The downside of trying to write fics about Post-Python Apollo in exile is that he needs to move. Because he tours all of Ancient Greece. And Ancient Greece is A Mess ™️.
I'm not joking when I say that well labelled Myceanean maps have been a nightmare to find. Add that to the dynamic mythological timeline and the many, many small clashes/battles and it's impossible to work anything out.
Like no seriously, how far is the Vale of Tempe from Central Thessaly? Is Thessaly united or is it broken into small kingdoms and principalities?Can a merchant cart pass from Thessaly to Smyrna via Tempe? Is that a viable economic route? How do I even find that out, I suck at both history and geography. At this point I'm half tempted to just make him hunker down in one place and only shift for the Branchus kiss.
I love Apollo:Blood Wars! I’m desperate to see those three get their comeuppance! I know absolutely nothing about daemons but your fix does a great job at conveying the seriousness of the relationship. I wouldn’t of thought that Alec would have a parrot but it makes sense! If you don’t mind elaborating, what was your process for deciding everyone’s daemon?
Tbh, I’m a sucker for any story that recognises the lack of stellar siblingship in shadowhunters. Season one Alec is treated awfully and I love him being appreciated. Like, I get they’re teenagers but surely siblings would know the amount of shite he’s dealing with being acting head.
Love all your works and looking forward to updates!
Thank you for the kind words, nonnie!
For some reason, all of my leftover salt for the way Jace and Izzy treat Alec in season 1 came out in this fic, which means it takes some getting used to when I switch over to a fic where they are being good siblings.
Also, I am apologizing for the absolute ramble I'm going to send your way, but in my defense, you asked about the choosing process for the daemons! I'm only going to be mentioning the daemons we already have met to avoid rambling too much.
So, for Alec, I knew I wanted a bird from the get-go, and while I have seen a lot of fanart of Alec holding a raven or a crow I wanted to do something different. Then I just went for personality: I needed it to be an intelligent bird, social and cuddly with those it trusts and loves but picky about handing out that trust and so I ended up choosing a parrot. (I'll admit I was partially influenced by my own parrots, one of which I have heavily based Apollo's quirks on.)
Additionally, I thought it was funny to give Alec, who doesn't speak much unless he's at ease, an animal known for talking a lot as a daemon.
For Magnus: Well who else but Chairman Meow could it have been? So, that one didn't take much thought.
Izzy got a black panther because I wanted something graceful, strong, and most of all dangerous. Several characters have daemons that appear harmless - either because of magic or because they're animals we tend to wrongly consider harmless. But, with Izzy, I didn't want that to be the case because Izzy gives me very strong "I'm dangerous. I know I'm dangerous. And I don't hide it" vibes in the series. And so, black panther!
Jace got a lioness (as well as two other forms that haven't been revealed yet!) for similar reasons. I wanted a dangerous animal, prideful if possible and, what with the whole "Jace is one of the best fighters the Clave has seen in years" I needed it to be a King of thee Jungle kind of dangerous so that's how I landed on a lioness for him.
Underhill has a snappy, eastern box turtle: smart, quiet, shy and harmless (at least at first sight). They're often considered solitary creatures, but they can grow really strong bonds with other turtles or their human owners when in captivity, and this ties into my headcanon that Underhill looks like a friendly loner at first (nice and kind but likes to keep to his own) but that he just needs some time to get out of his shell so to speak.
Clary has a dove and a bull (+ one more unrevealed form) the former of which she shares with Valentine. I liked the idea of Valentine using the fact that his daemon is a dove ( a symbol of peace and purity) as a way to further prove his righteousness and moral superiority compared to the rest when he was still starting out with creating the Circle. Clary having that same daemon is also my not-so-subtle way of showing how, despite being very against him in the series, Clary shows a lot of traits that are similar to Valentine.
The bull daemon is another - is dangerous, but also fits Clary because of her bullheadedness, I run full speed without thinking of the consequences personality. (Or that's the way I read her at least.)
Jace and Clary's daemons having multiple forms will be dived into further as the story progresses, but it ties back into the whole "all downworlders have something special going on with their daemons" thing.
Kyle (yes I am talking about my OC's and their daemons because I am entirely shameless) has a dumbo rat: friendly, sociable, curious, inquisitive, and very intelligent (which works well with Kyle being the Head of the Investigation Department), cuddly and just all around very affectionate. Basically, they're golden labrador puppies but as rats, which fits Kyle.
Cécile has a Barbados threadsnake (the smallest snake species in the world! They are so cute and smoll!) They're solitary like most snakes and prefer a nocturnal lifestyle. They're non-venomous and prefer to spend most of their time burrowed in soft soil, which again works with Cécile who prefers to be on her own, which is why she spends most of her time working undercover in the mundane world in places where mundanes might unknowingly come into contact with demons.
I'm going to stop my rambling here before I really turn this into a novel, but yeah that is a very rough resume of the thought process I had when choosing the different daemons. :D
hey so I swear I'm not dropping my Apollo fic it's just . . . I'm busy working on the Korean aspect of my fanfic-writer life (I've found an incredibly addicting contemporary fantasy web-novel and I've dug myself into a deep hole)
I have an idea of where I want to take Athena, though, so here's a little preview:
Information was a balm. Accumulate enough information, and it became knowledge.
Knowledge was power. Power was Wisdom's first prerogative.
