Dweller

An inhuman shapeshifter that preys on humans by mimicking them, and integrating themselves into human social circles. They will either replace a family member, pet, or roommate by killing and consuming them in entirety, or by making a patchwork human or animal form from observation, and then finding a way to enter without raising suspicion. They feed off emotions, and will try to incite feelings of intense fear, sadness, anger, or love, which are their preferred sources of sustenance.

They will begin to distort over time, usually in ways in line with the emotions they have been feeding on, and will need to rest for a few months to regain a human-passing appearance. The more benevolent patchwork dwellers will distort sooner, as they have less material to work with. As such, dwellers are usually quite lonely, as they can't stay many places for long. Many will take this loneliness in vile directions, and will enjoy tormenting the families they feed off of and envy.

Dwellers are possibly some kind of fungus or mold, and in their natural states are pale and slimy, with big dark eyes, small noses, plasticky looking hair, and wide, lipless mouths. They breed by mitosis, but rarely end up resembling their parent, because their true forms will begin to retain the features of the different forms they hold, especially those they hold onto the longest. Though they don't tend to live past their 30's due to their high rates of fatalities, they have comparable lifespans to humans, and if they survive past middle age their true forms will become gradually human-passing, if still slimy.