werewolf but not a werewolf

[Caliburn]

"I smell macguffin in the wind..."

Wicked.
Giant werewolves would be cool.
Ability to tear through magic/spirits is also cool.

How impulsive would they be compared to regular werewolves? I imagine them as wiser and more deliberate than the typical werewolf (in examples of Fenrir talking, his demeanour is oddly calm). They could still be ferocious in this case, just with the self-discipline and intelligence to match.

Didn't know that Fenrir is actually a frost giant. That would be interesting to allude to in the Fenrirkin's abilities.

Lets see, weaknesses...
The tale of Fenrir suggests that they should be vulnerable to.... an enchanted boot to the face.....ummmm....
Since they seemingly excel against magic and the otherworldly, what if they were more susceptible to mundane weaponry?
Lastly, Fenrir was sealed with a collar, so the Fenrirkin could also have collars that inhibit them in some way (and presumably cannot be removed--until that condition was met where you mentioned them getting huge). Gleipnir was made to be "thin as a silken ribbon", since Fenrir broke through the strongest metal chains. It was made of "six impossible things" which to me is more evocative of its magical nature than any specific thing. Could be interesting.

EDIT: also, I don't know the tale, but maybe Fenrir sounded so polite because his rage was being restrained by the collar? Maybe that is the case with the Fenrirkin? The collar actually inhibits their aggression, possibly even making them weaker than regular werewolves?

[Jess A]

I remember a friend of mine showing me a Japanese anime with a girl who was a goddess - and her true form was an enormous wolf. I don't now much anime and can't tell you the name of it, I'm afraid, but I was intrigued as I love shape-shifters (depending on how they are written).

I agree that there needs to be a limit on their power. Beings which are too powerful require even more powerful adversaries to make the plot plausible. Otherwise it's just 'oops, killed your army in two seconds'. When everyone becomes Superman x 100, it becomes silly in my opinion, but that's my view. So as Caliburn said above, perhaps a collar (or wrist bracelets if the paws don't become too small for them to slip off) inhibiting the strength of their abilities might be a good idea - or diluted blood makes them more powerful than regular werewolves, but nothing ridiculous. There needs to be a limit on abilities - even something as simple as them tiring quickly and needing to sleep for long periods of time. For example. Perhaps shape-changing takes a lot out of your WIP, or she needs something specific to enable her to transform. Or they become stronger as they get older, like some wizards in some books.

[Ghost]

It might have been Spice and Wolf. I like the idea of the wolves getting stronger as they get older, Little Storm Cloud. People do that all the time with vampires because they try to make their vampires cool and nearly unkillable. I'd rather see a 1000-year-old giant werewolf than a 1000-year-old vampire who zips around and bites people.

[Ireth]

*smiles guiltily at the 1000-year-old vampire comment* I've written one of those. Though he only bit one person in the story, and he died shortly after. Got his throat torn out by a werewolf who was saving her mate. XD

[Ghost]

Oh, it's fine. It's just that vampires get the edge over werewolves very often. Sometimes it seems like werewolves are only around to make vampires look cooler. That your 1000-year-old vamp gets taken out by a werewolf takes it away from the very thing I was complaining about.

[Ireth]

Indeed. Makes me think of the Hugh Jackman movie Van Helsing, in which the only thing that can kill Dracula is a werewolf.

[Queshire]

Meh.... personally I'm not a fan of the fur vs fang trope Fur Against Fang - Television Tropes & Idioms I don't see a particular reason for werewolves to be at war against vampires...

[Ireth]

In the story wherein I wrote the werewolf killing the vampire, weres and vamps actually coexisted in harmony, along with mages and a few normal humans. This was just a special case of the vampire attacking and nearly killing the werewolf's normal-human boyfriend (while tripping out on mage blood, the vampire equivalent of LSD), driving the werewolf to kill the vamp in order to save her boyfriend's life. The vampire in question was a total nutcase. :/

[Jess A]

It was indeed Spice and Wolf. An intriguing show; I'd like to catch more of it.

Somebody gave me some reputation for this thread but my profile won't share who. Thank you to that person!

[Caliburn]

It was me I thought it would say who.