Authoress here ^-^
So I've been working on this for a few weeks, relishing in this hyperfixation. Under the cut is a long list of wordvomit any ideas I had, vaguely organised into how Wikipedia kinda separates their scientific articles on groups of creatures. I'm using this as a kinda worldbuilding-y piece for Mint and her world, as well as providing a resource for anyone who wants to make a sona with it.
I'm hoping y'all like it, Happy Goopin <3
Taxonomy
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Fungi
Division: Basidiomycota
Class: Tremellomycetes
Order: Gelatinales
Family: Gelatinaceae
Genus: Gelatina
Species: x
Morphology
slimes are characterised by their exhibition of facultative parthenogenesis, unique locomotion not seen in any other fungi, and their ability to exhibit human-level intelligence
a slime’s body is made up of three main components: its surface, gel matrix, and core
the surface of a slime is a single, continuous cellular membrane that acts as the barrier between its gel matrix and its surroundings. the main functions of the surface are maintaining water levels, eating, and sensory input
the gel matrix is the inner fluid between the surface and the core of a slime, and can be subdivided further into two parts: the esophageal matrix and the digestive matrix
the esophageal matrix draws in absorbed material towards the digestive matrix, and contains most of the slime’s specialised nervous system
the digestive matrix contains more aggressive digestive cells designed to break down absorbed material, whether it be for nutrients or to easier expel as waste product
the core of a slime is made of both an outer core, which acts as the slime’s active brain, and an inner core, which houses genetic information and doubles as a smaller, secondary brain that a slime will always start its life or post-dormancy with
slimes are functionally biologically immortal
all of a slime’s mental processing comes from their core
slime cores have only so much space related to their mass, with a portion of that core being the nucleus which contains their most base instincts
if a slime’s core reaches a point at which it cannot retain any more information nor grow its core, it will enter a state of dormancy as the core’s cells self-destruct and reform
the time this takes depends on the size of the individual, with larger cores taking longer to reform
this specific biology leads to the negative stereotype of slimes being forgetful creatures, yet no study has proven slimes to be less intelligent than humans
slimes with newly reformed cores exhibit near total amnesia; because of this, older wild slimes typically leave evidence of their territory in case of dormancy
the only cases in which a slime would not survive include persistent removal or irreparable damage to its core, or starvation
slimes exhibit growth proportional to how much food is available in their environment; theoretically, a slime could grow indefinitely if consistently fed
Behaviour
the typical time between slime dormancies is anywhere from 100-150 years
wild slimes are solitary animals, whereas socialised slimes thrive in communities of most sizes
slimes are omnivorous as well as semi-detritivorous
slimes will absorb any loose material they touch
should anything a slime absorbs be immediately flagged as indigestible, it will sink and fall out of the slime’s body
if a slime does absorb anything that it ultimately cannot digest, whatever remains will too be expelled
slimes are amorphous yet can retain a certain shape at will
most wild slimes will remain in a puddle form to avoid predators and to hunt smaller prey easier
many socialised slimes take a more humanoid form, with most examples displaying human facial features and “hair.” Many self-identified female slimes display breast shaped features, though these morphs do not have any function other than decorative, though some slimes claim adding similar features can attract a partner
note that not all slimes, socialised or otherwise, will display humanoid shape language, and it is widely considered human-centric and xenophobic to spread this rhetoric
slimes are uniquely the only fungus to be terrestrial and have self-propelled locomotion; slimes will move differently depending on how they interact with the ground
slimes most comfortably move by shifting their mass in the intended direction they wish to travel in, visually similar to how a snail moves
in some cases, typically in socialised individuals, slimes are able to move “bipedally” by creating structures functionally equivalent to legs
the metabolism of slimes is rather slow overall; the chemical breakdown of absorbed materials usually takes a short amount of time, however, the delivery of energy to the rest of the body is a slow process
Sexual Characteristics
slimes exhibit examples of both sexual and asexual reproduction
asexual reproduction in slimes happens most often as a means to avoid dormancy
slimes will take around a full day to undergo mitosis, with the newly formed slime undergoing a short dormancy
if a newly formed slime is in dormancy for too long, they risk being hunted by predators or even other slimes
sexual reproduction between slimes is called merging
merging slimes will fuse parts of themselves to one another, and each slime’s core will approach the fusion point
when the cores are close enough, they will each provide genetic material to produce a valid offspring, with the zygote retaining an equal amount of each donor’s DNA
more than two slimes can merge to produce an offspring, though space between cores puts an upper bound on how many slimes can provide genetic material to one offspring
newly formed slimes are placed in damp, nutrient rich environments and take up to 14 weeks until they exhibit thought of any kind
Vocalisation
slimes have a rudimentary form of mimicry that is used in the wild for hunting, achieved by making vibrations within the body
wild slimes do not use this ability very often, as the act of vibrating the body to produce sound in this way often burns more energy than it would gain in capturing prey
Relationships with Humans
socialised slimes often learn to designate a part of their body to communication, though some individuals never obtain this skill, whether it be by choice or by genetic defect
wild slimes can be found in any non-arid climate
typically slimes are found in cave systems and dark forests
...aaaand that's all I got so far. Seriously, if this was at all interesting to you and enough to generate a question, my asks are *always* open.
