THE PACK Message Boards

When you think about it, you have to wonder.

On one hand, they might mock them as just stupid kids playing werewolf, but on the other hand, If they needed to recruit any humans into becoming Weres, therianthropes would obviously be their canidates of choice.

We therians would either be the best choice or the worst choice, or perhaps a bit of both. Someone who wants it would be ideal if lycanthropy were a volunteer-based society, in which new members are recruited only from those who would actually want it. But, someone who wants it is more likely to flaunt it, drawing attention, which we generally agree must not be wanted.

And yet, if made to clearly understand the rules of werewolf society, a therian, who desires it, is more likely to understand and comply.

Whereas.

Someone inducted against their will is the most likely to freak out and cause unwanted exposure.

Ask Scott...who has already posted. A therian might be a better candidate for beinbg bitten.

Thing is, I either dont believe in therianthropes (Even thoiugh Im clased as one...Im drunksorry), or I believe everyone is a therianthrope.

Therefore what happens then?

I might be classed a wolf therian, but I dont like being a wolf therian, and I'd be pretty fussy about who bit me and what sort of werewolf and how much control I'd have. Most cases I'd say no. But that, is just me. My imagination is strong enough as it is. If the werewolf was not abvle to turn at will or was horrible looking, I'd be shallow and say look no thanks...I just want to become more than one animal, because Im either a polywere or classed as a spiritual shapeshifter of many animal, plant and human types.

well, hmmm... every one here just about said what I was thinking.

I would say worst candidates for gaining the ability.

Just like you wouldn't want a hardcore marine to become Captain America. you wouldn't want somebody who might be "too into it" to get the ability and start a rucus (like "we are better than humanity and should do what ever we want" type of attitude after gaining the werewolf ability).

You really should want someone who might want it but has reservations about it. A little bit of resistance goes a long way in this type of thing.

A few thoughts about human nature strike me.

Do you know anyone who was a former heavy smoker who has now quit ? Are they rather fanatical about nonsmoking now ?

Do you know someone who is a born again believer ? Are they rather very into the whole thing and now the most ardent and enthusiastic participants ?

Or

Have you seen when someone moves out of where they used to live and into some place they perceive as their own bit of paradise ? There is a whole phenomenon associated with such folks becoming extremely protective of their 'new' home. They want to lock the door behind them now that they are inside and pass protective ordinances. If the name of this comes to me, I shall add it here.

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Such things considered, I have a strong suspicion, that your therians, once conjoined forever with being actual werewolves themselves, might become protectionists par extroardinaire. Rules mavens and aggressive about being sure folks are circumspect. The gift too good to risk losing by carelessness is a very precious gift indeed.

garouda wrote:A few thoughts about human nature strike me.

Do you know anyone who was a former heavy smoker who has now quit ? Are they rather fanatical about nonsmoking now ?

Do you know someone who is a born again believer ? Are they rather very into the whole thing and now the most ardent and enthusiastic participants ?

Or

Have you seen when someone moves out of where they used to live and into some place they perceive as their own bit of paradise ? There is a whole phenomenon associated with such folks becoming extremely protective of their 'new' home. They want to lock the door behind them now that they are inside and pass protective ordinances. If the name of this comes to me, I shall add it here.

*********
Such things considered, I have a strong suspicion, that your therians, once conjoined forever with being actual werewolves themselves, might become protectionists par extroardinaire. Rules mavens and aggressive about being sure folks are circumspect. The gift too good to risk losing by carelessness is a very precious gift indeed.

Wouldn't some therianthropes be more like that than others?

I still think taht therianthropes would be the best for recruiting though, because they'd be the most likely to accept and the least likely to be scared of werewolves.

ANd to clarify, I am not a therianthrope. I just like werewolves.

I agree with the statement that therians would be both the best and the worst candidates for becoming a werewolf. Reason for this is that every one has a different mind set that dicates how they would react to a stimulant, and the ability to shift into such a form as a werewolf would be a really big stimulant.

I suspect that if werewolves were actually going to recruit a person (therian or otherwise), they would at the very least do some kind of background and mental health check. After all, having a narcissistic werewolf would be really bad for the pack and any unlucky humans who come across it.

What you need to ask yourself is why a therian is a therian.

One con against therians is that they talk about lycanthropy and animal spiritualism already. A therian could not be trusted to keep the secret.

Second, therians typically have their own ideas about what a werewolf should be and might not be able to handle the fact of what a werewolf really is.

Finally, and most importantly, whenever people want something, it's generally because they intend to use it. You have to question why someone would want lycanthropy. Some therians would be easier to initiate into a pack because they have rejected the belief that werewolves are inherently evil, but for other therians, the evil aspects are what they love the most. If given lycanthropy, the very first thing some people would do is kill someone.

Regarding therians, I think the pack would recognize that, while their mental state is questionable, a therian would be (more or less) already on the pack's side. What they could do is introduce therian to the pack, but not infect him, instead keeping him as a "familiar" for a time while they get to know him personally. They could infect him later if he proves trustworthy, but they wouldn't tell him that; if the therian knew all they had to do was behave long enough, he'd keep all of his problems to himself until the time is right. If he didn't know when he would be infected, or even if he would be infected, the pack would be able to see for themselves if he's trustworthy or not.

The two things they'd need to determine about a therian would be A) If he can keep a secret, and B) If he can handle being a werewolf.

To determine the former, they'd need to keep him around long enough to see what he typically talks about. A trustworthy therian, for example, could sit on the couch or at the table with two other werewolves and not once even mention lycanthropy. A therian that couldn't keep a secret wouldn't be able to sit for five minutes with two other werewolves without talking about it.

For the latter, the therian could be charged with maintaining a safe house, at which the guests should give him some idea of what it's like to be one. They could determine a lot by the second time he watches a werewolf shift. If he appears too squeamish, that could be an indication that he wouldn't be able to handle being a werewolf himself and should remain a familiar. If he appears fascinated, that could be an indication that he wants lycanthropy too badly to be trusted to behave himself with it. They could also keep tabs on how many visitors he asks to be bitten by, as well as what he typically suggests werewolves do with their gift. A trustworthy therian would eventually accept being part of the pack as their day to day life, whereas an untrustworthy werewolf would gradually become more and more obsessed with werewolves.

Finally (and this is the one nobody wants to hear), they'd strongly discourage the recruiting of therian artists and authors. I think they would look for artists in general because they can work at home (and therefore maintain a safe house 24/7), but therian artists already talk about lycanthropy too much. They might make a few exceptions for artists that deal with the supernatural and/or occult as a whole (where werewolves are just one of many oddities in their work), but just as with being a therian, if someone draws or writes about werewolves almost exclusively, you would need to question their intent.

Terastas wrote: while their mental state is questionable, a therian would be (more or less) already on the pack's side.

Hem, I happen to be a therian, you know. Maybe I am crazy, though, for I suppose that normal people don't dream of being something else all the time.

Terastas wrote:A trustworthy therian, for example, could sit on the couch or at the table with two other werewolves and not once even mention lycanthropy. A therian that couldn't keep a secret wouldn't be able to sit for five minutes with two other werewolves without talking about it.

I assume you mean after the inicial excitement had died down, right? I mean, come on, werewolves are real and you're being considered for a bite? There's no way any therian could refrain from any questions. After a while, sure, but certainly not for the first few days.

Terastas wrote:Finally (and this is the one nobody wants to hear), they'd strongly discourage the recruiting of therian artists and authors. Therian artists already talk about lycanthropy too much.

What would draw attention in that? We talk about lycanthropy all the time here and no one suspects us of being werewolves. Besides, most people can rant about being or seeing a werewolf all they want and nowadays you'd just be considered crazy or a liar. Thanks to our old friend science, nothing short of hard core evidence will make anyone believe in werewolves (perhaps with a few exceptions on this board).

Of course worth considering is that in this, the age of the internet and the world wide web, we may be on the verge, if werewolves can control themselves, which in this connected world, one may reliably presume is true if werewolves are real at all.

Then it may well be the time when the were can come out and reveal themselves to the world.

To end the hiding.

Put to sleep the rumours and myths.

And finally for once and all, receive the blessings of legal protection.

NO! The world is NOT ready for werewolves! I'm not accepted as a therian, so how do you expect people to accept werewolves? Sure there may be a few people who would understand them, but for the most part it would be the worse thing possible. A werewolf population has to keep secret.

Therians and Otherkin may be circumspect, but they certainly have some pretty major get togethers any more. I don't see hit squads going after them.

garouda wrote:Therians and Otherkin may be circumspect, but they certainly have some pretty major get togethers any more. I don't see hit squads going after them.

The best way for anything to hide is if no one believes it actaully exists. and if this belief that it doesn't exist extends to such a a great degree that even saying you have seen it or might suspect that it could exist get's one labled as crazy, well then the better to hide.

You don't get hit squads (like you did in the middle ages) because the public and politicians don't believe it exists.

However not too long ago several people over in India (or a nearby country) were killed by villagers because they were suspected of being werewolves. and much more recently there was a witch burning. The authorities do all they can but some parts of the world are sill violant about this type of superstition.
The Modernized world is the only safe place to even jokenly talk about such things.

People have a hard enough time accepting other ordinary people with different apperances and culures. Give them someone who can assume a dangerous form or has some powerful ability then they WILL fear them and hate them on mass.
Just think about it.
If it was revealed through science on the news for all the world to know that amongst us there really were people that could turn into dangerous animals and that we have no way of knowing who they are, where they are, and what their motives are, what do you think would happen?
Likely the same type of thing we imagine would happen if super-human mutants were real, start suspecting neighbors, anyone who is a loner, anyone a little different. (it would be like the communism scare of the 1950's)

Lets put something to rest for once and all.

A lot of the discussion here moves along as if humans were not and are not dangerous animals.

Humans are deliriously dangerous when they choose to be.

The real point is this. If werewolves don't lose their minds but instead are creatures of intelligent choice, then how dangerous they really are is a matter of how dangerous they choose to be.

Consider, if we want an OSHA approved 'safe' planet, it will NEVER happen.

Heck, there are places in the planet where folks kill each other just for not being the 'correct' brand of certain religions.

So perhaps portions of this world are so ethelogiclaly backward that weres could not come out in those places. Should everyone hide everywhere forever because somewhere in the universe or the world, it is not safe ?

Is life ALL ABOUT FEAR and nothing else ?

Were's would not be able to enter into the human society today, no matter how much they wanted too, if they want to. It would be too dangerous for them; even if only one or two came out of hiding, the entire world might go against them. I don't think we want to see another Salem Witch Trial, do we? I think someone already wrote something to that extent, just not so blunt. You are right about humans being dangerous animals; i agree whole heartedly about that. But I think i got somewhat confused with what garouda said about is life all about fear. Did you mean the humans fears, or the werewolf's fears?

Kelpten wrote:

Terastas wrote: while their mental state is questionable, a therian would be (more or less) already on the pack's side.

Hem, I happen to be a therian, you know. Maybe I am crazy, though, for I suppose that normal people don't dream of being something else all the time.

Emphasis on the word "questionable." Some therians could be trusted with lycanthropy, but there are also some therians that frequently rant about how they want to kill off the entire human race.

I assume you mean after the inicial excitement had died down, right? I mean, come on, werewolves are real and you're being considered for a bite? There's no way any therian could refrain from any questions. After a while, sure, but certainly not for the first few days.

*nods* Obviously they'd have to tell him how to live in the pack and what to expect from the pack, but after two or three months, he should start familiarizing himself with the pack members by their individual human natures. If after that long he still can't think of them as anything but werewolves, or can't maintain a discussion about anything other than werewolves or the werewolf lifestyle, it could be an indication that lycanthropy is an object of obsession.

What would draw attention in that? We talk about lycanthropy all the time here and no one suspects us of being werewolves. Besides, most people can rant about being or seeing a werewolf all they want and nowadays you'd just be considered crazy or a liar. Thanks to our old friend science, nothing short of hard core evidence will make anyone believe in werewolves (perhaps with a few exceptions on this board).

It's different for us because we aren't actual lycanthropes; as far as we're concerned, the entire object of discussion is fictional. For a real werewolf, however, anything pertaining to lycanthropy would be a very uncomfortable subject. A pack wouldn't want to do anything to draw attention to itself, and the success of an artist is based on how much attention he receives.

Even if an artist was a trustworthy person, there are just way too many red flags he could potentially set during his initiation. He'd have to be a good enough artist to explain how he pays for his apartment (which is really the safe house the pack is paying for), but he also couldn't make his art accurate enough that anyone who is aware of the existence of werewolves would notice the similarities, nor could he make his art intentionally less accurate or stop drawing/writing altogether because that would raise red flags among his therian fans. Somebody that deals with the horror genre as a whole might be able to make the transition, but it would be extremely difficult for a werewolf artist to initiate into the pack and maintain outward appearances at the same time.

And finally, American politics are still bent out of shape over gay marriage and immigration. What do you think the chances of werewolves finding acceptance are?

Terastas wrote:He'd have to be a good enough artist to explain how he pays for his apartment (which is really the safe house the pack is paying for), but he also couldn't make his art accurate enough that anyone who is aware of the existence of werewolves would notice the similarities, nor could he make his art intentionally less accurate or stop drawing/writing altogether because that would raise red flags among his therian fans.

Oh, drawing attention to people who already know about werewolves. That makes sence, I guess.

garouda" wrote:Is life ALL ABOUT FEAR and nothing else ?

The public would panic if werewolves were exposed. If you were a werewolf and you were faced with constant persecution or a clandestine life, which would you choose? Personaly, I think the price for secrecy is well worth it.

Is the entire world so insane and immature that they could not in the least deal with the concept of real werewolves ?

The turning point for this would be as follows:

1. Are werewolves monsters in the most monstrous and destructive sense of the concept ?

or

2. Are werewolves intelligent beings with a shapeshifting ability or affliction, but otherwise capable of restraint and self control ?

Would werewolves have their assailants and detractors ?

Sure

Would they also have their passionate champions ?

Oh more than you can imagine.

garouda wrote:Is the entire world so insane and immature that they could not in the least deal with the concept of real werewolves ?

In a word, YES! I don't disagree with your view on werewolves (though I can think of a certain fox that might), but some humans, regardless of the reality of werewolves, would panic and attack. Fear is a powerful motivator, and sharp fangs in your neighbor's mouth will inevitably cause some unease.

This reminds me of a quote from Men In Black.

"People are smart, they can handle it."
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it."

Mob mentality is a scary thing. It doesn't take much to get people worked up, especially if they're in large groups.

Set wrote:This reminds me of a quote from Men In Black.

"People are smart, they can handle it."
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it."

Mob mentality is a scary thing. It doesn't take much to get people worked up, especially if they're in large groups.

Now, this even has a formula: Take the average I.Q. of the people in the group, then divide it by the number of people in the group; and you get your Group I.Q. If it's something they're passionate about, divide the Group I.Q. number by two.
People really are dangerous in large groups, since they will follow the group's "Alpha" without thinking about the consequences. It's as if being in a Group absolves them of something...

I think that only SOME of the world would be that stupid. Some would be accepting and some would be, well ...
like us about it.

The amount of these would be dependant on the way it is revealed.

Kelpten wrote:

Terastas wrote:He'd have to be a good enough artist to explain how he pays for his apartment (which is really the safe house the pack is paying for), but he also couldn't make his art accurate enough that anyone who is aware of the existence of werewolves would notice the similarities, nor could he make his art intentionally less accurate or stop drawing/writing altogether because that would raise red flags among his therian fans.

Oh, drawing attention to people who already know about werewolves. That makes sence, I guess.

*nods* Something else I forgot to mention that separates us from real werewolves is that we probably guess things incorrectly a lot. We're free to disagree and come up with our own wild theories because, as far as we're concerned, lycanthropy is fictional. A real werewolf, or even someone that just associates with werewolves, on the other hand, would have the solid facts and would be less able to think freely about them; they would have an accurate "idea" of what werewolves are truly like, and would also have a more difficult time accepting counterarguments. Basically, he'd be a p-shifter with one difference: if pressed, he'd not only announce that he is not a werewolf, he'd more likely than not completely deny their existence. To a hunter observing the chat room or message board, that would translate to "I have something to hide."

You need to be careful about what you put on the Internet because anyone can see it. I think for that reason werewolves would be reluctant to use the Internet for anything, and therians are almost exclusively an online community. A therian would have a hard time keeping a low profile for his pack and maintaining appearances online. The red flags for a chat room attendant or a blogger are about the same as the ones an artist would be at risk of raising.