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Shadow Wulf wrote:Well your probably right. but the claws has to start from somewhere, The nails have to be the foundation for the claws, other wise the nails would just fall off and the claws would take its place, and I dont like that idea, so the length of the nails has to make some kind of a difference.

And thats just my oppinion, Im not conflicting with yours Vuldari.

You don't need to defend yourself for having a differing opinion than mine.

This subject, I admit, does not seem to have a perfect answer yet. From a Bioligical perspective, it actually seems more likely to me that the fingernails Would break, fall off and be discarded completely rather than the dead material growing into a larger shape and becoming part of the claw. After all, claws are imbeded within the digit in a different manner, and far more deeply than a fingernail is. For the fingernail to become the claw, it would actually need to grow inward and puncture a large round hole into the end of the finger in order to anchor itself firmly there.

On the other hand, I also admit that the idea of all the finger and toe nails falling off is a bit gross, and I don't like that very much. ...however, at least for me, it feels a little easier to deal with when I imagine them sort of cracking and crubling away in tiny shards, little by little, as the claw takes it's place, rather than it sort of *popping out* and dropping away in one, or several large pieces. Tiny jagged sand and splinter-like crubled fingernails also would not likely be easily recognised as anything but normal dirt, grime and gravel if encountered on the ground somewhere as well... Eliminating the "gross discovery" element.

Again...that is just the way I see it.

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...But This Is Getting Off Topic... *OOPS*

How DID we get onto the subject of Claws Anyway?...

I would see the dead part of the ender nail breaking off and the living part expanding inward and outword to form the claws.
Although for a movie this could have an un-intended comical effect if they had long fingernails and those cracked and flew off from the force, like popping a big zit.

I dont mean to go further off topic., but I can see where your coming from Vuldari, and your explanation sounds more pluasable than mines. After all, the nails arent living tissue so there for it will be kind hard for it to just change shapes. Thats probably why the fingers bleed when claws form in werewolf movies, but you never see them fall off. For beast like claws the nails can probably fall off but if it were to just get sharp and grow more like the howling and underworld werewolves then it shouldnt fall off.

Sorry for going off topic more. But hey it happens.

I figured that the most efficient method of shifting would be to reabsorb the "dead" tissues like hair and fingernails, though some of it would likely slough off--more of it if it were rendered un-absorbable by, say, cosmetics. Real silver sterling hair spray? Expect to shed that stuff right away!

Scott Gardener wrote:I figured that the most efficient method of shifting would be to reabsorb the "dead" tissues like hair and fingernails, though some of it would likely slough off--more of it if it were rendered un-absorbable by, say, cosmetics. Real silver sterling hair spray? Expect to shed that stuff right away!

(We should really carry this discussion into another thread)

How exactly does the body go about reabsorbing fingernails and hair anyway?
Does it just get sucked back into the body like pulling a string through a hole? That would look bizarre, even if done slowly. ...plus, I just don't know how a body could DO that.

For such a biological process to occur, the materials being "absorbed" would need to be completely coated in a reabsorbing membrane, or decomposing fluid of some kind that would rapidly break the material down into a usuable form.

If the skin grew over the fingernails before the claws took thier place, activity within the living skin-cell membrane could effectively break the nails down in that manner, re-assemble and re-distribute the dissolved nail-matter through the bloodsream into the new claw. ...but then how would this proccess be accomplished with hair?...especially LONG hair.

If the body just started breaking down and eating up the hairs where the roots attatch, I'd think that would likely just cause the hairs to be cut loose and fall out. ...which is a valid option, but not one that I like. I'd prefer to find another way. I actually prefer the idea that existing hair would remain where it was, in spite of the problems that would go with that, but again, that is getting off topic even more.

If anyone can come up with a believable looking way to show hair being "Absorbed" by the body, I'd love to hear it. I Mean...if you do it that way, you would have to show it, or describe it happening some way or another.

...this isn't exactly S-Cry-Ed where you can just *poof* matter in a technicolor flash and *poof* it into a new shape with equally pastelly glitter.

(Well, I supose you Could do it that way if you really wanted to...but it would look pretty silly, I think...)

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I'd say something about the main topic to bring things back on track, but I've said everything I wanted to say allready...I think.

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[EDIT:]

Here are three threads on "Hair" if anyone want's to continue that conversation.

Hair
Do werewolves should have a hair?
Hair (#2)

...and another related to this side discussion.

Missing Matter

Please dirrect any further comments on this off topic on one of these, or a new or different thread.


Lets get 'Back On Topic', please...