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Description
Due to their unique biology, slimes are incredibly adaptable creatures. The creation and control of the pseudo-body by their heart allows them to take on nearly any shape or form. This ability is also used to help in hunting, eating and protecting their vulnerable organ. Compared to other organisms, the pseudo-body of a slime is unmatched when it comes to efficiency and versatility. Very few species could hope to compete with such an amazing design and substance. With this in mind, some creatures have decided that if they can't copy the slime's unique biology, then they will just steal it! While slimes have few natural predators, they have a large amount of parasites who find ways to take advantage of their abilities. Many of their parasites embed themselves in the pseudo-body, leeching away nutrients that the slime absorbs. They use false signals or numbing toxins to hide their presence from the heart's vision, since the slime would spit them out if they discovered the little thieves. Other parasites may steal mouthfuls of slime from the pseudo-body, either eating the nutrient goop or using it for other purposes, like nest making. One of the more famous types of slime parasites are the ones who decide that they don't want bits and pieces, they want the whole thing! These parasites attack the heart of the slime and hijack it, using tendrils, venom or other methods to take over the organ's control of the pseudo-body. One of the most well-known examples of this parasitism is the Paranima.

Since these creatures rely heavily on slimes, they are pretty much found in the same habitats as their gooey hosts. Naturally, they tend to hang out in damp areas, often hiding within bodies of water or in thick mud. When introduced to dump sites or dungeons where slimes live, they like to bury themselves in debris or cling to high ceilings. If you ever encounter one, you will notice that they tend to hide and remain motionless. This is because they are waiting for prey or a host to walk by or below them. For any non-slime creature that is larger than a human or dryad, Paranimas will ignore them and continue their vigil. They don't want to risk injury going after prey that cumbersome and powerful. Smaller prey will cause them to lash out with their sharp claws and legs, looking to wound them so that they can easily be taken down. Those who explore dungeons should keep an eye on the ceiling or junk piles, as Paranimas may be waiting there to drop on your head. While prey and food is good, what Paranimas really want is a slime. They wait patiently for a slime host to walk by, and then they attack. Using their sharps limbs and quick speeds, they burrow into the pseudo-body and use their lower legs to seize the heart. These appendages trap the organ in a rigid cage, and use special glands to subdue it. Once the heart is captured, it will hijack its signals and use it to control the pseudo-body for itself. The Paranima will reshape the slime so that it protects the parasite and create helpful limbs that make movement much easier. When a Paranima infests its host, it reaps all the benefits a pseudo-body provides.

With its new slime body, the Paranima's movement capabilities greatly expand, as it uses the stretchy limbs to climb higher and faster then before. Instead of scuttling about on their claws, they can now bound across the landscape, making it easier to chase down prey. It also helps with subduing larger prey or knocking back attackers. Thick layers of slime protect its body so that it doesn't have to worry too much about injury. It can still use its claws and spikes, but they have become much more effective now that they are on a flexible pseudo-body. This host not only helps with hunting and defense, but also breeding. When a Paranima finds a mate, the female now has a mobile nest to hold her eggs in. The thick, nutritious slime provides the perfect nursery, and the Paranima will carry its load of eggs around until they hatch. When the young emerge from their eggs, they will feed on the surrounding slime so that they can grow big and strong without having to face the harsh wilds. When the larva get large, the mother will take them to areas that are rich in slimes (like garbage dumps) and leave them there. That way they have a higher chance of encountering a slime and successfully hijacking their pseudo-bodies. These parasites are so effective that slime colonies can never truly be free of them. A colony may establish itself in an area free of Paranima, but sooner or later, an egg-carrying mother will release her brood there and the menace will haunt them once more.

While Paranimas aim to parasitize wandering slimes, they never try to hijack the slime network of a colony. One of the reasons is because if they took over or killed the network, the colony would probably scatter to find other networks, which means the Paranimas lose out on good hunting grounds. The other reason is because slime networks are made of several fused slimes. A single Paranima can only attack one heart, leaving others free to use the surrounding slime to crush the parasite to a pulp. This method of defense also works for slimes who hook up with one another in the wilds. By having two or three slimes connected together, they reduce the chance of a Paranima attacking and taking control of them. The other hearts will just use their own pseudo-bodies to kill the creature, making it a great deterrent! This goes to show you the importance of a buddy system!

One important thing that I want to stress about Paranimas is that they do not kill the slimes they are parasitizing. The heart is still alive, but the parasite is using secretions to numb it and keep it from functioning on its own. If one were to kill the Paranima or remove it from the slime (good luck with that!), the heart would return to normal and regain control over its pseudo-body. If you want to release a slime from a Paranima's hold, it is sadly best to kill the parasite. Removing it from a slime is almost impossible, as it is thoroughly buried in the goop. Attempts to extract it will also cause to lash out and damage the heart of the slime. A last ditch effort of the Paranima is to crush the heart in its legs and use the collapsing wave of slime to disorient attackers so they can escape. So if you want your slime friend to come out alive, aim for the Paranima's head and be careful not to hit the heart. I mention this because many people get the impression that slimes are dead or doomed when parasitized by Paranimas. They don't think that they can be saved, so they act like the slime is dead and gone. This is not true at all! I honestly think this misinformation was created so that adventurers or warriors didn't feel bad when they slayed the Paranima and slime in one stroke. When fighting these parasites, their control over the slime makes them difficult and frustrating opponents. With that, many fighters aim to destroy the parasitized heart so that the Paranima loses its slime body. For the sake of making things easier for themselves, people are willing to kill trapped innocent slimes! Then they act like there was nothing they could have done for them! Unbelievable! What kind of warrior takes a innocent life just so they don't have to work as hard? The cowardly kind, that's what!

Please, if you ever get in a fight with a Paranima that has parasitized a slime, take the effort and take down the Paranima instead of the slime. The poor things shouldn't be punished for the actions of the parasite.

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historians

--------------------------------------------------------

Whenever I saw slimes in fantasy worlds, I always imagined that their biology would create some interesting interactions with other species. Soft-bodied invertebrates get a fair share of parasites, so why not slimes? So of course, I tried to incorporate this into my own world! This parasite is pretty much a fantasy version of a Phronima, but this one uses slimes instead of salps!

Description
Due to their unique biology, slimes are incredibly adaptable creatures. The creation and control of the pseudo-body by their heart allows them to take on nearly any shape or form. This ability is also used to help in hunting, eating and protecting their vulnerable organ. Compared to other organisms, the pseudo-body of a slime is unmatched when it comes to efficiency and versatility. Very few species could hope to compete with such an amazing design and substance. With this in mind, some creatures have decided that if they can't copy the slime's unique biology, then they will just steal it! While slimes have few natural predators, they have a large amount of parasites who find ways to take advantage of their abilities. Many of their parasites embed themselves in the pseudo-body, leeching away nutrients that the slime absorbs. They use false signals or numbing toxins to hide their presence from the heart's vision, since the slime would spit them out if they discovered the little thieves. Other parasites may steal mouthfuls of slime from the pseudo-body, either eating the nutrient goop or using it for other purposes, like nest making. One of the more famous types of slime parasites are the ones who decide that they don't want bits and pieces, they want the whole thing! These parasites attack the heart of the slime and hijack it, using tendrils, venom or other methods to take over the organ's control of the pseudo-body. One of the most well-known examples of this parasitism is the Paranima.

Since these creatures rely heavily on slimes, they are pretty much found in the same habitats as their gooey hosts. Naturally, they tend to hang out in damp areas, often hiding within bodies of water or in thick mud. When introduced to dump sites or dungeons where slimes live, they like to bury themselves in debris or cling to high ceilings. If you ever encounter one, you will notice that they tend to hide and remain motionless. This is because they are waiting for prey or a host to walk by or below them. For any non-slime creature that is larger than a human or dryad, Paranimas will ignore them and continue their vigil. They don't want to risk injury going after prey that cumbersome and powerful. Smaller prey will cause them to lash out with their sharp claws and legs, looking to wound them so that they can easily be taken down. Those who explore dungeons should keep an eye on the ceiling or junk piles, as Paranimas may be waiting there to drop on your head. While prey and food is good, what Paranimas really want is a slime. They wait patiently for a slime host to walk by, and then they attack. Using their sharps limbs and quick speeds, they burrow into the pseudo-body and use their lower legs to seize the heart. These appendages trap the organ in a rigid cage, and use special glands to subdue it. Once the heart is captured, it will hijack its signals and use it to control the pseudo-body for itself. The Paranima will reshape the slime so that it protects the parasite and create helpful limbs that make movement much easier. When a Paranima infests its host, it reaps all the benefits a pseudo-body provides.

With its new slime body, the Paranima's movement capabilities greatly expand, as it uses the stretchy limbs to climb higher and faster then before. Instead of scuttling about on their claws, they can now bound across the landscape, making it easier to chase down prey. It also helps with subduing larger prey or knocking back attackers. Thick layers of slime protect its body so that it doesn't have to worry too much about injury. It can still use its claws and spikes, but they have become much more effective now that they are on a flexible pseudo-body. This host not only helps with hunting and defense, but also breeding. When a Paranima finds a mate, the female now has a mobile nest to hold her eggs in. The thick, nutritious slime provides the perfect nursery, and the Paranima will carry its load of eggs around until they hatch. When the young emerge from their eggs, they will feed on the surrounding slime so that they can grow big and strong without having to face the harsh wilds. When the larva get large, the mother will take them to areas that are rich in slimes (like garbage dumps) and leave them there. That way they have a higher chance of encountering a slime and successfully hijacking their pseudo-bodies. These parasites are so effective that slime colonies can never truly be free of them. A colony may establish itself in an area free of Paranima, but sooner or later, an egg-carrying mother will release her brood there and the menace will haunt them once more.

While Paranimas aim to parasitize wandering slimes, they never try to hijack the slime network of a colony. One of the reasons is because if they took over or killed the network, the colony would probably scatter to find other networks, which means the Paranimas lose out on good hunting grounds. The other reason is because slime networks are made of several fused slimes. A single Paranima can only attack one heart, leaving others free to use the surrounding slime to crush the parasite to a pulp. This method of defense also works for slimes who hook up with one another in the wilds. By having two or three slimes connected together, they reduce the chance of a Paranima attacking and taking control of them. The other hearts will just use their own pseudo-bodies to kill the creature, making it a great deterrent! This goes to show you the importance of a buddy system!

One important thing that I want to stress about Paranimas is that they do not kill the slimes they are parasitizing. The heart is still alive, but the parasite is using secretions to numb it and keep it from functioning on its own. If one were to kill the Paranima or remove it from the slime (good luck with that!), the heart would return to normal and regain control over its pseudo-body. If you want to release a slime from a Paranima's hold, it is sadly best to kill the parasite. Removing it from a slime is almost impossible, as it is thoroughly buried in the goop. Attempts to extract it will also cause to lash out and damage the heart of the slime. A last ditch effort of the Paranima is to crush the heart in its legs and use the collapsing wave of slime to disorient attackers so they can escape. So if you want your slime friend to come out alive, aim for the Paranima's head and be careful not to hit the heart. I mention this because many people get the impression that slimes are dead or doomed when parasitized by Paranimas. They don't think that they can be saved, so they act like the slime is dead and gone. This is not true at all! I honestly think this misinformation was created so that adventurers or warriors didn't feel bad when they slayed the Paranima and slime in one stroke. When fighting these parasites, their control over the slime makes them difficult and frustrating opponents. With that, many fighters aim to destroy the parasitized heart so that the Paranima loses its slime body. For the sake of making things easier for themselves, people are willing to kill trapped innocent slimes! Then they act like there was nothing they could have done for them! Unbelievable! What kind of warrior takes a innocent life just so they don't have to work as hard? The cowardly kind, that's what!

Please, if you ever get in a fight with a Paranima that has parasitized a slime, take the effort and take down the Paranima instead of the slime. The poor things shouldn't be punished for the actions of the parasite.

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historians

--------------------------------------------------------

Whenever I saw slimes in fantasy worlds, I always imagined that their biology would create some interesting interactions with other species. Soft-bodied invertebrates get a fair share of parasites, so why not slimes? So of course, I tried to incorporate this into my own world! This parasite is pretty much a fantasy version of a Phronima, but this one uses slimes instead of salps!