DE: What is in a name?

[bjornwilde]

 It's always entertaining to find out the story of user names for our characters, so tell us yours today.

Or, since we have done this before and thus will end up with a fair bit of repost, what are some of the rejected names or outgrown names you had for your pups?

Comments

[road_to_calvary]

I'll just do this for the ones I haven't had for years/haven't answered this question for before.

And it immediately occurs to me that the majority are lyrics. Ha!

Javert never_shall_yield

From Stars:

God be my witness
I never shall yield
Till we come face to face
Till we come face to face

Just perfect for him.

Valjean road_to_calvary

The road to Calvary = the road to redemption, which is Valjean's whole life. Also lyrics, from One Day More:

One day more!
Another day, another destiny.
This never-ending road to Calvary

Courfeyrac le_centre

It's to do with Courfeyrac's role as one of the three ringleaders of the Amis - Enjolras is the chief, Combeferre is the guide, Courfeyrac is the centre. He's the balance between the two, and the warm, radiating centre of them.

Pearly golden_dog

From canon:
He was a bomb-thrower, a lunatic, a master criminal, a devil, the golden dog of the streets.

Moriarty just_cant_lose

Got the wings of heaven on my shoes.
I'm a dancin' man and I just can't lose

From Moriarty's ringtone, obviously. I wanted stayin_alive, but it was taken. That would have been awesome, given what happens at the end of S2...and S3 for that matter (though I have thoughts on what S4 will do, given that cliffhanger).

[inlovewithwords]

Henry: operates_cobra because, well. Yeah. Season 1. Only name for him.

Eriond: completed_errand because Errand was his childhood masking-things name and he's now complete and grown into himself, and also because he completed his errand (giving Garion the Orb). Only name for him.

Lois: presspasskey, had help on it; the press pass is obvious, and passkey because of this comment by Dr. Fate in Smallville Season 9 regarding Lois' role and significance in Clark's life.

I have names for other Lois variants, which I'll note here:
Above is Smallville--while I vaguely feel like I might want to change it... she's presspasskey and always will be.
Comics: wherethestoryis, because it is quintessentially Lois.
Superman Returns: rememberswhy, which is kind of complicated. Two reasons: she doesn't seem to remember how her son was actually conceived, so there is irony in it; and when she wins the Pulitzer and feels she shouldn't have gotten it, Perry tells her no one will ever remember why she won the Pulitzer, only that she won. She'll always remember--and it was for "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman." Oops.
Man of Steel: turnedenoughstones, in reference to her line that she knew if she turned over enough stones she'd find him.

Once I had one for Superman: Earth One Lois. Her journal name was in reference to a line of Perry's: that she was too in love with words. The more I stared at it, the more I loved it. It's mine now.

Tavi: ...Ahahahahaha. Long-winded!
First: gaiusoctavian in a stunning lack of creativity. I hated it.
Second: tavar_of_alera, which was barely more creative. I liked it at first, but it really bothered me after a while.

Current, which I adore: At one point, out of nowhere came a blizzard which froze the entire northern border, something like two thousand miles long and who knows how many square miles of area, and did it in minutes. One character observes in narration that Gaius Sextus might have been able to do that--but Tavi never had that sheer power, right? There was no chance or way for him to have learned it even if he did, right?
"Furycraft was all well and good--but no one man could turn spring into bloody winter. It simply was not possible. [...] It simply could not be happening--but it was.
Octavian had never been an able student where impossibilities were concerned."

So his is multi-layered: the reference to that line; how he just does not understand the word 'impossible'; to some degree the heights he reaches when when he grows into himself; and that he never stops reaching for all those impossibilities that he's determined to see through.

[bjornwilde]

Selina Kyle (isawit ): In Gotham's canon, she saw the Waynes get murdered. Whether she actually saw enough to finger the shooter remains to be seen. Can't think of any alternative names I had in mind.

Hank McCoy (no_more_hiding ): A reference to his life goal of being normal and his pushing his mutation to a point where it couldn't be hidden any more. I had head canonned that this forces him to accept himself but then Days of Future Past came and he's back to hiding. Grump. I did have to_be_proud for a bit, a reference to Mystique's mutant and proud, but hiding seems to fit him better.

Jessica Drew (justdyedit ): A reference to this comic panel from Spider-Woman: Origin. I've thought of other names from time to time, born_broken or spy-der among them, but I like the original best.

Ethan Chandler (such_sins): Comes from some dialog, "I have such sins at my back, it would kill me to turn around." I did have something before such_sins but I can't remember it. Something to do with his promo poster I believe, redrighthand for the blood coming out of his glove or something_within maybe?

Quinlan Vos (the_force_abides ): I actually had trouble with a journal name for Quin here. I blame how weird his characterization was in The Clone Wars TV show vs the Star Wars: Republic comic. I ended with aping the Big Lebowski but with teh Force being the source of zen/tao instead of the Dude. IDK, it makes sense to me.

Sam Wilson (notapilot ): Comes from when he told Cap, "I never said pilot". The account was made way back when all we had was the first trailer and I can't imagine anything else for him.

Tybalt (shadowandsnark ): Is a blatant reference to two big themes of Tybalt in canon, his use of shadows to travel (he can walk from one shadow to another) and his glorious snark. pennyroyal_and_musk is another option since that is what his magic smells like, but I like the original.

[genarti]

I wasn't sure if I was supposed to read Selina's name as "I saw it" or "is a wit." That answers that! (I hope it's an entertaining ambiguity rather than an annoying one...) :)

[bjornwilde]

Oh, I can't resist mentioning the two new head voices:
Ahsoka Tano is jedi_interrupted because of canon (see the end of season five of the Clone Wars) and I can't think of anything else.

Asajj Ventress is darksister because she is still walking the path of the Dark Side and I have future headcanon that she will form her own Nightsister clan. I had dark_disciple since that is the name of the upcoming book with her and Quinlan (!) but it didn't seem to fit her. peace_is_a_lie is another tempting name since it sums up her life so well.

[penderwydd]

How do you like Tegid's canon so far?

[i_am_your_host]

The lyrics from the Master of Ceremonies' signature song "Willkommen" say:

Ich bin euer Conferencier
Je suis votre compere--
I am your host!

And actually, I had extended the name, previously just your_host, which I'd been using at another RPG after taking it over from someone else.

[abyssum_invocat]

Seriously though this is like the best username ever for the Emcee and I will forever hear it in rhythm. With the hip thrust. Always.

[camwyn]

Gordon's journal, acts_of_gord, is actually named after a web site chronicling the day to day dealings of a video game store owner who could not possibly give less of a damn. I liked the sound of the name Acts of Gord and went with it. Haven't really considered anything else for him.

Shephard's journal, hecu_marine, is what I wanted to use for him on LJ originally. He was, after all, a member of the Hazardous Environment Combat Unit in canon. unfortunately the name was taken there, so at the time I tried to name him after something the G-Man said to him right before the end of canon- about how the G-Man likes people who struggle to survive and adapt against terrible odds, because they remind him of himself. 'remindmeofmyself' was too long for LJ, so on LJ Shephard was 'remindmeof_me'. When we moved to DW, hecu_marine was available.

Ellen, aaaaaaaagh_sky, got her name from the fact that when I was first playing Fallout 3, I'd periodically just tilt the camera back to show the huge, huge Wasteland sky, then spin the control stick around in circles and say my nineteen-year-old agoraphobe who had literally never been outside in her life before the events of canon was running in circles and screaming. It made me laugh. I've never particularly considered another name for her.

Varric, igetthatalot, has his name coming from a line of inter-party banter:

Varric: If you've got something to say, just spit it out.
Anders: Are you sure you want to encourage me? I might be about to confess my undying love.
Varric: I get that a lot. So what's on your mind?

I don't remember if I ever really considered anything else for him, although there may have been some references to his crossbow Bianca that I couldn't figure out how to properly make into a name.

Edward Kenway, jackdaws_master, steals a Spanish brig-of-war early in his canon and makes her his pirate ship. He names the ship Jackdaw because he's always liked that particular bird. Hence the journal name, which was easier than trying to think of a tag line or singular shining moment for him.

Stacker Pentecost, neverbelievedintheend, got that name because every variation on 'canceling the Apocalypse' had already been taken. The name I used comes from a line of his in the Pacific Rim: Tales From Year Zero prequel comic, when he's being interviewed by a reporter:

“In all our eons, we’ve seen continents frozen and the sun blotted by ash- and we’re still here. A decade after K-Day and we’re still here.

“I’ve never believed in the end times. We are mankind. Our footprints are on the Moon. When the last trumpet sounds and the Beast rises from the Pit- we will kill it.”

Santo, el_enmascarado_de_plata, was pretty simple. He's widely known in Mexico as El Enmascarado De Plata- the Silver Masked One. Hell, the Martian commander addresses him as that in Santo Vs. The Martian Invasion. Can't beat that.

And Fawkes, who has been apped this month, has calmhrtprevails because one of the random things he says during your travels if you have him as a companion is "in all things, the calm heart must prevail". Given that he's got a whole lot of struggling against a supermutant's inherently violent and primal nature to do, it seemed like a good thing to keep in front of his eyes.

[genarti]

I love this DE. :D I always love the journal naming part of apping a character, and I love finding out what other people were thinking about with canon references and allusions and so forth.

Enjolras: pro_patria_mortuus

Latin for died for his country, which is a play on dulce et decorum est pro patria mori -- it is sweet and proper to die for one's country. This is a quote that can be said with a whole lot of justified bitterness -- see also Wilfred Owen famous WWI poem -- but Enjolras would say it very much in earnest, and with no irony whatsoever. Also I liked the idea of a Latin username for him given the classical education a young man of his class would receive. Conjugating the verb took the way longer than coming up with the idea of his username.

Also, there's a canonical conversation with him and Bossuet at the barricade where Bossuet is teasing him for not having a girlfriend and Enjolras answers "Patria." Wacky jokes with revolutionaries about to die! (No, I sincerely love that conversation, and they are both dorks.) So there's that level too.

Thor: mjolnir_retriever

Thor's goal for much of his first movie is to retrieve his hammer Mjölnir, which means becoming worthy of it again, and he does. Also, there's the golden retriever joke, because while Thor isn't actually much of a golden retriever as dog breeds go, he is DEFINITELY gold-haired and shiny and dog-like in a lot of ways. (varadia is to thank for this one.)

Cosette: lark_in_flight

Cosette is canonically compared to a lark on multiple occasions, by multiple people: it's her nickname as an abused child (the lark who never sings), and there's a field called the Field of the Lark that's narratively associated with her at one point, and the narration says that she is "more a lark than a dove," i.e. has a certain freedom-loving wildness in her soul. So I wanted to go with that, but also to come solidly down on the side of hope and freedom: this is Cosette as she comes into her own, not just with canon but after it ends too, and Milliways provides her more freedom than ever.

Clare: demisemidemon

Most Claymores are half-yoma ("demon" or "monster" will do for shorthand, though in her world it means some more specific stuff also.) Clare is a quarter yoma instead, for complicated reasons.

Also the sound of it just amused me. I'm a simple soul.

Trowa: 3nanashi

This is the username I inherited from his original player, years ago. If I'd been thinking about changing names instead of just copying them across from LJ I'd've changed it to 03nanashi, but otherwise I like it! 03 was his pilot number back in canon, and "nanashi" is Japanese for "no-name," which is what he was called through basically all of his childhood until he adopted the name Trowa Barton. (By... helping to cover up the original Trowa Barton's murder and take his place, whee?) He didn't really internalize the name Trowa as his instead of an alias for a while after that, either.

Both 03 and nanashi were outdated before he came into Milliways, let alone now, but I like keeping that callback to history all the same. He hasn't forgotten that history either, and it still shapes him a lot, and not always in obvious ways.

River: river_meimei

Mèimei means "younger sister" in Mandarin Chinese, and it's River's nickname from her actual older brother and also from a lot of Serenity's crew. Being a younger sister also shapes a whole lot about River's personality and how she interacts with pretty much everyone -- it's a major part of her identity.

Regan: regan_tam

Uh, it's her name. Yeah. I couldn't come up with anything more creative for her! And in a way I kind of like having her straightforward name be her username, instead of something more symbolic, because Regan is a minor character sort and not a protagonist sort in the narratives of her canon and Milliways, even if like most people she's the protagonist of her own life.

[the_lioness]

I love these!

Alanna: the_lioness. Formerly a_lioness on Livejournal, which always irritated me. Her war name is "The Lioness." She's not there yet in canon, but I feel it has always suited her temperament and desire to just... get things done herself.

Elizabeth: try_corsets. "Like pain? Try wearing a corset." I also have pirate_king, but I am sentimental about her user name. It fits her brand of vaguley selfish badassery. (Shut up, spellcheck. That is totally a word.)

Grace Hanadarko: headed4hell. Earl, Grace's last chance angel, tells her she's headed for Hell if she doesn't turn her life around. She doesn't exactly fall into line, so this felt appropriate.

Thayet: peerless_thayet. She's known as "Thayet the Peerless." I'm super original.

Jim Craig: snowy_river_man. Um. He's the titular Man From Snowy River. STUNNINGLY original.

Doctor Evil: doc_evil. Riiiiiight. I'll just leave this here with his evil medical degree.

Karou: a_mad_hope. This is my favorite username due to its multiple layers of meaning for VERY spoilery reasons discussed here.

Pups I REALLY need to play:

Lana Kane: truckasaurus_mitts. There's a running joke on Archer about Lana's huge hands.

Derek Hale: alpha_loomer. He looms. A lot. It is ridiculous. He should win Looming prizes. Also, there's the Alpha thing.

[student_of_impossibility]

It's a you! *pounces*

[death_gone_mad]

Amascut: is death_gone_mad because of a Doctor Who quote which I found, but I don't really remember why I was looking for it.

Morgan le Fay: I will die with honor!
The Doctor: All over the world fools are poised, ready to let death fly. Machines of death, Morgaine, screaming from above. Light brighter than the sun. Not a war between armies, nor a war between nations, but just death. Death gone mad! A child looks up into the sky, his eyes turn to cinders. No more tears, only ashes. Is this honor? Is this war? Are these the weapons you would use?

It resonated. And then it resounded when certain revelations about Amascut's father came to light in canon. Deadly, destructive light from the sun god himself.

She used to be never_b_free based on some headcanon I had about her that was jossed and a song by Garbage. I think it was about the time that I realized the journal name never_be_free was freed up (ironically) that I opted to look for and grab Death_gone_mad instead.

Fairy Fixit has always been fairy_fixit because that's her name and function. She's the Fixit Fairy and the only fairy engineer/mechanic/handywoman visible in game. Pretty unimaginative, I know, but I made up for it with her T-Minus handle from before I even apped her: anomalousApportation

[varadia]

Ysalwen Surana: freedom_is_grey. I chose this because Ysalwen is a Grey Warden, and she found her freedom from the Circle and sort of accidentally from almost everyone else's command by joining the Order. She values freedom above anything else, almost, except where she also values kindness. Or tries to.

Raven: creator_raven. He's Raven and he creates things, including rules -- by demonstrating what happens when you break the rules -- and also making the world.

X-23: cutting_edgex23. She got this name because she is cutting-edge cloning technology, plus she has blades in her hands and feet with a cutting edge. And then x23 because she's X-23.

Nynaeve al'Meara: not_only_wisdom. She starts off Wheel of Time as being the youngest Wisdom -- village wise woman and female leader -- in the area, but there's a lot to her besides that. Also she values a lot of things that aren't just wisdom. Someone here is impulsive and angry a lot. Because people are stupid and get themselves hurt. Yes.

Michael the Archangel: theunsmiling. In her canon she has not smiled since Lucifer fell, so it seemed appropriate. Then I took her through canon and into post-canon and look, smiles happen! Because Lucifer got to come back home (to Heaven) because Michael cheated! Even now that she's loosening up and rebelling a little -- that loss and the memory of it is still a part of her.

Wonder Woman: themysciran_diana. There are probably a lot of user names that would work for Diana, but I sort of took the simplest one that encapsulates her beginning and most probably something that will continue to matter to her until the end of her days. Themyscira is what made her, and it is home.

Galadan: wolflord_andain He's the Lord of the Andain (demigods in Fionavar canon), and he turns into a giant red-eyed black wolf. What more do you want?

Dean Winchester: hopeitsworthit This one came from the episode with the Vanir scarecrow in the apple orchard, where he gets tied up as a sacrifice and as the bad guys leave he yells 'I hope your apple pie is friggin' worth it!' Only this applies to the broader scope of his life, as well, and all the things he's done in canon and out. He really hopes it's worth it. For him and Sam, sure, but also for the world.

[protect_and_survey]

Doing this with my newer ones:

Jemma Simmons (protect_and_survey) - it's a riff off of 'protect and serve', and because her job more about figuring out what went wrong than going out and beating in the heads of those who made it wrong.

William Blakeney (hold_fast) - while a term for the bit of the seaweed that anchors it to the ocean bed, it's also what's tattooed on one of the sailor's hands, and a good life motto for Blakeney during this point of canon.

Sam Stewart (takingthechance) - from the first episode, she's babbling on at poor Foyle, trying to explain how he managed to get her as a driver, and she says:
Oh yes - I was born in Lyminster, just outside Arundel, my father is actually the vicar at St Stephens, do you know it? No. No, I don't suppose there's any reason why you should, anyway, it's not much fun being a vicar's daughter, being on your best behavior all the time. Personally I couldn't wait for the war to come along, it's a chance to get out."
And while it sounds terribly flippant, the war and Sam's subsequent ability to become a driver is actually a huge opportunity for her to get away from the life she otherwise would have lead.

[bjornwilde]

protect_and_survey is genius!

[annalalaith]

Tegid Tathal:penderwydd I chose this because well, that is his title after like the second half of the first book.

Daniel Jackson: diehard_daniel I inherited this name from a previous player. I like it. It describes him to a 't'.

Jack: "What kind of archaeologist carries a weapon?"
Daniel: "Uh, I do."
Jack: "Bad example."

Vala Maldoran: goauld_thief I inherited this one too, but this is because she is well a thief, and at one point she was host to a goauld.

Death from SPN: buh_bye I took this straight from the license plate on his car.

Tasselhoff Burrfoot: happy_kender This one I took from an old email address that I had, I think in High School. I was obsessed, and loved Tass. And it is a good name for a Kender.

Naruto: wannab_hokage Well, if you know his canon, this is what he wants to do with his life.

As far as my mun name, it is an Elvish name meaning "Gift of Laughter."

[adiva_calandia]

In terms of current pups:

nita_callahan is pretty obvious; when I started I hadn't really caught on to the idea that one's username could be used as commentary on the character.

cant_kim was almost just kim_merrill, but I wanted something that would work equally well for before she was adopted (when she doesn't have a surname that's ever mentioned in canon) and after. Her thieves' cant is such a big part of how she interacts with the world in both those stages of her life, and is such a symbol of where she came from, that it made the most sense for her username. Plus it distinguishes her from any other Kims in the bar.

2020sight: "Epimetheus" translates literally to "after-thinker," and more idiomatically to "hindsight" -- which is 20/20, of course.

schrodingerskatz's journal was created right after episode 2.04 when I (and much of fandom) was still in HEAVY DENIAL about whether Beverly was dead or not. And until we opened the "box" of the next episode, she was simultaneously alive and dead! And lo, I patted myself on the back for my cleverness forever after. (Even though her timeline in Milliways has resolved the question, I like the fact that she knows that in other continuities she's dead. And she has her own uncertainties about whether she'll survive her own timeline, so the pun is maintained.)

A selection of past pups:

deserved_it came from the opening line of Voyage of the Dawn Treader: "There was a boy named Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it." A lot of Eustace's story in Narnia seemed to be about him getting what he deserved, whether that was getting turned into a dragon because of his dragonish thoughts, or ultimately getting to Aslan's Country because of his service to Narnia.

Since "Re: Your Brains" was talking to Tom, re_mybrains was the obvious choice for Tom to talk about himself.

everyinchbutone comes from Valerie's heartbreaking letter in canon; due to LJ's character limits it was evryinchbut1 over there, which led to a lot of misspellings. Thank goodness for Dreamwidth.

[penderwydd]

What is fun about Ms. Katz is that it still applies, because of the weird AU thing happening with the Hannibal pups.

[onceaviking]

This guy was once a Viking (and as Saph pointed out last time we did this, you could also go the once a Viking, always a Viking route).
A lot of Eric's values stem from his human life. So - Viking.

Elrond is starry dome because it is given as one interpretation of his name. The other is Elf in the cave or something along those lines.
My head canon is, that when he was given the name by the Sons of Feanor, it was with the latter meaning in mind, and it had a hint of something derogatory to it ( it was something about him hiding in a cave behind a waterfall where his brother was playing). And then, much later, his King went "no, I've always heard it as the starlit sky"
And his heart would unclench a little.

[tu_vas_triompher]

tire_moi_mes_bottes comes from part of an obnoxious pun in Bossuet's introduction. Yeah, sorry, his username is sexual innuendo.

On the other hand, tu_vas_triompher comes from Enjolras's awesome Horizon barricade speech. The one where he takes time out from talking about the future to say "OH HI FEUILLY YOUR PARENTS ARE DEAD AND YOU'RE GOING TO DIE, THAT IS TO SAY TRIUMPH, HERE, I LOVE YOU OMG!!!!!" But I mean I thought "you will triumph" was more positive than "you will die." And Feuilly's a positive kind of guy.

And then there's the truly complicated history of Gredya's username, gredya.

[alexiscartwheel]

Lady Mary Crawley: lady_mary In which I am super creative. For Mary, I really wanted something that was straight to the point.

Carol Danvers: mighty_avenger I picked her username back when she was still Ms. Marvel, before Kelly Sue gave her awesome nicknames like Captain Whizbang and Princess Sparklefists. Alas. Hers come from the name of the team she used to lead, the Mighty Avengers, and the fact that she is still both mighty and an Avenger.

Stiles Stilinski: whatisastiles Back in season 1 Lydia once asked, "What the hell is a Stiles?" The worls is still wondering.

[chanter1944]

Sariel Rager visible_sariel comes from the fact that she's nigh onto invisible in canon, at least to most viewers, and gets a detailed story thanks to Milliways. I've never managed to get past a vague thought of changing her username; this one just works.

I'm not sure what Makosa's username would be, if he had one. It'd probably be in Flemish or French, I can tell you that!

[misslucyjane]

bagginsofbagend Bilbo Baggins: From the line, "I am a Baggins of Bag End!"

dragons_emrys Merlin: Because I couldn't think of anything better :P. Emrys is Merlin's Druid name, and he's a dragon lord.

goodnight_nightvale Cecil Palmer: From Cecil's sign off.

heisgroot Groot: "iamgroot" was taken, and he doesn't say much else.

holy_or_broken Jack Benjamin: This is one of my more convoluted ones: Kings is based on the story of David. The song "Hallelujah" refers to the story of David. There's a not-often-sung verse in Hallelujah that refers to "the holy or broken hallelujah", and given Jack's storyline in Kings and Jonathan's eventual fate in the Bible, I thought it suited.

thekidfrombrooklyn Steve Rogers: "akidfrombrooklyn" was taken. I wanted something...not "America fuck yeah!" for his username.

tipsilyeverafter Sadie Parker Doyle: Sadie and Frank toast each other like this.

[runningred]

Jason Todd: runningred comes from DC's canon carelessness with colouring. From time to time (all pre new52), Jay turns up with red hair. In one version of his origin story, Jay's a natural red-head and dyed to black on Bruce's urgings (to look more like the first Robin.) Generally when Jay turns up in the comics as a red-head, it's when he's portrayed as a bad guy. Thus when Jay's working on the wrong side of the law, he's 'running red.'

Olivier de Bretagne: equal_of_any_man come from a canon quote about Olivier's heritage -
I am their bastard. Got between faiths and peoples. But, for all that, I think myself well mothered and well fathered, and the equal of any man living.

Minx: myshootingstar is a reference to the car driven by Racer X which Minx would have designed - the Shooting Star. It was a not so veiled reference to Rex Racer's Falling Star.

Inspector Detector: inspector_blueeyes I couldn't come up with anything cleverer. And the actor Benno Fürmann has very pretty blue eyes.

Diaval: intoaman was the words Maleficent used to turn him from a raven to a man.

[ceitfianna]

I love this one and have new pups that I can do it with.

Quentin's heatherandsteel comes from the smell of his magic, which I like as its part of him and also says a lot about him. He's elegant, beautiful but dangerous. And I think I might actually have a plot OOM for him soon.

Ivan's vorpatril is because all the variations on Ivan, you idiot were taken and Vorpatril is this last name and having that name defines a lot about him.

Will's is his name, he was my first character and I didn't realize that names could be more.

Jane's is a play on the name of the movie she's from Becoming Jane turns into janebecomes which is also what she does in the movie, she becomes more of the author.

Sameth's makesthings comes from a canon quote. That's about the only thing I'm really good at. Making things. I changed making to makes as it flowed a little better.

Charles' balancingminds came as I was trying a lot of possible names that were all taken but this one wasn't. I'm happy with it as it fits what he does, he's all about balance in his life and very aware of what's going on around him.

Moist's morethanprops is another that wasn't my first choice but I've grown to like it. In canon, he refers to his props and disguises as furniture, they shouldn't be seen, but they're only part of his cons. I couldn't get a username with that idea in it but instead this one worked.

Demeter's wheatencrown is because that's one of her symbols and how you know if a statue is her.

William's is pretty simple not_his_pa because throughout canon, he defines himself against his father and after his father's death, he still compares himself to his father.

Tumnus' chat helped me figure out as I was stuck and then I think Bethan suggested friend_of_lucy and it was perfect.

[aberration]

mix_it_up - It comes from a line in canon, where Asami says that "you can't be afraid to mix it up sometimes." I also take it to more broadly refer to her being the sort of schemer/out-of-the-box thinker in the new Team Avatar. Aside from maybe Mako, she's the one who most often comes up with tactical plans, she knows how to bring technology and bending together, and she has a real talent for adaptation and innovation.

haventlosthope - Part of the monologue Katara gives at the beginning of A:TLA, where she says "I haven't lost hope that the Avatar will return to save the world." The importance Katara places on hope is a running theme throughout the series, and she also tends to be an inspiration for it in those around her. And maybe, occasionally, she gives overly emotional speeches about hope. But she gives overly emotional speeches about plenty of other topics, too!

collects_strays - Sort of adapted from a line in canon, where Will says that he has "a habit of collecting strays." Quite literally, he takes in stray dogs that he comes across near his home. But in this context he was speaking more metaphorically, in that people who have strayed off a "normal" path in some way tend to be attracted to him, as he's someone who can (or has to) understand their point of view, in a way very few others can.

ellectrical - A play off Elle's name and the world "electrical." I specifically wanted an adjective form, and … I guess I'm not totally sure why I chose "ellectrical" over "ellectric" or something, since they mean exactly the same thing (and I don't know if the other was taken at the time, as I never tried anything else), but I guess I just liked the sound of this better.

[fairytaleknight]

The trick with fairytaleknight is that the username has to reference two different roles Fakir plays within Princess Tutu. In Season 1, Fakir is the resurrected Knight from The Prince and the Raven, trying to redeem his former life's failure. (Sorry, knightoftheswan!) But in Season 2, at exactly the point in canon where we are right now, Fakir discovers that his truer, greater role is to be the storyteller who fights to control the ending of The Prince and the Raven. He is/will be a writer inspired by the fairy tales he grew up reading in order to change the fairytale in which he lives.

Thus fairytaleknight: the knight of the fairy tale, the knight who reads fairy tales, the writer of fairy tales, the knight who fights using fairy tales.

(The previous player had the genius username inkstainedsword, but she was playing Fakir postcanon. Fakir isn't ink-stained until he actually starts writing.)

[bjornwilde]

I love names that have many layers to them!