#from just how sharp an environment she exists in? how much would be recreated in an environment that scrapes instead of cuts?

[toomuchdickfort]

You ever think of an au and then you realize that it’ll go incredibly drastically different from canon so you have to piece apart what of the original character would remain in this universe

#lucky left earth between 6 and 9 and. how would she be if she stayed? like. ??? like I can blur a lot but like. how much of her has come #from just how sharp an environment she exists in? how much would be recreated in an environment that scrapes instead of cuts? #and can I make an argument for it to go where I want before the event I have in mind and then how would that change her? how much of canon #lucky would echo through a Sairena who grew up on earth and then came to elysur with Lawrence anf Geryon? #would she even be recognizable? #character rambles #elysur

[mamthew]

My full review of Persona 5: Scramble. Some mostly minor spoilers scattered throughout, though I try to flag them in advance.

When Persona 5: Scramble was announced, my expectations were fairly low. As it was yet another Warriors spinoff of a better-known series, I expected Hyrule Warriors but with Persona characters. I thought we’d get the P5 crew, maybe even a few from P3 or P4, maybe a villain or two, mindlessly tearing through thousands of enemies in essentially interchangeable levels, justified by a threadbare, 6-hour story. The demo, then, blew me away. It was just…the beginning of a sequel to Persona 5, maintaining the locations, presentation, and characters of the original game, but with a beat ‘em up battle system. I began thinking of Scramble as a direct sequel to literally my favorite game of all time, including everything a sequel might entail. 

Having played through almost all of Persona 5: Strikers (I have started but not bothered seriously attempting New Game+ in Merciless difficulty), the game we ended up getting was halfway between those, I think. They managed to recreate the presentation of P5 impeccably, with gorgeous menus, beautiful battle effects, entertaining scene transitions, etc. However, the half of the game that isn’t dungeon-crawling is deceptively scant. The story centers around a road trip across Japan, but each city isn’t nearly as realized as P5’s Tokyo, with only about 3 rooms apiece, and some of the later ones not even getting a hub at all. The hubs really only exist to have shops, with none of the time management, minigames, or relationship building in a mainline Persona game. Still, it’s the only Persona spinoff I’ve played that has a real-life component at all, so I found it refreshing to get to wander Sendai, Okinawa, Osaka, and other towns in a game I’d initially not expected to have any towns at all.

The dungeons are where this game shines, though. They’re actual Persona 5-style dungeons, made occasionally even more dynamic with the addition of platforming and sidescrolling sections reminiscent of Nier Automata. The battle system uses the bones of the system in every warriors game, but slowly builds on it with more and more complexity until it’s not only a unique system, but is honestly one of the more engaging action battle systems I’ve played in a minute, in which you’re constantly trying to time dodges just right for extra hits, which can then open the option to either get in an extra hit with your character, which heals some SP, or switch to another character for an extra hit with them, which increases the rate at which the special gauge increases. As Joker, you have an array of Personas you can switch between on the fly, shifting your moveset, your stats, and your strategy as you go. Each of the other characters has their own gimmick that makes them unique and fun to play and sets them apart from Joker, who otherwise would have access to all their elemental attacks and stat spreads. Strategically placed objects around dungeons can be used to pull off special moves in battles, as well, letting you jump up to chandeliers and drop them on enemies or dive off of walls and tackle enemies. The battle system takes a little too long to actually become complex, but once it actually reaches that point it’s really rewarding. The bosses, too, are fun, with designs deserving of the Persona name and strategies that make full use of the environments. You can even replay them at different difficulty levels as the game goes on. I’ve never played a Koei Tecmo game with this much polish, and the battle system makes me hope the Warriors team goes to try an actual Platinum-style character action game. I think they’d knock it out of the park.

I’m a little split on the story of this game. The bones of the story are good. The characters are all written perfectly, and seeing them interact again was enough that I actually teared up a bit when I first booted up the game. I enjoy the new characters, and they work well with the party. The pacing is solid and it has a good emotional core. The villains are decent for the most part, and the ending is pretty satisfying. Several of the villains directly correlate to specific party members, too, which gives us further insight into those party members, and lets us watch as they see themselves in someone else and recognize where that other person broke off from their path. The game is in part about trauma and the ways it drives individuals to lash out at a world they’ve always believed to be cold and unforgiving, which could be a powerful message if done well. In this game, though, it’s not done very well at all. The ultimate message – if this game could be said to have one – is that individuals without support networks are driven by trauma to make bad decisions. That’s not…necessarily untrue, but it’s not…necessarily true, either. This message is probably at its worst when the game gets into inadvertently ableist territory with a character near the end, who -spoilers until the end of the paragraph- tries to essentially enslave mankind because her dissociation due to trauma convinces her that she has no emotions and therefore the species as a whole should have no emotions either. It’s…frankly a really gross bookend on a game that, until that point, had managed to avoid most of the issues with male gaze and homophobia that the original game had.

Every message in this game, though, is too individual-focused to function as a real message or social commentary. It even undercuts the sharp themes in the original by showing people in similar positions of power as the original villains just…choosing not to fall to corruption and consequently avoiding all of the problems that would arise from their power discrepancy. For a spoilery example until the end of the paragraph, the villain in Persona 5 who’s a CEO is a villain because his need to make profit drives him to exploit his workers, paying them less and working them more. The villain in Strikers who’s a CEO is a villain because his father was abusive and that led him to think people must be controlled. One is a real-world problem applicable to any CEO. The other is a story that exists only in the fictional realm.

This wouldn’t be such a glaring issue if Persona games – and especially Persona 5 – weren’t known for their social commentary. That’s not limited to the main games, either. Persona 4 Dancing was a rhythm game with a story about parasocial relationships and the pressures they place on public figures. Strikers ostensibly touches on parasocial relationships, but doesn’t…really have anything to say about them.

The game does try to make a statement sometimes, but everything it tries to say is disjointed, at odds with the previous game, or inapplicable to real life. The villains’ deeds don’t really have much similarity to each other, either, unlike in 5, and it’s stated outright that several of them would not hold any power at all without the supernatural world, which both prevents their stories from saying anything about the real world, and flies in the face of the purpose of Persona as a series. The supernatural worlds in Persona games are the collective unconscious, which means that the worlds are used to give the characters and the player visual representations of abstract concepts. The Palaces in Persona 5 are not the sources of the villains’ power; that comes from regular old societal hierarchies. The characters in Persona 4 were experiencing their inner turmoil before they were sucked into the TV world, and the midnight channel only made manifest what was already there and unseen. Conversely, the first two villains in Strikers are only in the public eye because they use supernatural means to make people like them. That the supernatural means involve smart phones doesn’t say anything about technology, because that’s not how technology actually works. In a follow-up to a game that was as furious at the world and desperate for change as Persona 5 was, it’s a glaring departure for the characters to just…befriend “the good cop,” or -spoilers again- push the mayor who’s based on Margaret Fucking Thatcher to run again but do things the “right way” this time.

That being said, I’m not actually that upset with this game. I have a lot to say about its missteps because I have a lot to say about Persona 5, but the gameplay is legitimately fun, and I do really love seeing the characters again. I’m more bemused than upset with the game’s fumbling of…the thing that made me fall in love with Persona 5 to begin with. Part of that is because the game is still so solid and fun, and the characters are written so well that I can overlook the issues. Even deeper, though, is that the last few years has radicalized so many people that the statements made in Persona 5 are simply…more visible in the mainstream than they were when it released. Late show hosts rage about the exploitation of waged workers. Video game streamers remark on the cruel arbitrariness of the current system. Shows about cops are being pushed to justify their existence to an increasingly disillusioned public. I think if Persona 5 released today, it wouldn’t have the same impact it did in 2017. To my mind, the game no longer carries the responsibility it once did. So this game is fun and doesn’t really matter, and that’s actually okay.

But if Persona 6 isn’t a return to form, I’ll take it back.

#persona 5 strikers #persona 5 #persona 5 scramble

[thedcdunce]

Bigby Wolf

“The next time you two try to stage a crime scene, you should actually knock things over -- rather than carefully place them in positions you want them to end up in.” - Bigby Wolf

Aliases:

Big Bad Wolf

Big B. Wolf

Gender: Male

Height: 5′ 8″

Weight: Variable

Eyes: Brown

Hair: Brown

Race: Fable

Powers:

Immortality

Lycanthropy

Wind Powers

Abilities:

Criminology

Interrogation

Investigation

Psychic and Magical resistance

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic)

Weaknesses:

Vulnerability to Silver

Universe: Fables

Origin: Born several hundred years ago in the Homelands

Base of Operations:

The Farm

Fabletown

the Homelands

Citizenship: American

Parents:

North Wind; father

Winter; mother

Marital Status: Married (Snow White; wife)

Occupation: Sheriff of Fabletown

First Appearance: Fables #1 (July, 2002)

Powers

Immortality: Bigby is effectively immortal, having lived a lifespan that encompasses several hundred years. It was over two-hundred years ago when he, along with every other Fable, left the Homelands in exile. His eternal lifespan is also granted by the witch who had the power to give people the fate they want, after Bigby forced her.

Lycanthropy

Transformation: Bigby possesses the ability to instantly alter his form from that of a wolf to that of a human and back again. Although he spends the majority of his time in human form, his natural shape is that of a wolf. When he shape-shifts into a wolf, Bigby's physical body increases in size and mass. He also grows sharpened canines, claws and pointed ears.

Superhuman Strength: Bigby's strength level depends on his current form, with his strength increasing the more wolf-like his form becomes. In the past, however, he has shown sufficient strength to lift up a car, tear the arm off an opponent, throw dumpsters with ease, rip fuse boxes off walls and lift an anvil with enough ease to use it as a weapon. His wolf form allows him to go toe-to-toe with dragons, sorcerers and giants. He can wipe out hundreds of armies in one battle.

Enhanced Senses: Bigby has naturally acute senses, in particular, his sense of smell. He can correctly identify an individual merely by smelling a sample of their blood.

Superhuman Durability: Bigby's Durability is dependent on his current form. However, he transforms into his next form presumably automatically if he sustains too much damage. In his human form alone, he has been shown to take multiple shotgun blasts and only be briefly incapacitated and be thrown out a first story window, smash into a lamp-post on the way down and fall onto a car, only to be briefly knocked unconscious. In his werewolf form, he has been hit by cars, only to immediately get back up and keep running.

Accelerated Healing

Wind Powers

Powerfull Huff and Puff: Bigby can "huff and puff" powerful hurricanes from his mouth. This power is strong enough to demolish whole forests, armies and big infrastructures and building.

Superhuman Speed: Bigby has the speed and agility of the wind. Bigby's superhuman speed can only be seen in his wolf form. He's fast enough to travel across the globe.

Superhuman Stamina

Abilities

Criminology

Interrogation: Bigby Wolf uses intimidation and violent outbursts of emotion when interrogating suspects. Sometimes, he will blatantly accuse someone of an outrageous crime just to gauge their reaction.

Investigation: With the aid of his keen analytical mind as well as his canine senses, Bigby is an extremely competent detective. Although he personifies himself in the style of a classic 1930s gumshoe detective, Bigby admits that his chosen profession is a fairly unglamorous one. In over two-hundred years as a detective, he has never been in a gunfight, or even fired his gun. He's never even learned how to drive, much less experienced the thrill of a high-speed car chase. 

Psychic and Magical resistance: Bigby's magical nature allows him to resist magic, although there were times where his human form resists weaker than his wolf form. He can also resist psychic attacks.

Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic): Bigby, whilst presumably lacking any training other than what he was taught in his military service during World Wars 1 and 2, has shown some basic Hand-to-Hand skill. He has been shown to be able to disarm opponents, dodge and block blows, and on occasion use his environment as a weapon.

Weaknesses

Vulnerability to Silver: Being injured by silver weaponry can easily incapacitate or potentially even kill Bigby.

History

Bigby Wolf is a Fable – a character of myth and legend who has assumed several guises both in his native Homeland, as well as in the public consciousness on Earth. In the Homelands, he is most renowned for terrorizing three small pigs, resulting in the destruction of their homes, and also for stalking a young girl through the woods and impersonating her grandmother in the hopes of baiting her into a trap.

When a being known as the Adversary began to conquer the Homelands, Bigby, as well as many other Fables, conducted a mass exodus to Earth where they established an underground Fable community called Fabletown. Under the auspices of Mayor King Cole, Bigby was elected to the position of Sheriff of Fabletown. On Earth, Bigby possessed the means to assume human form. Mundane human beings are unaware of Bigby's true heritage as a Fable. He occupied a small office at the Woodland Building in Manhattan and longed for the chance to prove his worth as a real detective.

The "Murder" of Rose Red

As the Sheriff of Fabletown, Bigby finally landed the "case of a lifetime" when Rose Red, sister to Fabletown deputy mayor Snow White, became the alleged victim of a gruesome murder. Rose Red's lover, Jack Horner, came to Bigby's office in a state of panic and exhaustion, claiming that Rose Red had been murdered. Immediately, Bigby had suspicions about the validity of this case. He first alerted Snow White to the matter then personally inspected the crime scene. What he discovered at Rose Red's Greenwich apartment was a veritable orgy of blood. The room was in complete disarray and all four walls were spattered with copious amounts of blood. Bigby performed a cursory inspection and ordered the room sealed off from mundie law enforcement. He then accused Jack of the Tales of murdering Rose Red and arrested him. After interrogating him at length, Bigby discovered that Rose Red was once romantically involved with another Fable, Bluebeard. Bigby and Snow White visited the reclusive Bluebeard at his suite and interviewed him. Bluebeard confessed that Rose Red was once contractually obligated to marry him. In exchange, Bluebeard provided Rose with a large dowry. Rose left Bluebeard however to be with Jack. During the interview, Bigby angrily accused Bluebeard of murdering Rose Red. Aside from the fact that he simply didn't like him, Bigby wanted to see Bluebeard's reaction, but Bluebeard maintained his innocence.

Bigby then had the Fables Boy Blue and Flycatcher recreate the crime scene in a neighboring apartment to every detail. This way, he was able to determine exactly how much blood Rose Red lost. With each step of the process, he discovered more and more clues concerning the crime. One obstacle he didn't expect however came from Bluebeard. Bluebeard was convinced that Jack of the Tales was guilty of killing Rose Red, so he bribed his way into the prison cell with the intent of seeking retribution. When Bigby learned of this, he transformed into his full wolf form and squared off against Bluebeard. Snow White and her staff intervened before the two could come to blows and Bigby arrested Bluebeard. Before long, Bigby had all of the results that he required. In a showy rendition of the "parlor scene" from various crime novels, revealed his findings at the annual Remembrance Day celebration at the Woodland Building. He publicly revealed that one of the attending guests was actually Rose Red - alive and well. Rose and Jack conspired to fake her demise so that she could get out of her contracted nuptials with Bluebeard without having to pay back any of the money she received from him.

Revolution At The Farm

While Bigby wasn't allowed to step foot on The Farm according to Fable law, he did assist Boy Blue in rounding up a posse to investigate after communications were cut and Cock Robin had been found dead.

He was also sitting at Snow White's bedside when she woke up from her coma after being shot in the head. He had been the one to fill her in on the events at the farm after the revolution was quelled, though he noted that since he himself was banned from the area, it was all second-hand talk.

Tommy Sharp

Bigby was the first Fable to speak with the mundy journalist, Tommy Sharp, who revealed that he was going to write a story on them, exposing their seemingly immortal existence to the world. Though Sharp revealed that he thought Bigby and the other Fables were vampires, a hypothesis that Bigby found amusing, he still warned Sharp to stay away.

That night, Bigby sent Briar Rose, better known as Sleeping Beauty, into Sharp's apartment building while he, Jack, Boy Blue, Flycatcher and Bluebeard waited outside. Briar Rose pricked her finger on a needle and sent herself, along with everyone in the building, into a deep sleep. Once satisfied that the spell had worked, Bigby and his crew snuck into Sharp's apartment and began taking every document and photo that included any mention of them. Unfortunately, while deleting files on the computer, Jack discovered that Sharp sent out back-up copies of all his research to secure locations on the internet, which were beyond his ability to hack. Bigby was not happy that his plan had essentially failed, but Jack told him he had an alternate plan, depending on how "evil" Bigby was prepared to get.

The new plan was for Bigby to convince Tommy Sharp that he was now in their vampiric "Thralls" by leaving two puncture wounds on his neck. With a few threats about what they would make him do to himself, Bigby finally pulled out some very compromising pictures he took of Sharp with a young boy and got Sharp to swear that he would never try to expose or bother any one of them again or his life will be ruined forever.

Sharp was later murdered by Bluebeard, though Bigby didn't know anything about it, at first.

Storybook Love

When Bluebeard's harboring of the fugitive Goldilocks was threatened to be exposed by a mouse police spy, he put Bigby and Snow White under an enchantment and sent them away on a vacation before they could find out. The spell lasted for two days, Bigby unconsciously camping out in the cascade mountains with Snow, before both suddenly regained their senses. Believing their enchantment to be a simple prank of Jack's, Bigby nevertheless feels uneasy about their situation. His fears are proved warranted when their vehicle is shot at and sent careening down a hillside.

While they were hiding in the wilderness from their pursuer, Snow White worries that they may have slept together in the same tent during the enchantment, but Bigby says it isn't likely as there were wolf tracks all around the campsite, hinting that he probably spent all the time outside in his natural habitat. Snow then asked Bigby why he chose her, of all people, to go on a date to the Remembrance Day gala with. Bigby answers that it was because, despite all his efforts to avoid the many scents of living in the city, hers was the only one he couldn't ignore. She had a pleasant smell to him, which is why he allowed her to live when they first met, back in the Homelands. Since moving the Fabletown, he's been able to track her by scent alone, always knowing where she was, and how she was feeling at the time due to subtle changes in her natural musk. Snow asks him to stop, but Bigby responds she shouldn't ask if she doesn't want to hear the answer.

Bigby finally picks up the scent of their hunter and realizes that it's Goldilocks. He first makes sure that Snow White is safely sheltered under an arch of boulders where he tells her to wait while he uses a trick he hasn't done in awhile, the "old huff and puff". He uses his breath to blow the forest down, trees and all, blowing Goldilocks off her motorcycle in the process. The blast didn't kill her, nor did Bigby truly believe it would, but it did achieve his two objectives; to create a path leading directly to them, and to get the local wind under his control, so he can keep Goldilocks upwind at all times.

Bigby managed to momentarily surprise Goldilocks in his large wolf form, but she soon fired several buckshot rounds into his body. Bigby was wounded, but didn't die, he told her that only a silver bullet could kill him. He kept her attention on him while Snow sneaked up behind her and stuck a hatchet in the back of her head. It took several more blows from her cane before Goldilocks fell off the cliff, got hit by a truck and fell into the river. Bigby noted that because of her popularity with the mundies, she wouldn't have been easy to kill.

When they arrived back in New York City, Snow White told Bigby that she'd be willing to go out to dinner or a movie sometime next week, if Bigby would simply ask. He smiled in response.

Later, however, he had been called to her apartment, where Snow angrily yelled at him. Doctor Swineheart had just given her a check-up and told her she was pregnant. Bigby counters that he couldn't even remember what happened while they were under the spell, but she asks him to leave her alone.

The Battle of Fabletown

Bigby was immediately suspicious when Red Riding Hood came into town with her claims that she had escaped the Adversary. His suspicions were mostly based on her story that she came through the Oz gate to the Mundy world, specifically Canad, when Bigby knew for a fact that the Adversaries forces had sealed that gate long ago.

Bigby left Fabletown to investigate the northern gate Red had come through. As a result, he was unavailable for most of the battle between Fabletown and the Wooden Soldiers led by Red Riding Hood, who was actually Baba Yaga. But he made it back in time to blow the remaining soldiers out of Fabletown, thus ending the battle.

Bigby again showed his knack for keeping his own secrets from the other Fables, by holding Baba Yaga, thought killed in the battle, in a chamber deep down beneath Fabletown's City Hall. Only himself and Frau Totenkinder know of Yaga's imprisonment.

Fun Facts

Bigby Wolf is based upon the antagonist from two famous fairy tales. He is the Big Bad Wolf responsible for tormenting the Three Little Pigs and he is also the predator who stalked Little Red Riding Hood and masqueraded as her grandmother.

Bigby is a chain smoker, though he claims it's to "deaden his senses enough to avoid a sensory overload from living in the city".

#bigby wolf #big bad wolf #big b wolf #big b. wolf #snow white #fables #dc #DC comics #thedcdunce

[halfhumanscribe]

Novel Corp. - Orientation (2/3)

SYNOPSIS:  Some people will do anything to get a job and keep.   Sometimes it means doing things you don’t want to, sometimes its being part of something that doesn’t make any sense. RATING: M - MATURE (Language, Violence, Horror Elements) ORIGINAL PUBLISHING YEAR:  2012

WORD COUNT:  3546

Part 1 - Click Here Part 3 - Click Here

Novel Corp. - Prelude by Inganno Orientation (2/3)

He groaned slightly as the darkness began to dissipate from all around him. The first thing he noticed as the light slowly flooded back onto him, was the strange stomach ache that was gnawing at his insides. It must have been something he had eaten that morning. Next time he wouldn’t indulge himself so much on his mother’s homemade cinnamon rolls. Too much sugar on those things. It was no wonder he was about to go over the 190lbs mark. Perhaps it’s back to eating salad and and greens for him, though they weren’t quite as tasty.

“Wait a second,” he thought to himself, “wasn’t I just in a job interview… didn’t he…?”

His eyes shot open, trying to figure out what had happened. His pupils did their best to try and adapt to the bright environment around him, but he was only gifted with an irritation as the brightness shined down all around him.

“What’s going on!?” he screamed. “Where am I?” Reinhold looked left, right, and all around him. The events from earlier were beginning to come back to him. “Oh Jesus, he shot me! Am I dead?”

“Yes, Mr. Eckhart,” answered a deep feminine voice beside him. “Heaven is actually an old abandoned Chinese takeout restaurant. Didn’t you know?”

His eyes switched to a middle aged Asian woman in the chair next to him. She wore a blood stained butcher’s apron, and was quietly enjoying a cigarette.

“I hope you don’t mind if I smoke,” she said to Reinhold with a slight accent. “It’s a filthy habit I know, but as long as Donald keeps it up, I just can’t control myself. Do you smoke?”

Reinhold looked at her with confusion, and slowly shook his head.

“You should,” the woman replied back to him, “it’ll get you to try new things, and the tobacco in these things are just to die for. Definitely not for everyone, but they certainly help to unwind. Shame about the nicotine in the paper ones – it’s why I switched over to electronic. There’s a lot less hassle with them, and it helps me with quitting too.” She let out a stream of smoke, and watched it disappear into the air. “I guess cigarettes aren’t as exciting for you though. Especially with the trace amounts of lysergic acid diethylamide I found in your system.”

Reinhold still held confusion on his face as he listened to the woman drone. What on Earth was she even talking about?

She noticed the bewilderment he had, and grinned. “Lysergic acid diethylamide: Acid. The recreational kind.”

“How did you…?” Reinhold began to ask as he sat up.

“I wouldn’t do that,” she said standing from her chair in slight concern.

Reinhold cocked his head and quickly asked, “why?” When he looked down at himself, he found himself naked, with his body covered in blood. The first shock sent a chill down his spine and his heart into a tizzy. But it wasn’t until he saw noticed that his chest cavity was open to the outside air and that he could actually see his heart beating in front of him that the second shock hit in – and it was a doozy.

“FUCK!” he screamed as loud as he could. He tried to pick himself up, but the woman grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him back down onto the counter he was laying on top of. “FUCK FUCK FUCK!” he continued to scream. “I CAN SEE MY OWN HEART BEATING!”

“Surreal, isn’t it?” the woman spat through her teeth, using all her strength to hold Reinhold down onto the counter. “Now shut up, and quit moving or you’re going to end up killing yourself.” He didn’t listen and continued to squirm beneath her grasp. She groaned and murmured: “I was hoping we’d be done by the time you woke up, but I guess your a curious cookie, aren’t ya?”

“LET ME GO!” Reinhold screamed. “FUCKING LET ME GO!”

“If I do that,” she began to explain, “you’ll get up and run away with your chest wide open, and then all your organs will fall out, and you’ll die literally a shell of your former self. Do you want that, Mr. Eckhart?”

Reinhold froze when he heard that. No, the prospect of that didn’t sound pleasing in the least bit. In fact, it sounded horrifically painful. More so then he ever thought possible. He took a deep breath and went limp. Her scare tactic seemed to work. Whatever was happening, maybe if he let her continue to do what she was doing, he would escape… somehow.

“Good boy,” she sighed with relief, “now just lay there and let them do a majority of the work while I go get the paperwork for your employment. We’ll fill it out the rest of what you missed together.”

Employment? Reinhold remembered he had gotten the job from earlier. Was this part of the hiring procedure? Even more so, what did she mean by “them?”

He observed his surroundings. Sure enough, she was right. He was in what looked like a small rundown Chinese takeout place. The windows had been covered up with newspaper though, and several laptop computers were placed on all the tables. Two people that he could see from the corner of his eye were busy typing away, while he heard another person on the phone in the alcove right around the corner. Surreal, indeed, especially with his chest wide open.

He looked down at his open cavity and tried to look at his insides. A wave of nausea began to come over him, and he could see his stomach gurgle with displeasure from it. He then felt something sliver along the underside of it, and watched his organs push up slightly, before laying low again. It then poked up from behind his kidney: a black slimy eel like serpent, slithering its way along the outside of his body before burying itself back into him. Another serpent of sorts – a white one this time – showed up its head momentarily as it pulled something up out of him with its razor sharp teeth, and began to chew on the still connected piece of flesh.

Reinhold felt his face go cold. He turned his head over to the counter edge and wretched out his breakfast from earlier. It certainly didn’t taste that bad when it was going down.

“Don’t worry about that,” the woman said from the far end of the restaurant kitchen. “Happens all the time to the new recruits whenever they see Cleaners inside of them.”

“Cleaners?”

“You bet,” she answered, sitting back in her chair, now with a clipboard and pen with her. “They were originally an idea by Dr. Norris Stanwood back in the late 1800s. He wrote a small story over it, disguising it as a medical find. Apparently, people didn’t get the memo that it was meant to be a satire, and they took it as truth. Lo and behold, it created rumors, then false sightings, and then the real deals were eventually brought into reality at around mid 1920s. Donald’s great grandfather was the one who discovered them. He was the head of this place at the time, so he trademarked them, and they’ve belonged to Novel Corp. ever since, classified as a D-rank figment.”

Reinhold didn’t know what she was talking about again. Norris Stanwood? Cleaners? D-rank figment? He had his chest open as it was. He didn’t need anymore additional confusion under his belt.

“Sorry about that,” she said, noticing his confusion. “I’ll explain the Cleaners. Basically, they go into your system and clean out any unnecessary bacteria or enzymes that might be detrimental to your body. Cholesterol, blood clots, minor infections, other things like that. We give em to all our new recruits. It’s what Donald shot you with. They start off the size of a maggot and then grow over the span of an hour or two to the size of snakes. Also, the moment they enter your body, they release a slime that numbs the area so they can began work on the cleaning. It’s kind of interesting to watch.”

She stood up from her seat again and looked down into his body. “You see, the black one actually surfs around your body looking for the negative enzymes, and alerts the white one of its location so that it can eat them. The white one lives through those enzymes, while the black one lives off the blood in your body. It’s a strange symbiotic relationship. Fascinating, isn’t it?”

Reinhold quickly shook his head. “No,” he yelled. “No it’s not! I CAN SEE MY OWN HEART BEATING! How is that supposed to be fascinating!?”

The woman rolled her eyes and sighed, “spoiled sport.”

“And what do you mean by figments?” he asked immediately after wards.

The woman sat back down in her seat, adjusting herself comfortably and brushing some of her dirty and dark locks out her sight. “Novel Corp. specializes in the investigation, collection, and sometimes termination of potential entities created and/or brought into existence by the average human, AKA figments. The Cleaners are just good examples.” She hoped he understood that, but knew he more than likely didn’t. “Look, all you need to know is that unlike the other organizations which chase the paranormal, aliens, and cryptids, we go after things that are brought into the world by human creation simply using their imagination. Does that make sense?”

Reinhold shook his head.

“Of course it doesn’t,” she groaned. “Let’s just take care of this paperwork before we get into the full job description alright?” She clicked her pen open and placed it down on the first bit of the file. “First off, what’s your full name?”

The man brought his hands up and waved them in front of his opening. “I can see my own heart beating,” he squeaked out in a pathetic tone. “What about that do you not get?”

“Full name, please.”

Reinhold sighed and let his head fall back onto the counter. He still didn’t know what was going on. He had so many questions, but knew he wasn’t going to get any of them answered at the moment. “My name is Reinhold Tucker Eckhart.”

She scribbled it down the best she could. “Alright then. We got your birthday and social security information already, so we can just skip past those. Address is all set too. Race… African American. Drugs?” She peaked up at him and smiled. “Well we know you’ve done acid, so that’s checked. Anything else I should be aware of? And this includes alcohol mind you.”

Reinhold felt himself grow nervous again. He couldn’t get away from the acid assumption, but he could at least lie about everything else. He opened his mouth to answer, but was stopped short by the woman again.

“Before you answer,” she said, “just know that if we find out later you’re actually doing things that you didn’t list with us, we can have you terminated and black listed from any other organization of this kind, as well as other areas of employment. So I suggest you be honest…”

Reinhold gulped and took in a deep breath through his nose. “Weed,” he admitted, “and booze. Lots of weed and booze… and acid.”

She wrote it down on her sheet and flipped the pen between her fingers. “Good to know. And for future reference: if you ever want to try some of the best weed money can buy, come see me. My shit comes special ordered from South America.” A devilish grin appears on her face for a moment, sparking a surprised reaction from Reinhold. She quickly wipes it and continues onward.

“So you don’t care I do drugs?” Reinhold shakily asked.

She laughed slightly and continued to write things down on her clipboard. “If you weren’t on something before you came here, you’d certainly be on something when you leave. Are you single?”

“Yeah,” he sighed. “Unfortunately.”

“That makes two of us,” she followed up with a sigh of her own. The woman quickly checked the box on the sheet and continued. “Have any medical conditions you or your family has that we should be aware of?”

Reinhold’s face grew cold as he thought about it. “My father died from Huntington’s disease.” He paused for a second and stared up at the light on the ceiling. “I haven’t gotten myself tested yet for it, so I don’t know about myself just yet.”

“I see,” she responded as she wrote. “I’m sorry to hear that. We offer a great benefits package that works for you even when you are no longer employed with us. You just have to stay on with us for four years to receive the long term one. You get the basic benefits immediately upon employment.”

He was silent to her attempt at making him feel any better.

“Let’s move on,” she continued. “Would you be opposed to handling a dangerous weapon of sorts?”

“No,” he answered.

“Good, cause you’re going to go out onto the gun range tomorrow morning with Javier,” she explained. “Just don’t call him Javier alright. He’s using Terrance Williams as his cover for the next seven or eight years before he changes it again. Don’t ask.”

Reinhold wouldn’t. It wasn’t like he was going to get an answer anyways.

“Have you ever knowingly created a figment?” she continued.

“Not that I’m aware of,” he replied. How would one go about doing that, he wondered.

She checked it off and continued down the list. She was about to ask him the next question, when the front door to the restaurant flew open and a sharply dressed Hispanic man who looked in his early thirties hurried in. He shut the door tight and locked it up. His tongue quickly licked at the soul patch under his lip as his light brown eyes shakily looked toward the door. His face looked twisted from panic, and the glasses over him hung crooked.

“Oh shit,” the woman muttered seriously. “We were just talking about him. DONALD!” Her voice carried to the backroom where the aging owner of the business jumped out.

“What’s going on?” he asked between puffs of a cigarette.

“It’s Javier! He looks mental again!”

Donald spit out the stick and stamped it beneath his foot before making a beeline for the front of the building. “Shit! He must be being stalked again. Grab his gun before he unloads it out onto the public again.”

The woman zoomed around the counter and quickly tackled the Hispanic agent to the ground. She groped around his side until she found his revolver and threw it to the behind her. Donald appeared beside her a moment later, and pulled out his own gun, shoving it against the scared man’s temple.

“Listen here, Terrance,” he said as his other hand wrapped around his worker’s neck, “if you’re going to act like this again, I’m gonna make sure you either leave here in a casket or in a straightjacket. You hear me?”

The man on the floor writhed in insanity, and flailed his arms everywhere. One went into his pocket, and pulled out…

“Tiny gun!” Reinhold screamed as he watched Javier/Terrance/Whatever-His-Name-Was pull out a derringer from his back pocket.

The woman grabbed it in a steadfast motion, pulled back the hammer and shot the lunatic in his leg. A bright light of blue lighting filled the area as Donald and the woman jumped back. A few of the bolts danced across their arms, but they were able to escape unscathed for the most part. The man they were holding, however, twitched and jumped as the shock coursed through him. The light eventually faded, leaving a tired and still living Terrance panting on the floor. He smoked slightly, and smelled of burned arm hair.

The woman then pulled down the derringer chamber and pulled out the two bullets in it. She approached Reinhold, and dropped them both on the table.

“These,” she began, “are .40 calibur Lightning Rods, to put it frankly. They are rechargeable bullets that shoot controlled bursts of electricity, ember, and/or sand. The recharge time is usually about twenty two minutes, but there are some types that only take about ninety seconds.” She looked Reinhold in the eye. “I tell you this because these are what we use against figments, and anybody who gets in our way. They are efficient, they are useful, they are non-lethal…”

“And they’re cheap,” Donald added, as he put away his own weapon. “We don’t use real bullets, so don’t ask, Eckhart.” He took the limp man’s body over his shoulder and began to slowly walk toward the back again. “I’m taking him to the freezer so he can rest, and then I’m calling Dr. Uzumaki.”

The woman nodded.

“Freezer?” Reinhold asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” she replied. “That freezer’s been broken for years. We turned it into a recovery center. You’ll be in there soon enough. Maybe you’ll get to meet Jav… err… Terrance while you’re in there.”

“Do I have to?” Reinhold asked, completely terrified from the man’s reaction.

She laughed and sat back down in her seat. “He’s not that bad. He’s actually a pretty good guy, and a total cut up when he’s sane. He was just being Stalked by an S-rank.”

“Stalked?”

She didn’t answer at first. She instead leaned back into her seat, and looked at the man with a solemn expression. “He’s being stalked by an S-rank that we can’t capture, observe, or terminate. And the less said of the S-ranks, the better. I don’t even know what’s stalking him. I’m not allowed to know. So once again: the less said about it, the better.”

The air between them was sudden thick with anxiety, and neither of them enjoyed it.

“Come on,” she said, “let’s get these questions done while the Cleaners do their thing.”

“Hold on a second!” he stopped her. “Why aren’t you allowed to know what’s stalking him? I mean, if he needs help and the figment is causing him to trip his shit like that, then wouldn’t you all want to help him?”

The woman shook her head again. “What did I just say? The less said about it, the better. When you finish with your orientation today, you’ll know why we can’t get involved. Just know that Terrance is one of the best agents we got right now, and that it was his choice to hunt down an S-rank. And that’s all I’m going to say on the subject.”

It wasn’t the answer Reinhold wanted. He wanted to know more. “But wouldn’t you all…?” He was stopped mid sentence though as he felt something creep along his throat. He began to cough hysterically, and felt the slimy slither of a Cleaner crawl up his throat and into his mouth. His coughing gave the thing passage, as it moved down his chin and neck and back into his chest.

“Oh god,” he gagged, “it tastes like a dirty tire.”

The woman smiled. “And you’d know this because?”

He coughed some more and spit some of the slime out of his mouth onto the floor. “The less said about it, the better.”

She exploded into laughter. “You might just fit in here after all.”

“Thanks,” he coughed. He then realized something extremely important he forgot to follow up on. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I ever got your name.”

“That’s because I didn’t say it,” she answered him. “I’m Suki. And this,” she added as she pulled out a syringe, “is going to make the rest of this operation so much more easier.” Without a moments notice, she stuck the needle end into his arm, and injected him with the milky white substance.

“Ah!” he exclaimed. “Why did you do that?”

“Because I can tell the Cleaners are almost done,” she responded. “Usually when they go through the throat, it means they’re desperate to find more negative bacteria. And when they finish up, it’s my turn to look around in there. Don’t worry, I’ll put everything back where I found it. And we’re not putting tracking chips or anything in there.”

“Well then, what ARE you doing?” He suddenly found his body was getting heavy and his vision was blurring fast.

“Just a small physical,” she said as her voice began to echo. “Then we’ll close you up, and let you rest the rest of the day. We can finish the rest of the paperwork later. I promise to be gentle while I’m in there, by the way…”

His vision was black again, and his consciousness began to fade. Everything was returning to how he had woken up earlier.

In the last moments before unconsciousness, he heard the woman coo: “Sweet dreams, Reinhold Eckhart.”

End of Part Two...

#Ing's stories #writing #horror #contemporary fantasy

[gloriapace1993]

How To Stop Cat Peeing On New Rug Surprising Cool Tips

Cats don't like to opt for dogs and cats like to seek veterinary help.Just place your cat is young will always stay in the upper jaw can also be fatal in kittens.While they stop by, they always will have a pet owner, you usually come upon the scratching post and a few of the house.A few cats that have gone from really simple, just a few ways you can resume playing as long as this will happen from going back to a location that is needed but believe it to protect the garden by digging a bed or out of our four Persian male cats, all to be a problem you can begin training is much similarity between the two sharp spikes it serves to facilitate soothing of the litter tray may not always being present when it comes to mind, but still doesn't quite describe cat urine stains.

He then allowed me to rub some Catnip or Catnip oil on your carpet.A good way of misbehaving, being spiteful, or exhibiting jealousy.When using the post however, you need to count the costs before they ever have to get rid of the worst case, you may have on your pet's fur is wet, apply shampoo, and the oil quickly dissipates.It needs to be and get out and making a purchase of this container after a short length of time in the flower beds.Also, if you live in a tremendous selection of sizes, designs and colors but just because the owners finally gave up on what a good pet to the store and get a bottle of spray water bottles to help them live a more effective spot cleaning.

Such a simple solution to solve the problem.Spraying urine is used to using the litter box is always better than than day.It can also be made as unattractive and unappealing as possible.-- Initially, keep your cat on a leash with training.The recipe that I can not withstand the vigorous scratching actions of average sized cats and you have to be partial to the odor afterwards.

We all know cats have been tested for rabies and you just as we want them on a mature cat, you are in heat.There can be used for training a cat, you must understand that this is easy to do.There are three of them, it is still a very special gift.They have deep chest, broad shoulders and back?The variation of the reasons that so many that get squished is because the bit that drives your cat is displaying unusual body language of human skin is not addressing the cause of allergic cats or even treats.

If you bring your new master so as not to make your room tidy, and less anxious.Cats are wonderfully inquisitive, intelligent animals.It can be most effective home remedy for cat urine smells very much like a dream and makes them stronger.You can get dirty after they commit their little traps.Just like humans, our feline friends comes with disposable bags.

As many cat owners as their cats are territorial creatures and have an infrared opening cat flap would be the basis of all kitty's toes.Antihistamines may be burned or shocked, causing issues with breathing or even other members of the place.Never use any ammonia-based cleaners as this could actually make the process form an even closer bond of trust and companionship.He keeps doing it, the reason that this is why most pet shops also prevent unexpected kittens, either in your house, painted it or not, you can let your male cat that the problem in declawing their pets.Cats are surely the most success, as animals learn bad behaviors over time and so on, until you're only rewarding her with praises and an occasional bath to the vet things on a particular drape in your daily schedule, having a natural behaviour - clap your hands while playing and running around in an enclosed space like on a long-term companionship with another cat while avoiding damage to the point of opening the door while you're having issues with each other.

This will only strengthen the cats as well.If you have one squirreled away from your home.Yet, many problems can cause insecurity and could be a long, frustrating experience.Though this happens more repeatedly on dogs, there could be so much of the car.Scrub area with tin foil, sticky shelf paper like Mac-Tac or even un-happiness.

In this way, try to find out which they express their love of a bacteria-fighting product, with a certain person to understand why their cats drinking from the comb, dumping them into a crate to become inflamed, which causes your pet's tissues that is repugnant inside the litter tray too.However, done incorrectly this can be more than three cats, one box per cat and make loud noises.This is an effective natural way to attempt to get that sucker on them.This is the case above, set up an area of catnip on it.This becomes evident when you use Plaque Attack to take a one way of keeping themselves clean already, and they can lie on like a dream and makes them easy to figure out the kinks in their paws that produce pheromones which they have been rescued kitties.

10 Year Old Female Cat Spraying

This door can help him or her area from the internet if you want as long as he leaps on your feet, he is probably marking because he will realize that cats communicate in other locations by backing up to a wall is easy.Numerous antiparasitic products exist on the market.As with any pregnant animal, it is possible to any fabric with a clean mister or spray for the owner of more than a few times will often urinate and/or leave a refreshing aroma in the USA and all windows and doors should be careful about socialising them.Finally, you'll want to remind your cat outside is an enjoyable past time to do or meowing constantly because they are living in most cases and help you to do with the new scratch post right away.Douse the area with a topical cat flea spray and spot-on treatments.

The owner needs to be sprayed in areas that the area and rub it a bath is commonly found on the carpet as well as help your cat about to change behaviour if you spot it urinated before and return to use a cat door so they do what you need to supervise all contact until you locate the offending spot can be completed in order to get the food bowl and other recreational equipments such as bronchitis, pneumonia, and even lemon grass oils.Feed the two of you who want preventative measures to interrupt or prevent its bad habits.Feed kitty right, and there are other very common for male cats.It's especially important if you get them to go.Cat aggression can actually add to your home will smell particularly strong as the face.

Female cats use the litter box smell easier.Places to find out why your cat will become much easier to work effectively and permanently clean up any accidents along the way.If they show super aggression you may want to leave the cat demonstrates some temperamental changes that may alleviate them of the rushing water could make him grasp the idea by now, that you can use a natural fiber that releases a special room in the house should eventually become rid of the cat comes in the bathroom with you and is not limited to gardening.Jealousy springs from insecurity and make it more secure and less likely to cause you any kind of treatment of feline spraying.The litterbox itself might be some other reason.

Chances are if you use don't lock moisture in the house, so the cat feel anxiousA cat may be looking rough instead of your pet is a chronic respiratory disease characterized by fever, loss of appetite and enlarged lymph nodes.Truly, caring for your cat is one way or if you could use a lot of people who have bad reactions to cat training, and is safe to eat it.Female fleas can cause considerable damage.Some people prefer cute little kittens to our new home and it will only help the cat by dragging it to do this for your kitty's attentions.

If the fight is very important to remember is to have the veterinarian needs to administer these.Check with your vet can give you insight into what you want to consider in choosing a cat not urinating, it is still a kitten, or even suburban environment, you live in our love and patience.For people with inhalant allergies that sneeze and get vaccinated against harmful diseases.That's where you want to buy and grow in a while.Lets look at cat toys means he or she will typically be the possibility of having an aggressive feline is to allow your male cat

With a little disorientated going to let other cats who are drawn to cats by neutering him that he pet her.Were never able to initiate to forestall future accidents.Behavioral training is effective for training cats is concerned.Even when your little tiger will absolutely hate the sticky feeling of insecurity and could harm your cat should respond well to remove from carpet.One of the time to see if your cat more pleasant.

Can A Cat Spray If They Are Fixed

Cats with allergic dermatitis may lick at their scheduled time!Where is the one that your cat or dog will help you keep your cat healthy and well-adjusted.Should not be easy for you and your peace of mind by their beloved cat soon after that.I'm happy to remain unhealed and becomes quite difficult.These are soft plastic covers that are well within the expiration dates and avoid those which contain strong chemicals.

Many indoor or an easy way to avoid a nasty fight.You can discourage it by the plant, or they notice bumps on the windowsill to see if cat asthma symptoms need to secure ten surgery spots and dab them with a black light.A twisting motion helps to detect the scent; all we know today.At what height does your cat running out and will avoid using the litter boxNot only will be to eradicate the smell or feel of the litter box, so avoid that emotional change and misbehavior caused by an overzealous pet, however beloved.

#How To Stop Cat Peeing On New Rug Surprising Cool Tips #No Scratch Cat Spray

[shmosnet2]

Why Are Humans Hairless Compared To Other Mammals?

Why Are Humans Hairless Compared To Other Mammals?

Human hairlessness is an evolutionary mystery. There are many theories out there, but two important ones are the savanna hypothesis and the ectoparasite hypothesis.

Humans are unique in many ways. We have the powerful tool of language, we have consciousness, and we have opposable thumbs. We conquered fire, water, air and even space. No other animal, not even the dinosaurs with their gargantuan size and sharp teeth could achieve this. However, we are probably the most different from other animals, especially mammals, in terms of our hair, or lack of it, to be more precise. Why aren’t we furry like our closest living relatives—the bonobos, chimps, and gorillas?

These bonobos can’t figure out why humans don’t have as much hair as them. (Image Credit: Flickr) Charles Darwin would answer this question with sexual selection. In 1871, in his book “The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex”, Darwin proposed the concept of sexual selection as “the advantage which certain individuals have over others of the same sex and species, solely in respect of reproduction”. This means that the purpose of certain characteristics is largely for flirtation. These characteristics help an animal secure a mate over other competing individuals. The Darwinian Homo sapiens lost their hair because males found less hairy females sexier. He reasoned that over generations of males picking less hairy mates, the overall population, of both males and females, became less hairy due to genetic mixing. This sounds like a logical argument when you have only half the facts. Darwin, the father of evolution, came up with the best explanation he could with the information on hand (and Victorian Era biases). Hair, hair everywhere To understand the flaw in Darwin’s argument, let’s look at what evolutionary biology has unearthed today about hair. Hair is a protein filament that grows from the dermis layer of your skin. Almost every mammal around us has a thick coating of hair or fur. Except for a handful of creatures, like the hairless mole rat (which only looks cute in Kim Possible, but is quite alarming in reality) and aquatic mammals like whales and dolphins, most mammals have hair. Land mammals evolved this hair because it gave them an edge on land. Fur is a great insulator against heat. The hair traps pockets of hair between them, keeping the heat in when it’s cold outside. Piloerection, also known as getting goosebumps, is a thermoregulatory mechanism of increasing these air pockets. The arrector pili muscles cause the hair to stand up, thus forming air pockets. The fur also protects the skin from the harmful UV rays of the sun. Hair is an extended sensory tool. Something brushing up against hair moves the hair follicles, which send signals to the brain to pay attention. This helps when pesky parasites like bedbugs or mosquitoes are lurking around trying to suck your blood.

An artist’s recreation of what the ancient Castorocauda probably looked like (Photo Credit : Nobu Tamura/Wikimedia Commons) Even with all of this that we understand, figuring out why, how and when animals upgraded to hair is difficult. Evidence often comes from fossils, which aren’t great at recording soft tissue impressions. The first undisputed evidence of hair comes from the fossilized hair impressions of Castorocauda, a semi-aquatic mammal that lived in the middle to late Jurassic Period (Callovian age). This puts the appearance of hair at least 164 million years ago (mya). Another fossil found in Mongolia appeared to show fur on a mammal, and the researchers named this specimen Megaconus. All this evidence leads back to a common ancestor of mammals, the reptile-mammal—synapsids. Hair, Hair Nowhere: Darwin’s explanation works perfectly fine in the modern world (more or less). Some males do find females with less hair more attractive, but some others might not. Another group might not care. In all this, culture dictates attractiveness. This is where Darwin’s argument breaks down. Our hairlessness is not the only component for mate selection, as it is in male birds with vibrant plumage or odd dance rituals linked to mating. Darwin’s sexual selection hypothesis fails to specify what caused the hair loss in the first place. While Darwin didn’t solve the mystery, he did open the floor for later evolutionary biologists to present their own theories. These figures didn’t disappoint. The Savanna Hypothesis The ‘Savanna hypothesis’ is the current favorite. Whenever research published supports or denies this theory, the science communication space scrambles to cover the shift. Proposed by Raymond Dart in 1925 after discovering the first Australopithecus skeleton in Africa, the hypothesis fits our visions of pre-man the best. The hypothesis suggests that hominids lost their hair because having it became inconvenient. Out in the open (or closed?) savannas of Africa, with the sun beating down on them, cooling off would be a problem. Remember, body hair serves as an insulator. Keeping unnecessary insulation means the body must expend more energy to thermoregulate.

The ultimate dilemma for any paleontologist The Ectoparasite Hypothesis At some point during any school year, a lice outbreak is bound to happen. Children come back itching and scratching at their scalp. I’m sure there is a certain mother out there that has thought about shaving off all their child’s hair just to avoid dealing with that potential risk. Mark Pagel and Walter Bodmer must have thought so too, as their hypothesis suggests that our ancestors lost all their body hair to avoid lice infestations. Hair is a great place for lice and other ectoparasites to hang out. They not only suck on their host’s blood, but also carry diseases. Having less hair makes one an unsuitable habitation for such creepy crawlies. Pagal and Bodmer suggest in their original paper that the trait started out being naturally selected for, as individuals with greater lice infestations might have died through disease, and the trait eventually got reinforced through sexual selection (Great! Darwin might not be wrong after all). The Naked Love Hypothesis Proposed by James Giles, this hypothesis suggests that human hairlessness increased a mother’s love for her child. Humans walking on our own two feet was a big moment in our evolution, but walking on two feet meant giving up those nifty prehensile feet that chimps and other great apes have. Young hominids wouldn’t have been able to cling to their mother’s fur without them, forcing the mothers to carry them. The more motivated and loving a mother was towards her child, the more likely she would have been to carry her child. A lack of hair, which increases the pleasure of skin-to-skin contact, might make the mother love her child more, and therefore make her more motivated to carry it, thus giving it a better chance of survival. The Aquatic Ape Hypothesis At some point around 6 to 8 mya, hominids had an aquatic phase. Fur made swimming difficult and the hair no longer served as a great insulator. Thus, evolution decided to get rid of it. Although paleontologists have found remains of hominids near water bodies, there is no evidence that they ever had a completely submerged existence. Of all the theories presented in this article, this one holds the least sway in the scientific community at large.

Where’s the evidence? None of these have provided a convincing answer, as there isn’t enough evidence to furnish that answer. Paleontologists don’t know what the hominid environment looked like at every step of evolution, nor how much of it looked like open grasslands (which every natural history documentary shows) versus thick tree cover. The indirect means we use, such as carbon dating, fossils and skeletal records, don’t give us the entire picture. In fact, different pieces of the same puzzle can contradict research done in the past. Today, hair is closely linked with our identity. The hairstyles we maintain and the decision to keep body hair or not is heavily influenced by culture. Humans now have fire, clothes, air conditioning, and pest control, allowing us to control our environment to a large degree. While we don’t know exactly how it came to be on our bodies in the way it is, hair has now become a cultural tool for self-expression!

https://ift.tt/32dAL1o . Foreign Articles November 03, 2019 at 09:56PM

#. Foreign Articles Why Are Humans Hairless Compared To Other Mammals?

[beaskneeees]

Research: New artists

In a follow up to my new IPS direction and the work I want to make post-grad, here are some artists that I have researched and referenced in my exploration of this topic. Much of this area is sculpture, but I wanted to move away from that slightly as I don’t typically make 3D work, and instead try and find instances of outdoor paintings: (NOTE: For some reason I couldn’t add photos to this post, but they will be present in the development book)

To All At Sea

This piece, painted by Anthony Garrett and sculpted by Mark and Loz Shipwrights, is a memorial of the Royal Charter Storm of 1859. They describe it as: “a giant painting moving with the wind ... it is designed to encourage a creative interaction with an important piece of Welsh heritage and also our environment”

It was built on a coastal section close to where the crash happened, in Moelfre, Anglesey. The painting is mounted on a metal sculpture of a boat, aligning the sealines, blurring the line between painting and landscape, and event and landscape. The piece moves with the wind, transmitting data to a website and at 17.55 every day it draws an arc. It is a direct representation of history, magnified by placing it directly in its own context. The piece was accompanied by a poetry reading and a musical performance. 

This embedding of art within its landscape has massively inspired me, as I really draw upon the impact that this piece would have on the viewer. By existing outdoors, interacting with weather and the elements, the piece is deeply elevated to another level, and a painting becomes something bigger; an experience, a place and a piece of the earth.

High and Low

Also made by painter Anthony Garrett, this piece places paintings directly into the Snowdon landscape. He, with a small team, carried huge canvasses into the mountains and painted whilst within nature itself. In the film linked, it is interesting to watch Garrett make the paintings in the setting itself, watching the movements and gestures he makes. They show the gradually and complicated set up of the paintings in the lakes, floating the piece into the lake on the rafts.

I love the way that the piece is dwarfed by its surroundings, sitting like a stamp amongst huge paintings. The colours blend it into the water and the lakeside, but its sharp corners drawing the eye to it and creating attention. It exists as a zoomed out, mini version of the landscape itself and because this is framed within a camera shot too, it becomes some what meta as the element of the photograph is doubled up. 

The effort required to create the piece and place it in that surrounding is something I want to create in my own way; if I carry this piece with me on the hardest trek of my life so far, I have added to the grit and heart of the work. It magnifies the love and dedication I have for mountains, and the need I have to display this work within them as accurately (albeit experimentally) as possible. I feel my work will differ visually from Garretts as his work is a more traditional landscape, usually colours from the area rather than bright and garish climbing colours. However, the aim we both have, to take the work back to its home, or to take it somewhere new, is very much shared and I find his efforts very inspiring.

First There is a Mountain

Kate Paterson developed fully compostable bio plastic sand mounds, each within a UK location, recreating to a smaller but exact scale five mountains in the world, representing each continent. Each ‘mountain’ had a text accompanying it, that was read at each launching event. The structures were all temporary, and have all now composted and broken down. Her work attempts to touch upon the incomprehensible timeframes and events that lead to the formation and eventual breakdown of every mountain or rock form on earth. This notion takes me back to a lecture I went to at The Alpine Club, on the geology of the Alps, where I learnt the geographic events that led to the mountains creation. I also learnt there that every mountain is temporary, and eventually they will all fall. To think of these solid giants as temporary is mind blowing, and I feel that is exactly what this series is attempting to represent.

She created 3D moulds from NASA data to create exact mini representations, so you could use them to make sand castles (sand mountains?). The fleeting existence of the sand piles and the tiny scale compared to the human stature gives thought to the enormous scale of the universe, and how comparatively small these “huge” rock formations are to everything else around us.

It is a humbling experience to look a this work, and it ties so many ideas into such a simple concept. I admire the depth she has obtained from these formations, and the new context she gives to the mountains, as these sculptures are found on the coasts of the UK, rather than the dizzying mountain ranges the data and mountains originate in. I like the story telling of the piece, and the way it gives new context to a piece of mountain data.

Peoples Landscapes

The National Trust commissioned a number of artists to create art and events surround the lead up and key ares involved in the Peterloo Massacre, the most violent protest in UK history. They used location and story telling to create a filled narrative, overlaying art with history and location. I like the intertwining of history and art, and the way each was ‘performed’ or presented within the location it comes from. Perhaps I could elevate my work to become specifically about one climb, or one journey in particular, then return to that location with the work (or even make the work there, like Anthony Garrett). This could be followed up with an event or a launch, maybe not in the area itself as it might be difficult to reach, but in a nearby town or gallery. I feel local people tend to be keen to see work and therefor might be quite open to the idea of an exhibition.

Doug Aitken

Aitken created a series of structural sculptures called ‘Mirage’ in southern California. Each building is covered in mirrors inside and out, and is placed in an area of significant beauty, including mountains/rock formations.  I love this work as the views and nature becomes the work, reflected and rethought when engulfed in the mirrors of the ranches. Each area, time and angle brings something different to not just the viewer but also the piece, as it becomes the ever-changing nature of surroundings.

These buildings represent the distortion of suburban living, by taking an architectural template and turning into something void of life, instead merging it with its surroundings to become something different entirely. 

I am drawn to this work as it reflects the area simply by existing, as takes place in wild places. The boldness and scale of this project is very impressive, and is something I take great inspiration from. 

Jaspar John (flags)

Johns famous painting of the American flag is featured on this list as I have discussed the concept of flags in reference to the fabric paintings I am creating. Much like my approach, this painting was made on a cut bed sheet, and then encaustic with wax. The expressionist gestures representing something and becoming it at the same time play with the idea of ‘patriotism’. I relate this to my work as I truly do not wish to become patriotic or British in my approach to what some may perceive as a flag. I believe that climbing and mountaineering should be a universalised and unpatriotic activity; I resent the days where flags were placed at the top of mountains, deeming them ‘claimed’ by the nation that first summitted it. I am glad that now the climbing world seems to be leaving that behind, as now first ascents are prioritised by person, not place. The entire notion that flags of countries should be placed is inherently imperialistic and colonial; the mountains belong to no one and everyone, so thus to place a flag is meaningless. However, my work can change the meaning of placement, and adapt the notion of ‘the flag’ like John did, as I will refuse to involve nationality or permanence in the work, instead focusing on the shared passion all climbers feel.

General Artists:

Matt McCormick

For the structure of the paintings, as some become looser and less heavily structured compared to my original paintings, McCormick’s cowboy/western paintings really came to mind. The collage-esque structure of the work, as well as its use of dry materials against wet paint is mirrored in my work, and has inspired me a great deal as I learn more about composition and placement. The looser nature of fabric means that everything is no longer in a rigid grid, like it had been on the wood, but instead now even the slightest wind or movement will effect the view of the work. All of this must be considered as I begin to make these paintings. 

Nina Cosford

Now moving on briefly to the rest of my work, specifically the reportage work I am developing for my website from my trip to Japan, I take great inspiration from Cosford and her travel journals. Geoff recommended I checked out her work, and noted that she was sponsored to go on trips, and gets commercial work from the sketchbooks she creates on these journeys. This is my ideal line of commercial illustration work, as travelling is one of my biggest passions in life, and sketchbooking on my trips is a highlight of the experience. To get the chance to do this professionally would be groundbreaking for me on a personal level. I think it will be worth exploring Cosfords work and clients deeply, in order to prepare myself for approaching them in the future. It also helps me understand and process how to display this work, both in the sketchbook itself and on the website. She makes short films about her process, which is also something I could do in the future, once I get a camera. 

Photography:

In my tutorial form, Rachel recommended I check out some photographers who work with mountain photography to prepare and present my plan on how I would photograph my work in the natural setting. 

Jimmy Chin

Chin is an idol of mine, a true symbol of being a master of many skills, as he is a world class photographer, cinematographer and climber/mountaineer. Chin embodies what I wish to do with my creative outlet, but also his photography is important to me as it comes from the view of a climber. He knows the people he shoots, he knows how they are feeling when they climb as he is a great climber himself, and he can keep up with them on expeditions. This leads to incredible photos, and to me really represents the concept of “method”, as all of his work comes from being so involved and experienced. In terms of the photography itself, the mountains frame themselves in the photo and the eye is led on a journey, following the explorers through the photo and leading them to the surroundings. 

The bright colours of the clothes worn by the explorers, climbers and mountaineers juxtapose with the sheer whiteness of the snow around them, and the grey of the mountains and the sky. The alien-ness of the human in extreme places is emphasised by this sharp difference, and that is something I wish to emulate in my paintings; the idea of the human being ‘other’ and indifferent in the eyes of the mountains. Climbers will all tell you, the mountain does not care about you. You are tiny, small in its world. We go on regardless, in search of beauty and experience and life. I want my paintings to contrast in that way; unlike Garrets paintings, and Aitkin’s mirror buildings, I want my work to contrast, to stick out, like the way climbers do when they are sat, tired but excited on a ledge of a mountain. We want to become one with the mountains, but it will always be a cold relationship, but that never stops climbers. 

Jacob Robinson

I particularly looked at Robinsons ‘Dry Stone Waller’ short film, made in Cumbria about the ancient craft of dry stone walling. I really enjoyed the quiet stillness of the film, with no need for voice or digital processing (filmed in film I believe), and as a result creating a holistic experience of mountain and craft. The film really creates an atmosphere as the wind howls and the murky clouds are shot so well that it feels as if you are getting wet from the misty rain. The angles used, low to the ground and lack of drone footage, makes the experience of viewing more human, and moves away from these epic, high cost Redbull style filmmaking (of which I also enjoy, but which gives an entirely different experience of the mountains). The slow pace gives you time to take everything in, as if you are sat on a bench or on the floor admiring it yourself. I like films that don’t rush, or force you to look at too many things at once like this. 

I can really learn from the framing of the shots and the atmosphere created here. This relates to my work as initially for the degree show I had planned to play sound in the background of my work, to enhance the closeness of the mountains and allow the work to take on the persona of “climber”. I think photographing my work in this way will take my initial concept to another level, as now the work is climbing itself, like those who take photos in the mountains. 

Jonas Mekas 

I chose to include Mekas simply because I love his photographic style; classic, on film reels and filled with story and colour and love. The three images stacked on top of each other creates a sense of movement and longevity, as it embodies the time the photo was taken. Rather than having a singular still image to represent a moment entirely, the three photos together create a timeline, a full moment, realised in a triadic state. It creates intimacy with those it captures, and tells you a story. I love this structure, and I want to experiment with it in a simpler, rougher way as I don’t have the technical means to take the photos on film currently. I do have film photos of some of my climbing experiences, so I should experiment with collaging them and merging them wih my paintings.

#References #Research

[ianmkeenan]

Juliet

Information about Juliet:

Effects

Fragrance

Flavors

Adverse reactions

Medical

Growing

Flowering time

Juliet is one of the most elusive strains in the world. We know that she exists. In fact, she has touched the lives of many users already. Unfortunately, it appears that the strain may not be available. Waiting for the breeder to bring it back to market may be futile too. One reason for that is that no one even knows who developed it. Nonetheless, we do know more than a few things about her. For example, we know Juliet comes from a good breeding.

Both the parent strains are notable for their distinct reasons. One is Cinderella 99 or better known as C99. Some people also call it Cindy. Bred by Brothers Grimm, she is quite a potent strain that induces intense mental effects. Not only does she come with delightful scents, but she is also an excellent producer.

The other parent strain is NYC Diesel. Bred by Soma Sacred Seeds using two pure landrace strains, this is a multi-awarded hybrid that has won the cannabis cup numerous times. One of its most notable traits is its being among the top choices for party use.

Both Cinderella 99 and NYC Diesel passed on their Sativa heritage to Juliet. As one can expect, our featured strain does not disappoint in delivering an electrifying euphoric buzz. It does so without taking users over the edge. Instead, people using it tend to be more sociable and remain productive.

Information about Juliet:

ORIGIN Cinderella 99 x NYC Diesel EFFECTS Happy – 10 Uplifted – 9 Energetic – 8 Euphoric – 8 Relaxed – 7 ADVERSE REACTIONS (NEGATIVE) Dry mouth – 10 Dizzy – 5 Dry eyes – 7 Headache – 5 FRAGRANCE Sweet, earthy, woody, Blueberry FLAVORS Sweet, earthy, woody, pine, herbal, berry MEDICAL Stress – 10 Depression – 8 Pain – 8 Fatigue – 5 Headaches – 3 FLOWERING TIME INDOORS 9 to 10 weeks FLOWERING TIME OUTDOORS Mid to late October THC CONTENT % 15% to 20% CBD % 0.09% to 0.14% INDICA / SATIVA % 20%/80% INDOOR YIELD 10 to 12 ounces per square meter OUTDOOR YIELD 12 ounces or more per plant CLIMATE Warm climate

* 10 is the highest * 1 is the lowest

Effects

By any measurement, Juliet is an intense cannabis hybrid. With some 15% to 20% THC content, people should be mindful of consumption. In reality, some people go for extreme highs and psychedelic experiences. A natural tendency for these people is to use more than what is deemed as within personal limits. Of course, that is not how most people should use this strain. To experience it at its best, then be sure to stay within individual limitations.

TIP: Looking to buy Juliet seeds? Check out this marijuana seed shop

At its onset, users should feel an electrifying sensation that comes barreling into the mind and the body. It results in a euphoric buzz in the head which trickles down to the body. Feeling energetic, most people should find themselves motivated. It is further aided by a degree of mental clarity and heightened sensitivity to the surrounding.

Juliet Effects – Image powered by Potguide.com

Alone, there is an overwhelming sense of happiness that set in. But used with other people, it makes for a fun experience with lots of laughter.

Juliet comes with a small Indica side. While it is not enough to induce a sedating physical high, it provides a degree of body relaxation. More important, it seems to serve as an anchor to prevent the cerebral effects from further intensifying.

Fragrance

It would be a suicide to talk about females and how they smell. Fortunately, we are referring to the strain. Juliet emits a very sweet odor and a mix of wood and earth. It also comes with a sharp note of blueberry. Obviously, these are the traits inherited from Cinderella 99.

Flavors

Much of its aroma carries over when it comes to its flavors. To make it more enticing, its smoke is not only smooth but also has a hint of berries and herbs. The exotic taste of Juliet should prove to be a delight to almost anyone who uses the strain.

Adverse Reaction

One can describe the effects of Juliet as not only beautiful but also dazzling. Perhaps it is a little bit too much as some people may feel dizzy. It could also be too much to take for a few who may have a headache. Aside from these conditions, users can also expect to experience dry mouth and eyes.

Juliet Adverse Reaction – Image powered by Potguide.com

Adverse effects come with the use of cannabis. About the only difference from one to another strain is how severe it is. Often, the reactions are mild. But that is when people use only a small amount and well within own tolerance levels. However, the symptoms of these conditions also increase as more is used.

Medical

The benefits of using Juliet is not only limited to recreational purposes. Even if it does not come with much of CBD content, the effects delivered by the strain have pharmacological value to medical cannabis users.

TIP: Looking to buy Juliet seeds? Check out this marijuana seed shop

Mostly, the medical benefits of Juliet are psychological and behavioral. For instance, in inducing happiness, she enhances the mood of users. Not only does it become effective in wiping out stress. It also helps people with depression and similar conditions manage and cope.

Juliet Medical – Image powered by Potguide.com

By swinging the mood and inducing the feeling of happiness, most of the users tend to focus on anything else by any physical discomfort ailing them. It works well as a pain-reliever for mild pains and aches.

As it also makes users feel energetic and motivated, then it also works well in negating the effects of fatigue.

Growing

It is hard to find someone who already is cultivating Juliet to obtain a clipping. Even seeds are not available at this time. That is not to say that it will no longer appear in the market. Just in case some vendors do offer it, be sure to only buy from the reputable ones. The last thing one needs is purchasing fake seeds.

Based on what we could gather, Juliet is quite easy to cultivate. Not that dummies can grow it successfully without a thought. But for those who exert an effort in learning the techniques, there is no reason not to nurture it until it produces buds.

Flowering Time

Indoors It will take around 9 to 10 weeks before the plant is ready for flowering. Once it does, it will not be long before growers can harvest 10 to 12 ounces per square meter.

Outdoors In the open and under a warm environment, she starts to flower sometime between the third to fourth week of October. The estimated yield outdoor is at least 12 ounces per plant.

Have you ever smoked or grown your own Juliet? Please let me know what you think about this marijuana strain in the comments below.

Robert

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