#akada

Gray: The nervous system. Rather than being located in the head, an akada's brain is stored in the center of its body, protected on all sides by its shell. This is accompanied by a long central nervous cord that extends up into the eyestalks. All the other nerves in an akada's body branch off of this cord, including the ones situated behind its brain, which loop back around somewhere in the middle. In addition to its different structure, the brain of an akada also functions slightly differently from a human's. Their lives involve a lot less quick, on-the-move decision making than ours do, instead prioritizing a lot more meticulous long-term planning. This means that akada, generally, think about as slowly as they move. An akada's thought output is more about quality over quantity.

Beige: The shell. You probably know what this does. While tucked in, the shell tilts down and the front organs get folded up to make room for the squished-down head. Although akada can pull their heads into their shells, this doesn't do a lot to protect their arms, tail, or skirt. This ability is more or less vestigial, only being used while startled or sleeping.

Light Blue: The respiratory system. This is comprised of one lung that is also technically ten lungs, each one being surrounded by a mesh of muscle tissue that squeezes and unsqueezes them to pump air. This air enters the body through a series of small slits along the top of their faces. Not a lot to say here. Pretty standard set of breathey parts.

Dark Blue: The circulatory system, though every part of it except the heart has been excluded here for simplicity. As you can probably deduce from the color choice, akada have blue blood, using hemocyanin where we use hemoglobin. Again, not much of note.

Red: The digestive system. Akada chew using two distinct sets of teeth: One three-part beak in the front used for crushing, and one two-part radula in the back used for grinding. Though these parts look and act completely differently, they are adapted from the same parts, that being many rows of identical, keratinous spikes that an ancient ancestor species had in their mouths. Also noteworthy here is the camera shutter-esque organ inside of their throat. These are their vocal chords, which use air pumped out of the stomach to produce speech, assisted on the way out by the radula and lips. The organ is fully retracted while eating to make way for food.

Pink: The reproductive system. Typically, akada have two penises and two vaginas, one of each located in pouches in their cheeks. These are also accompanied by twin uteri, attached in the middle by a series of glands I haven't put much thought into the function of. These uteri store fertilized eggs, which are incubated until they are ready to be vomjaculated into the nearest body of water to hatch. It should be noted that, since an akada's reproductive organs are situated behind their teeth, it is very possible, and in fact quite common, for one to accidentally bite their own penis off. Don't worry, it usually grows back.

Green: A slime production gland. Like Earth's gastropods, akada produce slime to make it easier to slide along the ground. This is technically also their urinary system. Out of context, the idea of a species that talks by burping and moves by peeing sounds a bit childish, but you probably wouldn't have realized that had I not pointed it out.