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Tweak says, "Live long and prosper."

Sam Winchester (tallerthanthou) wrote in marinanova,
@ 2013-05-12 13:43:00

Entry tags:

:class, :mingle, artemis crock, bonnie bennett, buffy summers, dawn summers, elena gilbert, jack harkness, kitty pryde (aoa), klara guildsen, laura kinney, martha jones, peggy carter, piper halliwell, puck, saitou yakumo, sam winchester, spencer reid, tear grants, xander harris, yuuki kuran, zero kiryuu

Class 002 : Day 218 : Wendigo [action]
Welcome or welcome back to Paranormal Studies.

[Sam starts off with another disclaimer-type comment for the new students as he did at the beginning of his last class about how this isn't a class on hunting.]

Topic: Wendigo

Today, we're talking about wendigos. The name means "evil that devours" and it's a pretty good description. They were actually human once, but something happened to them. Something extreme. Maybe long, cold winters without enough supplies. Whatever the case, they find themselves turning to cannibalism to survive. Obviously, not every cannibal becomes a wendigo, but some do. It changes them. The get taller, leaner, faster, stronger, vicious and always hungry. [Sometimes this class sounds like a scary story, doesn't it? He should teach around a campfire.]

They often hibernate for long periods of time, storing live food. Meaning they abduct and hold people, eating them slowly, stripping off pieces of skin and keeping them alive as they do it as long as possible.

It's the perfect hunter. It has all the power it needs for any prey and the intelligence too. It can stalk you without you knowing it's there, biding it's time to take out a full traveling party. It can also imitate human voices to lure you out.

[ WENDIGO ]

Case Study: Black Water Ridge, Colorado

We—Dean and I—were sent coordinates to Black Water Ridge, Colorado, where we discovered a Tommy Collins had gone missing on a hike. With some research I found people had been going missing in that area in 23-year cycles. We needed better information of what we were up against, so we found a survivor of a "bear" attack. [He actually uses the finger quotes, yes.] It's not unusual for people to come up with neat labels for things that don't make any sense to them, so it's important to look through all records for anything that doesn't seem to fit. Sometimes it's swamp gas or unusual diseases or animal attacks. This time it was a bear attack.

The survivor was able to tell us the thing that killed his family was smart and fast and didn't sound like a man or an animal. With a little more research we were able to figure out we were up against the Wendigo.

Knowing that didn't exactly make things easy from there. We ended up out in the forest with a guide, and Tommy Collin's sister and younger brother. We had to keep all of them safe while finding and rescuing Tommy and not getting ourselves killed in the process. The guide didn't make it. [He clears his throat a little. It's one of those moments where the weight of turning hunting into a class topic catches up to him. He's talking about some pretty strong subjects here even if this was a pretty easy case compared to a lot of what he faced. There was always a body count.]

We did recover Tommy. The Wendigo had been storing people in an abandoned mine. Dean also managed to kill the Wendigo.

[ BLACK WATER RIDGE, COLORADO ]

Practical: Defense of Wendigo

So, how did we do it? Fire. They are vulnerable to it. He was shot once in the chest with a flare gun. There are also some protection symbols from the Anasazi. If they're drawn correctly and you stay in their area of protection they'll act as a ward, keeping a wendigo at bay. A lot of taking them on is knowledge, skill, and luck. There is no conventional fighting with them, but it's also possible silver-tipped arrows can take them down.

[ ANASAZI SYMBOLS ]

Questions & Discussion

Okay, I think that's everything I had. Has anyone else ever heard of or encountered a Wendigo or something similar? Or are there any questions?

(OOC: Backdated to late afternoon. Mingle style. Notifs are off so tag Sam during class with questions or catch him before or after. Use your discretion with the links provided. Sam didn't necessarily cover every detail, but feel free to bring more into it. Warnings for talk of cannibalism and torture.)

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	mightbefun 2013-05-21 08:45 pm UTC (link)
	[...Possibly a little. It's how he operates, okay.] But time flies when you have fun. Weren't all those gritty details interesting? Perhaps you're more of a ghost kind of guy? Hmm, or maybe The Flying Dutchman? [Not that the Dutchman was always specifically a pirate ship, but... guy's got an eyepatch. How is Puck supposed to resist that reference?] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

notapirate
2013-05-23 03:23 am UTC (link)

[He's used to it. He wishes he weren't, but public school and sassy vampires will do that to you.]

Actually, I have more experience with the monsters. Not that ghosts aren't a thing, but anything that gets fangy in the dark is more my speed. Not that it's a speed you really want to have.

And for your sake I'm ignoring that Flying Dutchman reference. [You're welcome? Okay, maybe it was for his sake and it wasn't the best ignoring job considering he brought it up.]

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mightbefun 2013-05-23 08:00 pm UTC (link)
	And I'm ever so relieved. [He says with a loop-sided smile that suggests he really couldn't care less if Xander took offense.] Ah, but monsters? Don't tell me you've got a hunter colleague up there. [He cocks his head in Sam's general direction.] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notapirate 2013-05-25 02:48 pm UTC (link)
	I wouldn't really say colleague. I mean I don't know the guy. And it's slaying where I come from. [And he's not exactly a slayer. Man parts and all.] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

mightbefun
2013-05-26 01:14 am UTC (link)

All these realities that are almost exactly the same, different versions of the same soul, and people still hesitate to call someone in the same business their colleague just because they don't know each other. We're practically one big happy family here. [ALAS YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY. No but really, he's kidding. He gets the guy's meaning.]

But I have to say the terms really keep on getting more and more charming. [Not that he doesn't get why humans would try to get rid of "monsters", but he'd argue he's entitled to some sarcasm over the fact that people make careers out of killing his "siblings".] How's the pay?

(Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notapirate 2013-05-29 02:16 am UTC (link)
	[He can feel the sarcasm.] Non existent. People don't usually like paying for protection from things they are sure don't exist even when they are being attacked by them. And there's that whole calling thing. Not that I was called. Unless you mean on the phone, which you probably don't since I'm the one who brought it up. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mightbefun 2013-05-30 01:55 pm UTC (link)
	[Pfft. You're amusing, Xander. Puck smiles wider, clearly enjoying the conversation.] There's that, yes-- but I'm sure the relief in their faces is all the reward one could ever need. So destiny's involved, huh? Figures it's not as easy as a simple stab in the face. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notapirate 2013-06-07 12:13 am UTC (link)
	[It's so good to be enjoyed. He was a class clown for years after all. And come to think of it he is in class right now...] When is anything ever simple? [Guys with pointy ears should understand that.] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	Thanks ♥ mightbefun 2013-06-07 09:54 am UTC (link)
	When basic math is involved, but that's about it. Classes like this aren't exactly helpful in simplifying the complexity of the "slaying" business, I imagine. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	<333 notapirate 2013-06-08 04:44 am UTC (link)
	I wouldn't know. I've never been to a class like this before. ...Well, except now and that other time it happened. But not before in my living at home life. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mightbefun 2013-06-14 05:47 pm UTC (link)
	Now I would say "just as well" and give the danger of expanded perspectives as my reason, but there doesn't seem to be too much of that in this class, so my bad. [Cannibal monsters aren't exactly good for seeing the other side of the coin, as it were.] (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notapirate 2013-06-16 09:47 pm UTC (link)
	Well, there was actual meeting of them where I'm from. Just not classes, unless you count Giles. Not a fan of this class? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mightbefun 2013-06-17 04:38 pm UTC (link)
	If I disliked it I wouldn't be here. [He doesn't dislike it, he's just good at having conflicting opinions on things.] Nothing against the esteemed lecturer, either. Hearing the other side of the story can be fun if you're in the mood for it, after all. (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	notapirate 2013-06-19 05:09 am UTC (link)
	So, you feel like you're on the Wendigo's side in this story? Pro-eating people? (Reply to this) (Parent) (Thread)

	mightbefun 2013-06-19 06:49 pm UTC (link)
	[A little. Kind of. He's more "whatever floats your boat" and "you gotta eat something, right"?] You misunderstand. More like I don't often hear it from the hunter/slayer's perspective. [Or he just hears it from the Wendigo's POV even more often.] (Reply to this) (Parent)

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