Daemons In Af Au My Beloved - Blog Posts

:333 I'm super happy you liked my lil ramblings ! As for daemon choices, I read all your posts ! A swan for my darling Angeline is just spot on. I was dead set on a butterfly for years (for all the reasons you listed), and more recently on moths, for their association with silk (elegant, soft, expensive) and light (always chasing it, often at their own expanse). Some moths are also specifically associated with change, which I feel fits her intense emotional lability quite well. Some species are also considered pests, some as bad omens. It's a vibe that fits how she can sometimes become a danger not only to herself but others. I was specifically thinking of moths like the Luna or the White Witch ; and the Madagascan sunset because it's so pretty. But the idea of a swan for her ? *chef's kiss*. I love it. Tim, I agree with you, is tough. I like all your ideas, but my favoured one is the snake. Butler, if his daemon is female, I'd love it to be a bear. It would be terribly impractical in daily life, but this dude is the most mama bear ever and they would make an absolutely deadly duo. But as you develop in your tags, I'm also very partial to queer Butler, and love the idea of him having a male daemon. Livestock guardian dog is perfect for him <3 (and now I have an immense urge to draw Butler's daemon carrying baby Artemis' daemon around scruffing her neck é.è) Juliet, it's funny but she's the one I've always envisioned with a lemur or a lil monkey. She's a smart fun-loving daredevil and I feel like it fits her the most. But I agree that a nod to the vivid green and overall bright colours would be so cool ! Why not a grasshopper ?

And now, Artemis. I have a special theory for him : I think his daemon would not settle and always keep her shifting abilities. I know it sounds a bit Mary Sue-esque, but if you consider it, doesn't it fit him perfectly ? Artemis to me is most characterised by his funambulist dynamic - he's always, always walking a tightrope between two extremes : innocence and dangerousness, good and evil, fairies and humans, empathy and ruthlessness, justice and criminality... and childhood and adulthood. One of the most striking thing he says in the first book is how he's still just enough of a child to believe in magic, but enough of an adult to exploit them. It's his greatest strength, but it also isolates him so much. That's why he's such a lonely character, to me ; he never belongs quite anywhere, because he's always toeing the line between one thing and its complete opposite. At his core, Artemis is unique and a trailblazer, a changeling never quite a human, never quite a fairy, never quite a child, never quite an adult.

How to better express that than a daemon that forever keeps shifting like a child's ? I also love this idea because it doesn't have to be obvious. Artemis and his daemon are both smart ; they know how to take best advantage of that. I feel like by the time they know most daemons settle, they'd pick a shape they like (a silky silfaka lemur, or my two favourites - a raven, or a rat) and pretend to be settled. I believe of his close ones, only Butler and maybe Holly would know the truth. Artemis' daemon would only shift when it's necessary - to complete a plan (like turning into a smaller animal, a fish, an insect to sneak stealthily somewhere) or to scare an enemy to death (WHAT THE HELL THIS GROWN MAN'S DAEMON IS SHIFTING WHAAAA...). Now combine that with the TLG idea of the daemon now being capable of roaming around miles away from Artemis... He's as powerful, and as othered as can be. And that's just so him.

also the idea of AF plot with daemons is kind of upsetting, like wtf happens during butler and artemis' respective deaths. does butler's daemon fade away for that time butler is dead?? or does her body remain because artemis kept his brain on ice???

and for artemis' death.... if his soul was torn from his body but remained tied to earth, what does that mean for his daemon? his body dies but his daemon remains alive and conscious??? that would be so fucked up within the lore of daemons. my fucking god. like she's a symbol of hope and certainty that artemis can be brought back, but it's also horrifying and upsetting to see her walking around like a ghost, like something reanimated and fundamentally against nature.

how do these deaths affect their relationships with their daemons? or the invisible strings between them? like, would artemis' daemon be able to travel freely apart from him after his resurrection- oh my god i just remembered the cloning thing, what are even the repercussions and implications of that

Been LOVING these AF daemons post by OP <3 I've been thinking about this particular post lately, here are some of my personal thoughts on deaths in the AF books with daemons attached. For TLG, I actually believe Artemis' daemon would disappear at first ; because I love this scene from The Amber Spyglass, where Lyra has to abandon Pan so she can go to the Underworld - and I feel like in this case, it would be the opposite - Artemis' daemon refuses to go with him. Just imagine Artemis, actually terrified of dying, begging his daemon to not leave him alone, and her firmly reassuring him - "remember. we will come back, we decided and promised to. so I have to stay." That would be absolutely heartwrenching (as the original scene is), but also I feel a good depiction of Artemis' resolve being stronger than death. And then, imagine all the others (Butler, Holly, the parents, everyone else) suddenly see Artemis' daemon coming back, roaming around the grave. Refusing to talk for now, but being there - alone.

The cloning I think doesn't have particular implications ; it's only a mere corporeal form for the soul to inhabit, so as long as the daemon is still there, it's okay. The scene could even be quite touching... They'd bring the clone to the daemon, she's inspect it carefully, then after a few minutes, she'd just curl up into a little furry ball on the clone's chest and wait. And he'd wake up. Afterwards, Artemis would probably be able to be separated from his daemon like the witches. Maybe the clone and the daemon would have difficulties bonding at first, but at least she'd be able to help him with his memories. As for Butler's death in TEC, it would mean twisting a tiny bit how the daemons work in HDM, but I can imagine that the daemon has a few more moments after Butler dies before completely disappearing (as if his soul tried to cling to Artemis for as long as he could before fading away). Knowing that, Artemis manages to bring him to the freezer just in time for the daemon to join Butler in the freezer and sleep with him until Holly revives them both. I wonder if it would be interesting and meaningful to have Butler's daemon, by the time Artemis manages to put him to safety, be too exhausted from clinging on the world to crawl into the freezer with his human, so Artemis has to lift her up himself. As touching another's daemon is super taboo and forbidden, maybe it would be an interesting way, similar to Butler telling his first name to Artemis before dying, to show how strenghtened their bond is now that death has threatened to tear them apart and they would not have it. Also, Butler being the vulnerable one for once, and Artemis taking care and charge of him, whatever it takes and whatever rules of the universe he has to break in the process. I don't know because in HDM it's implied that touching another's daemon has a more mature connotation, and I wouldn't want this idea to be interpreted that way. I still think it would be sweet to see Artemis caring for Butler's daemon tho.

Well, these were my ramblings x') (as for what daemon would everyone have, that's another conversation and this post is long enough, but I might expand another time)

also the idea of AF plot with daemons is kind of upsetting, like wtf happens during butler and artemis' respective deaths. does butler's daemon fade away for that time butler is dead?? or does her body remain because artemis kept his brain on ice???

and for artemis' death.... if his soul was torn from his body but remained tied to earth, what does that mean for his daemon? his body dies but his daemon remains alive and conscious??? that would be so fucked up within the lore of daemons. my fucking god. like she's a symbol of hope and certainty that artemis can be brought back, but it's also horrifying and upsetting to see her walking around like a ghost, like something reanimated and fundamentally against nature.

how do these deaths affect their relationships with their daemons? or the invisible strings between them? like, would artemis' daemon be able to travel freely apart from him after his resurrection- oh my god i just remembered the cloning thing, what are even the repercussions and implications of that