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Kigai-Holt — The Hipster Werewolf
Published: 2012-12-05 17:58:28 +0000 UTC; Views: 2276; Favourites: 38; Downloads: 0
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Description
Sort of an inside joke that started up during a full moon chat over atWe got on to the subject "Lycans," and I stated that any werewolf that referred to himself as a Lycan is a hipster. We had a good laugh, and since then I've been wanting to draw it, so here he is.
I may eventually color him, but who knows.
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Comments: 67
I'm planning on making one soon
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This made me lol. I approve. And very nicely drawn, too! XD
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Finally: we've found the one thing more unnerving than a cuddlewolf.
I also know that this is at least partly my fault. I really, really hate the word "Lycan" and wondered if I was in the same boat. How did a word invented by the likes of Underworld catch on at all?
And why I am not watching you?
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Lmao, I know the feeling. Lycan is that thing from underworld and nothing else.
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LOL indeed.
I just did a DA search for "lycan." Want to guess how many deviations it found?
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26,361
Impressive guess. Or did you just search? Actually, what bugs me isn't the quantity, it's the quality. Some really cool werewolves are apparently "lycans." Despite their coolness, in their spare time, they wear thick black frame glasses (despite having 20/20 vision) and drink extra skin soy mocha lattes served in paper-free coffee cups certified by the Sierra Club.
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(Ya got me, I had to search it when ya mentioned it)
Haha! I know right? It's a shame, but I guess it's whatever floats their boats. In writing and in art, I try to stray from calling werewolves "Lycans," and groups of them "packs," pretty damn cliche if ya ask me.
Who knows, maybe some generation down the line will get this, and werewolves will be more respected in cinema & writing.
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Though I do wonder what else one would call a group of wolves. I'm okay with the "pack," "alpha," etc if it's done smart - humans describing werewolves, clueless werewolves trying to describe themselves, or some other spin besides "instinct says so." Popular culture both influences and is influenced by real life. Then again, I've thought about these things way too much.
"Lycan?" Not so much. I never hear it outside of DA (hipster werewolves trying to be cool) or Underworld (boring adults trying to be cool).
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In older literature, you can find folks referencing "packs" of werewolves as "Lunacies" (Or Lunacy in reference to a single group of werewolves).
I definitely can understand the references with folks who aren't akin to lycanthropy (like most protagonists in stories), though some can take it too far.
Yeah, Lycan was for Underworld, and it should stay that way. I doubt that any writers will be successful in integrating it into published literature.
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Oh dear. A new form of werewolf has reared its ugly head: the tweed suit-wearing Lycanthropic History Professor Werewolf. There's also the hopelessly nerdy variety who have no idea what they're supposed to be doing, so they open up a Werewolf: the Apocalypse rulebook start calling themselves a "pack" and pick out overly dramatic theme names like "Bloody Fang" and "Moon Slayer." But you probably know by now that when it comes to different versions of werewolves, I'm all about "the more, the merrier."
It is odd how often protagonist werewolves tend to start off human. I suppose that makes them easier to identify with and gives an introduction to the universe. Ever notice how werewolf protagonists always end the story as the alpha of the pack (despite usually being a noob or of low rank), cured (often despite it being said that there is no cure), or dead?
Actually, I didn't notice it until just now myself. This may come up in the next chat because I'm really struggling to think of exceptions in any genre.
I really like that actually - "lunacy." I suppose it doesn't have the slickness of "Lycan" that 14 year olds love so much, but not everything has to be made for Monster energy drink's target demographic.
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Definitely werewolves need variety. I was thinking about this last night whilst watching what appears to be an indie werewolf show that didn't make it past the pilot.
Since most horror-eske werewolf stories have been told at this point, I suppose the only way to continue is to add a bit more depth and humanity to a werewolf, this can obviously go too far, but when checked, it's probably the only way to continue with werewolf fiction.
I just got done reading through our contest literature submissions over at , and I was amazed at how original some of the content is in there, good content too, and all of those stories had added more humanity to the werewolf.
Don't get me wrong, I love a good mindless beast, but I think that's why werewolf fiction has died off, it's because there are only so many things you can do with it.
I have noticed a common theme with those endings (mostly the 'dead' one). I suppose that it's not as easy to write a more realistic, middle ground ending. Most of what people want to see is unfortunately on some sort of extreme, where the protagonist gets a better life than he had, or he gets killed. Luckily, I've seen some more middle ground work in recent fiction.
I opened a thread on the pack forums about what a werewolf novel should include, haven't gotten much of any decent responses on it though, I think folks are at a loss with what to do with werewolf fiction, and there's a lot of experimentation out there now in an attempt to revive it.
Not gonna lie, I'd drink a beer or wine that was named "Lunacy." Sounds like a badass drink.
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They do. Though sometimes I worry that there's been ghettoization of werewolves on DA.
I don't disagree. I've never quite liked the "mindless beast" horror werewolf. I do feel like there's some life left in the genre but not for this particular variety. Even the folklore doesn't feature this sort and part of what I feel makes werewolves scary is that they should have a human brain doing the reasoning. Film in particular tends to depict werewolves as being dumber than a normal dog.
I know I knock WWaH a lot. I moved away from the group partly because I felt that werewolves had traded one batch of uninventive cliches for another and because I felt like writers were second class citizens there. I will also say that in the last few months, I'm seeing some positive change and a lot more open-mindedness. The writing in particular is showing a change for the better and some of the stuff for the "hunting" contest I not only enjoyed reading, but thought that it showed a very sophisticated view.
I'll also say that I had my "cuddlewolf period." I think that every werewolf nerd who starts off on horror films does. It's a natural reaction - after seeing "mindless, stupid beast" ten million times, you're desperate for something else. Search the web and the first thing to pop up is Goldenwolf. It's a breath of fresh air! A big, badass werewolf who looks ten times better than nearly anything in the movies and does something besides complain about being a werewolf, turn into a mindless beast, and kill everyone until it gets killed too? What a change! Since I've further developed my tastes, I've been living on the middle ground. I agree that even horror werewolves need some humanization for the reader to connect. After all, humans have done a pretty good job being the monsters of real-life horror stories.
Alas, I haven't really seen any aside from stuff online. Though I'd probably consider "cured" a middle ground... and boring. Personally, it often seems like too easy of a way out, especially since the cure is usually just lying around (most often gained by killing the bad guy or taking it from him/her). A very common theme in the world of supernatural transformees is that they have to learn to control themselves and manage their power. The idea of a werewolf being cured makes me think of a "coming of age story" where the protagonist learns and develops, but in the end, finds a serum and is able to go back to being a child. Even when I was a little kid and didn't understand themes or symbolism, few of my invented werewolves were curable and those who were didn't want it.
There's a lot of experimentation and like all experiments, some go hideously, hideously wrong. I'm doing a little experimenting myself for the upcoming WH contest. A story about one werewolf nerd's experiments in fact. But she is very much a "humanized" werewolf, even if she's deep on the horror side.
I've been trying a lot of wolf or werewolf-themed beers lately. Lancaster Brewing's winter warmer not only has a wolf motif, but also funds a wolf sanctuary. It's a good beer, but heavily malted beers aren't really my thing. Primal Pale Ale is solid - a well-hoped Pale Ale that stops just shy of IPA territory. And of course, there's New Castle Werewolf which is getting harder to find since October and was a little too weak for my tastes. There's also Alpha Dog, a "prestige" beer which is a "sandblaster for your taste buds" Imperial IPA that I don't recommend to anyone other than fans of Hopwhallop, Dogfish Head 90 Minute, Arrogant Bastard, and other high-test, high-hops brews.
Sorry about the length of this comment. I sort of went off the rails.
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Lol, we've both been extending these comments XD
Hmm, where do you find the Lancaster's winter warmer? I haven't seen it in any of the stores in my town. I did drink a lot of werewolf though, still saving my last bottle for the appropriate time. (went to scarefest this year, many werewolves were drunk).
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As far as I know, the beer isn't available if you get too far from Lancaster, PA. We've got it in Maryland and it's presumably in PA, but I don't know where else.
Here's the label: [link]
Drunk werewolves, LOL. I have a fair number of drunk werewolves in my stable of characters. At least two of them got their "grownup" names due to incidents involving large quantities of alcohol - "Bloodaxe" and "Fire Tail." You can probably guess what happened in both incidents.
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Lol, I'm already imagining the story behind Fire Tail.
Yeah, drunk werewolves seldom end well, usually a lot of blood baths are involved in some short stories I've written (Yeah, we've all got a book XD )
That's unfortunate about the beer, I'm in NC. Meh, I'll find a way around it.
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Actually, Fire Tail's incident could have been a lot worse. Being on fire is scary. Where does a canine's tail go when its scared?
LOL, don't we all?
It might have made it that far south. Do you have other Lancaster beers?
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LMFAO! Didn't think of that. Guess being a male werewolf has its downs too.
You know, I don't know actually, haven't had one yet, but recently I've been trying to broaden my beer spectrum, so I'll have to look for it.
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On the plus side, he met his spouse there. Sometimes, fate smiles on the stupid and drunk. Fate was nice enough to put a tough, formerly human MP and drill sergeant within arm's reach who was not only sober, but had a full canteen of water. He got stuck with the name, but the fur grew back.
Kind of funny how Maryland is in the "Golden Triangle" of Microbreweries - Maryland (Evo, Flying Dog, Loose Cannon), Pennsylvania (Lancaster Brewing, Troegs, Old Dominion), and Delaware (Dogfish Head).
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Truefox, some aren't so lucky. One of my guys, Aidan, got his tail singed as a pup, still has a bald tail tip XD
Yeah, we don't have a good variety of beers down here, but probably enough for a werewolf though. Hmm... what would a werewolf drink?
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LOL.
Given my Post-Apocalytpic setting, there aren't that many options besides moonshine. Some have a taste for homebrewed beer and cider, but it's expensive and tends to be drank for taste and perceived nutritional value. The truly hardcore indulge in "Rocket Fuel." It's 160 proof moonshine and laced with homebrewed codeine and mildly hallucinogenic mushrooms. When you're ten feet tall, 1000 pounds, and have a supernatural metabolism that's heavily resistant to poisons it takes a little more than light beer to catch a buzz. The "Bloodaxe" naming incident was caused by a 15 year old werewolf with his first battleaxe overindulging in this stuff.
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Goddamn, that makes sense though, werewolf metabolism man, it's ridiculous. Eating a couple full grown folks a night? No prob. XD
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"Eating a couple full grown folks a night" - lol. It makes sense that the ten foot tall brute can do that, but how do the more human-sized ones finish off a human-sized meal bones and all?
Usually I kick the Law of Conservation of Mass to the curb with my werewolves, but I've been trying to uphold it with this new story I'm working on. It's been... educational. I have however, come up with a few creative solutions both on the matter of making my bone-thin female protagonist into a proper monster and to deal with the matter of her victims.
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For those pesky questions about werewolves, I usually go to the source of how RL wolves do the base act, and exaggerate the hell out of it. For instance: RL wolves protect their internals from sharp bone shards by eating the fur off the animals (not intentionally of course, but that's how it functions), so you might be able to incorporate that somehow.
One question that popped in my head today whilst driving was: How does a werewolf shift back after having such a large meal? A human body couldn't possibly fit that in its frame. So I thought that the digestive system acidity could go into overdrive during shifting to quickly digest stomach contents. Hence why you see so many transformee's clutching their belly as they transform.
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I could. Though what my protagonist does is to eat the "queen's portion" - the squishy stuff inside. As for the rest, if she wants a doggy bag, there's always the fridge. Modern werewolves might as well use the technology they've got.
That actually bugs me too. I have a story were a were-hyena who's not too terribly much bigger than a human eats entire bodies, bones and all. However, she's also the puppet of a soul-devouring deity. Supernatural forces are in play for sure and as Linkara quips: "It's magic. I don't have to explain it." However, I think I prefer your explanation. For transformation, there's probably a spectacular amount of energy needed, if it's to transform into a smaller form.
I feel that if you want to add a nasty downside to lycanthropy, especially of the sort that like eating people, constant hunger seems like a fairly logical one. Hopefully, the werewolf has a big refrigerator and thought to bring home the leftovers.
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Modern technologies can be a grand thing, modified versions for werewolves are an amazing thing. Walk in freezers are a must!
Definitely hunger, at least a lot more than usual if not constant. I figure the more the hunger is satiated, the more under control one could be.
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But ultimately, it's whatever floats your boat. I do, however, rather like lycanthropy coming with some sort of disadvantage, even if it's a relatively minor one. Hunger tends to be difficult to communicate with the reader. It's a primal feeling that absolutely consumes you when your suffering from it, but gets quickly forgotten once sated. There are very few people in the Western world who have ever been honest to god hungry.
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That is very true, it is strange that hunger isn't incorporated into the disadvantages so much, being that it's so often depicted as a primary part of Lycanthropy. Hopefully it can be successfully integrated into fiction soon enough, it won't be easy as you said however.
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Nope. And that reminds me - I should feature it more prominently in my own work. Ever seen the remake of Ocean's 11? Notice how Brad Pitt is always eating something? I definitely did. It doesn't seem like that big of a disadvantage until you start exploring what it means through the narrative. Constant hunger only curable by eating two-legged hamburgers is a problem, especially if you can get into it from the narrator's point of view.
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(Likewise in mine)
I've only seen bits and pieces of Ocean's 11, but I know what you're saying. Not only would having such hunger be a major problem with in a quality of life perspective, but also for exposing the species with human kills. But hey, deer are fine too.
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A cat is fine too... right? Though some versions of werewolf feature a "horror hunger" and it has to be the sweetest meat. Depending on how well it's done, this may or may not make sense.
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Yes. A cat is fine too XD
that is true, I have seen that idea float around in the fiction as well.
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Though like anything else, the execution of the idea varies. Though there are also werewolves who eat human flesh just because they're easier to catch.
Though I think that one of the big motivations behind "horror hunger" is just so that the "good" protagonist gets to eat people without being outright evil.
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True, people have found that humans are pretty much the clumsiest of animals. I think they phrased it as "Our footsteps are pretty much barely controlled acts of falling." No wonder women trip in all those horror films.
Good thing about being a werewolf and killing people is that hiding the body is among the simplest of things XD
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Yep, definitely money doesn't make the werewolf flick. Not gonna lie though, I'm kinda tired of everybody hating on the SFX werewolves, I love practical effects too, but I loved the werewolves in Hellsing, as well as a few other movies that used SFX.
I might give Buffy another try, maybe it'll beef up my cheese tolerance.
I got a sub-species design with my guys, so I got different lifespans for each. The bi-pedal semi-controllable guys we're used to I like to think just have an extended life, perhaps a 100 year average, with a record of ~150 years. Definitely a lot of variation on that subject with werewolves though.
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Women tripping, LOL. Must be those high heels. I'm convinced that this cliche alone got me into Buffy. Lately, I've been on a female werewolf bender... wow, that sounds a lot wronger than it is. Maybe it's just that women tend overwhelmingly to be eaten by werewolves while men have a good chance of just being bitten and left alone. Probably the only movie I can think of where the male:female werewolf ratio is about the same as it is in society is The Howling. I have no idea why this gets under my skin so much. Blame Buffy I guess.
That's a very good skill indeed!
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Don't forget about Cursed & Gingersnaps
I tried to get into Buffy, I really did, but god I couldn't get past all the cheesiness. Have you seen Werewolf: The Beast Among Us? It's not a bad watch surprisingly, and it was released earlier this year.
Hmm, question: Werewolves, immortal, long living, or mortal?
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Indeed! Ginger Snaps was made on a budget of next to nothing and was an original spin on werewolves. I don't really like the creature design, but Ginger's slow changes are just so delightfully creepy. And then Wolfman gets about twenty times the budget and brings absolutely nothing new or innovative to the table at all.
Buffy takes the right mindset. I don't mind a little cheese on my horror as long as it's the good stuff. I always felt that Buffy's cheesiness was a self-aware parody of the teenaged horror genre. In general, however, I prefer Whedon's other famous universe: Firefly. Very similar themes on the matter of gender roles.
Ah, yes. My answer is a bit of a copout: it depends on what the creator is trying to do with them. I usually make mine long-lived just because it makes sense to me that something with regenerative and shapeshifting abilities would be resistant to disease, cancer, and aging in general. In my Post-Apoc universe, the werewolves can live to about 250 years, with about 180 or so being healthy adulthood. However, this fits into the theme of beaten-up old veterans and old world soldiers who just can't stop fighting. Long life does not mean long youth. Most of the older werewolves are cranky, tired, and often aching from their old wounds. Mornings start slow and cold mornings even slower.
If I was to do "realistic" werewolves, they'd live marginally longer than people at best, but probably about the same. My WiP werewolf is probably going to die sooner as her genetically engineered "gift" isn't very healthy.
Some forms of lycanthropy can have immortality in a way that I think works - such as those in direct service of a deity or using magic to siphon the souls of their victims. However, one thing that does big me is when werewolves (or anything for that matter) is made long-lived or immortal and the writer hasn't given any consideration to what it means to be 100, 200, 500, or 2000 years old. I've tried to make my really long-lived characters have issues. Most just come off was being very world-weary, but some have been driven quite insane. One of my deity characters actually deliberately drives her immortal servants manically insane because in her view, it's more merciful than letting them fall into an inescapable suicidal despair when a mortal mind tries to comprehend eternity. Or it could be because the deity in question is just a little crazy herself...
But what are your views?
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