For werewolves or part werewolves
Posted: Sun Sep 03, 2006 3:33 pm
Physical Were' [written and (c) Lopting of www.otherkin.net. sources are from all 'round the net]
A treatise on the physical werewolf.
0: Disclaimer.
1: What is a physical werewolf?
1.1: Differences from other humans.
1.2: Similarities to Therianthropy
1.3: Differences from Therianthropy.
2: Where does the physical werewolf come from?
2.1: The Old Days.
2.2: The Farmer’s Arise
2.3: Modern Life
0: Disclaimer.
All that is written in this piece may not be held as absolute truths. All but the obvious signs of the condition of the physical werewolf are speculations and conclusions, based on historical facts, but still conclusions, derived from my own mind. Please hold into account that other people may have an other opinion or speculation, and this one is not, in essence, better than that of anyone else.
The reason for this text is, to offer some insights in what a physical werewolf is, and where it might have come from. It is not written to prove magical spirits rituals, the devil, gods and other theories wrong, even though the writer personally disbelieves these theories.
1: What is a physical werewolf?
What is a werewolf? A werewolf is, as the word says, a human wolf, or a wolf human. A werewolf is a human that has a lot of things in common with the wolf species. The word itself derives from the old Germanic ‘Wer,’ meaning ‘Human,’ and ‘Wolf.’ For centuries, the werewolf was believed to be a creature of the devil, a human that changed into a wolflike form, and slaughtered the innocent. This is a superstition created by rabies, lunatism, lycantrophy and some very unfortunate actual werewolves.
A physical werewolf is a human in all regards. He or she can speak like a human, looks like a human, and be human in every way. A physical werewolf is also born from human parents. (Although genetics plays a part. If one of the parents was a physical werewolf, this raises the chance of at least one of the children being one.)
-1.1: Differences from other humans.
Why is a werewolf a werewolf, then? The title states ‘Physical Werewolf,’ so there must be a physical difference from other humans. There are actually quite a few, but they are rather minor.
A physical werewolf, like a canine, has a hollow gut, compared to the chest. This is due to the length, or rather: Lack of length, of the intestines. Where the normal human should have a length of five metres of bowels, the physical where will have around 3,5. This is not nearly enough to ensure good functioning where plant material is concerned, and green vegetables and fruits will often prove a difficulty for physical werewolves, although a physical werewolf can get anything needed from red meat.
Also, the jaws and molars of the physical werewolf are slightly different. Where normal human molars are a tad bit blunt, with four balls on each molar, the physical werewolf has two pointy, sharp ridges on them.
Also, the physical werewolf cannot chew sideways, as the molars fit perfectly, and the jaw locks. Only up-and-down chewing is possible for a physical werewolf.
The muscle of the jaw is also slightly different, generating over 350 kilograms of biting pressure when fully used. The biting muscles flexed on the skull alone run from above the eyebrow to behind the ear also, they run from the eyebrow up into the hair-line and slightly above, only exposing a bulgy forehead and stern, pronounced eyebrows. The muscle tissue in the cheek takes up for about half of the cheek, as is normal, but is fitted next to the nose, under the eye, covering about the entire upper jaw, apart from the bit just underneath the nose.
A physical werewolf can, and will, twitch his or her nose. At the smell of things, at an impression, or a spoken word. A werewolf can pull up his nose, pull it down, and even move it, albeit very slightly, from side to side.
A werewolf may not beat a dog or wolf in the use of his or her nose, but can track a horse, cow, dog or swine by scent. If conditions are good, that is. The downside of this is, that to a physical werewolf, many scents are too strong. In urban environment, the scent of people can easily give the physical werewolf a headache. Not to mention the stench of pollution by vehicles and industries.
Likewise, the physical werewolf’s eyes and ears are very sensitive. High frequencies that normal humans don’t hear, will drive a physical werewolf utterly insane, which is rather inconvenient in many a labouring environment. Something as the constant beep of an air-conditioner, that other humans don’t hear, means headaches and tantrums of wild insanity for the physical werewolf.
As mentioned, also the eye is sensitive. To light, that is. Light proves a difficulty, as a physical werewolf is easily blinded, and also easily receives headaches from overly lit areas. A werewolf does see better than average by night, though. Far better. But far less by day.
There are also a few important mental differences, especially where instinct is concerned. Physical werewolves are an instinctive bunch; the primal human, so to speak. It is not that they a dumb, foolish or stupid, but their acts and believes often do not compare well to modern life. A physical werewolf is a hunter, that has but five main motives, mostly: To sleep, to hunt, to eat, to mate, to raise children. Now, from there on, it gets as complicated as a normal human, but where normal humans have basic motives like success, stature, reputation and wealth, the physical werewolf sees these only as means to get what their own motives are about.
Also, anger is a good way to identify the physical werewolf. When angered, physical werewolves tend to curl up their upper lip, on the inside, instead of pulling it up normally, to expose the teeth of the upper jaw. The lower lip is simple pulled down a bit, but the lower jaw moves forward and downward. Also, the shoulders change position, bending a bit forward and downward, while the chin lowers to cover the throat. A physical werewolf will surely growl when angered, and will bark words and sentences, with the same sound as canines to, when it comes to a verbal fight of raised voices.
Physical werewolves also seem not to have as much problem with the concept of prey. Meaning: If a physical werewolf is hungry, and it doesn’t look like there is either money for food, or food in the fridge, the werewolf will have not a problem with simply killing something, if the possibility is there. Prey is prey, predator is predator, and that’s that.
-1.2: Similarities to Therianthropy.
Therianthropy means that part of the mind of a person is not normally human, but is mostly akin to another kind of animal. In some cases, this part takes over, in other cases, both the normal human part and the other part are merged into one, making a sort of hybrid.
The physical werewolf does not share all that much similarities with the therianthrope. Where the therianthrope has a mental condition, the physical werewolf has a physical condition. But there are similarities. Mostly, behaviour is one of them. The therianthrope may oftentimes show a very primal behaviour, with which the physical werewolf can identify. Therianthropes are, like the physical werewolf, more primal than the normal humans, and will have more ease understanding their primal motives.
Also, therianthropes will have some abilities, which they share with the creature they look like most. Therians will more easily get most out of their senses, like hearing, smell and eyesight. Not because the inborn ability or growth of the senses makes them stronger, but because they teach themselves, because of their mindset, to use their senses fully. A therian can get far closer to the senses of the physical werewolf, but will not suffer it’s negative effects.
So because of the therian mindset, there are certain things the therianthrope and the physical werewolf have in common. They can easily communicate and understand eachother, and are both strong with their senses.
-1.3: Differences from Therianthropy.
Therianthropes are mentally primal, similar to an other animal, next to or merged with their human nature. Physical werewolves are humans with a physical condition, that changes their mindset to very primal human, and therefore, completely like another animal. (though human it remains. Just different.)
This is an enormous difference, that results in many small differences. Most of the differences are of a physical nature, though. All physical differences noted in 1.1: Differences from other humans also count for physical differences from therianthropes. However, there are some mental differences as well. Therianthropes believe they are an other animal next to being human. A therianthropic bear will believe to be a bear aside of being human. Because there is a bearlike part of the therianthrope’s personality. Physical werewolves believe to be human. They have one mindset; it has no other part, nor has it merged with something that may look foreign. It is as it is, and that would be it. Therefor, spirituality and ideas of reincarnation seem to be of more importance to the therianthrope in general.
Also, where the therianthrope can have any mindset native to another species, (Allthough I must admit never to have met werecows, werechickens, werepigs or any of the other not-appealing werecreature. I believe they are ashamed and hiding their nature.) the physical werewolf is a werewolf, and not something else. This is due to the physical and mental similarities to wolves, which has granted them their name.
2: Were does the physical werewolf come from?
This is a point of much discussion, and not just for the physical werewolf. Mostly, other human subtypes, like therianthropes, and another physical subtype: the bloodvampire, have many theories about where they come from, what their meaning in life is, and there are even some who believe to be a specially bred army to fight the battles against evil in 2012.
The physical werewolf is, in my humble opinion, not too very grand. It is a hunter, and both physically and mentally good at killing prey. My view is, that before humans cultivated their lands, the physical werewolves were a lot more common, and could be found in most tribes, as hunters for the humans.
There are, however, signs in archaeology and paleonthology, that once humans were pure carnivores, but then, when prey grew scarce, had to adapt. In this last theory, the physical werewolf still exists, but is a degeneration, a genetical rewind to these days.
My personal theories are not much different, though.
-2.1: The Old Days.
Humans had just adjusted to their new food source: A mixture between both meat and plant-material. But still, there were humans born that did not show this adaptability to this new foodsource. They had to hunt, still.
In Europe, historians are quite certain that humans, in the age of the hunter-gatherers, hunted and lived alongside wolves, as a co-operation that brought a lot of food and prosperity to both species. The physical werewolves could easily communicate with the wolves, who were, in many ways, quite similar to their two-legged partners, and the hunt was successful. There was a need for physical werewolves in society, and both humans and wolves thrived. It doesn’t really become interesting for the development of the physical werewolves until civilization struck.
-2.2: The Farmer’s Arise.
Humans started settling down, they started cultivating, breeding prey in captivity, and working the land. Though this was a way to ensure profit, it was also hard work, and life grew harder because of a lack of hygiene, dirt and old age. Old age became a problem, as humans, in this period, grew old very quickly. We know now that the hunter-gatherers were more healthy than the first farmers.
A lot of wolves and wild dogs that used to hunt with the humans, chose for the easy way to feed. They domesticated themselves.
But many physical werewolves and actual wolves could not adept to this new way of living. So they left.
But prey in the settled lands grew thinner, as the settled humans captured most for breeding. So the wolves and physical werewolves took prey, sometimes from the farmer’s fields. They gained the reputation to be thieves. Sometimes, a prey was found. Eaten with animal ferocity, killed with human precision. Wolves became a menace to the civilised society, and with them, the physical werewolves. But of these, eventually many tried to adapt to society. Or got killed. By the time the crusades set out to fight the Turks, I doubt there was one pack of wild physical werewolves still alive.
But the human subtype did survive. By mingling in with other human societies. Not altogether too successful, perhaps, because physical werewolves generally do not adapt well to the modern ways of human life, but they did.
We do know that, until the early medieval times, physical werewolves were still spotted. The catholic church named them devil spawn, and they received the reputation of child murderers and cannibals, because they did what they had to do: Hunt to stay alive. The lands were owned by nobility, and so, officially, their way of life itself was felony.
-2.3: Modern Life.
Physical werewolves have survived. They are still around, in the civilised world it has become. They still have trouble adapting to a non-predatorial life, but they manage. They get jobs, get fired, get new jobs and get fired, only to get new jobs and get fired. Their being does not allow for regular jobs well, but they try. And perhaps, one day, a werewolf will find a job it can keep, such as teaching a class, working alone on text, philosophy or primitive religion, or watching over a wildlife-reserve.
Physical werewolves lack the kind of adaptability needed for civilised life. But they aren’t stupid. They’re human.