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Description
[CW: Image contains decay-focused gore, exposed bone and lots of maggots]

Gnat is a small, gaunt, and literal corpse of cat. Their body seems to be stuck in a grisly limbo of decay - insides having become a blend between carrion and hollow cavities filled by thousands of maggots where flesh once was. A swarm of little gnats cling to her closely, rarely straying far behind as she trudges about. Gnat's movements are stuttering and trembling, and it isn't uncommon to find them standing or sitting tensely still, as if all their joints had locked in place. Surprisingly, her voice is clear, gentle and soft - projected out of her from seemingly nowhere.

As you probably guessed, Gnat's curse is the reason why they're in the state that they're in. Their curse has scattered their entire consciousness across all the gnats and maggots inhabiting them. They see, they smell, they eat, they breathe, they feel, they hurt - all through those maggots and gnats. She may as well be considered nothing else but the bugs, with what used to be her body now just a decorative shell.

Gnat was a very early entry in PAIN - in fact they may have been the very first non-pillar cat brought into PAIN, although they can't quite remember if they were. Turns out maggot-based memory is not very reliable, who could have guessed. There's a lot of things Gnat technically remembers, but trying to recall specific things at any given moment proves difficult. If it weren't for her scattered mind, she'd actually be able to recall her past life.

Well, perhaps that's for the best.

Unsurprisingly, Gnat repulsed near every cat who saw her, and was left with only Bear who would welcome her presence. As such she ended up an early and now prominent of Bear's group, both because of her seniority and well, hard to ignore presence. They're quite infamous among cats outside of Bear's group, all gossiping and quipping about that festering corpse that Bear keeps around. Gnat would almost seem like a legend until you remember that this is PAIN, and a cat being rendered rotting forever is actually extremely plausible.

It's a shame really. Gnat's quite nice and sweet. Fond of looking at pretty things and passing the time with little games that she came up with on the spot. Relaxed enough to let all the insults fly past her with, at most, a shrug in response. Yet attentive enough to notice when even small things seem wrong. Personable enough to lend a figurative shoulder to cry on (unless you don't mind the maggots) even if you were the one once insulting her.

It's an ultimate "judged by the book cover" condition that Gnat is stuck in. Receiving as much vitriol as she does plain pity, yet the constant remains that not many cats just simply, talk with her. Hang out. Say hello.

But at the end of the day, Gnat's alright. The whole world could hate them, they'd get by. They're a bunch of gnats and maggots now, it is pretty crazy. Before, they would have retched and wailed at the sight of themself. The awful smell... their ruined, fraying pelt.... all the writhing little bugs... the...... the-

But they're fine now! In spite of everything, they're fine. Everything's fine.

It's simple, she'll live for as long as she does, and in the meantime do what she can to help those who are willing to let her. They have Bear and a few other cats who they've become close with. They can pass their time watching the mesmerizing tears in the sky flicker and bend. Smell the sweet scent of flowers and herbs they gathered. It's almost like they can forget the pain.

Everything's fine.

---

I'm both fairly happy with how this came out and also feel like I could have done better. Ah well, I'm glad to have finally given Gnat a full reference and improved design either way. I think they're neat and I can't wait to perhaps share more about them in the future.

Description
[CW: Image contains decay-focused gore, exposed bone and lots of maggots]

Gnat is a small, gaunt, and literal corpse of cat. Their body seems to be stuck in a grisly limbo of decay - insides having become a blend between carrion and hollow cavities filled by thousands of maggots where flesh once was. A swarm of little gnats cling to her closely, rarely straying far behind as she trudges about. Gnat's movements are stuttering and trembling, and it isn't uncommon to find them standing or sitting tensely still, as if all their joints had locked in place. Surprisingly, her voice is clear, gentle and soft - projected out of her from seemingly nowhere.

As you probably guessed, Gnat's curse is the reason why they're in the state that they're in. Their curse has scattered their entire consciousness across all the gnats and maggots inhabiting them. They see, they smell, they eat, they breathe, they feel, they hurt - all through those maggots and gnats. She may as well be considered nothing else but the bugs, with what used to be her body now just a decorative shell.

Gnat was a very early entry in PAIN - in fact they may have been the very first non-pillar cat brought into PAIN, although they can't quite remember if they were. Turns out maggot-based memory is not very reliable, who could have guessed. There's a lot of things Gnat technically remembers, but trying to recall specific things at any given moment proves difficult. If it weren't for her scattered mind, she'd actually be able to recall her past life.

Well, perhaps that's for the best.

Unsurprisingly, Gnat repulsed near every cat who saw her, and was left with only Bear who would welcome her presence. As such she ended up an early and now prominent of Bear's group, both because of her seniority and well, hard to ignore presence. They're quite infamous among cats outside of Bear's group, all gossiping and quipping about that festering corpse that Bear keeps around. Gnat would almost seem like a legend until you remember that this is PAIN, and a cat being rendered rotting forever is actually extremely plausible.

It's a shame really. Gnat's quite nice and sweet. Fond of looking at pretty things and passing the time with little games that she came up with on the spot. Relaxed enough to let all the insults fly past her with, at most, a shrug in response. Yet attentive enough to notice when even small things seem wrong. Personable enough to lend a figurative shoulder to cry on (unless you don't mind the maggots) even if you were the one once insulting her.

It's an ultimate "judged by the book cover" condition that Gnat is stuck in. Receiving as much vitriol as she does plain pity, yet the constant remains that not many cats just simply, talk with her. Hang out. Say hello.

But at the end of the day, Gnat's alright. The whole world could hate them, they'd get by. They're a bunch of gnats and maggots now, it is pretty crazy. Before, they would have retched and wailed at the sight of themself. The awful smell... their ruined, fraying pelt.... all the writhing little bugs... the...... the-

But they're fine now! In spite of everything, they're fine. Everything's fine.

It's simple, she'll live for as long as she does, and in the meantime do what she can to help those who are willing to let her. They have Bear and a few other cats who they've become close with. They can pass their time watching the mesmerizing tears in the sky flicker and bend. Smell the sweet scent of flowers and herbs they gathered. It's almost like they can forget the pain.

Everything's fine.

---

I'm both fairly happy with how this came out and also feel like I could have done better. Ah well, I'm glad to have finally given Gnat a full reference and improved design either way. I think they're neat and I can't wait to perhaps share more about them in the future.