Minority pet peeves

[Jamie]

One of the main uses of this board has been to complain about all the things that the majority of us are sick of seeing in werewolf movies and novels, as part of the process of building a well-fleshed-out werewolf concept that the majority of us can be happy with.
This topic is about the inverse situation: is there something about werewolves that is your personal pet peeve, but you've noticed that you're in the minority with your stance? In other words, is there something you hate when you see it in werewolf movies or novels, but most other people seem to love it?
I was interested in seeing some of the minority opinions, which show up here and there in many other threads, but are usually quickly drowned out by the majority opinion. This is your chance to talk about your minority opinion in detail, including why you feel that way, without being shut up immediately by a flood of opinions to the contrary.
As a courtesy, if you see something here you disagree with, please don't argue against it. The person has probably already heard your arguments against that very thing, and I don't want this thread to turn into a war between many different minority opinions and the usual majority opinions.

For example, I'll list one of my minority opinions:

I haven't mentioned this before, but I'm actually pretty sick of viral theories of lycanthropy. Nearly everyone else seems to love this idea. I used to love it too. I admit it has quite a number of convenient features: viruses can be used for genetic engineering, so we have an immediate link to DNA and possible extreme bodily changes, plus, whenever we use the feature of werewolves passing on lycanthropy by bites, a virus is the easiest explanation to think of.
But, about 2 or 3 years ago, I suddenly started gettting sick of the concept. Whenever I ran across it, I'd have a momentary bad reaction to whatever novel it was in, even if I otherwise liked that novel.
I felt that the viral concept was a little too widely accepted and overused, and it tended to close off certain scenarios that I was interested in seeing, and also raised issues that I was either too tired of seeing so often or that were presented in an unrealistic way.
For example, the viral concept tended to lead to werewolf novels that were very focused on body fluids, and that nearly always presented lycanthropy as a sexually transmitted disease. Of course, this would always make me think that, in a real world situation where something was spread so easily by saliva, blood or sexual fluids, we'd soon be facing a world in which about a fifth of the population consisted of werewolves.
There were also a number of interesting ways that I might like to see werewolves presented that would suddenly be off-limits, merely because viruses don't work that way.

[Figarou]

I felt that the viral concept was a little too widely accepted and overused, and it tended to close off certain scenarios that I was interested in seeing, and also raised issues that I was either too tired of seeing so often or that were presented in an unrealistic way.
For example, the viral concept tended to lead to werewolf novels that were very focused on body fluids, and that nearly always presented lycanthropy as a sexually transmitted disease. Of course, this would always make me think that, in a real world situation where something was spread so easily by saliva, blood or sexual fluids, we'd soon be facing a world in which about a fifth of the population consisted of werewolves.
There were also a number of interesting ways that I might like to see werewolves presented that would suddenly be off-limits, merely because viruses don't work that way.

Thats why I said this in another thread.

http://calypso-blue.com/werewolf/viewto ... 3078#53078

[Kurayami_Ookami]

Hmm, yes, that does seem a bit overused...I guess *I* just have a problem when they have no choice but to be bloodthirsty monsters...It makes the whole thing somewhat uninteresting to me if the characters have no choice, it also spreads bad steriotypes about real wolves...

[Timber-WoIf]

i don't particulary like nasty, mean, snarly werewolves... natural wolves don't runn around all day , fur on end, snarling and biting all the time. I don't expect them to be civilized nessisarrily, but...

[Set]

My pet peeves? Hmm...

Painful transformations. It just annoys me.

Silver allergy. Also very annoying.

Growing 6 inches or more in height. "All werewulfz shood bee at leest 8 foot tall otherwiz they sukc!"

Rediculously unrealistic healing abilities. "Oooh, I lost an arm..." *grows another* or the variation "Ooh, I got shot!" *pushes bullet out through skin and heals in less than 5 seconds*

"I am Superwolf!" *poses with bulging muscles, then lifts a car and chucks it at someone*

[white]

Those aren't minorities, though for the most part

[Akela]

For the most part, my feelings are copacetic. The only thing I really disagree with is uber healing and uber strength but I don't think the Freeborn wolves will have that anyway.

[Anubis]

mine are:

super fast healing, (come one what can heal that fast?)

human and wolf mix

lanthropy is a disease

mean stupid blood thursty werewolves.

the caveman with fangs

no tail

water is bad for wererwolves (oh please!!)

werewoves with spiderman powers (i.e. van helsing)

[Hamster]

The only things I hate is that werewolves being mindless blood thirsty beast who is evil, and don't have a tail. I myself like the idea of weres being fast healing and climbers. Not like Cursed wall and ceiling climbers but just good at climbing. I also like the idea of weres being blood thirsty (by choose). I'm sorry if I'm "demonizing" werewolves but I don't like the idea of werewolves as just being an anthropomorphic wolf.

[Terastas]

lanthropy is a disease

This one bothers me sometimes too, although the concept of lycanthropy described as being infectuous does not bother me. It's not the concept so much as the lack of a better word that bothers me.

Other than that, oh...

Werewolves crawling about on the ceiling.

Horny male werewolves and/or female temptress werewolves.

The use of silver, especially when you can see steam coming out of the stab wound.

Teen protagonists... Especially the ones with big houses and whose parents are never around.

"Kill the werewolf that bit you and you shall be cured."

Istantaneously reverting back to human form when a cloud blows by the moon.

PS1 graphics.

"Snarl-snarl-where's Pugsy-snarl-snarl."

Reverting back to human form when they die.

The protagonists' corny one-liners.

When their in the morgue at the end and the camera zooms in to see their eyes open.

[Akela]

When their in the morgue at the end and the camera zooms in to see their eyes open.

...That was kinda random, where'd that come from?

[Terastas]

When their in the morgue at the end and the camera zooms in to see their eyes open.

...That was kinda random, where'd that come from?

The only movie involving a werewolf where I can remember that happening was Darkwolf, but it's a typical ending for plenty of horror movies. The latest Halloween installment, for example, also had its final scene in the morgue.

[Akela]

Interesting... though I wouln't know. Even though I am a werewolf fan I am not so much that I will waste my time with movies that I know are crappy.

[PariahPoet]

Growing 6 inches or more in height. "All werewulfz shood bee at leest 8 foot tall otherwiz they sukc!"

Yeah, I agree on that one. I actually think that werewolves should get shorter (though still more muscular and more powerful) in Gestalt form.

[Terastas]

Growing 6 inches or more in height. "All werewulfz shood bee at leest 8 foot tall otherwiz they sukc!"

Yeah, I agree on that one. I actually think that werewolves should get shorter (though still more muscular and more powerful) in Gestalt form.

I could see hunching over, but I don't think they should get shorter, especially taking into account the issue of cranial capacity brought up in the Werewolf head-shape thread.

I think they tend to gain six inches like that because most shifts involve a change from flat human feet to digitgrade paws (or standing on their toes if you'd prefer).

[PariahPoet]

*shrug* Again, this is the minority peeve. I just don't think that it makes sense for a human/animal hybrid to be larger than either species. I just think it should be intermediate.

[Akela]

As long as they don't shrink a foot or something uber ridiculous like that it will be O.K. It's just that something bigger and stronger tends to be more intimidating.

[Scott Gardener]

The "virus" virus:

Well, it was innovative for me when I first thought of it in 1987, before I had the Internet to show me that everyone else had the same idea. It's heavily used, because it's a logically easy scientifically explainable method. It's beautifully simple and convinient. Still, I can see how it can get on the nerves of someone who has in one's own mind a different system. (Sorry if it screwed up your enjoyment of my novel.)

As for my own pet peeves:

Basically, the usual--the drooling, slathering, mindless monster, or the compuslory "evil" bit. That, and Satanism. Lycanthropes should not be minions of Satan. Avoid even-numbered Howling sequels.

In pop culture, I do think the bit about killing the first of the line to cure yourself or everyone else is overused. It worked for the Werewolf TV series, but by Cursed, it was lame.

[Vilkacis]

Hmm... I have plenty of peeves (most of which mirror the majority opinion), but here are some minority ones:



I don't like the full moon bit.

Nowadays, most people consider that to be an inseparable part of being a werewolf. I don't really like it -- it doesn't make sense to me. I think it's OK if used right, but I don't think it should automatically included.



I don't like the silver thing.

Again, something I get the feeling most people disagree with me about. I don't like it unless there's a reason for it.



I think claws (and blood and saliva and sex) should spread lycanthropy as well as any bite.

I'm pretty sure Vuldari has expressed agreement with me on this matter in the past, and maybe a few others, but I get the feeling I'm in the minority on this issue. I don't see why a bite should be the only way.



I don't like drawn-out, painful transformations.

Some pain is fine, but I don't really want to see someone writhing on the floor.



In fact, I don't really even like the idea of shifting.

Now, I know I'm in the minority here!



-- Vilkacis

[Apokryltaros]

In fact, I don't really even like the idea of shifting.

Now, I know I'm in the minority here!



-- Vilkacis

Isn't that like saying, "I like pizza, but I don't like cheese or tomato sauce"?

[Lupin]

Isn't that like saying, "I like pizza, but I don't like cheese or tomato sauce"?

I'd say it's more like not liking the bread. Shifting is pretty much the central idea of the werewolf myth.

[Midnite Wolf]

Well, if anything in the movie versions that annoys me the most, is the "super" strength and agility. IMHO it is a bit farfetched, granted I'd understand if they were stronger/faster than a human, but not to the extreme of bending metal and leaping 20-30 feet in the air. Won't even go into the fact that some are capable of walking up walls and on ceilings, another annoyance if ya ask me. Bleh

[Merrypaws]

In fact, I don't really even like the idea of shifting.

Now, I know I'm in the minority here!

High five Vilk, you're not alone. My ultimate werewolf shifts only once in a lifetime (if not born the way it is.) And I also totally agree about the moon and silver bits. I can see the connection to the moon in general, but full moon? What's so special about that?

And, coupla my own peeves:
- Humongous, saber-toothed 9-foot uber weres.
Can you say stereotype? Just ick.

- Werewolves hate vampires.
I know I'm opening a can of worms here, but I'm just missing the point by mile. And actually I'm kinda happy that I am. If anything, I think weres and vamps should feel some sort of kinship and sympathy for each other. After all, both are... how should I say... unwelcome minorities among the sentient creatures of this planet. Okay, vampires kill people. So? Some werewolves do too, and they don't even need to do it to live.

[Kurayami_Ookami]

I think claws (and blood and saliva and sex) should spread lycanthropy as well as any bite.

I agree with all but claws: The rest make sense, but having a hard, dead, fingernail scratching you spread it? It seems to me all that does is get -your- blood on the -wolf-, not something live from the wolf into you, as in saliva getting in wound, or blood mixing, etc...

[Vuldari]

Minority pet peeves?
(These may not all be "minority" peeves, but they are my peeves none the less.)




-I LIKE the classic "wolfman" style werewolf. I think the character/creature still has potential.


-(as Vilkacis said) I like it when scratches from the claws can pass on lycanthropy too, and not just the bite.


-I am not totally opposed to werewolves being overcome by predetory instincts when transformed (as long as they actually act like "predators" hunting to survive, and not just mindless killers), but I do hate the whole "amnesia" thing. If they DO become killers while in the transformed state, I prefer that they remember being the creature and choosing to attack their prey. ...and remember liking it, even if they are disgusted by it afterwords.


-I prefer the shifting to be mostly involuntary. Not neccesarily only durring full moons (or have anything to do with the moon at all), but at semi-predictable, and sometimes entirely unpredictable times. When it happens, it happens, and the person has to deal with it.


-Teeth. I HATE Saber-fangs. Extra long, curved fangs that are sticking out, even when their muzzle is closed just look dumb and/or gross to me.


-A trigger.
I like the element that the Full Moon adds. Traditionally (by Hollywood traditions), when the full moon appears, the werewolf is forced to transform, no matter what. Even if the phase of the moon is not the trigger, I like it when there is a tangible element like this that can override the will of a werewolf, temporarily. Maybe anger (Hulk style), or fear...danger...(I remember a bad movie where flashing lights could trigger the shift)...perhaps excessive contact with silver or wolfsbane could Cause a werwolf to shift, as-well-as/ instead-of harming it...the sound of howling...etc, etc...
Just as long as there is something to anticipate, or be afraid of, if one is either a werewolf themself, or is near one.


-Werewolf Sex. True as it may be that the will to breed is one of the strongest animal instincts, I have no desire whatsoever to watch, or read about horney werewolves. ...ever.


-The idea that a werewolf that is not taller than you is not powerful or frightening. That drives me crazy. A 5'9" Werewolf would totally be able to both scare the pants off of, and take down a 7'1" Basketball player, or a 6'5" "pro" wrestler.


-"werewolves are essentially invonerable to anything but **** "
Unless it is a supernatural being that was meant to be the unstoppable destroyer of mankind, I think both viral and cursed werewolves would and should be as mortal and fragile as any other living creature. ...capable of dying in even lame and pathetic ways (just like humans sometimes do), such as tripping and bashing their head on a rock, or getting their lungs pulverized by an old lady whacking it with her grandsons metal baseball bat, or even just choking to death.

I'm not saying I'd prefer to see one die in one of these ways, but I don't like to see them get up from things that, by all logic, should have killed them. (No waking up in the morgue)

[Edit:] I'd like to ammend my previous statement a little. Although I still feel that viral/non-magical werewolves should NOT be uber-strong or invonerable, I am okay with magical ones having unnatural strength or durability in some cases. Once it has been made clear that no one is even trying to suggest that these creatures came to exist naturally, and that they are artificially created by supernatural powers, then the laws of conventional science can be bent or broken.

In other words...If the Werewolf Heirarchy was clearly started on purpose utilising physics bending powers to create them, then the Werewolf would be whatever it's creator wanted it to be. If this theoretical "father of the werewolf" wanted to create an unstopable beast that could withstand almost anything, and merely used the WOLF as an inspirational template, incorperating wolf-like senses and the natural Intimidating aesthetic appearance of the creature, but not actually trying to duplicate a wolf exactly, then a muscle bound, 9-foot, bullet immune, hairy Juggernaut would make sense.


-Werewolves with "too much" controll. (related to allready mentioned peeves)
I'm all for Experienced werwolves learning how to voluntarily trigger their transformations, in time, and being able to repress a shift some of the time, but if they gain "complete" controll, then the element of unpredictability is gone, and they are no fun any more. Then they are just "shapeshifters" (which are cool too, but are not the same as werewolves, as far as I'm concerned).


-The "Virus"
I too am a little tired of the "virus" theory being the ONLY one being used or accepted. I would like to see some stories done with the "viral" style lycathropy, but taking the supernatural approach opens up totally different possiblilities and scenarios, as well as different rules on how lycanthropy can and can not be transfered, or cured.

If it is purely supernatural in nature, then it could just be the Sybolism of the bite or scratch that determines if it passes on or not. Symbolic talismans could then apply to either repel or encourage the curse to pass on. I think it might even be interesting if a werewolf could make someone else one of them simply by "seducing" them, or fooling them into acting or thinking like one and thus falling under the spell. What if one could start to become a werewolf just by living in the presence of one who is trying to convert you, with or without your knowlage? This scenario could not even be explored if one sticks only to the rules of biological contact and viral nature. Such supernatural scenarios could also allow for "half-werewolves" (as discussed in another thread) where someone is only partially converted, and so only has SOME lycanthropic qualities and/or abilities.


Mostly though, I just hate it when people try to restrict werewolves to only one version or another, and reject others.
(Especially when I am the one doing it...becasue then I feel really stupid when I realise what I've been doing.)