Written by Yz. Name: Limus amicus or 'Slime Symbiotes' Description: Slime Symbiotes begin their lives as small, fist-sized blobs of colored goo. When they successfully find a host, they no longer have a set appearance, instead spreading their cells out within the host. Upon death, they split up into numerous lumps of slime. If split into pieces while in goo form, they can move and act independently, but will die if separated for too long or reduced to a certain size. Behaviour: They slide around, absorbing and assimilating anything too small for them to use as a host. Such as insects, plants and small animals. Once they find a suitable host (Any animal the size of a cat or larger), they will attempt to crawl into the hosts body, such as through the mouth or any other orifice. When they enter the body, the cells the Symbiotes are made of slowly replace a vital organ of the hosts, such as a heart, liver or kidney. The brain is never replaced, but the Symbiote typically replaces the pituitary gland, so as to control the hormonal levels of the host. The cells of the Symbiote remaining in the hosts bloodstream change as well, to stop the antibodies of the host from attacking them. Hormones are secreted into the body, controlled by the Symbiote, raising aggression, hunger and metabolism in the host. In the case of wild animals, this will lead to an animal becoming more aggressive and violent, hunting down prey more aggressively and consuming more food. Herbivores that get Symbiotes bound to them become more aggressive as well, usually opting to fight back against predators instead of running. Eventually, the hosts violent urges will recede. However, the fighting experience and muscles built up in this time remain with the host. Animals bound to a Slime Symbiote tend to become particularly dominant specimens. Being bound to a host also grants the host organism faster cell regeneration, as the Symbiote assists in the creation and reparation of new cells. Small cuts and skinned knees can be healed overnight. Bullet wounds can heal faster than usual. However, the Symbiote cannot heal severed limbs or broken bones. The intelligence of a Slime Symbiote is wholly dependent on the intelligence of the host. A Symbiote bound to a puppy will remain mostly inert, only manifesting its effects. A Symbiote bound to a human will usually develop its own personality, based on the actions of the human. The Symbiotes rarely get the chance to interact with and bind to people. But when they do, the intelligence they develop is on-par with the person. Tamability: Animals with a symbiote bound to them tend to be difficult, but not impossible to tame. If a Slime Symbiote binds to a human, it essentially serves as a second entity living inside their body. Where is it found?: Slime Symbiotes can be found on Jainta, a small forest planet. They are native to the continent of Sinh there, which houses a few small settlements and villages. The planet is just a generic, regular one out in space. Difficult to come by in particular. Rarity: On their planet, they fairly rare. They're quite numerous on the continent they are native to, with many other creatures hosting them. However, on a universal scale, they are extremely rare, as they are only found on that one planet, with only a few leaving the planet. Diet/Method of gaining nutrients and energy: Sapped from the host. Anything the host is able to digest will be partially fed to the Symbiote. Products?: The Symbiote binding to a person is the only possible thing that could make it useful. It produces no other products. Reproduction: When the hosts brain stops functioning, the Symbiote will begin consuming the cells in their body, returning to its slimy, gooey state. Eventually, all the soft tissue in the hosts body will be converted into slime. The fist-sized balls squirm away to find new hosts. Slime Symbiotes that have bonded with sapient creatures may instead elect to form into a new brain, taking over the body. ((This process will require a cloning app.)) Size and Weight: As a fist-sized ball of goo, a few hundred grams. Once inside the host, their weights vary, as they transform into varying organs. Lifespan: As long as the host. Abilities: Able to bind to organisms to make up for their relative weakness. Provides multiple benefits to their hosts. Faster cell regeneration, increased endurance, fast metabolism. Able to spread their cells out throughout a host body and manipulate their own cells. Not a major ability, but the slime is able to excrete itself from pores on the hosts body Hosts fluids will be tinted the color of the slime. Able to communicate with sapient hosts. Flaws: In their goo form, high temperatures and low humidity kill them within a few hours. In goo form, when reduced to 20% of their size through splitting them up, the slime dries out and dies within a few minutes. Once a host has been bound to the Symbiote, they require more food than usual, feeling hungry near-constantly. The host will require longer periods of rest to recover from extreme physical activity Other: Accompanying app As this is more of a thing for characters to have than an actual animal, please contact me to use one.
