#HDM!AU

[elodieunderglass]

I know an adult skunk would be too big, but in my heart this fluffy ball of anger and fear is Bee:

[ID: a picture of a baby skunk in defensive posture with erect and puffed tail. end ID]

[ID: a baby skunk adorably sleeping curled up in a little ball in a person's hand. end ID]

Safely tucked in Chil's neck warmer

(In reference to the Dungeon Meshi daemon-AU fanfiction in which one guy has simply decided to be secretive about his daemon to the point of it being deeply weird)

Thank you so much!! that is the perfect creature and a really, really clever choice and I love her so much.

I really regret that we do actually have to physically meet Bee at some point because it is so much funnier not to.

I also have to say, I don’t know why people who sell their writing get so mad when people guess their plots! Like when you hear about the Game of Thrones/ Star Wars etc guys changing their plots because people were guessing plots and having theories based on the FORESHADOWING THEY PUT IN.

I am completely surprised and excited by how people’s guesses for Bee have gotten closer and closer and how many have landed on the mark. Genuinely very exciting and satisfying and not what I was expecting. The feeling is very good, and it feels collaborative and motivational.

I don’t know what the point I’m trying to make here is, but I think it’s that foreshadowing is fun to set up and also fun to pay off, and that I like it when people guess what’s going on! We are all playing a game involving lying with words and it is collaborative! I think paid media would be more fun if people had more fun making it!

[aura2023]

Two drawings i did in june / july of 2023 of the Frostcup x His Dark Materials AU

I was supposed to post like other 2 drawings + sketches alongside these but got frustrated with the light ksadjkajd i still have the clip file just in case i decide to try again. A little bit of confusing info under the cut vvv

In this AU Jack and his sister are from a world where the human soul takes the form of an animal (daemon). A daemon can change form into any kind of animal when you are a kid. It' s final form gets settled when you grow up. Jack's daemon name is Ventisca, and his sister's is Mito.

This AU is Jack who is in Jordan Colleague working in the kitchens to provide for his family until he hears about children going missing and then the news of the disappearance of his sister and joins the gyptians to search for them.

In his search he encounters Hiccup, a soon to be scholar who is researching the dragons and their culture. If you watched the series or read the books, let's say that the dragons are like the armored bears. They soon team up to find jack's sister and find out what is going on.

She got kidnapped with many other children to be used in experiments about the relationship between humans and daemons. She is almost in the role of Lyra from the books. She also is the one to get the alethiomether.

I'm checking my obsidian folders and most of my notes are more of Jack's sister story than Hiccup and Jack *cries*

[miserablejester]

"Once there was quite a crowd of young people present which naturally led to dancing. It was all very delightful but often Mr Honeyfoot and Mr Segundus would slip away to discuss the one thing that interested both of them - why was there no more magic done in England?"

Fan art from the first segment of the jsamn 20 readalong. These two gentlemen are just so dear to me!

[blackfeatherdragon]

Thinking about. The fact that people in Lyra's world in HDM see daemonless people as incredibly uncanny and Wrong due to the implications of them being literally souless. Thinking about the fun horror tropes that would result in that world.

In the HDM version of The Thing, the titular Thing tries to imitate the both the humans and the accompanying daemons at the camp, but there's something Off about the daemons in the same way there's something Off about Thing!Jed the dog. They don't act right, they don't feel right when next to a real daemon.

In HDM! Dracula, Dracula, being a souless vampire, has to use his wolf control ability to manipulate a wild wolf to act as his 'daemon' when Jonathan is at the castle. Of course, since Dracula has not interacted with a daemon in hundreds of years, the wolf does not act right. Jonathan can tell there's something off about this 'daemon' but brushes it off at first, his daemon (a dog, to contrast Dracula's fake wolf 'daemon') can tell there's something off about the wolf...it's all very off.

When Lucy is revealed to be a vampire, there is clear horror at the uncanniness of her missing daemon in addition to her feeding off the children and being unable to rest in peace, when she was never able to travel away from her daemon in life.

[x-i-l-verify]

Linked Universe Daemon AU Headcanons

WORLDBUILDING NOTE 1: The concept of daemons is borrowed from the His Dark Materials series. A daemon is a person’s soul manifested outside of their body in a tangible, physical form, which permanently settles into the form of the animal that most resembles them in character as the individual matures. Person and daemon are not separate beings, but two halves of one mental coin, which means that they each know everything the other does, thinks, and senses. Daemons are almost always the opposite gender of their person and have a distinct personality than the person to a certain degree, as person and daemon represent different aspects of the same whole. Touching someone’s daemon without their permission is taboo, considered a violation tantamount to rape in most cultures.

WORLDBUILDING NOTE 2: All Links have the same name for their daemon: Ellanharai (composed of the Old German elements ellan “courage” and heri “army”). However, because all the Links are their own person, their daemon’s form settles on something different with each incarnation. Just as the Links in the Chain go by different titles to differentiate them all, so, too, do their daemons. Links tend to settle early (12-13 years), as they generally know who they are and what they want from a young age.

WORLDBUILDING NOTE 3: The Dark World/Twili crystal magic combines someone and their daemon into one physical body. This new body has the form of the daemon but the gender of the person with size alterations or different markings/coloration and is controlled by the person, with the daemon part of their mind taking a backseat. For example, Legend is larger as a rabbit than his daemon usually is, and of course, her natural color is not bright pink. The lingering effects of this transformation only physically affect the person side of the person/daemon pair once they are returned to normal. 

---

SKY + PSALM (RED-CROWNED CRANE)

Red-crowned cranes are renowned for their lasting and affectionate pair bonds, having come to represent longevity and devotion in many cultures; they are cooperative and low-aggression birds, quite tolerant and relaxed around other animals, and only really become territorial and protective over their nesting sites and chicks.

Psalm is impatient, mischievous, and fierce. Sky is more easygoing, considerate, and gentle.

Sky and Psalm are very outwardly affectionate with each other, and both can often be found napping together in a patch of sunlight, Psalm resting her head in Sky’s lap or draping a wing over him. As the physically tallest daemon of the bunch, Psalm delights in teasing fawning over her smaller daemon sisters, especially the younger ones. She will often sit on someone and happily brood, and while some may outwardly protest, everyone secretly enjoys it.

---

FOUR + RHYME (ITALIAN HEBRAN HONEYBEE)

Four's daemon is an industrious, adaptable, cooperative, sociable species of honeybee, known for being assertive but not aggressive insects; they have a high threshold for what they consider threats, and will communicate using pheromones, body language, and vocalizations to make themselves as clearly understood as possible, but they will not hesitate to defend themselves if something is deemed a threat.

Four is empathetic, observant, passionate, and composed. Rhyme is the emotional, pragmatic, impulsive, competitive part of his personality.

Rhyme is usually kept in a protective case Four wears around his neck to prevent any harm from coming to her either in battle or out of it, due to her diminutive size, but he will happily let her out to stretch her wings when around people he trusts. While she is too small to outright cuddle with her sisters, Rhyme loves perching on their heads or burrowing into feathers or fur when it’s chilly, and she’s surprisingly expressive with her body language, though one might have to squint to see it.

When Four splits into his Colors, Rhyme also splits. Which means instead of one being in two bodies, they’re now one being in eight bodies. As in LU canon, none of the Colors is their own individual in this AU, merely a fraction of a larger whole. In turn, each iteration of Rhyme is an alternate part of each of the Colors, with Four’s soul fragmenting into smaller and smaller individual pieces the deeper you go down.

---

TIME + MELODY (SPANISH FARON MASTIFF)

While menacing in appearance due to their sheer size and bulk, Spanish mastiffs are actually known for being protective, affectionate, quiet dogs, with a long history of guarding livestock; they are patient, easygoing, and surprisingly playful, good with children and tolerant of other animals, though their strong wills and stubbornness make them a challenge to handle for first-time dog owners.

Time is authoritative, jaded, and stoic, while Melody embodies his nurturing, hopeful, mischievous side.

Melody can often be found at Time’s side with one of his hands resting on her head or back. As the largest daemon in the group paired with the tallest person, they make for quite the intimidating pair and are downright deadly in battle together. Outside of battle, though, Melody becomes a big teddy bear, utterly content to let her daughters sisters use her as a pillow or mode of transportation, quietly communicating all the warm care and tenderness Time is sometimes too awkward to openly express. She is the one who introduced the musical motif the other Ellanharais also adopted when coming up with nicknames for themselves.

---

TWILIGHT + ARIA (GRAY WOLF)

Twilight’s daemon is a social, cooperative, dedicated apex predator, who routinely work together to raise their young, defend their territories, and chase down their prey over vast distances; they are not overly aggressive and prefer to avoid conflict whenever they can, using body language, sent marking, and howling to diffuse tense situations and prevent costly fights between packs or individuals.

Twilight is focused, cautious, and opinionated. Aria is his easygoing, empathetic, people-pleasing side.

Aria instantly adopts most of the younger daemons in the group and dotes on them as much as they’ll allow. However, she turns into a big, besotted puppy whenever Time and Melody come into the picture and becomes adorably bashful around Malon’s pigeon daemon Rosamu. She is often found at Twilights right side, guarding his flank and watching his back while he focuses his attention on what’s in front of him. She also loves scritches and belly rubs and has nearly smothered Twilight more than once by sprawling on top of him too heavily while they sleep. While their initial transformation into Wolfie was traumatic and scarring at first, they have both grown to enjoy the occasional opportunity to truly travel, fight, and exist as one.

---

WILD + TRILL (WEDGE-TAILED EAGLE)

Wild’s daemon is a loyal, resourceful, resilient species of raptor that is often found alone or in monogamous pairs, but will freely cooperate together with groups of up to 15 other eagles to take down larger prey; they are straightforward and communicative with their vocalizations and displays and also surprisingly playful, wrestling or playing food games with each other.

Trill is Wild’s dutiful, reserved, focused side, while Wild is the impulsive, playful, lackadaisical side.

Trill is rather choosy with and to whom she shows open affection. She can be very standoffish, preferring to let Wild do the talking for both of them, but once she trusts someone, she will often become very chatty and physically affectionate. It is common to see her riding around or napping on Aria's back, but she has begun opening up more to the others as well.

Because Wild lost all his memories in the Shrine of Resurrection, Trill had become unsettled when they finally woke up, taking the most basic shape a daemon can take, normally only seen with very young children: a small, floating, glowing ball of golden Dust. As they regained their memories during Wild’s quest and discovered more about themselves, Trill began taking on some of their old favored forms before eventually resettling for good as her original settled form, the wedge-tailed eagle. Despite physically being the same, though, there’s still that distance between who they are now and who they used to be, most evident in how their personalities have seemed to switch; Wild used to be more serious, focused, and responsible, and Trill used to embody the impulsivity, rowdiness, and wanderlust he kept tightly tamped down for the sake of duty and appearances. Both of them are still coming to terms with how much they have changed.

---

LEGEND + LYRIC (EUROPEAN HYLIAN RABBIT)

Legend's daemon settled as a hardy, wary, sociable, territorial species of rabbit, able to survive and thrive in almost any environment; they are a keystone prey species, a vital part of almost any ecosystem they find themselves in, who must stay ever vigilant and rely on their speed, wits, and determination to stay alive.

Legend is blunt, private, and practical, while Lyric is the sensitive, sociable, sentimental side of him.

Legend has… a complicated relationship with his daemon’s form. He initially hides her away from the rest of the Chain out of paranoia and insecurity, keeping her in his pack at all times. What would Hyrule they think of the renowned Hero of Legend having a defenseless, soft little rabbit as a daemon? They would lose all respect for him, or worse, be disappointed. It isn’t until after the Twili crystal incident, and Twilight and Sky find out about Lyric’s form, that he starts to come out of his shell.

After the ice has been broken, Lyric leaps at the chance to interact with the other deamons more. She goads Aria or even Melody into games of chase, can finally properly pounce on Warriors’ daemon the next time she teases her, curls up into a little fuzzy ball with Hyrule’s daemon to nap, leaps up on Trill or Psalm or Wind’s daemon’s backs and coax them into giving her a ride, and holds Rhyme in her little paws to gloat that she finally knows a daemon smaller than her (Rhyme is not amused). She is the one who came up with the name for their group of daemons, which is a chorus, just like a group of Links is a chain.

---

HYRULE + CADENCE (YELLOW-BELLIED GLIDER)

Hyrule’s daemon is a small, nocturnal glider species that is selectively social, close-bonding, and expressive, utilizing a number of chirps, whirrs, whistles, and growls to keep away intruders and keep tabs on each other; yellow-bellied gliders are incredibly active, hard-working creatures, spending up to 90% of their time awake foraging, and they can travel up to 2 kilometers in just 4 hours through a combination of climbing and gliding.

Hyrule is independent, wary, and agreeable. Cadence represents his dependent, connected, feisty side.

Cadence is generally quite a skittish daemon, who can normally be found clinging wide-eyed to Hyrule’s back, shoulders, chest, or arms, or hidden inside his tunic or pack. She has not interacted closely with many other daemons in her time (fairies do not have daemons), so she is still getting used to the physical affection the others offer. She does not dislike it; it is simply a lot. But she is gradually learning to love being nuzzled, cuddled, and carried, and she greatly enjoys riding around on the other larger daemons.

---

WIND + SHANTY (MILITARY MACAW)

Wind settled just a couple months before the events of Linked Universe as a resourceful, gregarious, deeply loyal species of macaw; like all macaws, they can be quite loud, communicative, and expressive, and they have generally been described as having friendly, confident, playful dispositions, albeit with the occasional temperamental mood swing.

Shanty is Wind's meticulous, perceptive, down-to-earth side, while Wind is reckless, curious, and carefree.

As is befitting for a parrot daemon, Shanty spends much of her time perched on Wind’s shoulders or arms, though she does love being held and cuddled, too. She is still getting used to her settled form, and sometimes forgets she cannot shift like she once did, leading to some hilarious mishaps when she faceplanted on the ground trying to turn into a hermit crab, or one memorable instance where she nearly drowned while trying to become a yellowtail snapper. She gets very starry-eyed over the other demons and thinks all of them are the coolest for different reasons. She desperately wants to impress them and prove she’s just as badass as they are, so she can sometimes chafe under their well-meaning coddling.

---

WARRIORS + BALLAD (RED FOX)

Warriors’ daemon settled as the confident, dependable, independent red fox, the most widespread and successful carnivore in the world, found in just about every available habitat, from jungle to tundra; despite being mainly solitary, these animals have a complex social hierarchy and can be seen in a wide variety of group settings, with vixens sometimes coming together during the breeding season to help raise each other’s cubs, and their mates bringing them food and also helping parent the new cubs.

Warriors is shrewd, charming, and diplomatic, while Ballad is more brash, cheeky, and candid.

Ballad, while generally friendly and warm with the other daemons (especially the younger ones), is also strangely skittish around them. She is fine initiating touch or curling up for a nice nap around or with someone else, but if touched unexpectedly, she tends to either bristle, growl, and retreat behind Warriors, or go very still and quiet. She shies away from any human hands except Warriors' (and even then there are days he doesn't touch her directly). They bring to mind other hands. Slim, small, elegant, painted hands that hurt, that took, that tainted- ...It’s fine. She’s fine. They’re fine. Everything’s fine.

---

Resources:

Red-crowned crane analysis: https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=24990

Italian honeybee analysis: https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=23882

Tibetan mastiff analysis: https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=24552

Spanish mastiff information: https://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/spanish-mastiff

Gray wolf analysis: https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=23828

Wedge tailed eagle analysis: https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=26686

European rabbit analysis: https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=23718

Yellow bellied glider analysis: https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=24968

Military macaw analysis: https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=26591

Red fox analysis: https://daemonpage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=24946

Art belongs to @/linkeduniverse

[tragicotps]

Young Masriel au [part 1: First meeting]: Recently returned from one of his expeditions, Asriel plans to crash one of Edward Coulter's exclusive dinner parties for networking purposes. At the door he's greeted by a mysterious and attractive young woman, who turns out to be married to the party host and coincidentally one of his biggest political rivals.

[hyperpotamianarch]

So, this is my 100th post! [applause]

As per the most votes on my previous post, I have finished the translation of my Tehillim/Psalms imitation before posting it, but now I have finished. This is the final result of that.

Is it as amazing and awesome as you hoped? I don't know, I don't know what you even hoped for! Either way, this is the beginning of my Dæmonverse Judaism works. We'll see how it goes.

Hope all 18 of the voters - including the two that just wanted to be a part of things and the two that wanted something more (unless they joked) will enjoy this work! If you didn't vote, you're still invited to enjoy it, of course. That's the first thing I posted on AO3, though, so I don't know if I did it well.

[magebird]

What if a His Dark Materials AU? Details of my thoughts under the cut.

So Roberto and Meryl have a badger and a lemur and Meryl is so excited to be in the black-and-white fur club with her senpai. Something something metaphors about learning to see shades of grey lol if we want to be heavy-handed with it. Definite primate vibes from Meryl— outgoing, loud when angered, high level of connection to her social group. Very intelligent and not so good completely solo.

Roberto meanwhile is a nocturnal animal, but still a social one. Badgers have been known to share their burrows even with other species, but can be really ferocious when under pressure. Also a very vocal species— they talk a lot.

I like the idea that for WW and Livio, the EoM tries really hard to force their members to settle according to their wishes, just as an extension of that manipulation. Mostly aiming for dogs probably or other animals that they feel can be forced to obey. For WW, a wolf was as close to a dog as they could get, and I like the idea that Livio(/Razlo)’s dæmon seems to flick back and forth between just a big dog and a true wolf depending on which personality is dominating. I imagine you’d also see some of the EoM lackeys being severed, as well, since that would make them biddable even if the rest of the brainwashing didn’t.

Vash’s mourning dove dæmon is also a prosthetic lol. I imagine Brad knew he’d need one to pass among humans and the form is a version of Rem’s white dove.

I also considered a St Bernard or some sort of hunting hound for Roberto, but I ultimately decided that something outside the domestic dog category would fit better. WW I think would also fit with a lot of different wild dog options, maybe something like a melanistic coyote, jackal, or painted dog that has that hunting instinct.

Legato was maybe severed as part of the abuse he had growing up, or forced to settle as something they could easily control like a butterfly or something else very vulnerable to harm, so he’s extremely protective and hides his dæmon.

Zazie is one of the first kids who ever settled as a worm on the new planet and then became part of the worm consciousness.

As a Plant, Nai doesn’t have a dæmon either in this setup, but I thought also about him and Vash sharing a dæmon or a chimera/two-headed dæmon. Ultimately I like the idea of them just not having an external dæmon and it being just another Othering thing. Perhaps Nai’s blades often end up shaping into a dragon or something.

I’m imagining part of the Plant-reveal on the sandsteamer would be Vash’s fake dæmon getting fried or destroyed which causes them to realize it’s not real.

[cobra-creampuff]

liberation starts within the mind: Ian/Mickey + Daemon AU

summary: Mickey's daemon hasn't settled, but they can fake that just like they can fake everything else about them. (If only it weren't for Ian.)

Warnings for canon-typical internalized homophobia and ableism.

They’re sitting alone in their room when the idea comes to them. Well, when the idea comes to Mars. That’s their system: Mars comes up with the good ideas and Mickey comes up with the shitty ones. It makes pretty good sense that that’s how it is. After all, your daemon is supposed to be all the best parts of you, right? So it figures that Mars would get the smarts and Mickey’d be left with nothing but stupid. He’s not bitter about it. It helps him fit in his place like he’s supposed to. And it seems like it’s a family trait anyway, for your daemon to be smarter than you. But, hey, maybe that’s just ‘cause all the Milkovich humans do tons of fucking drugs. “We have to fake it,” Mars says. It’s about four in the morning or some shit. They’re both tired, but it’s no surprise to either of them that they can’t sleep anyway. Tonight they are – or at least Mickey is – blaming it on the bruises across Mickey’s jaw and forearms. Mars had been sprawled across the couch and Mickey’s lap shaped all pretty like a St. Bernard, and Terry and Polly had started in on her again. He’d called her fucking Beethoven while Polly pulled on her ears, and Mickey had sassed Terry back and earned a beating. Terry’s ticked because Mickey’s gonna turn fifteen in a couple months and Mars hasn’t settled yet, and Terry thinks that means Mickey’s some kind of pussy or that he’s touched in the fucking head. Mickey knows better, knows that Mars can’t settle yet because Mickey ain’t ready to be who he is, but to admit that’s the reason is far more dangerous than to let Terry keep thinking Mickey’s weak-minded or whatever. Now, Mars is curled up on Mickey’s chest as he lies on his back and stares at the ceiling, shaped like what Mickey had been informed snootily was “a weasel not a goddamn ferret, for fuck’s sake” and Mickey knows she’s right. Showing the terrible hand fate decided to fucking deal him is not something Mickey can ever do. Since he ain’t got the guts to bow out of the game all he can do is bluff, and bluff forever. At Mickey’s nod, Mars slides off of him and off of his bed and tells him, “I’ll try out a few kinds and stick to whichever is most comfortable when we’re in public. And hey, maybe if we’re lucky I’ll just get stuck or something.” They both know she won’t, but they’re lying to everybody else so why not tell themselves something sweet once in a while?

Read on AO3 ->

[ultrakeencollectionbreadfan]

People who make "dæmon AUs" and then just stick dæmons into the world of the story they're crossing over with are cowards. Sure, occasionally they include other things from the His Dark Materials series, such as witches and armored bears, but if you want to do something, go all the way.

[the-dolphin-queen]

I love gimmicky worldbuilding

I assume the daemons of this universe would only able to be animals present in Minecraft.

[aura2023]

Jack and hiccup's daemons + toothless

In this au they both are 17/18yo, so their daemons can still change forms. Hiccup's daemon likes to transform to snakes or a wolverine.

Jack's daemon form stays most of the time as a snowy owl, but likes to transform into a fox and a ferret.

Hiccup has a flying ballon (like lee scoresby in the series :D )which he uses to visit his dragon friend toothless.

[elizavp-art]

Day 30 - ATLA Ty Lee Fanart

Wrapping up the ATLA dæmons with a Fire Ferret for Ty Lee! I mostly chose this because of Pabu's acrobats in LOK tbh

Bit late getting this one posted but still counts imo. Just one day left to go in my 30 day posting challenge!

[lumaxramblings]

ronance in a daemon au. are you seeing the vision

[geminison]

“Control your daemon, Knife” probably says someone

Not sure about the name but it sounds fun. In slavic mythology Mora/Mara/Morena/etc is a goddess of seasonal changes that include death and rebirth of the nature, it seemed fitting

First time drawing a wolf, phew, that was interesting. It would be fun if I could change something in its appearance to make it look more like dh wolfhounds but idk, I’m not that good in anatomy to pull it off

[tragicotps]

Young Masriel au [Part 2: getting to know you]: in which Asriel follows Marisa outside to escape a boring party, mainly consisting of old men talking about politics. Having captured his attention with her knowledge of experimental theology, and not immune to her beauty either, he's determined to talk to her alone to find out more about this mysterious girl and her peculiar daemon. He foolishly counts on his boyish charm to convince her to get drunk with him, but it doesn't exactly go as planned. [part 1]