Oh my gosh, your comment about some wolf hybrids maybe being more aware of body language cues and emotional states made me imagine Dan being like super aware of how scary he is to some hybrids and being very gentle and soft spoken with people like Ray at first until they feel safer with him
YAAAAEEESS. I don't think I could ever get tired of talking about Wolf Dan. And i'm sure many of you guys have heard me say the same stuff about him over and over, but Wolf Dan is super important forgive me. (readmore tho cuz i'm a rambler)
To kind of bounce off of what you're talking about though, I've mentioned in some older asks how Dan and Jack are particularly careful and aware of their own presence around what would be considered more prey-like hybrids.
Specifically about Dan though, I think he'd be pretty proficient in reading the air especially around other canid hybrids that share similar body language. With other animal hybrids it would be harder but with a mix of your average human signals I can see Dan being very in tune with reading people Just because he'd have that hardwired wolf need to be a well adjusted and functioning pack to survive.
For the normal AU as well as AuX I think Dan would be incredibly willing to follow and trust his wolf side. It'd be something that just comes to him naturally, and even though people who aren't super familiar with wolf behavior might be a little put off by his brashness. To him being very clear with emotions and what not would be key, So he wouldn't beat around the bush.
Around other canine hybrids too there'd be no stepping on each others toes. My headcanon for Dan is that he's definitely not a leader of the pack type. Gav has firmly placed himself as very confident in charge and will tend to pick on Dan a little. And for the AU Dan as a wolf hybrid knows that that's a bit of a pack hierarchy going on. He's more passive around Gav and so Gav naturally becomes the more 'alpha like' of the two (and I use that in a very loose sense lol). But around other canine hybrids Dan's pretty similar, not so pushy or dominant but more casually passive or neutral. That way he won't accidentally start some sort of dog fight because they felt threatened.
I think how in tune Dan would be with his wolf side would probably throw people off in the AUx world too. Like he'd just be doing most of that wolf stuff subconsciously. Others would notice and wonder if he does too and is just okay with it, or if he honestly has no idea how wolfy he's being lol.
Dan and Jack being a wolf and lion respectively makes me so happy. Both those dudes are pretty friendly and gentle, and the turn around of a lot of predator stereotypes is one of my favorite things. Just imagining things like what people's faces must look like when they see lanky lark Gavin bossing around military wolf Dan for the first time sends me into fits of laughter.
HECK YESSS
This is everything that is important to me.
Like I feel like I haven't expressed enough how much I love wolf!Dan for so many different reasons. SO LET ME JUST TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TELL YOU HOW GREAT WOLF!DAN IS. *backflips onto stage* and continue saying how great lion!jack is also
TL;DR in readmore!
But YEE, I mean you look at the guy and you just see this big buff slightly intimidating wolf-guy but in reality he's just a goofy little puppy. I wouldn't even be surprised if at first people would just assume him of having some sort of alpha-type personality, since he's a protector (being in the military) and has a confident look about him. But throw him in a new place where Gav will most definitely leave him to his own devices, and Dan's just a big 'ol lost pup.
And yuss exactly what you said about Gavin being really assertive around Dan. Like that's probably one of the best things about Wolf Dan, is that he's not going to push his weight around, or try to nip at friends who mess around. Like a wolf, he knows where he stands with his friends/pack and doesn't usually venture out of that comfort zone. So when Gavin is around he takes the reigns while Dan is more than happy just following Gav around. He really does act more like a young pup than an actual 'vicious wolf' people would try to peg him as. But it really speaks to his personality vs looks i'd say. When you get a first glance at the guy he's this tall buff dark haired dude with some srs smoulder, but seeing him actually hang out with gav or other people and that just sheds off to reveal this goofy young at-heart guy who just so happens to have military experience.
it'd be quite a sight to see in their slow mo videos though, Gavin having Dan do all the crazy stuff for their vids, while he mostly inflicts whatever torture he has. And Dan has no real hate about it, just the initial qualm before doing whatever task he needs to do. And then of course as a wolf hybrid he'd still be an incredibly fierce friend, If anyone messed with the people he cared about I could see him going into protective-wolf mode (thinking about it if he were to be classified into some sort of pack-ranking I can actually see him being a really good beta)
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Now that I think about it though it's kind of funny because both Jack and Dan kinda share this whole illusion of being big intimidating predators but really act more like their domestic cousins. Because Jack is completely and utterly a housecat. maybe even more so than Michael. I mean there are still some definite behaviour differences that make Jack a lion and Michael a domestic cat but other than that if Jack was to be compared to the actual intensity of a male lion in the wild he'd be a little underwhelming as 'king of the jungle' XD.
Jack, like Dan, would still have this intense instinct to protect and guide their pack/pride even though they aren't essentially leaders. It'd still be a mindset of theirs to look out for the people they cared about because to them that's their whole life sort of. Their animals are greatly driven by this familial bond and the need to keep it tight nit in order to survive. And even though in a hybrid world that need to survive wouldn't be there they'd still have the need to protect (just like anyone really, though a bit more deep rooted for them). But Jack isn't quick to get aggressive. He'd much rather sit back and keep a cool and calm environment with little fuss. Not saying that he doesn't get a little excited himself. I could imagine as a lion hybrid too he'd have to be a little careful with getting too excited and accidentally freaking people out. He's incredibly passionate with certain subjects and isn't afraid to fight for what he believes but I'd think a lot of people who really know him wouldn't think him a violent predatory type at all. Sure he gets agitated sometimes but it never gets out of hand. I'd think people would be a little more concerned with Michael than Jack lol.
The whole disproving of predatory stereotypes, especially with jack and dan and michael, are super interesting to me that I get a little too over excited thinking about it and then this happens jkflds.
but gah yea. I could probably talk about it all day but i'll hold off for now and just leave that wall of text there for like...3 people to half read and then collapse from some rare illness from being over-exposed to rambling or something....
