How early should a born werewolf change?

[Shadow Wulf]

I cant wait to show you some of the new werewolf drawings that I have.

By the way what happen to your avatar?

[Uniform Two Six]

I like the idea of the shift happening in the mid to late teens. Purely as dramatic effect or a plot tool. The change can be somewhat metaphorical for the physical and emotional changes that are happening to your average teen. It also works for a whole spectrum of werewolf stories: for the "nice" kind of werewolf, it can be about reaching maturity or a sort of rite of passage into adulthood, where for the more blood-and-guts horror type of werewolf it can be about teenage angst taken to a whole new terrible level.

[23Jarden]

Personally, I've always thought that the stance that werewolves shift at puberty was terribly retarded and cliche. IT'S BECUZ OF TEH HOORMONES. Please. Give me a break.

:Pionts and waves arm up and down: Ahhhh! You spelled "It's" right!


I'm a fan of five or six...mostly for the cuteness factor.
But beside that... woah wait a minute... are the werewolves werewolves because of a virus? Well then how would a virus lay dormant in perfect breeding conditions? Would the kids be human until the virus "turned on"? This is very tangled. :goes to find virus thread:

[Renorei]

I cant wait to show you some of the new werewolf drawings that I have.

By the way what happen to your avatar?

Ack, I deleted it from my image host by accident. I'll add it back later.

[neoritter]

It wouldn't be traumatic unless the person didn't know. I mean if your parents are werewolves what are the problems with telling your kid. No psychological stress if you already knew. Ya know?

Right...just like it is not stressful, traumatic or emotionally taxing at all for a Mother-To-Be as she looks at the date she marked on her callendar which her doctor told her is the most likely time she will give birth to her first child.

...knowing exactly what is going to happen eventually...but not quite knowing the exact day or time...

...could it be early?...could it be late?...

She's heard how painful it can be, and has been training for weeks to be ready for it...which possibly makes it even MORE frigtening to think all that is needed. ...plus morphine...


Yep...Knowing what is going to happen makes it not stressful or traumatic at all...


...that is my opinion on the likely effects of the event anyway.

History and Science has shown that young children adapt to new things far more quickly and easily than adults. ...or so I've seen, and have been told.

Okay, first off, your example doesn't really relate to the what we're talking about, sure childbirth can be stressful, but only very rarely traumatic (we're talking, child death, or that mommy goes crazy thing). A traumatic experience implies a near permanent psychological change in a person. Not to mention the negative connotations that go with that word. I would venture to say that not many women would say childbirth was a negative experience. Last, what you explained about deals more with anxiety.

Now of course children can adapt better to certain situations. Its called their minds are in a learning process and continually taking in what they see and experience. As you grow older that activity slows down.

Now to generalize that all people who are born with lycanthropy automatically get hit all at once with the transformation and would be pyschologically stressfull is a very big very rash generalization. Yes its possible. The parents may have died, or they decided to not tell their kid. But, if a child knows early enough and has plenty of time to accept it then there would be little psychological stress if any. It would be like a 5-yr old waiting to lose his/her's first tooth. Or puberty. When's it gonna happen? Today? Tomorrow? Personally I didn't lose my first baby tooth till I was eight years old. I haven't been traumatized by it. I'm sure any other child wouldn't be. Maybe the other werewolf adults will make fun of the person because their a late bloomer!! Seriously....

PS - If its your opinion why are you arguing with me?

[Vuldari]

PS - If its your opinion why are you arguing with me?

You are right. I phrased it in a "this is why you are wrong" sort of way, when I should have chose my words differently.

It was a new thought inspired by your own response.

...why were you arguing with Me? My argument was a response to your argument after all.

In the end, it is just about explaining our differences of opinion.

(and on the difference between child birth and shifting...a mother does not continue to give birth over and over again on a daily, weekly or monthly basis for the entirity of the rest of their lives after it happens the first time.

Werewolves do...change into a "monster" on a regular basis once it begins, that is. ...and the anxiety that builds up prior to it happening would likely not help much IMHO, based on how humans tend to react to other enevitable events. ...such as child birth.)

That is my explanation anyway.

[neoritter]

Fine, point taken.

[Jessie-Simone]

I'd say at the age of 12.

[Joey Liverwurst]

(If a baby can't help but make a mess in it's diaper, and can go from bliss to screaming rage in an isntant about things as common as feeling cold or hungry, it is conceivable to think that they may set off thier genetic "gift" by mistake from time to time.)

From time to time? What about all the time? I think the most important role of werewolf parents would be to train their children to control the transformation, at least independent of the full moon. I think their children would spend more time as pups than as babies.

[Lena]

I tink that a born werewolf not change until puberty turn on certain gene/hormone mixes. Maybe I was only one, but when I got menses and such, it was miserable time for Mama and my friends. I was real suka (Oh, is B*tch in russian) My brodder he also have dificults with puberty too.

Is said to be painful this change and I tink not for a born werewolf as body has genes for this.

Now if made werewolf by bite, magick, curse whatever transforming is instants (maybe a few days for power to soak into body. Now for made werewolf, body not really familar with this so is exceeding painful.

So born maybe change slower, but not so painful, and have more powers to use. (werewolf learns to use her abilities)

Made werewolf change fast, very painful, not learn ability so good so take longer to get powers controlled. (this be source of 'evil' werewolf stories?)

[WordWolf]

Maybe I'm just a traditionalist, but I LIKE the metaphor of puberty and lycanthropy.
All those changes, not being comfortable in your own body, general confusion, etc.

[Therian]

Wouldn't change kill a kid at a too young of age. I mean tranformation it's just th easy going thing, there's gonna be pain involved. No matter if their born werwolf or not, it can't be easy going.
And if the kid doesn't die he or she whatever is gonna tell someone for sure.Then problems start. Transformation probably occurs around teenage years little bit after purberty starts. Around 12 and 15?

[Fullmoonstar]

i think that the first shift takes place between 12 and 20...i think that a earlier Transformation would kill the kid cause it is really painful...

[Joey Liverwurst]

If as late as 20, then why not 30? It would mean there were still hope for most of us.

Har. Honestly, I prefer what would make sense over what would be "sooo kewl."

[Ink]

I like the idea of breeding being part of the illustration as to when a werewolf can change.

One clan/pack/group/flock/whatever of werewolves may be genetically predisposed to hormone release being the definitive trigger to change.

Others may be simply physically or mentally or genetically geared to changing when capable. We're not limited to one venue of imagination; why constrain the ideas?

In some cases the change might be triggered too earlier and infants may very well suffer higher mortality - henceforth why it's a rarer thing. Or, vise versa, these children are brutally strong and unfettered so long as they obtain enough nutrition - making them almost super babyish and some clans/packs/whatchamahcallums might have an infant mortality nearly zero due to the absolutely brazen nature of their offspring who can change early.

But with every typology aligned comes the pros, the cons, the differentials that begin to define each group, each pack culture. It might define some werewolf rituals, some notorious habits, some birthing fears and channel much-much more out of it than just the initial child's change.

I'm getting off topic -

Alas, for some 'groups' or 'packs' it could be a case by case thing - making the babies born a unique phenomena each time around. The youths quizzical and unpredictable, and the adolescents somewhat dangerous - the unknown stalking some groups when the little ones arrive - leaving for neurotic parents and some dramatic chaos for those all around.

How do you explain why baby Tod just growled and grew a tail while staring at your important house guests?

It keeps all the doors wide open and subjective to the obvious author or mastermind behind the story and characters.

In any case I think the energy subject brought up would be a big deal. Or at least I like it to be a big deal - it's all about the food. Who wouldn't love that? To say, "Yes, I can eat a ridiculous amount, go run by moonlight, change again and still have to eat more." Forget South Beach, Weight Watchers or Atkins - indulge!

Yet diet is something werewolves focus on constantly - hiding it would be a pain too. How socially awkward would it be for little Susie to have to go up for two lunches because she accidentally had to change in the girl's bathroom and now is famished and woozy? Explain that one to the lunch lady and all the little girls who later start questioning how she can eat so much without gaining anything.

There is baggage here - lots of baggage to explore - but I think the very variations that can be thought up could probably lend a lot of sophistication to the werewolf as a general character and subject.

Like how much goodness can moms really put in that home-made granola?

[RedEye]

When his/her Pampers are full, silly!

[Vuldari]

I like the idea of breeding being part of the illustration as to when a werewolf can change.

One clan/pack/group/flock/whatever of werewolves may be genetically predisposed to hormone release being the definitive trigger to change.

Others may be simply physically or mentally or genetically geared to changing when capable. We're not limited to one venue of imagination; why constrain the ideas?

In some cases the change might be triggered too earlier and infants may very well suffer higher mortality - henceforth why it's a rarer thing. Or, vise versa, these children are brutally strong and unfettered so long as they obtain enough nutrition - making them almost super babyish and some clans/packs/whatchamahcallums might have an infant mortality nearly zero due to the absolutely brazen nature of their offspring who can change early.

But with every typology aligned comes the pros, the cons, the differentials that begin to define each group, each pack culture. It might define some werewolf rituals, some notorious habits, some birthing fears and channel much-much more out of it than just the initial child's change.

I'm getting off topic -

Alas, for some 'groups' or 'packs' it could be a case by case thing - making the babies born a unique phenomena each time around. The youths quizzical and unpredictable, and the adolescents somewhat dangerous - the unknown stalking some groups when the little ones arrive - leaving for neurotic parents and some dramatic chaos for those all around.

How do you explain why baby Tod just growled and grew a tail while staring at your important house guests?

It keeps all the doors wide open and subjective to the obvious author or mastermind behind the story and characters.

In any case I think the energy subject brought up would be a big deal. Or at least I like it to be a big deal - it's all about the food. Who wouldn't love that? To say, "Yes, I can eat a ridiculous amount, go run by moonlight, change again and still have to eat more." Forget South Beach, Weight Watchers or Atkins - indulge!

Yet diet is something werewolves focus on constantly - hiding it would be a pain too. How socially awkward would it be for little Susie to have to go up for two lunches because she accidentally had to change in the girl's bathroom and now is famished and woozy? Explain that one to the lunch lady and all the little girls who later start questioning how she can eat so much without gaining anything.

There is baggage here - lots of baggage to explore - but I think the very variations that can be thought up could probably lend a lot of sophistication to the werewolf as a general character and subject.

Like how much goodness can moms really put in that home-made granola?

All I can think of to say is that I really like the perspective and train of of thought behind this response. This actually sums up alot of my own ideas, some of which I've forgotten to mention before, and even adds a few I had not thought of yet.

I agree with essentially all of Ink's opinions here...especially the ideas that not everyone would be the same (Yay chaos!) and that, yes, if a child shifted too early they probably would die, but that does not mean it should never happen. Death due to the onset of full lycanthropy on a body not physically prepared for it sounds like a perfectly reasonable and likely common occurrence to me.

Reality sucks like that sometimes...even fictional reality.

[STARWOLF_THE_MYSTIC]

Another possiblity could be when the person is at a state of high emotion

[lycan94]

Probably occurs around the age of 14. At least thats how i see it. If their 14 birthday is on a full moon, thats when they'll first change. If not, then the next full moon after their 14 birthday is when the change would ocurr

[desethrus]

any of you read lunatic chaos?...i think that that is a great way to describe it...:]