awanderingbard: (SHERLOCK: Watson's cute nose)
awanderingbard ([personal profile] awanderingbard) wrote2014-07-08 11:04 pm

Nattering (brought to you by relaxation at the cottage)

Probably the last of my daemon nattering posts. I never did explain my Sherlock choices, and I had half a file left from ages ago, and time at the cottage, so I've fleshed it out. And I'll shut up soon. Probably.

There are a few characters missing, as I never bothered to give them daemons, or they appeared later than my headcanon went. I have my OCs, though, and the Trio verse muses.

Sometime soon I'll do something contructive with all this headcanon, and write a proper story. Probably.




Sherlock
Tzophiya (Hebrew name meaning 'watchful') (Zoh-FY-ah)
Grey Lourie aka African Go-Away-Bird
Grey Louries are awesome birds. Their cry actually sounds like 'go away', which is what initially drew me to it, but they also hang around near packs of animals, and wait until a hunter is just about to strike, then cry 'go-away' and alert the animals, thwarting the hunters. They also are apparently prone to being silent at home in their nests, and very vocal in public.

John
Subira (Swahili name meaning 'patience') (Su-BEER-ah)
Dwarf Mongoose
Mongooses are small, but very fierce, which is why I choose one for John. They also live in small groups, but hunt together (like an army) and look after their old and sick (like a doctor). Plus they are adorable.

Lestrade
Leala (Breton name meaning 'loyal') (Le-ALL-ah)
Otterhound
I wanted a dog for Lestrade, because I thought he's sort of a servant to the law, and in the HDM 'verse, all servants have dogs. I choose the otterhound because it's a bit rare, and because of the description of it on Wiki: "a Bulldog's courage, a Newfoundland's strength in water, a Pointer's nose, a Retriever's sagacity, the stamina of a Foxhound, the patience of a Beagle, and the intelligence of a Collie"

Mrs Hudson
Carwyn (Welsh name meaning 'caring') (CAR-win)
raven
This is based solely on Sherlock's line about how England would fall if Mrs Hudson left Baker Street, which is what is said about the ravens in the Tower of London. Also, ravens have very affectionate but antagonistic relationships with their families.

Mycroft
Hisoka (Japanese name meaning 'secretive') (Hiz-OH-ka)
Pallas's cat
I choose the Pallas's cat because I wanted a cat for Mycroft, but not anything common. I also wanted it small enough to curl around his shoulders, because that's how I picture his daemon, draped across him lazily and glaring at you. Plus, Pallas's cats make the best bitch faces.

Molly
Duinn (the island where the dead go in Celtic mythology to wait to begin their journey to the afterlife) (DWIN)
Japanese Flying Squirrel
Japanese flying squirrels look like they've been animated by Disney, and I basically choose them based on that. They are adorable, and always look quite cheerful and sweet, and nervous. I pictured Molly having a daemon with a tail that swish-swished back and forth all the time.

Irene Adler
Quenell (an old English name meaning 'battle woman') (Quah-NELL)
Superb Bird of Paradise
I wanted something showy for Irene, and a bird, to mirror Sherlock's daemon. Superb Birds of Paradise have insane mating feathers, and do a little dance to try and seduce their mates, which I thought suited Irene's habit of putting on her battle dress and challenging consulting detectives.

Moriarty
Persepnei (Etruscan form of Persephone, the goddess of the underworld in Greek myths) (Pair-SEP-nee)
Death's Head Moth
Aside from having a skull on its back, I liked the idea of Jim having something flighty and 'changeable'.

Q
Effimia (a Greek name meaning 'Good thoughts') (eff-ah-MI-ah)
Degu
Degus are very intelligent, and are good problem solvers. They also are known to make tools to help solve problems, which reminded me of Q's inventerly ways.

Alec
Larisa (from the Spanish 'la risa' meaning 'laugh' and Russian Larissa meaning 'citadel') (La-REE-sa)
Meerkat
Meerkats are friendly little things, that live all together in happy group, and wander around being adorable all the time. They tend to smile, which Alec does a lot, and they, unlike a lot of other animals, actively teach their young skills, instead of letting them pick them up by observation.

Sarah
Jabir (an Arabic name meaning 'comfort') (Ja-BEER)
Canada Goose
Canada geese mate for life, and if one of them gets sick or wounded, they stay on the ground and care for them until they're well. I wanted something doctorly for Sarah, and I also liked the idea of her daemon being quite a bit bigger than John's daemon.

Mrs Holmes
Apellon (the old form of Apollo, who was a God of music, art, poetry, and knowledge) (APP-el-on)
A strawberry poison dart frog (blue jeans variation)
I googled 'colourful animals' for Dora, and this one appealed to me the most. I thought a frog suited her energy and tendency to hop from one task to another, and it amused me to think of her daemon being very small in comparison to her sons' daemons, but totally able to keep them under control. Also, strawberry dart frogs are the best parents amongst the amphibian world, with the females lovingly looking after their children and being social amongst themselves, while the males are very anti-social, but fiercely protective. Which sounded like Dora and Siger in a nutshell.

Siger Holmes
Hermia (the feminine of Hermes, the Greek messenger of the gods, and the god of language and trickery) (HAIR-mee-ah)
Mynah bird
I looked for animals that used complex language, since Siger loves to muck about with words, and I found out that mynahs are able to learn to speak better than any other birds. They're also related to the corvids, which are the most intelligent bird species. Also, they look very grumpy almost constantly.
aelfgyfu_mead: Aelfgyfu as a South Park-style cartoon (Default)

[personal profile] aelfgyfu_mead 2014-07-09 04:36 pm (UTC)(link)
I love your choices and your explanations, and the links to the pics! I didn't realize you hadn't explained them. I feel as though I've read some of these explanations before. That might just be because your stories made it so clear how appropriate these daemons were.

[identity profile] awanderingbard.livejournal.com 2014-07-09 06:05 pm (UTC)(link)
I've nattered a bit here and there, but never anything thorough. Also, I did reply to a comment at A03 with a more detailed explanation of Tzo, Subira, and Soka, you may have read that if you wandered that way.

[identity profile] joonscribble.livejournal.com 2014-07-09 06:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Plus, Pallas's cats make the best bitch faces.

This is probably the best reason to give Mycroft this daemon.

I love the meaning of Duinn's name and how it fits Molly's profession so well. These are all brilliant!

[identity profile] awanderingbard.livejournal.com 2014-07-09 06:34 pm (UTC)(link)
This is probably the best reason to give Mycroft this daemon.

Word. I like to picture Mycroft exercising while Soka just glowers at everything, because Mycroft's soul is so not into this being healthy schtick, even though she's the one who realizes he needs to lose weight and be healthy. She's just not at all pleased about it.

I love the meaning of Duinn's name and how it fits Molly's profession so well.

Thank you! I couldn't find a good normal name for her, so I started looking up gods of the dead, and that popped up in the Celtic myths, and I thought it was perfect. Especially since it's a comparatively uncomplicated name for a daemon, and I thought that suited Molly's humble nature quite well.

These are all brilliant!

Thank you! I have fun with them.

[identity profile] awanderingbard.livejournal.com 2014-07-10 03:25 am (UTC)(link)
I brought my drawing tablet with me to the cottage, so I did another picture with Steve and Issie (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v32/AWanderingMinstrel/Photo%20Manip/SteveIssieb.png). Inserting daemons into scenes is my new hobby.

I didn't need another new hobby.

[identity profile] joonscribble.livejournal.com 2014-07-10 03:51 am (UTC)(link)
I love how seamlessly you can insert the daemons into actual movie scenes. This is perfect!

[identity profile] awanderingbard.livejournal.com 2014-07-10 03:58 am (UTC)(link)
Thanks! It's not that seamless looking before I apply effects to it. Example (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v32/AWanderingMinstrel/Photo%20Manip/SteveIssie.png) When in doubt, just filter the heck out of it. No one will notice. I was very pleased when I discovered Paintshop's lighten and darken brushes work like the burn and dodge brushes in Photoshop. Shadows for everyone!

I did John and Sherlock (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v32/AWanderingMinstrel/Photo%20Manip/SherlockTzoJohnSubb.png) as well.

[identity profile] joonscribble.livejournal.com 2014-07-10 04:01 am (UTC)(link)
You inserted them into my favorite photo of Sherlock and John! As always I think the daemons are mirroring the expressions on their humans' faces.

[identity profile] awanderingbard.livejournal.com 2014-07-10 04:10 am (UTC)(link)
That's my favourite picture, too. :-D

Doing these helps create new headcanons, too. Like that was the most convenient place to put Tzo, but now I have images of her always standing on the phone because it is important (and fun! Fun things are happening. Bad things. But fun!) and Tzophiya sits on all important clues so Sherlock doesn't lose them.

[identity profile] joonscribble.livejournal.com 2014-07-10 04:20 am (UTC)(link)
Tzophiya sits on all important clues so Sherlock doesn't lose them.

It's also very Sherlock and even if he's having some intense discussion with John, a part of him always has his eyes on a clue. When people try to engage Sherlock in small talk, I can imagine Tzo practically hopping up and down on a clue because OMG THIS TALKING IS SO BORING COME ON CLUES!!!

[identity profile] awanderingbard.livejournal.com 2014-07-10 04:29 am (UTC)(link)
When people try to engage Sherlock in small talk, I can imagine Tzo practically hopping up and down on a clue because OMG THIS TALKING IS SO BORING COME ON CLUES!!!

Hee! Yep. I also have an idea that when Sherlock is working on an experiment, Tzo continues to observe what's going on the room or around them. John's got used to having Tzo staring at him in the flat, or watching him type his blog, while Sherlock is doing something completely different in the kitchen.

[identity profile] shadowfireflame.livejournal.com 2014-07-10 01:46 am (UTC)(link)
Eeeee, this is so cute and detailed! Thanks for putting all this together. I will bookmark it for future reference if I ever forget what one of the daemons looks like. :)

[identity profile] awanderingbard.livejournal.com 2014-07-10 02:57 am (UTC)(link)
Oh good, I'm glad it was useful! I hope to get at least one story out soonish. It's coming along.