#but more amusingly

[robinwinghood]

Robin’s dynamics with the townies (aside from ‘friendly local cryptid’)

Adeline: Respect and a li’l bit of fear. Robin has known very few people who could be described as ‘efficient’ and finds it rather intimidating.

Eiland: best bro, archaeology buddy, tell me all about the artifacts and I will in turn give you my in-depth guide to the migratory habits of essence bats. Also, he’s very pretty.

Celine: fellow researcher. Respect your botanists it will save your life one day.

Juniper: “Ohohohoho I’m going to make you my TEST SUBJECT oh HERO, to SAVE the VILLAGERS, ohohoho!” “Sure! When do we start?” “… could you just… pretend to be less enthusiastic about it?” “Why?” (Also, very curious about Juniper’s connection to the Witch Queens but I digress)

Balor: clearly can both tell the other is hiding something. Desperately curious about his deal but mutual trust to not dig and/or rat each other out means a lot to her. Has considered the possibility that, since he apparently goes to the capital regularly, Balor may actually know her secret, or may have heard of her supposed ‘exploits’ but not made the connection to her. Robin’s not inclined to break the equilibrium and ask.

Valen: *climbing the vines to the deep forest* let me in I gotta help Valen advance her panacea research

Ryis: Excited to grow his tree and make his birdhouse. She’s gonna make a spreadsheet to track what birds they get. Also, very handsome.

Reina: everyone in this town is gorgeous is there something in the water??? Likes Reina’s cooking, really interested to learn, cus she’s never really eaten home cooking in Capital, she and her family used to always get takeaway or eat at cafeterias.

Hayden: won’t you be my neighbour ~ 🎶

March: weird and interesting specimen. Hated her on sight for no discernible reason, and frankly she finds it funny. Found out he likes sushi, and she finds it so funny because she always thought of him as being similar to a cat. However, she does just come to… like him, like being around him, like when he asks her to help out at the forge. I don’t think it’s fully hit her yet that this may be turning romantic, she just thinks that somehow they’ve managed to become friends despite the rocky start. And everyone in Mistria is good-looking, the fact that she notices more and more that March is too isn’t jumping out at her as something to examine.

Caldarus: On the one hand, please no, not looking to be special por favor, but on the other hand… It must really suck to just be stuck as a statue, not able to go walk around, only able to see one view, only able to talk to one person. So, Robin makes a point to go sit with Caldarus regularly and tell him about everything going on in town, and she’s made his spot into a nice li’l shrine so he’s at least got a nice view.

Nora: Similar to Adeline, slightly intimidated by the organisational capabilities.

Dell: Robin has definitely done a private risk assessment for bringing the Dragonguard into the mines to see the monsters, but came to the conclusion that would probably not be a safe field trip, even with Robin there to protect them. Dell asks her a lot of questions about adventuring, which Robin is… Somewhat reticent about answering. Instead, Robin’s been telling her about how to actually fight different monsters she’s seen in the mines, like, the practical particulars of how to do it. Part of her worries that doing this will lead to Dell taking herself down the mines one day, but on the other hand, Robin knows she’ll be able to find her, and hopefully with this information, Dell would be able to look after herself until she was rescued.

Holt: Robin is an unashamed pun enjoyer, so she gets along alright with Holt.

Luc: Two peas in a pod. Luc is exactly who Robin was at his age. She makes a point to always carry her net specifically so she can find more interesting bugs for him. We must always foster young minds, they are the future of science!

Maple: now, Robin does not quite get Maple. She was never one for dress up and tea parties as a kid, she was always out finding reptiles and bugs to study, much more a Dell or a Luc. However, she’s willing to play ball with the royalty stuff, even if she fumbles it a little.

Hemlock: Not a lot there, but she enjoys hearing Hemlock play music come the festivals.

Josephine: Similar to Hemlock

Olric: Respect your geologists, it’ll save your life one day. I think in some ways she feels like they’re kind of alike, they like their respective fields of study, and they’re not ashamed or quiet about it, and they can sometimes come off as a li’l strange socially.

Elsie: Elsie is an archetype that Robin really struggled dealing with in the Capital, where there are dozens of them, but one on her own, now that’s just a delight.

Errol: Respected curator. Like with Eiland, they share the love of knowledge, though Robin definitely feels like much more of a risk taker as opposed to Errol. However, when you have your field researchers who take risks, it is so important to counterpoint them with people pulling the reins.

Terithia: She’s full of fascinating stories.

[cockroachesunite]

(He’s not exaggerating)

[leggalese]

There was a post that said that Nick would actually be very fond of classical music and I fully agree with it.

On the other hand I can imagine Miles being open about his adoration of disco only when he is piss drunk.

[liedownquisition]

So I let people submit their suggestions for dog breeds, and tbh I think I might already be sold on my final choice but I'm still going to poll the options I liked best. (I have a lot of dog opinions.)

Now, bear in mind, in narrowing my options here I'm going off a variety of factors including aesthetics/vibes, the breed roles/"jobs", and general breed temperament. (This is the part where I out myself as half just making this post to ramble about dog breeds and making inane correlations to human -Jason's, obviously- behavioral patterns.)

Breed pics & exclusions/reasons under the cut:

This animal has such a majestic journey from cute scruffy baby to a wretched looking beast and I love it. @glitter-stained mentioned it reminding you of the Baskerville hound and yes I think these animals would make for a perfect recreation of it, and the literary reference is appealing because, well, Jason.

Irish Wolfhounds are a sighthound which means they were bred to rely on speed and sight over scenting. As their name implies that hunting includes large predator animals including, purportedly, the last of the wolves in Ireland. Or, rather, their predecessor did. The original wolfhounds that these ones were inspired after and bred to recreate are technically a lost breed. Which, I mean, has some potentially interesting symbolism re: Jason's death & resurrection.

This breed is often seen as reserved and deeply intelligent, forms strong bonds with its owners and the other animals it is raised with and is not always the most adaptable to change. Independent, it's not a defender of spaces, but will defend their family and is fairly friendly with strangers. The breed comes with a historic motto "gentle when stroked, fierce when provoked" which is very fun. So, overall they're more of a "guardian" breed than a "guard" breed if you keep them around for those purposes, but that initial idea behind them is to hunt large game. The original breed may or may not have at some point been given to some roman or greek, idr, and impressed people by being able to hold their own against lions.

I'm enamored with this image. While I understand the inclination to categorize Jason as a guard dog, Jason as a working breed has just a little certain something to it for me. @daisybell-on-a-carousel you said that these two choices were largely aesthetic based and favoring tri/multicolored coats but further examination does I think reveal some rather inspired takes here.

Right off the bat Australian Shepherds remind me of how I prefer to portray (post-resurrection) Jason with sectoral heterochromia, but like via their fur. They're also funny because they're a misnomer since they were developed in California, but the name supposedly comes from the collies from Australia and New Zealand that made up one half of their progenitor breeds. Though bred for herding it is modernly one of the most popular companion dogs in the US. This means they're generally very energetic and intelligent, and often are prone to herding people and other animals even when that's not formally their job. They can, of course, get destructive if their needs for exercise isn't met like all herding breeds.

This might be a little funny but it does somewhat feel very Pre-Crisis Jason to me? That boy needs a job to do so bad, needs to feel useful that he puts himself in that role even when he's not (entirely) needed/it's not a role they want to put him in.

Special mention to the fact that I actually live near a breeder for Cane Corsos, and therefore have met and learned a great deal about them by chatting with them when they come to my job and sometimes have one of them along for the ride. They are beautiful animals. Now, I have to admit that I tend to be less in favor of the "Walking Fridge" depictions of Jason, bcs a lot of times it comes at the expense of his flippiness, and the fact that he's been remarked to fight like Dick in Hush/passed as Nightwing in BiB (despite the rest of that comic's flaws) is very dear to me, but I'm tbh genuinely impressed by this suggestion. Especially from someone who is "not an expert," @hannibal-is-my-comfort-show

Cane Corso are modernly a companion/guard breed, and a kind of mastiff. They are also extremely intelligent (the aforementioned breeder often jokes that his dogs are smarter than he is) and historically have had a role in hunting large game as well as protecting and herding cattle. Now, for anyone unfamiliar with dog breeding lore, herding dogs HAVE to be very intelligent. And part of this particular breed's standard for registration requires them to be indifferent to gunfire, tranquil to inoffensive strangers, but aggressive in defending their owners.

So I think we're hitting some very interesting points here. While I'm not discounting it for main continuity, I think perhaps would be a good match for, say, AK!Jason?

This is Daisybell's other suggestion, and the Australian Cattle Dog has much of the same appeal as the Shepherd on an aesthetic level and in its being another working breed. This one, however, was actually bred in Australia. Notably, it was bred to herd via biting and has been known to nip running children and forms very strong, protective bonds with its owners. Cattle dogs, like a majority of herding breeds, require consistent training and structure or else they can get a bit destructive. However, these ones do also have some decently high standards that it can't be too repetitive and needs to be thoroughly engaging for the pooch.

Things that appeal I think is that they have a shorter coat than the Shepherds, and Post-Crisis Jason (esp as Robin) as a bitey herder does sound rather appropriate, I think. Very akin to the previous herder it's something of Jason putting himself into a job because he sees something that he thinks need to be done, AND his methods are something that can be seen as scarier for many people despite the dog's overall friendly face. which dovetails nicely with the way his new origin made him less popular.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:

I... sure hope the wide variety of images I've posted here explain why I didn't include "Mutt" in this poll. A suggestion like, idk, American Bull Terrier & Black Lab mix (which would classify as a mutt, rather than a hybrid) it would be something more substantial for me to work with. The whole point of crowdsourcing this question is to avoid having to work out the details like that myself. (I mean, partly, it was more I was at work and my code-switch-y brain suddenly could not recall like 90% of my dog breed knowledge.) Shout out to the like, 2-3 people who did specify "(breed) mix" in their suggestions.

That said, there is a strong non-zero chance (as in, I really wasn't ever planning on having Jason as, like, a breed standard/pedigreed animal) that I reference something like "not being full-blooded," but fundamentally what I'm looking for in my asking is/was a base breed. Dogs are such wonderfully varied creatures that have their jobs literally bred into them and their visually and and literally so incredibly varied in size and coloration... you see the dilemma right? A mutt can be anything, regardless of the way they're traditionally portrayed in, say, Lady and the Tramp or, like, Balto (who yeah is half wolf but he's still a mutt), there's realistically too much variance to the concept.

Ahhh, pibbies, pibbies, pibbies... A rather beloved breed for me, I grew up with two and was (and am), in fact, a very staunch advocate for the breed... within some reason there are definitely some people who go to far with it like when they fake the Dog's breed in order to sneak it into places where regulations forbid them. Seriously, way to make the work of getting them accepted harder. So, anyways, when I tell you that I know their history rather extensively, and thematically I see the vision, I mean it.

"Pit Bull" as many know the term, is actually an umbrella term that covers about four-five different breeds (sometimes including some bulldogs) and their respective crossbreeds, and nearly every mixed mutt that has a more muscular build and square face is often labeled under the category of "pit bull type." This is a much narrower field, but similar to the previous problem.

And yet it's almost perfect that way, right? "Pit Bull" doesn't have pedigreed breed standards in the way most breeds on this list would, but I'm going to be honest with you, my entire rejection here is aesthetic. This applies to bulldogs as well as the pitties that are more bulldog-like in figure, I am, once again, not exactly big on the not-exactly-canon walking fridge who's got all this strength and fights like Batman. That said, however, pitties are definitely the perfect breed for, I think, GK!Jason who does kinda display more of that aesthetic.

"Why are these three, completely different dogs in the same entry?"

I could give you a deep, introspective analysis about Rottweilers, German Shepherds, and Dobermans, however my issue with these options are all the same, and unfortunately... sigh. I'm not immune to propaganda. I'm sorry animals, but I cannot see a black coat with brown or tan points and not immediately think "That dog's a fucking cop."

So, y'know. That's off the table for me. Would be a great choice for Lobdell's version of Jason though, the cop-ass-kissing bullshit motherfucker that he is! ... Special shout out though to "he kinda built like a doberman," the wide chest and slim waist? Yeah, I see it. Especially Gotham War!Jason, I think that's a worthwhile comparison.

Other mentions:

Pomeranian - Very fun. I'm reminded of this classic post. Alternatively, please play Ghost Trick:

Jason, don't lie, you're not a to- *shot*

Yorkshire Terrier/any other "toy" companion breed - While there is something to be said about itty bitty baby Jason being brought on board exclusively because Bruce was lonely and needed something or someone to fill the space after Dick left, No. I have nothing against companion breeds, but they feel a bit less... survivable on a metaphoric level? Considering Jason's history, the vibes just don't hit for me.

Chihuahua - I'm not going to lie to you, I don't' even consider this a serious suggestion. There's no contender. He has nothing of the breed characteristics. Once again, a small companion breed, so, no. At best the nervous little beasties serve as a watch animal (as in, makes a lot of noise and alerts the owners about intruders), and while I'm not going to let a conquistador have any validity, supposedly they were bred and sold as food by the Aztecs--which I only mention because it reminds me of that "feeding cats to coyotes" post and people correlating it to "feeding Robins to Joker." A more interesting fact however is that they are one of two breeds that still seem to retain the unique ancient genome sequence of pre-colonial Native American dog breeds. Regardless...

If I were to do a smaller breed I would likely choose something like... I dunno, a Boykin or American Water Spaniel? Maybe a Small Munsterlander? Hmmm, yeah, the overall versatility of the S. Munsterlander would probably be good. All those breeds are hunting dogs but Spaniels are mostly used for flushing, but the S. Munsterlander's are pretty good for training into just about any role people have for a small hunting dog. A Boykin would probably be higher on my choice list of Spaniels as well, given their tendency to take their time before pushing a rather aggressive flush which is a very Jason-like behavior. They also have some pretty strong fetch instincts too.

[fishareglorious]

i know a good chunk of willow's height (6'1) comes from her hat but in my beautiful mind palace she is actually another one of the looming things

[flowering-darkness]

Lorenza has SIX DIFFERENT SELFSHIPS how have I managed this

[jjsanguine]

Arm: hey what happened to your hand?

Arc, internally: I beat a guys face in and I'd do it again... but I don't want Arm to think I'm some kind of hooligan

Arc, guy who has crashed a car while Arm was in the passenger seat in a fit of road rage: dunno

[uinferno]

Yknow. I do forsee a potential plot point for Netflix-levania to somehow have Dracula as a villain back, even with the end of the previous series. Obligation. He's no longer the weary widower, and with Lisa's return there's closure. He's lived as a man. He understands man. He may not even hate man. Maybe.

And yet he's back because the other Vampires are fucking it up and now daddy's home to bring back order. He's no longer gunning for genocide, but honestly, the politicking of the vampires who are so far up their own asses, they need to be reminded who's really in charge. His death left a power vacuum, a particularly annoying vacuum. Maybe the little things of humanity irk him, but vampires are everything they have but turned up to 11.

So at the end it's a formality. He'll come back, clean things up among vampire society, make enough of a mess to get a Belmont to kill him, then turn in for another 100 years.

Does this make him too noble? Probably. If you want the grandiose "What is a man" Dracula, you can extrapolate from "It's an obligation" and have him actively resent people pulling him out of the afterlife from Lisa so fucking much, that he leans too hard into the role. The part of him who's evil out of obligation and the part who's evil out of resentment begin to blur the lines. Is he the lord of darkness because that's the role he's been cast and is simply going through the motions or his he just so simply done with the whole process that he refuses to give up an inch of power to any other Vampire (or human) because they're all just children in his eyes?

It could still ultimately culminate in a Soma Cruz plot line where after 1999 he quits so hard that he refuses to even return to the role properly but it doesn't matter because his mere presence fills the vacuum, even when he does nothing (not for the lack of trying from others).

Maybe that's a bit petulant in its own right. YMMV, but I think that's the point. For being such an archetypal lord of all evil villains, how he fills it is shockingly dynamic. He's evil for evils sake, a beacon of arrogance, or a truly tragic villain. Depends on what's needed. If he does come back, I do want to really see a "Castlevania does Bram Stoker's Dracula. Genuinely. It's just an adaptation for the original novel because that's Canon to the original Castlevania timeline, and it'd be funny to properly reveal that Quincy Morris is a Belmont (And his son fights WW1 vampires and grandson WW2)."

[catenary-chad]

I think Dinah/Electra is my unship. Not a NOTP I hate, just a dynamic where it’s fascinating to explore just how they DON’T fit. They’re just kind of incompatible in canon but it goes a lot deeper when you consider irl train context. I tend to picture Dinah as an older steam-heated dining car geared towards looong multi-day cross-country luxury trains, which goes hand in hand with a 30s-50s era diesel streamliner like Greaseball…. but is basically mutually exclusive with a semi-modern (70s-80s era) electric engine who barely had any overnight routes in their territory. There’s the likes of the Night Owl and that’s about it for the electrified northeast, and those trains usually had cafe/buffet type cars. Plus Electra would almost certainly have Head-End Power and be literally unable to keep Dinah warm at night, which is how I like to spin her being so fixated on whistling lol (Greaseball is old enough to definitely have a heating boiler for that use).

Electra is more oriented towards fast intercity service vs old-school land cruises and she’d get so aggravated by them starting/stopping so frequently and rapidly, rushing her on things that take time, and not appreciating the plusher finer touches of things. Meanwhile Electra would just go “plz no more” halfway through a five course meal, get annoyed when expected to be calm and pleasant and dutiful vs quick and efficient, and go ballistic at the idea of plodding along the rails that long and fussing with a so many formalities.

I think they’d have similar incompatibilities with most sleeping cars since a lot of them are either rooted in or directly from that era and philosophy. One of the reasons night trains became rare in Europe was faster daytime intercity trains taking their place. Buffy would be a solid partner though, canonically I think they both know exactly what they’re getting into (hot and cheap and quick), and some kind of snack/cafe/buffet car is bog standard on intercity trains.

[victorluvsalice]

Merry Christmas Squid!

@gaydragonwizards You said you wanted any story I wrote to feature Beckett, and then later added that it could also involve your OC Arianna (in her Malkavian VTMB Fledgling form, obviously) and that you'd prefer it to be chill. So here's something with Beckett and Arianna hanging around the Rodriguez house, having a spontaneous muse about their adopted sire/childe relationship. :) Hope you like!

--

“You know, I never really considered myself ‘father’ material before I met you.”

Arianna blinked, looking up from her book. “That – came out of nowhere,” she commented, raising an eyebrow at Beckett as he hovered near her chair.

“I suppose it did,” Beckett allowed with a chuckle. “My apologies – unfortunately for you, it appears I am feeling sentimental this evening.” He glanced left and right. “Perhaps because Melody isn’t around to spray paint me out of my mood.”

Arianna snorted. “They don’t tolerate mushiness well, no,” she agreed, setting her book down and turning to face him properly. “But neither do you, most of the time. What brought this bout on?”

“I’m honestly not sure,” Beckett admitted, leaning on the back of the chair. “Perhaps the phase of the moon is tugging at my humors, imbalancing them in favor of the phlegmatic. Perhaps the blood I feasted on earlier tonight had a maudlin taste to it.” He smiled. “Or perhaps I just looked at you and thought, ‘why would she ever want me as a father figure?’ Which then led to ‘well, since when have I ever wanted to be a father figure?’ Which led to my comment in your general direction, and that to here.”

“I see.” Arianna smiled back at him. “Well, if you want an answer to that first question, it’s pretty simple, honestly – you were one of only a handful of Kindred who was consistently nice to me. I mean, you were also deeply sarcastic, yes, but...you also seemed to enjoy talking to me. Asking me questions and actually listening to my responses. I felt like almost nobody listened to me when I first got dragged into this life. And I really appreciated that you actually came with me to sort out what happened to your friend Scott, instead of just leaving it all on my head.” She grimaced. “I would not have enjoyed taking on that Lasombra hiding out beneath the library alone.”

“Frankly, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it either,” Beckett said, grimacing. “Lasombras are not to be trifled with – my occasional traveling companion Lucita is an absolute terror when she’s enraged. I wish she’d been with us when we were fighting that would-be cult leader. She would have made short work of him. And probably lectured us for getting in over our heads in the bargain.” He shook his head. “And while my friends would happily bend your ear for hours telling you all the ways I’ve nearly gotten myself killed, I didn’t want you to get killed by whatever we found. While I’ve always been impressed by your ingenuity and ability to get things done, I was well aware you were still only a fledgling. And one without a sire to help smooth the transition, thanks to Sebastian and his beheading-happy ways.”

Arianna chuckled faintly. “I know...though given how I was Embraced, I doubt he would have been much of a sire,” she added with a scowl. “I just consider myself really lucky that Bertram Tung was willing to share what he knew about the clans and the sects. And that Annabella was waiting for me when I was finally allowed back Downtown. And that I stumbled across Alice and Victor pretty early in my unlife. I’m not sure I would have gotten as far as I did without Alice watching my back at a few key moments. And don’t even ask how I could have gotten the sarcophagus back from the Giovanni without the Hawkes and that one friendly mage giving me a hand there.”

“Oh, I’m sure it’s not as bad as all that – you would have figured out something,” Beckett said, smirking. “After all – your neck was literally on the line at that moment.”

“Don’t remind me,” Arianna muttered, rubbing her neck. “And I don’t think any plan I had to execute on my own would have gone nearly as well. The point is, I did a lot better with help than on my own, and you being willing to help me out – multiple times – really endeared you to me.” She smirked back at him. “Granted, I don’t know if your sense of humor helped or hurt.”

“I’ll have you know that I’m the funniest Kindred within miles,” Beckett replied with a grin. “But if I must be serious, I was happy to help you – and not just because I too was eager to get a look at that sarcophagus and figure out what was inside. I simply – liked you. I knew how it felt to be thrown so suddenly into this world without the slightest idea what had happened – thank you so much, Gangrel Embrace traditions,” he muttered. “And I knew how it felt to have someone find you and take you under their wing. Not to mention, the way you looked so horrified about facing Sebastian all on your own after the museum...I couldn’t help but feel at least vaguely protective of you. Enough to help vouch for you. And then our paths kept crossing, and as I got to know you more, I got to like you more. Until...” He waved a hand to encompass the room. “Here we are.”

“Here we are,” Arianna agreed, tone warm. “And I like where we’ve ended up.”

Beckett smiled and nodded. “I do as well.”

[blubushie]

do u tell people u love them even though u don't?

Bit personal of a question to ask... But yeah.

You ever read that poem, "I can't help it, I love the way men love"? That's me. I don't really love anyone (save 2 people, maybe 3), but I do care about a sparse few people, so yeah I say I love them. It's not an accurate word, but it gets the point across well enough. And it's better than me trying to explain how much I care but how my Issues affect how that presents itself, because I often come off as aloof and distant and cold and like I just don't care about anything or anyone. And that's not necessarily true! I do care about some people! Rarely.

But sometimes it's hard for them to remember that with my behaviour, or how I act, so it's helpful to occassionally reiterate it with a simple "love you". They know I don't mean love, they know it's just an easy way for me to say "I care about you", but it's less words and rolls off the tongue better so I prefer it. "I care about you and appreciate you" sounds too centred, too perceived. A simple brief "love you" works great for getting my emotional state across even if my care for them isn't actually that intense and pretty surface-level. And people like to hear it, so it works fine. I prefer it. Little white lies don't hurt anyone.

I can't help that the way I show how much I care comes off as obessive, and dangerous, and scary. I can't help that it presents itself as stalkery, or intense, or possessive, or overly-protective. And it's not love, not really, but it's as close as I'll ever be, and it helps me to express that in a way that other people are familiar with and can empathise with. "Yeah I know I come off as an obsessed scary possessive arsehole sometimes, but it's because I care about you and have a really intense need to protect you because I'm mentally ill and if you get hurt, I'll get hurt, and I can't have that." This is better just expressed as a simple "love you" in passing to remind them that all the bullshit comes from somewhere with good intentions at least.

[ravenpuffheadcanons]

Tremendous news: it turns out PG Wodehouse wrote a novella that has Jemma Simmons as the main character.

[cloudbattrolls]

Ullane is trying to be better about non-trolls experiencing love/attraction these days, and she has improved! She's nicer about undead than she used to be, and some other supernatural beings, to an extent.

But she still has to fight against seeing Arty making dirty jokes/experiencing attraction as inherently gross and wrong.

'Who wants to be leered at by something artificial, and so alien besides?' in her words.

[lordofthestrix]

Tristan: "I value all of my Strix in this room equally. Aya, Shen Min, Claire, Arthur, Rowan, Holt, Cadence, Takahashi and..." Subtly looks at smudged writing on hand. "Moe is hidden."

[flame-shadow]

eventually, im gonna have to make a collage of all my anthro wasp character designs. ive made a lot already over the past couple years, even though most are just sketches.