OMGmyplotisspirallingoutofcontrolduringtheverylastpart...
*takes a deep breath*
Okay. So I am in the middle of wrapping up the end of my book, tieing up all the lose threads, and one of the threads is stretching out longer.....
I am happy, because it's taking a life of it's own, but rather annoyed at the late hour that this new idea is starting to develope. For now, I will follow it, and then during editing I can decide what stays and goes, and move events around as necessary.
Soooooo, that's where you come in.
This is in modern day Earth. This could be tomorrow for all you know.
One of the news networks releases a tape of a highly remarkable footage. Several grown men turning into wolves on candid camera. The anonymous source claims that these are real people, and releases their names to the public.
The news station, before releasing the video, checks out the names of the men, and they do indeed exist as the source claims.
What would happen? How would people in this small town that these men are from respond? How would the rest of the world respond?
What about after the tape accuracy is verified? (They cannot find any trace of digital tampering)
Obviously most people wouldn't believe it's true. I know that....
The truth? There a secret pack of werewolves in the small tight-knit community. They are at war with a rogue lycanthrope, Marcus, and this was one of Marcus's threats, that he has now made good on. Releasing a tape of them changing.
Right now, in the book, the pack is getting ready to met to dicuss damage control. I am trying to figure out how the rest of the town responds though, to these wild allegations.
The lycanthropes and other townspeople have live for generations in the town without them knowing about the lycanthropes. I think though, the "normal" townspeople have always subconsciously suspected something was a little off about certain families in the town.
But how would people REALLY react? I know this is fiction, but I want it to be realistic as possible. ;) With lycanthropes.
Also, if anyone has technical advice, on how they verify if a digital video or tape has been altered, or what the screening process would be for what news stations show, that would be awesome too!
Thanks everyone! Hope that made sense!
Undyne
(I posted this in the plot realism thread, but realized my buddies here in Horror/Thiller are used to dealing with lycanthropes! So I reposted it in here too!)
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NaNo 08: Seeing Red/Heaven's Gate and Hell's Masquerade (unfinished)
Proud owner of a plot Wolverine.
7,666 / 50,000
Nov 29, 2008 - 21 33
I think the reaction would be the same as when any potentially frightening news is released in a sensationalistic way: people are shocked in varying degrees depending on how improbable the story is and how they viewed the subject before they heard it; they either don't trust the media or they feel validated by its claims; once the tape is confirmed real they will attempt to do something about what it shows or they will continue to distrust the tape (considering this is a world where lycanthropes are unknown, I'd lean more towards the latter) but they will be uneasy about it; people will start scrutinizing past behaviors and looking for new evidence to support their opinion; most will dismiss anything counter to their opinion as simply untrue; rumors will spread and fears will multiply (maybe to the point that people make excuses to stay inside after dark but won't say the real reason); eventually there will be a misunderstanding with the lycanthropes and someone will do something crazy like try to force one of them to shift in front of an audience to prove what they are (it's judgement before trial and if the trial doesn't confirm what you already know, so be it, the sentence has already been handed down).
Also, the inevitable groupies and hangers-on. The kids that think Wolves are "cool" and will probably end up doing more harm than good whether by innocently made false claims or just by following the lycanthropes too closely.
The really insideous part of the whole thing is that it would build for a while before any sort of confrontation and then the violence would just explode, mob-style. The lycanthropes may be harassed anonymously, they may smell fear all around them and the wiser ones may say it's time to leave town but for the most part they're going to think that no one really wants to hurt them until it's much, much too late.
55,060 / 50,000
Nov 29, 2008 - 22 47
Ok, people were just told by the news that lycanthropes might possibly exist. First, we are not in the age where Orson Welles reads War of the Worlds & everyone freaks the hell out. Not to get too technical here, but if the news report shows on a Fox affiliate, people are going to be skeptical. Everyone knows that local Fox is sensationalist journalism (I’ve had friends who’ve worked at different Fox stations & it’s always the same). If it’s a different station, the reaction is going to be mixed. You’ll have the people who believe anything the TV says & those who don’t believe until they see. There’s always a delayed reaction about these things because while people tend to freak out about the unknown, they also rationalize the hell out of it. It’s more realistic to have people who are on both sides of the fence.
64,744 / 50,000
Nov 30, 2008 - 13 26
I would think it was a hoax, somebody was really fancy with some video editing. I would be impressed by their skills, but I wouldn't believe it.
Then there are some people who would believe it...
50,151 / 50,000
Nov 30, 2008 - 16 23
I would think these are make-up artists or even magicians and this was a publicity stunt.