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Name Anthony Todd Webster
Age late teens
Height 6'1"
Weight 175 lbs
Ethnicity Caucasian
DOB October 3
Birthplace somewhere Midwestern
Current Residence somewhere Midwestern
Appearance He's a healthy lad, maybe needs to put on a bit more weight. Brown hair, hazel eyes, and he always seems to have a smile on his face. His earnest demeanor and honest expression make him seem instantly trustworthy. He likes to wear comfortable clothes, usually t-shirts and jeans, though he's not much for those incredibly baggy pants that you can fit three people in.
Family Gregory Philip Webster(father), Linda Nicole Webster (mother), Barbara Sheila Webster (younger brother)
Likes Pizza, Calvin and Hobbes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, basketball, his sister, running on all fours in the woods at night
Dislikes PETA, people who aren't nice to animals, really strong perfume and/or incense, goths, werewolf movies, the moon



Bio:

Tony was seven years old when his family decided to go on an old-fashioned camping trip. His sister, a toddler, was left in the care of a trusted babysitter while the family drove to a nearby forest preserve. Tony was really looking forward to this; ever since Barbara had come into their lives, he felt as if his family didn't pay nearly enough attention to him.

Then Tony was attacked by some sort of wild animal while he was out collecting wood for the fire. His parents came running as soon as they heard the scream, and Tony was found half-unconscious with a horrible bite wound on his leg. He was rushed to the hospital. The doctors took one look and pronounced it a werewolf bite; there was no cure, and all they could do was stop the bleeding and give him stitches. The Websters were given some phone numbers to call and people to see, and the hunt was on for the feral werewolf who'd bitten the young child.

Werewolf attacks were very uncommon in this day and age, now that werewolves and vampires had government protection and had been integrated into society, but occasionally a member of the "night community" still went insane and attacked people. They were swiftly hunted down and punished to the full extent of the law, but that didn't help the victims. There was a 99% chance that Tony would change at the next full moon. The Websters were given a government subsidy with which to build a special lockup in the backyard.

Those first few years were rough. Tony's schoolmates treated him differently; a lot of them started avoiding him, as if he had some sort of contagious disease. Werewolves are now legally protected and have the same rights as any other human being, but that doesn't mean they aren't still discriminated against in some places. Tony's community was not terribly diverse. Some of his very close friends still stuck loyally by him, and it was with their help that Tony was able to get through those first lonely years.

By the time Tony entered high school, it was difficult to tell that he'd ever been that quiet, withdrawn little boy. He joined the varsity basketball team and had short stint with band (he played clarinet). Tony had always naturally been very studious, perhaps more eager than his peers to prove himself because of his "differences," and so he did very well in his classes. As his senior year rapidly approaches, Tony finds himself wondering what he's going to do for the rest of his life. He has no idea.

Tony's father never really adjusted to his boy's condition. He's something of an old-fashioned sort of fellow, very concerned with masculine identity, and he doesn't know what to do with his boy that's now a werewolf. He claims to still love his son, but sometimes he acts like Tony doesn't exist, and Tony doesn't know what to do about that. Linda tries to make up for it by being extra supportive, but it's just not the same as having your father there.

Contrary to popular belief, werewolves can actually shapechange at will. Some werewolves simply choose not to. Tony likes being able to change and worked very hard to be able to control it. The full moon change is, as always, involuntary and often painful. You win some, you lose some.

History of the Character:

I read some Anne Rice when I was in middle school. Then I realized that all her characters were basically the same: bisexual, ethereal, beautiful, gothic. I read one of her sister's books, which were pretty much the same thing. At that point, I was so sick of these beautiful, unearthly creatures that were so beyond human comprehension that I decided to make a werewolf who was normal in every way, shape and form except that he happened to turn into a wolf sometimes. I didn't want him to be defined by his "condition" or whatever. Unfortunately, that turned out to be the case anyway, because as it turns out, it's difficult to write someone who's a werewolf without making it all about the wolf bit.

Then I created a vampire world were vampires were normal, accepted members of the community--well, inasmuch as anyone who's "different" is a normal, accepted member of the community (for instance, there are still an alarming number of people out there who think blacks and women should "know their place"). For instance, people get "donor summons" in the mail much as we get jury summons now, where you have to go to your local vampire bureau and donate blood. In order to become part of the night community, you must complete and sign a waiver, and so does your sire (and if you are a minor, you must have parental permission). And so on, and so forth. It was originally only a vampire world, but then I thought: hey, why not werewolves, too? Why not merge Tony's world with this one? You see, Tony's world was originally one in which werewolves hid themselves, like. . . well, every other piece of werewolf literature out there.

Of course, now that I've done this, Tony looks like some sort of gigantic metaphor for gay rights. Oh well.


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