Everybody is a Were Animal

The mass-conversions are what hang me up on most 'were-animal' fiction. I get that it's all handwavium anyway, but I keep wondering how the extra or insufficient mass is handled between one form and another. I give kudos when writers bother to think about it.

I have shape-shifting characters in a fantasy WIP, and I kept their body mass more constant. Some forms appear smaller but have denser structure, etc. It's easier because none are recognizable Earth animals.

SampleGuy said:

It would be interesting if the predator were-people are barbarians and savages, and the prey were-people are civilized folks who try to remain safe from the predators. There could also be were dinosaurs who used to rule the prehistoric world, until they became extinct although some of them might have survived. The world might be a place where humans and animals are mixed.

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Would you have were-dinosaurs before H. Sapiens evolved, or would they be shrew/dino shapeshifters? Unless your world's dino era had its own sapient biped... in which case, were-dinos would "revert" to that form, not a true mammalian human. Which would be kinda cool, actually.

Wererooster - Cause I'm so totally chicken and in need of the feathers.

But if there is evolution on this planet won't they evolve into humans that become birds?

mirandashell said:

But if there is evolution on this planet won't they evolve into humans that become birds?

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If that was the case, I'd imagine that modern were-birds would hold it as a point of pride if they could trace their heritage back to the were-dinos. They might even be the nobility in such a world, as their bloodline is the oldest. Conversely, they might be seen as primitive because of their savage ancestors, no matter how developed they were.

I would love to see this idea as a shared-world anthology. I'd read the heck out of it.

mirandashell said:

But if there is evolution on this planet won't they evolve into humans that become birds?

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Or crocodiles...

The were-whale Ambulocetus loved water so much in whale form that they took steps to evolve their species further in that direction during the rest of the month.

The paleontologists would tear their hair, though. "I found a transitional fossil!" "Nah, man, it probably just was in mid-transition when it was killed in the mudslide and fossilized like that. Birds never REALLY had teeth."

Some ballpark number crunching:

Roughly 70,000 vertebrate species, so there might be 100,000 of each species. Mind you, almost half the world's population would be fish. Only 5 to 6 hundred million would be mammals and a billion would be birds, so warm-blooded weres would be a minority.

Of course, 7 billion humans suggests an industrial civilisation, so adjust accordingly.

That brings another thought. How long do people spend in animal form? If it's the traditional full moon only, then you might get away with having an industrial civilisation like ours. The full moon would be a major holiday, I guess, but stuff would get more or less back to normal the next day, sans the poor prey-weres that managed to get eaten. And the occasional nuclear meltdown. Imagine: a nuclear engineer who is a were-tiger wakes up in the control room with red lights flashing, sirens blaring, and his former colleagues: now a goat carcass and three dead fish on the floor. Whoops.

SampleGuy said:

I'm talking about a world where everyone is a werewolf. Wererat, or even were sharks. All kinds of shape shifting creatures. Do you think their world would be similar to the typical medieval style fantasy worlds, or more dark, savarge, and brutal that is less civilized.

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I don't think it'd be medieval at all. I think it would be very lawless and more tribal setting than having actual communities with dukes -- especially if people naturally had instincts as their were-whatever.

Oh a side note, name a character Alli and let her shift into a big ole grizzly bear. Please! :

E.F.B. said:

Don't forget the were-mosquitoes. Those could get annoying.

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I was thinking about it. How much would it suck if you were born, finally was able to transform... DUN DUN DUN... and you were a fly? At least mosquitoes live through anything.

In which phase do they reproduce?

Helix said:

In which phase do they reproduce?

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Oh, I do not want to think about that.

Maybe I could be a were-amoeba. That would be the next best thing to being able to disappear!

Helix said:

In which phase do they reproduce?

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Some werewolf books have the idea that there is a miscarriage at the first shift. Short lived society then......

Conservation of mass - I like Julie Czerneda's take on shape shifting - her shape shifting aliens shed and gain mass - they keep a lot of potted plants around for emergency mass increase.

Filigree said:

The mass-conversions are what hang me up on most 'were-animal' fiction. I get that it's all handwavium anyway, but I keep wondering how the extra or insufficient mass is handled between one form and another. I give kudos when writers bother to think about it.

I have shape-shifting characters in a fantasy WIP, and I kept their body mass more constant. Some forms appear smaller but have denser structure, etc. It's easier because none are recognizable Earth animals.

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Human-sized were-chickens and human-sized were-lions would be a little more evenly matched, so that would help keep populations on par despite some forms being carnivores and some not.

**now imagining what a fight between the two would look like**

Even money - especially if a cockerel with big spurs. Never underestimate the savagery of a chicken....... They are descended from dinosaurs.
Actually, seriously, a lot of chickens are predators too. Frogs, mice, worms.... if a lion was small enough, they'd eat it.

Which bring me round to a gentle general grumble. Just because something is a herbivore, doesn't mean it is safe. All those dinosaur movies where someone says "phew, its a herbivore, we're safe". Seriously?
Rams kill people every year and they are a third the height of humans. Cattle trample people. Then there are rhino, hippos, elephants....

Bolero said:

Which bring me round to a gentle general grumble. Just because something is a herbivore, doesn't mean it is safe. All those dinosaur movies where someone says "phew, its a herbivore, we're safe". Seriously?
Rams kill people every year and they are a third the height of humans. Cattle trample people. Then there are rhino, hippos, elephants....

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Fat, friendly-looking hippos are Africa's most deadly animal when it comes to killing people. They're very territorial and will tip your canoe over and bite you in half.

Not to mention the not-so-well-known fact that herbivores do eat meat opportunistically.

There's a strong similarity between cassowaries and the Swiss Guard. Coincidence?

Helix said:

There's a strong similarity between cassowaries and the Swiss Guard. Coincidence?

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Do cassowaries wear capes?

Helix said:

There's a strong similarity between cassowaries and the Swiss Guard. Coincidence?

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Do Daddy Swiss Guards lead troops of adorable little stripy Swiss Guardlets around?

Albedo said:

Do Daddy Swiss Guards lead troops of adorable little stripy Swiss Guardlets around?

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I never saw that at the Vatican.

'Course, I didn't see the pope either, so who knows what's real.

Helix said:

In which phase do they reproduce?

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What happens when a were-amoeba undergoes mitosis?