#whump-queen

[acecasinova]

EVEN MORE LAZ QUESTIONS

I know laz was originally arrested by kindness and she put him in the trunk instead of booking him and took him to train as a K9 —

1. what precedent, if any, exists for humanoid police dogs in this world? are beings like laz commonly found as police dogs or is he more of a special case?

2. what did he get arrested for? ;)

3. what made kindness want to take him for herself rather than booking him? is this the first time she’s had/trained a “dog” like laz?

4. how does laz feel about the situation at first? is he shocked or just angry? I know he sort of adapts a disgruntled but somewhat accepting attitude about his situation eventually, but i’m curious about his attitude/feelings in the early days?

5. what does kindness do to punish him for trying to run away/attack her? what works the best on laz in terms of getting him to calm the fuck down and obey?

1. No real precedent on the vampire side~! Lazarus is a very unique case, and Kindness can REALLY take advantage of him and own him in such an extreme way bc he doesn't have any papers or "proof of life". It is... stunningly hard to get a birth certificate or ID when you don't have an address, mail, or the ability to have your photo taken.... Sometimes werewolves will do it, but they're far more likely to do private sector security or search and rescue (or like, enforcer types for hire)

2. On the night of the arrest, Laz got caught trying to deliver a fake ID (yes, he makes them for other people. No, he can't read, he draws letters)- forgery, resisting arrest, assaulting an officer... But he caught Kindness' attention for killing a cop or two under her~ It's a little odd to find a vampire's truly dead body sprouting hard, red vines that are crawling up the alley walls....

3. First thing.... Damn, that's so much paperwork. And there ARE mortals on the force who work the night shift... A lot of folks who would be confused and alarmed to find a vampire as feral and OBVIOUS as Lazarus is. And there's no evidence of him in the system- any system. He doesn't even have a last name! Plus- it's far more useful to have him under her charge. Most of the vampires in the area pay at least lip service to her and her boss (oops, it's Definitely Not Strahd Von Zarovich), but there are some less willing or loyal that need "encouragement", or who feel like they don't need to bend the knee. Laz kept a low profile for a few years, but he slipped up and caught some Unfortunate attention.... Kindness hasn't really had the chance to work with a "dog" like Laz before, but she basically founded the Police and the K9 Unit~ And she's kept some... unlucky folks in her kennels before~

4. Oh he's PIIIIIIISSED. Lazarus does NOT want to deal with the cops- especially not from THEIR side of things! He's really resistant to rules- especially super strict ones like Kindness uses. And he's really... uncomfortable with being inside, with walls and a floor and a roof that are solid. Especially since Kindness kept him in a bright ass room for multiple days on end. And if he could identify the feeling... Laz was definitely acting out aggressively bc he was cornered and scared by someone so absolutely unaffected by basically anything he could try to throw at her

5. Well when he tried to run away, she uhhhh.... broke his legs~ Her go-to's are the shock collar (it has a 'warning' function, in addition to multiple levels of electricity) and just choking him out~ He'll usually yield quickly enough if she's got her hands around his throat.

He'll also completely shut down his brain if he gets called a good boy, but he needed to get broken in a bit before she started using more positive reinforcement training....~

[acecasinova]

is laz always muzzled in the field or is he sometimes free range? (you mentioned an “attack” command, and a “drop it” command— curious if he’s off the muzzle/leash for some of the time/in the field or if he’s muzzled up and leashed all the time when he’s not kenneled?

He's "off leash" more often than he's not muzzled~

Kindness got him chipped (both w/ the lost pet kind, and a more heavy duty tracking type) so he knows he can't run (and she's got dirt to hold over him too lol), but she also breaks out the long range "e-collar" if there might be some chasing happening. It's even clunkier than the regular shock collar but has a biiiiig ol antennae attached too, for one way radio coms.

On missions where he's going to be separated or there are multiple agents involved, he won't be muzzled (but he'll still have a sort of K9 harness/vest on w/ a handle) for most of it (but he still has to wear one in the car unless he's got his special lil doggy cage). Usually having him there, muzzled, is a bit of a show of power- like "Look at my attack dog- do you really want to cross someone who's got a vampire like this under heel?"

Out on non-vampire police business, Lazarus is also usually in his wolf form (since he shifts into a red wolf, he's a lot more "oh, that's just a Weird Dog" sized), so he's just kitted out like most K9s~ On more vampire-y business, it's more of a toss up on what Kindness needs in the moment~

[spookyboywhump]

listen I know you know I am binging ur shit and WOW I AM LOVING the dynamic where zander has to hurt cathal but then also jumps the SHIT outta clement every chance he gets. AMAZING INCREDIBLE.

but my whumper brain also has me like. bro cain rly needs to get zander in a fucking shock collar, this mutt is out of control. he should be able to just shock the shit outta zander the SECOND he tries to get violent with someone he’s not supposed to (clement namely)

i’m like. cain, buddy, not to hate but uhhh ur kinda bad at handling ur mutt bro. be a better whumper cain control your fucking dog. shock collar his ass YESTERDAY. (granted i’m only part way through the story so maybe he does later) but this is me sending cain links to shock collars online and telling to get his damn dog under control smh my head

Ehehehe, Zander has a history with shock collars that led to Cain no longer using them on him :3c which absolutely contributes to his terrible behavior. This is something that Nicholas seeks to remedy as he doesn’t really think it could be THAT bad for Zander’s health and I know there’s at least one or two pieces later on of him using one on Zander

[acecasinova]

laz ok. I have laser eyes for laz rn

so he’s like a vampire but also a dog/wolf hybrid thing? what species is he exactly and how is he physically different from a vampire like kindness? (teeth/claws/sense of smell/ other doglike traits that she doesn’t have?)

He's got that bitey stray dog energy lmaooooo~

He's a vampire but like, sort of a chimera vampire~ Lazarus has a bit of wolf/lycanthrope in him, too, but also,,,,, more than that going on sdfghjkll

Laz is still a vampire but an odd sort of convergent species type deal~ Kindness is an older but more run of the mill vampire- she can turn into a bat, enthrall people, super strong and fast and heals quickly. (She can also shrug off lots of blows and claws which is.... unfortunate for Laz lol) Lazarus is a much more... feral vampire.

BUT the biggest difference is that the type of vampire that Lazarus is feeds on/hunts other vampires and can grow stronger from it (similar to how VtM diablerie works) in addition to feeding off living people. The trade off is that generally, his type is not as strong and doesn't heal quite as quickly as a usual vampire.....But they can't turn people through biting them. There's rituals and pacts with this ancient, primordial Elk, but Laz was made by the other vampires who wanted a "flesh and blood" child by donating non-vital body parts in a ritual that knit chunks of about a bakers dozen vampires into one little chimera/homunculus. The Elk provided the rest of the "vital" things for a vampire to function, and breathed in unlife.

So he's a LITTLE weird....

But his claws are like, attached to bone CLAWS, so he's got a lil bit of toe beans goin' on his hands and feet~ And a little sort of mini-tail that he's bad at remembering to hide when he's lying. He has a sharp sense of smell and hearing, and can turn into a red wolf, a big ol fruit bat, or a kind of ruddy rat~ His hair has that kind of... coarse fur texture and dog residue too~

Also his main abilities that differ from Kindness aside from shapeshifting, is sort of shadow based- he can "jump" through shadows as long as he can see other shaded areas, dampen sound, and amplify shadows himself.

[acecasinova]

ok so i’m thinking about kindness’ line to laz about “practicing his commands” — and im so curious what this entails. like what are his commands? what is the ritual they do together/she has him do? does he have specific positions / commands besides just the “kennel” or “heel”? love themmmmm

Ehehehe, glad that caught your interest~

Laz does have other commands! Kindness is actually (trying to) teach him police dog protocol- both apprehension and tracking, as a bit of a pet project and intimidation move (as far as vampire politics go)

So she's teaching Laz the standard K9 commands: "sit" "stay" "drop it" (important one) "come" "hold"

Then more involved things like "Find it" (it generally being a perp or fleeing suspect/other vampire), "Fetch" "Attack" "Stop" "Bite" "Guard" "Slow" "Move in", along with the hand signs

Luckily, Lazarus doesn't over-complicate things with silly stuff like thinking too hard and he has a tendency to instinctively follow commands in high pressure situations, but he needs to get better at following them in low stakes situations too, like training, and needs practice following hand signs faster (That is, of course, once he's stopped fighting fang and claw to disobey Kindness and run all the damn time....- but hey! his situation improves when he lets her win! Gotta count for something, right?)

But he's gotta prove he can listen and obey in his humanoid form before she "lets" him shift again and work in his wolf form...

[spookyboywhump]

what made zander finally accept his place as a dog? (also did he ever get whipped during training..? what was the worst thing he endured during his training era?)

Zander would say that he never accepted it and he still firmly refuses to believe it at all. He would be lying! The real answer is when Cain told him that he’d been presumed dead and there was no longer a search for him. At that point he just kinda. Gave up. Yeah he’s still a defiant pain in the ass but he stopped looking for a way out and instead began waiting for the end, however that would come to be.

I don’t think he was ever whipped during his training, I imagine they’re instructed not to leave too many scars behind :3c but he endured a lot of beatings and shocks from the shock collar, but to him the worst thing was the nights he’d spent in the “kennels”. He’d be stripped down, muzzled, and locked in a cage in a dark room with other difficult trainees, and he’d have to spend a few nights like that, only being let out for his training sessions. It typically followed particularly brutal beatings and caused him to develop some issues with claustrophobic and dark spaces. He’s absolutely haunted by those nights spent in pain and discomfort, listening to other people whimpering and crying.

[acecasinova]

I wrap Laz up in the bitchsuit and then punt him down the stairs 💞peace and love

Better remember his hood too if you don't want him just jumping back up through your shadow to try and push you~!✨️💜

....Dogs don't have great balance, though- I'm sure he'd bounce all the way down like a squeaky toy~

Lazarus wants to be scary but he's sooooooo puntable~

[cryboycries]

Colored a sketch of @whump-queen ‘s boy Seven 🥰 he’s worse for wear lately and I love it! Please check out their writing and blog, it’s so fabulous and Seven is so hurtable ❤️