I've been at it for ages - figuring out how a society of were-foxes might work. I've started with the basic concept and moved on to worldbuilding, and haven't much considered story yet; this is probably a good idea since I intend for the were-foxes - when in their human form - to resemble Asians (secondary world fantasy, hence the use of 'resemble' - no Asia, Europe, et al). I don't want to write their culture as White/Western European, and on the same note I prefer to avoid analogues of Asian cultures (or analogies of any sort). I've carried out research into Kitsune and Hu Li Jing, and have taken note where there are issues with them (some of the stories can be quite sexist, while others no such issue).
I think I might have figured out something I am happy with as an explanation of why were-foxes exist, except the only problem is it ties in with our world and into the Japanese Kitsune in particular, making it more portal fantasy than just secondary world.
In some stories, Kitsune have been capable of 'creating' alternate worlds in very tight spaces, such as under floorboards, in which time passes at a different rate. I've considered the possibility that the secondary world in which the were-foxes reside might have been created by a very old and powerful Kitsune, which is where I run into the aforementioned problem - I'd be using Kitsune as the Japanese have developed them, not simply foxes informed and inspired by various fox mythologies. I certainly intend to avoid the sexist implications, even turn them back around, but my main concern is that Kitsune are one of many Youkai, and I'm not sure how it'd be perceived if I excluded many or all of the other Youkai from the secondary world, and how much of the secondary world I should base on Japanese culture past and present (my intention is that it became an entirely separate world that can be accessed from anywhere in our world if you know where to look, like C.S. Lewis' Narnia, so there may well be other races of humans living in the secondary world).
I think I might have figured out something I am happy with as an explanation of why were-foxes exist, except the only problem is it ties in with our world and into the Japanese Kitsune in particular, making it more portal fantasy than just secondary world.
In some stories, Kitsune have been capable of 'creating' alternate worlds in very tight spaces, such as under floorboards, in which time passes at a different rate. I've considered the possibility that the secondary world in which the were-foxes reside might have been created by a very old and powerful Kitsune, which is where I run into the aforementioned problem - I'd be using Kitsune as the Japanese have developed them, not simply foxes informed and inspired by various fox mythologies. I certainly intend to avoid the sexist implications, even turn them back around, but my main concern is that Kitsune are one of many Youkai, and I'm not sure how it'd be perceived if I excluded many or all of the other Youkai from the secondary world, and how much of the secondary world I should base on Japanese culture past and present (my intention is that it became an entirely separate world that can be accessed from anywhere in our world if you know where to look, like C.S. Lewis' Narnia, so there may well be other races of humans living in the secondary world).