So being a big anatomy nerd, and watching people draw Simon incredibly mutated Simon got me thinking about how his mutations work and form. With my very basic knowledge of anatomy and physiology, I present my take on Simon's facial mutations! (With photos!)
(Please keep in mind all of this is hypothetical, and relies on the blood ocean being an incredibly advanced organism)
To start off we need to understand where these mutations come from. For simplicity sake we're going to say that the blood ocean acts as a giant multicellular organism that functions as a parasite* to survive/persist. It's cells take root in other organism to use the host's brain to preserve its own conscious.
*The term "parasite" may vary in it's correctness depending on if Simon's body is being consumed and the parasite leads to his eventual death or if it's a commensalism relationship.
These cells would most likely take root in the temporal lobe and —Specifically the Wernicke's area— to process speech. They would also affect the cerebellum and motor cortex to control the secondary mouth independently of Simon's normal mouth. Another place they would affect would be the temporal lobe to host their own conscious and to have "personality".
I should also mention that this parasite would like effect almost every part of his brain as there's so many areas of the brain that go into speech alone. Not to mention, the effect on endocrine system to trigger the bone growth, muscle growth, and tissue growth that's required for the secondary mouth to form.
Simon's facial structure would have to shift slightly to accommodate the new bone growth. The Zygomatic arch would have to extend outward to make space for the new teeth without drastically impacting Simon's back teeth. Ligaments would also have to form from the temporal process as well as the zygomatic process to connect to the secondary lower jaw.
The first photos is for reference and to display the points of ligament connection. The second those is to display the ligament connect to the lower jaw (Please note these should be reflected because Simons mutations are on the left side usually and these photos display the right side of the head.)
The secondary lower jaw is connected by ligaments and muscle to hold it in place, allow blood flow, and allow movement. The bottom teeth grown from this lower jaw piece as well. Its slanted to match the natural slant of the face. (Parasite mimics life and blah blah blah)
Ligament connection points are labeled in the photo at the top! (Note this photo should also be reflected because the slant is going the wrong way)
For the mouth to function there would be another layer of muscle developed / built into the existing muscular structure of the head. The secondary lower jaw would also connect to the mandible to help hold it in place and allow it to move with Simon's pre-existing lower jaw when not in use. This would also allow the lower jaw to be pulled down to open and close the mouth on it's own, when controlled by the parasite, for individual speech.
The red lines indicate connection muscle that's largely important but doesn't display all the muscle on the head.
The inside of the mouth changes as well becoming incredibly cramped. A second tongue would split off of the hyoglossus— a muscle that acts as somewhat of a base for the tongue— towards the back of the tongue. Keeping the tongue separated from Simon's tongue whilst still being built into the existing structures in the mouth. This tongue would have to rest against the teeth of the secondary jaw to still give space for Simon's own tongue.
(The drawing with the teeth is not very accurate to the actual jaw formation, my apologizes. Yet, I still think it gets my point across.)
This entire set up would cause immense struggle for Simon. The pain of growing the new bones would be similar to growing pains. As well as pain similar to wisdom teeth coming in because of the new teeth pushing through the gums. This may or may not lead to teething to help push them through the gums. Up to the characterization of Simon honestly. Though it would be helpful to the development of the mutation.
Secondly, Simon would more than likely have some sort of lisp or speech issue. Having a cramped mouth could lead to words slurring or the mispronunciation of certain sounds. That being said, the same would go for the secondary mouth. It's speech would be incredibly basic. That of a child learning how to talk, due to the fact it doesn't have the required mouth structures to perform proper speech.
That's really all I have for the design of the mutations. I'm not entirely sure if this would work properly. I'm not a professional in anything anatomy related I simply just have a great interest in it. Especially alien/inhuman anatomy and physiology.
If you got this far i hope you enjoy my ted talk!
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