Post by Andrew Thorne on May 18, 2012 0:33:15 GMT -5
✓►PLAYER◄
Username: Oeste
Preferred method of contact: AIM - versuswest
How did you find us: a treasure map
Codeword: it's raining agnomen
✓►CHARACTER◄
Name: Andrew Alexander Thorne
Nicknames: Andy
Date of birth/age: 41 - Aug. 15/1971
Gender: Male, cis.
Sexuality: Heterosexual.
Job: Freelance Shifter Identifier/Sniffer.
So you don't like or trust these people. After all, it's just not good for business. You don't want them in your store, you don't want them as a potential hire, or maybe the scene at your local club could use a few fewer people turning into birds. Maybe you're not so sure about your daughter's new boyfriend, or those people who want to move in next door. Maybe you're in the credit business - shifters are statistically more likely to default.
Maybe you're just a bigot.
For whatever reason you don't want shifters around, Andy's here to help. What's the lesser evil, after all? Having unknown threats in your office environment, or keeping a calm, trusty guy in a cube just out off to the side as you conduct interviews.
It's not strictly legal, of course. Shifting is a medical condition, though that classification is still under hot debate after all these years. But for the concerned citizen with a few bucks to spare, there's help to be found.
Maybe more than a few bucks. The job isn't exactly a safe one - shifters and hate groups alike both tend to take umbrage with the practice, and violence against Sniffers isn't unknown.
What the profession might lack in moral character, it usually makes up for in the paycheck.
Andrew's work isn't entirely steady, but there's usually something to be found. He occasionally commutes long distances to pick up a job, and advertises primarily through the internet under the term 'personnel review'. He does his best to keep his face and personal life separate from his work, but behind closed doors and in office back rooms he has a small, growing reputation for his ease and success in identifying others.
Degrees/Permits:
Languages Spoken:
Human or shifter: Shifter.
Appearance:
PB: Liam Neeson.
A broad-shouldered, bulky man. At almost 6'5", he towers above most, and his usually straight-backed posture seems little inclined towards a slouch.
There's a growing paunch padding out over his once-muscular frame, and a ragged beard envelops the lower half of a face already lined with the beginnings of deepening wrinkles.
His thick brown hair is usually found pushed back off of his face, and despite his best efforts to keep its length in check, 'shaggy' is not an unfitting term. Specks of silver and grey thread their way through, despite his grumbling, he makes no effort to dye or hide their presence.
Something about his proportions must be just slightly off - too-long arms, or some slight asymmetry of his chest - because his clothes never seem to fit him quite properly.
That or the man's just terrible at dressing himself. Given the boring, neutral colors that he favors, the latter is perhaps more likely.
He tends to smell a bit of cigarette smoke, and it's not uncommon for the membranes about his bright green eyes to appear watery and irritated.
His voice is deep but his words are quiet and soft-spoken. He usually sounds slightly stuffed-up. It's not entirely uncommon to see him using a cane, although the need doesn't seem to be constant.
Personality:
Andrew has one main approach to problems: Ignoring them.
It's not very effective.
A straightforward man with little taste for intrigue, Andrew's long-time affection for a lawful, orderly society is born mostly from his desire for simplicity.
Deeply patriotic, Andrew holds a somewhat romanticized view of his nation while at the same time readily accepting a 'by any means necessary' approach to its actions. His politics lean towards the more totalitarian side of the left, although he doesn't usually invest too much of himself in them, and seldom cares to argue his opinions to any great length.
Unlikely to be accused of being the life of the party, Andrew prefers to hang about the edges of a conversation rather than its center. Despite a strong independent streak, Andrew is a follower at his core and feels uncomfortable in situations where he's given leadership. He likes to follow. It just takes him finding what he sees as the right thing to duckling behind.
More adept at listening than speaking, Andrew seldom opens up about his life or emotions to any great extent. He finds it difficult to articulate his feelings, particularly in regards to unpleasant ideas or experiences, and so often does not bother.
While Andrew doesn't shy from the idea of physical confrontation or martial action, he believes anything done should be done rationally in a cool head. Andrew carries a lot of anger that he simply refuses to acknowledge or address, shutting down all of his feelings in order to effectively stifle the more problematic ones.
Because bottling up and not dealing with negative feelings never leads to any problems ever, right?
He sublimates his emotions into low-impact exercise, hitting punching bags, and occasionally turning into a bear - but he'd never admit that any of those activities were at all tied to his ~feeeeels~, particularly his shifting.
Andrew sees shifters as dangerous primarily for a their ability to turn into things like large, dangerous predators when stressed. In his mind, it's like handing someone a deadly weapon every time life starts to get overwhelming. As a result, he insists on maintaining strict control over his own form, even in an emotionally heated situation.
Despite Andrew's love of the law, he ultimately feels that the ends justify the means.
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
History:
The son of a surgeon and a receptionist, Andrew was born in rural Illinois to a large family. The middle child of five siblings, Andrew spent most of his early childhood tearing around like an idiot outside and occasionally helping out his live-in aunt with his younger brother and sister.
His school-age years were largely uneventful. Andrew hit his growth spurt early, and found himself fumbling his way onto high school sports teams by virtue of his size. Andrew did well (if not stunningly) at most of the physical activities he tried, but found himself backing away from all but his high school's mediocre basketball team as his grades began to slip. On his own time, Andrew pursued the violin and happily hung at the edges of the social scene.
Eventually admitted to the University of Illinois, Andrew left the college early in his sophomore year in order to join the military. Andrew's first year of college had been a struggle academically, and after his older brother Eric (pursuing entrance to medical school) was killed in a hit and run, family and social pressures became more intense. Seeking a radical change, Andrew decided to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and join the army. He left his high school sweetheart, Sarah Lowe, behind.
Andrew came out of basic training right as US troops were beginning to deploy to Afghanistan for the first time. He fought in Operation Desert Storm, and was then briefly stationed at a US base in Saudi Arabia. Lowe and Thorne remained together, and on a visit home Lowe became pregnant, eventually giving birth to a son, one Lazarus Lowe.
Andrew intended to continue his career with the army, but found it cut short when he was shot in the knee. Honorably discharged on medical grounds, Andrew underwent extensive reconstructive surgery on and nearly lost his leg. Upon returning to the United States, Andrew moved in with his parents, along with Sarah and their young child, while working to heal and regain mobility in his leg. Eventually he would be able to walk on his own with the assistance of a cane.
Andrew returned to the University of Illinois to finish pursuing a degree in business, which he completed without any academic distinction. Sarah meanwhile became involved in state politics, and was increasingly frequently away. Tensions between the two increased, and she eventually moved out, taking their son with her.
Andrew moved out of his parents' house and took a job at a small investment firm in Chicago. In 2000, a budding relationship with a much younger woman led him to follow her to Florida, where they shortly after split up. Andrew cycled through short stints at various jobs until versi struck. After a bit of adjustment to
Andrew's family is mostly of a vaguely protestant persuasion - if not the particularly devout sort. His parents occasionally dragged the family out on holidays, or to social events. Andrew himself is for the most part an avowed atheist, although he describes himself as 'agnostic' around his family to avoid the wagging finger of his elderly aunt. By and large the living Thornes are not particularly religious, although to everyone's general bemusement, Andrew's younger brother Alexander has recently become ordained as a baptist minister.
Andrew will occasionally attend Christian mass (he's not particularly picky about denomination) on Easter or Christmas, mostly out of a vague guilting sense of social obligation. He's always felt detached from religion, like there's some mystery that he just can't see. He's come to the quiet decision that human atrocity and human should be accepted (and occasionally embraced) for what they are: human.
Well. Or human-who-sometimes-turns-into-a-goat, same thing really, as long as they aren't hurting anyone with it. Andrew makes a distinction between shifters that actively harm others and those that do so out of a lack of control, but dehumanizes both in the process. After all, an evil act committed against society should place one outside of society. As for those who lose control of their humanity, well - what are they but animals? Animals can't be blamed, but they still need to be dealt with.
Andrew genuinely thinks that he's doing the right thing by working to help identify shifters. Well - maybe not entirely. He recognizes the uncomfortable realities of anti-shifter discrimination and violence, and he's not particularly fond of a lot of his clients. But he rationalizes his work to himself as necessary.
He sees its central issue as being about safety, and questions whether many shifters are trustworthy of being given the ability to turn into an animal, however seemingly innocuous. He feels that the largely unshifting public needs to be aware of shifting in order to help ensure that the ability is not abused.
And of course, there's an unhealthy helping of self-loathing in there to really justify it, but Andrew doesn't talk much about that.
-close with sister still, less so with younger siblings, other older brother
-from illinois? U of I if so - tho would've been after fighting
-family is of vaguely protestant persuasion, none particularly devout save one younger brother who everyone else sort of just boggles at
-andy occasionally attends on easter or christmas, mostly out of a vague guilting sense of social obligation - doesn't believe any of it. disillusioned
relationship with religion, detached - like you're sitting in a pew looking around you and you just can't figure out what everyone else is seeing
-believes need to accept human atrocity for human atrocity - and to extent, embrace when necessary. same with human goodness.
-fought in persian gulf, bosnia
-planned on long-term career, knee injury cut short
-already involved w/sarah at the time, so started working at home, working on degree
-Work in Laz and Sarah
-sarah and laz not shifters
-while sarah isn't, she's v. pro rights
-andy is, isn't so much
-like wow, on opp. sides of political fence
-work in Lucy somehow?
-keep/ditch military elements
✓►SHIFTER◄
Species: Grizzly Bear.
Group: Mammals.
Conservation status:
Conflicting, depends on where you look. The Endangered Species Act classifies them as threatened in lower 48 United States. They're classified as game animals, with hunting regulations that vary regionally in Alaska. The Yellowstone population is considered recovered. There's some evidence to support shrinking populations in Canada, but also to support growing populations?
Generally I'm going with 'threatened' which I think translates here to 'vulnerable/endangered'.
Brown bears as a whole are not considered threatened usually - but this is mostly if people include Eurasian brown bears which are all over. Well. Eurasia. Grizzlies are a 'subspecies' of brown bear, with distinctive appearance differences. ('Grizzled' fur, shoulder humps, and relative smaller size.)
Appearance:
Abilities:
Bears have some of the strongest noses in the animal kingdom, and since contracting versi, Andrew's sense of smell has continually improved.
He can smell all sorts of things now that he never used to be able to - much to his distaste at times. Shifting has given him a very well-developed vomeronasal system: there's a Jacobson's organ in the roof of his mouth that definitely didn't used to be there, and he has more mucus membranes in his nose than the average human. Were someone to scan his brain, they'd likely notice the development of what appears to be a (rather stunted) accessory olfactory bulb.
This all has given Andrew no end of sinus problems (his ENT specialist is on speed-dial) and a predisposition to migraines. Andrew's brain is slowly trying to catch up with the rest of his shifting body to the new information overload, and wires sometimes get crossed. He doesn't know how to process 100% of what he smells, and it can result in some pretty bad headaches and general sensory confusion. Despite it, he hasn't noticed any incidents of synesthesia, for which he is grateful.
Among one of the easier scents for Andrew to make out is that of another shifter. He has a high success rate at identifying other shifters by scent, and can sometimes make a decent guess at what general sort of animal they might take the form of (some kind of bird thing?? fish?? wtf even is that one??) - particularly if they've shifted while in or near their clothing.
Generally, Andrew has less difficulty distinguishing scents and dealing with his increased olfactory abilities in bear form than he does in human form. But just shifting into bear form to deal with it would be for quitters and we can't have that.
Andrew's control over his form is generally pretty good, although given that his focus is primarily on shutting out his animal form until absolutely necessary, it's unlikely he'll ever gain control of partial shifting, nor would he ever care to. A lot of Andrew's learned control of his shifting is tied to his learned control of his emotions. While it tends to take a bit to shake either of the two - if one goes south in a bad way, the other is likely to as well.
Andrew's always been a hairy guy, but he swears he didn't have to shave quite this often before. And his skin has been dry and scratchy as hell these past few years. His bear form has a tendency to shed great clumps of fur.
He sure does eat a lot, and rather constantly, but that's probably not tied to the shifting. He may occasionally blame it on that, though.
Username: Oeste
Preferred method of contact: AIM - versuswest
How did you find us: a treasure map
Codeword: it's raining agnomen
✓►CHARACTER◄
Name: Andrew Alexander Thorne
Nicknames: Andy
Date of birth/age: 41 - Aug. 15/1971
Gender: Male, cis.
Sexuality: Heterosexual.
Job: Freelance Shifter Identifier/Sniffer.
So you don't like or trust these people. After all, it's just not good for business. You don't want them in your store, you don't want them as a potential hire, or maybe the scene at your local club could use a few fewer people turning into birds. Maybe you're not so sure about your daughter's new boyfriend, or those people who want to move in next door. Maybe you're in the credit business - shifters are statistically more likely to default.
Maybe you're just a bigot.
For whatever reason you don't want shifters around, Andy's here to help. What's the lesser evil, after all? Having unknown threats in your office environment, or keeping a calm, trusty guy in a cube just out off to the side as you conduct interviews.
It's not strictly legal, of course. Shifting is a medical condition, though that classification is still under hot debate after all these years. But for the concerned citizen with a few bucks to spare, there's help to be found.
Maybe more than a few bucks. The job isn't exactly a safe one - shifters and hate groups alike both tend to take umbrage with the practice, and violence against Sniffers isn't unknown.
What the profession might lack in moral character, it usually makes up for in the paycheck.
Andrew's work isn't entirely steady, but there's usually something to be found. He occasionally commutes long distances to pick up a job, and advertises primarily through the internet under the term 'personnel review'. He does his best to keep his face and personal life separate from his work, but behind closed doors and in office back rooms he has a small, growing reputation for his ease and success in identifying others.
Degrees/Permits:
- Bachelor's degree in business.
- Florida state driver's license.
Languages Spoken:
- English, fluent & literate.
- Spanish, fluent & literate.
- Arabic, fluent & kinda literate. Rusty.
Human or shifter: Shifter.
Appearance:
PB: Liam Neeson.
A broad-shouldered, bulky man. At almost 6'5", he towers above most, and his usually straight-backed posture seems little inclined towards a slouch.
There's a growing paunch padding out over his once-muscular frame, and a ragged beard envelops the lower half of a face already lined with the beginnings of deepening wrinkles.
His thick brown hair is usually found pushed back off of his face, and despite his best efforts to keep its length in check, 'shaggy' is not an unfitting term. Specks of silver and grey thread their way through, despite his grumbling, he makes no effort to dye or hide their presence.
Something about his proportions must be just slightly off - too-long arms, or some slight asymmetry of his chest - because his clothes never seem to fit him quite properly.
That or the man's just terrible at dressing himself. Given the boring, neutral colors that he favors, the latter is perhaps more likely.
He tends to smell a bit of cigarette smoke, and it's not uncommon for the membranes about his bright green eyes to appear watery and irritated.
His voice is deep but his words are quiet and soft-spoken. He usually sounds slightly stuffed-up. It's not entirely uncommon to see him using a cane, although the need doesn't seem to be constant.
Personality:
Andrew has one main approach to problems: Ignoring them.
It's not very effective.
A straightforward man with little taste for intrigue, Andrew's long-time affection for a lawful, orderly society is born mostly from his desire for simplicity.
Deeply patriotic, Andrew holds a somewhat romanticized view of his nation while at the same time readily accepting a 'by any means necessary' approach to its actions. His politics lean towards the more totalitarian side of the left, although he doesn't usually invest too much of himself in them, and seldom cares to argue his opinions to any great length.
Unlikely to be accused of being the life of the party, Andrew prefers to hang about the edges of a conversation rather than its center. Despite a strong independent streak, Andrew is a follower at his core and feels uncomfortable in situations where he's given leadership. He likes to follow. It just takes him finding what he sees as the right thing to duckling behind.
More adept at listening than speaking, Andrew seldom opens up about his life or emotions to any great extent. He finds it difficult to articulate his feelings, particularly in regards to unpleasant ideas or experiences, and so often does not bother.
While Andrew doesn't shy from the idea of physical confrontation or martial action, he believes anything done should be done rationally in a cool head. Andrew carries a lot of anger that he simply refuses to acknowledge or address, shutting down all of his feelings in order to effectively stifle the more problematic ones.
Because bottling up and not dealing with negative feelings never leads to any problems ever, right?
He sublimates his emotions into low-impact exercise, hitting punching bags, and occasionally turning into a bear - but he'd never admit that any of those activities were at all tied to his ~feeeeels~, particularly his shifting.
Andrew sees shifters as dangerous primarily for a their ability to turn into things like large, dangerous predators when stressed. In his mind, it's like handing someone a deadly weapon every time life starts to get overwhelming. As a result, he insists on maintaining strict control over his own form, even in an emotionally heated situation.
Despite Andrew's love of the law, he ultimately feels that the ends justify the means.
Strengths:
- Physically strong - Andy isn't a small guy. He can lift heavy things, throw a mean punch, and is generally pretty hard to move when he doesn't want to be moved.
- Good with languages - Andy is terrible at composing his words, but surprisingly good at understanding those of others. He has a quick mind for languages, and they tend to stick with him even without regular use. His Arabic is a bit rusty, but he tries to keep up on it at least a little.
- Plays the violin - So, y'know, if he gets challenged by the devil at the crossroads, at least he stands a fighting chance.
- Ridiculously good sense of smell - Andrew can identify people as shifters with relative ease, and makes a living off of it. He can usually identify general groups with some accuracy.
- Calm - For the most part, Andrew keeps a cool head in heated situations. It takes a bit to get him openly angry.
- Brave -
- Some knowledge of weaponry (how to fire a gun, etc, just stuff you'd learn in basic) - albeit mostly a bit outdated and unlikely to be found in suburban florida
Weaknesses:
- Difficulty communicating -
- Follower personality -
- Easily startled (and prone to friendly fire) -
- Knee injury/Walks with cane - Exacerbated by extra weight of bear form, already large frame.
- The opposite of good at plots and plans -
- If form control is shaken, very difficult to regain
- Prone to sensory overload -
- Sinus issues -
- Emotional dependence on food -
- Avoidance issues with problems -
- Terrible artist - Is that a teapot or a cat or. Seriously, what is that? You know what, umm, let's not play Pictionary.
History:
The son of a surgeon and a receptionist, Andrew was born in rural Illinois to a large family. The middle child of five siblings, Andrew spent most of his early childhood tearing around like an idiot outside and occasionally helping out his live-in aunt with his younger brother and sister.
His school-age years were largely uneventful. Andrew hit his growth spurt early, and found himself fumbling his way onto high school sports teams by virtue of his size. Andrew did well (if not stunningly) at most of the physical activities he tried, but found himself backing away from all but his high school's mediocre basketball team as his grades began to slip. On his own time, Andrew pursued the violin and happily hung at the edges of the social scene.
Eventually admitted to the University of Illinois, Andrew left the college early in his sophomore year in order to join the military. Andrew's first year of college had been a struggle academically, and after his older brother Eric (pursuing entrance to medical school) was killed in a hit and run, family and social pressures became more intense. Seeking a radical change, Andrew decided to follow in his grandfather's footsteps and join the army. He left his high school sweetheart, Sarah Lowe, behind.
Andrew came out of basic training right as US troops were beginning to deploy to Afghanistan for the first time. He fought in Operation Desert Storm, and was then briefly stationed at a US base in Saudi Arabia. Lowe and Thorne remained together, and on a visit home Lowe became pregnant, eventually giving birth to a son, one Lazarus Lowe.
Andrew intended to continue his career with the army, but found it cut short when he was shot in the knee. Honorably discharged on medical grounds, Andrew underwent extensive reconstructive surgery on and nearly lost his leg. Upon returning to the United States, Andrew moved in with his parents, along with Sarah and their young child, while working to heal and regain mobility in his leg. Eventually he would be able to walk on his own with the assistance of a cane.
Andrew returned to the University of Illinois to finish pursuing a degree in business, which he completed without any academic distinction. Sarah meanwhile became involved in state politics, and was increasingly frequently away. Tensions between the two increased, and she eventually moved out, taking their son with her.
Andrew moved out of his parents' house and took a job at a small investment firm in Chicago. In 2000, a budding relationship with a much younger woman led him to follow her to Florida, where they shortly after split up. Andrew cycled through short stints at various jobs until versi struck. After a bit of adjustment to
Andrew's family is mostly of a vaguely protestant persuasion - if not the particularly devout sort. His parents occasionally dragged the family out on holidays, or to social events. Andrew himself is for the most part an avowed atheist, although he describes himself as 'agnostic' around his family to avoid the wagging finger of his elderly aunt. By and large the living Thornes are not particularly religious, although to everyone's general bemusement, Andrew's younger brother Alexander has recently become ordained as a baptist minister.
Andrew will occasionally attend Christian mass (he's not particularly picky about denomination) on Easter or Christmas, mostly out of a vague guilting sense of social obligation. He's always felt detached from religion, like there's some mystery that he just can't see. He's come to the quiet decision that human atrocity and human should be accepted (and occasionally embraced) for what they are: human.
Well. Or human-who-sometimes-turns-into-a-goat, same thing really, as long as they aren't hurting anyone with it. Andrew makes a distinction between shifters that actively harm others and those that do so out of a lack of control, but dehumanizes both in the process. After all, an evil act committed against society should place one outside of society. As for those who lose control of their humanity, well - what are they but animals? Animals can't be blamed, but they still need to be dealt with.
Andrew genuinely thinks that he's doing the right thing by working to help identify shifters. Well - maybe not entirely. He recognizes the uncomfortable realities of anti-shifter discrimination and violence, and he's not particularly fond of a lot of his clients. But he rationalizes his work to himself as necessary.
He sees its central issue as being about safety, and questions whether many shifters are trustworthy of being given the ability to turn into an animal, however seemingly innocuous. He feels that the largely unshifting public needs to be aware of shifting in order to help ensure that the ability is not abused.
And of course, there's an unhealthy helping of self-loathing in there to really justify it, but Andrew doesn't talk much about that.
-close with sister still, less so with younger siblings, other older brother
-from illinois? U of I if so - tho would've been after fighting
-family is of vaguely protestant persuasion, none particularly devout save one younger brother who everyone else sort of just boggles at
-andy occasionally attends on easter or christmas, mostly out of a vague guilting sense of social obligation - doesn't believe any of it. disillusioned
relationship with religion, detached - like you're sitting in a pew looking around you and you just can't figure out what everyone else is seeing
-believes need to accept human atrocity for human atrocity - and to extent, embrace when necessary. same with human goodness.
-fought in persian gulf, bosnia
-planned on long-term career, knee injury cut short
-already involved w/sarah at the time, so started working at home, working on degree
-Work in Laz and Sarah
-sarah and laz not shifters
-while sarah isn't, she's v. pro rights
-andy is, isn't so much
-like wow, on opp. sides of political fence
-work in Lucy somehow?
-keep/ditch military elements
✓►SHIFTER◄
Species: Grizzly Bear.
Group: Mammals.
Conservation status:
Conflicting, depends on where you look. The Endangered Species Act classifies them as threatened in lower 48 United States. They're classified as game animals, with hunting regulations that vary regionally in Alaska. The Yellowstone population is considered recovered. There's some evidence to support shrinking populations in Canada, but also to support growing populations?
Generally I'm going with 'threatened' which I think translates here to 'vulnerable/endangered'.
Brown bears as a whole are not considered threatened usually - but this is mostly if people include Eurasian brown bears which are all over. Well. Eurasia. Grizzlies are a 'subspecies' of brown bear, with distinctive appearance differences. ('Grizzled' fur, shoulder humps, and relative smaller size.)
Appearance:
Abilities:
Bears have some of the strongest noses in the animal kingdom, and since contracting versi, Andrew's sense of smell has continually improved.
He can smell all sorts of things now that he never used to be able to - much to his distaste at times. Shifting has given him a very well-developed vomeronasal system: there's a Jacobson's organ in the roof of his mouth that definitely didn't used to be there, and he has more mucus membranes in his nose than the average human. Were someone to scan his brain, they'd likely notice the development of what appears to be a (rather stunted) accessory olfactory bulb.
This all has given Andrew no end of sinus problems (his ENT specialist is on speed-dial) and a predisposition to migraines. Andrew's brain is slowly trying to catch up with the rest of his shifting body to the new information overload, and wires sometimes get crossed. He doesn't know how to process 100% of what he smells, and it can result in some pretty bad headaches and general sensory confusion. Despite it, he hasn't noticed any incidents of synesthesia, for which he is grateful.
Among one of the easier scents for Andrew to make out is that of another shifter. He has a high success rate at identifying other shifters by scent, and can sometimes make a decent guess at what general sort of animal they might take the form of (some kind of bird thing?? fish?? wtf even is that one??) - particularly if they've shifted while in or near their clothing.
Generally, Andrew has less difficulty distinguishing scents and dealing with his increased olfactory abilities in bear form than he does in human form. But just shifting into bear form to deal with it would be for quitters and we can't have that.
Andrew's control over his form is generally pretty good, although given that his focus is primarily on shutting out his animal form until absolutely necessary, it's unlikely he'll ever gain control of partial shifting, nor would he ever care to. A lot of Andrew's learned control of his shifting is tied to his learned control of his emotions. While it tends to take a bit to shake either of the two - if one goes south in a bad way, the other is likely to as well.
Andrew's always been a hairy guy, but he swears he didn't have to shave quite this often before. And his skin has been dry and scratchy as hell these past few years. His bear form has a tendency to shed great clumps of fur.
He sure does eat a lot, and rather constantly, but that's probably not tied to the shifting. He may occasionally blame it on that, though.