Snowflake Challenge #2
Jan. 3rd, 2026 10:00 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annavereChallenge #2: Pets of Fandom
Loosely defined! Post about your pets, pets from your canon, anything you want!
I took this challenge to involve canon pets, and it ended up being half about my writing choices, and half some Highlander meta.
Because of the difficulties of working with animals, they rarely feature in shows, especially older low budget fare. Pets appear and then disappear, written off quickly (or years after being forgotten, as in the case of Miss Kitty Fantastico). Theo has a cockatoo in one episode of Jeremiah, but it is tragically killed. Kurdy considers adopting a puppy, but decides against it right before credits roll. All because it is difficult to feature animals. This is understandable, but it also means there are gaps in the worldbuilding that fanfiction is perfect for exploring.
Generally I like to add in mentions of pets and animals both wild and domesticated whenever possible, because it adds verisimilitude. In the post-apocalyptic landscape of Jeremiah, for example, redomesticating livestock should be high on every sensible person's agenda. Jeremiah shouldn't wander through town without stumbling over a flurry of chickens. So I add in details like an OC slowly taming an untrusting pair of dogs, for the natural alarm system they offer.
However, the only proper pet I have written about is Prada, Lydia Martin's adorable papillon from Teen Wolf. Teen Wolf did a better than average job remembering that animals exist. Scott's job at a vet clinic features in several scenes: Falling for Allison over an injured dog, scaring all the cats in the clinic after he's bitten, teaching Isaac how to take a dying dog's pain away (one of the most heartfelt scenes in the show). And unlike all the other characters, Lydia has a pet, who is only depicted during season two, but who gets mentioned a few times afterward before finally vanishing altogether. So whenever I write a scene taking place in Lydia's house, I figure out where Prada is likely to be and mention him wherever possible, because he's part of the family and WOULD feature. She would cuddle him when upset and seeing him waiting at the screen door would brighten her day.
Also, an evil detecting dog is a great horror trope, and it's easy to lean on that in a place like Beacon Hills.
And now, some Highlander meta, because that's a different and rather unique scenario. This show depicted horses in its flashbacks with great frequency, but only one horse was ever treated as "important" - the beautiful and lucky Double Eagle (in the best comedy episode of the show). However, I have always believed that Immortals of a certain age are not only knowledgeable about, but deeply love horses. None currently living would be so if they hadn't been saved countless times by the flight of a nimble steed. Truly, an Immortal would have to be deeply far gone to lose that attachment, although the show never addressed this in any way.
It's partly the same reason I think Immortals were probably over the moon about the personal automobile. It's why Corey loves his Packard, and Richie will always adore motorbikes. Heck, would Brian Cullen have been singing a staggeringly wasted 'Danny Boy' if he'd been approaching Richie on foot? No way. Immortals spend half their time running away from their fellow headhunters. Before the car, and for far longer, there was the horse to facilitate this. It's a concept the show never really spells out, but it seems right to me.
On the other hand, it is notable that modern Immortals are never depicted owning pets. Cats, dogs, birds, all are unfair to own. It is perhaps another part of how Immortals end up cut off from humanity, as they have to not only raise stakes quickly, but they could always lose a fight and not come home at all. Helpless dependents are at risk from their lifestyle, so it makes sense they would rarely indulge in keeping one (although a few Immortals have raised orphaned children, which is also insanely risky without some secondary caregiver, so perhaps a compelling enough case would make one adopt a forlorn animal as well). And so the horses they once were required to travel with might have been many an Immortal's only real experience with something akin to a pet, an experience now cut off as horses no longer aid but hinder the mobility they need to survive. Of course they would be wistful and affectionate when faced with them.
I wonder how many Immortals quietly own a fully-staffed stable somewhere...
Loosely defined! Post about your pets, pets from your canon, anything you want!
I took this challenge to involve canon pets, and it ended up being half about my writing choices, and half some Highlander meta.
Because of the difficulties of working with animals, they rarely feature in shows, especially older low budget fare. Pets appear and then disappear, written off quickly (or years after being forgotten, as in the case of Miss Kitty Fantastico). Theo has a cockatoo in one episode of Jeremiah, but it is tragically killed. Kurdy considers adopting a puppy, but decides against it right before credits roll. All because it is difficult to feature animals. This is understandable, but it also means there are gaps in the worldbuilding that fanfiction is perfect for exploring.
Generally I like to add in mentions of pets and animals both wild and domesticated whenever possible, because it adds verisimilitude. In the post-apocalyptic landscape of Jeremiah, for example, redomesticating livestock should be high on every sensible person's agenda. Jeremiah shouldn't wander through town without stumbling over a flurry of chickens. So I add in details like an OC slowly taming an untrusting pair of dogs, for the natural alarm system they offer.
However, the only proper pet I have written about is Prada, Lydia Martin's adorable papillon from Teen Wolf. Teen Wolf did a better than average job remembering that animals exist. Scott's job at a vet clinic features in several scenes: Falling for Allison over an injured dog, scaring all the cats in the clinic after he's bitten, teaching Isaac how to take a dying dog's pain away (one of the most heartfelt scenes in the show). And unlike all the other characters, Lydia has a pet, who is only depicted during season two, but who gets mentioned a few times afterward before finally vanishing altogether. So whenever I write a scene taking place in Lydia's house, I figure out where Prada is likely to be and mention him wherever possible, because he's part of the family and WOULD feature. She would cuddle him when upset and seeing him waiting at the screen door would brighten her day.
Also, an evil detecting dog is a great horror trope, and it's easy to lean on that in a place like Beacon Hills.
And now, some Highlander meta, because that's a different and rather unique scenario. This show depicted horses in its flashbacks with great frequency, but only one horse was ever treated as "important" - the beautiful and lucky Double Eagle (in the best comedy episode of the show). However, I have always believed that Immortals of a certain age are not only knowledgeable about, but deeply love horses. None currently living would be so if they hadn't been saved countless times by the flight of a nimble steed. Truly, an Immortal would have to be deeply far gone to lose that attachment, although the show never addressed this in any way.
It's partly the same reason I think Immortals were probably over the moon about the personal automobile. It's why Corey loves his Packard, and Richie will always adore motorbikes. Heck, would Brian Cullen have been singing a staggeringly wasted 'Danny Boy' if he'd been approaching Richie on foot? No way. Immortals spend half their time running away from their fellow headhunters. Before the car, and for far longer, there was the horse to facilitate this. It's a concept the show never really spells out, but it seems right to me.
On the other hand, it is notable that modern Immortals are never depicted owning pets. Cats, dogs, birds, all are unfair to own. It is perhaps another part of how Immortals end up cut off from humanity, as they have to not only raise stakes quickly, but they could always lose a fight and not come home at all. Helpless dependents are at risk from their lifestyle, so it makes sense they would rarely indulge in keeping one (although a few Immortals have raised orphaned children, which is also insanely risky without some secondary caregiver, so perhaps a compelling enough case would make one adopt a forlorn animal as well). And so the horses they once were required to travel with might have been many an Immortal's only real experience with something akin to a pet, an experience now cut off as horses no longer aid but hinder the mobility they need to survive. Of course they would be wistful and affectionate when faced with them.
I wonder how many Immortals quietly own a fully-staffed stable somewhere...
no subject
Date: 2026-01-04 04:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-04 01:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2026-01-04 05:42 am (UTC)I like the theory about Highlander. You're definitely right about that, that Immortals would likely have a fondness for horses, and an awareness of how important they were for survival. Something I would like to write about more someday, perhaps. I also love horses.
A fun tidbit I learned re: specifically birds in film and TV, since I am That Guy who notices when the wrong bird is used somewhere: in the US, it's illegal to use any native wild bird in filmmaking. Film animals are legally considered pets, and due to the Migratory Bird Act, keeping native birds as pets is not legal. Makes perfect sense, but I spent a long time wondering why I kept seeing griffon vultures in California in TV.
no subject
Date: 2026-01-04 02:58 pm (UTC)I really hope someone writes a horse-centric HL story someday. My lack of experience bars me from the competition, but I would read it with delight. I read horse stories avidly until I was twelve. One of the earliest HL fics I ever bookmarked was an adorable set of tiny vignettes in which Methos ran into Marguerite Henry horses.
That is a very interesting factoid! It makes sense now that I think about it. How shocking, that you of all people would have this information. :D
no subject
Date: 2026-01-04 07:01 pm (UTC)Definitely something I'll have to keep in mind. I rode pretty regularly for over a decade, I'd love to write something along those lines. I'll think on it. That sounds like a very cool fic you found, do you happen to have a link?
Hahah I do love my birds and conservation laws. :P
no subject
Date: 2026-01-04 08:31 pm (UTC)Three Horses the Horseman Never Rode
no subject
Date: 2026-01-04 10:07 pm (UTC)This is where any other artform than live action has it much easier, since they don't need to get a real animal to cooperate on camera 🤔