DE: Pets and other animals

[yakalskovich]

 What's your characters' attitude towards pets, and animals in general? Do they keep any, and do animal feature in their canon? Are there any magical talking animals? Signs, portents, symbolism?

Comments

[camwyn]

Gordon does not have a particular attitude towards animals one way or the other, although he probably would not mind a pet that did not vomit or poop too much and that only had the Earth-standard number of eyes and limbs.

Shephard deeply resents the fact that as far as his reports indicate, the only dogs left alive on his Earth are the feral huskies of Svalbard. He's very fond of dogs and of other animals and has always respected them, even/especially the ones he grew up hunting or fishing. He currently hunts the things from Xen, partly because they're threats to human life and partly because some of them are edible, and he's working on domesticating houndeyes as a dog substitute. He would probably attempt to raise raccoons in captivity if he could get hold of a couple. Or crows, although he's never raised birds before. As far as magic/symbolism/etc., there isn't any with regards to animals in his or Gordon's canon, but Shephard has had enough Weird Mythic Shit happen to him ICly through RP with folks from other canons that... yeah, there's that salmon of wisdom he and La Fee Vert caught, there's the Alternian river serpent he and Kanaya caught, there's the basilisk he and Kreyu killed, there's the giant wild pig he had to kill one-handed with a bronze sword in order to get his artificial hand... etc.

Ellen grew up in an environment without animals other than the occasional radroach. The majority of animals in her environment are trying to kill humans, with the exception of a few dogs and Brahmin cattle. She has Dogmeat, who is her furry little Leeroy Jenkins faithful companion, and a few Brahmin she acquired after Milliways characters helped her take down a mercenary company. She is not really very good with animals but has been working on learning to be better with Brahmin.

Fawkes and animals just don't interact much. They tend to leap at him and then do their species' equivalent of "oh, I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else" when they realize how big he is.

Stacker's canon contains two kinds of animal: horrifying alien genetically engineered monsterbeasts hell-bent on destroying human population centers, and Max the bulldog. Stacker is not particularly interested in other animals.

Edward Kenway's attitude towards animals is that humanity was given dominion over them in the Garden of Eden and they are therefore there to be used. He's always liked the jackdaw, hence naming his ship after one. That's... about it as far as his attitude goes. It is possible to hunt a wide variety of animals in his canon, up through and including whales, in order to use their parts for crafting material. I will admit that while I was only too happy to do all kinds of people-killin' as an acrobatic proto-assassin pirate in his canon, I got disturbed by the shark hunting and whale hunting minigames and stopped playing them very quickly.

There are lots of kinds of animals in Varric's canon and a lot of different attitudes toward them, depending on your species and culture (see the Dalish and their halla, or the humans of Ferelden and their mabari hounds). Varric is not particularly fond of animals, but neither is he particularly hostile towards them. They're sorta there.

El Santo likes animals and is kind to pets, but is more likely to be busy punching vampires and evil scientists in the face than dealing with actual animals. I think the closest he gets to dealing with actual animals is the handful of movies in which he has to fight the Wolfman.

Wee Mad Arthur tends to think animals are looking at him funny and starts fights with them. Given his history as a ratcatcher and pest eliminator there is possibly a chance that he is correct in thinking this.

[sunbaked_baker]

Sunshine is generally friendly to pets, without being obsessive. She doesn't have a pet of her own, figuring that no animal deserves to have to live with someone who would have to frequently leave it home alone for long stretches of the day (and night), and who would frighten it and make it worry with the state she's in when she returns. A deer, specifically a doe, figures in Rae's story as the creature whose blood was taken to save her life from slow-acting poison, a sacrifice made in her place. In the blood-dream that resulted, Rae relived the doe's last moments, and the memory of the life taken for her sake stays with her throughout her canon.


Zelgadiss is generally indifferent to most animals, though he isn't cruel to them. Dogs don't often like chimeras, though cats sometimes get close enough to find out that his rough edges are good at satisfying scritches. A good horse is a boon during long journeys, but he purchases or hires them as he needs them and then sells them when he doesn't. They don't make any real impression.


Yrael doesn't know what you mean. 'Magical talking animals'? What a silly idea.

[bjornwilde]

Ahsoka and Quinlan: Animals are part of life in the galaxy and the Force. Ahsoka doesn't have time for pets, though she likes them well enough and finds them appealing. Quinlan has a couple of bogwings onboard his ship as pets for his children and as a means for them to study the Force.

Rollo: Animals are food or useful, such as transportation or workers. Birds tend towards omens from the Gods, especially ravens. I am sure there are others that are omens that I am missing.

Hank: No magic animals and he doesn't keep a pet. Even if he were able, I don't think that he would, perhaps seeing too much of himself in one.

Selina: She would love to keep a cat but has no home to do so. Instead, she feeds as many strays as she is able and keeps her eye out for any litters that might need special attention.

Sam: Seems like he would be a pet person but I think he sees himself as too busy to properly care for one. I think he's a dog person, but would be friendly with any pet really.

Izana: Loves animals and would be fascinated by anything that wasn't a cat; cats being the only animals aside from an insect or two that is shown in canon. I am sure there are livestock elsewhere in Sidonia, but they haven't been to those places and so haven't seen many animals.

Briareus: Similar to Izana. Canon shows no animals and there was a nuclear war, so I am head canonning that there are not that many large animals left on the planet and livestock are few and far between.

Which leaves the Luidaeg. She loves animals and can be very protective of them. Of course to her, hippocampi, sea dragons, and the like are animals. She tends to care more for aquatic fauna. I don't know that she'd say she has pets but she does care for a good number of mythical critters in fishtanks.

[have_no_mercy]

Tess used to be a marine biologist, so she likes animals that live in the sea and keeps fish in her office. Land animals she's cool with on the level that she is also an environmentalist so she wants to see life flourish, but she doesn't really think puppies and kittens etc. are adorable cute. Babies and small children fit into that category as well.

[the_lioness]

Alanna loves animals and has two 'pets,' though neither really qualify as such. Her horse, Moonlight, replaced her childhood pony Chubby a year or so into her training. She's a sleek palomino who doesn't seem to mind Faithful, Alanna's purple-eyed cat, riding along. Faithful was a gift from the Great Mother Goddess and can talk to humans when he wishes. Most of the time people just hear him meow, but Alanna thinks he never shuts up. It is strongly hinted at in canon that Faithful is a constellation given cat form to watch over certain troublemaking youngsters burdened with great destinies, like Alanna and George's ancestor Bekka Cooper. Faithful was known as 'Pounce' back then. Clearly neither girl was particularly creative in the name department.

Thayet has several horses. Her favorite mare, Nonchalant (Nonnie), is shamelessly named after a pony I used to ride when I was wee.

Grace has a large bulldog named Gus who pretty much rules her heart. She also grew up riding horses, and is really good at calming them down when things go sideways.

Doctor Evil HAD a cat. Mr. Bigglesworth. He was magnificent, even after a cryogenic accident froze off all his fur. But then Mini Me ate him. Bad clone.

Karou doesn't have pets. She barely has a home. She does, however, have fond feelings for several of Issa's snakes.

Lizzie, Derek and Lana would all side-eye you for asking if they had pets, but none of them have strong feelings one way or the other on the topic. Well. Okay, Derek has strong feelings about wolves. XD

Sparks has a rocket steed named Mercury! Together they ride the galactic trail chasing varmints and saving youngins. Mercury is even equipped with WiFi and a sidecar if need be. They get along great. Riiiiight up until Mercury gets blasted with some cosmic radiation and develops the ability to talk. Then he starts cramping Sparks's style.

Aaaaand Toby Daye has two cats, Cagney and Lacey, and a rose goblin (looks like a cat, made of thorns) named Spike. She also tends to hang out with certain other cat shaped beings, but they aren't always small enough to pick up and snuggle. It's a funny mental image, though. :D

[rudderless]

Ep enjoys animals, but other than the occasional house cat back when the inn was operational, she's never had any.

Pinkie has a pet alligator, Gummy, who is the true love of her life. He doesn't seem to return the feeling in a mutual way, but it's not for lack of her trying!

Juliet had pet cats who disappear out of the blue mid-show.

Dixie and Clem are animal-free, but I can picture them being cat people.