Gotta Ramble About Daemons Forgive Me
...listen i love every Golden Compass voltron au i’ve ever read but i still have opinions about their daemons and no one has done them quite like i want them to
like, for instance: shiro. shiro is almost always a dog or a wolf in fics (or a large cat, i think i saw that once), and while i DO appreciate the large canine part of it i also think that his daemon should be less majestic/intimidating? definitely no less dangerous, but shiro is not a predator himself (tho wikipedia tells me a wolf is a scavenger which i did NOT know, thanks mainstream media for skewing my view of wolves so badly, ultimate predator my ass). he’s a scrappy fighter who is almost always an underdog, unforgiving in his motions when he’s up against an enemy, but sincere and respectful. he’s a scavenger. personal favorite for his daemon? coyote/jackal. though i think a hyena would be delightful, tbh.
keith is another one who is almost always written with a predator. or maybe not ‘predator’, but one of the animals who is commonly assumed to be a predator. i see a lot of keith daemons that are large cats, and i’ve seen one or two that are birds (i saw a hawk once, i think... might have been an eagle? a falcon? eh one of those). i’d really like to see keith with a raven or a crow as a daemon. he’s sharp, quick, and often misunderstood. like a raven, he often has a sense of playfulness or humor that is overlooked in favor of something less personable, ie people don’t see keith’s softer, more emotional side because of his laser focus/logical approach. not to be confused with someone who isn’t also, dangerous, however. he’s good at planning but sometimes just dives right in beak-first. also BONUS ravens/crows often follow after coyotes!!
lance i’ve seen with a bird, an otter, and something else i can’t remember right now. lance is the contradictory one, he’s steady but versatile. often overlooked, and it took him a while to grow into his talents, but not for lack of effort. he’s just good at making his effort seem effortless, brushing it off using confidence. also, he’s loud when he wants to be, sometimes i think he just enjoys making noise. surprisingly territorial at times (literally how many times has he demanded to know what or who allura is getting involved with lmfao). pretty face but a little goofy--his daemon is a goose. lmfao i’m serious. geese have conquered water, land, and air alike. often underestimated but are actually quite deadly lmfao. honk a lot. but also are effective at what they do, and are marvelous at catching fish (did you know that they know how to herd fish into clear water to catch them?). also geese are deceptively lanky?? they look like noodles with their long necks and weird ass legs but they are powerful swimmers/fliers.
hunk has had everything from a bumblebee to a bird to, like, a bear?? the boy is v varied, mostly because i don’t think we have as much of a fandom-wide understanding of his character. so here’s what i see: hunk is very set in his ways. he doesn’t particularly like to be put on the spot, he’s got a lot of anxiety, and he’s very grounded in the sense that he knows what’s up and he knows what is risky and what isn’t. he can be SUPER stubborn, and also a lil nosy. he’s always looking for a hug. daemon? snake. CONSIDER IT. snakes tend to have a habitat that they’re very comfy in, where they keep mostly to the shadows. snakes will often let you know that they’re unhappy, but are usually benign because they’re just doing their thing. they’ll curl up and hang out in warm places, but they can move fast and strike fast if they need to--or, alternatively, some of them don’t move fast at all, some of them are slow but deadly and use constriction to kill their pray! that’s exactly hunk’s wavelength. also just consider his snake daemon curled up around his head when he gets panicky?? or slowly sneaking into people’s bags looking for food lol.
pidge is more difficult because often her daemon just hasn’t settled yet? i think i saw one where she had a bird (there was one fic where nearly everyone had a bird okay i actually don’t remember any other details because they were all just birds). she’s agile, relies on maneuverability to keep ahead of combatants, and is hella smart. she ALSO doesn’t go out of her comfort zone often, except to protect her family. she’s miserable every time they go out into nature lmfao. i think her daemon would settle to be a bat. bats are small, agile, but depending on the bat can leave a HELL of a bite. they navigate in ways most of the animal kingdom can’t even comprehend (echolocation). nocturnal, they only go into the world when they’re ready to, and honestly? bats are like, all or nothing. either a bat is hiding or it’s flapping around with everything it’s got. and they can have very strong social bonds.
TL;DR: Shiro=Coyote, Keith=Raven, Lance=Goose, Hunk=Snake, Pidge=Bat