Encyclopaedia Elysia | Creatures / Gel Slime (Myxo)

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Name: Myx (si. myxo). Commonly known as Gel Slime or just Slime.

Region: Can be found almost anywhere. Their color will tend to match their environment.

Lifespan: 80 – 120 years on average. The oldest known slime died at the ripe old age of 190 (within captivity). Most slimes in the wild die at much earlier ages.

Appearance

Gel slimes are small blobs of a sticky, semi-transparent, jelly-like substance. Their natural color depends on the environment they were born in. Sometimes patterns of lines and spots decorate the outer membrane of the slime's natural form. These patterns frequently mimic the face of another creature common to the same area, but this is only a defensive technique similar to that of some insects. Myx do not have actual faces, and cannot see, hear, or smell. They move about their lives solely by touch.

The myx form is ill-defined and they posses the ability to move and manipulate their form to a great deal. They can stretch and compress themselves at will, though their overall volume cannot not exceed their maximum. They can morph their shape to mimic other creatures, but they cannot change their color or transparency. At rest a myxo usually takes on a simple, imperfect oval shape. When knocked out, or asleep, they lose almost all form, looking very much like a simple, unassuming puddle.

They can move about by rolling, bouncing, slithering (much like a snake), or dragging themselves with stretched limbs. They will usually mimic creatures around them, though no one can be quite sure why.

They eat by taking things into themselves and also hold things the same way, so they can often be seen with something floating around inside of them. They will eat almost anything, and are not afraid of experimenting with what they can and cannot digest — you can expect to see anything from an apple to a skull floating around inside any given slime. Sometimes their color will be affected by what they take into themselves (for example, a blue slime that eats many red berries might have a tinge of red floating at its core).

A myxo's natural size and maximum volume is dictated by its age, as well as how much it eats. Most commonly, slimes will never be too large. Although there are myths of a giant myxo, there has not been any official documentation of anyone encountering one (and living).

Behaviour

Gel slimes are creatures of limited intelligence. They tend to be explorers. They often spend most of their time wandering, though they rarely stray too far from the area they were born in. They sleep wherever they feel like, as well.

The only sense they have is touch, and so they judge their surroundings and the items they are considering to eat by feeling them. Their sense of touch is very developed and they can even locate nearby creatures by the feeling of their footsteps resounding through the ground.

They don't have many natural predators (except for humanoids) as they do not really offer much nutrition, while at the same time they are very filling — you can actually starve to death with a full stomach if you keep eating them, although really you die from lack of nutrition. Most animals have evolved the instinct to not eat them for this reason, however some of the intelligent races have taken to eating them as a snack for their strong flavors.

Myx are very gentle, passive creatures. They are very playful and love to respond to friendly touch. They enjoy interacting with other gentle creatures, but this is only if they already feel comfortable with the other animal. In the wild, they will often flee from the presence other creatures, although some tend to be more adventurous than others.

When threatened, myx will not always retreat. Often they will stretch themselves out to be appear much larger than they actually are in an attempt to scare away threats. They can also stretch out long tendrils of their body to use as whips. However, the actual damage they can deal in this method is rarely anything serious. The stinging, biting pain they can cause is usually sufficient to scare away most curious creatures who are bothering them.

Diet:

Myx will often pick up and carry random objects and slowly try to digest them. If they find they cannot digest what they have picked up, they will usually abandon the item. They can pretty much eat anything, though, and will even pick up grass if desperate. Commonly, they have trouble eating things like rocks and metal, as these offer little to no nutritional value for them.

Digestion can take anywhere from a few hours to a few months depending on what they are eating. Things with rinds or hides, or even just skin, tend to take a long time to digest, but a myxo for up to three months on nothing but a rotting apple (though most eat more often for gluttony's sake).

Generally speaking, any creature that is alive and can struggle, even with the slightest bit of effort, can escape the clutches of a slime trying to digest them. For this reason, most myx do not try to eat living creatures — doing so is an unnecessary risk to the slime. However, a lucky myxo might stumble upon a corpse and scavenge its remains for food. Slimes are not natural hunters or predators.

Contrary to popular belief, gel slimes do not digest everything they pick up. They must actively attempt to digest it and continue the digestion process. They will also tend to pick up and collect certain things for no apparent reason: Slimes will pick favorite objects based on their personal preference, perhaps fascinated by the shape or the texture, though it's unclear exactly why they do this.

Habitat:

Gel slimes can adapt to almost any situation, but most species cannot survive extreme temperatures, though some sub-species have developed which can:

Arctic slimes, which are usually white, will allow themselves to freeze, and enter a hibernation cycle during winter seasons. They have developed a very low natural freezing point, although this sub-species cannot survive in warmer temperatures.
In reverse, red and black slimes live in hot volcanic regions, like Dardanos, but cannot survive in cool air.
Dark blue slimes have conquered water by developing a thicker viscosity and an oily membrane that actually allows them to enter bodies of water and crawl around the water bed. If they spend too much time out of water, they dry out and die, so they prefer dark humid locations and thrive in them.

Breeding:

Gel slimes are particularly infamous during mating season in which they can become quite amorous. Mating season for myx is spring, particularly around Thallominas (in the southern hemisphere). Myx will seek each other out in this season. If a slime does not find another myxo, it will often seek out the touch of other species due to loneliness; they can be a bit of a pest.

Myx breeding is a bit unusual, as well, as they are asexual and merely swap DNA. During mating season, they will flow into a partner until they are joined into what appears to be one massive slime, at which time they can instinctively detect similarities in genetic structure and decide whether or not to continue.

If the two slimes accept each other, they will continue on together as one large myxo, and begin a process of over-eating. They will continue to eat until they both exceed their maximum volume, becoming even larger than before. When their volume increases enough, they will begin to separate. Again, instinct dictates when they have "grown" enough.

When they separate they will split into their two natural volumes, while the remainder becomes a third, infant slime.

Special Information

Strengths/Abilities:

A myxo will sometimes mimic the behavior and form of familiar creatures. They can usually understand the rough shape of an animal just by feeling its footsteps. It makes its judgments from the weight of the overall step and the distribution of that weight.

Additionally, a slime might feel up a creature to get a sense of its shape, if it is feeling adventurous. However, the way a myxo mimics a creature is usually very inaccurate; a slime cannot not change its color or transparency.
A myxo's ill defined form allows them to endure a certain amount of abuse and injury without actually ever being maimed permanently. However, they will die if they suffer too much abuse.
They can squeeze into cracks and other narrow or tiny spaces as needed.
They can change their shape to crudely to serve their various needs.
Gel slimes can survive on next to nothing for a long period of time. They can also extract nutrition from almost anything. It is unheard of for a healthy myxo to starve to death, though depressed or sick slimes have been known to refuse to eat anything.
It's difficult to say if a myxo has been injured. A gel slime can recover from most impacts and cuts simply by pulling itself together again.
If a slime is separated from a part of itself for too long, it will seek to replenish its lost volume by over-eating until it is at its natural maximum again. If a slime is divided, its "intelligence" will stay with the core of its natural form no matter what form or shape the slime was when it was injured. The lost parts of a myxo's body will remain unmoving in a liquid-like state until it is recovered by the slime or it dissolves (or is eaten). A gel slime will eventually die if it suffers too much abuse. They will often flee by soaking into the dirt or hiding in the cracks of stone.

Weaknesses:

Slimes do not offer much nutrition, but have very strong flavors (not unlike candy), making them a favourite snack among some humanoids.
Slimes are not too intelligent and are a bit too happy-go-lucky for such a weak and vulnerable creature.
It is said that a myxo can die of loneliness; though this is an old wives' tale, it may have some merit to it.
Most myx avoid water as it dilutes them and can ultimately kill them — as can extreme temperatures and conditions, being cut up in to tiny pieces, or repeatedly bashed with a hammer.

Uses:

Gel slimes can be domesticated, and make great pets for kids, but it is recommended they they be released into the wild when they reach adulthood because the behaviour of mature slimes changes drastically during mating seasons.
Myx have very strong flavors, though as monsters they wander around the world soaking in whatever filth they come upon so it's strongly advised that you do not eat slimes encountered in the wild. They should be boiled before eating, but this tends to weaken the flavour, which depends on their colour and can vary wildly from slime to slime.
Some spas offer Slime Baths, where you actually pay to lounge neck deep in tub of Gel Slimes. The tiny pulsating jelly monsters can provide a massage unlike any other. The Slimes will also clean you as they work, and its said that Gel Slime residues are good for the skin. Just don't stay too long, or you might be digested! (It would actually take months for a Gel Slime to do any serious damage by digesting someone Additionally, Gel Slimes tend not to try and digest living things as it could be dangerous to them). Oddly enough this service is not offered during Spring.
Tiny bouncing baby myx are considered to be quite cute and make a great pet for small children — mainly because even the most negligent child will be hard pressed to starve a slime to death.

Origin: The origins of Gel Slimes are unknown, though there are many speculations. (You ever blow your nose and throw away the tissue? Ever wonder what happens to that mucus?)

Other Info:

Creator: The Lost