Ooooh, ok that was cool. Primarly as it was both insanely human, and well... awsome, yet in a way that holds no distinction over Alex's true nature.
The best part is that there's nothing they can use to refute any of the points he's made. Even Xander.
I like the edits; really expands on the idea he was trying to get across. While making him look really creepy at the same time, of course.
Biology in and of itself is a creepy and sometimes just outright freaking weird thing. Spiders. Chameleons. Squids. Star-nosed moles. Starfish. Tarantula hawk wasps. Mudskippers. Flatworms. Axolotls. Platypuses.
Infected Portia spiders. One of the smartest spiders on the planet. Can plan out and strategise how to hunt and kill other spiders. Now imagine one with human inteligence and used for spying.
Contrary to popular belief, the female obsession with fashion is not pointless from a biological standpoint. A persons clothes are a statement of their rank in society and may increase their desirability as a mate. Therefore the high school popularity contest actually serves a purpose as the alpha male and alpha female assert themselves in that micro-society. Usually one person cannot assert themselves as the alpha of the entire school and thus groups are formed, each one with their own alpha. Other then that nice snippet. I liked the use of spiders and it would be ironic if Drusila was having her vision while Alex had the spider in his hand.
I am more than aware of fashion being used as a psychological tool, After. I'm familiar with animal behaviour, in some form almost any animal relies on this phenomenon to lure mates and pass themselves off as the alpha in respect to rivals. Peacocks are the most prominent example of this. Alex isn't as savvy regarding such things as I am, however... or he might be but wrongly expresses himself during an attempt to drive his students to work harder. It helps if you remind yourself that fashion is not the only way for someone to distinguish themselves as an alpha. Heh, now that'd be telling. All I'm willing to say on the matter is that Drusilla's random statements might or might not be as literal as they appear to be, in spite of their cryptic nature. Portia spiders are not native to North Amerika, though I'll see if I can bring one in as a brief cameo or something.
You know, oddly, I keep imagining Alex somehow getting a Darwin's bark spider and Nom-ing it to gain it's web ability. It has the strongest webbing in the world allowing it's webs to strech over 80 feet over rivers.
Well, he is from New York/Manhatten after all. But it was mainly brought up by the conversations involving SpiderAlex.
[Homer] SPIDER-ALEX SPIDER-ALEX Does whatever a SPIDER-ALEX does Can he swing From a web Yes he can He's a viral spider! LOOK OOOUUUTTT!!!! He is SPIDER ALEX!! [/Homer]
That snippet was badass. That's exactly how I pictured Alex teaching here. Horribly detached and cold, extremely well versed on instincts, heh, but also very intelligent. That was perfect.