can still pump blood through the body, a stomach can still process food, and a spine will still keep its host's skeleton intact, even after being entirely removed from the body.  It is believed that this is due to the holes of glowing Arma formed when a monster exits the body.  If a monster experiences intense pain, their human will also feel it in the connected dot.  Claire described the sensation of the dots as "weird and tingly".  However, it is unknown whether this is true for all bodies with monsters, or whether this sensation is due to the fact that the Arma holes have replaced her spine's function of keeping her skeletal structure.

At times, this distant connection can even be an advantage, such as an eye monster being able to share its sight with its host. However, it is generally a liability for the human host, especially in the case of a vital organ, as when a monster is killed, the human's body will behave as if it had truly lost the part.  The monster's body will still remain, however.  If a human dies, their monster will die with them.  However, they will not die instantly, and may persist for some time after their human's death.

While the functionality is retained, a monster may have its own biological needs for its body, such as air , food, water , or sleep.  They frequently develop body parts of their own, such as eyes, teeth, or ears. (Some even develop functioning tear ducts) Monsters may fall ill when their human host does.  It is currently unknown if a monster could fall ill independent of its human.

Monsters formed from a singular substance, such as hair or blood, can manipulate their body to keep foreign substances out.

In addition to the physical connections linking their bodies together, monsters appear to share some sort of mental link with their respective humans. By concentrating on their human, a monster can get a sense of where they are.  This connection works in reverse, too: a human can even get a sense for what kind of location a monster is in, or what they're doing. Some monsters may feel familiar to humans close to the monster's host. However, this does not seem to be a hard rule.

Ayo has stated that she was always able to feel everything that Bina felt and thought.  It is currently unknown whether all monsters share such a connection with their human.

Monsters are generally referred to by the same pronouns as their humans, but there are some exceptions, such as Red and the Unnamed Skin Monster. Generally, this is only a concern for their human hosts, as no monster has shown a particular preference in regards to gender.

## Abilities

Monsters appear to all possess at least one unique power. Most commonly, these abilities will relate to the part's original function: a stomach monster gains the ability to produce more powerful acids as well as other chemicals, an ear monster is granted advanced hearing, and so on. However, it is not uncommon for a monster to develop powers past their original functions. A spine monster has acquired the ability to slice and spin rapidly, a foot monster is able to shoot fiery projectiles. Flight appears to be a common ability acquired by monsters, with all of the main cast capable to some degree.

As no body part has been used twice in the comic's duration, it is currently unknown whether abilities might differ from two monsters formed from the same part. Magnolia has stated that, visually, monsters formed from the same part would look "roughly similar, but have variations".

Many monsters are also capable of manipulating their respective body part in other humans. The most obvious example is Violet Le Blanc and Anima, as their powers relate almost entirely to manipulating the brains of others, but there have been several other examples in the comic.

* Red, a monster formed from blood, can see the past through blood spilled from another human.
* Ayo, a monster formed from a heart, can manipulate the heartbeats of other humans by coming into contact with them
* Greenie, a monster formed from vocal chords, can amplify and manipulate the voices of other humans
* Kera, a monster formed from hair, can give detailed haircuts

It is unknown whether all monster develop such capabilities, or only a select few.

## History

Some years before the events of *Monster Pulse*, Dr. Michael Rjinder and Dr. Roger Maugras discovered a chemical in human blood dubbed "Arma".
After a series of experiments, a ghost was created from a combination of Arma and various other chemicals. It struck Maugras' foot and formed the first known monster- which was quickly killed due to its erratic and violent behavior. Nevertheless, the two saw the vast potential their discover had, and they sought funding to further investigate the phenomena. Agent de Witte of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency gave them resources for their project, and they founded SHELL.

Some time into the developments at SHELL, de Witte's daughter Nancy asked to be taken to see the projects at SHELL. During an accident, a ghost struck Nancy and formed a monster from her blood. Frightful at the sight of a girl who had seemingly lost all the blood from her body at once, SHELL ran a series of tests on Nancy to investigate her health. Nancy, reeling from the trauma of the attack, mistakenly believed she had been tricked into becoming an unwitting experiment for SHELL's projects.  Embittered by the apparent betrayal of her mother, Nancy used Red's abilities to repeatedly break into SHELL's facilities, subtly weakening the glass containers holding ghosts to release them.  She believed that, with enough children possessing monsters, SHELL would be forced into the public eye, without Nancy herself being found out.

Ghosts began to descend onto children in Antler Pine. Though there was rarely any more than two ghosts out at a time, a total of twelve humans received monsters from ghosts released by Nancy.

Two young children, Abel and Irene Flores, came upon a ghost while traveling through a forest. The ghost made to strike Abel, but Irene stood between them and took the blow, letting the monster take her instead. A large monster was formed from her body, and it began to approach her. Abel, having no knowledge of where the monster came from, attempted to repay Irene and save her from the approaching beast. Tragically, the monster was formed from Irene's lungs, and Abel's blow killed Irene along with the monster. (Abel would later learn, however, that the monster was too fragile to survive at all) When he overheard a conversation between nearby SHELL agents, Abel realized what had happened, and he sought out another ghost in the hopes that he could make himself suffer the same fate. Instead, however, he found himself with a new companion, and he decided to remain alive for his monster's sake.

A few months prior to the events of *Monster Pulse*, Desmond West and Julie Greathouse took a walk together after school. They encountered two ghosts that formed monsters from his stomach and her hair.  Wanda Lulenski and Roger Maugras Jr. witnessed the creation of the monsters, as the capturing of the ghosts was their first field mission.

During a struggle at SHELL headquarters in Chapter 29, all containers holding ghosts were shattered, and hundreds of ghosts escaped into Antler Pine. Despite the mass outbreak, however, only three monsters were formed during this time:

* An Unnamed Mouth Monster was formed from a girl named Annabelle, before a plan to combat ghosts had been formed
* An Unnamed Kidney Monster was formed from an Unnamed Boy when an agent of SHELL left before clearing out all ghosts
* An Unnamed Liver Monster was formed from Rafi when an aggressive ghost overpowered the agents fighting it

In Chapter 37, a sonic wave destroyed all remaining ghosts on the island. As such, it is currently unlikely any more monsters will be formed in upcoming chapters, with no ghosts to form them, but there may be monsters formed prior to this event that remain unknown.

## Monster Design

Magnolia Porter has stated that her approach to the design of monsters is usually based in the "metaphorical, or even spiritual" elements of body elements, more often than the direct biological. Biological elements still play some part in the design of a monster, such as in its abilities, but the primary focus is the imagery associated with the monster.

Three pieces in Porter's deviantart portfolio connect some monsters to three of the seven major Chakras: Rixis is depicted with Ajna, the third eye Chakra, Kera is depicted with Sahasrara, the crown Chakra, and Ayo is depicted with Anahata, the heart Chakra. It can reasonably be inferred that Guuzy would have corresponded to Manipura, the Chakra associated with the navel, had a fourth piece been made. More loose connections can be made to other monsters- perhaps Greenie took Vishuddha, the throat Chakra, or perhaps that role was filled by the Unnamed Lung Monster. However, considering the explicit nature of Svadhishthana, it seems unlikely that a complete set of monsters corresponding to Chakras was ever intended for the comic.

Visually, Porter attempts to incorporate the original body part "in a way that's clear but not too obvious." She says that she occasionally starts with an animal shape for the monster, such as in the case of Rixis, who was based on a quetzalcoatl.

Though the specifics have not been directly stated, Porter has confirmed that the symbolic elements of a body part in relation to a monster's human are most certainly considered in deciding what part is chosen. It is currently unknown whether there will be an in-universe explanation to accompany this.

## Unknown Monsters

In Chapter 30, West reads that SHELL originally intended to use monsters as weapons against their host bodies, an idea that failed when the monsters remained staunchly loyal to their humans.  As Michael Rjinder expected to "receive a pet" when volunteering for the procedure, it can be inferred that these monsters were created before SHELL intended to give monsters to its own employees. The monsters created in these original tests remain unknown, as well as their current status.

## Non-Canonical Monsters

During the kickstarters for Volume 1 and Volume 2 of Monster Pulse, the highest benefit (at the 500$ tier) included a custom monster design drawn by Porter. Nine total backers received this prize, five during Volume 1 and four during Volume 2, though their monster designs do not appear to have been shared publicly.

## Trivia

* At some point, Magnolia considered a monster formed from a womb, but she discarded it, considering it too dark and sad for the comic's tone.
	+ Magnolia had a few ideas for other monsters, such as a nose monster, that she considered cute, but was unable to fit them into the more-developed story.
	+ Magnolia also considered a cancerous tumor becoming a monster that would need to be defeated, but quickly scrapped the idea, calling it "horrible".
* There are more monsters formed from parts in the head area than there are monsters formed from any other section, even the torso, despite its many organs. The full list of monsters taking a part from the head includes:
	+ Kera (hair)
	+ Rixis (eye)
	+ Roger's Monster
	+ Unnamed Face Monster
	+ Lampwick (pituitary gland)
	+ Anima (brain)
	+ Cav (tooth)
	+ Drummer (ear)
	+ Enid (head)
	+ Unnamed Mouth Monster
	+ This is a total of ten monsters, nearly half of the twenty-five canonical monsters.

## References

1. ↑ Chapter 6, Page 43
2. ↑ Magnolia's ask.fm
3. ↑ Magnolia's Comment on Chapter 32, Page 7
4. ↑ Chapter 31, Page 16
5. ↑ Chapter 3, Page 20
6. ↑ Holiday Special, Page 4
7. ↑ Chapter 11, Page 3
8. ↑ Chapter 10, Pages 1-4
9. ↑ Chapter 30, Page 25
10. ↑ Magnolia's comment on Chapter 8, Page 14
11. ↑ Chapter 1, Page 14
12. ↑ Chapter 10, Page 6
13. ↑ Chapter 9, Page 11
14. ↑ Chapter 3, Page 14
15. ↑ Chapter 3, Page 21
16. ↑ Chapter 22, Page 44
17. ↑ Chapter 24, Page 8
18. ↑ Chapter 8, Page 15
19. ↑ Chapter 30, Page 34
20. ↑ Magnolia's askfm
21. ↑ Chapter 35, Page 35
22. ↑ Chapter 22, Page 53
23. ↑ Chapter 2, Page 3
24. ↑ Chapter 4, Page 39
25. ↑ Chapter 18, Page 5
26. ↑ Chapter 16, Page 28
27. ↑ Chapter 9, Page 28
28. ↑ Magnolia's formspring
29. ↑ Chapter 2, Page 12
30. ↑ Chapter 16, Page 17
31. ↑ Chapter 15, Page 4
32. ↑ Chapter 16, Page 18
33. ↑ Chapter 36, Page 2
34. ↑ Magnolia's comment on Chapter 26, Page 43
35. ↑ Magnolia's ask.fm
36. ↑ Chapter 10, Page 17
37. ↑ Chapter 30, Pages 5-7
38. ↑ Chapter 5: Nancy and Red
39. ↑ Chapter 18, Pages 10-11
40. ↑ Chapter 17, Pages 31-36
41. ↑ Chapter 21, Pages 27-28
42. ↑ Chapter 3, Page 1
43. ↑ Chater 4, Page 6
44. ↑ Magnolia's ask.fm
45. ↑ Magnolia's formspring
46. ↑ Magnolia's ask.fm
47. ↑ Chapter 30, Page 25
48. ↑ Magnolia's ask.fm
49. ↑ Magnolia's ask.fm
50. ↑ Magnolia's ask.fm