Morphs (モーフ Mōfu?) are fairies that specialize in mimicry and imitation. After mimicking a human, they become a Shadow.
Life Cycle[]
The life cycle of a morph intended to be a Shadow begins with being brought to the mansion, similar to the children destined to become Living Dolls. After being transported, they are taken to the same room as the prospective Living Dolls - the "morph room". In here, they're expected to select a human to mimic, or morph into the form of. If any other living thing enters the morph room, they run the risk of mimicking that creature instead. Once a morph has mimicked a creature, there doesn't seem to be any going back. Once they've selected a human, they undergo an education program to refine them into mentally capable Shadows. The child they've mimicked also takes part in an education program for the morph to mimic, and are told over and over that they are Living Dolls forged for the purpose of serving the mansion.
However, it seems that morphs will remain in their morph state if they don't come into contact with another non-shadow living thing. There is also Shirley's case, in which she reverted into a miniscule morph form, as well as the rumored terrible creatures that drove the Mirrors House away. The full nature of the morphs remains a mystery.
Overview[]
Morph being gifted to Mirror family
Morphs live in the Morph Forest near the Mirrorside Village. They have their own territory deep in the woods, where they manage themselves, have their own food source, and multiply. Despite that, morphs are rare enough that a noble family with connections all over the island was surprised by their existence.
Before the Selection, morphs are captured by humans through unknown means. They are locked in a cage below the ground, then transported onto the train, and moved into the mansion, where they remain until they mimic a human child and become a Shadow.
Appearance[]
Morphs look like a black blob, reminiscent of a bedsheet ghost with thin arms and legs. They can bend in any way they want and are generally very flexible. Morphs can be all sizes - from tiny ones, to those of an adult stature. Their sizes could have something to with age, but this is not confirmed. They appear to have a mouth and most likely have some sort of internal organs, seen as they are able to eat food. Kate speculates that they have an internal structure similar to that of an animal, which then changes during the mimicking process. By the time morph becomes a fully formed shadow their bones and internal organs are fixed.
Physiology[]
Morphs of different sizes
Morphs generally have low intelligence, but high curiosity. They live in packs and can communicate with each other, though whether or not they make sounds is unknown. They can understand when other creatures (humans) are speaking to them and react to it, but can't understand what is being said.
Morphs are able to multiply, but its means are unknown, and are able to eat normal human food, but possibly only when they are mimicking someone doing it.
Morphs can attack via putting their victim into a cocoon, and are fast and strong enough to outrun and turn over carriages. Nobody knows what a morph's lifespan is, but they are able to die from lack of life force in them. Once dead, they don't disintegrate and stay as corpses.
Behaviour[]
Personality vs Influence
Morphs are normally docile and friendly creatures, very curious and sociable. They have their own personality and are able to play and communicate with others. The personality they have, though, fades after they mimic. Their traits are mimicked from the contact with their human presumably during the education program, however their original skills remains.
The process of Selection->Mimicry->Education Program, as well as the entire system before the Debut, is created so that the morph will regain a personality and a personal bond before they unify with the human. If the morph doesn't have a personality and a bond with the human they unify with, the body will fall into a vegetative state and will eventually die, as seen with Catherine.
The normally friendly morphs will become aggressive and territorial once they find something they like. They will separate from the pack and proceed to mimic. Most likely, the morphs that attacked the Mirrors were made to act like that by the person who sent them, as they were overly aggressive and attacked everything on sight.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Cocoon Trap: They can attack via capturing person in a cocoon. In doing so, the morph itself becomes the cocoon and enters the body of the victim, seizing control.
- Mimicking other living beings: The primary ability of the morph. It will choose one target and observe it's appearance and behaviour for a while, after which will shift it's form to resemble a fully shadowed copy of the target. It will continue to mimic behaviour for a while after, and only then will become a proper shadow.
- Soot Power: Presumably requires mimicking first to awakening their soot power, and there are multiple cases of mimicked morphs with no soot power at all.
- Soot Production: Presumably happens after mimicking. Their soot can have multiple uses.
Trivia[]
- Some people worship morphs.
- A folk story claims that they rip off the faces of people they mimic. This story is largely used to keep humans away from the Morph Forest.
- According to Sophie, "the bigger the morph, the bigger the potential", though it is unknown exactly if she is refering to soot quantity, soot power, or other parameter.
- There are rare "Special Morphs" who don't lose their consciousness/personality after mimicking. The only known example is Maryrose.
