gauge interest on werewolves who are heroes

[jaekaido]

Hello, my name is Jaekaido and i am in the process of figuring out if a sci-fi story about a werewolf being the hero of a story is worth doing. now before things get out of hand i want you all to know that this story is actually 22+ years in the making though only recently have i been able to actively work on it. No the story does not take place in space. it starts at a security company in the capital city of Vaatakan. a world i am currently in the middle of making on world anvil.

through my research of werewolves and shapeshifters alike, i have always found that they get a bad reputation for being killers and deceivers. what if the the reason for this is that there is a secret dimension holding nightmarish monsters that create our nightmares. those who succumb to those nightmares end up becoming monsters in the real world and the lycanthropes come in and save the day.

the story i am preparing is a shot of an adventure of a group of lycanthropes that are getting ready to retire as they are getting way past their time. this is going to bring, what i hope, is interest in the new team. the second team is the story of the comic i wish to write on a regular basis.i need to start prior to the second though to gauge the interest for it.

so my question to all who view this article, what do you think? should i pursue this endeavor.

[PhantomFox]

It's a novel concept, but would need explaining how and why the Lycans are needed to stop the monsters. Possibly also which moon or moons triggers the werewolves cycle, given this is a sci-fi story.

So, maybe? It has potential, but a lot depends on the fine details, characters, and execution. I say go for it, and if it doesn't work, reforge it to be even better.

[sihnfahl]

It's a novel concept, but would need explaining how and why the Lycans are needed to stop the monsters. Possibly also which moon or moons triggers the werewolves cycle, given this is a sci-fi story.

Unless it's an at-will thing instead of being tied to moon cycles?

As for a reasoning - lycanthropes are already under a bit of a magical situation, which gives them an innate protection against 'monsterfication'.

Or, as added spice, they're constantly fighting their own inner demons, with their baser instincts trying to take over, which makes it a 'I can fight this external compulsion because my internal ones are oh so much more worse'...

[jaekaido]

Here is what I can do. I will write up a description of the world and why the lycanthropes change and stuff and a brief history of why they fight the nightmares.

Can you think of a few specific things I should write up?

[sihnfahl]

Things to think on:

1) What mediates their shapeshifting? Is it at will, triggered by specific stimuli, how much control over it do they have in stressful situations. As they age, how does it impact their shapeshifting?

2) How is it passed on? Bloodlines, infection, ritual?

3) What about their condition makes them suited for the task? After all: whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster.

4) How open are they in fighting said monsters? Is it a secretive task force trying to hide the monsters from public knowledge, or are they regular appearances on news stations as new monsters appear?

5) If secretive, what mechanisms do they use to quiet eye-witnesses?

6) If public, what mechanisms do they use for public relations and trying to prevent panic?

[PhantomFox]

Also characterization is important too. Who are the protagonists, why should we like and care about them?

And of course plot. What's the main conflict this story is going to resolve and why should we care?

[dps]

Check out the Alphas in the Dresden Files. They're non-villainous werewolves, and are certainly heroic--they're not the heroes of the series, but are probably overall the hero's closest allies.

[PoeticallyPsyco]

I've always been a fan of the concept. If you're looking for inspiration, The Dresden File has the Alphas, as mentioned above, but for series with a bit more focus on werewolves, there're the Mercy Thompson books, the World of the Lupi series, Alpha Luna, How to be a Werewolf, Wilde Life, and Shifters/Shifters Redux, to name the ones I'm familiar with.

Spoiler: Summaries (and links to the webcomics)

Show

Werewolves in Mercy Thompson aren't inherently good or evil... but their human soul is constantly struggling with that of their wolf, which is far hungrier, angrier, and more violent than a true wolf. Most werewolves we meet in the series are heroic, putting their incredibly strength and regeneration to use to protect their friends, but there are definitely villains, and there's no such thing as a "safe" werewolf (with a very few exceptions). For true werewolves (not "walkers" like the titular Mercy, who is essentially a 'werewolf-lite', lacking both most of the advantages and most of the disadvantages), shifting is an agonizing and time consuming process.

In the World of the Lupi books, the clan of lupi we spend the most time with are unambiguously heroic, being self-sacrificing, loyal, and respectful. This is, however, at least partially a deliberate public relations spin, aimed at reducing the relentless persecution lupi have faced for most of human history in the setting. We meet other clans that aren't so nice, though none could be considered "evil". Lupi benefit from increased strength, speed, and healing, though not to nearly the degree of the werewolves in Mercy Thompson. Their wolf forms are not very different from true wolves, and changing is instantaneous and relatively painless but very energy consuming. Rather than constantly struggling against their wolves like the werewolves of Mercy Thompson, lupi have more of a balance between the in-the-moment thoughts of their wolves and the rational, forward thinking thoughts of the human.

Alpha Luna is a webcomic on hiatus right now, and it's not really far enough into the story to make sweeping claims about werewolves. The main character is one, though, and is definitely heroic. Her wolf was very aggressive on first transforming (implied to be normal), but calmed down relatively quickly and certainly didn't seem evil.

How to be a Werewolf is another webcomic, and as you'd probably guess from the title, has a lot to do with werewolves. None of the wolves we've seen so far have been inherently evil or violent, though the main character wasn't able to control her transformations at all until she met her first fellow werewolf and he started showing her the ropes. HtbaW updates regularly, every Tuesday and Wednesday.

Shifters/Shifters Redux is a webcomic/reboot of that webcomic, and has been on hiatus for long enough to be considered orphaned. Unusually, shifters in this universe appear to be good by default, the natural enemies of predatory vampires. Towards the end of Shifters we start getting the implication that things aren't that simple, but as a rule the shifters are heroic... ironically, with the exception of the main character, whose beast form is a bad mix of absurdly powerful and uncontrollably violent and destructive. While in human form she's nice enough, though.

Last but not least, one of the main characters of the webcomic Wilde Life is a teenage werewolf. Specifically, an stubborn, grumpy, angsty teen, but still fundamentally a good person. The other werewolves in the story haven't been painted so flatteringly, attempting to kill and eat both Clifford and other main character Oscar, despite (or perhaps because of) the fact that eating "man flesh" causes madness.

But yeah, werewolves are awesome. Always cool to see a new story dealing with them from a different angle.

[sihnfahl]

Spoiler: Summaries (and links to the webcomics)

Show

Ironically, with the exception of the main character, whose beast form is a bad mix of absurdly powerful and uncontrollably violent and destructive. While in human form she's nice enough, though.

Spoiler

Show

IIRC, that's because she came into her werewolf nature while she was being turned into a vampire. So she got vampiric influence in her werewolf form. Something that rarely happens because of the Higher Powers in play, and is generally considered a Bad Thing for everyone involved.