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clairelsonao3 · 10 months

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OC Name Meanings Tag

Thanks to @starlit-hopes-and-dreams (post here) and @mysticstarlightduck (post here) for this one that I've been looking forward to for weeks! I'm a total name nerd and am obsessed with name meanings as well as new, trendy, odd, and/or obscure names (too bad many of these started out as generic placeholders!)

For obvious reasons, though, I can't help but wish you'd waited a bit longer to tag me in this. 🤣 But, here goes.

Some very minor spoilers here for Ch. 16 onward.

Louisa is German for "famous warrior," a surprisingly strong name, but, then again, this is a girl who has a way of surprising people with her strength. It's also one of the many, many girls' names I've had a crush on for years, and one of the many I probably won't ever use for my own (eventual) child. So I gave it to my fictional child instead. 🥹🥹

I established in an earlier tag game that she was named after both her maternal and paternal grandfathers (Louis and Daniel). So for the rest of her name, we have Danielle (Hebrew: "God is my judge," and Phillips (Greek: "horse-lover") (and literally the first surname that popped into my head as a placeholder, and I'm very annoyed because it's so common. Oh, well.)

Maeve is interesting. She should have a Luxembourgish name, but she's not one for convention. So the name is actually Irish, for "she who rules" and Maeve, a lover of fantasy stories, chose it herself after the mythological warrior queen. It's also a variant of Mab, Shakespeare's Queen of the Fairies, made famous in Mercutio's soliloquy from Romeo and Juliet. Conveniently, we haven't gotten around to learning her surname yet.

Erica is Norse for "eternal ruler," and Muller is German for "miller." Another name that started as basically a placeholder, but I've come around to it.

Milagros (Spanish: "miracles") who, in a plot point of sorts, named herself, has the full name of María de los Milagros de Ulloa y de la Torre-Giralt-Muller, chosen to honor an obscure Spanish astronomer who discovered Ulloa's ring aka the fog bow: Antonio de Ulloa (and hyphenated with Muller, obviously, for her wife). Interestingly, María de los Milagros is one of many Marian titles, meaning it's a Catholic name commonly used in Latin America referring to the Virgin Mary aka "Our Lady of the Miracles," though knowing Milagros, that's definitely not why she chose it.

Keith (Scottish: "wood") and Corey (Irish: "from the hollow") have the dubious honor of being the two most bland, generic, white-bread male names I could think of at the moment I created the characters. 🤣 Killeen is Irish and a variant of O Cillin, referring to St. Killian, the patron saint of rheumatism. But actually, it was just stolen from a friend of a friend; it seemed rare enough that no one would be offended when I used it for the worst character in the story. 🤣

And in case anyone remembers or cares that Lou's mom's name is Zoe, it's Greek for "life."

Jacob is of course a variant of James (Hebrew: "supplanter"), and I lazily stole Wallach from old-timey Western actor Eli Wallach, who was best known for playing the bad guy in The Magnificent Seven. But I mostly chose the surname, again, because I'd never heard it anywhere else, so, less chance of offending anyone. And before I knew he was going to be German. Luckily the name IS German, from valche, meaning "foreigner from a Romance country, usually Italy." Yeah, I'm confused too.

Resi/Tresa are German variations of Theresa (Greek: "late summer.") Hahn is also German, meaning "conceited, flamboyant, or sexually active." Really.

Felix (Latin: "happy") and Arlo (multiple origins, all relating to "hill") were chosen because they're two currently trendy baby names that I hate, hate, hate. (No offense to anyone who named their kid that, lol). And their surnames, which were only mentioned once and I'm not bothering to look up the meaning of, were chosen because they're two prominent family names on the island where I live, as kind of an in-joke.

Lemaya: As far as I can tell, it's made up (but not by me!) Maya has a ton of different meanings in various languages, the most common being Sanskrit, "illusion or magic."

Obadiah: (Hebrew: "servant of God"). I'll leave that there.

And that's pretty much everybody -- oh, wait. I'm missing someone? Imagine that. 😅

Okay. I'll tell you what. Because this is a post about names and I'm feeling cute, I'll leave you with a couple of hints: his first name is of Hebrew origin and was chosen for both sound and meaning.

I'll try gently tagging the following:

@romanceandshenanigans @janec23 @lucylyricism Would love to find out where your OCs' names came from!

#oc names #tag game #gsnbtr #my writing #writeblr

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measuringbliss · 8 months

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Baring Peter Parker: The Ditko era (1/3) - The Tie Symbolism

MASTERPOST

This post was slightly edited on 22.12.2023.

Does Peter Parker appear as sexually enticing from the get-go? What's the matter with his tie? Why is issue #17 so important?

Let's say these are compendiums of my observations. Sometimes there's analysis, and sometimes it's just things I remark on.

Note: When I say stuff like "masculine", "virile" and "feminine", I assume a classical, uncomplicated view of gender as "men fight, women cook". These comics *were* made in the Sixties, after all.

#1/2/3

The panel where Peter puts on his costume and is midway through his stomach is a classic of the comics and comes back again and again. It's featured pretty much in every issue.

As a civilian, he's usually featured in a classic suit: loose pants, sometimes bare forearms, it's not really erotic as much as functional.

I'd argue the end of #6 is the first time Peter's shown in an enticing manner. He's shown sewing his suit a few times beforehand, but here, he's sprawling on a couch and enjoying himself in a way the comics haven't shown until then. His collar is open, contrary to his work attire, he's resting his foot.

#7 features for the first time a close shot on Peter's hand. I wouldn't exactly say it's glamorized, but it's not bad on the eyes either.

It also features an interesting scene where Peter is in a position of weakness: he's visibly worried (along with the regular sewing scenes, it makes Peter more personable to the female audience), he's sneaking out the way you'd see in teen movies, but whereas in those, the guys sneaking out are usually shown as mischievous and eager to go out, Peter is shown as genuinely worried the way girls should have been. Different socialization directions! Of course, the fact Peter has been raised by his aunt (and uncle, but we never see much of him) probably explains in part how much of Peter's feminine side is shown. And as I said, his feminine side makes him approachable. See the way he's holding his jacket in the middle panel of the last row, it's almost like a woman covering her breasts from the audience. His sprained arm in the same issue is just more of this: he's not the all-strong, virile, macho hero (at least, not yet, we'll see more of that in the following era).

In #8, Peter is challenged to a boxing match by Flash, and they both wear very short shorts, as expected in those events. This is the first time Peter is depicted wearing so little, and it's obviously to showcase his strength. Interestingly, he's the one bridal-carrying a knocked-out Flash at the end in a quite obviously homoerotic pose. Also interestingly, no female character comments on Peter's body. He's not objectified in-narrative. It's my own gaze that makes it -(homo)erotic.

#9 also features several interesting things. Similarly to #6, Peter's shown looking casual (middle panel), but this time, he's topless, although he still wears suit pants. There's something adorably youthful in Peter's pose in the next panel, something that rarely see after that and that I don't recall ever seeing in Romita Sr. or Conway's eras. In the fourth panel, Peter's wearing a tee for the first time. The artist try new things. It's simple, but Peter's arms are flexed. Compared to the previous issue's virility, here, it's much more balanced.

In #10, Peter gets a blood test and the sleeve thing is back. Later in the same issue, he's briefly held against a much bigger man, and there are two things to note:

First, Peter's suit contrasts with the rowdy treatment he receives. Second, his tie. His tie's important! It's out, flowing desperately, it showcases Peter's panic and his struggle with hiding his heroic self. And once he gets in control of his emotions, he fixes it. Naturally, what you can do with ties is also pull at them, undo them. I'd say these panels are very interesting. I hope we see more of Peter's tie acting up. Think about what a tie symbolizes and what it points at.

In the same issue, you can see a callback to Peter spraying on a couch--but this time, he's quite bothered.

The cover of #12 is quite curious as well. Peter's not showing a feat of strength, he's being possessed by Dr. Octopus, held by his long tentacles, on his back, limbs dangling over the floor, unmasked and humiliated in front of civilians. It's similarly to Romita's first tenure a few years later, in that Peter's in a typically feminine position.

Later in that issue, Peter is sick, a "poor boy" (and offers the gazers his feet, if they care). His feminine traits are fine as long as he's still young. That's not to say that Peter lacks masculine attributes; he's also often rash and a dumbass (aren't we all?).

Note his clumsiness in #13 (two plates in minutes, Peter!) and subsequent submissive position as he picks up the broken plate, in spite of his dialogue. Also, the pink pajamas. Peter's not cishet.

The tie is back in #15! Not only that...

Peter looks like the ideal male here: muscled, joyful and approachable. You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like. Funnily enough, the issue also features clumsy Pete again as well as the White Tee of Nakedness.

And the Sprawling Legs of Approachability!

Anytime he wears that white tee, it feels obscene.

It feels like #16 finally showcases how form-fitting Spidey's costume actually is, but it's not what I focus on--just thought I'd mention it here.

In the magical Annual #1, Peter's laying on his bed, and his position is almost that of a Pin-up, what's with his arms above his head and his leg slightly bent. The calf dangling from the bed also implies casualness, comfort. Even the tie is not straight (ha!). And later...

Forearms!

You could argue new shirt, I would argue bad coloring. Still, he's practically naked here. Remember: Being naked isn't as erotic as hiding the skin.

#17 has the tie!!!

Now, Peter's just taunting the reader. The first panel? His disheveled hair? His open collar, barely tucked-in shirt, ruffled pants, flying jacket. This is THE moment. Or The Moment. The turning point. Peter looks like he just had some fun with someone else in a closet (ha!). He's erotic. And when he's running, the suit clearly espouses his buttocks.

THE OPEN BELT?! The ease of movement? Oh, this issue is IT.

And at the end, Peter visually bares himself to the audience (the shadow makes it clear).

By this point, I find Ditko's art actually enjoyable. His Spidey scenes are particularly pretty, but he's noticeably more used to the whole setting.

In the next part, we should hopefully cover the rest of Lee and Ditko's run (until #38, included). I haven't read past 1976, so I won't get to the 80s anytime soon, but I'll definitely talk about the Romita Sr. and Conway eras.

I've already rambled about Peter's quantum sentient inflatable butt in Civil War (#532-538) HERE if you're curious.

#peter parker #spider-man #male objectification #clothes #outfits #tie #suits #comics #comic books #analysis #meta #fanservice

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pynkhues · 2 years

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How much redemption do you think is possible for the characters in succession? I think someone like Greg is still young enough and new enough to the game that he might snap out of it, and obviously the golden trio are very very tentatively taking the first steps out of Logan's influence. But how about someone like Logan? Is he too old and steeped in his cycle of abuse to ever get out of it, or could he have an Ebenezer Scrooge awakening after everyone he loves abandons him? Or would that make him even harder? I LIVE FOR YOUR META THANK YOU

Thank you, anon! And oh, that's such an interesting question.

I always have a million complicated feelings about the idea of redemption generally, in particular who gets to make the call that someone's been redeemed? And how do we make these decisions when someone's done or been complicit in terrible things? I don't think that onerous should fall on any one person's shoulders really, and particularly not a victim of that person, but then that poses the question how do we decide as a society what redemption looks like, and what it means?

All that said, I definitely believe in rehabilitation and the concept that anyone can change in real and meaningful ways through support services, therapy and a desire to evolve.

(This got long and a bit rambly, haha, so I'm popping it under a cut).

In a very broad way of speaking, I'm a prison abolitionist, and I do think it's important for us socially to view any system of punishment as one that aims, before anything else, to bring people back to society and community, not separate them further from it, which is what our current system does in many parts of the world. To write anyone off is, I think, dehumanising in what should be a very human process, and has a significant trickle down effect where many people are able to justify systemic issues around race, class and certain backgrounds by treating crime as a problem when it's frequently just a symptom of deeper social problems.

(Of course, one of the difficult things about prison abolition and this concept of bringing people back to community is that it can potentially put others at risk when those people have a history of violent and sexual crimes, and full disclaimer, I have no answers for that, but I don't know. I remain an optimistic realist, and I say that as someone who's life has been impacted by violent crimes.)

This is all a bit of a roundabout way of saying that yes, I think on paper (and the emphasis here is on paper, haha) any of these characters are capable of meaningful change, if not redemption. I've talked about it a bit on here before, but I think particularly with a character like Logan who himself is shaped by abandonment and abuse, he could change. With him losing most of the genuine relationships in his life as of 3.09, that feels like it could be an awakening as much as it could be an even further shutdown/shut out.

If he did, would that ever make up for the years of trauma and abuse he's inflicted on his children? His wife, ex-wives and girlfriends? Staff? To say nothing of the crimes he's been complicit in?

No, I don't think so. He still did what he did, and the suffering he inflicted is very real, but he could one day (again, on paper, haha), step into a future where he made the choice to be a better man, and it would be up to his children, the women in his life, and his staff to decide what that meant to them.

That choice though is a big part of it, and it's fascinating to me that Greg and Logan are the two characters you mention in your ask, because I think they're in a lot of ways the characters who present the most interesting moral quandry, but for very different reasons.

In a lot of ways, I actually think Tom's the character who's most similar to Logan. They're both good at what they do, they latch onto staff they feel they can trust, use and abuse in equal measure (Greg for Tom, Gerri and Frank for Logan), they both endured abuse, however differently (Tom from Shiv, Logan from Noah), they both married up as a form of class mobility (Tom married Shiv, Logan married Caroline), and they both in turn abused the people they loved (Tom with Shiv, and Logan his children). It speaks to the ruthless survivalism in both of them, but also the sort of ways they internalise the external, and become hard off the back of it.

They both do terrible, terrible things, but those terrible things don't come out of a vacuum. They survived the jaws of a beast and became a beast themselves.

Greg on the other hand, I think, is one of the worst characters on the show. (An unpopular opinion!) There's certainly a bit of a survivor in Greg, especially across his first weeks in New York when he was living in poverty, but the reality is that that was always going to be a brief tour for him. Greg has always had options and opportunity, but Kendall was right in 3.07 – Greg is a parasite. He's up close and personal to the abuse and the moral carnage and the trauma inflicted upon trauma inflicted upon trauma, and he sits eating cake at his great aunt's wedding the day after his second cousin's tried to commit suicide – the cousin he's been closest to for the last six months – and says 'what am I going to do with a soul anyway?'

I think the thing with all of these characters is that, like anyone, they are their choices, and increasingly, they're making informed choices. Tom knows what he's doing when he's siding with his wife's abuser, just like Logan knows what he's doing when he dials Caroline in to tell their children he thinks they're worthless, just like Greg knows what he's doing when he chooses to step into moral bankruptcy with Tom.

These characters are always capable of making the other choice, the good choice, but they don't, and, increasingly, they're exerting power by removing the choice for others. Tom took away Shiv's choice by telling Logan behind her back about the coup, Logan took away Kendall's choice when he didn't let him cash out, and Greg even took away Comfrey and the Contessa's choice by not telling either of them about his feelings or each other.

I think intent and accountabilty is integral to stepping forwards and into rehabilitation and community, and it's really, really fascinating to me that Kendall, Roman and Shiv each had moments of that in the finale while Logan, Greg and Tom each decided to shirk it. In that sense, yeah, I think it's always possible for them to make the choice towards a type of redemption, but whether or not any of them will choose that? Well, I think that's increasingly unlikely.

#thank you again anon!#i think the ship's sailing particularly fast for greg tbh #he sold his soul long before 3.09 #it's a p fascinating area #and interestingly the more i think the logan + tom + greg team up makes a terrifying amount of sense #logan roy #greg hirsch #tom wambsgans #there's also something here about characters who feel remorse #and interestingly it's rarely the characters you'd think should #greg + logan + tom #hbo succession #succession 3.09 #welcome to my ama #succession meta

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pan-xichen · 3 years

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I was inspired by hearing this beautiful piece from the Okami OST so here's a short drabble

Lan Xichen, on a rare trip through Cloud Recesses during his seclusion, enters the forbidden section of the library pavilion with a stuttering heart. This is where the tool of his sworn brother's demise came from-- tomes, scrolls, and artefacts deemed too unsafe for study are, presumably, safely hidden away. But of course, that was not truly the case.

Arriving at a shelf with an assortment of strange music from numerous different places, his eyes are drawn to a small, slim book with a well-worn spine. It is unassuming in appearance-- nothing suggesting ominous contents, and when with a delicate hand Lan Xichen plucks it from the shelf, he is curious to find that there doesn't seem to be any title or author. Distracted from his melancholy, he opens the little tome carefully, as though it may crumble at the wrong touch. Judging by the decrepit appearance of the book, he might not be too far-off.

Within the book is, interestingly, a series of notes in barely-legible scrawl, followed by what he recognizes as a musical piece. Curiosity fully awoken, Lan Xichen gingerly tucks the mysterious book into a sleeve and, taking extra time to ensure that the forbidden section is properly sealed, returns to the Hanshi.

He spends the next several days examining the tome, trying to decipher its contents. It's clear that the music is spiritual in nature, but the characters containing notes and directions are faded and scratchy, and he has no intention of playing any song without knowing exactly what it will do. At a loss, Lan Xichen is visited by Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, who stop by whenever they return to Gusu, and shows them the book. Lan Wangji is wary of its contents at first, uncertain what to think of his brother's fascination with it, though he supposes it's better than seeing him tired and sad as he was the last time they visited. Wei Wuxian on the other hand, is instantly intrigued, and wants to help, so they stay.

The three of them are holed up in the Hanshi for a little while, discussing between themselves what the notes could be saying. Lan Qiren approaches the Hanshi and hears their muffled voices as he knocks on the door. Lan Wangji rises to let him in, and his eyes fall on Lan Xichen, who looks more animated than he's been in weeks. A smile you'd have to squint to see flickers across his face for the briefest of moments, before he approaches the low table with Lan Wangji. The barest bit of apprehension at seeing Wei Wuxian excited about something hits before he looks back at Lan Xichen, who smiles at his arrival. While his face is still tired and worn, there is a light in his eyes that was lost months ago.

Lan Xichen brings their uncle into the discussion, explaining that on his walk he had entered the library and discovered the mysterious tome, and he had been trying to figure out what was written within, as its contents are time-worn and nearly illegible. Something in him is urging him onward, but he can't exactly say what, or why. He's suddenly decided that he needs to know.

With the four of them working together, they eventually manage to replicate the characters and music in legible calligraphy. What they discover is... shocking. The book was written by a Lan cultivator, to their surprise, but they quickly realize exactly why it was hidden away.

The song within the book is titled Song of Life. The notes tell a tragic tale of a cultivator long-gone, who had fallen victim to the Lans' "curse" of falling in love, and losing that one person forever. A stab of empathy chills Lan Xichen's heart and brings wetness to the corners of his eyes as Wei Wuxian reads what they have translated.

The cultivator, not content to live without his love, tried something unorthodox-- he wanted to revive them. Interestingly, this did not take him down the path towards necromancy. Instead, he studied rigorously the healing songs of the Lan Clan, searching desperately for a way to use their cultivation to revive the dead. The notes indicate that the person's body must be whole, and they must be free of resentment. If they died in a horrible way, they may not want to return, and thus it might not work at all. Still, the tiniest, barely-there sliver of hope flashes across Lan Xichen's face.

Revival without demonic cultivation.

The music itself is... unfinished. The most tragic part of this tale is that the cultivator who worked so hard to try and bring back his love died before he was done, though they suppose the two must be together in the afterlife. Lan Qiren speaks up and reveals how this cultivator died-- in an attempt to test the song on an animal, he expended too much of his spiritual power. The tome was sealed away to prevent anyone else from being hurt trying to play this song, its story banned from being mentioned in case anyone should seek it out.

If attempting to revive only an animal killed him, trying to bring back a human would surely lead to the death of the cultivator who tried it. Still, an errant thought crosses the mind of Lan Xichen, who has been notably silent throughout the reading.

Nie Mingjue died unfairly, horribly, and is forced to remain locked away in that coffin with the one who murdered him indefinitely, unless he reincarnates, which could take hundreds of years, and possibly never even happen. The resentful energy of his fierce corpse is dangerous, as is the saber locked away with he and Jin Guangyao. But Lan Xichen was able to calm him in his rage, and begins to wonder if this song could be used to free his sworn brother from his terrible fate. As far as he's concerned, although he loved them both, Jin Guangyao can stay dead, but Nie Mingjue... he truly did not deserve his tragic end.

His companions seem to wait on his words with baited breath, Lan Wangji in particular reading his brother's mind. Lan Xichen clears his throat and speaks in a quiet, yet certain voice.

"I think- I think we should finish his song."

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