Were does it stop?

[M.A.]

Rick wrote: "Yes they do, that's what makes them Marsupials. Though I think Were-platypi would be even more funny to see."

Aren't Platypi venomous? There could be all kinds of fun with that.

[Leiah]

I think I would want to be a wereKomodoDragon. Those are some gnarly monsters . . . 10 feet, 300 lbs., easily eating deer, pigs, smaller komodos, humans . . . and even if you get away, you don't get away, as the bacteria in their mouths is deadly. Dragon saliva teems with over 50 strains of bacteria, and within 24 hours, the stricken creature usually dies of blood poisoning.

Now that would be one Kick Butt were!

[Nick]

Wombats' pouches face backwards so that they don't get dirt in them while they're burrowing. Might make retrieving your nunchuks while under pressure a little bit fiddly...

"Stop, evil-doers! I am WOMBATMAN, and I shall make you pay for your nefarious deeds! ...If I can just... hold on, I've got this... wait, nearly there... oh, come here, you... RIGHT! Who's first for some...

...Oh. They've gone."

[Nick]

On a serious note (who'd have thought it?) Australian Aboriginal mythology has some interesting creatures that would be fun in an Aussie-set UF. The Bunyip and the Rainbow Serpent are pretty cool (and not just for the names).

[Leiah]

Nick wrote: "Wombats' pouches face backwards so that they don't get dirt in them while they're burrowing. Might make retrieving your nunchuks while under pressure a little bit fiddly...

"Stop, evil-doers! I am..."

OK, you made me roar with laughter! I am not going to be picturing that in my head for the rest of the day...

Thank you!

[Rick]

Yes male platypus have spurs on their hind legs that produce a mild toxin, though harmless to humans its deadly for fish. (I dont get why they need it being as the spurs are big enough to impale the size fish they eat)

[Nick]

I'm now trying to think of a way in which I can work Wombatman into my current book, but I think he might stand out a little too much. :)

I think he might be a good character for a humorous short story, though... *starts scribbling notes*

[Feral]

All hail Gary, Wombatman. He boroughs under any obstacle. He hides secret messages in his pouch and doesn't get them dirty. He has a really tough backside.

And people thought "heart" was a lame superpower.

But I'd read about Wombatman any time.

[Nick]

Noted! I'm definitely adding him to my list of possible future characters / stories...

...Wondering about origin stories for him now. Abandoned by his parents in the Australian outback and raised by a family of wombats? Chose the wombat as his symbol because it strikes fear into the hearts of villains (particularly those villains with a phobia of marsupials)? Or bitten by a radioactive wombat?

Hmm...

[Feral]

Nick wrote: "Noted! I'm definitely adding him to my list of possible future characters / stories...

...Wondering about origin stories for him now. Abandoned by his parents in the Australian outback and raised ..."

Maybe he was doing a spell that required an drawing of the totem animal, and he wanted to shift into a bear but he is a lousy artist?

[Nick]

He'd have to be a *really* lousy artist... but I can imagine the scene where ancient spirits he's petitioned for the power have got confused by his rubbish artwork:

WOMBATMAN: "The hell is this? I'm supposed to be a bear! What's going on?"
SPIRIT 1: "A bear? Seriously? Why did you draw a wombat then?"
WOMBATMAN: "I didn't! That's a bear! Look!"
SPIRIT 1: "Are you sure? Looks like a wombat to me."
SPIRIT 2: "Yeah. Or a coypu, maybe. It's definitely a bit rodent-y. Look at the teeth."
WOMBATMAN: "It's a bear, you clowns! Are you blind, or stupid?"
SPIRIT 1: "Well, that's not a very helpful tone, is it?"
SPIRIT 2: "Yeah. If you're going to get all huffy about it then you can just stay as a wombat. Bye."
WOMBATMAN: "No wait, I'm sorry! Come back! Oh crap."

[Leiah]

Feral wrote: "Nick wrote: "Noted! I'm definitely adding him to my list of possible future characters / stories...

...Wondering about origin stories for him now. Abandoned by his parents in the Australian outbac..."

Yes, I like that one!

[Leiah]

Nick wrote: "He'd have to be a *really* lousy artist... but I can imagine the scene where ancient spirits he's petitioned for the power have got confused by his rubbish artwork:

WOMBATMAN: "The hell is this? I..."


You have GOT to write that story! I would read it in a heartbeat....

[Nick]

OK, deal. I will do a Wombatman story sometime soon. I think I can have a lot of fun with that!

[Rick]

I would read that, his arch nemesis could be a fruit bat

[MadameZelda]

or a flea shifter.

[Nick]

Clearly I have been wasting my time writing urban fantasy. What the public *really* wants is to hear about the exploits of a marsupial-themed superhero...

...who'da thunk it?

[Nick]

I was thinking of Dr. Bandicoot as his arch-nemesis. Largely because I really like the word "bandicoot".

[Leiah]

Bandicoot. . . that is a great one. Now I am thinking that when I as a kid there was a Bandicoot cartoon hero??? Annnnnd now I am going to have to look that up. LOL

[Leiah]

So, I Read This Book Today wrote: "Bandicoot. . . that is a great one. Now I am thinking that when I as a kid there was a Bandicoot cartoon hero??? Annnnnd now I am going to have to look that up. LOL"

Ah.... crash bandicoot, right? duh.

[Rick]

Yeah he was a video game character on the original playstation

[Leiah]

Right. It just popped into my head right after I made that comment. I guess they don't do that character any more? I always thought it was such a funny name....

[Feral]

I don't remember the video game character--but Bandicoot sticks out as familiar. It is a good name.

I think you a one syllable first name would go best with it though. "Crash" worked. Maybe "Rip" or "Zeke" . If you go the other way, you could may it really long like Aloysius Ferdinand Jame Bandicoot.

[Nick]

I always thought that Crash Bandicoot looked more like a fox or something than an actual bandicoot.

Regarding the evil Dr. Bandicoot's first name(s), I think it has to be something long, pretentious and embarrassing. Which he covers up by getting everyone to call him "Keith".

"The name's Bandicoot...

...Doctor Keith Bandicoot."

[Leiah]

Nick wrote: "I always thought that Crash Bandicoot looked more like a fox or something than an actual bandicoot.

Regarding the evil Dr. Bandicoot's first name(s), I think it has to be something long, pretentio..."
Grin!

[Nick]

There could be a whole squad of marsupial superheroes, or "Marsuperheroes" as I've started calling them in my head.

:)

[Leiah]

Nick wrote: "There could be a whole squad of marsupial superheroes, or "Marsuperheroes" as I've started calling them in my head.

:)"

I'm all for it. . . now you have to dream up a side-kick, and then appropriate villans! Bwaahh Haaa haaa Haaaa!

[Nick]

I think I'm going to have a lot of fun with this.

Just going to drop Stan Lee a line and see if he wants to get in on this action while it's still at the planning stage...

[Leiah]

Ah, the trials of being an insomniac. . . I had hoped to sleep last night, but of course that didn't come around, so being me I decided to cruise through the "Customer Also Bought" feature on my Kindle. You can find some interesting stuff that way, and I saw this:

Of course, anything called "Little Prick" had to have a gander if only for a giggle, right? Well, it seems that there is a series by (wow. No photo.) that, when it comes to odd and unusual shifters, this is one of the funniest series I have come across.

These are all very short, only 60-70 pages, and they are priced like much longer books, but besides "Little Prick" which stars a porcupine shifter, there is with a golden goose, which seems to be a vixen and a peacock, a cobra(?) and a mongoose, and a wide range of other mixtures. I read one of them, . It was cute enough, very short, but I will give full marks for unusual creatures.

[Julia]

Owl in Love by Patrice Kindl is about a wereowl and I found it delightful!

[Ed]

If there is one, why not another? I don't have a problem with it. I read these books to suspend disbelief. On that note, if a wereraccoon was a thief. Awesome. If they had plans on world domination or to take over a town. That is where I have a WTF moment. The storyline doesn't match the character totem.

I am much less worried about aspects of supernatural matching up to their real world mythology as I am about character and storylines.

[Leiah]

Ed wrote: "If there is one, why not another? I don't have a problem with it. I read these books to suspend disbelief. On that note, if a wereraccoon was a thief. Awesome. If they had plans on world domination..."

Great points, Ed!! Now I want to read a book where there is a wereraccoon who is a thief - and also suffers from obsessive-compulsive hand washing disorder. Aren't raccoons the creatures who wash their food, etc. pretty obssively?

[Mary]

You could always write it. Then we would read it. 0:)

[Leiah]

OHHHH Don't I wish, Mary? I have all these lovely stories that bob about in that swiss cheese I call my brain, only to sound like the work of a mentally challenged four-year-old when I try to put them on the page - or, more often than that, I sit down to write them down, and they stampede to the door, leaving nothing but bits of dust and flying bits of paper floating around!

[Mary]

Oh, that happens. It's said that you have a million bad words in you and that to get to the good ones, you have to write all the bad ones out.

I assure you, published authors who don't have trunks full of unpublishable junk are very rare indeed.

[Feral]

Mary wrote: "Oh, that happens. It's said that you have a million bad words in you and that to get to the good ones, you have to write all the bad ones out.

I assure you, published authors who don't have tru..."

So the more crap I write, the closer I'll be to literary genius?

[Mary]

Possibly. there are no guarantees.

[Leiah]

Well then, I must be a flippiN' GENIUS! ROFLMAO!!!

[Feral]

*Looks through computer files for competent or interesting writing samples*

Somewhere under these piles of stink there has gotta be a pony!

[Leiah]

Or some Vampire Dust Bunnies?

[chucklesthescot]

A were-salmon?????? What superpowers does he have-the ability not to be eaten by hungry bears???!!!

[Mary]

Salmons have mystical knowledge powers in Celtic folklore.