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Description
Greetings, citizens of the omniverse! I hope this new year is treating you right! For those that have been keeping tabs on our government if you happen to be in the U.S. . . just remember that no-one is taking this crap anymore. Enough is enough.

On a brighter note, I have a personal entry this time! Well, not entirely personal. This alien originally belonged to 's, but they were kind enough to allow me to put my own spin on it. Go ahead and swing by their corner of the internet sometime; they've definitely got a number of good ideas!

Onto the facts!

Name: Giraffescraper

Species: Shingotherium

Home World: Afros

Powers/abilities: Giraffescraper's most notable ability is his long, telescopic neck. Consisting of twenty-one individual vertebrae, the bones are able to snuggly slide into one another when held at rest and then suddenly extend due to a complex system of fluid-filled rods that hold them in place. Using his long neck, Giraffescraper can get into places that would otherwise be far out of reach.

In combination with his long, neck, Giraffescraper possesses 360-degree vision and is able to see over long distances with ease.

Shingotheriums have a reinforced skull that is durable enough to smash through a brick wall with ease. Unlike Orthopterrans, which rely on a layer of shock-absorbing, viscous matter to cushion their internal organs, Shingotheriums depend on enlarged cornual and frontal sinuses, as well as a stiff, internal septa in order to protect their brains from damage. As a result, Shingotherium can use a combination of their long necks and reinforced skull to behave like a hammer to beat down opponents.

Giraffescraper has an elastic tongue that can stretch a couple feet in length, thus further increasing his reach.

Giraffescraper has senses superior to that of a human, such as hearing and smell.

Despite their small size, a Shingotherium's legs are tightly packed with muscles that enable them to deal devastating kicks. Combined with their hard hooves, they're more than capable of cracking concrete with a single strike.

Weaknesses: In order to offset the potential length of his neck, Giraffescraper's body is bottom-heavy and is thus vulnerable to being knocked down. If he tries to get up while his neck is extended, he will be unable to do so due to his center of gravity being displaced.

Giraffescraper can't keep his neck extended for too long, as it takes far too long for his blood to pump all the way up his long neck to his brain. If he doesn't retract his neck in time, he will faint and risk injuring himself and others.

Shingotheriums can't fit into small spaces when their necks are fully extended. Even then, they are typically forced to duck in order to avoid hitting their heads.

Giraffescraper has an unfortunate habit of accidentally hitting his head or getting his neck caught on tall structures, such as traffic lights, overhead signs, bridges, trees, and even kite strings.

Due to their short legs, Shingotheriums can't run very fast.

Etymology: Giraffescraper's name is a portmanteau of "giraffe", the animal he is based on, and "skyscraper", referencing his enormous height.

Trivia: The species' name stems from "shingo", the Swahili word for "neck", and "therion", the Greek word for "beast".

The species' home world comes from the Latin word "afro", which means "of Africa", the continent to which giraffes are endemic to.

When Ben first unlocked Giraffescraper, he had a difficult time adjusting to the sudden difference in height and had a tendency to fall over. This decreased as he got use to the transformation.

Shingotherium live in a patriarchal society headed by a council of elders, who are responsible for deciding most of the major matters among their civilization. In order to show respect, other Shingotherium deliberately retract their necks in their presence and as such, they are the only ones allowed to have their necks extended at all times. This enables their voices to be clearly heard by all whenever they make a decree; to extend ones neck to reach their height is seen as a challenge. Furthermore, the way a Shingotherium holds their neck indicates their emotions and secondary feelings, meaning one may show honor or even insult when challenging an elder.

Despite this, challenges to an elder are rarely physical and instead, they typically consist of games of wit and skill. One of the Shingotherium's favorite challenges however, is the Challenge of Stories, where the participants are granted control of an imaginary army of equal number and given an imaginary location to do battle in. Points are rewarded based on the strength and effectiveness of the tactics used by the two 'generals' and their imaginary armies, with more points being awarded for using creative and unorthodox methods in order to gain the upper hand. The challenge is over when one of the participants admits defeat, though the outcome may change depending on how many points each participant received; even then, a victor may be declared regardless of the scores.

Rather than capital punishment, most matters are settled with the exchange of crops, particularly that of the Vachelli tree. This tree is highly prized by Shingotherium and its leaves and fruit is their primary food of choice, as Shingotherium are strict herbivores by nature. Furthermore, having both many trees and many children is seen as a sign of wealth and prosperity among Shingotherium. Bundles of the tree's leaves, strips of its regenerative bark, or baskets of its sweet fruit can be exchanged as repayment for crimes committed or in the wake of lost challenges. Such goods can even be used as a marriage proposal - by paying a tribute to their future wife's father, husbands hope to prove to them that their daughters will be in safe hands and will never go hungry.

Shingotherium architecture mostly focuses on function rather than aesthetic, especially in regards to how high their ceilings are.

Some of Shingotherium culture is based on that of the Maasai people of central and southern Kenya and northern Tanzania, as well as that of Halcyon, the remote, sealed-off city of Troodon from the Dinotopia Digest book series.

Shingotheriums originally evolved their long, telescopic necks to reach high into the trees in search for food. Unlike giraffes however, instead of evolving long legs, they simply used the tree trunks to balance themselves against, which enabled their necks to evolve and reach even greater heights.

Afros is one of the planets closest to its system's star, which makes it surface baking hot. Due to a combination of its atmosphere being comprised of a high density of aerosols and orbital forcing altering its orbit around its sun however, Afros maintains a warm, tropical climate and its surface consists primarily of three large continents surrounded by small islands and archipelagoes. Most of these are covered in tropical rainforests, with the continents consisting mostly of vast subtropical savannahs and velds and small deserts. As a result of these highly productive ecoregions, Afros is home to a number of sapient species that have evolved over the millennia. Unlike the denizens of Terradino however, most of Afros' inhabitants have managed to maintain peaceful relations with each other without the need for war and can often be found taking part in one another's culture and celebrations.

Programs Used: Adobe Illustrator
Est. Time: Approximately 4 hours

Disclaimer: I do not own Ben 10.
Ben 10 is owned by Man of Action and Cartoon Network.
Giraffescraper belongs to
Do not use without my permission.

Description
Greetings, citizens of the omniverse! I hope this new year is treating you right! For those that have been keeping tabs on our government if you happen to be in the U.S. . . just remember that no-one is taking this crap anymore. Enough is enough.

On a brighter note, I have a personal entry this time! Well, not entirely personal. This alien originally belonged to 's, but they were kind enough to allow me to put my own spin on it. Go ahead and swing by their corner of the internet sometime; they've definitely got a number of good ideas!

Onto the facts!

Name: Giraffescraper

Species: Shingotherium

Home World: Afros

Powers/abilities: Giraffescraper's most notable ability is his long, telescopic neck. Consisting of twenty-one individual vertebrae, the bones are able to snuggly slide into one another when held at rest and then suddenly extend due to a complex system of fluid-filled rods that hold them in place. Using his long neck, Giraffescraper can get into places that would otherwise be far out of reach.

In combination with his long, neck, Giraffescraper possesses 360-degree vision and is able to see over long distances with ease.

Shingotheriums have a reinforced skull that is durable enough to smash through a brick wall with ease. Unlike Orthopterrans, which rely on a layer of shock-absorbing, viscous matter to cushion their internal organs, Shingotheriums depend on enlarged cornual and frontal sinuses, as well as a stiff, internal septa in order to protect their brains from damage. As a result, Shingotherium can use a combination of their long necks and reinforced skull to behave like a hammer to beat down opponents.

Giraffescraper has an elastic tongue that can stretch a couple feet in length, thus further increasing his reach.

Giraffescraper has senses superior to that of a human, such as hearing and smell.

Despite their small size, a Shingotherium's legs are tightly packed with muscles that enable them to deal devastating kicks. Combined with their hard hooves, they're more than capable of cracking concrete with a single strike.

Weaknesses: In order to offset the potential length of his neck, Giraffescraper's body is bottom-heavy and is thus vulnerable to being knocked down. If he tries to get up while his neck is extended, he will be unable to do so due to his center of gravity being displaced.

Giraffescraper can't keep his neck extended for too long, as it takes far too long for his blood to pump all the way up his long neck to his brain. If he doesn't retract his neck in time, he will faint and risk injuring himself and others.

Shingotheriums can't fit into small spaces when their necks are fully extended. Even then, they are typically forced to duck in order to avoid hitting their heads.

Giraffescraper has an unfortunate habit of accidentally hitting his head or getting his neck caught on tall structures, such as traffic lights, overhead signs, bridges, trees, and even kite strings.

Due to their short legs, Shingotheriums can't run very fast.

Etymology: Giraffescraper's name is a portmanteau of "giraffe", the animal he is based on, and "skyscraper", referencing his enormous height.

Trivia: The species' name stems from "shingo", the Swahili word for "neck", and "therion", the Greek word for "beast".

The species' home world comes from the Latin word "afro", which means "of Africa", the continent to which giraffes are endemic to.

When Ben first unlocked Giraffescraper, he had a difficult time adjusting to the sudden difference in height and had a tendency to fall over. This decreased as he got use to the transformation.

Shingotherium live in a patriarchal society headed by a council of elders, who are responsible for deciding most of the major matters among their civilization. In order to show respect, other Shingotherium deliberately retract their necks in their presence and as such, they are the only ones allowed to have their necks extended at all times. This enables their voices to be clearly heard by all whenever they make a decree; to extend ones neck to reach their height is seen as a challenge. Furthermore, the way a Shingotherium holds their neck indicates their emotions and secondary feelings, meaning one may show honor or even insult when challenging an elder.

Despite this, challenges to an elder are rarely physical and instead, they typically consist of games of wit and skill. One of the Shingotherium's favorite challenges however, is the Challenge of Stories, where the participants are granted control of an imaginary army of equal number and given an imaginary location to do battle in. Points are rewarded based on the strength and effectiveness of the tactics used by the two 'generals' and their imaginary armies, with more points being awarded for using creative and unorthodox methods in order to gain the upper hand. The challenge is over when one of the participants admits defeat, though the outcome may change depending on how many points each participant received; even then, a victor may be declared regardless of the scores.

Rather than capital punishment, most matters are settled with the exchange of crops, particularly that of the Vachelli tree. This tree is highly prized by Shingotherium and its leaves and fruit is their primary food of choice, as Shingotherium are strict herbivores by nature. Furthermore, having both many trees and many children is seen as a sign of wealth and prosperity among Shingotherium. Bundles of the tree's leaves, strips of its regenerative bark, or baskets of its sweet fruit can be exchanged as repayment for crimes committed or in the wake of lost challenges. Such goods can even be used as a marriage proposal - by paying a tribute to their future wife's father, husbands hope to prove to them that their daughters will be in safe hands and will never go hungry.

Shingotherium architecture mostly focuses on function rather than aesthetic, especially in regards to how high their ceilings are.

Some of Shingotherium culture is based on that of the Maasai people of central and southern Kenya and northern Tanzania, as well as that of Halcyon, the remote, sealed-off city of Troodon from the Dinotopia Digest book series.

Shingotheriums originally evolved their long, telescopic necks to reach high into the trees in search for food. Unlike giraffes however, instead of evolving long legs, they simply used the tree trunks to balance themselves against, which enabled their necks to evolve and reach even greater heights.

Afros is one of the planets closest to its system's star, which makes it surface baking hot. Due to a combination of its atmosphere being comprised of a high density of aerosols and orbital forcing altering its orbit around its sun however, Afros maintains a warm, tropical climate and its surface consists primarily of three large continents surrounded by small islands and archipelagoes. Most of these are covered in tropical rainforests, with the continents consisting mostly of vast subtropical savannahs and velds and small deserts. As a result of these highly productive ecoregions, Afros is home to a number of sapient species that have evolved over the millennia. Unlike the denizens of Terradino however, most of Afros' inhabitants have managed to maintain peaceful relations with each other without the need for war and can often be found taking part in one another's culture and celebrations.

Programs Used: Adobe Illustrator
Est. Time: Approximately 4 hours

Disclaimer: I do not own Ben 10.
Ben 10 is owned by Man of Action and Cartoon Network.
Giraffescraper belongs to
Do not use without my permission.