recs: His Dark Materials/Golden Compass/Daemon AUs

[askerian]

By which I mean, "Fandom A, WITH DAEMONS. (also potentially witches and Armoured Bears and Dust.)" Alas I am not that interested in the characters and plot of Mr Pullman's story as much as I am by its settings. XD;

I was writing this weirdass series of vignettes on daemons in Final Fantasy 7 and then of course I had to go on a rampage of reading across fandoms. I shoulda bookmarked more of the ones I read as I went, now I can't find them. *sadfaces*

Anyway, those are the ones I liked/loved. Fandoms so far: Avatar the Last Airbender, Naruto, Stargate Atlantis, Sherlock Holmes, NCIS, Supernatural, Glee.


Avatar the Last Airbender

Inner Nature by avocado_love/AvocadoLove
Summary: "I never hid the scar. I wore it as a symbol of shame, of the banished prince... but I never hid from it. I could never hide what my daemon is, either. Or what she isn’t." (gen.)
My comments: ... eeeee. It's a shortish series of scenes (about 2200 words total) about Zuko and his daemon at key points during season 3. Zuko is 16 and his daemon hasn't settled. This is a huge problem. I found this all very IC, and ultimately very satisfying. More important, I liked the daemons. XD


Naruto

Inner Vision, also by avocado_love/AvocadoLove (what a coincidence! :3)
Summary: "When Kakashi first began to see people's souls manifested as animals, he naturally assumed he had lost his mind. Kakashi/Iruka" (~4900 words.)
My comments: So, in this fusionverse, daemons do exist! It's just that no one knows it. It's an original approach in this type of crossover, and it makes complete sense the way it's explained, and oh god I love this one too. Possibly even more, which considering that I don't usually care much for Kakashi-centric stories and don't care at ALL for KakaIru, should tell y'all something. It has hilarious moments and d'aww moments, I love the rationale for which daemons go to who (would never have thought of Tsunade's, but it fits crazy well), and after reading this I almost feel like you could just not bother writing more Daemon AUs in this fandom.
(not *quite* because I'd love a team seven centric one, but that's just me being a T7 whore in general.)


Stargate Atlantis

Daemonology by trinityofone
Summary: "They had always wanted to fly; John couldn’t fly; Nioke flew for him." John/Rodney.
My comments:

There was never any doubt that when the time came, she would settle as a bird. The only question was what kind. Hawk, Eagle, Sparrow, Finch, Falcon... They whispered the names to each other in the dark.

Then John woke up a few weeks before his thirteenth birthday to discover that Nioke had ceased to be a bird for good.

John learned to fly planes.

In other words, Read It because it is gorgeousness. The writing is prrrrrrrt. It starts as mirrored tidbits from John's and Rodney's life experiences growing up with the daemons they have, then goes into plotty&somewhat slashy things (subtle-like! not hurhur-like), and it does a great job making us sympathize with/feel how utterly horrible it is when something happens to a daemon -- i mean, we're told it's someone's *soul* given form, but it's so alien an idea it's sometimes hard to imagine what consequences that would have, instead of "aww talking animal friend". But here, nghhhgngngng. Oh yeah, I feel it. I truly do. ♥


Animus, Animalia, Familiae by tzzzz
Summary: "To touch another's daemon is to touch another's soul. It is the greatest act of intimacy in this life." (about 11 600 words) (it's either gen or pre-ot4, either of which is awesome by me.)
My comments: What I like: The daemons's personalities. The fact that John does have a daemon, he just has damn good reasons not to let people see it, so they sometimes wonder if he doesn't have one. The subplot about how Teyla truly doesn't, and everything it entails. The angst and beating-up-on-John, because he suffers prettily okay stop judging me. The team loev. The worldbuilding bits about the cultural differences between Earth and Pegasus, like for example how Earth people talk around each other's daemons instead of with them, and Ronon thinks that's weird. The Ford thing! :D

Caveats: You might have to be familiar with the SGA plot, because the first half at least is mostly scenes that go differently here and there in the series instead of one solid narrative, and I don't know how much of a problem it would be to someone coming in knowing only the very basics. But some scenes have no fallout/denouement because the fallout is the same as what happened in the show.
(I just realized there's a bit of "timeline? what's that?" since Ronon is here before Ford isn't. *chalks it up to AUness, ignores*)


The Raven by kriadydragon
Summary: "Sheppard had never considered the setback of having a raven for a Daemon until his first mission."
My comments: This fic is all about the rumors and superstitions and judgments attached to some kind of daemon and what it means about the person they're attached to, which is always fun, and how they're different on Earth and in Pegasus, which gets me in my worldbuilding glee place. Also with some Sheppard ouchies. *cackles a bit*
Small caveat: It's mostly a fic about how people are horrible to John and they're OMG SO WRONG ABOUT HIM. It's well written, and personally I enjoyed it, but pretty much that's the topic.

The one thing that seriously bugs me about this fic is that John Sheppard's daemon's name is SAKURA. It gives me an unfortunate weeabo ping, seeing as John has, as far as I know, absolutely no connection to Japan in canon, and also he's in his forties and it's unlikely that back when his daemon was named his father/father's daemon would have heard the name and liked it enough to bestow on her. I mean, depending on whether you go with the first mention or the retcon John's dad is either a serious career military man or a really ambitious businessman. I'm not sure where the japanophilia comes from; and since there's no explanation for it it kept jarring me all along the story, which sucks because it's a small issue and otherwise the story is pretty nice.


Sherlock Holmes
(I know the movie/books, not the TV series that's a modern retelling of it -- I haven't seen it, but the fics I liked best were for the series; I tend to just pretend they're modern world AUs. XD There's a surprisingly vast amount of Daemon AUs in that fandom. I'm only reccing the ones that stayed with me. If you've read an amazing one that I haven't recced please feel free to link me. My tastes might differ from yours, but I might also just have missed it. >_>;)

Asteroidea, Highly Intelligent, Observant, and Destructive When Bored and Feels Like Drowning by etothepii
Summary for Asteroidea: "In the pocket of his trousers, next to his phone, Mycroft carries the standard-issue steel capsule meant for protecting arthropod daemons. When people ask about it, he smiles and tells them she's not fond of the light, or of people other than himself. This is a lie." The first fic is Mycroft Holmes-centric, and is gen about him and Sherlock. The second introduces John Watson. I'd tell you what happens in the sequels but even the premises would be highly spoilerific for the first. (Oh, btw, the sequels are slash.)
My comments: oh god. This is the BEST daemon AUs I have ever read, in any fandom. *makes mad, mad love to this 'verse* The premise is just so amazingly original and evilyay.
... excuse me, I must go and read them all over again. Again.

(The author has a ton of really weird AUs and crossovers listed in her header post -- John Watson is a cousin of the Addams Family, Dollhouse fusion, Good Omens fusion, 'verse where everyone is either Dom or sub, werewolves fics, etc. -- and they all work much better than it seems they should. I recommend the author in general, seriously awesome. She also writes for Dr.Horrible and Batman (nolanverse.))


The Republic of Heaven and Howl (sidefic, spoilerific) by blind_author
Summary: "Born to a witch and a human, people know Sherlock will be unusual from the start. John Watson, on the other hand, seems perfectly ordinary, except for his daemon..." Sherlock/John slash, WORK IN PROGRESS. D:
My comments: Woohoo worldbuilding! It makes use of the mythology of the Pullman books more than simply the daemons -- there's witches and an armored bear in it, and it develops stuff like color variant daemons like albino animals and black panthers, hybrid daemons, and the like. (This is also a tv series fic, btw. I think it rests a bit on the episodes, but I managed to read the story and understand just about everything that was going on, so that's not a caveat.) I really enjoy the way Sherlock and his daemon interact with people (pff XD), Holmes' characterization in general, and omg Moriarty.
Caveats: ... I dunno. *ponderponderponder* At times it does faintly read a bit like a "List Of All The Ways In Which John Watson Is Awesome", but you know, John Watson IS awesome, so it's totally well deserved. XD ♥



NCIS

Soul Deep by xanthelj/Xanthe
Summary: "Most people never touch another person's soul...but when a 20 year old Leroy Jethro Gibbs meets an 8 year old Tony DiNozzo, it sparks an event that links them forever." Slash. This is a rather long fic -- 83,400 words, cut in four parts. First part is the first meeting, then scenes as they keep meeting/narrowly missing each other, and then the plot of NCIS starts.
My comments: I liked the characters, I liked the daemons and the worldbuilding, I liked the plot -- the interaction with kid!Tony was cute without being saccharine-choking, and the angst/OMG!!!! thing in part, um, was it three or four (you'll know which when you get there) was especially well done and emotional. I love psychic bonding stories, so it was right up my alley. Mostly, an enjoyable story, with some really great scenes and ideas. Might be triggery for domestic abuse survivors, though, i dunno. Nothing horribly graphic, but see the caveats.

Caveats: highlight to read it all, because it's spoilerific for the plot. The author should have chosen between "Tony and Gibbs meet as children" and "once adults, the plot of NCIS starts almost exactly as it did." Why? Because Gibbs, who is twenty and recently back from the army, realizes Tony is abused as a kid, to the point he has to punch the father to stop a beating and snatch him up and bring him home and nurse him back to consciousness... and when his father comes back and is all "don't tell the cops and give him back to me" he asks the abused kid whether he wants to go back to his father, and when he says yes (AS HE WOULD -- UNLESS THE ABUSE WAS HORRIFIC ALMOST ANY KID WOULD) then he ABIDES BY IT. So does Gibbs' father, who is at that point well into his forties or even older, and likely has been around for a fair bit by now.

You do not ask a child, who is programmed from infancy to want his parent to love him back, and likely has a tendency to think that if his parent doesn't love him it's because there is something wrong with him, the CHILD, whether he truly wants to go back to his abuser. You do not decide that. You CALL THE COPS and LET THEM SORT IT OUT. He is a child! He can not make an informed decision! "But he's not abusive ALL the time, only when he's drunk or stressed out, the rest of the time he can be nice and fun!" is NOT THE SAME AS NOT ABUSIVE! Hell, it's almost textbook! You were furious enough before you could have killed the guy, you say yourself you see the world in black and white, right or wrong, and now he says "sorry" and you go "oh well, since the kid wants to go" ? Seriously? Seriously?

Basically the two halves of the plot are great, it just sucks that the only way they could logically follow one another was by making Gibbs hold the Idiot Ball. So if you can ignore that you'll have a lot of fun with the story.


Supernatural

The Importance of Souls, Family, Date Night, and Ghost Story by cloudyjenn
Summary: "Snatches of Dean's life through an infusion with His Dark Materials."; "Sam sets Castiel straight on some issues." ... Dean/Castiel. The last one has a child OC.
My comments: ... n'AWWWWWWWWWWWWWW. Adorableness! Also enjoyed all the ways in which the Supernatural canon interacted with the daemon thing. Also, omg Castiel awwwww. aaaaaww. ... did I mention the n'aaaadorableness yet?
caveats: ... maybe if you're prone to cavities. >_>


Glee
(... yes, really. I usually don't read at all in this fandom, I don't LIKE this fandom, I just looked because of the daemon thing. @_@)

Of A Soul by fishwrites/Fish
Summary: "Kurt dislikes McKinley for many reasons. Being the only boy with a daemon who still hasn't settled makes him an social outcast. When Karofsky crosses the line, Kurt is left with consequences that he isn't prepared for."
My comments: Well, in one hand it's WIP and there's only three chapters, though they're not exactly short.
In the other hand eeeeee worldbuilding, and also omg it's making me care about Kurt??? D: I am shocked and appalled and want chapter four plz. omgkurtdaddy. ;___; Also loving, LOOOOving Kurt's daemon, she's great.




Now, anyone got recs? Preferably fic you consider good/great, and if they exist, in anime fandoms? That'd be awesome. Maybe in Sentinel, or some more in Stargate, maybe SG1 instead of SGA? (though I like SGA better, but I really want to see Jack with a daemon for some weird reason.)

Anyone write a Gundam Wing one yet? ;___;

Comments

[nilladriel.livejournal.com]

I don't know if you know these fandoms, but The Social Network has The Rules of Endogamy (http://veritasrecords.livejournal.com/98496.html#cutid1) and Merlin has Another World (http://gnimaerd.livejournal.com/211107.html). They are excellent, though, srsly srsly good.

Also I glanced at the comments in the Merlin one and apparently there's a Robin Hood one? Don't know the fandom, haven't read it, but here's the link: Into This Wild Abyss (http://zeitfic.livejournal.com/2158.html)

[uneko.livejournal.com]

Ffff.... I don't know golden compass (but for vaguely).. and I don't know much about aaany of these fandoms but I want to read all of themm, omn omnomnomnom!

"Anyone write a Gundam Wing one yet? ;___;"

Suposedly this girl http://lark.livejournal.com/40326.html wrong one. I dug and found her FFN here: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/33535/Windsong but I don't know if any of her posted GW is the right story.

additionally, there is this: http://withdaemons.livejournal.com/2760.html#cutid1 whic is 1+R D: and is pretty lame fragment of story BUT it did lead to http://withdaemons.livejournal.com/ which is a comm devoted to HDM crossovers. :D

which lead me to this one http://au100.livejournal.com/233044.html which is a funish SW/HDM crossover

but the comm lacks much content D:

[severedscythe.livejournal.com]

I may or may not have a whole thing planned out for dragon age with daemons. >>

[sahara-storm.livejournal.com]

I sadly don't have any recs, but YAY, thanks so much for these! I really like the HDM world-concept too, and I always want to read more about daemons without necessarily rereading the series, so. ♥!

[esther-a.livejournal.com]

You've got most of the ones I know of, but you could check these:

Unexpected Forms (http://archiveofourown.org/works/79981) (1492 words) by (http://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackEyedGirl/profile)BlackEyedGirl (http://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackEyedGirl)
Fandom: Leverage (http://archiveofourown.org/tags/Leverage)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Nathan Ford, Eliot Spencer, Sophie Devereaux, Parker (Leverage), Alec Hardison
Summary:

Back when all he had was their names and a list of suspected crimes a mile long, Nate had played a guessing game with himself. Knowing those forms would tell him a lot. For a comment_fic prompt for a Dark Materials AU - they all have daemons.

A Study in Natural Philosophy (http://archiveofourown.org/works/61303) (13358 words) by (http://archiveofourown.org/users/Mad_Maudlin/profile)Mad_Maudlin (http://archiveofourown.org/users/Mad_Maudlin)
Fandom: Merlin (BBC) (http://archiveofourown.org/tags/Merlin%20(BBC))
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warning: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Arthur/Merlin
Characters: Arthur Pendragon, Merlin, Uther Pendragon, Gaius, Morgana, Gwen (Guinevere)
Summary:

It wasn't all that unusual for people to hide their daemons; Merlin, however, seems to be taking it a little far.

[sour-idealist.livejournal.com]

afsdkfjf WOW. I bow in awe of your ficfinding skills.

Sadly, the only daemon AU I know is for Merlin fandom, and esther_a already got it. (It's really good, but I don't remember if it would make sense or not to someone outside the fandom.)

[edenfalling]

Daemons are such an awesome concept, aren't they? :-) Most of the daemon AUs I know have already been mentioned, but here is an Inception fic I read a week or two ago: The Kind You Could Sing (Arthur/Eames, 7500 words).

[illori.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recs! I recognised some of them, but others were new to me, so some time in the near future is going to be spent reading (sleep? who needs sleep ;))

This is more of crossover than a fusion, but I remember liking it, so I thought I might rec it: White Rabbit (http://ellequoi.livejournal.com/1664.html) by ellequoi, SPN crossover.

[ryouseiteki.livejournal.com]

God, I've been on such a Supernatural kick it's not even funny.


Also


I LOEV CLOUDYJENN. HER FICS (and twitfics) ARE AMAZING. *hearts madly*

I'd rec but I don't have a daemon section so much as I have fics separated by fandom so... *facepalm*

[jena13.livejournal.com]

Holy mother of god, those stories by etothepii were frackin' brilliant. I'm just..guh.

*cough* Ahem. Thanks for the recs. I wish I had some suggestions for you, but I have to say that I really didn't think to go looking for this particular fusion subject (the HDM part, I mean), even though I should have because it's awesome.

Don't have any recs...

[(Anonymous)]

But I could give you Team 7 comment-fic, if you'd like.