Weekend entertainment

[singintheoven.livejournal.com]

Three questions no waiting, choose any or all

Names are important. If you know somebody's name you have a certain amount of power over them (as sorcerers and obnoxious customers who think repeating your name over and over while giving you a talking-down is a charming thing to do and not patronizing or annoying at all can tell you); or people in history/folklore/religious texts for instance who changed their name as an outward sign of some inward change in their nature, etc etc etc.

So, let's think about changing names.

1. What would your pup's drag name be? Comedic, elegant, simple, whatever you think they'd choose.

2. If your pup had to have a different first name than the one they have, what would they choose? A rose by any other name and all, but people have mental images of how a person with a particular name would look or act.

3. And you, the mun: have your parents ever told you what your name would've been if you'd been born the opposite sex, and if so, do you like the name? Did they consider other names for you besides the one they eventually chose, and how do you feel about them?

okay that was more than three

Comments

[oxfordtweed]

Funny story for number 3 involving my brother. He was supposed to be born on Christmas, but was late and was born on the Epiphany instead. He was also expected to be a girl, and my mum had planned on calling him Noël, and had no back-up name in the event that she was actually born a he.

When he was born a boy, Mum sort of panicked, and named him Terry Jr. It wasn't until about two years later that she realised that she could have just dropped the umlaut and called him Noel.


She also spelt my name wrong on my birth certificate. Luckily, the misspelling is also an accepted spelling of the name, so no one ever notices anyway.

[lady_bols]

My mother never remembers how she spelled my name on my birth certificate. I used to get presents with the TO: tag spelled three different ways (Lyn, Lynn, Lynne).

I was also 30 years old when I learned my middle name was also my sister's middle name. My sister who died at at eight months old, a year before I was born. (I'm cool with it, now.)

[oxfordtweed]

I've got a cousin who doesn't know how to spell his name. It's totally different between his birth certificate and his social security card (which causes major problems all the time).

Logic would say to just go by what it says on his birth certificate, except employers tend to give him really odd looks, and the DMV hates him.

[miss-yt.livejournal.com]

Both Ed and YT go by different names than their parents gave them. Ed was originally named Francoise. YT's real name is Margaret, but don't ever call her that, or Maggie, unless you want a black eye.

[mm-spinelstar.livejournal.com]

1. I couldn't imagine any of my Mways pups in drag. *dies a little inside* XD I could maybe imagine Frederick dressing as a girl, though. My sister has hinted that it might happen, if she can find space for it. XD More importantly, I am not qualified to think of drag names. Drag names are always so clever and cute and make me go, "Man I wish I'd thought of a name like that!"

2. Did you know Rosalie's original name was Carol? Interesting. And Data once went by "Jaden." Wait... what was the question? XD

3. I think I was going to be "Nathaniel" if I had been a boy. Which I rather like. But I really like Karin, and I match initials with my sister this way. :3 But I have a neat story about my middle name! It's a really weird spelling of a quite normal name, because my mom and dad squished their names together to make it. Aww. ♥ But no one knows how to pronounce it, haha.

[shinyhappygoth]

Goodness. Well, I can start with #3, and possibly come back to the others if I think of anything:

My full name (for the record) is Valerie Cheryl Kaplan. Had I been a boy, I would have been Evan Wesley Kaplan. I don't know if they considered any others, though I'd imagine they did at least in passing. I don't really feel one way or the other about my name; it is just my name. I am vaguely amused by my boy-name, because the first two Evans I ever knew were, respectively, my mortal enemy and just plain annoying. (The third broke the pattern, however; he is a very nice guy who juggles when idle.)

[shinyhappygoth]

Okay, as for my pups:

I have no answers for #2. One of my pups doesn't even have a known name, and another doesn't have a name in the usual sense at all.

Enzo would only wear drag if there were a really good reason why he needed to, or if a Game forced him to (this has happened); he would then need an even better reason to persuade him to actually play the part. He's as unsexist as you can get, but he is neither female nor a good actor. He'd probably be really lazy and pick a name with the same first initial, like Emily or even Enzina. (The obvious pun-name is, of course, already taken as his sister's actual name.)

The Revenant probably has a couple of female disguises, though I'm not sure what he does about his voice. The disguises are meant to be genuinely deceptive, not fanciful. Though I suppose he might disguise himself as a drag queen.

The Giant Purple Snorklewacker is disturbingly easy to picture in a wig and makeup. He'd probably call himself something thoroughly over-the-top, like, I dunno, FiFi LaSomething.

Tucker once cheerfully dressed up as Sam Manson for twenty bucks. If asked to be a proper drag queen, he would probably make some token protest and then get far too into it. I'm at a bit of a loss for a drag name (I've never tried to come up with one before!), but when he was genderswapped in Milliways, he seemed worryingly certain that his girl-name ought to be Tina.

If anyone else has drag name suggestions for any of my pups, I am all ears!

[gorgonfondness]

1. First I have to figure out Mia in drag. She's crossdressed before but she didn't pick a name for that. For some reason she wants to pick the masculine form of her mother-in-law's name, so Narcissus.

Lucas is looking up at me wondering why I would do this and does he have to wear a dress? Since he's reluctant, I'm gonna answer for him and say Lola. Because I like that song.

2. If Mia could choose a different first name, it would be Jennifer, apparently. It's the one name that came to mind that she really likes.

Lucas is kind of a package deal, as he and his brother Claus have the twin theme naming thing going on. Another pair of names with a similar theme are Leon and Noel, which Lucas likes but he's not sure which one he should be. He's leaning towards Leon but I'm leaning towards Noel.

3. I have no idea what my name would've been had I been a boy. My parents, according to my mother's account anyway, both wanted girls. They had a time trying to decide on my name and didn't agree until the very end as I understand it. If Dad had his way, my name would've been Sarah. If Mom had her way, my name would've been Cynthia. I think I would've rather been a Sarah than a Cynthia. And I like Auralie more than either.

Semi-related story, though: Sis asked Dad what it was like when he first knew he was going to be a parent and he told us what our maternal grandfather's reaction was, which was to exclaim, "Send me to Alaska!" I've decided that, should I ever need a new internet handle, I'm going by Yukon Aura.

[moriendi.livejournal.com]

1. Alba's drag king name: Buddy Ramoan. ( and she'll be wanting Elvis Costello glasses for that getup, yes.)

2. Josie's real name (completely head-canon) is Anne Marie Cunningham. I stole the surname completely from Happy Days Her latest alias is Marybeth Lacey. Hm-hm. Took that from Cagney and Lacey.

3. Adam. Wholly uninspired. Paired with two middle names that they were planning for me.

[stillbecoming]

For Buffy:

2. Canonically, Joan. (Or Anne.)

*laaazy*

For Cameron:

1. Semi-canonically, John Henry. :D

2. Canonically, Alison. (Or Allison, depending on whether you go by the screen or IMDB...?) Although that doesn't really count. We still don't how how Cameron ended up being called Cameron; I often wonder who chose that name.

3. Well, I probably would have been given my brother's name. I don't feel strongly about it. I don't remember what the runners-up were for me, but they settled on my name because it didn't end in a traditionally feminine "a" or "ie" or "elle" ... ending, so something else along those lines.

[yakalskovich]

Yes, my name would have been Stephan, in the unlikely and unwelcome case of unexpected maleness. Like about half the males of my age, the other half being called Michael...

[ceitfianna]

I think my parents knew that I was going to be a girl and my mom wanted a daughter named Kate. They've never told me what I might have been so no clue. I happen to really like my name and my middle name too, which is my grandmother's first name-Romayne.

For #2, Moist hates his name and so enjoys finding and creating aliases, Milliways has been really helpful for this.

Demeter has a number of names and titles and for her, they are all her. The Greek gods are useful that way, names and aspects don't change you they just show how someone is thinking about you.

[ashen_key]

Re: 3 - if I was a boy, I was going to be Benjamin. No idea for a middle name. And yep, my parents had other names for me if I was a girl. Jasmine was a popular one; mum was toying with Annalise to (sort of) fit in with the sounding pattern of women on her side (she's a Janice, her mother a Gladys, her mother a Beatrice); dad wanted 'Skye' until my mum talked him out of it - last name is a colour, so that wouldn't have really worked *g*

[ashen_key]

further re: 3 - my middle name was going to be 'Laura' until my mum decided that 'Ashleigh Laura' was entirely too twee for words, so it ended up being Kate (after Kate Bush, although I suspect that the fact that my first two initials are now AK had something to do with it, too).

and re: 2: Kait, when in the future needing a different name, tends to go with that dialect/language's version of 'Kait' or something similar. Camille picks whatever she needs for the job. And Medusa will end up going through a whole stack of Arabic names after the conquest of Morocco and once she stops being such a recluse - and she'll end up having maybe half a dozen that she reuses. 'Khadija' will be a favourite of hers.

[theresnodoor]

1. I can't see Rachel going in drag/Stripper Name Game/stage-name thing, if only because she's completely terrible at using her looks and "feminine wiles" to get anything she needs. When she's scamming people, she tends to go with very common names from pop culture - most often, Dana Scully.

2. Xena?

3. If I'd been a boy, my mother would have named me Shane Alexander. It's... an interesting name, that's for sure. I think she just liked the sound of it and didn't consider what it would be like for a child to actually go through life with that name.

As for the first name my parents wanted for me-the-girl, they had originally planned to name me after my father's favorite grandmother and my mother's favorite grandmother, christening me Opal Pearl.



...yeah, I don't know either. This was my main evidence for believing I was an accidental child for years. No loving parents would ever consider doing that to their daughter. D:

[dynastessa]

2. I'm sure Albus would love to change his name to something a hell of a lot plainer. I'm not sure what, but ... something more along the lines of 'James' or 'Ron' or 'Charlie' or 'Bill'.

3. If I were a boy, which was originally what my parents were expecting, I would've been Christopher. I actually really like the name, so I would've been happy with that! Now the name has passed on to one of my cousins.

Other girl names considered for me: I could've been Victoria, or Ashley. I really like the name Victoria, so I wouldn't mind it, but Ashley? Is so not me. Then again, I'm not sure 'Jen' is really me either, but. Eh.

[viridian.livejournal.com]

For me, my parents knew I was female when they adopted me and in fact changed my name to one they found classier, which is why I'm Michelle instead of something that sounded like a stripper name when paired with my original last name. :D I don't know if they had any names for boys picked out in case a boy came up for adoption instead, but I do know that their second choices for a girl were Rachel and Leslie.

Illyria has always been Illyria even when she didn't have a gender!

Bella would go simpler if she could. Isabella is too elaborate for her liking, but she'd like to be named Emma or Emily or Jane. Her future (purely hypothetical in Millicanon!) daughter gets an elaborate made-up name for reasons related to out of control emotions, I can only assume. If she'd been a boy, Renee had picked out something equally romance-novel as "Isabella", and Bella refuses to say what it is.

Wanderer's name was chosen for her, it probably would've been the same had she ended up male body, but she is the female of her species and prefers a female host when it's available.

The original Doctor Saunders' first name was Charles. Claire is Saunders 2.0.

[minkhollow]

I don't have much of note for my characters (other than: Cata won't tell me what her given name is, and Sam canonically doesn't even know his - he turned down a chance to find out. In both cases, neither of them think it's important).

As for myself: My parents considered Aaron for if I'd been a boy, which Mom was sure I would be until the doctor said 'it's a girl!' They also considered Ariel (as a girl's name), and considering Disney's Little Mermaid came out when I was two, I AM SO GLAD THEY DECIDED OTHERWISE.

[dramaturgca.livejournal.com]

3. Had I been a boy, I would've been Kellan Baxter (Baxter after the character in the comic strip Bears in Love.) My parents also considered Heather for me and my father still occasionally tries to convince me to change my name to Hypatia.

[misslucyjane]

1) The only pup I can imagine ever cross-dressing is Ianto. His drag name would have to have something to do with coffee, of course. Latte Swirl, maybe?

2) Well, Merlin is also called Emrys, of course, but I think that's a bit more of a title thing.

GreenJack's actual name is a secret, and he hasn't used it for so long he doesn't remember what it is. (Sheela na Gig knows what it is, but as she's currently an oak tree she's not telling.) His children also have secret names that only he knows, to protect them.

I want to say something significant about the importance of names and namesakes with the two Jack Harknesses, but I got nothin' but vague thoughts of "Names are important in the Torchwood universe."

3) If I had been a boy I would have been named Steven David, which my mom finally got two kids later. They also considered Jill Janine for me, or at least my mom did until my dad said, "Jumpin' Jill Janine!" and Mom decided, no. I wouldn't have minded being a Jill, or I could even have gone by J.J. I rather like that.

I've never particularly liked being a Jennifer, and it's never really felt like me. This is why I go by Jenna instead.

Also. As of yesterday I am an auntie again, and his name is Shepherd Dean [Lastname] which I love love love.

[rowanberries.livejournal.com]

3. My Mum has always told me that if I had been a boy, my name would have been Rory.

As it turned out as Amy, I now wonder if my parents have the ability to predict given names of Doctor Who companions.

(My brother's name is Jack, my sister's... middle name is Rose? Okay, stretching it there.)

[elffreaky.livejournal.com]

Not sure about my pups, but I was gonna be a Corina , or Jennifer... Instead I got named Rosemary Marin. And if I had been a boy I'd have been named Jesse... they liked Jesse.

Me a Corina or a Jennifer... yeah.

[myriadbeautiful]

Corina or Jennifer? Those are awesome names.

[elffreaky.livejournal.com]

yes but I got Rosemary

[spooky-lemur.livejournal.com]

I am guessing here but I am pretty sure I would have been Virgina or Winona as my father has a thing for naming based on the same gender Grandparents.

As for my pups...I am lame and I no idea. = ]

[myriadbeautiful]

Oh God, Amascut has issues with her name. No one can remember it, so she uses it as a weapon and a psychic shield. Hooray for amnesia. That particular myth about names and power is useful when she is chowing down on a psychic's mind. It's not so effective on her world, though, since everyone knows saying a person's name gives that person power, not the other way around.

And Evil Chicken... he's never had a name. I am not too sure he is actually male either, since he lays eggs. I don't know if I can answer any of these questions for him.

1. I think if Amascut were genderswapped and stuck on Earth, she would choose Seth after researching Egypt a bit. God of foreigners, storms, and darkness. And a fellow redhead!

2. How about the aliases Amascut uses. Mistress, Wanderer, Sumona, Jesmona, Devourer.

3. Um. I don't know. I can't figure out my parent's naming pattern, just the general naming pools they pick their names from. I would have had an older sister named Nancy Marie, but she died before I was born, so my parents were extra protective of me. Damnit, and I am still living with them. Anyway, I was named after my grandpa on my father's side and a great grandpa on my mother's side. My younger sister, an aunt on my mom's side and my grandma on my father's side. I have no idea were the name Nancy Marie came from. I don't think I would of had a different name, being a first born son and all. My grandpa was Tom, my dad is Tom, I am Tom, and my parents are probably expecting I name my first born son Tom. Well, I could have been born a girl, but I have no idea what my name would have been. I doubt it would have been Nancy or Mary/ie.

[genarti]

3. I would have been either Benjamin or Seth, I think. The former is my younger brother's name; the latter they were also considering for his name, till they realized it was a little too similar to mine. I like both of these fine! They nearly named me Andrea, though, and I have never felt like an Andrea.

For Trowa:

1. I cannot picture this without a very contrived situation to make it strategically necessary; it's not something he'd explore on his own. And he'd be very unconvincing, physically. Which can of course be something to play around with, but Trowa feels no particular drive towards genderplay. I have no idea what name to pick! I'm also not very good at coming up with clever ones like that, though.

2. ...He wouldn't. Trowa has name issues.

Which is to say! He has used other names by Millicanon when infiltrating things for Preventers, a couple of times; that's different. And he picked the name Trowa Barton because of opportunity and circumstance rather than because he liked the name specifically. But it's his now, when he spent most of his life without a name and minding that fact very much.

His birth name was Triton, though. He doesn't know this, and he'd never use that name.

For River:

1. God, I have no idea. Again I suck at this! I suspect she'd suck at it, too, and let somebody else think of the name, but she might have a flash of a brilliant idea.

Unlike Trowa, she'd totally get a kick out of it, though. I don't think she'd ever do it as a habitual and identity-laden kind of thing, but she'd get a kick out of trying it.

2. Again I have no idea! She isn't attached to her name in the way Trowa is, but she does use enough mental touchstones for reality and words and such that I think learning to answer by a different name would be harder for her than for most people. At least to do it consistently; she doesn't have an issue with nicknames. I dunno what she would choose to switch to, though, if she had to. Something she thought sounded pretty.