Still, it does bother me. The combination of a wolf and a man shouldn't be necessarily evil or good, as neither of the components are. Some go the route of saying a wolf is an evil being, to which I would like to respond by kicking them in the face a few times. Others take the route of malevolent spirits being involved in the combination, which makes more sense.
My "werewolves" are nothing like either, really. The legends of werewolves in my universe were pale, groping attempts to describe these things, but they don't even begin to touch on their actuality. They have NO -- repeat, NO -- relation to wolves, or men, or any other lifeform on Earth. They are pure energy creatures who happen to utilize a physical matrix for their expression, and the "natural" form that they assume is a vaguely wolflike form (my wife did a creepy picture of one). But they have only one thing in common, really, with the "standard" werewolf: a vulnerability to silver (for a reason explained in the book, to some extent).
I'm glad you didn't take my rant personally - it wasn't meant that way, like I said.
An author who takes every negative comment on his stuff personally is an idiot. Alas, I've seen a number of idiots out there in author-land. Heck, even the BEST writers will have "anti-fans" who hate everything they do. And an author who has firm opinions on anything will end up stepping on the toes of every person who doesn't agree with them.
If you have a strong emotional connection with something, anything that intersects with that connection has to deal with the baggage you're bringing with you. If you are a rape victim or know one, any book that has a depiction of rape will tend to trigger a VERY negative reaction unless the depiction is not only negative but negative in precisely the way you expect it to be. (classic Fantasy example: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant). If you're a true believer in socialism, reading a book which extols the virtues of a libertarian free-trade utopia is going to have very, very hard work to do in order to overcome your basic beliefs. And, inevitably, no matter what kind of story you write -- even if, like mine, they're just meant to be Fun Reads -- you'll be smacking someone in the face with something that conflicts with their own beliefs or preferences.
That said, obviously I'd like to ask you to consider at least giving DK a chance. The Great Werewolves are not "werewolves", nor is any judgement given on what the "normal" werewolf would be like. (wolves certainly aren't evil; they're basically the source from which we got DOGS, f'crying out loud. And on Zarathan, which is the main world of my universe in which you would find the more "normal" kinds of were-creatures, they aren't inherently evil. I've had were-creatures as PCs many a time, actually. The Great Werewolves are sort of a mighty bogeyman for all beings -- their King, the creature that the Gods tell their children stories of to terrify them. They're not the werewolves you have an empathy with.
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momijizukamori
Werewolves and such
Date: 2004-01-19 09:13 pm (UTC)My "werewolves" are nothing like either, really. The legends of werewolves in my universe were pale, groping attempts to describe these things, but they don't even begin to touch on their actuality. They have NO -- repeat, NO -- relation to wolves, or men, or any other lifeform on Earth. They are pure energy creatures who happen to utilize a physical matrix for their expression, and the "natural" form that they assume is a vaguely wolflike form (my wife did a creepy picture of one). But they have only one thing in common, really, with the "standard" werewolf: a vulnerability to silver (for a reason explained in the book, to some extent).
I'm glad you didn't take my rant personally - it wasn't meant that way, like I said.
An author who takes every negative comment on his stuff personally is an idiot. Alas, I've seen a number of idiots out there in author-land. Heck, even the BEST writers will have "anti-fans" who hate everything they do. And an author who has firm opinions on anything will end up stepping on the toes of every person who doesn't agree with them.
If you have a strong emotional connection with something, anything that intersects with that connection has to deal with the baggage you're bringing with you. If you are a rape victim or know one, any book that has a depiction of rape will tend to trigger a VERY negative reaction unless the depiction is not only negative but negative in precisely the way you expect it to be. (classic Fantasy example: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant). If you're a true believer in socialism, reading a book which extols the virtues of a libertarian free-trade utopia is going to have very, very hard work to do in order to overcome your basic beliefs. And, inevitably, no matter what kind of story you write -- even if, like mine, they're just meant to be Fun Reads -- you'll be smacking someone in the face with something that conflicts with their own beliefs or preferences.
That said, obviously I'd like to ask you to consider at least giving DK a chance. The Great Werewolves are not "werewolves", nor is any judgement given on what the "normal" werewolf would be like. (wolves certainly aren't evil; they're basically the source from which we got DOGS, f'crying out loud. And on Zarathan, which is the main world of my universe in which you would find the more "normal" kinds of were-creatures, they aren't inherently evil. I've had were-creatures as PCs many a time, actually. The Great Werewolves are sort of a mighty bogeyman for all beings -- their King, the creature that the Gods tell their children stories of to terrify them. They're not the werewolves you have an empathy with.
Sea Wasp