Art by, Chikaoofka
Common Jobs: Lipsticks, Candlesticks, Sidekicks, General Icks
Likes: Their host, Extreme heat
Dislikes: Anything their host dislikes, Whatever complex clockwork rights mumbo jumbo they happen to be knee deep in at the moment
Attack Method: In the presence of flames the wax will encroach upon the host's nervous system and force them closer by utilizing their own motor system against them, likely causing severe burns and irreparable damage to their relationship.
Too disorganized to get a single homogenized answer that isn't simply whatever their host believes in.
Recognized by most as the main ingredient in the cosmetic lines produced by the highly successful Beaut&Love company. Wax, at least in this case, is in actuality not a substance generated by most living creatures with wondrous effects on the subcutaneous layer, but in fact a resin like clockwork which spreads from host to host through skin exposure when under certain circumstances.
The main symptom of a wax infection is the slow corruption and transformation of normal healthy cells into inert clockwork material in the form of resin as the wax encroaches upon the host's body. Eventually this generates a set of communicator organs such as mouths, eyes, and on extreme occasion whole separate heads. The wax will then make a terrifying first contact with their host and begin the phase we call the "conscious period." During the conscious period, the wax stop passively consuming the host, and only grow when regenerating parts of them.
While the conscious period of a wax is one that commonly persists until death, it is important to note that the wax can continue to indefinitely grow past this point and consume more and more of the host. This means the potential for full takeover does exist, a fact which, due to the rarity of the event happening, will be examined in further detail down below as a denominated subspecies referred to as "effigies."
Although the wax are usually a safe clockwork somewhat arguably fit for a legal species, inert to the touch and non infectious, they are also a host strain parasitic species which means they necessarily have a way to infect others. Much like normal wax, the wax species may begin to melt in warmer temperatures, which much unlike normal wax, marks the creation of an incredibly infectious substance classified as a bioweapon.
Melted wax is the manner through which this species reproduces, infecting anything and everything it touches in this state with a new instance of wax. Careless hosts are liable to be fined in exuberant amounts for any amount of melted wax dispersed in an area. They are also liable to varying amounts of prison time should they ever happen to infect another without their consent.
We are legally required to mention that while Beaut&Love products are alarmingly made out of clockwork produce, there is no evidence to suggest that these are harmful in any way, save for the off chance the sterilization process fails and leaves infectious clockwork cells in pristine condition in the material, and as such there is nothing to worry about regarding them. While Beaut&Love is a company with reach across the universe, and as such it is a statistical inevitability for their sterilization process to not fail at some point and create a bio weapon batch of cosmetics, they are also similarly wealthy enough to maintain proper procedure forever and guarantee that this will never happen. Ever.
Wax is unique among the more traditional clockworks that infest the universe due to being a rare example of a strain successful enough in its mutatory pattern to have evolved an extremely rare trait commonly known as "conscious thoughts." A fact which has sadly allowed them to graduate from dangerous host type clockwork to symbiotic clockwork species through the use of highly sought after "species rights."
"Species rights" are a defensive ability powerful enough to easily protect any clockwork from the overwhelming majority of quarantining and eradication efforts, proving the wax an extreme danger to the common man and the natural order of universal society as we know it. "Species rights" are so overwhelming a quality that they have been known to deter even notails from attempting rightful extermination, which distraughtly enough means, there is not much one can do should they encounter one in the wild.
Should one happen to be unlucky enough to cross paths with one, whether through infection or through meeting infectees, it is important to note that unlike most clockworks the wax commonly have amiable and friendly personalities. A fact that was no doubt flexed in the corrupt federation meeting that got them said "species rights." They can generally be considered naive and innocent, if not bordering on nanny-ish to their host, due to an apparent affection and subservience they display towards them at nearly all times. The wax will never talk back to their host, generally believing that if there is a disagreement they are likely the ones in the wrong, as their host is not capable of making mistakes.
On the flipside, the wax also have a strong instinctual desire to get themselves and their host close to extreme heat sources, presumably for the sake of achieving spread conditions by melting their wax, which they themselves don't quite understand nor have under control. The fact that a clockwork of all things does not have its reproductive instincts under control was mysteriously left out of the federation meeting in which they got rights. Any and all responsibility regarding the reproduction of the wax typically falls upon the host, rather than the wax itself, as it is apparently "immoral" to police the reproduction of a species. A clockwork species. The ones that munch on gears and only sometimes people on occasion. Fortunately direct contact will fire will destroy the clockwork as normal, instantly stopping its spread.
Regardless, ignoring their innate and uncontrollable desire to self liquify near what they describe as "very pretty lights", their caring disposition is generally considered a slight bit of a nuisance to hosts. They will double check on decisions they believe may cause harm even in emergency situations, such as whether or not they should regenerate their host's lost arm in a battle to the death as this would imply encroaching more on their host's body, or whether or not they should allow the arm they now control pick "fight to the death" or tap the "10x pull Radiant Summer Alter Gacha" button as this will clearly and irreversibly destroy their host's financial stability.
Should the host teach them to not be as incredibly annoying by asking about so many things, the exact opposite problem will usually pop up. They will become prone to making assumptions regarding what their host actually wants, acting every now and then entirely without their input. They are no longer asking. Stop rolling the gacha. It's for your own good. Even we agree to this.
Industry wide efforts to to obfuscate or otherwise bury information regarding this seemingly innocuous substance that was sold widely across the universe were both common and successful. That is, before the Beaut&Love company behind the main production and sales of wax products had documents leak which confirmed they were in fact clockwork based.
Not even two hours later, the entire cosmetics industry had amassed an effective army of lawyers under the pretense of getting the wax rights, if only so that their source of income would not be exterminated for rightful and logical reasons. Due to this army of auxiliary law hyenas, the half-hearted support of groups advocating for the rights of clockwork species, and the best lawyer the universe has seemingly ever seen, and trillions in donation to the federation they succeeded in making the wax "people-enough" to not allow them to be exterminated but also not "sufficiently-people" to where they had to stop selling wax organs as a commodity.
The wax of course, supported the fact that their organs would be trafficked across the universe like they had been for so long. In their own words they claim they wanted to be of help to the universe. However, it is hard to discard the possibility that this decision was made on the basis of their instinctual need to spread, as the virtually infallible sterilization and shipping methods of Beaut&Love had the potential to be a viable transmission route to them. Can you call it an ulterior motive if they themselves were not consciously aware of it?
Anyways, in a completely expected and obvious turn of events, the decision to turn these veritable blights into a species remains one of the most controversial events in the federation's history. One in which absolutely nobody was entirely happy with the outcome. Clockwork species lamented the fact the wax were seen more as a commodity despite having gotten rights among numerous mountains of other just as important issues, companies cried at the fact their products now had to be under strict regulation, and the common folk raged at the fact that their skin products had been made from abominations all along. Let alone the fact that these abominations now got to walk besides them.
...Or rather, absolutely nobody isn't quite right. The wax themselves got pretty much the perfect outcome. They no longer had to live in underground farms hidden from the populace with flamethrowers pointed at them 24/7, and despite getting rights they were still allowed to be sold around the universe as a product. Sure is fitting that the only silver lining in this damned tempest feels more like coal painted shiny gray.
Wallflower: While your average everyday wax will generate a mouth on the host's skin where their infection is located in order to speak, this variant is considerably shyer and instead opt to speak only to their host through their nervous system. This has a few side effects such as these infections being logically easier to hide or the fact that they are also considerably more dangerous when growing due to being hooked up directly to the host's brain. Although not always, this is generally the type of wax utilized in back alley cosmetic surgery, during which the wallflower will slowly "fix" the skeletal structure of the host while simultaneously covering up any blemishes such as scars on their skin. Wax based cosmetic surgery, although cheap and relatively safe, comes with the obvious caveat of creating an exuberant amount of wax content in the host's body, rendering them quite vulnerable to heat.
Beeswax: While wax on a host tends to be pretty good at staving off further wax infections, it is possible for someone to contract multiple separate instances of wax during the incubation period. Each of which will proceed to have their own minds and personalities all interacting with each other and the host in a very annoying cacophony of barely comprehensible chatter. Beeswax hosts tend to either establish a speaking order among the wax or get skilled enough to parse one from the other after enough time, that is, if their sanity isn't chipped short by the sound before then. Beeswax variants are considered a very unnerving sight to many for obvious reasons.
Effigy: Wax that have consumed enough of their owner to be considered the host instead of a parasite are classified as this subspecies due to the general rarity of this event happening. Most effigies will turn into caretakers for what remains of their host, retiring to quiet countrysides and peaceful mountain villages, often to the frustration of the original host as it is likely they were avid clockwork hunters or adrenaline junkies who got infected on purpose to make use of wax's regenerative qualities.
The less of the original body remains, the more the effigy hardens and stiffens, up to the point where they will completely solidify and die while turning into a wax sculpture of the original host should they ever completely corrupt every cell in his body. The wax are intelligent enough to realize that the abuse of their regenerative qualities may lead to their host becoming an effigy, and are nice enough to not regenerate tissue without explicit permission. This continues to be the case once they have actually become an effigy, as they will only ever regenerate in extreme emergencies to avoid solidifying.
While the hunting of effigies lies outside the legal protection granted by being a clockwork hunter, it would be a lie to claim that the sale of pristine wax sculptures to private collections is not a lucrative and attractive venture that may or may not be doing everyone a favor. Of course should one be illegally interested in this heinous act, they must remember that a wax will only kill itself and its host and turn into a sculpture when under considerably duress such as torture. Alternatively one may simply look towards warzones in which wax sculptures are plentiful, as the wax desperately encroach upon more and more of their host in a meaningless effort to save their lives, only to kill themselves on accident.
Regeneration: In emergencies the wax can function as extremely efficient regenerators of their host's body with the side effect of unwillingly spreading themselves during the process and likely increasing the chance for the host to get cancer in the future by atleast 1800%. People who get in situations dangerous enough to justify the use of this ability don't tend to live for long enough to get cancer, which makes the previous point meaningless.
Hosts generally maintain partial ownership over the regenerated limbs, albeit with an added stiffness due to the new material, not to mention that the wax also become capable of freely moving said appendage against the host's wishes if they feel like doing so, which is not often, thankfully.
• DISCLAIMER: Wax may not be right for everyone. Consult your doctor if symptoms persist. Some patients experience side effects including dry mouth, dizziness, death, double vision, double smelling, double tasting, other symptoms starting with d, aggression, and fatigue. Do not use if you suffer from: High blood pressure, neurological dysfunction, or body dysmorphia. Call your doctor if you experience an inability to concentrate, stiff muscles, sores, or trouble walking. Insomnia has been reported with wax and treatments like it. Avoid wax if pregnant or nursing. Other risks include headaches, paranoia, impaired motor skills, muscle twitches and spasms. By consuming wax related products you waive your right to hold Beaut&Love and related companies liable for damages, mental or physical.
• Most species are severely disturbed by the wax trading their organs with the universe. Most species would either like them to stop or recognize that various industries have grown an unhealthy dependency on wax as a product and reluctantly tolerate it.
• For the record, not all wax in the universe is clockwork material. Only a couple industries utilize this type of wax widely, and that can generally be attributed to their extremely cheap costs and unique properties. There are still bastions of sane fucking thinking out there and not every skin cream company is trying to ruin your life with a clockwork infection. Just a few of them.
• The ramifications of the introduction of the wax to the universe as a species are felt greatly in many areas, such as the generally negative impact it has had on the view most people have of clockwork species, and the many debates regarding what exactly defines a clockwork as "worthy of specieshood." Most people see the fact that they are capable of infecting others as a "slippery slope" through which more clockworks will eventually infiltrate the federation, supported by muses and the likes, while CRA (Clockworks Rights Advocates) and related groups see this as a simply unfortunate consequence of their biology.
• /*EDITOR'S NOTE: ALL YOUR SOCIAL AND POLITICAL WRITINGS IN THIS ENTRY ARE POORLY RESEARCHED AND APPEAR TO COME FROM EXTREMIST MEDIA. THIS IS NOT A SPECIES. THIS BELONGS IN THE CLOCKWORK SECTION. NO ONE THINKS THESE PEOPLE DESERVE RIGHTS.
THIS IS THE SECOND TIME YOU'VE TRIED TO DISGUISE A CLOCKWORK ENTRY AS A SPECIES. YOU ARE BEING REPORTED TO UPPER MANAGEMENT FOR POSSIBLE MUSE INFILTRATION. FIRST THE FUCKING SWOLLOWS (YEAH I KNOW THEIR LITTLE FUCKING SECRET!), NOW THIS. I'M NOT PUTTING UP WITH YOUR CLOCKWORK PANDERING SHIT ANYMORE, MAL'ISHA!*/
No art currently, maybe you can help.