#camous

The first thing you need to know about Vampires is that, yes, Vampires are real. I’ve only really talked about Alphas and Camous, but there are actually a lot of nonhuman creatures in the transformation community, and in the world itself. Some are way less human than others, and many are very hard to find, but they’re out there. 

The second thing you need to know about Vampires, is that they’re nothing like the ones you’ve seen in the movies. Vampires like that, ones who feasted on blood and burned in the daylight, used to exist, but over time they’ve evolved. They’ve evolved much faster than humans do, to the point where they’re completely unrecognizable. They don’t have super strength or speed, they don’t have to be invited into a building to enter, and they don’t drink blood. Today's Vampires feed on something else entirely. They feed on traits.

It’s hard to explain exactly how they do it. Traits, even the more measurable ones like physical traits and IQ, are fairly subjective. So how do you feed on something like that? It’s so hard to wrap my mind around that I’m not entirely sure how it's possible. What I do know is that they can do it easily. Prolonged skin to skin contact with a victim allows a vampire to drain a trait out of a person. They devour the potential that person had, consume that part of their victims' Identity. The trait doesn’t just go away though, itt transfers over to the Vampire. Vampires don’t just eat traits, they steal them. 

I know this sounds kind of scary. In a world of transformations, where we already have such little control over who we are, real life Vampires who can steal your traits can be a little threatening. They could take a physical trait, a mental one, a social one even. Any part of your identity is up to grabs for them, like you’re a walking buffet. But there are ways to stop Vampires, or at least ways to spot them before they get too close. 

I want to start by telling you what won’t work, because there are a shocking amount of inaccuracies out there. Holy Water is powerful, but it works on Demon and Devils, like my Uncle’s boyfriend Nick, not Vampires. A stake to the heart will kill a vampire, as will chopping off their head, but only because either of those would kill anyone. Don’t try it, you’ll go to jail. They’re slightly sensitive to garlic, but not enough anyone will really notice, and both running Water and sunlight don’t have any effect at all. You may be a little concerned because that's actually a lot of their weaknesses I've just struck out, but they still have a couple key ones that could help you. For one, they hate silver. It won’t truly harm them, but they get unnaturally uncomfortable around it, so it acts as a repellent. Some sort of leftover evolutionary trait from when they were like the creatures in the movies. Another is their age. One thing Vampires are constantly doing is stealing youth. Usually just a couple months here and there from different people, so no one notices any discrepancies. It’s why vampires never age in the myths and stories, because they don’t seem to age in real life. If someone has been young, or looked young, for a long time, that may be an indication they’re a vampire. They also do have fangs, but to most they appear to just be slightly larger canine teeth The best way to figure out if someone is a vampire though is their reflection.

Unlike the movies, Vampires do have reflections. They appear in mirrors, just… not as they appear in real life. The mirror, for whatever reason, will always reflect the Vampire’s original, natural form. It doesn’t matter how many years a vampire steals, or how much muscle they take from unsuspecting jocks, they will always look in a mirror and see themselves for how old and skinny they really are. This doesn’t apply to pictures, so a lot of Vampires just avoid mirrors and look at themselves through cameras, but if you suspect someone is a Vampire a mirror is the quickest and best way of sniffing them out.

Even if you’re covered in silver and carry a pocket mirror, don’t think you're automatically safe. Vampires are masters of deception, and are skilled at working their way into people's lives. Not only that, but they can steal traits from other mythical creatures, not just humans. An Alphas dominance, a Camous camouflage, a devils magical power. The best Vampires have an arsenal of powerful tricks from those they’ve taken advantage of before.

Vampires are, frankly, a very interesting and terrifying part of the world. But because of their ability to pick and choose their traits, they’re also incredibly attractive. Take this one, who just stole the muscles of his latest victim. The former jock hasn’t even noticed yet, and the Vamp is reveling in it. That’s not uncommon, Vamps like to play with their food

Albert Camus

Meet 4 women entrepreneurs making inroads in the manufacturing sector

Source | yourstory.com

Women in manufacturing, especially in the Indian context, are a rare breed. Even today, manufacturing is associated with physical labour, heavy machinery, union woes, dust and grime, and a hard task at the end of the day.

But things are changing. More women are rising up to the challenge of running factories, and moving into what was previously thought a male-oriented…

Northwest Colleges and Universities: Pacific University Campus, Forest Grove, Oregon, 1910.

“A 1910 photo of the buildings on the Pacific University campus. Left to right they are Old College Hall, the second Herrick Hall, Academy Hall, and Marsh Hall. The second Herrick Hall was finished construction in 1910 and Academy Hall burned down later that year.”