Several questions about werewolves.

[Wingman]

For the last couple days I've been wondering what thoughts you folks might have on the issue of whether or not werewolves should be the only "non-humans" out there. I can easily understand why you might say yes, werewolves are the only thing that bumps in the night, as we humans are publicly alone as sentient beings. At the same time, assuming a parallel evolutionary tree, what would give werewolves the advantage over their evolutionary siblings? The ability to shapeshift, possession of the life energies of both human and a wolf, or something else? If there are werewolves, why not other shapeshifters, such as weretigers, or even a wereape(bigfoot/ hairy Hulk all the way)? Did they kill them off way back in the depths of history, or should werewolves have sprung fully formed into the world for whatever reason, totally different from anything else? And yes, I know they're "like humans, but also like wolves", but they have high-speed regeneration and can shapeshift(and not just an alteration of appearance such as a chameleon or octopus does), they literally reshape themselves.
As mentioned over in that Ultimate Werewolf thread, why wolves, and why humans? Why not an ape or monkey that can transform into a bear or wolf? Or a Neanderthal that turns into a dire wolf? Or an insect that can voluntarily enter metamorphosis to reshape itself? Should it actually be a wolf, or should wolf just be the closest approximation we have to it?
Similarly, would a non-transforming, non-regenerating, permanently gestalt form werewolf be to them what apes and such are to humans?

Just some random late-night musings that hopefully haven't already been discussed to death.

[JoshuaMadoc]

For the last couple days I've been wondering what thoughts you folks might have on the issue of whether or not werewolves should be the only "non-humans" out there.

No. Beggars can't be choosers imo.

I can easily understand why you might say yes, werewolves are the only thing that bumps in the night, as we humans are publicly alone as sentient beings. At the same time, assuming a parallel evolutionary tree, what would give werewolves the advantage over their evolutionary siblings? The ability to shapeshift, possession of the life energies of both human and a wolf, or something else? If there are werewolves, why not other shapeshifters, such as weretigers, or even a wereape(bigfoot/ hairy Hulk all the way)? Did they kill them off way back in the depths of history, or should werewolves have sprung fully formed into the world for whatever reason, totally different from anything else? And yes, I know they're "like humans, but also like wolves", but they have high-speed regeneration and can shapeshift(and not just an alteration of appearance such as a chameleon or octopus does), they literally reshape themselves. As mentioned over in that Ultimate Werewolf thread, why wolves, and why humans? Why not an ape or monkey that can transform into a bear or wolf? Or a Neanderthal that turns into a dire wolf? Or an insect that can voluntarily enter metamorphosis to reshape itself? Should it actually be a wolf, or should wolf just be the closest approximation we have to it?

I made an anthropomorphic mouse with lycanthropy, and a cat that with a mutated feline form. So yes, my fellow wolf-loving purists, why just wolves and humans? Come on, if werewolves can look hot, then so can wereapes.

Similarly, would a non-transforming, non-regenerating, permanently gestalt form werewolf be to them what apes and such are to humans?

Probably.

[Chris]

If there are werewolves, why not other shapeshifters, such as weretigers, or even a wereape(bigfoot/ hairy Hulk all the way)? Did they kill them off way back in the depths of history, or should werewolves have sprung fully formed into the world for whatever reason, totally different from anything else?

From a story-writing perspective, to me, adding in more shapeshifters and other things that go bump in the night, it ultimately detracts from the overall presence of werewolves.. and out of the list, werewolves are among my favorites. I mean, if you have a world populated with humans, weretigers, werewolves, wereapes, anthros, sentient animals, vampires, ghosts, zombies, etc, then what's so special about werewolves? They lose their impact. While that could work fine from a story perspective, someone who's interested in something for the werewolves could be put off. Everyone trying to take the lime-light from the real star.
Though even the over-abundance of werewolves alone could have the same effect, again to me, as my ideal werewolf story would be about the individual, or a small group (say, 2 to 4 people), dealing with the condition. Other werewolves in the world are fine, but if there's werewolves every which way you look, then being a werewolf is no longer that special and the character(s) become less interesting.

The actual in-story reason for the existence of werewolves, and not other werecreatures, isn't really too important to me. As long as it's not too hokey. A story could give a good explanation of why werewolves exist, and it wouldn't break my suspension of disbelief about why other werecreatures don't, unless the explanation really begs for the existence of such (but that's not really a common problem I've run into).

As mentioned over in that Ultimate Werewolf thread, why wolves, and why humans? Why not an ape or monkey that can transform into a bear or wolf? Or a Neanderthal that turns into a dire wolf? Or an insect that can voluntarily enter metamorphosis to reshape itself?

Because I'm physically a human, and that brings it closer to home, so to speak. I don't associate with apes, neanderthals, or insects (though a neanderthal changing into a dire wolf would be rather interesting; dire werewolf? weredirewolf? heh). Though oddly enough, foxes and felines are two of my favorite animals next to wolves, but werewolves still have something about them that werefoxes and werecats don't. Probably a subconscious view of the three has wolves fitting my ideal werecreature best (foxes=sly and swift, cats=stealthy and temperamental, wolves=strong and ferocious).

[Aki]

For the last couple days I've been wondering what thoughts you folks might have on the issue of whether or not werewolves should be the only "non-humans" out there.

Nah. When I have one sort of supernatural, I like having some others out there - whether or not an individual werewolf would know that or not.

If there are werewolves, why not other shapeshifters, such as weretigers, or even a wereape(bigfoot/ hairy Hulk all the way)?

Of course. Only makes sense. And is awesome.

[RedEye]

Being the semi-realist here, I'd suggest that in potential Were-species that we conisder weight as a limiting factor.

Weretigers are cool, yeah; but Tigers weigh around 400 pounds. Keeping the same weight would mean that the human form would be...FAT!

There are plenty of species that stay within the 140-200 pound region that would be "normal" for a human male, and the 100-150 pound region for the human female.
Why weight? It's the most difficult thing to "Create" during the Shift, and what would be "normal" for some creatures would be morbidly obese or anorexic in the human form.

[Silent Hunter]

On different forms, it depends, I can imagine some animals like large dogs, wolves and animals of that band and just below or high to fit. I mean were hyena would be an interesting one. The idea of another type of were among werewolves depends on what is creating these were's. It its a strain or something, yes its likley but certain voodoo magic? Well less likley (or more possibly).

Though there is the idea that a were can lose weight or just naturally become fat, I mean its not going to instant kill the shifter, increase risk yes but not instant kill.

[Leonca~]

I see it used occasionally, often in fantasy series where a ton of critters are interacting alongside humans (the Harry Potter series would be one example, but I know there are some others that are more werewolf-centric). Sometimes that can be done well, but sometimes it does make things seem a bit chaotic.
It could have something to do with the setting of most stories- usually North America or Europe, where werewolves are the most well known example. Since people rarely choose settings that focus of other countries and cultures they may not feel motivated to explore the idea of other species as shapeshifters. I personally wouldn’t mind seeing more wereleopards and werehyenas.

Or a Neanderthal that turns into a dire wolf?

That would make an awesome story.

Hmm, I can see that experimenting with the idea of other species as shapeshifters would be pretty interesting. Usually when I see the idea of animals transforming into other animals it is used it is used for some kind of comedic value. I remember reading a story once where a man was cursed and transformed into a sort of anthro-ish wolf, and in the process of trying to break the curse and return to human form he got changed into a lion instead.

[Terastas]

If there are werewolves, why not other shapeshifters, such as weretigers, or even a wereape(bigfoot/ hairy Hulk all the way)? Did they kill them off way back in the depths of history, or should werewolves have sprung fully formed into the world for whatever reason, totally different from anything else?

For me, it's sort of both, IE: the original shapeshifters were killed off, but their descendants live on.

I never really bought into the "separate species" motif for the simple reason that I could never explain exactly how they could have even survived the Earth's brutal history, much less remained completely undetected. For werewolves to have survived long enough to see the present day, they would have to have either been capable of breeding with humans or infecting humans. The original shapeshifters therefore may have been killed off, but their legacy lives on in the shapeshifters they created.

For that to actually be possible, werewolves would have to be humans with an infectious syndrome instead of a separate species altogether. Something existing at the molecular level would allow for several generations of the same viroid to appear even within just a certain individual, which could respond in many different ways to many different hosts with varying physical forms, genetics, blood types, etc. The shifting agents that cause people to become werewolves could just as well be related either through mutation or ancestry to other shifting agents that would cause werecats etc.

As mentioned over in that Ultimate Werewolf thread, why wolves, and why humans?

Why not?

The simple answer would be that, for whatever reason, werewolves are what we became familiar with in history. It could just have easily been a were-wallaby, but if such a thing ever existed, it did a better job keeping its existence a secret than werewolves did.

Should it actually be a wolf, or should wolf just be the closest approximation we have to it?

This is the other part of it. It's a werewolf for no other reason than because the first people to ever see one compared it to a wolf. It may literally be a half-man half-wolf, or it may just be something else completely that resembles a half-man, half-wolf.

From a story-writing perspective, to me, adding in more shapeshifters and other things that go bump in the night, it ultimately detracts from the overall presence of werewolves.. and out of the list, werewolves are among my favorites. I mean, if you have a world populated with humans, weretigers, werewolves, wereapes, anthros, sentient animals, vampires, ghosts, zombies, etc, then what's so special about werewolves? They lose their impact. While that could work fine from a story perspective, someone who's interested in something for the werewolves could be put off. Everyone trying to take the lime-light from the real star.
Though even the over-abundance of werewolves alone could have the same effect, again to me, as my ideal werewolf story would be about the individual, or a small group (say, 2 to 4 people), dealing with the condition. Other werewolves in the world are fine, but if there's werewolves every which way you look, then being a werewolf is no longer that special and the character(s) become less interesting.

For me, it boils down to this: If you can accept the existence of something as fantastic as werewolves, why not anything else?

It would seem pretty hypocritical, if you ask me, for a werewolf to adamantly deny the possibility that there could be such a thing as vampires, ghosts, UFOs etc., considering most of the human "mundanes" out there would fit him right into the same category as them. Even if you don't intend on including anything other than werewolves in your setting, you have to at least have the werewolves themselves be open to the possibility that other shapeshifters may exist. If you accept a human-wolf transformation, why not something else?

[Chris]

From a story-writing perspective, to me, adding in more shapeshifters and other things that go bump in the night, it ultimately detracts from the overall presence of werewolves.. and out of the list, werewolves are among my favorites. I mean, if you have a world populated with humans, weretigers, werewolves, wereapes, anthros, sentient animals, vampires, ghosts, zombies, etc, then what's so special about werewolves? They lose their impact. While that could work fine from a story perspective, someone who's interested in something for the werewolves could be put off. Everyone trying to take the lime-light from the real star.
Though even the over-abundance of werewolves alone could have the same effect, again to me, as my ideal werewolf story would be about the individual, or a small group (say, 2 to 4 people), dealing with the condition. Other werewolves in the world are fine, but if there's werewolves every which way you look, then being a werewolf is no longer that special and the character(s) become less interesting.

For me, it boils down to this: If you can accept the existence of something as fantastic as werewolves, why not anything else?

It would seem pretty hypocritical, if you ask me, for a werewolf to adamantly deny the possibility that there could be such a thing as vampires, ghosts, UFOs etc., considering most of the human "mundanes" out there would fit him right into the same category as them. Even if you don't intend on including anything other than werewolves in your setting, you have to at least have the werewolves themselves be open to the possibility that other shapeshifters may exist. If you accept a human-wolf transformation, why not something else?

Sure, that works. I wouldn't need to out-right say they don't exist, but that's different from not saying they do exist. Denial vs open question.

What I was just getting at, my preferences for a werewolf story would be about the uniqueness of werewolves in a comparatively mundane world. Start adding lots of vampires and zombies, an over-abundance of werecreatures, etc, and the world is no longer a mundane contrast to the werewolves. It becomes a story with werewolves, instead of a story about werewolves (again, not saying that's inherently bad, but it deviates from my ideal).

[RedEye]

Taking your point, yes; having a number of Were-species does dilute the Werewolf story to a degree, but it makes it a bit more believable if you keep a same-same relationship in place.

Okay, to explain that, we have Were-Wolf, Were-Hyena, Were-human weight range Cat, Were-Dolphin...etc. This creates a wide support concept for the idea of metamorphery; while a single Were-Wolf species makes the Were' into a freak of nature; a deviation or un-natural mutation.
That leads to species extinction fairly fast.

Instead of dealing with stories about Werewolves, why not stories that deal with People who are Werewolves. Then you can have as many species as you like; you're writing about a Person, not a Phenomenon.

[Terastas]

Instead of dealing with stories about Werewolves, why not stories that deal with People who are Werewolves. Then you can have as many species as you like; you're writing about a Person, not a Phenomenon.

This was my approach (and the one I'd have recommended if I wasn't beaten to it). The thing about anything fantastic in nature is that it becomes diluted as soon as your audience accepts it within that fictional universe. What will keep it interesting is not lycanthropy itself but specifically how the characters relate to lycanthropy, regardless of whether they have it themselves or are just interacting with someone else that has it.

That's the pitfall a lot of past werewolf writers have fallen into: assuming the concept of a werewolf will carry the movie / book itself and neglecting character development in place of exaggerating the concept. But I don't actively seek out episodes of Being Human on Youtube just because I like the way it depicts werewolves -- I watch it because I want to see how George deals with being a werewolf. The way they handle vampires and werewolves in that show is actually fairly stale and cliche; it's the characters that I care about.

[Aki]

Start adding lots of vampires and zombies, an over-abundance of werecreatures, etc, and the world is no longer a mundane contrast to the werewolves. It becomes a story with werewolves, instead of a story about werewolves (again, not saying that's inherently bad, but it deviates from my ideal).

Not really. It can still be a werewolf story if you focus on the werewolves rather than everything. The fact that there was some interaction with vampires didn't make Moon Called any less about werewolves than it was (especially as that interaction was tied to the werewolf-centric plot) nor does the existance of horrible and monstrous things in the shadows of the World of Darkness make Werewolf: The Forsaken any less of a game about werewolves simply because the thing that's causing weird s*** to go down in your neighborhood happens to be a mage or Frankenstein-wannabe. You're still werewolves and you're still dealing with werewolf problems in a werewolfy way.

[Berserker]

I think what Chris is talking about is the kind of watering-down that we see in modern fantasy. Where legends that once inspired awe become mundane or day-to-day. Like Dungeons & Dragons based novels or manga where Orcs, Elves, Dragons, etc. are just walking around like regular people, with no scarcity or mythic quality attached to them at all. The drama is there but none of the meaning. I.e. the "Buffy effect."

Werewolf: The Forsaken is a werewolf story; it's "about werewolves." Just like Buffy is about vampires. Dracula is about vampires too... but not nearly in the same way as Buffy. Get the drift?

[Terastas]

I think what Chris is talking about is the kind of watering-down that we see in modern fantasy. Where legends that once inspired awe become mundane or day-to-day. Like Dungeons & Dragons based novels or manga where Orcs, Elves, Dragons, etc. are just walking around like regular people, with no scarcity or mythic quality attached to them at all. The drama is there but none of the meaning. I.e. the "Buffy effect."

Werewolf: The Forsaken is a werewolf story; it's "about werewolves." Just like Buffy is about vampires. Dracula is about vampires too... but not nearly in the same way as Buffy. Get the drift?

I always figured what it did instead was give the entire setting itself a mythic quality to it. The people in the setting itself may think elves to be somewhat typical, but you wouldn't feel that way about them anywhere else in the universe. What becomes so fantastic is not the elf itself but the way the rest of the world responds to him: with anything from mild prejudice to absolute indifference.

There's a scene in an anime. . . Which I'm not sure I can link to according to the Pack guidelines, but basically this kid has an angel accompany him to school, and after informing her not to do any bizarre angel-stuff, she instead comes right out and says she's an angel, turns one of his classmates into a monkey, makes a second one disappear, kills the protagonist and then resurrects him. . . And the class doesn't even bat an eyelash at it, culminating to the point that the kid flips out at his class, pretty much because the only thing more unbelievable to him than the angel itself was the way they responded so casually to it.

Or if you want a more familiar example, how in Red Victoria, Jack lectures his friend because "there's an undead entity standing in my kitchen. . . And you're okay with it?"

You can't fill a ninety-minute film or a two hundred-page book with just people going "OMG a werewolf!" Sooner or later the audience is going to get accustomed to their presence.

[Berserker]

There's a scene in an anime. . . Which I'm not sure I can link to according to the Pack guidelines, but basically this kid has an angel accompany him to school, and after informing her not to do any bizarre angel-stuff, she instead comes right out and says she's an angel, turns one of his classmates into a monkey, makes a second one disappear, kills the protagonist and then resurrects him. . . And the class doesn't even bat an eyelash at it, culminating to the point that the kid flips out at his class, pretty much because the only thing more unbelievable to him than the angel itself was the way they responded so casually to it.

Or if you want a more familiar example, how in Red Victoria, Jack lectures his friend because "there's an undead entity standing in my kitchen. . . And you're okay with it?"

You can't fill a ninety-minute film or a two hundred-page book with just people going "OMG a werewolf!" Sooner or later the audience is going to get accustomed to their presence.

Exactly, that's the "Buffy Effect" I was talking about. That's comedy, that's quirkiness. I don't have a problem with comedy, even though deconstructing myths and bringing them down to a sitcom-level of normality can sometimes make me cringe. Add some mystical sounding music, ramp up the drama level and you get Harry Potter.

What I'm talking about is more along the lines of taking a trope or a myth, removing the significance from it, and failing to justify that removal with a new idea. Something "just for the sake of it." That's why I don't like. That's why I get annoyed whenever I try and read a piece of werewolf fan fiction on the internet, and the writer starts throwing Vampires into the mix, just because I guess every werewolf needs his vampire.

[Chris]

I think what Chris is talking about is the kind of watering-down that we see in modern fantasy. Where legends that once inspired awe become mundane or day-to-day.

Right. With a werewolf story, it would be beneficial, IMO, for the werewolves to be awe inspiring, instead of just adding to an already fantastic world. Between a story of how a werewolf lives in "the real world", and a story of how a werewolf lives in a world that's filled with vampires, zombies, and zombie-ninja-robots, the former is more interesting to me if you want to try to focus on the werewolf.

I always figured what it did instead was give the entire setting itself a mythic quality to it. The people in the setting itself may think elves to be somewhat typical, but you wouldn't feel that way about them anywhere else in the universe. What becomes so fantastic is not the elf itself but the way the rest of the world responds to him: with anything from mild prejudice to absolute indifference.

And that's the thing. Replace the word 'elf' with 'werewolf', and you get the reason why I say adding more fantastic elements to the world around the werewolf makes the werewolf itself less fantastic. It's not telling a story about werewolves, but about the world around werewolves.

You can't fill a ninety-minute film or a two hundred-page book with just people going "OMG a werewolf!" Sooner or later the audience is going to get accustomed to their presence.

Which is why it wouldn't be a good idea to focus on the shock of a werewolf (werewolf movies/books are clearly labeled as such, after all; viewers/readers aren't going to be 'OMG shocked !' that the werewolves exist). Instead, a better idea, I think, would be to focus on the werewolf character instead of the world around him.. his realization of what he's become, how he keeps it from getting out and spreading the disease/curse, what he thinks of himself, how he handles friends (if he has any), loved ones, etc, and what he tries to do about it.. go all emo and give in to "the monster"? look for a cure? find inner peace and make the best of it? All three over the course of the story? Of course, this would likely work better with my ideal werewolf.. that being, it's a monstrous creature with a penchant for aggression and killing (not inherently evil, but an instinctual need for feeding on live game and warding away others from its territory), no real control over the changes, and them being relatively rare, so packs are few and far between (as if werewolves would want to group together and increase the risk to themselves and others, from themselves).

[Wingman]

Replace the word 'elf' with 'werewolf', and you get the reason why I say adding more fantastic elements to the world around the werewolf makes the werewolf itself less fantastic. It's not telling a story about werewolves, but about the world around werewolves.

So, if the rest of the characters in the story are accustomed to seeing werewolves, that makes the werewolf less fantastic? Howso? Aragon was accustomed to seeing Orcs, but did that make either of them less fantastic? The people of Metropolis are accustomed to seeing Superman, does that make him less fantastic?
If it does the writer has failed at making the werewolf fantastic, or succeeded in doing the opposite. If the awe-inspiring fantastical nature of your werewolves relies entirely on them being unexpected then I will straight up tell you that you need better werewolves and better characters. If, on the rather slim chance, you have specifically designed the werewolves as such then you should make that clear. If you purposely intend the werewolves to lose their fantastic and mysterious nature upon closer look, and thus promote a "There's no such thing as monsters." idea, then please say so.

I hope that you realize that the criteria you listed is not setting-specific. You can have a story featuring a plethora of different creatures and still have it be about how a werewolf deals with, as you put it:

"his realization of what he's become, how he keeps it from getting out and spreading the disease/curse, what he thinks of himself, how he handles friends (if he has any), loved ones, etc, and what he tries to do about it.. go all emo and give in to "the monster"? look for a cure? find inner peace and make the best of it? All three over the course of the story? Of course, this would likely work better with my ideal werewolf.. that being, it's a monstrous creature with a penchant for aggression and killing (not inherently evil, but an instinctual need for feeding on live game and warding away others from its territory), no real control over the changes, and them being relatively rare, so packs are few and far between (as if werewolves would want to group together and increase the risk to themselves and others, from themselves)."

Elves are typically depicted as benevolent, beautiful, and peace-loving creatures, so surely a violent, ugly, and aggressive werewolf amongst them would be an even greater shock than it would be amongst humans where it's victims are likely assumed to be those of just another murderer or serial killer. The type of werewolf you described would verily be anathema to the elves, something so incomprehensibly foreign and wrong that it could not be natural.

For a different example, assume that the natural order of the world is Humans and Vampires, just another extension of the food chain, and then along comes a werewolf. Not human, but not vampire, with blatant savagery surpassing even the most monstrous Strigoi, as bizarre an appearance as the most loathsome of the Nosferatu, and the ability to completely hide within the human populace until the very moment it strikes. It has no place within the food chain, it switches from predator to prey erratically, it kills without hunger, it feeds without subtlety, it incites the populace to terror, it is a monster.

You see where I'm going with this?

[Chris]

So, if the rest of the characters in the story are accustomed to seeing werewolves, that makes the werewolf less fantastic?

No, that's not what I mean. It's not how the world reacts to the werewolf, but how the story focuses on the werewolf. A werewolf popping out in an otherwise mundane world will have more focus on it than a werewolf popping out in a world that's populated with elves, orcs, zombies, etc, because you would have to generate interest in the reader for those other creatures, and set up the understanding of how they work, in addition to the werewolves.

Elves are typically depicted as benevolent, beautiful, and peace-loving creatures, so surely a violent, ugly, and aggressive werewolf amongst them would be an even greater shock than it would be amongst humans where it's victims are likely assumed to be those of just another murderer or serial killer. The type of werewolf you described would verily be anathema to the elves, something so incomprehensibly foreign and wrong that it could not be natural.

For a different example, assume that the natural order of the world is Humans and Vampires, just another extension of the food chain, and then along comes a werewolf. Not human, but not vampire, with blatant savagery surpassing even the most monstrous Strigoi, as bizarre an appearance as the most loathsome of the Nosferatu, and the ability to completely hide within the human populace until the very moment it strikes. It has no place within the food chain, it switches from predator to prey erratically, it kills without hunger, it feeds without subtlety, it incites the populace to terror, it is a monster.

You see where I'm going with this?

Yeah, and I hope I'm not being misunderstood that I wouldn't want, or couldn't like, such stories. I like fantasy as much as the next guy, and adding werewolves would definitely sweeten the deal (in fact, I tend to feel a little gypped when a fantasy setting doesn't include werewolves of some sort, in some capacity). I'm not saying that a werewolf story can't work in more fantastic settings. It's just that my preference of a werewolf story would be about a werewolf in a more mundane/familiar setting.

[RedEye]

Elves are a gentle, peaceful, nature loving sort...?
WHERE?

In the Mercedes Lackey series, Elves were dangerous to their human friends...and these were "Bright Court" elves.

The European Alfen have been mixed with the Gaelic Sidhe in most stories and they are dangerous...period; sorta like playing with a live wire.
And "Faries" (sic) are another treatment of "The Fair Folk" who are Elves with a different publicist.

I can recall one story involving "Elves" and Werewolves...and they had a sort of armistice going. Just an armistice, though.
Supernaturals stick together.

[Wingman]

Elves are a gentle, peaceful, nature loving sort...?
WHERE?

Oh, you know, Tolkien, Warhammer, D&D. Just three of the best-known sources of modern elves. Elves, aside from a few exceptions, are typically depicted as closer to nature than humans, and usually less prone to savagery than humans, unless I have completely misinterpreted just about everything I know about popular elves. They may not be pacifists, but they are usually noted as not practicing many of the more violent sides of humanity.
When I say elves, I don't mean Sidhe, or Seelie, or any of the Fey or Faeries. Just as there are multiple types of werewolves, so to are there multiple types of pointy-eared tree dwellers.

[heartlessfang]

This is the same thing I'm tackling with the comic I'm working on. The concept that, compared to other creatures, werewolves are pretty "normal" in retrospect. Trying to juggle a world with a countless number of creatures while trying not to lose focus. While also trying to weave a world as complicated as our own..... I'm trying to capture the meaning of the phrase "The world is infinitely large, but it's actually pretty small."

[Terastas]

The concept that, compared to other creatures, werewolves are pretty "normal" in retrospect.

From the point of view of a werewolf they are.

That's why nothing can sustain a level of implied splendor within its own creative universe. Regardless of what you intend to write about or how many different creatures you include in it, life as a werewolf is still normal for a werewolf.

Really, how often would you expect someone -- anyone -- to be locked into "OMG-WEREWOLF!!!" mode? If your answer is either two hours of film or two hundred pages, either your expectations are too high or you're writing 50 First Dates with werewolves in it. Sooner or later, everything is going to become typical for a werewolf, and since your audience is going to be guided along by someone that either is a werewolf or has experience with werewolves, it's all going to become typical for them too.

The only way I've found to even possibly maintain that sense of wonder is to have the pack be about 50/50 werewolves and human familiars and leave it up to the audience to try and figure out for themselves which are the werewolves and which are the familiars. It hasn't done anything to stop the decline of the surreality of the werewolves themselves, but there is still that uncertainty over who exactly the werewolves are. There's no more "OMG werewolves are real?!!" moments, but there is plenty of room for the occasional "OMG he's a werewolf?!!" moments (and even a few "OMG he's not a werewolf?!!" moments), and eventually leads to a greater picture that has the protagonist cautiously eying people he sees on the street because he absolutely cannot tell a werewolf apart from a human and starts to wonder how many others there could be out there.

The concept of a werewolf itself will become commonplace with your audience no matter how you handle them. The only way to keep them fresh would be to go the route of Alucard from Hellsing and only gradually reveal the full extent of their powers. This, however, creates what I typically refer to as the Dragonball effect. If the only way you can keep werewolves fresh is by making them continually more powerful, eventually it will reach the point of ridiculousness.

Only the werewolves as characters can stay continually fresh. That ties back into what I said about Being Human; it's not about werewolves, rather it's about George, who is a werewolf.

[RedEye]

In short and simple: the Story (any) is about a Person who is a Werewolf; not about Werewolves themselves.
Even the movies have figured that little trick out, finally.

The best part of such stories is that you get to not only tell the story of the Person, you get to tell it about the Werewolf as well; two stories for the price of one!
(And the work of one, too ) Anything that saves keystrokes!

[Terastas]

In short and simple: the Story (any) is about a Person who is a Werewolf; not about Werewolves themselves.
Even the movies have figured that little trick out, finally.

The best part of such stories is that you get to not only tell the story of the Person, you get to tell it about the Werewolf as well; two stories for the price of one!
(And the work of one, too ) Anything that saves keystrokes!

*nod-nods* The thing is that, if you try to write about werewolves with no character or plot, what you're essentially writing is a biology textbook.

I should go back on what I said earlier and specify that you don't need to keep adding new levels of power to keep werewolves interesting. More accurately, you can only keep werewolves interesting by withholding information. It's what the audience doesn't know about werewolves that will keep them intrigued.

Hell, isn't that why we are all werewolf fans? Because we truthfully know absolutely nothing about werewolves and the best we can do is guess (or fake it)? For all we know, the truth about werewolves could be very boring, but it's because we don't have it that we're interested in it.

[RedEye]

(nods) Absolutely! If, let's say, it turned out that Werewolves were real, and decided to come out into society; they would be famoous for about a week, and then some other shiny-pretty-oooh would appear and they would be yesterday's news.

What a come-down for a group of legendary beings!