Hello everyone and Bright Blessings! It's a full moon again and I strangely felt a need to touch on a topic that I haven't delved into for a good while. What you believe or feel is real or exists in the world is entirely up to you, however I personally have come to the conclusion that just maybe the creature I am about to describe is perhaps not just all myth and fairytales meant to keep keep our children safe and out of the woods. Are werewolves and similar shape shifting creatures real ? Legends and lore have come from civilizations the world over, spanning thousands of years, about a creature that can voluntary and involuntarily shift from human to animal form, the most popular of the shape shifting species being the much speculated and widely feared and sensationalized werewolf.
I want to get into a modern day perspective and description of shape shifters and the signs and symptoms that accompany said "affliction", seeing as medical science now has decided to term Lycanthropy as supposed mental illness, where one thinks, feels, and believes themselves to be a non human creature that can change it's form and shape.
Anyways.. Here are some signs, symptoms and traits that I personally have spotted among people that exhibit some rather interesting characteristics that symbolize and characterize the classic and modern version of what we all know and have been told is a true werewolf, or shapeshifter. In modern times it is now speculated that there are more animal type shifters than just the werewolf. I will list each trait and symptom in order from classic to perhaps not so recognizable.
Physical traits in modern day werewolves and shapeshifters include: Excess body hair, on the arms, back, face, legs and pubic areas, of which modern day shifters and werewolves strive to keep to a minimum by shaving, waxing, and depilatories. In men, beards and body hair may grow thickly and shaving, hair cuts, and "landscaping" is a must regularly. In women, well you get the idea, we ladies have to tweeze that extra facial hair, and getting rid of the extra body hair can become a daily chore that must be kept up on or else we look like a cave woman. Hair colors in shapeshifters and werewolves often take a tawny, dark blonde, brown, black and mixed shades of those colors, with eyes coordinating to "coat color" hazel, light shades of blues, and deep brown eyes are common, mixed shades of hazel eye color is usually found in those with sandy blonde or tawny brown hair.Vibrant green or gold eyes and brown or black hair is also not a really common color pattern in modern human genetics. "Dirty Blonde" and multi shaded hair is also common to see, as wolf coat colors often have mixed shading in the fur. Albinism, red hair, or other odd coat and eye colors are occasionally found but these are considered a rare genetic fluke and in old times, such children were abandoned or worse, disposed of by their parents, as said children were considered a serious genetic and social defect.
Nails and hair may grow rather long very quickly needing regular trimming in males, with females having the ability to grow and maintain luxurious hair and pretty manicures without much issues. Thickness of hair is not a indicator however most do seem to have thicker hair.
Facial features may take on a wolfish appearance, with high cheekbones, straight, slightly slanted brows, a larger and often long shaped nose, a sharp and penetrating gaze,which is hard to look away from, or to keep eye contact with for too long, prominent canine teeth and a strongly set jaw are more pronounced in males than in women. Body types range between tall and sinewy or shorter and slender, with females being on the smaller and more slender side. Most werewolves are not huge, hulking masses of height and flesh. Heavier weight and taller height impedes the quick reflexes and agility of movement and speed associated with lycan movement. Most of them can run, climb, jump and propel their bodies with a natural and fluid grace and agility not usually seen in your average human. A walking werewolf is noted to have a ground eating loping pace, and light on the feet, footfalls are naturally shifted to the balls of the feet, with heels mostly used to propel the body forward, with little to no sound being made with footfalls. Agitated, worked up, or nervous werewolves are prone to pacing if confined or shut up in the house or in a crowded space too long, you will see the occasional twitch or fidgety movements, signalling a strong itch to get up and move about. Being cooped up or having space restricted is not good for their mentality and if not given enough space to move about, a werewolf can get very moody and snappish.
Behavior characteristics in werewolves and shifters are sketchy to define, they can be loud and boisterous or very quiet, reserved, and shy, this is usually determined by astrological birth sign, a high number of werewolves and shifters are born during fall, winter and late spring months, especially September, January, February, and then April, May, and occasionally June, this mostly is depending on the time of conception of the child. If you will remember, real life wolf packs, the female goes into estrus during late fall to early winter, and then has the cubs in late spring. This estrus, pregnancy and birth pattern is seen in female werewolves and shifters too. There seems to be a higher number of Alpha type werewolves born than Beta and Omega types. Nature seems to be a determining factor in this, as if there are alot more Alphas in a smaller territory, there will suddenly be a boom in "cubs" born with less dominant traits to make the balance more equal. The ideal balance is one alpha or a male/female alpha pair to at least ten lower ranking werewolves, this keeps social dynamics amicable and reduces the chances of conflict between packs and loners. Populations of werewolves and shifters are not as huge nowadays, as modern society eschews having children until later in life, and we don't have large families anymore, so therefore most werewolves and shifters you come across now are of the older generations. Seeing a younger "millenial" werewolf is not a common a sight anymore, and most of those are born into families already possessing the werewolf or shifter gene. Populations and groups of werewolves and shifters usually have some type of familial link, and you will see a Alpha pair and their children, and relatives, or a Alpha couple by themselves, sometimes followed by members that have been accepted into a pack or group, and usually even then there is at least one familial tie, however distantly and ancestrally related, as all Werewolves and shifters share common ancestry to begin with. Genetic research and categorizing is essential in werewolf and shifter packs, as inbreeding is a serious taboo and couples wishing to be together are asked extensively about their families to ensure there is no direct relation anywhere that would be considered a form of incest or inbreeding.
Biological and social makeup of werewolves and shifters is not what it once was, as during the witch hunting crazes many of the original and old bloodlines were decimated. There are non traditional and controversial methods to create shifters and werewolves, and this practice is not usually well tolerated, as forcing a individual to become a werewolf or a shifter via magical or deliberate means is frowned upon. A werewolf can be created via the transfer of saliva through biting, blood tranfer or contact during fights, by unintentional and accidental blood transfusions, or by means of magical transmutation of which the victim is essentially bewitched into the werewolf or shifter state. It is unlikely that werewolfism can be transmitted like a STD via sexual fluids, as werewolfism is not classified as virus or a disease. Wars have broken out and packs have been decimated over the centuries, due to a few bad apple pure blood radicals trying to eradicate what they consider "impure" or "tainted" werewolves and shifters that are not true biological carriers of the gene, but were unfortunately created by other means. I say "unfortunate" as most werewolves and shifters that were purposely created or deliberately caused to have the condition are usually not willing or knowing participants. It is seen as a curse and a burden to not have a will or say over your own body and to be forced into a shape and form that was never meant to be yours to begin with. Some cannot adjust or handle the extremity of the changes in their mind and body, and occasionally you see a wild card werewolf or shifter that has essentially become a feral monster that cannot control themselves and that is a danger to any society. Their minds have snapped and broken down and the beast inside has total control, this is where extreme violent murders, twisted sadistic/masochistic actions and psychopathic tendencies crop up in society. In a realistic idealism, these rouge and feral werewolves and shifters are a danger to themselves and others and measures really must be taken to either keep them in line, or worse case scenario, dispose of them entirely. A wild and totally feral werewolf or shifter is a ticking time bomb that has a extremely short fuse,and little self control, that can be provoked at the slightest prodding.
Forcefully created and deliberately changed shifters and werewolves have a harsh and cruel stigma attached to them as being outcasts, impure, unclean, tainted, and what have you, and many of them are loners and social outcasts even among their own kind. This may seem to be prejudiced and perhaps a bit racist if you wanted to view it that way, and it can be made into that type of mentality among the few old bloodlines that carry true genetics and authentic bloodlines. There are a few of these elitist fools that still live and exist in modern society, and they make no bones about expressing their displeasure and anger against those that are not "Pureblood," and occasionally you see and hear about violent and bloody civil war like skirmishes among werewolves and shifters, about whose pack is superior or more dominant by either blood lines, social status or rank. It is the nature of Alpha run societies and groups to have dominion and control over their packs, territories and other rivals. Werewolf and Shifter social dynamics run on the basic principle of survival of the strongest and the fittest. This ensures that strong bloodlines and strong genetics, and even the few that have proven they are worthy of the title werewolf or shifter, to survive and thrive. There is little room for weaknesses of any kind in werewolf or shifter packs and if you are not pulling your weight or if you constantly cause drama, upsets, and issues then you will find yourself ousted and branded a outcast, traitor, or worse, marked for death.
Dynamics inside the pack or group of werewolves and shifters is a organized and strictly enforced code of conduct, ethics and morals that are enforced regularly. There is one dominant male, female, or male/female Alpha pair, followed by a Beta male, female, or pair, and a few or several Omegas that range from third in line to the bottom ranks. There is no break or leniency in this chain of dominance and command unless stated by Alpha(s). The Alpha and Betas are the pairs that are allowed to have children first, and to form mated bonds, Omegas may do so with permission. You will never see a Alpha male or female pick a Omega as a mate or parent to children unless it is seen or observed that said Omega has leadership or other approved qualities that will benefit the pack if he/she were to step up in ranks. Leadership qualifications and personality traits are essential traits needed to lead a pack and both partners must possess very similar traits to form a successful and equally matched pair. Loners and mated pairs of werewolves and shifters sometimes break away from the pack and join other packs or go off alone, this is acceptable so long as they have permission from their Alpha(s) and they are not causing trouble or problems for themselves or others. All loners and mated pairs are documented and how many children they have is carefully observed from afar, to ensure there is no risks of inbreeding, seeing as there are so few actual Pureblood werewolves left, it would be a disaster if a child was born to parents that were related and came from different packs and it was not noted or paid any mind to.
I will continue this post when I have more time and when I have my notes and information gathered. At th moment we are suffering a slight crises in home related affairs and I am borrowing a neighbor's wifi and computer. Blessed Be to all and I shall return very soon.
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