#snails are actually hermaphrodites

[picturesquepalette]

distinguished gentleman

markers and colored pencils on cardboard

[kthulhu42]

Clownfish can change from male to female. Humans aren't fish. Female to Male. Still two sexes. Still binary.

Female mimics exist in many bird species. It's a mating strategy. Key word mimic. Not change. Also it's males that mimic females to mate with the.. Again 2 sexes. Binary.

Swallowtail butterflies. Females can have 4 genotypes. 3 of which mimic more toxic species of butterfly. Males can not have this gene because it's double sexed. Nothing to do with trans or sex changing. Also, again, male and female. Binary.

Seahorses. The female deposits her ova into the males pouch where he fertilizes and incubates them. Unusual. And exception. Still male and female. One makes sperm the other eggs. Binary.

Hyenas. This is dumb. Males impregnate females and females give birth. Female genitals are shaped weird(ouch!!) Still male and female. Binary.

A skink species. Can change sex in the egg when exposed to hotter or cooler temps. Temperature being the sex determinator in many reptile species is well known. It's chromosomes in humans that determines sex and temperature in some reptiles. And it's in the egg. Before hatching. And again it's female to Male. Binary.

Another lizard. Female lizards ovaries got damaged and began developing male characteristics including rudimentary testes. Same thing happened in chickens. It's rare but happens. No sperm is produced no actual sex change. It's caused by a defect which causes hormonal changes.

Komodo dragon. Parthenosenesis. Boring happens all the time in some reptiles. Snakes too. The female creates fertile eggs without sperm that are basically her clones. Nothing to do with trans or sex change.

Jellyfish can be hermaphrodite. OK cool. Humans can't. Also weird hiw hermaphrodite are male and female. Binary. See a pattern?

Starfish. They can lose body parts that then grow new appendages that can be the opposite sex. Also groping around to find a mate because you have no eyes isn't "mating behavior". Same sex can't mate with each other. It's mate seeking behavior. Weird and super cool. Nothing to do with trans. Also binary sex.

Oysters. They can sex change. From male to female. They do this after mating. Swap from producing sperm to eggs. So do plants. Super cool. Also an example of binary sex.

Bass. Some fish species can change sex. From male to female. Super weird and cool. And binary. And humans aren't fish.

Banana slug. Hermaphrodite. Binary. Not human.

Another bird species where males mimic female coloring as a mating strategy to avoid attack by other males. Binary. Not trans.

Bird species exhibiting and abnormality that causes half the body to be female half to be male. Super cool. Not normal. Not trans. Not human. Also binary.

Another bird species where females with damaged or defective ovaries exhibit male characteristics. Boring. Not actually male. Binary.

More parthenogenesis in lizards. Only females can do this. Binary. Not trans.

Snails that can sex change and be hermaphrodite. Cool. Still binary and not humans.

None of the species in this article, or anywhere else on Earth, validate the nonsense that humans can change sex or that sex isn't binary.

[jaybug-jabbers]

Gelatopod - Ice/Fairy

(Vanilla-Caramel Flavor is normal, Mint-Choco is shiny)

Artist - I adopted this wonderful fakemon from xeeble! So I decided to make up a full list of game data, moves, lore, etc. for it. Enjoy! :D

Abilities - Sticky Hold/Ice Body/Weak Armor (Hidden)

Pokedex Entries

Scarlet: Gelatopod leaves behind a sticky trail when it moves. A rich, creamy ice cream can be made from the collected slime.

Violet: At night, it uses the spike on its shell to dig into the ground, anchoring itself into place. Then it withdraws into its shell to sleep in safety.

Stats & Moves

BST - 485

HP - 73

Attack - 56

Defense - 100

Special Attack - 90

Special Defense - 126

Speed - 40

Learnset

Lvl 1: Sweet Scent, Sweet Kiss, Aromatherapy, Disarming Voice

Lvl 4: Defense Curl

Lvl 8: Baby Doll Eyes

Lvl 12: Draining Kiss

Lvl 16: Ice Ball

Lvl 21: Covet

Lvl 24: Icy Wind

Lvl 28: Sticky Web

Lvl 32: Dazzling Gleam

Lvl 36: Snowscape

Lvl 40: Ice Beam

Lvl 44: Misty Terrain

Lvl 48: Moonblast

Lvl 52: Shell Smash

Friendship Level Raised to 160: Love Dart (Signature Move)

Egg Moves

Mirror Coat, Acid Armor, Fake Tears, Aurora Veil

Signature Move - Love Dart

Learned when Gelatopod's friendship level reaches 160 and then the player completes a battle with it

Type - Fairy, Physical, Non-Contact

Damage Power - 20 PP - 10 (max 16) Accuracy - 75%

Secondary Effect - Causes Infatuation in both male and female pokemon. Infatuation ends in 1-4 turns.

Flavor Text - The user fires a dart made of hardened slime at the target. Foes of both the opposite and same gender will become infatuated with the user.

TM Moves

Take Down, Protect, Facade, Endure, Sleep Talk, Rest, Substitute, Giga Impact, Hyper Beam, Helping Hand, Icy Wind, Avalanche, Snowscape, Ice Beam, Blizzard, Charm, Dazzling Gleam, Disarming Voice, Draining Kiss, Misty Terrain, Play Rough, Struggle Bug, U-Turn, Mud Shot, Mud-Slap, Dig, Weather Ball, Bullet Seed, Giga Drain, Power Gem, Tera Blast

Other Game Data

Gender Ratio - 50/50

Catch Rate - 75

Egg Groups - Fairy & Amorphous

Hatch Time - 20 Cycles

Height/Weight - 1'0''/1.3 lbs

Base Experience Yield - 170

Leveling Rate - Medium Fast

EV Yield - 2 (Defense & Special Defense)

Body Shape - Serpentine

Pokedex Color - White

Base Friendship - 70

Game Locations - Glaseado Mountain, plus a 3% chance of encountering Gelatopod when the player buys Ice Cream from any of the Ice Cream stands

Notes

I'm not a competitive player, but I did my best to balance this fakemon fairly and not make it too broken. Feel free to give feedback if you have any thoughts!

I have a huge bias for Bug Pokemon since they're my favorite type, and at first I wanted to make it Bug/Ice, since any intervebrate could be tossed into the 'Bug' typing. But ultimately I decided to keep xeeble's original idea of Ice/Fairy. There's precedent of food-themed pokemon being Fairy type, and Ice/Fairy would be very interesting due to its rarity (only Alolan Ninetails has it). Its type weaknesses are also slightly easier to handle than Bug/Ice imo

The signature move is indeed based on real love darts, I could not resist something that fascinating being made into a Pokemon move, even if the real games may possibly shy away from the idea. (Honestly it could be argued "Love Dart" is based on Cupid's arrow so Gamefreak might actually get away with making a move like this though.) Its effectiveness on both males and females is a nod to snails/slugs being biological hermaphrodites. I can see this move also being learned by Gastrodon and Magcargo in Scarlet/Violet

[hiiragi7]

Saw your post on "casual intersexism", and while they're all good points, I did have questions about one- the "casual use of the word hermaphrodite". I know that calling a human person that is both wrong and rude, but is it a word that should be avoided entirely, including in scientific/nonhuman context? IE, talking about hermaphroditic snails, made up alien species, etc. This is a genuine question, because I know any word can be used offensively in the right context... but is this one of those, or one that just shouldnt be used..?

It's... complicated. Everyone in the intersex community has a different opinion on this.

My thoughts are that if a species is actually hermaphroditic and that is the most accurate terminology, then in a strictly biological context it may be fine and I do not consider that to be "casual use" as it is used in a scientific context. However, there are also more specific biological words that may be both more accurate and more specific to what is being talked about, so be sure you're saying what you think you are saying and using the proper terminology if it's actually a conversation about biology. Too many people I see will claim they are using the word hermaphrodite to talk about biological features and then just use it completely wrong anyway. Due to this, in my opinion, the use of the word in this context should probably just mainly be left to biologists or people who are otherwise very educated in this area...

Also, if we are talking biology, hermaphrodite is not a "more scientific term" for intersex, they are not interchangeable and in a biological sense they are completely different concepts altogether, so please keep this in mind too. Way too often I will see the furry community or fanfiction writers who do not know this and will just throw around the word hermaphrodite as if it is just a biological term to describe sex similar to how female or male is used when it is not.

Related to that, I do not believe it is appropriate to call OCs or characters hermaphrodites. These are characters/species created from the mind of a human being and therefore are subject to human biases and stereotypes, and I have never in my life seen "hermaphrodite OCs" done respectfully, if they even can be. This may be related to how the character's entire biology is based off of a fetishized slur, but in my experience they are always stereotypes and always fetishizing. These characters are also anthropomorphic in a way in which calling them hermaphrodites is... extremely uncomfortable and absolutely fuels intersexism.

I am strongly of the opinion that anyone who is so drawn to the label of hermaphrodite as to use it in this way has some shit to unpack, because it is admittedly fucking weird to use a slur to define your character's biology or species.

This is just my thoughts as a singular intersex person, also. Again, this topic is one that nobody in the intersex community fully agrees on and you'll find a lot of different people with a lot of different opinions and it is worth listening to what they have to say. Don't just listen to me alone, I'm just a random asshole on the internet, find what other intersex people have to say too. We aren't a monolith and all that.

[chuuya-the-snail]

Hihi :3

I'm @realsafari's pet snail named Chuuya !

Yes I am real.

Have a photo of me !!

I am a common garden snail, and I am around 2 years old. Even though I'm a hermaphrodite, I have characteristics of a "male" snail, so I'm a boy ^^

Feel free to ask me anything about being a snail, how to care for snails, random snail facts, etc.

I will slime all over the keyboard as a response :3

(And also actually answer your questions as I am a very smart and educated snail.)

[ipsogender]

PSA: "all of [species] are intersex" can reinforce misconceptions

So I'm still gathering my thoughts on The Deep by intersex author Rivers Solomon which I read for @intersexbookclub and one thing that I keep seeing in reviews for the book is "all of the wajinru are intersex" because this is a fantasy species where everybody has both male and female reproductive systems.

And while I know full well this is a work of speculative fiction, everything is a metaphor, and having biological hermaphrodites be stand-ins for intersex people is metaphor, I'm starting to worry that perisex readers don't actually know this distinction.

Intersex refers to individuals of a given species whose sexual traits do not match what is considered typical for the species.

Hermaphrodism in biology refers to species who have both male and female reproductive systems. So for example, snails have both male and female reproductive systems and when they mate they connect up both.

An individual snail with fully-functioning male and female reproductive systems that match norms about snail sexual characteristics is a perisex snail.

An individual snail with only a male reproductive system is an intersex snail.

If you see somebody saying snails/earthworms/trees/etc are ALL intersex they are conflating intersex and biological hermaphrodism, and this is a common but hurtful misconception about us intersex people.

Please note: you do not see biological hermaphrodism in humans, even as intersex variations. And the h-word is a slur when used to refer to intersex humans.

Things get a little more complicated with speculative fiction where it's clear a species is there as a stand-in/metaphor for intersex people. I know it's a little longer to say "the wajinru represent intersex people" but given how common the misconceptions there are about intersex people it matters to state it unambiguously.

[intersex-questions]

do you know the general consensus on using the H-slur to refer to plants and/or animals? I know it shouldn't be used for people but I see a lot of people still using it to talk scientifically about animals or plants so I'm curious if I should be correcting them or not

It's entirely acceptable scientifically. There's no reason to correct! It is not usually offensive when being used towards animals or plants or the such. It is just the scientific term. It's okay if an intersex person feels uncomfortable hearing it, but it is okay to use. No need to correct!

Great question though! Totally valid concern.

However, it should only be used for organisms that are always hermaphrodites, if that makes sense. For example, slugs always have both functioning "male" and "female" reproductive systems. Gonochoric (meaning they function on a binary female/male sex system, like all mammals and birds) organisms are not ever hermaphrodites. They are intersex. A dog born with ovotestes would be intersex, not a hermaphrodite. Hermaphrodite is not only offensive when applied to gonochoric organisms, but scientifically incorrect.

For example, an animal like a male calico cat is intersex, and using hermaphrodite would be scientifically wrong and potentially offensive.

Intersexuality is not to be confused for hermaphroditism. They are not the same.

I'm actually going to school for zoology soon so if you have questions about animals I'd love to answer. I know lots about biology in non-human life forms as well.

To recap:

It's okay to call organisms that don't have different sexes hermaphrodites because that is what they are called. (This means an individual organism can and is "supposed" to sexually reproduce with both male and female gametes/sex cells.)

You shouldn't call a gonochoric organism a hermaphrodite, this is offensive. (Gonochoric means that the organism functions on a system of two sexes, male and female. "Opposite" of hermaphrodites.)

Intersex is usually only applied to gonochoric organisms. It is used to refer to an organism that has mixed sex characteristics in an otherwise understood binary sex system of male and female. You may occasionally see it used in reference to hermaphroditic organisms, but this is usually wrong. (There are hermaphrodite organisms that have intersex individuals as a large portion of their population. There are also animals that frequently have intersex individuals as a part of their population. Some scientists believe that these should be classified as another sex, though, as it's a "natural"/"intended" part of the population.)

Examples of organisms you shouldn't call a hermaphrodite:

A female lion who developed a mane later in life. This is intersex.

Female hyenas. Female hyenas have a pseudopenis, very high testosterone/androgens, and are highest in their social caste. This is just how female hyenas are. They are not inherently intersex, either.

Examples of organisms that are hermaphrodites:

Many molluscs, like snails and slugs.

Most plants that flower

Clown fish. Even though they are born as male and become female later on, they are all still hermaphrodites as they don't function on a binary sex system and possess both female and male gametes at one point. (This is called sequential hermaphroditism.)

There are Wikipedia articles on everything I mentioned, but some of the information may be incorrect or misleading. It says that all female moles of certain species are intersex, which I and many others disagree with. Female moles have both ovarian and testicular tissue, but this is an "intended" part of their biology, meaning it isn't a variation of their "intended" sex. It is okay to use the word intersexual to describe this, as intersexual is used to refer to an organism that has sex traits that we usually consider mixed or androgynous (such as ovarian and testicular tissue), but it is something they are "supposed" to have. Such as in a few mole species. However, some people think it is correct to use intersex for animals like this. There is no common consensus. It is important to understand the nuance of how intersex can be used in a given organism and in non-human biology, as it can refer to different things than in humans.

Sorry for answering so much! Zoology is a special interest of mine and I'm planning to go to school for zoology. I also love biology and sexology.

TLDR; There are organisms that are called hermaphrodites because they have male and female gametes. This is not offensive and scientifically correct. Gonochoric organisms (ones that function on a binary male female sex system, like mammals) are not ever to be called hermaphrodites and should be called intersex.

If I made any scientific mistakes and anyone sees, please correct me!

If you have more questions please ask I love talking about biology and zoology.

[drbased]

It is patriarchal thought that turns the blunt human biological concept of 'male' and makes it universal and transcendent, representative of the righteousness of dominance itself; men have to see themselves reflected and represented in nature out of a desperaterly insecure need to reinforce this patriarchal concept.

I have a theory that people who believe in something secretly (or not so secretly) assume that everyone else actually thinks like they do, but they just deny it to themselves; I would go further to suggest that this is, in fact, a core component of belief itself: belief has to be a universal assumption about the world. If I believe the sky is blue, then I necessarily have to believe that everyone else can see it that way, too - because what is the point of being so sure about something if you're not convinced that it's not reality?

Transgender politics pulls so much of its belief system from patriarchal thought that it is hilariously transparent. A perfect example of this in how proponents use the rhetoric of 'biology isn't binary! look at the seahorse, look at the clownfish, look at the hyena!' against radical feminists. Biological sex does not need to be universal and rigid across nature for female humans to be oppressed by male ones - but, according to insecure patriarchal thought, maleness and its associated dominance must be universal across nature. Of course, everyone already knows the existence of snails being hermaphrodites, or of male seahorses carrying young - but patriarchal ideology skims past the thorny intricacies of nature by positing a much more spiritual, metaphysical concept of maleness that is reflected in nature. And they will find all the examples of this that they can: men will joke about the gang-rape of female ducks and laugh nervously in psycho-sexual fear about praying mantises, black widows and cuckoos.

Radical feminists are already aware of the complicated biology of other species, and the fact that other species are trotted out to us as 'proof' that femaleness is not rigid and therefore female sex-based oppression cannot functionally exist is such an absurd insult to our intelligence; we formulate(d) our theories of oppression whilst being aware of the realities and complexities of the sexed body, and we also did so without the need to refer to insecure metaphysics. Everytime TRAs 'prove' that sex isn't binary, all they do is show their patriarchal bootlicking and an inability to even comprehend that we don't conform their belief system.

[cha1cedony]

Just woke up in the middle of the night and about to try to get back to sleep again but: if Grant Wilson had the chance to live as any kind of bug for idk 24 hours? What kind of bug do you think he’d choose and, if it’s different, which bug do YOU think would suit him best? 🥰

OH MY GOODNESS. This is the best thing anyone’s ever asked me HAHAHA. For context… I love bugs (and Grant ofc) SOOO much

Ahem. Okay. Okay. This is a multi-faceted question. And I plan to be very annoying about it 😁‼️‼️‼️ I’m going to put it under a break bc I actually spent (too much) time rambling and overthinking this lol

WARNING: Very long and nonsensical Grant bug ramble below. Also, there are images of insects and spiders!

The Grant Bug Post

24-hour bug survival (lmao)

As much as I love bugs (using that term very loosely in this post btw), I doubt Grant would WANT to be a bug for a day (because he is no fun!!! 😤👎 /lh). However, let’s say he’s fighting an entomologist acolyte (who used to be one of Henry’s co-docents at the natural history museum or something lol) and is turned into a bug for 24 hours, but he gets to choose the bug beforehand.

In this situation, Grant would go for a tactical bug, but he probably also has limited knowledge of bugs (again, no fun). His pick would need to be resilient and small enough to hide/run quickly. I don’t think he would go for something that can actually do much damage; he’d rather wait out the 24 hour period. Cockroaches infamously can take a few stomps, can hold up to radiation (which mayyy have been important in pre-Code Purple apocalypse Earth?), and can kinda scurry around and hide and survive on trash for a day. They also live for about a year (not that Grant would probably know that), so in case something went awry and he WASN’T immediately turned back after 24 hours, he would live longer than other bugs, giving the other kiddads enough time to hopefully figure something out (although, if Nicky’s problem-solving skills are any evidence, they probably would NOT figure out a way to turn Grant back 😔 lol)

If Grant was in a similar situation, but he NEEDED to defend himself/others (instead of just running and hiding), I can imagine him going for something that both flies and stings, like a bee or wasp: feels sniper-y, satisfies both his violent and self-sacrificial tendencies, etc. Unfortunately, one sting is not gonna get the job done, unless maybe the acolyte is allergic to bees :) Grant is very headstrong and unfortunately would definitely launch himself into battle as fuckin bee if he was in a bad mood. Hopefully, in this situation, the other guys would be there to hold him back from becoming a bee and immediately dying 😭

I was also trying to think of bugs (or bug-adjacent creatures) that shoot projectiles of any kind (because sniper lol), but I can only think of bombardier beetles, which shoot explosive liquid out of their abdomens (very cool, but Grant would not know about them).

PS: Snails can also shoot hormonal projectiles called “love darts” that are used to determine assert sexual dominance and which snail will be male/female for reproduction (since they’re hermaphroditic) but. That’s definitely not applicable here 😭😭 I just wanted to share. They also have bad aim, so Grant could never be a snail 🙄 hehehah

For fun :)

Aside from missions or life/death situations, the only time I think Grant would willingly become a bug for 24 hours (<- CRAZY phrase LMAO) is to make Lincoln happy :) Link’s favorite animals are caterpillars, and I can imagine Grant finding some kind of item/spell to turn himself into a bug and IMMEDIATELY dropping everything to be Link’s pet caterpillar for the day hehe. Some kind of friendly, cute caterpillar who won’t make Lincoln itchy… or turn into a butterfly and fly away 🥲 He would even let Link shake him around in a jar for a little while (he always scolds Link for trying to keep bugs in jars hehe). That way, he gets to encourage Link’s interests in a way that is VERY safe for all parties involved. If Grant had to pick ONE bug for to become, I think he would go with a caterpillar, unless he was in the special situations I described above. (Maybe I should’ve put this paragraph higher up! :p)

Google (more specifically, this website—that’s right; I’m citing my sources in the Grant bug post 😎) says monarchs and anise swallowtails are common in southern California, and they’re both big and cute and not too prickly, so I can imagine those being some of Link’s favorites :) I think his favorite is the monarch specifically (the yellow stripey one below) but Grant likes the swallowtail (the green spotted one)

Kid/teen Grant

As a kid, I think Grant was probably grossed out by bugs and would NOT want to be one (again, boring smh). I was trying to think of a soccer-related bug, but the best I can come up with is a dung beetle 😬 He would NOT want to be a dung beetle. There are unfortunately no gamer bugs (except maybe the Pikachu spider shown below, but Grant would not like spiders, nor would he really care about Pokemon). Bugs should try playing Fortnite, I think

Assigning him a… bugsona? lol

OKAY. On to the more important question… What bug do I think Grant would be? I’m actually shocked I’ve never thought about it before because, in past fandoms I’ve been in, I have a history of making lists of what bug each character would be. Very self-indulgent, I know. Shush. I’m being self-indulgent right now 😤 I think I’ll make a list of potential bugs for each DnDads character… ANYWAY

My immediate reaction to this question was some kind of beetle. Grant actually has always reminded me a LOT of an old anthropomorphic beetle OC I had in high school :) He was a green stag beetle—Lamprima adolphinae—and I think it suits Grant really well!

As a character, Grant generally feels very beetle-ish to me; he is very big and imposing with a tough exterior, both physically and metaphorically. BUT he can also be very lovey, easily embarrassed, bookish, a little geeky, etc. which I associate with these beetles in particular mostly just because of that old OC I mentioned before. And they’re GREEN! Grant is green (in my heart and mind hehe). It’s perfect B)

I know my initial cockroach mention might’ve sounded funny, but I can definitely imagine Grant as a roach o_o !!! Again, they’re wide and sturdy and headstrong, but flighty/skittish at the same time. Very Grant. I also could see him being an assassin bug. The name works for him too haha 🥲🥲

I could also MAYBE imagine him as other similarly sleek bugs, like a bald-faced hornet, but I think beetles or true bugs (assassin bugs, cicadas, etc.) suit him best. I can’t really imagine him being a small bug

Okay. Okay. Phew. I cannot believe I wrote THIS MUCH about bug Grant. If only I could write this much of my fic this fast lmao 😭

MY FINAL VERDICT…. 🥁🥁🥁

I think Grant would choose to be a cockroach 🪳 for survival purposes, but he would easily be a caterpillar 🐛 to make his son happy. If I had to give Grant a.. bugsona?, it would be a stag beetle 🪲 for sure! :)

If you actually read all of this, uhhh thank you???? 🐞 <- here’s a lucky ladybug for you. PLEASE tell me your DnDads bug opinions if you have any I’d love to hear them 🙏 Maybe someday I will draw the main characters as anthro bugs (bc that’s like. the only thing I can draw heheh)

Thanks so much to Isadora for sending this ask omg!!!! :’) I saw it a little bit ago while doing schoolwork, and I was super excited to write this silly post, so it helped motivate me to finish. Feeling a lot better :) Sorry I wrote such a long response haha! PS: I hope you got some sleep!!! >:0

[abyssalaerlocke]

Whole

Thinking about Durge who was custom made, for breeding Bhaalspawn regardless of partner, so they're functionally hermaphroditic (a term which isn't applied to humans, but does to other species with other reproductive systems — such as snails, sequential hermaphrodite fish, etc. Durge is not actually whatever race they're designed to look like, they aren't beholden to its male/female system).

Anyway, default dragonborn Durge, who's already ambiguous as is, because dragonborn aren't as sexually dimorphic with much secondary sex characteristics (like breasts or extra hair). But the cloaca makes it virtually impossible to tell he does in fact have a vagina, with the dick hemipenes in the way. It's something only Gortash knows, especially after Durge gets amnesia.

Confusing and surprising when Durge fucks Gortash later, and Gortash just keeps going deeper, touching places Durge didn't know he had.

[dino-boyo-agere]

Bug facts cuz I'm on a roll lately!!

.･｡ﾟ×ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ×ﾟ｡･*.ﾟ.✧.ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ×ﾟ｡･*.ﾟ☆ﾟ×ﾟ｡･.

The White-lipped Snail. They come in various colors, but the most common is yellow. The white band around the opening of its shell is its distinctive feature and gives them their name! These snails live in various damp areas, including gardens, woodlands, grasslands, sand dunes, or clifftops. They feed on ragwort, nettles, and hogweed, meaning they're little helpers.

The white-lipped snail's shell is smooth and shiny, with several spirals of varying sizes. It ranges in colour from yellow to pink, brown or red, and has a white band around the opening. Its body is dull grey, usually becoming yellow towards the rear.

This species of snail creates and uses love darts during mating.

A love dart (also known as a gypsobelum, shooting darts, or just as darts) is a sharp, calcareous or chitinous dart which some hermaphroditic land snails and slugs create. Love darts are both formed and stored internally in a dart sac. These darts are only made in animals that are mature enough to breed, and are used as part of the ritual performed during courtship, before actual mating takes place. Darts are quite large compared to the size of the animal: in the case of the semi-slug genus Parmarion, the length of a dart can be up to one fifth that of the semi-slug's foot.

[Drawing showing a side view of the love dart of the edible snail Helix pomatia.]

1 = flared base of the dart

2 = position of the inner cavity

3 = longitudinal flanges or vanes

4 = sharp tip or blade of the dart

.･｡ﾟ×ﾟ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ×ﾟ｡･*.ﾟ.✧.ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ×ﾟ｡･*.ﾟ☆ﾟ×ﾟ｡･.

The "Epigeic earthworm" ‘Epigeic’ meaning ‘on the earth’ in Greek. These worms don't build burrows, instead they live on the surface of the soil amongst piles of leaves or compost heaps. They feed on decaying plant matter, leaf litter, and dung. That's because they are weak burrowers, and therefore it's easier for them to live amongst loose organic materials and topsoil. Some also call them compost earthworms, or surface-dwelling earthworms.

These worms are important in composting and are known to rapidly consume and excrete composting material to help it break down more quickly. They are also able to reproduce very quickly, increasing the population of worms within the compost. They are small in size, usually ranging from between less than an inch up to seven inches in length.

They have a dark coloring that enables them to live above ground more safely, camouflaging themselves in piles of leaves or topsoil. Their dark pigmentation also helps to protect them from UV rays. They have strong muscles for their size, which enables them to move faster than other types of worms, which is important as living above ground they are most at risk from predators.

.ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ×ﾟ｡･».ﾟ°･⁠✧ ↓ DNI ↓ ✧･° ﾟ.«･｡ﾟ×ﾟ｡･*.ﾟ.

.･｡»･⁠°✧❗I don't consent to NSFW interaction❗✧°･«｡･.

[bitsbug]

Quadsex as in four different sexes? Funnily enough four was the first number I had for ancient sexes & the genders that arose from them, although now I’m waffling on that. Also, without asking you to go into the nitty-gritty, is there a functional difference between unisex and hermaphrodite species?

yeah quad as in four lol. i kind of uhm forgot to list trisex between them and bisex whoopsie

also, yes, there are differences!

a unisexual species would be one in which every individual has the same type of reproductive organ. I mentioned whiptail lizards in my initial tags because they're actually a great example of that - and also evolutionary oddities. whiptails are exclusively female, and thus only make eggs! they reproduce through parthogenesis, which basically means they genetically clone themself. A more specbio take on unisexuality could have them properly y'know.. exchange genes, but just using a single set of tools.

Hermaphrodites, in comparison, would possess two different reproductive organs at the same time - or, well, depends on the kind of hermaphrodite. There are sequential and simultaneous kinds. Either way, a single individual is capable of producing both sperm and eggs in hermaphrodite species. Several species of snail, tripod fish, and roundworms are some examples.

To severely simplify it, sequential hermaphrodites will 'operate' as one sex during part of their life, and then another sex later on. Clownfish are a good example. Simultaneous hermaphrodites will have both sexes 'active' at once, capable of performing both roles at any time.

[shitty-mechs-headcannons]

Yggdrasilians are hermaphrodites, actually

---

Hello, me from March two years ago!

I still believe this wholeheartedly. Midgardians are sneople (snail people)

-mod andy

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

I meant asexual as in bacteria or other species that reproduce asexually not the orient in humans and the hermaphrodite as in like snails or slugs. Referring to possible nonbinary examples in any species but thank you and sorry for my poor choice in words today.

Ah, ok yeah that's fair. Not every species reproduces the way we do. I apologize for my tone today as well. I was dealing with a lot of anons who were trying to twist facts and play word games to justify their stances on abortion and gender, but it seems like you were legitimately interested in having an actual discussion about sex and I lumped you in with them by mistake. So I'm sorry about that.

[swaghaver69]

you ever go to a pro abortion protest and there’s a guy there with a cardboard box and he’s got a small sign that says snerchant. so you go over there and you’re like hey what’s this snerchant thing. and he’s got a bunch of little black cups with the clear plastic lids on top that you would use to hold sauce in or something. and he’s like “in each of these little cups there are two slugs each” (by the way this story takes place in like fall or so when it’s still pretty warm out bc i’m in virginia) and he’s like “i’m trying to give these away to people because when it gets cold these guys will freeze and die and need people to take care of them.” so you’re like ok i’ll take a cup but how do i take care of them and will they breed or anything how do you tell if they’re boys or girls. so you learn that slugs and snails are actually hermaphrodites and they can both lay eggs and fertilize eggs n shit. and they just need water and some lettuce or something. so you’re like ok and eventually you fuck off to petsmart and get a terrarium and you go to put them in there but now there’s only one of them. and you’re like wtf why is there only one like they can’t get out of this container what. so you start digging through the moss trying to find the other one. and you don’t find the other one but you do find eggs. so you’re like what the fuck. im a grandparent now. so i guess they had sex and then one cannibalized the other and laid eggs because you just googled it and apparently slugs are cannibals sometimes. like ok. so you fill up the terrarium with dirt and leaves and rocks and shit like that and put the slug and the eggs in there but it’s also like homecoming or some shit at your college when you’re collecting this dirt so everyone in the entire universe is outside. and you’re in some hot pink pajama pants and a t shirt and flip flops scooping dirt frantically into this plastic container because what the fuck one of your pets ate the other one and also now is going to have babies what the fuck. and people see you and are like “oh is that for a science experiment?” and you’re like nooo…. and then you give a short rundown on the situation. and they’re like “oh. well good luck!” by the way did i mention im technically not even supposed to be keeping these as pets in my dorm room. and i’m the college ra. (i was like the worst ra ever though.) anyways i got them situated in my room and then i went to my friends apartment to watch my movie and i get there and the guy who drove me there suddenly finds out he has an exam in like 30 minutes so he frantically has to leave and takes his car to go to his exam but you’re like that’s fine i won’t have to leave this place anytime soon anyways. and then a bit after he leaves and is probably in his exam you feel like you have to fart so you do but you find out you actually just shit yourself a little on accident. which you’ve literally only ever done one other time before in your entire life but that was only because you were extremely high. and you’re like oh fuck because you’re not even on campus anymore and you don’t have a change of clothes. so you go to the bathroom and try to clean up and you come out and you’re like hey i need to leave immediately i’ll be back when i can. and the guy who’s apartment you’re at is like ok but why. if you’re ok saying. and you avoid it for a bit but eventually you’re like i’ll tell you if you promise not to tell the guy who drove me here. (he’s my boyfriend but i feel cringe saying that so i just avoid saying it.) and he’s like ok. so you tell him what happens and he laughs at you but he promises not to say anything. anyways so your boyfriend left and can’t be contacted which you probably wouldn’t even want to anyways because it’s an embarrassing situation but you’re far from campus and the only way back is public transportation. so you have to take the bus and it’s horrible considering circumstances and also crowded as shit bc homecoming or something and there’s like parades and traffic and the world is a fucking nightmare so it takes forever

but anyways you eventually get back to your room you clean yourself you change and the guy who was taking his exam remember him is like i got out of my exam and you’re like hey actually would you be willing to drive me back to our friends apartment i’m at my dorm and he’s like ok and you get in the car and he’s like so why were you back at the dorm and you refuse to tell him and change the subject and start talking about your slugs instead. i mean i eventually told him but that was like months later and honestly he didn’t even care. but yeah. he’s a real homie btw one day i couldn’t find my slug in the terrarium (i put like one of those mini fish aquarium pieces of furniture in there it was like a little cottage gnome house looking thing) and i was depressed abt it but i got in the bed with him and like things escalated a little but i was absent minded bc i was worried about my slug. and he’s like is something wrong and i’m like i’m worried about my slug im sorry and he’s like it’s ok we don’t have to and you’re like no i wanna but i wanna try to look for it first. so he’s like ok and he puts his clothes on and you get out of the bed and he’s like shining his flashlight on the desk around the terrarium trying to find a snail slime trail but there’s none to be found. and you’re like worried about it. but right when you were about to give up you notice it was like in the crevice of the inside of the gnome house. so you’re happy you found it and relieved and then you’re able to have sex and it’s cool. anyways i ended up taking the gnome house out of there bc i didn’t want to worry about where the slugs went anymore. bc i already felt bad abt that first one which i’m pretty sure got eaten but i’m really not 100% sure because how would the other slug even eat something that big. idk. i feel like there was no way it could have gotten out but i never found it so who knows. idk. i would feed them lettuce from my job (college campus chik fil a) (yeah i had two fucking jobs being an ra and working in a dining hall while doing full time hard as dick classes and then shit started going bad at my house that stressed me out so i couldn’t focus at school and i got really depressed and that’s why i had to leave college and go back home -__-) but anyways yeah. i still have the slugs there’s a lot more of them now. but i don’t have as much access to lettuce as i used to. also the air in my house is drier so i have to water them more. idk. anyways yeah swaghaver69 lore i guess. if u read all this drop a heart emoji and i’ll like kiss you on the cheek through the screen or smth. <3

[afieldinengland]

top 5 lord summerisle quotes/quotes about his lordship 👀

(i’m discounting quotes from the film, here, because i think secondary sources contain some fascinating tidbits)

“lord summerisle is actually a creature of sweet reason.” - christopher lee in an interview with fangoria in 1985 [link]

“howie studied lord summerisle closely. here was the ‘hand and eye’ that had shaped the personal fiefdom of summerisle. he was dressed in a suit so tweedy that it looked as if moss might have taken to growing on it. howie recalled his handsome, somewhat swarthy features and his shock of carelessly groomed hair. but now, close to the man, he was impressed by his eyes. they were a deep brown and had an adamantine directness of gaze that slightly disconcerted howie. he looked down at the floor […]” - the 1978 novelisation of the wicker man, by anthony shaffer and robin hardy

“lord summerisle gazed around at his islanders with the look of a visionary who has seen his own prophecy come true. ‘and now,’ he said to sergeant howie, ‘it is time to keep your appointment with the wicker man.’ - ibid.

“summerisle has to be a gracious host, he has to be a nobleman, he has to be the ruler of the community, he has to be charming, he has to be apparently very helpful. but at the same time he has to be totally lethal.” - christopher lee in an interview with the yorkshire post in 2013 [link]

“‘i didn’t find martyrdom all that inspiring,’ [replied howie]. ‘you did, you know,’ summerisle says slyly. ‘that’s the real reason you’ve come back, if you want to know.’ - the script to a proposed sequel to the wicker man, written by anthony shaffer, an appendix to allan brown’s inside the wicker man

bonuses:

“‘paganism 1, christianity 0!’ crowed the noble lord.” - ibid.

“summerisle is a simple pagan – if you can call that simple. he is both king and priest in one. but very dangerous. he’s a man, too, of impeccable charm and manners and good taste, an authority, articulate, in many ways a very delightful person. and you can find a bit of that in everyone.” - christopher lee [link]

“‘yes, of course you have,’ said lord summerisle, caressing the famous apple like a lover. ‘creamy white flesh, firm, full-flushed, blood-red, bloomed skin with a truly noble, sweet, vinous flavour. the lifework of three generations of my forebears […]’. ‘your father’s, too?’ interjected howie, embarrassed by the extravagance of lord summerisle’s language.” - the novelisation (almost identical to a now-lost interchange in the glasshouse scene, which appears in the original script but is missing from the final film)

“howie […] suddenly realised that a commanding female figure with long black hair […] was the person addressing him in the noble lord’s voice. […] it was, indeed, lord summerisle. the teaser himself.” - ibid.

“lord summerisle is transformed from patriarchal power to matriarchal priestess; power is a trait of women in religions of fertility and the important gods are in fact goddesses.” - ‘masculinity and deviance in british cinema of the 1970s: sex, drugs and rock n’ roll’, e. anna claydon [link]

“the scene in which willow tries to lure howie to bed […] might not be the sexiest moment in the film. that’s the outdoor monologue delivered by a kilt-clad, androgynous lord summerisle, accompanied with images of copulating snails […] (and yes, most terrestrial snail species are hermaphroditic, which may or may not be relevant.)” - ‘dazzlingly restored, the wicker man is more like an anarchic, erotic parable than a horror film’, andrew o’heir [link]