I claim this DE for daemonmuses!

[death_gone_mad]

So, let's talk daemons, ala Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials canon.

Which of your pups have you nailed down a daemon for?

What species are those daemons?

What name have you given those daemons? Where do those names come from?

How do the daemon's personality differ from the pup's?

Also, if you are having trouble deciding on a daemon for your pup, feel free to cry out for help!

Comments

[vance_prime]

Meet Kei, Alyx's daemon. He's a Bengal tiger, and quite laconic even by daemon standards. Also, he and Alyx have the witch-daemon thing going due to the two of them getting separated at the tail end of Half-Life 2.

...I've spent a distressingly long time thinking about a daemonverse AU for Half-Life.

The rest of my pups are nonhuman, so this DE doesn't apply to them.

[valiantrebel]

Oh gosh, I'm the worst at daemons, even though they are my favorite thing ever, because I always want to give my favorites dogs or wolves. Harry's daemon, I think, would be a ballast, rather than a reflection of his personality -- something that would keep him in check. It would also be something that could keep up with him, though, and join in in a fight. (My instinct is to say wolfhound, because of fanon I've come up with, but, uh, I also said that for Lady Macbeth.) So yes, I'd be up for suggestions!

[camwyn]

Well, some species of bear is always a good option. They're not exactly known for hot tempers unless you're stupid enough to provoke them in some way. Alternatively, one of the larger birds of prey is always a possibility. Have you considered the European eagle owl? They're huge (JKR didn't really do her research when she had Draco's mail delivered by one- we're talking six foot wingspan), and they're apex predators, so nothing screws with them, and some of them have been known to kill young deer if they're lucky. You could do worse than to have one of those as his daemon.

[bcgphoenix]

Gaeta's daemon is a corgi named Sofia. She's perhaps a little more friendly than Gaeta himself, or at least better able to maintain the veneer of politeness/professionalism without faltering.

My others...I haven't wholly decided, but I think Olivia's might be a lioness. (For some reason, I can't see her as having a lion, even though that fits the typical "the daemon is the opposite gender of the human" schema.) The Trickster wouldn't have one, being non-human, though he'd probably have a lot of fun faking different daemons -- and probably have a couple of favorites, like a weasel or a dog.

And one could argue that Pabu is practically Bolin's daemon already. :D?

[vance_prime]

It's been speculated that a same-sex daemon means the human is homosexual and/or transgendered, FWIW. Not canon, but Philip Pullman is on record as saying he likes the idea.

[death_gone_mad]

Amascut, if I were to play her as a human in the daemonverse, would have a hyena as her daemon, more specifically a striped hyena. I decided on the name Yandu, after a legendary Housa demon/hyena/blacksmith, specifically the blacksmith who created the thunderstones. This is because I thought Yandu could represent a more creative side to Amascut, the side that would happily forge weapons of war, build training facilities, or just in general help civilization develop despite her professed love of destruction.

Oh, right, some backstory that I came up with in crackchat ages ago. In Amascut's youth, Yandu spent so much time as a lion everyone thought he would settle as a lion, but he ended up as a hyena. Maybe Amascut would have been over her ailurophobia by now if she had to deal with a daemon that settled on lion, but Yandu is (un)helpful in that way. :P

[abitofawildman]

I used to joke that Mike and Raph would have human-shaped daemons.
Mike's would look like Jimmy Buffett, and Raph's like Jack Daniels.

Though in truth they'd probably both have rat daemons.

Aang's would be a sky bison, and it'd be named Appa.

Ida, being a machine...and thus not having a soul, would be sans daemon.

I want to say that all the Loompas would have sugar gliders as daemons. Except for The Little Guy, who'd probably have a Vermicious Knid. He's an evil little bugger, that one.

The one I can't figure out is Bumi.
Would it be a flying lemur? What about an otter-seal?

[gottadealwithit]

This is what I thought re: Korra's daemon being a polar bear-dog called Naga.

[innerbrat]

Dinah's daemon is a marbled polecat called Tikki. He's excitable, a bundle of energy and likes to get ALL UP IN PEOPLE'S BUSINESS, often stretching how far he can get from Dinah before he gets uncomfortable. When she's in costume, he curls up quietly inside her bra and goes to sleep.

Renee's daemon is a Dobermann Pinscher called Colang. He's male, because I don't like the idea of lesbians getting female daemons, and because a male daemon fits Renee. Obviously he's a dog, because she's an ex-cop and that's just typical.

Mel's daemon would be a monkey. Arguably Gates would be her daemon in that world.

I haven't really thought of the others.

[basic_powers]

...Tyler's always had Ma'at shaping herself after some form of canine, ever since she was strong enough to manifest. For years everyone was betting that the courageous sweet daemon would end up settling on the Tibetan Mastiff she so often used to defend her boy. It was a shock to his family when she settled as a papillion/chihuahua mix, but not really to him. She's very open and cheerful, more so than Tyler often was as a child.

[camwyn]

Gordon Freeman's daemon is a tardigrade named Sati. Tardigrades are a phylum of minuscule creatures ranging in size from a tenth of a millimeter long to 1.5 millimeters long. They most commonly live on mosses and lichens but can be found in many other environments, and they are all but impossible to kill. I'm not talking cockroach durability, I'm talking survival at temperatures barely above absolute zero, or as high as 151 C/304 F, doses of radiation as high as five thousand Grays (NB: humans tend to die at doses of around six or seven Grays), up to 1200 atmospheres of pressure, and the vacuum of space. You can't kill them. Hence, Gordon. Sati lives in a moss-lined glass marble around Gordon's neck, or in a flat-sided test tube if he has to wear the HEV suit. Sati is also one of the names given for the wife of Siva in Hindu lore.

Adrian Shephard's daemon is a small swarm of honeybees named Imre. The swarm is one organism. This is representative of his need to be part of something larger than himself on a more fundamental level than merely being a member of a pack or pride. Imre tends to speak to him by having a bee crawl into one or both of his ears; very few other people ever hear her voice over her buzzing. As a child he used to worry his parents severely because his daemon kept going from various regular animals to something compound, like the bees or a group of ants or termites, and then back again. Imre's a name I found on a web site about Preston County, West Virginia. I don't know what it means, but it's at least local to his home region.

Ray's daemon is a half-grown black Labrador named Susan. She will always be half-grown and gangling and tripping over her own paws and only about two hairs out of the 'what'sTHATwhat'sTHATwhat'sTHAT' stage of interacting with the world.

I have never stopped to consider what Hektor's or Arcade's daemons would be. Reasonably sure Hektor's is going to be some variety of horse, probably a big black mare who raises images of the man-eating mares of Diomedes with the temper she has that Hektor seldom shows anyone. Arcade's, I think, is an anole, which rather surprised him as it was an Old World kind of lizard that doesn't exist any more, but... well, it's quick and it's quiet and it's observant and it changes color to hide when it can, and he supposes that's only fair given how much of his life has revolved around that, really.

Zira is not human and I have no great urge to think of a daemon for her. Mordin is not human but if he were, his daemon would be a mantis shrimp, and he would have to have an aquarium of some kind following him around (fortunately eezo makes this kind of thing relatively easy).

I don't know what Medic's daemon is. Probably some form of oddly endearing spider. That would make him the second medical person I've given a spider daemon to, the other being Elliot Tercorien in Ellen's world. She has a good deal more patience and a much more easily triggered sense of amusement than he does.

Pretty sure we decided on Varric getting a vixen for his daemon, although I never did figure out her name.

And I once started working on a daemonverse AU for Fallout 3, so a lot of people in Ellen's world have had daemons assigned them. She herself has a grasshopper mouse named Saoshyant. Grasshopper mice are a couple of inches long and look like adorable bundles of fuzz designed by Studio Ghibli, right up until they rip apart scorpions and giant millipedes several times larger than themselves- they're carnivorous mice. It's not uncommon for them to attack and kill other rodents as well, if need be. Oh, and they howl to claim their territory, too. Really, don't underestimate the cute little grasshopper mice... anyway, the name is Zoroastrian. As a common noun it refers mostly to religious leaders. As a proper noun it refers to a figure of Zoroastrian eschatology, the third and final saviour of the far future, who will lead humanity in the final battle against falsehood and bring about the ultimate cleansing and renovation of the world.

[death_gone_mad]

Medic canonically has a pet white dove named Archimedes but then, that's a pet, not a daemon. Spider is much more fitting, even despite Archimedes' supposed enthusiasm for chest cavities.

I think its usually jumping spiders that get the "awww, loook at this cute photo of a spider!" treatment. I think it is easier to anthropomorphize them because of their forward facing eyes; they have to keep an eye on where they are jumping!

[bjornwilde]

I've thought of daemons off and on...
Ben is sort of tough. My first instinct is a pitbull as they are really nice dogs when raised right. I'm also tempted to go with a bull dog in honor of Lockjaw. As to a name, no clue but probably something Yiddish.

Andrea's would have to be a spotted hyena whose name was Satori as it would be the Lyc-V side of her nature. It would be a bit wild, fun loving, and thrill seeking.

For Palamedes I'm torn between a sand cat named Atash (which means fire) and a long-legged buzzard named Arezoo (which means wish).

I am not sure of Jessica, Val, Hank, or Thalia. Suggestions?

[death_gone_mad]

Would some sort of owl for Hank be too cliché?

[baptizemyself]

I've never been able to decide for Helena.

Suggestions welcome!

[kd7sov]

Felix has a rhinoceros, probably a black rhino. I kind of want to know how he got her through some of the puzzles and dungeons in canon... I think I've picked a name for her, but I don't remember what it was. I'm tempted, looking up names, to have her be Buqisi ("Queen of Sheba"). Though there's also Ishi, which is both Japanese for rock and Swahili for remain or endure.

Kain's, per a M_M gamepost a while back, is a wyvern, also nameless.

Fluttershy is a pony, and therefore exempt.

[forgottenmotley]

Sadly, I don't think either of my active pups qualify for daemons.

The Fool, I don't think, really has a soul. He's an idea and concept given form. But he has a puppy!

Brenton is a phoenix and thus... a bird. And while he has a soul, I don't think it would work in his case.

[genarti]

River has a yellow mongoose. Haven't picked a name, but it's probably some kind of allusion to ballet.

It's cliche, but Trowa probably has some kind of cat. I've thought about a lion, especially given how well he canonically gets along with them, but they're a) big and showy, and b) pride animals in a way that Trowa sort of is, but only sort of. Probably what he has is either a domestic cat, or (more likely) some kind of small wild cat that can pass for a domestic cat to the uninformed eye. (And she is a she, even though he's gay and cis; I don't particularly like the idea of having a same-sex daemon mean something specific about sexual orientation or gender identity, at least not as a 1:1 correlation. And a female daemon feels right to me.)

I don't know what her name is, but I know she didn't have one until the end of canon, or maybe even post-canon. For his childhood, they were both nameless, and even after that "Trowa Barton" was just somebody else's name he'd taken on for a good while. Even now, he probably doesn't name his daemon aloud much, and she definitely doesn't have the same name as the other Trowa Barton's daemon (whether or not he said during the war that she did, though I doubt it came up much.)

Thor isn't human, so if I were writing an actual HDM-fusion AU, I probably wouldn't give him a daemon at all just to make him seem more weird and alien and wrong to the humans. (Or having his daemon be Mjölnir, for a different kind of WHAT THAT'S WEIRD AND WRONG AND WHAT.) For a bar-plot where everybody gets one... I haven't totally made up my mind. The idea of a big dog is obvious -- although not actually a golden retriever; Thor does way too much damage to be a retriever dog -- but I really like ashen_key's idea of a lioness.

Also not sure of the name yet. Probably "thunder" or "lightning" or something in either some form of old Norse or in whatever old Asgardian is.

Clare doesn't have one. She's an organization warrior. Whatever the organization does to make human girls into half-demon warriors would, in this universe, change the daemon somehow -- maybe making them internal, one way or another.

But if she had one, I think it might be a fennec fox. (I'm not sure of the gender, or the name.)

Regan, I'm not sure. Something sleek and tidy and social and smart. Suggestions?

[hippodamio]

Perhaps the Scottish wildcat for Trowa? They look enough like a domestic tabby cat to make that mistake. Awfully rare creatures, but still.

[gavin62truck]

Allow me to be completely unoriginal and pick an Irish wolfhound for Tommy because I can't think of anything else. Irish wolfhounds were bred to be loyal and fierce protectors, but these days they're basically just big giant long-legged woobies (which...is pretty much Tommy). Tommy's would be named Madigan, which is Gaelic for 'little dog' -- kind of like if her name was 'Tiny.' She would be his opposite in temperament, very easygoing, patient, affectionate, even a little lazy, but they would definitely share the same sense of sarcasm. He needs her as a source of comfort, an outlet for his grief and angst, and of course she'll provide this unconditionally. However, she would also serve as his conscience and give him all the head-shakes, eye-rolls, and seriously?s as needed. Like every Gavin female, she won't take his bullshit and will make him think twice about inflicting his bullshit upon others. Not that he always listens. He'll spend half his life apologizing to her when she punishes him by not allowing him to snuggle. Because like I said, woobies.

[saphyria]

Yrael has no soul, and is therefore exempt. Also, how could any cat-daemon reflect his cattiness better than he could?

Zelgadiss' daemon would be a badger, named Broca. Known for its strength and tenacity, reflecting Zels' stubborn nature and how he is unyielding in the face of danger or overwhelming odds. She would likely be more reasonable than he is, though, without his insecurities.

Sunshine's daemon would be a honeybee named Mellifer. Honeybees are very social creatures, as well as fearless and aggressive defenders of their territory. Mellifer would be a help in Sunshine's acceptance of the non-baking-oriented side of her life, seeing the violence not as an attack on who she is but as a necessary evil. Something that must be done, a sacrifice for the greater good.

As for how they got their names - I'm not good at naming animals. Broc is (iirc) the Irish word for "badger," forming the root for Broca. Mellifer is from the scientific name for the western honeybee Apis mellifera, from the Latin melli- "honey" and -ferre "to bear."

I'm also open to suggestions for my pups' daemons.

[souffle_girlek]

I shall go on record for saying, for all my pups:

I have no idea. *sads*

Ideas welcome! :D

[bcgphoenix]

A DALEK

*runs very far very fast*

[gorgonfondness]

Mia's daemon would be an otter named Natto. Playful and loving but able to survive. And somehow I've just been associating her with otters ever since the plot with the chair that turns your pup into an animal. It might have something to do with them being in the same family as ferrets. Natto is the name of one of the previous Dragonmasters, the one who was a bard and known for singing in the middle of battle.

I've not thought in depth for Lucas or Lohengrin, so have some rambles.

Because of the naivete of a Tazmily upbringing, Lucas might still be "young" enough to have a more malleable daemon, though he's on the cusp of leaving that stage. Besides that, the animals most commonly associated with Lucas are dogs, sheep, monkeys, and dragons. His daemon would probably be named Amber, which is the name the fantranslation team considered giving his mother Hinawa. (Fun Fact: Lucas and Claus aren't the only ones in the family with theme naming. Hinawa means matchlock, a perfect pair with flintlock Flint.)

You know, I could probably make a case for Pfeifferkuchen being similar to what it would be like if Lohengrin had a daemon, horses being strong, elegant creatures often used in battle. Pfeifferkuchen essentially means pepper cookie, a traditional German spice cake cookie similar to gingerbread and cut in the shape of a rocking horse. (If you're one of the many people who's seen me talk about lebkuchens, this is just another name for them.) The only other animal I associate with Lohengrin is swans but c'mon, who DOESN'T associate the good guys in Princess Tutu with swans? But seriously, swans will mess you up. Those guys are strong enough to break human bones.

[chanter1944]

Call this a cry for help. :D?

I'm pretty sure Sariel's daemon is a bird of some variety, but I'm not entirely sure which. Part of me says owl, but they aren't native to her region of the world. Part of me says tropical bird, but I'm not savvy enough about species from the Caribbean to know if any would fit her personality. I hesitate at most seabirds/shorebirds (seagull types) because the scavenger idea connected with most of them does not fit Sariel at all. Edited to add: I get the impression that Sariel's daemon is male, despite her Millicanonically being CIS gendered female and homosexual. I view the whole 'same-sex daemon=homosexual or transfolk' idea as possible, but not an absolute. I don't like that kind of generalization. Maybe same-sex daemons do tend to be paired with nonheterosexual or trans people, but a possible tendency is not the same as something being the case in every situation.

I could be way off, and her daemon might be something else I haven't given a thought to - kitty cat? Some kind of winged mammal? Hmm. I am oh so open to ideas here, basically. As for a name, I'm not sure, except that I suspect it'd be French/Kweyol influenced and therefore local. I called him Alexandre in fic once, but that was an AU with her as a Bolvangar escapee.

Throwing this out there just for the heck of it. I am pretty sure that in a universe with daemons, my own would be a tortoiseshell longhair cat. This is not playing off the kitty daemon of the same coloring in HDM, although I did rather like that daemon and her human. I've always been a cat person, kitties can be super sweet but also have a tendency toward drama, and torties have a reputation as both attached to their people and a little crazy (the term I've heard is tortietude). Sounds like me! The longhair bit plays off my own; it's waist-length.

The kitty in the icon is not my idea of my daemon. She's a friend's super sweet three-legged torbie, and a one-time favorite shelter cat of mine.

[1nv1nc1ble]

Mark is half-Viltrumite, which given the dominancy of Viltrumite DNA means that he's pretty much all alien. If he wasn't, he'd probably have Le Brusier as his daemon. (Yes, that is a French Bulldog with super-powers. He also smokes, because one of his super-powers is Being French, apparently.)

[friend_of_lucy]

I love the idea of daemons but always have trouble thinking of them for my pups. The closest I've ever come was possibly a beaver for Sameth.

Help please?

[chanter1944]

The first thing that leaps into my head is a red squirrel for Will. I'm reminded of what newredshoes said about city squirrels once, specifically their fearlessness. I know Will's not a city dweller, but the idea still seems to fit. Plus, gingerness!

[withherhands]

I would be very interested to hear people's ideas for Jack Bauer and for M, mainly because I don't have the strongest grasp on how to pick animals that fit. :D

[synchronicity2]

I'm working on a list for my pups now because I love the idea; when I get through, I'll ponder Jack and M.

Though with M, you could always go with an bulldog breed; though rather than a true traditional English, I'd say the Olde English Bulldogge.

[iambetadraconis]

Good heavens why haven't I noticed this DE yet?

Rabastan has a pit bull-type dog named Betria, which is another name for β Trianguli Australis [and fits in with Rabastan also being named for a star]. She's a bit more easy-going than he is, and would be the sort to tell him to lighten up he ever started angsting. She's a pit bull because, despite the bad reputation the breed endures, they're very sweet dogs.

Xamot and Tomax have stoat daemons. Xamot's is Rimal, Tomax's is Lamir [I made up the names, and if they have a meaning I don't know it]. Personality-wise they're pretty much no different than the brothers are. And might even be the sorts to actively encourage the brothers' criminal activities.

Matrix in human form would have a wolf, but I'm open to a better suggestion.

Rad, Unicron and Megabyte are not human and thus wouldn't have one. Though as they do have souls it's possible their daemons would be of the same nature they are [robotic, digital].

Strength and Wheel would only have pseudo-daemons in order to "pass as normal" in a daemon-verse.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Worth noting: someone had Unicron at dear_multiverse a long time ago during a daemonplot. Unicron's daemon wound up being the Cloverfield monster. Not digital, but I still found it amusing.

[lady_mary]

After giving this some thought, I really like the idea of Mary having a red fox daemon. Since red foxes were traditionally hunted by English nobility, it would really highlight the contradictions in her character. Mary can at times be very tied to tradition, but like the red fox, she can also be highly adaptable.

Plus they're pretty.

Carol's daemon would be... a possibly magic and certainly fierce cat named Chewie.

[inlovewithwords]

Henry's too young to tell.

Lois (despite being nicknamed 'Mad Dog Lane' at some point) probably has a feline of some kind. Don't know what--I do not know whether I would be more by her having an armful-sized or larger-sized cat.

Arguably, Tavi and Kitai have each other. Elsewise he'd have a golden eagle, though I don't know her name.

[ladyiapetus]

Rue's daemon is a flying squirrel, possibly named Tares. He's clever and swift, which he has to be in order to keep up with Rue while she's working in the treetops, but tends to err more on the side of caution than she does. He tried his best to advise Rue through the Hunger Games and was actually against her alliance with Katniss Everdeen at first.

Jinora's daemon Anil is a winged lemur, though I'm leaning more toward a common lemur like Momo rather than the ring-tailed lemurs that populate Air Temple Island. Anil is curious but thinks that Jinora spends too much time with her nose in books, especially the historical romances she loves so much.

I'm not sure what the daimons for my other pups would be. Both Dani and Rennes would most likely be birds of some kind; for Dani possibly a bird of prey while Rennes' would be a wren (just to piss him off).