Basic Cryptozoology - Wednesday - First Period - 7/30

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

Lucky for her class, Abigail Irene Garrett was in fact in a lovely mood for the day. She had a date set for Friday, there was a play on the island which sounded very interesting, and her patchwork terrier Mike was up on her desk, insisting on getting a scritch from under her hand.

"Today, as I told you last week, I'll be asking each of you to present a few minutes on the subject of a creature, perhaps a cryptid, from your own world. I'll start things off for all of us...

[ocd up!]

Comments

A Creature From Your World

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

"The creature I'm presenting today is the Spring-heeled Jack.

"Here is a brief handout (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring_Heeled_Jack) on the cryptid which I found in my research on this world. However, the Spring-heeled Jack is very much a reality and a terrible one on my own, a creature I have had to deal with more than once.

"Originally created as the joint work of a demonologist and a necromancer, the 'Jack is made of a human corpse, treated with certain unguents and filled with a specific breed of demon. They don't have the power of flight, despite the wing-like appendages attached to their arms, but as you might have guessed from the name, they can jump tremendous distances.

"They are nocturnal, traditionally, as they can more easily be mistaken for a human being at such a time. They generally feed on prostitutes as their prey is primarily female, but they actually prefer children.

"Despite terrible claws, fangs, and other such impliments which are no doubt an outward manifestation of the demonic in their host body, the creatures do not cause any damage to the bodies of their victims. Rather, their effect is more insidious.

"They devour not the heart, but the soul of the victim. Women attacked by the creature are left as simple piles of biology, vegetables with no mind or care.

"They tend to hunt on their own, but live in nests. The creatures are incredibly toxic to those around their nests; the biproduct of their unique 'diet' causes terrible damage to the hearts and souls of those who live anywhere near these 'nests', bringing out the worst in people and very often bringing about violence and death. It is, unfortunately, one of the easiest ways to find them.

"They are killed using a combination of traditional weaponry and holy water, though as their nature is partially demonic, binding circles can be used effectively against them."

She looked to the person closest to her.

"If there are no questions, you're up next."

Re: A Creature From Your World

[raspberryturk]

Reno stuck his hands in his pockets. Right. A critter from home.

It wasn't like he was lacking for creatures to choose from, here.

"The Malboro," he said, standing up. He wasn't going to be the center of attention sitting down, dammit. "Could be a plant with teeth. Or maybe it's an animal that looks like an artichoke with tentacles. Whatever the hell it is, it's freakin' huge, freakin' smelly, and freakin' nasty. The best thing to do if you see one of these things? Is just don't be anywhere near where you might see one of these things. You probably don't have to worry. Where I'm from, they're really only found in remote places. An underground cave where Banora used to be, and in colder mountain areas. And if you're stupid enough to go wanderin' around the Northern Cave, you probably deserve to be attacked by these things anyhow, yo.

"You'll know a Malboro when you see it, trust me. They're usually green, taller than the average human by at least a half-meter, and mostly round with tentacles at the bottom to move around with, and a giant mouth cuttin' the main body in two with a row of razor-sharp teeth. You don't ever wanna be on that end of the Malboro. The safest place to be if you are stuck in a fight with one is at the rear, hackin' the hell out of it with a sword, if you got one handy. They recoil a bit when you hit 'em from behind. If you're fast enough, you might be able to kill it before it can even manage to turn around.

"If it does turn around? Been nice knowin' you. It's armed with a bunch of freakin' nasty biological attacks aimed at tearin' you down bit by bit, so you die nice and slow before it eats you. What you gotta worry about the worst is its Bad Breath attack."

Reno rolled his eyes and smirked faintly.

"Okay. Sounds like a joke. Give it a breath mint, whatever. That ain't how it works. If you get hit with bad breath, any of a bunch of things can rip you apart. You could be poisoned, put to sleep, stripped of any ability to cast magic against it, or even shrank to a couple of inches tall or turned into a frog."

Yes. Gaia was a weird place.

"If you do happen to be wanderin' around where there are Malboros crawlin' around, a good plan is to bring along accessories to help you fend off the nasty effects of its bad breath. A ribbon'll do just that, yo. And I mean, not your run of the mill freakin' pink ribbon that you can pick up at any slum market. I mean a ribbon. The kind you need ain't easy to come by. You might never see one of 'em your entire life. But they'll protect you from any status issue that might hit you on my world, from that stupid toad thing to petrify to poison, yo. From there, it's probably just a matter of bringin' along breath mints. And a sword."

Re: A Creature From Your World

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

"They certainly sound unique," she said with a faint quirk of surprise. She'd never heard of such a thing. As far as she knew, it was the name of a particular London cigarette.

"Have you encountered them frequently then?"

Re: A Creature From Your World

[raspberryturk]

"Here an' there," Reno replied with a shrug. "Like I said, they're way out in more remote areas. My work takes me that far away from civilization every now and again, but I never really bothered to go chasin' down a malboro before because I felt like it or nothin'. If I get get my job done and avoid 'em, all the better."

Because Reno liked not being dead.

Re: A Creature From Your World

[wannabehunter]

"Changelings," Jo said after a moment. "Pretty nasty characters. They'll replace a child in a family, then feed on the mother until she wastes away. Get between them and you're dead. Fire's the way to go with killing them."

Re: A Creature From Your World

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

"They feed on the mother... that's a rather unique twist from the Changeling I'm familiar with.

"What happens to the child, if you don't mind me asking?"

Re: A Creature From Your World

[wannabehunter]

"Well you see, the changelings that replace the kids are juveniles," Jo explained. "So usually the mother will feed on the kids, so if you catch them in time, things work out a lot better than they could."

Re: A Creature From Your World

[pyroliz.livejournal.com]

Liz had a few photos of Abe Sapien (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abe_Sapien) that she had taken from previous visits at the BPRD, which she showed, "Abe Sapien's an Icthyo Sapien, he appears to be similar to a merman," Liz hoped that Abe wasn't going to be offended by her describing him that way, "as far as the BPRD's aware, he's the only one of his kind back home, he was found in Washington DC with a note that was dated the day of Abraham Lincoln's assassination," she paused, "Abe's a psychic, he can touch an object and see it's past, present and future and he also possesses a frontal lobe that allows him to receive information telepathically,"

Re: A Creature From Your World

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

"He's psychometric, you mean," she corrected with a faint smile. "Psychometric and, as you mentioned, telepathic. And he's certainly an interesting specimen, though I hope you don't think it's rude to call him such. Do you know if he was created or merely the last of a little known race?"

Re: A Creature From Your World

[pyroliz.livejournal.com]

Liz nodded, "he's psychometric," she agreed, "I'm not entirely sure, Abe doesn't really remember much of his previous life before he was found by the BPRD,"

Re: A Creature From Your World

[walks-two-paths.livejournal.com]

"Demons (http://kelleyarmstrong.com/extras/eDemons.htm)," Savannah finally said. "They're quite common in my world. Some are benign, some are not so much. Half-demons are more common in my world than full on demons, but the full-blooded ones are there. Most full-blooded demons show up because someone has been stupid and summoned them for something -- or the demons themselves are trying to find something -- like a woman to be the mother to their child. A half-demon comes into being when a demon male gets a human female pregnant. I have a few close friends and loved ones that are half-demons... and I've also had to go up against enemies that are half-demons." Her eyes darkened slightly as she thought about Leah and the hell she had put people through. "The two most common types of demons are eudemons and cacodemons. Eudemons don't give a damn about mankind at all and usually have very little to do with us. Cacodemons are really bad news."

She took a breath. "As for half-demons, they are broken down into a few main types: Elemental, Dimensional, and Physical. There are sub-groupings beneath that, as well."

Re: A Creature From Your World

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

"Could you expand on one of the two specific types you've mentioned?" she asked with a raise of her head.

Re: A Creature From Your World

[walks-two-paths.livejournal.com]

"The Eudemons and Cacodemons?"

Re: A Creature From Your World

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

"I'm going to present ogres (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ogre)," Ella said, in a calm, clear voice. "In my world, they're not especially large -- about the size of a large man, and males and females alike are bearded and covered in fur -- but make up for that by being very dangerous."

"They travel in small family groups and cook and eat whatever prey they can catch, mostly livestock but humans, elves and goblins as well, when they have the opportunity. They are almost as intelligent as any human."

"Though their strength is a problem, their more dangerous weapon is their voices. They can lure people into almost anything. Knights riding to fight them wear earplugs for that reason. Happily, they're susceptible to their own weapon, but few humans can learn to pronounce Ogre well enough for them to listen." Ella was, luckily, one of the few, or she'd have long since been dinner.

"Knights kill them by capturing them and slitting their throats."

Re: A Creature From Your World

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

"Is it their voice, or the language? And I wonder if there is something to the tonality of the words or a magical component to them, though don't mind my musing..."

Re: A Creature From Your World

[ella-obeys.livejournal.com]

"It seems to have to be both their tone and their language," Ella said. "They don't speak human tongues, and not everything they say has the effect. They make the choice to use their words to trap."

Re: A Creature From Your World

[dojima-hime.livejournal.com]

"Ano, my world doesn't have anything in the way of actual, um, cryptid?" Dōjima said. "But we do have stories. I always liked the bakeneko (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nekomata). They're cats with supernatural abilities akin to those of the Kitsune or Tanuki. A regular cat may become a bakeneko in lots of different ways."

"A bakeneko will haunt any household it is kept in, even changing its shape into that of a human and devouring its owner in order to shapeshift and take his or her place. Some stories even claim they can reanimate the dead."

Re: A Creature From Your World

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

"Stories are just fine," she insisted.

"And it's certainly an interesting one. Do you know any of the stories which might specify why a bakeneko might turn on its owner?

"I've always thought from those little...statues that cats were thought to bring luck."

Re: A Creature From Your World

[shyest-eyes.livejournal.com]

"S-Summons (http://www.leafninja.com/summonings.php)," Hinata said, pressing her fingers together nervously, “a-are what we c-call the a-animal clans that h-have b-bequeathed a c-contract to h-humans that allows us t-to call t-them out w-with chakra w-when we n-need their h-help.”

“T-They c-can be a-all sorts of animals—t-three of the m-most famous n-ninja f-from our v-village h-have c-contracts, one e-each, with slugs, toads, and s-snakes.” Infamous was better, really, for Orochimaru, but Hinata didn’t want to try and explain that.

“The S-Summoned animals r-range in s-size from one t-that is c-comparable to t-their more m-mundane c-counterparts, to l-larger than a h-house. S-Some of them w-wear c-clothing—a c-cloak, a s-scarf, t-things like that. I-In addition, m-most of the s-summons can talk, m-much as y-you and I w-would.”

Re: A Creature From Your World

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

She smiled gently at Hinata.

"I see.

"Is there any particular reason, do you think, that the three summoned animals you mention are not mammalian? Also, and I mean no offense, none of these three strike one as being particularly martial in nature."

Re: A Creature From Your World

[likethegun]

Sam had looked over the syllabus, and had called Bobby to try to find something he could talk about.

"We have Rakshasa in my world. They're a kind of demon that feeds off of humans, but the catch is that they can't enter a home without being invited. So, they're shapeshifters who make themselves appear in whatever sort of innocent form they need to get close to their potential victims."

Re: A Creature From Your World

[brandyforapples.livejournal.com]

She put a finger to her lips.

"Another interesting twist. I'm familiar with the Hindi spirits of the same name, and those are shapeshifters, but they are a warrior class and don't so much feed off of humans as eat them.

"Have you encountered them personally?"

Re: A Creature From Your World

[notyourpawn.livejournal.com]

"The Jabberwock (http://farm1.static.flickr.com/58/161350658_e1385e5cc6.jpg?v=0)," Alice said, chin set defiantly. "The Jabberwock is an odious creature. He is fierce, cruel, and vicious. He'll taunt you with your own worst fears to give himself a psychological advantage. That isn't his only strength; he has razor-sharp claws and his bite is worse than his bark. His breath is flames, but it's his eyes that can burn you to a crisp."

She nodded, looking around. "A physical description might be useful, though I suppose if you're faced with the Jabberwock, you know it to be the Jabberwock, as it could hardly be anything else. Very well; he's tall and green, looks almost like a preying mantis or other insect, with large brownish-gray wings that seem as though they're about to come apart. His spine protrudes, and smoke comes off it. His voice is low and it rumbles. He can stand upright or walk hunched over, hands brushing the ground. You'll know the Jabberwock when you see him, and I daresay I hope that you don't."

"Ways to defeat him," she continued, "require staying alive, which requires putting some distance between yourself and him, yet still being able to hurt him. A blunderbuss is very helpful, but only for one good hit before you'll need to recharge it. And the vorpal blade is considered the classic weapon to destroy him with, but I've the only one, currently, and I don't loan it out."

"Once you have slain the Jabberwock, be sure to cut his eye out to complete your staff. Don't be squeamish; it's too powerful a weapon to pass up because you've fainted over his corpse." She smiled, a bit wryly, for the rest. "Slaying the Jabberwock also entitles you to a fair bit of poetry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabberwocky) in your honor, but it's nearly guaranteed to be nonsensical."

Re: A Creature From Your World

[harrydresden.livejournal.com]

Harry had considered a few options for this assignment. He'd been very tempted to use Bob as his creature but the fit the skull had thrown (and it was an impressive fit, especially for a skull) had convinced to go for another option. He probably should gotten the information he needed before calling Bob a creature. As it was it had cost him another wretched romance novel just to get the skull to calm down enough to be helpful.

"Dewdrop faeries," Harry began. "Basically, they're weetiny faeries. They're Wyldfae, which means they're not aligned with either of the two Courts, Summer or Winter."

"They spend most of their time causing trouble, but not anything too serious. They're mostly harmless, don't have very long memories, and I hear they're really really fond of pizza."

Re: A Creature From Your World

[ashockingbitch]

"Okay," Jenny said, holding up a large surveillance-type photo of some sort of tentacle-covered hellbeast from a crack addict's nightmares. "This is one of God's watchspores, sent out in advance of its return to Earth to destroy everything and turn the world back into God's anaerobic nightmare of a vacation home. They are extraterrestrial in origin, and could be destroyed via burning, shooting a lot, or setting the Midnighter on them. They don't exist any more because we killed them all and then I killed God," Jenny said matter-of-factly. "Are there any questions?"