Wolves, oh my!
Oct. 23rd, 2009 10:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tsukinofaeriiToday, I'm rambling again. This time... Werewolves! \o/ Why am I rambling? BECAUSE. :P Okay, well, honestly, it's because work is slow, and I can only do so much on Halloween plans right now. So far I have 2-ish slots remaining to figure out. There might be three fics posted next week—so much for variety. Whoops! We shall see how that goes. I have a feeling this weekend is going to be an exercise in cramming lol. I CAN DO EET.
Also, just to nudge people over to the Halloween drabble request thing. I only have two? D: This is sad. The drabbles are due to be posted on the 29th.
So! Werewolves. So many types. I'm going to use "wolves", but remember: anything that's applied to a werewolf has almost certainly been applied to other lycanthropes.
First, Dresden Files has to have a special mention. Most stories have one, or maybe two types of werewolves. That series has eight, including a wolfwere. D: I highly recommend that series to anyone who likes detective novels, fantasy and genre savvy protagonists.
Unlike vampires, werewolves don't seem to change much from story to story. Their basic setting is "a normal person who changes into a wolf", so that's understandable. If you change that, you're not really dealing with a werewolf. That being said, there are still some things to work with.
We'll start with the Wolfman. This is the classic, black and white movie version. Wolfmen transform into slavering, half-human-looking beasts under the light of the full moon. If one bites you, you'll become One Of Them. Significantly, they don't remember what happened to them, which means that these guys come loaded down with a ton of "omg what did I do" guilt. There's no cure and no containing them. Variations of this are in the Harry Potter movies. If you see a wolfman mentioned in anything that has a heroine wearing a corset or bodice, expect that bodice to be ripped and dubcon/noncon/dub-bestiality to occur, possibly because they're always described as ridiculously well hung. (I'm looking at you, Anita Blake.)
The next version is a true werewolf, from folklore. When they change, they actually look like wolves! They tend to be larger, due to conservation of mass, but that's generally the only difference. There's a few ways to spot these in human form (though you never see this in fiction, for some reason). Generally, they have claw-like nails and a single connecting eyebrow. If you cut one, you'll find fur under the skin. These can be cause by a number of factors, but are generally cause by magic—a curse, a witch in another form, magic objects (belts are popular), etc. Surprisingly, there is less sex involved in this one.
Some stories have the change from wolf to human and back again be entirely voluntary—if there is an exception, it's on the nights of the full moon. Usually, these werewolves have much more control over themselves than wolfmen, and aren't necessarily a danger to society. They might be a danger to each other though. Because the connection between wolf and human is so close, some instincts seem to carry over. The wolf may be more intelligent, but the human is more wild. Their senses might be increased, even in human form, and they'll likely have difficulty holding their temper. Loss of control there equals loss of control over their forms, which usually equals teeth in your larynx. In short, don't piss these guys off.
Wolfweres! I love these type. This is a werewolf in reverse which is to say, a wolf that becomes a human. I've only seen this ever used once in its true form, which is in Fool Moon (Dresden Files). Generally, this is the result of a curse of some sort, or a god playing games, as gods tend to do. Variations of it do occur, since turning animals into humans is a time-honored fairytale tradition, but a repeating transformation is the key to identifying a wolfwere. If it only happens once, it doesn't count.
Lycanthropy is an actual mental illness, wherein the person believes themselves to have turned into an animal. This is something you almost never see in fiction. Well, I almost never see, since I prefer fantasy and this is very much real life. For all I know, it may have its own subgenre.
Did I miss any?
Also, just to nudge people over to the Halloween drabble request thing. I only have two? D: This is sad. The drabbles are due to be posted on the 29th.
So! Werewolves. So many types. I'm going to use "wolves", but remember: anything that's applied to a werewolf has almost certainly been applied to other lycanthropes.
First, Dresden Files has to have a special mention. Most stories have one, or maybe two types of werewolves. That series has eight, including a wolfwere. D: I highly recommend that series to anyone who likes detective novels, fantasy and genre savvy protagonists.
Unlike vampires, werewolves don't seem to change much from story to story. Their basic setting is "a normal person who changes into a wolf", so that's understandable. If you change that, you're not really dealing with a werewolf. That being said, there are still some things to work with.
We'll start with the Wolfman. This is the classic, black and white movie version. Wolfmen transform into slavering, half-human-looking beasts under the light of the full moon. If one bites you, you'll become One Of Them. Significantly, they don't remember what happened to them, which means that these guys come loaded down with a ton of "omg what did I do" guilt. There's no cure and no containing them. Variations of this are in the Harry Potter movies. If you see a wolfman mentioned in anything that has a heroine wearing a corset or bodice, expect that bodice to be ripped and dubcon/noncon/dub-bestiality to occur, possibly because they're always described as ridiculously well hung. (I'm looking at you, Anita Blake.)
The next version is a true werewolf, from folklore. When they change, they actually look like wolves! They tend to be larger, due to conservation of mass, but that's generally the only difference. There's a few ways to spot these in human form (though you never see this in fiction, for some reason). Generally, they have claw-like nails and a single connecting eyebrow. If you cut one, you'll find fur under the skin. These can be cause by a number of factors, but are generally cause by magic—a curse, a witch in another form, magic objects (belts are popular), etc. Surprisingly, there is less sex involved in this one.
Some stories have the change from wolf to human and back again be entirely voluntary—if there is an exception, it's on the nights of the full moon. Usually, these werewolves have much more control over themselves than wolfmen, and aren't necessarily a danger to society. They might be a danger to each other though. Because the connection between wolf and human is so close, some instincts seem to carry over. The wolf may be more intelligent, but the human is more wild. Their senses might be increased, even in human form, and they'll likely have difficulty holding their temper. Loss of control there equals loss of control over their forms, which usually equals teeth in your larynx. In short, don't piss these guys off.
Wolfweres! I love these type. This is a werewolf in reverse which is to say, a wolf that becomes a human. I've only seen this ever used once in its true form, which is in Fool Moon (Dresden Files). Generally, this is the result of a curse of some sort, or a god playing games, as gods tend to do. Variations of it do occur, since turning animals into humans is a time-honored fairytale tradition, but a repeating transformation is the key to identifying a wolfwere. If it only happens once, it doesn't count.
Lycanthropy is an actual mental illness, wherein the person believes themselves to have turned into an animal. This is something you almost never see in fiction. Well, I almost never see, since I prefer fantasy and this is very much real life. For all I know, it may have its own subgenre.
Did I miss any?
