#cause they're mutualistic

[amouramaryllis]

lichens r such a love story

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Fujitsumon

Debut: Digimon Pendulum 2.0 Deep Savers (kind of. It's a little complicated. But don't worry about that)

Fujitsumon is a darling little eyes-in-a-void barnacle! With their brown exteriors, they really do bring to mind Jawas, world-renowned eyes-in-a-void creature. This is a rare design choice for a barnacle, and a barnacle is a rare creature inspiration choice! Too rare! They are such incredible and fascinating animals, and should absolutely be represented as such, and not just background decorations!

Fujitsumon is essentially a Digimon by technicality, an accessory of a creature, and I'm fine with that. They're acknowledged as creatures, and that's enough for me! They're almost always seen attached to the surface of another creature, and that sure is barnacle of them!

This is their host, Octomon! Or Octmon, if you don't like the dub name, but I think Octomon sounds better. Octomon wears a clay pot on its head, and Fujitsumon live on top of that! This is a smart setup. If I lived underwater I would love to wear a hat that some barnacle friends of mine could live on! Fujitsumon and Octomon have a mutualistic relationship going on, where the barnacles will sense danger, and warn the octopus of it, getting the whole group out of danger!

The reason I wasn't so sure about Fujitsumon's debut is that in Deep Savers, Octomon's sprite looks like this, not nearly detailed enough to even depict some barnacles! However, it does seem like the official art was made around this time, so I might as well consider this Fujitsumon's debut too.

There isn't much to Fujitsumon, but I love it! It's cute, it's a barnacle, and it's almost a "secret" creature, and that makes it, dare I say, even more fun than if it was a standalone obtainable Digimon! A charming little oddity in the digital world.

That's what I thought until I found out this little barnacle has a whole dedicated ANIME EPISODE! YEEHAW! This is the best barnacle-related cartoon episode I've ever seen! Better than SpongeBob SquarePants episode 164a Barnacle Face! Why, even better than Benny the Barnacle (2022)! Can you believe it? Better than Benny the Barnacle? I can.

In this episode of Digimon Ghost Game, the human protagonist is tormented by premonitions of disasters occurring to everyone around him, revealed to be caused by a Fujitsumon settled on his head. A land mammal is no place for a barnacle! Wouldn't it be crazy if you could go to the beach and leave with a barnacle settled on your fingernail? What would you even do? I would probably feel obligated to dip my finger into the ocean regularly to let it filter-feed. If only we had air plankton!

This Fujitsumon, as well as others that are affecting other humans, come from one particular Octomon, who got so angry at his barnacles that they Left. These are no real-life, cemented-in-place-for-the-rest-of-their-lives barnacles! They can just get up and leave if they're bothered. I bet real barnacles wish they could do that! It would be so embarrassing to end up settled right next to a turtle's... hehe... I shan't say...!

Octomon's petty outburst was over his magic brain barnacles not using their clairvoyance to help him win at a mobile game. Now, because of his Gamer Moment, there are Fujitsumon stuck directly to peoples' heads, which can cause these heads to explode. Maybe he should have just played a good mobile game, like Pico Pets Puzzle! *high fives someone offscreen*

Don't worry! Everything's ok in the end, like it always is with invertebrate friends! Octomon apologizes, the lead Fujitsumon gathers the whole crusty crew, and everything is fine except for the physical damage that has already been done, but don't worry! The virtual invertebrates are all friends again! Squishy or chitinous, none of us have spines, and that's what matters!

If you know of any obscure barnacles in media, please let me know in the notes! And until the next high tide, remember to close your armored plates to prevent dessication!

[mwolf0epsilon]

Railway Mimics AU - Info Post

Yet another one of my silly AUs where the engines are beasts, but this time instead of being experimented on, they've always been some strange species of marsupial-monotremes that supposedly evolved to mimic locomotives (and other vehicles/utility machines).

How do they do this, you may ask?

Why, by consuming the whole thing and assimilating its attributes of course!

AU Info under the cut ---

Summary: During the peak of the industrial revolution the world was plagued by a rather peculiar infestation. Creatures once considered to be a kind of highly troublesome fae, had begun to consume and assimilate newly arisen technology. Giving way to behemoth beasts that mimicked the things they'd consumed (primarily vehicles and steam locomotives) and that threatened both the safety and livelihoods of the local human populations. As the years came and went, however, this once-loathed infestation soon transformed itself into something quite unexpected, indeed: A mutualistic relationship between railway men and highly intelligent beast.

---General Info---

What are the mimics? - No one is entirely sure. In ancient times they were considered to be a kind of minor but troublesome fae that acted under a queen (kind of like bees or ants), but zoologists have dismissed this notion entirely and have been studying them for years. All anyone's managed to figure out is that they're some kind of missing link between marsupials and monotremes with a highly (and very unusual) specialized diet.

Were engines always alive in this world? - No, in this AU the engines (and other vehicles and heavy machinery) were not originally alive. They were just completely normal inanimate objects. This is what made the mimics such an issue in the beginning, since they were actively invading workshops and factories and eating what was essentially months/years of hard work. Not only that, but before anyone discovered that they could tame the mimics, a fully grown steam locomotive mimic could cause all kinds of chaos after gaining the attributes and size of such a powerful machine.

Are the mimics friendly? - Yes and no. A fully tamed/domesticated mimic is your friend because it has realized the benefit of having a mutually beneficial relationship with a human (protection from the elements, free food and healthcare, and less of a chance of being shot at by a frightened person that wants them off their property, and many more perks at the cost of some fairly easy labour that they don't mind doing at all). A wild mimic on the other hand will not hesitate to kill you if it feels threatened by your presence or thinks you're encroaching on it's territory (which is understandable, this is a highly intelligent beast after all, but still a beast). And this isn't even taking into account what happens when a tame mimic ends up going feral...

What do mimics eat? - It depends on the type of mimic, since their diets change depending on what kind of machine they assimilate! Steam locomotive mimics, for example, are omnivores (which comes in handy because they're not overly picky of what they eat, with some exceptions such as personal preference). Diesel locomotive mimics, on the other hand, are obligatory herbivores (which is one of the reasons why the Railway Industry began to push for the acquisition of Diesel Mimics). That said, there is one thing all mimics ultimately need to function properly, and that's their specific fuels. No one is sure why.

Are the mimics magical? - Despite what zoologists would rather believe, the original myths behind the mimics are true to some extent, and they are in fact a kind of minor fae... Whether or not that means fae are just very odd animals, or that the mimics are just pretending to be mindless beasts, is up for debate. But it's hard to deny the fact they seem intelligent enough to understand how a railway service works.

Mimic Compaction Abilities - Mimics are capable of shrinking down to smaller more compact sizes, and then expanding to their original size when the situation calls for it (such as dealing with extreme temperatures). Zoologists believe this is something similar (albeit more advanced) to the shrew's ability to lose between 30% and 50% of their body weight, but most people just write it off as magic. Gold Dust Inc. has figured out that a very specific kind of recipe of feed can force the process, and since then it's become a staple of Railway management. It's much easier to care for a smaller critter than a behemoth after all!

Gold Dust Inc. Feed™ - A special kind of feed for mimics that's used to either shrink them, or make them grow back to proper size. It seems to be completely nullified by carbonation in drinks, however, so there's posters all over the Railway Stations advising for both workers and passengers to avoid leaving their soda cans/bottles unattended.

Feral Mimics - A feral mimic is a mimic that has seemingly been abandoned and returned to the wild. They are highly aggressive and have re-adapted to surviving in wilderness, so they grow larger than their mimicry's basis, return to their original coloration/configurations, and grow noticeably shaggier fur and tusks. These mimics are considered extremely dangerous and there's a Hunter's Guild Association branch specifically commissioned to dispose of them, since they have no real fear of encroaching on human spaces.

---Extra Info/Fun Facts---

Steam Locomotive Mimic Personalized Locomotion

---Art---

Edward, BoCo & the Twin Terrors

Henry & Crew

Percy & James and Special Jobs

Gordon & Thomas and Cause and Consequence

Gordon's Comeuppance

One Angry Cranestacean...

Adeline and Dorothy (Gift for Rogue)

Edward, BoCo & the Twin Terrors

Henry & Crew

Percy & James and Special Jobs

Gordon & Thomas and Cause and Consequence

Gordon's Comeuppance

One Angry Cranestacean...

---OC Art---

Adeline and Dorothy (Gift for Rogue)

Cavan, Abraham, Junebug and Edmundo

---Fanart---

Victor and Hiro

Victor and Hiro (Again)

Hiro the Really Useful Boy!

[kooldewd123]

Alright I've got some THOUGHTS about the Iskoort and how they relate to Yeerk ecology that I've been dying to get out but I wanted to wait until I reached book 26 in case there was some detail I was forgetting. So obviously, the big twist with these guys is they they're actually some offshoot of the Yeerks who found a way to evolve past the need for parasitism by creating an artificial species to inhabit. The part that's been really sticking out in my mind as I reread the series, however, is that this isn't actually the first time a concept like this has been brought up. Let's take a look at Guide's description of the Iskoort:

Since we formed our symbiotes, the combination Isk and Yoort, we have been as we are now. ... The Isk cannot live without the Yoort. And to ensure this symbiosis would be real, the Yoort, too, were modified. Now Yoort cannot live without Isk and Isk cannot live without Yoort. They are one creature with two parts. - Guide, #26: The Attack

This description sounded familiar to me when I read it for some reason. That's when I realized: It's weirdly similar to the way that Seerow describes the relationship between the Yeerks and the Gedds:

[The Yeerks] have no history of harming intelligent life-forms. The Gedds are barely conscious in their natural state. It's not as if they were stealing the bodies of truly sentient creatures. They and the Gedds are symbiotic. - Seerow, The Hork-Bajir Chronicles.

The Iskoort aren't a symbol of what the Yeerks might become become in the future - they're what the Yeerks already were before the Andalites found them. The Yeerks, within their native habitat, aren't parasites, but rather mutualistic partners to the Gedds. The Gedds' bodies give the Yeerks new senses and enhanced motility, while the Yeerks' capabilities for higher thinking grant the Gedds all the benefits that come with it, such as greater survival skills and the framework of civilization. Yeerk benefits from Gedd, and Gedd benefits from Yeerk. It's not hard to imagine that over many generations, as the Yeerk/Gedd relationship grew deeper, we could have seen something strikingly similar to the Iskoort evolve.

But then the Andalites came.

The Yeerks specifically evolved to infest the barely-sentient Gedds, but it turns out that much of sentient life in the galaxy mirrors Gedd anatomy closely enough to also be viable hosts for Yeerks. Like I said before, the Yeerks didn't necessarily evolve as parasites, but they became so opportunistically when unleashed upon unsuspecting habitats that had never had any reason to evolve defenses against such a threat. You know what we call something like that in real-world ecology? An invasive species. And I just love that. Animorphs is a series with a strong, clear environmentalist message. Invasive species are some of the closest examples we have to actual villains in nature, so creating villains that reflect them is a brilliant idea. And with this perspective in mind, even more parallels start to pop up! Real-world invasive species often begin spreading as stowaways on settler ships, and the Yeerks began spreading using Andalite advance ships. Invasive species can cause ecosystem collapse by out-competing native species, and the Yeerks intentionally destroy the ecosystems of worlds they've conquered. My biology brain has been latching on to this idea ever since I read that passage from Seerow. It's such an interesting shift in the way to analyze the Yeerks' actions.

[adobe-outdesign]

Any headcanons for the Hatenna line?

They're considered hard Pokemon to train due to their sensitivity—they're mostly caught by trainers with a lot of experience.

While two separate species, they frequently interbreed with the Impidimp line.

They're also considered to have a mutualistic relationship with the. Impidimp line. The line eat emotions that bother the Hatenna line, so the Impidimp gets fed and the Hatenna isn't bothered by unwanted emotions.

Because they are sensitive to emotions, the line tends to prefer staying in their Pokeballs and only coming out for short periods of time.

The line is popular with fashion icons due to their hair and hats. Them being hard to train only makes them more popular as a status symbol.

The tentacle on Hatterene's head is prehensile and used to grab prey. It can move at lightning-fast speeds.

Some old Galarian myths involve Hatterene that shapeshift into human woman during the daytime to lay curses on people.

Hattrem have a habit of attacking people who emote too much. This only causes people to emote more from pain, creating a cyclical effect.

The line's sensitivity makes them popular amongst both psychics (no overwhelming thoughts or emotions) and less emotive neurodivergent people.

The line mostly lives in isolation, only joining together with others for short periods of time.

[dirty-bosmer]

Tell me about the fish you saw snorkeling please :)

Oh my GOD I nearly burned my self with my coffee when I saw this. Thank you so much for asking, but also you've opened the flood gates because it just so happens I am about to dump so many fish on you. While I primarily study freshwater fishes, I am a lover off all things aquatic, so here we go (all these images are from the internet):

Parrot fish galore and HUGE ones at that. The biggest one I saw looked like this. I don't know my scarids very well, but I do know that I saw a bumphead parrotfish. So funny looking. I was honestly surprised by how all the fish out there are CONSTANTLY nipping at the corals, but the current was pretty strong so we all had to swim a lot. It makes sense that they always need to be eating. I had no idea life on the reef was so turbulent

A lot of acunthurids. No blue tangs but plenty of brown ones and some unicorn tang! The ones I saw had really small humps.

So the common name for acunthirds is surgeonfishes because they have these sharp, blade like spines on their caudal peduncle called a scalpel. You can see it a bit more clearly on the Clown Unicornfishes (which were my fave cause the colors were so bright). Here they're the bright orange processes near the tail.

Wrasses. SO many wrasses. We saw birdnose wrasses with their long snoots, moon wrasses that were as colorful as rainbow lorikeets. My favorite were the cleaner wrasses following all the big parrotfish around and eating their ectoparasites,

I saw a moray!! That was the most unexpected find for me. I was the only one in my group to see one, but it was so far out that the crew working the sailboat had to call me back in 😅 It was brown and spotted black and looked just like this guy. I didn't actually see his head, but I saw his long long body. He was huge!!

Some gobies hiding in their holes. Apparently some species of goby have a mutualistic relationship with shrimp. The shrimp digs a series of tunnels in the sand and the goby stands sentinel at the entrance. The shrimp then maintains contact with the goby with its long antennae so that it knows if the goby moves or startles when predators are nearby.

The goatfish was probably my second favorite find after the moray because I had no idea they were out there. Goatfish have two long chin barbels covered in tastebuds that they use to probe along the sand in search for prey. They are quite dextrous barbels too. They flick em around so fast!

I got stung by something! it whipped me across the face pretty much 20 minutes into the water and it felt long and filamentous so i thought maybe it was some stray strand of anemone or jellyfish with active nematocysts. The crew member said it was likely a small jelly so woohoo! I got stung by a jelly on the great barrier reef :D

Triggerfish. Iw as hoping to see more tetraodonotiforms like puffers or filefish or a cowfish maybe, but I'm glad I still got to see at least one representative of the order cause they are among the most bizarre groups of fishes

This Moorish Idol that looked exactly like Gill from finding nemo

Lemonpeel angelfish, bluegirdle angelfish, emperor angelfish, you name it.

a lot of chaetodontids too. As I said, I don't study marine fishes so all the butterfly fishes looked so similar to me XD most of them were some combination of white, yellow, and black with their characteristically tall bodies and narrow snouts.

Giant clam!!! THEY WERE SO BIG. And so colorful. The movement of their spiracle truly hypnotized me.

Alright. That's all I got time for at the moment, as I need to pack and head up to the rainforest for the last leg of my trip. I'm sure I have forgotten dozens of fish already XD Thank you for attending my show and tell and for expressing interesting. Truly, I'm living any biologists dream rn, and I couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity to visit such a beautiful part of the world 🥲

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

I am gonna talk about the izcourse one more time today, but the villain of this post is not the Izzy stans nor Izzy himself. It's the anon. So this does not actually count towards breaking the promise I made this morning about taking a break for a couple days.

I know we occasionally poke this fucker by grading their anons or whatever and I know the Izzy Stan's are presumably having the time of their lives considering that he's not blocked yet on that side of Tumblr, but I'm gonna say something pretty uncomfortable for all of us alike. This anon sucks, they're racist and ableist and probably some other ists that they just haven't gone mask off about yet. They are suicide bating and they are waging a harassment campeign, but the fact that they're in the inboxes of literally everyone proves that this is not an ideological thing. It's just about making other people, and probably themselves, miserable.

We are baring witness to someone else's months long mental breakdown. I think it's one person because they say the same things over and over again in the same type face. If that is the case they're probably unemployed or young enough to not need a job yet given how much time to post they have, although one of my many sometimes nemeses on this sight has suggested they're in their thirties and they didn't dispute it. they're cyber stalking an ungodly number of blogs. And there's something going on with them that makes it such that their chosen pass time is sending Anon hate. What I'm saying is that if I had to guess how the Anon is doing I'd say this person is probably the farthest thing from mentally well that I've personally interacted with, and I'm a head case who works in a field where I occasionally have to assist in a mental health crisis. (I'm a head case and that is my job those two things are unrelated)

I'm not saying any of this to get you to go "oh poor Anon". They are still the villain of this post. Nor am I saying it to justify the harassment. I'm saying it because it should sort of change how we interact with them. I'm being very frank about what's going on here. Another uncomfortable thing about this whole situation is that this person is beyond any of our help. They are semi anonymous and even if they weren't you kind of have to know a person irl to get that sort of help for them. The best way to deal with this situation is in fact to freeze them out. I tried reason. Many others have tried dunking. None of it is working. After a certain point this may be a sort of mutualistic digital self harm for some people. (I goad you into saying hurtful things about me, I say hurtful things about you, we continue making each other feel like shit forever) we really do have to be the ones to cut them off. Their only goal is misery. Don't let them make you miserable.

I don't usually make a call for someone to be the bigger person, because I like to get down and dirty. But this is different. It's not about the show or the fandom. It's about a vortex of suffering that we're only making worse by getting sucked into. That's not a moral judgement on anyone who has interacted in good faith or bad with this anon. It's practical. Block, maybe look up what reporting an anonymous message does and if it does anything lmk if you feel so inclined. I'm not telling you to take it lying down, but we've all gotten our shots in at this point there's no point in dragging it out unless you're trying to maintain the image of being persecuted, which is not worth the suffering it causes on your end.

[straightyuri]

this sounds like. INCREDIBLY annoying if it was real but I'm imagining heater as a campaign.... I'd be like. a glorified escort mission. I think heater would have a pretty low food requirement but you would have to take care of mutualist.... if mutualist dies u can't sleep or something idk. I don't wanna hypothetically softlock this hypothetical campaign. mutualist would uhhh. guhhh... they'd fall over sometimes like when you're starving and it would get worse over the course of the campaign (probably decided by something similarly to the dreams...) hmmmmm initial goal would be moon but she'd be like oh... I'm sorry little creature, but I cannot help your friend... after that idk what the goal would be . shrug.

Mutualist would probably have modified slugpup ai so that they're a little more helpful when not falling over. as an incentive to not just put them on your back n keep them there. <- mayb they'll jump off your back if something interests them (such as food or certain items or certain creatures) but as the tiredness gets worse they're less n less likely to. I think it would cause problems tho but it's just a hypothetical thought here

[pandabibble]

ooo, Vibrio phage - basically for people who don't know Vibrionaceae, they're the bacteria most well known for V. Cholerae which is obviously a cause of Cholera in humans, but they're incredibly varied in both habitat and survival strategy and more often found in marine environments. Pufferfish for instance have a mutualist symbiosis with a species (the Vibrionaceae is the actual source of pufferfish's fugu poison), but a lot of the free floating strains murder marine life so Vibrio phages are often proposed as part of non-antibiotic based ways to cleanse marine farms of bacterial infections.

This specific strain of vibrio phage attacks V. Breoganii, a bacteria species that was only discovered in 2009 off the coast of Galacia in two types of edible clams and this V. Breoganii phage (for want of a shorter name) was only discovered in 2018 (along with 52 other similar phages), so it's in this really interesting niche of understudied critters because both it AND its hosts are understudied.

Why do you think your words can hurt me. I'm literally a hot girl with big boobs. I've already reached the pinnacle of existence

[garudabluffs]

...the term"parasite" encompasses everything from viruses and bacteria to fungi and protozoa all the way up to the multicellular parasites, the animal parasites.

Why losing parasites could have devastating effects on our ecosystem

CHELSEA WOOD: The word parasite evokes for me this beautiful netherworld of organisms that most people are unfamiliar with, that exists just under the surface of everything that's familiar and that are beautiful. They play by their own rules. They do things that are out of a sci-fi movie. And yet they're more common than pretty much any other organisms that surround us.

CHAKRABARTI: Wow. Well, Chelsea Wood is an associate professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington. And Professor Wood does study parasites. So I'm delighted to have you today because in a sense, the fact that parasites occupy this netherworld as you talk about, means that we need to pay more attention to them. So first of all, let's start with some of the basics. When we see parasites, how should we define them? What part of the kingdom of life are we talking about?

C.W. "I define parasites as organisms that live in or on a host and cause that host a fitness class basically.

They take energy from their host, and that means that the term parasite encompasses everything from viruses and bacteria to fungi and protozoa all the way up to the multicellular parasites, the animal parasites. And that means that they can take a whole variety of different body forms.

WOOD: Exactly. Yeah. So there are three different kinds of symbionts things that live in or on a host. One are the parasites and they're the ones that are causing a fitness class. One are the mutualist who cause a fitness benefit to their hosts. Think anemones and clownfish have a mutualistic relationship with one another. The clownfish live inside the anemone, and they provide fitness benefits to that anemone host. And then there are these organisms that sit in the middle, commensals, which cause no impact on their host fitness. So parasites are defined by their negative fitness impacts on their hosts."

CHAKRABARTI: Is there a place on the planet Earth where there are no parasites?

WOOD: As long as there is life, there will be parasites. Anywhere where you can find organisms, there will be parasites on them.

And evolution has sculpted parasites to manipulate their prey hosts to make them clumsier more reckless, slower, in order to make them likelier to be preyed on by the predator. And therefore, for the parasite to be successfully transmitted to that predator host."

LISTEN 47:20 READ MORE Transcript https://www.wbur.org/onpoint/2023/03/13/save-the-parasites-healthy-ecosystem

[leonidas1754]

Hero and Kel, and Hard-to-Handle Plants

It suddenly occurred to me that the plants Basil assigns to Hero and Kel have one thing in common- They're both plants that can cause injury.

(I should note: I don't think any of this is intended, it's just something I noticed)

Cacti have very clear thorns, and that's accepted, even appreciated in some ways. They're tough, they don't need a lot of care, and arguably suffer if given the closer attention that other plants might need. But they thrive in the appropriate environment and often have mutualistic relationships with other creatures in their native biomes. And despite the spines being harmful to humans, they seem to be viewed as part of the appeal of cacti. Can you imagine having a cactus where the spines are all removed? I'm sure they exist, because of course someone would try, but really.

Kel is a flawed person, but he's still quite strong and clearly is doing well in spite of the difficult circumstances he's been put to. The only threat he shows others are when he perceives them as harmful, like Aubrey and the Hooligans early on, or... Well, I can't tell you for certain how he views his mom, but it's clear he's not on entirely positive terms with her. Regardless, Kel is just Kel.

Roses, on the other hand... It can be easy to forget that roses have thorns. It's something that's commonly known, but it's not really thought about much, I'd say, not outside of poetry and, well, symbolism, haha. And the reason people tend to not think about it? Well, most likely because both in real life and in media, it's rare we encounter roses with thorns. I think it's safe to say that the majority of roses are simply sold, and typically, the thorns are removed in order to do so. They're often just ignored in media, no need for them unless they're directly relevant to whatever story is being told. I'll see them drawn on vines sometimes, but that's about it.

You can probably see where I'm going with this.

Hero is clearly held to a high standard. He works his ass off, he aims to please, and, well... Everybody loves him, just like a rose. And just like a rose, those thorns? They're undesirable, removed to make the flower more pleasant for others. It's not hard to see that manifested in Hero, if you know what you're looking at. He hides his flaws, he rids himself of anything others don't think he should be. He does his best to please others, regardless of what he actually wants.

Am I reading too much into this? On Kel's end, absolutely, on Hero's, -wiggles hand- I guess that depends on how you view Hero. Personally, I think Hero could use some thorns after everything is said and done.

[adobe-outdesign]

It's probably not the first thing anyone thinks to headcanon but do you have any headcanons for the Pokerus virus and it's effects?

Believe it or not I am 100% the type of person to have thought about this way too much already

Pokerus is a mutualistic virus. When it infects a Pokemon, it causes a few days of mild symptoms (due to the Pokemon's immune system attacking it), then goes dormant in response to the attack.

In its dormant state, the virus absorbs cellular waste in the Pokemon's body and converts it into usable energy, thus making the Pokemon stronger.

Pokerus is like chicken pox—you're immune once you've had it once.

Symptoms in Pokemon can vary wildly depending on the Pokemon's physiology, but typically they include mild fever, coughing, and fatigue.

Symptoms after infection are much less noticeable, but include things like heightened endurance/strength and slight increases in muscle mass (and sometimes size, depending on species).

The problem with Pokerus is that it spreads easily, and unlike Pokemon, humans can have severe reactions to it. It's why people don't just infect every Pokemon with it to make them stronger.

Elderly and immunocompromised Pokemon are also at risk.

Humans can get a Pokerus vaccination, just like you would for the flu.

It is illegal to battle in official tournaments with a Pokemon that has been infected within the last week, in order to keep it from spreading.

With that said, you occasionally end up with that one ignorant person that intentionally spreads it around to other people's Pokemon thinking they're doing them a favor (which isn't necessarily wrong, but once again, poses a risk to weakened Pokemon and people).

Pokemon convert into energy to shrink down and go inside of Pokeballs. In this state, the infection is basically paused until they reassume their matter forms.

Pokerus is mostly spread through physical contact with the infected.

Some scientists believe that Pokerus pandemics have broken out multiple times over the last few thousand years, and they serve a natural biological function, much like some wildfires. These outbreaks are believed to be part of the reason why modern-day Pokemon are so powerful.

Pokemon Centers automatically check for Pokerus the first time you bring a new Pokemon in. Not only can they tell you if your Pokemon has it, but they also can let you know if they're immune already or not.

Some poachers will intentionally spread it around the Pokemon they've obtained to make them stronger, as stronger Pokemon sell for more money on the black market. This sometimes ends up backfiring; some poachers have been caught and arrested because they caught the virus themselves and had to go the hospital.

Rangers will occasionally catch and check wild Pokemon for the virus before releasing them again in order to keep an eye on its spread.

Recommended treatment is to quarantine the infected Pokemon for 3–4 days. Little is needed beyond that, aside from offering them plenty of water and bed rest.

[mercurialdispositions]

Woah, organic spaceships are a really neat concept! The concept of needing to work with the internal biology of the organism as a crew while using it as a spacecraft intrigues me greatly.

I'm not too familiar with this world; what sorts of relationships do the 'riders' have with their ships? How much agency belongs to either party? And are they typically natural organisms or made specifically for their purposes?

I feel there's a lot of different relationships crews might have with their ships in this sort of concept, and I'm curious what sorts of angles on it this world has. The parasitic, using it for their own ends in a very exploitative way and abusing it for its utility with little respect for its status as a living being—the commensal, where the people benefiting from their use as spaceships don't really cause any significant pros or cons to their life cycles—and the mutualistic, where somehow the ships benefit from being treated this way; they're kept safe from predators or taken great care of, since it is the people's best interest to keep it alive and well.

I'd be interested to see more of this concept if you're willing to share! Real interesting stuff.

Just like most of the technology in my space setting, the spaceships in my setting are living beings. They're like massive sea creatures in space, with metal shells keeping them safe, but with fleshy and/or fungal insides.

While smaller ships are more animalistic, larger ships are more like floating ecosystems. Countless humans, bacteria, man-made-species, and even a few natural animals and plants, are needed to keep larger ships alive. The rolling insides of ships often seem something like floating forests or swamps in space, especially in the places where humans don't live.

When they fight it's described like the clash of dragons, with space being filled with the red mist of the slain ships after they fall.

[cloudsrust]

Oooo!! Sozo pretends to be an ant! Interesting! Can I ask why? (Also what did Helob think when he found out Sozo’s a spider like him)

So- simplified answer: Sozo pretends to be an ant to both appear less threatening and more trustworthy to others (you'd be quicker to trust an ant rather than a spider) and as a mean of protection: where there is one ant there is often more to come, so many are discouraged from attacking him unless they're ready to take on a whole possible colony. (which- since arthropods are as big as mammals in this universe- is even more frightening than normal). (There is also a specie of spider (the Aphantochilus I believe) that mimics ants since they're its main prey- my Sozo isn't really based on one but I for sure took inspiration.)

Oh, and he also does so because he's convinced that that's the “Mushroom Gods”'s preferred form for a vessel.

More complex answer- *takes a deep breath*.. I have to first explain 3 more headcanons:

-How Menticides grow. -What they do. -What the Mushroomo are.

(CW: mention of self-sacrifice, self-mutilation, flesh/blood offerings, self-cannibalism, spider behaviour under the cut- nothing is too detailed but be warned.)

Let's start with the Menticides Mushrooms.. I still kept in mind that they're based on the Cordyceps, but at the same time I sprinkled in some ritualistic/myths stuff. They're no ordinary mushrooms, they only grow in Anura and only where a specific type of blood or body has been buried: That of someone who offered their being or life to the Mushroom Gods.

Anura is Heket's reign, the goddess of famine- who doesn't always answer the cries of hunger of her subjects. The most desperate turn their backs to her, worshipping instead the Mushroom Gods by offering parts of their own body, to have at least the mushrooms, born from their offers, to eat.

And so the Menticides' keep growing in the lands of Anura, at least until their roots have flesh to consume. (Mind you- this is what the rumors say, no one knows if the Mushroom Gods are actual deities or just hallucinations caused by either hunger or the spores. Even blood or bodies that didn't worship them could still grow pure Menticides- but everyone would think that those were heretics that had abandoned Heket's cult and worshipped the M. Gods instead.) How do the mushroom keep multiplying and growing? They're simply highly addicting. Their taste alike to a whole feast is sure to hook in anyone who eats enough. To have their taste, those who have become addicts, keep offering more and more- until they either offer up their whole body or succumb to the self-injuries. Now... wouldn't it be crazy if there were some that actively cultivated them?

Here comes the Mushroomo, the perfect mix between ant and mushroom. (I remembered of a specie of ants that literally “cultivates” mushrooms in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship- so since my stubborn self wanted Sozo to be a spider, I headcannoned the Mushroomo as ants instead!). They're so close to Menticide Mushrooms they became one with them, cultivating them onto their own “living” bodies. (If you kill them when you first meet them they will drop Menticides- and since they say they hadn't found any.. those might've been on their bodies.)

What does all of this has to do with why Sozo pretends to be an ant?

I already said that I see Sozo as an outsider, a travelling researcher of mushrooms that ventured to the Lands of the Old Faith. It is very likely that he stumbled upon Menticide mushroom and, not knowing the local tales around them, he consumed them for his research to take notes. He quickly became addicted, so addicted that he consumed almost all of the Menticides of the zone he had found them in (which, for someone that doesn't know the place that well, might mean that he consumed practically all of them). Realizing how his feast would soon be over, he tried to cultivate the few he had saved as he would with other mushrooms- but nothing ever grew of them.

During a night of withdrawal he a had a vision of the Mushroom Gods, whom revealed to him how to have more- all he needed was a flesh offering. Sozo both mesmerized and terrified by the experience, decided to do as told for desperation. He ripped off a pair of his arms (he could always regrow them afterall.. just a few molts and he would've been good as new, and most importantly he would've had more mushrooms!) and set up a offering ritual- before fainting due to the stress his body had had to go through. Sure enough the morning after more Menticides had grown where he had buried his limbs, but there was more than just the mushrooms: a horde of Mushroomo.

Even a tarantula can be as good as dead when surrounded by ants- he had to think fast. He kept his extra sets of eyes closed and made sure his fangs were perfectly sheeted into his fur, then he started praying they would fall for his play. Thankfully, with the help of also his missing limbs and his strong mushroom scent, the Mushroomo were fooled into thinking he was one of them, welcoming him in their colony. (Let's be real- I'm sure their brain is quite mushy (pun intended)).

During his stay, apart from consuming Menticides daily, worsening his mental condition and addiction, he also started to envy the little ones for their connection to the mushrooms, the ants being one with the Menticides, making them closer to the image of the Gods they worshipped.

So the moments he molted in secret, and a bit of his limbs regrew, he does a ritual once more- only this time is a union ritual.

He offered his living body to the Mushroom Gods, asking to be one with them like the others. To solidify his request and the union ceremony, he offered only one of his arms to the Gods while the other he consumed himself.

The day after his head felt heavy and all the Mushroomo were venerating him as their leader: they saw the face of their gods on the mushroom that had grown onto Sozo- and it was smiling down on them.

So- yeah.. Sozo pretends to be an ant to keep his followers at bay, was he to show that he is a spider around them they would at best freak out and run off or at worst think he killed their leader and “avenge” him, killing Sozo. So anytime he molts and fully regrows that pair of limbs he rips them off, both to keep his identity secret more easily and to renew his union with the Gods. (fun fact: a spider will rip their arm off if it's badly damaged or if that will save its life from a predator or danger- as long as it detaches correctly it's just a little annoyance to the spider.) Other than that, as I mentioned at the start, Sozo believes this ant-like form it's what the M.Gods want from him to be one with them. Take it as either a self-conviction to have the hope to one day ascend to Mushroom Godhood himself (the statue he gifts you makes me think that he doesn't only worship them but wants to be a M.God himself), or as an excuse to push through the whole ritualistic leg ripping and living with followers that would tear him apart were they to discover what he really is. (so other than the paranoia caused by the drugs he also as.. a very justified fear).

-

(I usually use they/them for Helob, just a heads up so there is no confusion in this bit!)

About what Helob thought when Sozo revealed to be a spider- it might be a bit anti-climatic but.. nothing changed much for them.

My Helob looks for two main things whenever they meet a new face: are they prey or are they predator? And if it's the latter- are they foe or ally? Those they see as predators require more investigation on their part- and since Sozo was seen as a predator even when he played the part of an ant (the whole reasoning of- if there are more nearby and they attack him they're done for- since certain ants species can and will overpower a spider when in group.) they took their time knowing him. By the time they found out the truth they had already concluded that he wasn't a threat.

It also helped that, in my headcanon, Helob finds that out after Sozo has just molted. (This makes Sozo, the bigger spider, equal if not weaker than Helob, the smaller one, strength wise.) That allowed Helob to show him that them and Sozo are allies in their eyes- friends- and that they were neither scared nor willing to attack him over the fact that he is a spider like them- even during such a vulnerable moment. The best I can say they thought is that finally they can talk spider to spider with him-! And have someone to share their uhm- cuisine whenever there is the risk for the "morsels" to "spoil". (a rare occurrence but- it's never good to waste food).

[sillymuses]

One can see her face contort to alarm and then awe at the mention of this Palkia.

"A crafter of dimensions? My goodness! I can only imagine the kind of power that must take in order to achieve something like that." Let alone the power it must have within itself just to accomplish such feats. "Would it be wrong in calling them a higher being?" Ruby questioned with a tilt of her head.

"Oh! Well um, thank you Kyogre." The kraken returns the gesture with her own bow. "I will do my best not to cause anything while I am here. Humans would no doubt be scared of my appearance so I will just reside here in the ocean for now." Her gaze ventures over to the school of magikarp swimming by. Though curiously there was a blue serpent-like one accompanying them.

"They're moving together in a pack. Can pokemon have a mutualistic bond just like animals?"

"i wouldn't be surprised." kyogre said with a soft snort, though it wasn't condescending. more so just an...ah, i expected this kind of sound.

"palkia enjoys creating all sorts of strange and unique dimensions." it was without a doubt in their mind that this kraken had come from another world, one the great deity of space had created to entertain themselves no doubt.

"none the less." the sea god bowed their head, closing their eyes. "you are welcome here. none of the sea ones will patronize you under my word."

[goldemas1244]

*Cracks knuckles* I'm going to enjoy this as much as I DIDN'T enjoy looking up insect anatomy for Zhask's bodily functions BEFORE giving that up.

Seriously, I'm NOT one-hundred percent going to base Zhask's anatomy on an actual insect's, he's too big for that! Scientifically impossible! Probably. I don't really know. Is it possible? I'm not gonna dwell on there.

---

Zhask's been dead for presumably the past half-hour or more, clinging on to Luo Yi's dress. It's the scent of it, the memory of it, the softness of it. Pretty much, a broken heart's the leading cause of that.

When Zhask dies, the Domorey have nothing to cling on to. No master to follow. The ones standing guard outside the Eruditio have mysteriously gone. That's why Natan's been calling him. And Zhask's room isn't the first place to check; it hasn't been one of his favourite haunts ever since Luo Yi died.

So Little Spawn and all the others revert back into the staff, and they won't come out until there's a new individual who can control them. And even then, they'll never be the same anymore.

But you may ask, why isn't Domorey, the Nightmaric Spawn, the one that took quite possibly a lot of effort to get into the staff by even the most skilled of Kastiyans, overreacting and releasing all hell on the Eruditio and beyond?

Well it's because there's a backup failsafe. And that backup failsafe is ZHASK himself.

Headcanonically, Zhask and Domorey officially bonded the second he got the staff. It was a painful process, like making a deal with the devil. Penultimately, they're connected to each other permanently. Zhask keeps Domorey in check, Domorey serves Zhask until the end of days.

Except Zhask isn't ALL dead.

Due to their strong connection when Zhask died, in the same way Domorey's magic is able to inhabit Zhask, Zhask's SOUL is now TRAPPED in the same staff as Domorey. Due to their close nature, it's a fluctuation of mutualistic chaos, with Domorey benefitting from Zhask's control, influence, and power, and Zhask benefitting from Domorey's life support, company, and power. Neither leaves each other, like Yin and Yang ('ouch').

And when Zhask's soul is transferred into there, there's a sudden pulsing of the crystals, as if the staff's begging for something. And that something, or someone, is a new owner. One to guide. One to use. One with the highest mental capacity in the universe.

And perhaps..

It chose Natan.

And with this immense power of nightmares beyond all comprehension, from falling to drowning, from being crushed to sudden tests, from grief to loss...

It's a wand of the worst of nightmares. And it actively GRIEVES. And Natan has to ensure it does NOT end up in the wrong hands.

---

Oh yeah and it chose Natan because deep down it's still holding a lot of trust in him. It's VERY strong and malicious, but it also radiates a sadness. And when he spawns a spawn, it's...

It looks a lot like Zhask.

A SCARILY LOT LIKE ZHASK.

And it's just as quirky too.

"Zhask? I've been calling you for the past half-hour, what are you-"

Natan opens the door to Zhask's room. It's unlocked. Unusual for his standards.

He calls out for Zhask again but there's something wrong in the air.

He sees Zhask on the bed, curled up into a ball, and he approaches him.

He isn't breathing. And Little Spawn is nowhere to be found.

Natan panics. Is Zhask alright? What's happened? Where-

His eyes lay to rest on the dress Zhask is clutching on.

Beetles, when they rest, prefer to cling onto branches, leaves, basically anything they can cling on too. Basically, they lock themselves there. Clinging on for dear life.

Clinging on for dear life.

The dress is fragrant, a memory of what once was. And Zhask's clinging on to it for dear life.

And it seems as if that's more literal than the expression makes it out to be.

In a corner of the room, Natan spots a glimmer. It's Domorey, the Nightmaric Spawn, the spirit trapped in the staff. Peculiarly, the crystals pulsate and writhe as if they're alive.

As if there's something else in there.

Natan hesitates before he picks it up.

There IS something else in there.

The greatest nightmare of all.

Loss.

---

Thought about this scenario. Quiet way to die.

Oh god.

Why did you need to hurt me.

So Zhask's dead (or in a very heavy sleep) and Natan finds his body.

It seems he was also aware on what happened to her.

OH GOD WHYYYYYY