Here's a (maybe) fun scenario; cats. I personally HC Dottore as a cat person bc yeah but he's probably a bit of a Wriothesley situation with not keeping them in the lab (except for the one that keeps getting in from archons know where)
BUT imagine in Scrapyard Au they lose track of Dottore at one point and all go looking to finally find him...still in the scrapyard just hidden behind some boxes or some other with like three cats laying on him asleep (Also see: dottore dead asleep for once) Bonus points if the cats are the type who absolutely despise everyone and never lets anyone get close.
Ineffa suggests a therapy cat for [The Cube] thoughts. Like fine if he doesnt want me suggesting deep breathing I'll just shove a cat in his arms that'll calm him down.
Sorry for yap fest through anon (bc I am horrible and socially awkward) but love your Au <3 (and yes more suffering for the angst :D)
I wholly respect your privacy, dear socially awkward anon, but I promise I'm actually extremely chill and friendly! No need to be shy - though anon is perfectly fine if that feels better. I'm hugging you gently with my brain. 🫂
And that is an ADORABLE mental image!
Here, have a snoozing Dottore covered in cats 💚
Sadly, my headcanon for actual Scrapyardverse is a little less sweet. In this au, he does not particularly like animals, and more importantly, animals don't like him.
With all his augmentations and modifications, he just reads like a really uncanny valley type of human to them, and animals instinctively react quite negatively to that. 😅
There is one future scene where Aino wants to take a picture with a cute animal, and the handler cheerfully assures them that the animals are very well trained and friendly - and yet the moment it's shoved in Dottore's arms, it instantly bites him and runs.
I described it to a friend like so:
”Won't the gentleman like to hold this adorable thing and have their picture taken?”
"No," says Dottore.
"Yes!! 🤩" says Aino, and so Dottore finds himself with an armful of dumped fluffy animal. ... It only takes about a second for it to bite him badly and claw its way loose to scamper off.
The handler is shocked and keeps apologizing and Dottore just swears and goes "Disinfectant, please" to wash out his chewed finger.
Aino is worried and the staff member keeps saying "I don't know why that happened, I'm so sorry, they never bite!" and Dottore hisses "Because with their acute senses, animals can tell I'm a monstrosity and abomination to nature. And so they, like most humans once they catch up, react accordingly."
(And then he and Aino have a loud argument about him calling her family member a monster and the not okayness of that.)
So yeah, sadly, no cat therapy in the Scrapyard. 🥲 Aino's experimental crab is okay, but it's on thin fucking ice. One pinch and it's OUT. (She hasn't wholly given up on the idea of getting a Fontainian robo-dog, but so far he's very firmly in camp NO.)
Thank you so much for your message! I'm SO happy you like this weird little au, truly!
And YAY for the encouragement on the suffering! Technically, the next thing I should write once I finish the current flinstore wip is That Time Aino Died, I think... That should provide some fun angst!
