Corona
"A human friend would certainly make it easier to turn the pages of my books."
Physical Description
Body Features
Corona is an orchid mantis Miinu. She has pale pink skin with white freckles dotted on her body. Her tulip pink hair puffs up in 5 distinct segments, mirroring an orchid flower. She has large green eyes with dainty eyelashes. Her body shape is more mantis-like, with four legs instead of the average four arms Miinu typically have. Her arms have a mantis claw that protrudes form her wrist.
Apparel
She wears dresses or cloaks with pink colors and flower motifs. Living in Hidden Isle, her fashion is more natural, being made from flower petals and natural cloths. She wears a lot of draping, loose fitting clothing and ribbons.Mental characteristics
Personal history
Corona was born in unique circumstances for a Miinu, being raised by a villager on Nawala Island who adopted her as a nymph, who'd feed her and talk to her, and hold her. She'd learn the human's language and their culture, and was fascinated by all of it. It was a bond that lasted a long time, longer than anyone expected her to live; believing she was an ordinary orchid mantis.
But after a while, the cage began to wear on her physically, not having room to run around. She'd sleep a lot in her enclosure, leading her owner to believe she had finally passed on one day. The human released her into the forest for nature to claim her body, however she was not dead. She'd find herself alone in the woods, with no one around and no survival skills as she'd been handfed all her life.
Corona wandered for days, braving the wilderness and not having much luck finding food or clean water, until she found the campsite of Professor Garrison Anderson, a human scientist who was researching the Miinu. She nearly drowned when she fell into a basin of water outside the tent, which the professor rescued her from. The professor then nursed her back to health. The professor had many books about insects, science, and engineering, that she used her knowledge of the human language to read and learn.
But after interacting with a cursed object, the professor grew ill. He was determined to send his research of the island to the mainland, so set out to take a boat back home, bringing the little mantis miinu with him. However, the professor's illness took hold too quickly and he disappeared out at sea. The boat traveled aimlessly for days until a storm toppled it, sending all the supplies, research materials, and Corona, into the ocean.
Corona was drifted on top of the boat until she had the idea to craft what few supplies she had into a make shift sailboat and used her knowledge of stars to navigate towards land. She eventually washed ashore onto the Hidden Isle, where she encounter more miinu, who found her story of survival astonishing, and her knowledge about humans valuable. She started using her human literacy and knack for inventing to assist the Miinu in that small village.
Gender Identity
Corona's view on her own gender is confusing, as she was actually misidentified as a female by her previous owner, but then the Professor correctly ID'd her as a male orchid mantis. She doesn't fully identify with being a male though, so she continues presenting as feminine.
Personality Characteristics
Likes & Dislikes
Corona enjoys reading, gardening and bird watching (from a distance of course). She admires birds, not being a good flier herself, and she's dabbled in engineering in order to make a flying ornithopter. She prefers to spend her time alone, getting nervous when strangers drop by.
Personality
Corona is incredibly adept at learning new information and skills quickly, which has lead her to be quite intelligent. Though she tends to be very shy due to her lack of experience talking with other Miinu, she's very sweet and kind and always excited to infodump to someone willing to listen. She's very passionate about certain subjects and spends a lot of her time studding them and trying to understand how they work on a structural level; such as with birds. She loves teaching people new skills and using her knowledge of humans and their technology to improve the lives of the people of Hidden Isle, but often her social anxiety will get the better of her; causing her to frequently lock herself in her lab for days at a time. Though sometimes she can be coaxed out by talking to her gently and offering something she's interested in, like flowers.Social
Family Ties
Corona doesn't have much in the form of family, at least not one that had stuck around very long. Anyone she'd seen as some sort of familial figure in her life would eventually disappear from it, leaving her as lonely as when she first hatched. Even now, in a village full of fellow miinu, and the freedom to do whatever she wants with her life, she is incredibly isolated.
Mannerisms
She acts very timid most of the time and isn't very open or animated. She tends to keep her arms closed up against her chest, and when she is nervous (which is often) she will visibly shake.
Speech
She tends to speak softly and fairly eloquently. She occasionally stutters a lot when speaking, as her Miinuvian isn't so great from not being raised around it.
Date of Birth
April 22
Year of Birth
1908 CE
21 Years old
Birthplace
Children
Current Residence
Hidden Isle
Pronouns
She/They
Gender
Nonbinary
Presentation
Feminine
Eyes
Green
Hair
Strawberry Pink
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Pale Pink
Height
5.8 cm
Toyhouse
This was so cute and wholesome. I really liked this article (even if the protagonist was basically in a cage for a good while of her life). I really like the idea of this good mantis bug helping her community thanks to her knowledge of humans <3