To be honest, I tried to make this a ‘Ye Olde Shoppe’ post about transformations, but it really didn’t work. So, I’m going to do a simple one that lets people have fun in the comments. After all, I covered a lot of ground this week, so ending on an interactive note feels like the right move.
Questions!
- Which animal would you transform into and why?
- Which magical creature would you transform into and why?
- What do you think is a major downside to shape-shifting?
Legends of Windemere 
1. Cat. I’m not a cat person but they seem to have easy lives.
2. The Jackalope, as it is the mightiest and most dangerous of creatures.
3. What do you do about clothes? It seems like it would be a problem.
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I had to double check my second question since I’ve recently run into people who think the Jackalope is real. They point to a string of Lunchable commercials where it’s teamed up with a platypus. Clothing is certainly a big issue. I’ve seen stories where they transform with everything on them and others where they strip naked then stash everything.
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Lol. Having been born and raised in the Northern Plains (long thought to be the Jackalope’s native range) I can assure you it is not a real animal–but we do get a good laugh from convincing coastal city slickers that it is 😂😂😂
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I’m on the coast. I remember it being used on a funny video show or something with Dave Coulier. How many people do you convince?
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Honestly, a pretty sad amount. They start to get the picture when you describe their mating habits–you see they can only breed during a lightning storm because they use their antlers like lightning rods because they need the electric shock to–
Well, that’s usually where people start to pick up on it. Usually.
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Wow. Can’t believe some don’t pick up on that. I wonder why it’s so easy to believe in it up to that point. You’d think zoos would have them or they’d be on various nature shows if they exist.
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There’s a lot of geographical ignorance out there. I just watched an episode of Jane the Virgin (which takes place in Miami) where they visited Montana and people (who spoke with southern accents for some reason???) kept mentioning possums… There are no possums in Montana, it’s out of their range, you are ironically a lot more likely to find one … in Miami.
People have actually asked me in all seriousness if there are penguins up here. *sigh* (I mean sure, AT THE ZOO).
I blame the schools.
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Schools tend to focus on one’s region. Kind of like how I run into people who think Long Island is part of NYC. Others are baffled by there being more than the city and Buffalo.
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Yeah, greater New York state definitely gets short shrift. But thinking Long Island is part of NYC doesn’t seem like a stretch to me, I’m guessing they are probably confusing it with Manhattan. But that’s a pretty tight geographical area to know that much detail about it. I don’t generally expect that much from people. Like, knowing that penguins only range naturally in the Southern Hemisphere is a pretty general piece of knowledge.
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You see, we’re the suburbs. Far ones too as soon as you get to Nassau. It’s frustrating to be talked as if I know the subway system or have any say on city politics. It isn’t even that much a detail in my opinion.
Many people don’t learn about animals beyond names, diet, and appearance. I’ve met some people who think leopards abs cheetahs are the same thing.
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Our relative ideas about distance are skewed too–I can see not knowing about NYC when living on Long Island (because the population is so dense, and there is so much stuff between them) but they’re only like 50 miles apart. For someone who grew up like me, in a place where 90 miles one way was a trip to the nearest Macdonald’s it feels like you would know more about the general area. But of course there really just is so much there it would be difficult to keep track of.
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Density is a big thing. We can stay in our local areas to get most things. NYC is more for tourist areas, special events, special shopping, wandering with city friends, or work. Yet, it is a pet peeve for Long Islanders and those above the city to be talked to as if they know the place. It feels like we’re seen as having only an identity by association, which gets frustrating. I would t be surprised if this is common for a lot of suburban areas.
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Oh, yeah I used to live in St. Paul MN which is the state Capitol and directly across the river from Minneapolis. Anytime I met someone outside the Midwest I would have to say I lived in Minneapolis because literally no one would know where St. Paul was. You better believe there were hang-ups on the St. Paul side about that! lol.
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I remember reading about those two cities and getting a sense of such an issue. To be honest, I only found out about St. Paul because I looked up Minneapolis. I can only imagine the hangups there.
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Also, between learning the 13 original colonies and the Civil War I think people out West tend to get a lot more education about East Coast geography than vice versa, just because of how US history is taught, to say nothing about how URBAN and coast-centric most entertainment is (I’ll admit a lot of ignorance about the rural coast though, cause they do get overshadowed a lot in both history and entertainment).
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We do tend to skip a lot after the revolutionary war. We hear about the purchases, conquering, and wars. I think we learn more details about European history than American at times.
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Love these questions.
1. An eagle. I’d love to soar.
2. A dragon. I’d love to fly and breathe fire.
3. I’d think pain would be an issue with the transformation. (And what do you wear when you switch back?)
Great post, Charles.
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I’m going to guess that clothes are a big concern for many. Never considered the pain aspect. Would it always hurt or would the body develop a numbing effect to counter that issue?
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1. Which animal would you transform into and why?
Probably a horse or an eagle. Both are beautiful animals. A horse is strong and runs fast. An eagle has the power of flight—a great feature
2. Which magical creature would you transform into and why?
A unicorn because they have healing ability. I’d probably go the alicorn route, since they have flight ability
3. What do you think is a major downside to shape-shifting?
The reduction in brain capacity. But if I’m a magical creature, I also have the power to talk, and therefore have a larger brain, at least in my reasoning
I’ve enjoyed these posts on transformation. 😊
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Flying is a popular power here. The reduction in brain capacity isn’t always the case. Take Best Boy for example. He retains his mind when he changes. These questions are directed at the physical transformation and not the mental, so you wouldn’t have to worry about that as much.
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1. A wolverine. All terrain creature. Never has to put up with a lot of guff.
2. One of my root monsters, because they always seem to have a good time.
3. Anything with a gizzard would leave rocks in your digestive tract.
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Didn’t consider the gizzard problem. You could see something similar with any animal. What if you eat something as a beast and turn back while it’s still in your gut? This could become lethal if you’re animal form is a snake since they swallow food whole.
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That’s true, horns and antlers are pokey. I’m working up a magical beast for a future story that has to deal with turtle shells and alligator teeth.
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Getting around them or having them?
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My creature has a unique way of protecting it’s digestive tract from such extras.
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Very curious.
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I’ll drop you a line, because it’s still in development.
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Cool. I’ll keep an eye out for it.
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I would be a Lion in a heartbeat. I could then go down the street to the barking dog and growl it to St Louis.
I think I would like to be able to turn into a Griffin. The idea of flying and being fearsome is appealing. (Same dog)
You might be embarrassed to return to yourself in front of people. How do you explain that?
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I might be wrong, but do you have a problem with a barking dog? Good point on changing back in front of others. This is a big concern if you don’t want them to know.
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Yes. Barking dogs drive me crazy since I know the dog is not happy.
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1) I would transform into an owl. They can fly and are stealthy. However, I wouldn’t eat as an owl, since they swallow everything whole and then have to vomit up the pellet afterward.
2) So many choices! I would transform into a dragon, of course. Flying again, and big enough that nobody would bother me. Actually, I might be tempted not to transform back from that one.
3) Problems of transforming. My big worry would be losing my human consciousness in animal form. If I turn into an owl, and can sit in the trees eavesdropping, but my owl self doesn’t understand what I’m hearing, would that really be helpful?
Also, conservation of mass might be an issue. I remember Poul Anderson wrote a series about lycanthropes who had to keep the same mass. The MC was a 170-pound man who turned into a slightly larger than normal wolf, but a were-tiger that weighed 500 pounds was really handicapped as a 500-pound human. So at 140 pounds, would I turn into a giant (for an owl) owl, or a really small (for a dragon) dragon?
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The conservation of mass is a good one. Most people ignore it because it creates too many limits to the power. They might do a size limitation such as only doing animals that are the same height as the person doing it. Weight is always an issue though. It eliminates so many because humans are either too heavy or too light.
As far as human consciousness in animal form, it really depends on how the transformation works. If you retain your human mind then I don’t think it would be a problem. If it’s two distinct personalities then I can see that being an issue. You do bring up one curious danger. What if a person stays in animal form for too long?
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Reblogged this on Where Genres Collide Traci Kenworth YA Author & Book Blogger.
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Thanks for sharing.
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You’re welcome, Charles!
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I would be a horse. I love their elegance and their movements.
I would say, pegasus for the same reasons as above.
Maybe you wouldn’t be able to transfer back?
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That would be a danger for a first time or unexpected transformation. I think I was too vague with this question. Thought everyone would consider this a controlled change.
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Hm, that would definitely like a controlled change. It would be fascinating to see the world through eyes not quite my own.
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1. A lion if I wanted to go for a preditor, or a horse if not. I switch back and forth between those two things.
2. A gryphon, or a pegasus, because they’re pretty much flying lions and flying horses.
3. Communication, and clothing issues. Communication because it’s got to be frustrating trying to communicate with people you’d normally talk to just fine when in animal form, and clothing issues because it’s generally not included in the transformation so transforming back can be awkward in some situations. Of course, there are ways around these, but they definitely need to be considered.
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Clothing is included when superheroes are involved. Seems to be when it’s a magical or werewolf story that clothes are lost. So, I guess it’s genre and audience dependent. The communication is a curious one. I’m seeing a lot of people assume that the transformation is mental as well, which wasn’t my intention and isn’t as common as one would think. For example, McGonagall didn’t have the mind of a cat whenever she was a cat. So, you could probably get information across in some form like writing in the dirt.
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I have to admit, I was thinking more fantasy than superheroes. Although, even with some superheroes clothing isn’t always included. Regarding the communication thing though, I did think you’d still have a human mind, but was thinking communication would be more difficult… Not impossible, but more difficult, especially if the humans you’re dealing with aren’t the brightest bunch.
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True. Communication is a two-way street. Half of it will depend on how smart and intuitive the other person is. Writing with a claw or talon is probably the easiest way then.
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