I adore Wikipedia way more than I ought.
I had been discussing the idea of zoomorphs grown for wartime purposes, as “Kiplings”. There are also illegally-grown and modified ones sold for black market purposes, where some of the general rules have been bent or left out completely.
Drin has been known to go chasing them down when they start causing damage.
He said there were Kiplings called “Bagheeras”, presumably all black and feline.
While I realize that th sf & F community known as the furries undoubtedly has some great fanfiction that addresses the intricacies of how this could be done, and why it might get funded, I have not yet gone looking for the fic myself.
I know it’s possible that some of the groundwork we’ve been having fun with is well-established turf to the furry community. Input, recs and suggestions, of course welcome.
A reference to something that looks like one of kiyokotori’s characters, the Sorceror or Animal Master of the caves of Trois Frères, as noted here:
https://greenjudy.livejournal.com/28966.html?thread=202790#t202790
As I commented there…
from the Britannica website, which is insisting on an annoying login…
major reference ( in Trois Frères )
…discovered in 1914, and most of the pictures of animals, together with a couple of therianthropes (half-human, half-animal figures), are located on the walls of a deep interior chamber known as the Sanctuary.
Hmm.
So they do have a formal, scholarly name…
another reference talking about the figure:
You can easily make out the figures to be beasts and cattle surrounding a high figure that reaches the cave roof. This central figure is about 70 cm or 2 1/2 ft tall and appears to be half human and half animal. The figure has deer antlers and [bold mine] wears a mask with an eye of an owl. Below the mask is a beard and the hands are hidden within bear paws or lion paws. The back of the figure can be compared to that of a certain animal and somehow it appears that the figure is wearing an animal skin of some sort. The figure has an erect penis covered by a fox tail.
Experts called the figure ‘Animal Master’ and if you want to see the picture of the cave painting, you can go to France or you can search the net and simply type the words ‘Trois Freres’. Find a link that will show you the painting itself.
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In looking up “therianthropes” on Wikipedia, you will of course find references to various types of animals.
under werecats, you find this:
…The Americas
The foremost were-animal in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cultures was the were-jaguar. It was associated with the veneration of the jaguar, with priests and shamans among the various peoples who followed this tradition donning the skins of jaguars to “become” a were-jaguar. Among the Aztecs, an entire class of specialized warriors who dressed in jaguar skins were called “jaguar warriors”. Depictions of the jaguar and the were-jaguar are among the most common motifs among the artifacts of the ancient Mesoamerican civilizations.
Archeologists have found a jar in Guatemala, attributed to the Maya of the Late Classic Era (600-900 AD), which depicts a musical instrument that has been reproduced and played. This instrument is astonishing in at least two respects. First, it is the only stringed instrument known in the Americas prior to the introduction of European musical instruments. Second, when played, it produces a sound virtually identical to a jaguar’s growl. A sample of this sound is available at the Princeton Art Museum website.
[unfortunately, that link is broken, would need further tacking down]
In modern South America, there are also urban legends about jaguar shapeshifters lurking along highways in tales similar to the modern vanishing hitchhiker, and of their being assassins secretly employed by the government or organized crime.
In the U.S., urban legends tell of encounters with feline bipeds; beings similar to the Bigfoot having cat heads, tails, and paws. Feline bipeds are sometimes classified as part of cryptozoology, but more often they are interpreted as werecats….
Stella Omega Reply:
August 30th, 2008 at 5:06 pm
While I realize that th sf & F community known as the furries undoubtedly has some great fanfiction that addresses the intricacies of how this could be done, and why it might get funded, I have not yet gone looking for the fic myself.
I know it’s possible that some of the groundwork we’ve been having fun with is well-established turf to the furry community. Input, recs and suggestions, of course welcome.
In my experience furry comms are not going the way we are– I’ve never felt comfortable in any one I’ve explored. YMMV, of course!