Dust Dogs
In Short: Hunting dogs enhanced with dust.
Dogs have long been the companions of men and used by hunters to slay their monstrous enemies. While seemingly such beasts have fallen out of favor for dust-powered weapons and sorcery, some have sought to enhance their loyal hounds with Gaia's gift as well.
These creatures over generations from those dogs that drew the most power from dust injections. Some breeds got to the point that they could not live without dust running through their veins. Some show such extreme levels of change that their eyes constantly glow.
Black dogs are considered unlucky, a superstition stemming from a trend of friendly fire. Black furred hounds may be mistaken for grimm in the heat of battle and killed. That and careful breeding has phased out black fur from most lines.
The Troper Formerly Known as Amp
Ah, selective breeding and science that doesn't make sense
Can't say I expected any less (better?) from you
G was here - 2/9/24
Okie dokie.
The Blinder
Not cool Gryo.
Good to be back
Very cool, Gyro
The Troper Formerly Known as Amp
Regardless of any of your opinions, Lamarckian evolution has been, is, and will always be the stupidest shit I've ever had the displeasure of being introduced to.
G was here - 2/9/24
Mad Pinoy
Like sure, temporarily enhancing animals with Dust sounds like some crazy shit that could work in the setting, but the power passing down through generations is a bit ridiculous.
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The Blinder
No, I agree. I'm just saying that you expected no more from him was a bit rude
Good to be back
The Troper Formerly Known as Amp
Eh, I stand by what I said
G was here - 2/9/24
Sumanai Man
Two teams maximum for each mission, I guess.
Nothing is what it seems. Master of Shipping and Sadism.
Omega Overlord. Or superjwren329. Either or.
...Dunno who the Shane guy is in or out of character, but I guess my meaningless vote goes to that then.
Hope you weren't expecting anything witty here. Maybe some day.
I was less trying to imply Lamarckian evolution and more the standard kind. Choosing which specimens better take to the enhancements and hoping whatever traits allows them to do that is genetic.
Not, like, the dust power-ups themselves get passed down.
I guess I worded it wrong?
The Troper Formerly Known as Amp
That's basically like attempting to breed pigs so that they bleed nuclear waste.
That's not a thing either.
G was here - 2/9/24
Sumanai Man
Alright, official business.
First off: Deef, post for Noa before the week ends please? Pretty please?
Secondly: I'm giving an ultimatum to Bloodplum. No posts since the start of the highlanders mission, not even an excuse in the DT. I mean, I allow long absences, but at least inform us. Bloodplum has 2 days (48 hours from this post) to either post IC or report OOC or else we'll let you go.
Nothing is what it seems. Master of Shipping and Sadism.
BIG ASS WALL OF TEXT:FOR GOA
First of all here's a suggestion: Instead of making this like... A biological thing, like a sub-species, make it a squad in an army or something, or specialised, individuals who infused their dogs with dust. Like attack dogs, they're trained and employed, but like, they're not suddenly evolved to be trained and without training they'd live just fine. Make it so there are people who have the jobs of training dogs to use their dust and whatnot, it makes way more sense than vaguely fantastical evolution. Make it taming, not domestication, individual and not a whole population.
Ignoring the transferring power bullshit, I'll just say what's the problem with your evolutionary science here.
"Drawing the most power out of dust injections" is vague, and sounds like something uninherent and more individual. Like how well does a dog take training, and who takes the best of his training therefore becoming a better attack dog, sure muscle-mass and bite and abilities that are needed like how good you can smell and whatnot are genetic, this sounds more like "How good you are at punching" You can say that the muscle mass is important, but "how strong is your punch" and "how well-trained are you at punching well" is not the same thing, taming is not inherent. Unless you're talking about being capable of taking the injections well and dealing with your dust well which is a chemical thing, but that's just not really what you seem to think it is? Like, it's endurance, not power. It means their body is compatible with dust and they can deal with it without much problem, it's not that they can use it well, which does not say anything about what sort of traits they will have besides that.
Like wheat, wheat was domesticated, and wild wheat falls to the ground to reseed itself when it's ripe, while domesticated wheat stays on its stem because that's easier to cut and harvest, it's a mutation and farmers unconcioussly made it happen because one was easier for them, not chosen, it's a difference between the two, sure. But it doesn't mean that suddenly domesticated wheat is good at surviving the winter just because of that mutation or it's better at fighting diseases unless the chemical causing it specifically affects falling into disease or that behaviour does.
I think you're not distinguishing between training and being compatible with it.
Like, sure all of them will be compatible with it, like we are all compatible with I dunno, running, kicking or shooting, we're capable of doing it, we're not good at it immediately though. We need training to be skilled, therefore being powerful with dust is not inherent. Unless this is a purely chemical thing. And it is definitely not something populations wide.
Secondly, they can't need it in their blood constantly, Because they're not born with it.
Like, we use vaccines and shit, but we don't need them to survive absolutely, they just make us build a resistance to something. And anyway, that would mean the dust infusion was there long enough for it to affect their chemical makeup, enough so that whatever phenotype or allele it affected became vestigial and like, eventually abandoned a part of its immune system or something, and without it because of that abandoned phenotype or allele, it can't deal with some sort of abundant foreign chemical that the dust dealt with all the time. Or that a mutation would come along to those that had dust infusions that didn't deal with that chemical and they only survived because they were all infused, which doesn't make any sense unless you're making it so they're infused since they're born or kept in lab conditions without that chemical or something that its body dealt with without it before but now can't until that happens.
Their eyes can't freaking glow if it's an effect of dust without it. That means that they had a mutation that somehow made their eyes glow in most of them, and it was kept. It'll likely have nothing with the dust infusion itself, because I doubt dust is a mutagen, if it was, that'd mean it would've affected humans and faunus, and some humans or faunus would be born with glowing eyes even without it, an assumption I at least assume we can't make. So "Species changed so much that their eyes glow permenantly without the presence of dust" does not work.
The only thing that makes any sort of sense is the last black dogs thing. Which is a side note.
edited 15th Oct '15 8:07:38 AM by LiorVal
I...
I honestly think the whole black dogs thing could apply to most dogs in setting.
I actually always identified the black cats thing, which I know is absolute bs.
My house has always had a black cat.
[[orange:Fuckit, I got enough faith in those there badasses to leave the Villages alone. Let's git Shane.]]
@Lior: Thank you, that is some great critique.
I still think I had more of a problem with wording and clarification-
I still think you can breed dogs for this, please hear me out.
I think you can breed a dog better suited for having dust "shoved" into their body*, and not because their parent had a bunch of dust shoved into them.
Because when you take a bunch of dogs together, shove some dust into them and not, all other things being equal, that one seems to get the most out of it**, more so then his peers. Let puppies happen and see if a higher percentage of his descendants seem to take dust enhancements better than their cousins, as you continue to have all other factors be equal.
This is assuming genes that affect metabolizing dust exist in Remnant and that's a trait that behaves like size or docility.
*IIRC, a person shoving dust in their body was a thing, so I figure dogs too.
**This assumes they worked out some kind of metric for that.
edited 15th Oct '15 3:27:45 PM by God_of_Awesome
The Troper Formerly Known as Amp
I mean sure, I suppose that would work, but it would take a whole lot of animal cruelty to get anywhere with it
That, and resources. Why shove dust into a dog when you could just have a dog and do all the dustcraft yourself? The dog isn't smart enough to do advanced dust shit. Plus, dust is extremely volatile. It's almost like breeding any animal to be good at storing gunpowder.
And we all know that's not a thing. That's what barrels and stuff at for.
It seems like a whole lot of effort that would realistically produce not much.
edited 15th Oct '15 3:37:36 PM by GyroZ
G was here - 2/9/24
Combat mode, engage
That's still a nonsensical idea given that in canon you could just awaken the aura of dogs already bred to be hunting partners and have them be effective partner against Grimm. Besides no one wants their dog throwing magic blasts around, it would mean extra time and effort to train the animal to use it effectively, time they wouldn't have if they're desperate enough to shove Dust into their pet without knowing the side-effects first. Not too mention the idea of someone breeding a dog specifically to have a better chance of surviving targeted mutation disgusts me on a personal level.
-dramatic music ensues-
Rise Above Fate
Forcing mutations onto dogs is kinda fucked.
I mean, why not give 'em guns or some cybernetic shit instead, lot less fucked up that way and it basically does the same shit.
Sumanai Man
Might I just say that the Weapon Girls are highly offended by this idea?
Very offended.
Nothing is what it seems. Master of Shipping and Sadism.
The Blinder
I think the breeding would go more towards the dogs auras rather than dust
Good to be back
Another update.
So now we have Villages filled up for sure, and now Team FLRR is checking out Arcana in Hell. Three other plots and the option to stay at Beacon remain unfilled, but it depends on Grim's confirmation to see if more teams can be in other plots as well.
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