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lazybox2016-03-30 06:00 am
bloodyashes) wrote in lazybox2016-03-30 06:00 am
Entry tags:
DAEMON JAMJAR MEME
DAEMON JAMJAR MEME
Or: A new edition of the Daemon Meme, aimed specifically at jamjar characters/games! (This version was originally drafted for Maison de Portes, but feel free to tag in from any game. That's why it's in the musebox.)
What the fresh heck is a daemon?
The short version: Animal-shaped manifestations of the soul, originally from Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. (If that's not ringing a bell, the first book, The Golden Compass, also got made into a movie. Aside from daemons, the only thing notable about it in pop culture was the way it was treated as an atheist's Chronicles of Narnia.)
The long version: The Golden Compass takes place in a world that's almost, but not quite, Earth, the major difference being that all humans are born with two bodies - a bog-standard human body, and a daemon. Until about puberty, the daemon can take many forms, but it eventually settles into the form of a single animal and does not change any further. It's believed (with some merit) that the daemon is a manifestation of the human soul.
The form of a daemon is in some way representative of their human half's personality (Pullman relies mostly on western mythology for this, but use whatever justification you like). 'Settling' is based on when a person's personality traits settle into who they're going to be as an adult; thus, a child forced by circumstances to grow up early would also likely have a daemon that settles early in their life. No one actively chooses their daemon's final form (the same way no one really chooses their personality), but most people come to at least accept it. Who you are is who you are.
A few other general notes on daemons: Most settle in relatively practical forms for their lifestyles (that is, most are between a large insect and a horse in size and fairly few are aquatic). Daemons are usually the opposite gender of the human whose soul they represent (on about a 90% basis). They have their own names, which are intended to be unique, and thus sometimes can get rather complex. They are capable of speech, regardless of how illogical that might be for their form. They do not need to eat.
Most of the time, a human cannot be separated from their daemon by more than a few feet. (Pullman's witches offer an exception, able to travel many miles from their daemons; there may be others.) Anything beyond that causes incapacitating psychic pain to both human and daemon. The bond between them allows them to communicate silently and sometimes share senses, since, after all, they are two parts of the same being. When the bond is severed entirely in an adult, it results in death; a child will survive, but become practically a zombie, blank-faced and with no real zeal for life. Daemons dissolve into golden particles called "Dust" when their human dies, and a killing blow on either will kill both.
It is a huge cultural taboo to touch another person's daemon without permission (like, grounds-for-criminal-charges level taboo) and that permission is usually only given to lovers, family, and exceptionally close friends, at most. Typically, humans touch humans and daemons touch daemons, even between people who wouldn't consider it a violation of the taboo.
OPTIONS:
Because who doesn't love options. These assume a jamjar setting, (this is, after all, the jamjar edition of the daemon meme), but you're free to take them out of context and play however you want. The point is to have fun.
Option 1: I woke up in another world and all I got was this weird animal. The obvious option. Your character wakes up in a strange place (existing game setting, a previous game setting, or somewhere entirely new) and they have a daemon now! Cue confusion. Local NPCs (if they exist) may or may not have daemons of their own; there may or may not be a guide that tells characters what exactly is going on. Have fun.
Option 2: Home again home again, Toto. After returning to their worlds from the aforementioned jamjar, your character... still has their daemon! How are they going to go through life accompanied by their soul manifested as a bird, cat, or what have you? Alternately, your character could have taken a wrong turn somewhere on their way home and wound up in an AU of their life where everyone has always had daemons. This prompt is obviously geared towards castmates, but nothing's stopping a worldhopper or two from visiting their friends at home, either.
Option 3: What the devil is wrong with you people? Your character is an AU of themselves that has always had a daemon... Too bad nobody else is! Whether they're alone in having a daemon (or one cast out of the rest) or everyone else is simply new and bad at this, it's definitely got to be a little unnerving.
Option 4: I'm a vegetarian and you took me to a steakhouse? Wildcard. Anything else you want to play with, feel free.
Reminder: Please use header tags for any NSFW or potentially triggering content, thanks!
Or: A new edition of the Daemon Meme, aimed specifically at jamjar characters/games! (This version was originally drafted for Maison de Portes, but feel free to tag in from any game. That's why it's in the musebox.)
What the fresh heck is a daemon?
The short version: Animal-shaped manifestations of the soul, originally from Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. (If that's not ringing a bell, the first book, The Golden Compass, also got made into a movie. Aside from daemons, the only thing notable about it in pop culture was the way it was treated as an atheist's Chronicles of Narnia.)
The long version: The Golden Compass takes place in a world that's almost, but not quite, Earth, the major difference being that all humans are born with two bodies - a bog-standard human body, and a daemon. Until about puberty, the daemon can take many forms, but it eventually settles into the form of a single animal and does not change any further. It's believed (with some merit) that the daemon is a manifestation of the human soul.
The form of a daemon is in some way representative of their human half's personality (Pullman relies mostly on western mythology for this, but use whatever justification you like). 'Settling' is based on when a person's personality traits settle into who they're going to be as an adult; thus, a child forced by circumstances to grow up early would also likely have a daemon that settles early in their life. No one actively chooses their daemon's final form (the same way no one really chooses their personality), but most people come to at least accept it. Who you are is who you are.
A few other general notes on daemons: Most settle in relatively practical forms for their lifestyles (that is, most are between a large insect and a horse in size and fairly few are aquatic). Daemons are usually the opposite gender of the human whose soul they represent (on about a 90% basis). They have their own names, which are intended to be unique, and thus sometimes can get rather complex. They are capable of speech, regardless of how illogical that might be for their form. They do not need to eat.
Most of the time, a human cannot be separated from their daemon by more than a few feet. (Pullman's witches offer an exception, able to travel many miles from their daemons; there may be others.) Anything beyond that causes incapacitating psychic pain to both human and daemon. The bond between them allows them to communicate silently and sometimes share senses, since, after all, they are two parts of the same being. When the bond is severed entirely in an adult, it results in death; a child will survive, but become practically a zombie, blank-faced and with no real zeal for life. Daemons dissolve into golden particles called "Dust" when their human dies, and a killing blow on either will kill both.
It is a huge cultural taboo to touch another person's daemon without permission (like, grounds-for-criminal-charges level taboo) and that permission is usually only given to lovers, family, and exceptionally close friends, at most. Typically, humans touch humans and daemons touch daemons, even between people who wouldn't consider it a violation of the taboo.
OPTIONS:
Because who doesn't love options. These assume a jamjar setting, (this is, after all, the jamjar edition of the daemon meme), but you're free to take them out of context and play however you want. The point is to have fun.
Option 1: I woke up in another world and all I got was this weird animal. The obvious option. Your character wakes up in a strange place (existing game setting, a previous game setting, or somewhere entirely new) and they have a daemon now! Cue confusion. Local NPCs (if they exist) may or may not have daemons of their own; there may or may not be a guide that tells characters what exactly is going on. Have fun.
Option 2: Home again home again, Toto. After returning to their worlds from the aforementioned jamjar, your character... still has their daemon! How are they going to go through life accompanied by their soul manifested as a bird, cat, or what have you? Alternately, your character could have taken a wrong turn somewhere on their way home and wound up in an AU of their life where everyone has always had daemons. This prompt is obviously geared towards castmates, but nothing's stopping a worldhopper or two from visiting their friends at home, either.
Option 3: What the devil is wrong with you people? Your character is an AU of themselves that has always had a daemon... Too bad nobody else is! Whether they're alone in having a daemon (or one cast out of the rest) or everyone else is simply new and bad at this, it's definitely got to be a little unnerving.
Option 4: I'm a vegetarian and you took me to a steakhouse? Wildcard. Anything else you want to play with, feel free.
Reminder: Please use header tags for any NSFW or potentially triggering content, thanks!