#and it’s always fun researching cultures to incorporate into characters

[zepskies]

Aww thank you so much!! I'm glad to hear that you're excited to read the rest of this little series, because I've been very excited to start sharing it with you guys! 🥰💜

More on your lovely comments below the cut:

Also thank you for that compliment on the setting being immersive. I've never written a Western before, but I love history and the time period fascinates me. I did put a lot of effort into researching the time period, the culture, etc., as well as the look of the banner art and stuff. Canva is an awesome tool! lol

You don't know how big my smile was at Baby's appearance. I love how you always incorporate characters, objects and details from the original Supernatural universe and incorporate them into your stories.

Aww yes!!! I loved including Baby -- her little reveal was one of my favorite moments. I was partly imagining Black Beauty. lol

With AUs I try to include key details from the canon into it to have those fun little easter egg fun moments!

I can already tell I'll absolutely love Mila. There's already so much action, can't wait to see where the road is headed.

Oh thank you!! I haven't written an OFC in a while, so it was very fun for me to create her character. You'll definitely learn more about her as we go along, especially in Part 2. Our adventure has really only just begun!

Thank you again so much for reviewing Part 1 and reblogging, friend! 💕💕

The Honorable Choice - Part 1

Pairing: Dean Winchester x OFC 

Summary: June 1872. Captain Dean Winchester of the U.S. Cavalry is tasked with one job: break a wild mustang. He just didn’t expect the woman who infiltrates his camp, intent on freeing her tribe’s horse.

AN: I got inspired after a recent rewatch of Spirit: The Stallion of the Cimarron (literally a perfect movie), as well as having Yellowstone in the back of my brain. I thought this idea might be a good fit for this @jacklesversebingo prompt.

Disclaimer: I’ve done extensive research for this one, both on the American Indian Lakota tribe, and on American history during this time in the late 1800s (AKA: the Old West, during the American Indian Wars and the Sioux Wars). Of course, one of my main goals is to avoid inaccuracies, both historical and cultural.

Jacklesverse Bingo24 Prompt: Western AU

Song Inspo: The Spirit Soundtrack

Word Count: 4.6K

Tags/Warnings: 18+ only to be safe. Racism/racial slurs, attempted sexual assault (not successful), protective Dean, angst, some violence and some action.

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Part 1: Pride & Prejudice

June 1872

Dean hears some of his men shouting, along with the telltale cracking of bone that would make a less seasoned soldier wince. He spares a look to Benny, his Lieutenant, and sets down his glass of whiskey.

Dean’s path takes him brusquely out of his office and toward the stables. He grabs his gun and his hat on the way there, setting the latter on his head.

Is it too much to ask for one night where he can drink in peace?

Dean comes to find a young woman being detained by two of his men, Kline and Novak. Roman sports a bloody nose and his eye is already beginning to swell. The woman fights against their hold.

Even under the pale moonlight, Dean notes the way she’s dressed: a deer skin dress cinched at the waist, over thin pants and shoes. He surveys her tan skin, her black hair that blends into the night, twisted into a long braid, and the anger in her dark eyes.

“What have we got here?” Dean says. He stows his gun in its holster as he approaches her, resting his hands at his belt.

“I caught her breaking into the stables, Captain,” Roman says. He prods with a hiss at his busted nose while trying to stem the bleeding. That’s going to be a bad break.

She remains tight lipped, stubborn. 

“Probably doesn’t even understand English. Savage bitch,” he says. Dean shoots him an impassive look to cover up his annoyance.

“Put a cork in it, Roman,” he orders. Then, he focuses back on her. “You’re a Lakota, aren’t you?”

Aside from their main mission here in the Dakota Territory, the Colonel has been fixed on fighting back against the Lakota Indians, especially after they sabotaged the supply line last month.

The proud tilt of the woman’s chin is her only answer to Dean’s question. Her gaze drags down his form with disdain, like he’s the savage. His mouth twitches mirthlessly. 

“The Lakota rear up their own horses pretty damn well. Why would you want to steal one of ours?” he asks.

She glances away from him, first at her feet, then over at the camp’s latest “guest.” Dean, Benny, and a few of his men wrangled up a horse a few days ago. He’s a beautiful Kiger mustang with a nasty mean streak. He barely got through a trim this afternoon, and almost took a chunk out of Rufus when he tried to brand the horse.

The Colonel ordered them to tie the horse up to a post just outside the corral—no food or water for three days. He’d turned to Dean with a firm set to his face and issued a single order.

“Break him.”

Now, Dean catches the furtive look the Lakota woman gives the horse, who flicks his tail. The animal stares right at her, as if into her eyes.

“Oh, don’t tell me you here for him,” Dean says with a chuckle. “That thing’s a little too much for you, sweetheart.”

That earns her attention, steely and unimpressed.

“He is too much for you,” she says. Her voice is smooth, and would even be pleasant, if not for the circumstances. “He is one of ours. You will never break him.”

Dean's eyes widen a fraction. He glances back at the mustang.

So that's why she's here, he thinks. She's trying to mount a rescue. Dean feels a twinge deep inside, but he can't allow himself to care about that. They've collected a strong horse that will be a good support for their objectives here, once he's broken.

“Ah, well see,” Dean says, tipping his Stetson up to meet her gaze. “That’s kind of our specialty.”

“Sir, should we take her to the stockade?” Novak asks. He seems reluctant to do so to a woman, even an Indian, but he’s always been good at following orders.

Dean opens his mouth to reply, but another voice cuts him off. Colonel Asmodeus Sanderson steps out and takes a look at their captive.

“Not the stockade,” he says, with that Southern drawl that betrays his Kentucky roots. “Not yet.”

He approaches her with a slow, calculated gait. His hands gather behind his back. Dean gives her credit for looking Sanderson in the eye. She seems rightly wary, but not afraid.

“We won’t hurt you. I give you my word,” the Colonel says, “if you’ll lead us to your people’s camp.”

He takes a hold of her chin, turning her face this way and that, like he’s examining a dirty animal, and all that he’ll have to do to make it clean. She spits in his face.

Dean bites the inside of his lip against a smile. She’s got as much fight in her as the mustang. However, he has to school his face back into stoicism when Sanderson rears back in anger.

The harsh smack rings out in the clearing, along with the woman’s cry. Dean doesn’t allow himself to outwardly react, but inside, his spine tightens as he fights his instincts.

Only Kline and Novak’s hold on her arms keeps her upright. She pants for breath, but again, she meets the Colonel with a face that doesn’t give away anything, despite the reddening mark on her cheek.

“The post,” he barks. “Three days. No food or water.”

Dean is kept busy by his duties. He makes sure the camp is running in order, accepting shipments of supplies and ammunition, among other things. Cas Novak is in charge of the stables, caring for the horses and putting them through their training. Jack Kline is young and strong and a good assistant, along with others in his unit.

Right now, Dean and Benny are going over the plans with Colonel Sanderson for continuing construction on the railroad, from here to the Black Hills. It’s a path that cuts straight through Sioux territory—the bands of Dakota and Lakota Indians that occupy the land.

“The natives are fightin’ us tooth and nail,” Sanderson says. “But maybe our guest will be able to help us…negotiate.”

Dean remains quiet, ignoring yet another uneasy twinge in his gut. He didn’t join the army to fight the Indians. He doesn’t always understand their way of doing things, but he understands why they fight—to protect their land, and to protect their own. It’s the same reason Dean fights, when he has to.

He joined the army because…well, it felt like the right thing to do at the time. His father had been a Cavalry Major, and he’d died an honorable death, now about a decade past.

Has it really been ten years? Christ.

Dean wipes his brow. Even with the windows open, the office is humid and smells like ass. He glances outside, where both the mustang and the woman are tied to their posts under a sweltering sun at high noon.

Not for the first time, Dean wonders what his dad would think of him now. 

After the meeting, Dean and Benny fall into step together to inspect the camp. The summer sun shines hot on their blue uniforms, and occasionally they raise their hats to mop the sweat from their brows.

Things are running as usual, but many of the men’s eyes occasionally turn to the posts. Dean’s attention wanders there too without him realizing, catching on the woman’s dark hair. It shines even blacker in the sunlight, like a raven’s wing. He knows the shade because his dad used to have a feather kept in his journal, like a bookmark.

“You okay, brother?” Benny asks. Dean realizes what he’s doing, and his attention returns to the task at hand. Get it together.

Always forward, never backward.

“Just fine,” Dean replies. Benny gives him a knowing look.

“A bit unsavory, ain’t it?” he says. “Keeping her chained up without even a lick of water.”

“The Indians are getting smarter, bolder. They’re ambushing our men, going after our supply lines, and now, stealing our horses,” Dean says. “This is strategy.”

Benny shrugs slightly, making a sound of agreement. Dean hesitates, his gloved fingers flexing against his sides.

“If she was a man, you guys wouldn’t give a shit about putting a bullet through her head,” Dean says.

Benny’s gaze shifts downward. He doesn’t reply, but he concedes the point all the same.

They continue their route, and Dean keeps the rest of the conversation on the work at hand.

Mila has gone far longer without drink, but the sun is particularly unforgiving today. She’s prayed and prayed for even one cloud to glide overhead and shield her for a while. It’s not much better for her companion. He paces in place, occasionally tugging his head against the rope that binds him to his post.

She makes a clicking sound at the horse, getting his attention. She calls him by his name, and his ears flicker in her direction. He offers her a short whinny in response.

“I see you, Mato. I am with you,” she says in her native tongue. She hopes the sound of her voice will soothe him. He looks tired and hungry, but his eyes flick hard and untrusting on any man who comes near him. His spirit isn’t broken.

“Hey! Shut the hell up over there,” Roman shouts at her from where he and Cas are taking a short lunch break. Cas gives him a certain look, crossed mostly with annoyance.

Mila resists the urge to roll her eyes. Instead, she closes them and tilts her face back to the sun. In a way, it feels cleansing. Maybe it can wash away the stench of the White Men’s hands on her body, manhandling her, checking her for weapons.

She spends the rest of the day watching the camp. One of their leaders, the Green Eyed One, called this a fort. It does look fortified, with tall walls made of thick wood constructed to form a cage—whether to keep others out, or to keep the men and horses in.

She identifies the Colonel as their chief, of a kind. Green Eyes is second in command, followed by the Bearded One with a strange voice. Even the scruffy Blue Eyed One has some authority, mostly over the Child Faced One. There are too many others to rank them all, but she knows the Loud Mouthed One is arrogant, even after she broke his nose. The way he carries himself, he clearly thinks he has more power than he actually has.

In her mind, Mila conjures up different plans of escape. All of them fall short in some way. The men didn’t find all of her weapons; a small knife is hidden deep in her boot. She could saw at her binds within an hour, but even with Mato to carry her out and away, the problem is escaping this camp without alerting the men. Without getting shot.

She has three days to think.

That night, the moon refuses to give her clarity. Her stomach is too empty, her throat too dry, her tongue thick in her mouth. Her attention shifts in and out of consciousness, until the sound of boots crunching in the dirt trills unease down her spine. More alert, she sits up straighter.

The Loud Mouthed One. The one they call Roman comes to taunt her, offering her water, then drinking for himself instead. He comes closer to examine her. He has a small bind over his broken nose.

“You know, you’re a pretty one,” he says, taking another cold sip as his gaze drags over her form. “For a wild thing.”

His face nears hers, clean shaven, though his thin smile reminds her of a rattlesnake. Dread and repulsion churn at odds in her stomach as she realizes what he's really here for. It doesn't matter if he truly wants her, or just wants to pay her back for his face. Either way, he means to take her here in the dirt.

She looks away, not wanting to let him see her fear, or the dread tightening her stomach, rising into her throat. He winds long fingers into her hair. At first the hold is gentle, deceptive. Then it's tight against her scalp. She hisses in pain when he tugs her head back and forces her to look at him. Her breathing quickens as she tries to pull away.

He draws in close to try and claim her in a kiss, but she head-butts him, hard.

He cries out and stumbles back, his flask falling to the ground.

He angrily grabs her and hauls her up to her feet. He pushes her hard against the post and unbuckles his belt, just to stuff it in her mouth. With his free hand, he begins to undo his pants.

She refuses to cry out, even though she spits out his belt and fights him, trying to kick out his knees.

Suddenly, the man’s body is ripped away from her. Mila loses her footing and falls to the dusty ground, sliding against the wooden beam she’s tied to. The wind is knocked out of her, but when she raises her head, she watches with wide eyes as the Green Eyed One beats the other man into the dirt. It doesn’t take much, just a few well-placed fists.

Roman lies there catching his breath, and he spits a wad of phlegm and blood. His left eye will match his nose, that’s for sure.

Green Eyes looks angry and disgusted. He huffs and puffs while staring down at his subordinate. He pushes back his short brown hair and points an ungloved hand at Roman.

“Get back to the goddamn barracks. You’re gonna be mucking out stalls until shit’s coming out of your ears,” he growls.

Roman doesn’t argue, though it’s obvious that he wants to. He just picks himself up, makes a show of straightening up his open uniform jacket while catching his breath. He walks past Green Eyes with a resentful, angry look. Green Eyes watches him until he disappears inside.

Then, he turns to her. His gaze softens somewhat, but it’s still unreadable. He crouches down in front of her, resting his arms on his thighs. Mila’s gaze briefly falls to his hands. They’re calloused, the hands of a laboring man. He carries himself like a warrior.

“Sorry about that,” he says.

It’s not what she expected. Mila eyes him warily when he moves closer. She presses her back against the post until it hurts her spine. He raises up his hands placatingly.

“I’m not gonna hurt you,” he says.

“That is what your Colonel said,” she says. Her voice cracks with dryness. “I didn’t believe him either.”

His lips flicker at a rueful smile. It wrinkles crow’s feet around his eyes, breaking his stony face.

“Fair enough.”

He reaches for his belt and retrieves a flask, similar to the one his subordinate carried. He extends it out to her.

“It’s water, unless you prefer whiskey. I know I do,” he says.

She raises a brow at him, but hearing the sloshing inside the flask, her thirst takes over her wariness, and even her pride. She tentatively leans forward. He brings it closer so she can press her lips to the opening. Despite his Colonel’s orders, he lets her drink as much water as she’s able. When she’s done, he pockets the flask and sighs, running a hand through his hair.

“What’s your name?” he asks.

That, she will not give him. Names are sacred to her people, and this man, while seeming to have a shred of honor, isn’t worthy.

“Don’t wanna even tell me your name?” he says. He nods slightly. “Okay, well, I’m Dean. Captain Winchester, to this band of delinquents.”

He gestures around the camp with a dismissive hand. Mila only watches him. She’s never seen a White act like this, breaking his leader’s rules, being…kind.

What a strange man.

But if he had any real convictions, he would untie her and let her go, along with Mato. She won’t hold her breath.

Dean’s brows raise up toward his hairline, and his full lips form a pout. Realizing he’s not going to get anything more from her, he lets out a tired huff and straightens up.

“Well, goodnight,” he says.

He finally leaves her alone, but she can’t help but follow the swaggering path of his bowed legs and heavy boots. They carry him away and back indoors.  

A strange man.

By the morning of the third day, Dean is ready to do what he does best. Or at least, one thing he does best.

He’s no stranger to horses. He grew up on a farm in Lawrence, Kansas, where he and his brother would help take care of the animals. Dean was older, so he helped his father till the land and train the horses. Sometimes he and Sam would sneak off and race their favorite ones, until their mom called them back for dinner.

In fact, part of what earned Dean his rank in the U.S. Cavalry was how well he could command a horse. His own is resting in the stables.

Today, he’s getting in the ring with the mustang.

…Well, not right away. He lets a few of his guys go first to tire him out. Even after three days of no food or water, the horse is living up to his bad attitude. He bucks each of them off after just a few seconds in the corral. Dean can tell it’s becoming a kind of game for the horse. His dun-colored coat shines in the sun, his brown socked legs kicking up dust and manure as he brays angrily at whoever tries to mount him.

Dean notices the Lakota woman watching with an amused smile on her face while she sits with her hands tied to her post. She’s enjoying the show, like she knew this would happen. It seems to give her energy every time another man is thrown off the horse and limps out of the ring.

Dean shakes his head. Pitiful.

He puts two gloved fingers to his mouth and whistles the entire clearing to attention. He saves Kline the chance to bruise his spine and pats him on the shoulder. Dean steps into the corral and positions himself into the stirrups, wrapping the reins around his hand. The horse is breathing hard, but he’s not done. He’s still got fight in him. Dean sees it in his brown eyes.

“All right, mustang. You’re big and bad. I get it,” Dean says lowly. “But I don’t scare easy. Gimme your best damn shot.”

Cas and Benny give him wary looks from where they stand outside the gate.

“Hold onto your hat, Cap,” Benny mutters.

Dean adjusts his hat and rests his gun on the post for safe keeping. He wants to feel as natural as possible, like it’s just him and this horse, out back in his family farm. He holds on tight to the reins. He’s fully prepared for how the mustang takes off at a galloping clip around the ring. He twists and bucks, but Dean claps his thighs tight and holds on for the ride.

The horse gets smarter.

He runs for the water trough just outside the ring. He slams Dean against the side of it once, twice—and manages to throw him off, with Dean landing right in the water trough.

He bursts out from the dirty water, sopping wet and spluttering in anger. He looks over at the horse trotting around, whinnying and tossing his head like he’s laughing. Dean can’t help it. His anger fades, and he smiles.

This guy’s got some brass balls, I’ll give him that.

The Lakota woman laughs. Dean hears it and his head swivels toward her. She bites her lip, but she knows she’s been caught. Despite his injured pride, Dean’s lips curve with a smirk. Just gonna laugh at me, huh?

“I see things are going well,” comes a familiar drawl.

Dean’s face falls as he looks up and finds Colonel Sanderson. Dean pulls himself out of the trough and tries to squeeze some water out of his uniform. He clears his throat.

“Well, uh, it’s going, sir. Just gonna take a little more time than I thought,” Dean says. He quickly reclaims his hat from the ring, giving the mustang a smart berth. After he climbs back out, he goes over to the post where he left his pistol.

“Hold him steady,” Sanderson barks out the order, but not at Dean. The other men wrangle the horse back into the pen, where Sanderson climbs up and mounts the horse himself.

To his credit, he stays on longer than even Dean thought he would. The mustang gallops and circles. He tries slamming Sanderson on the sides of the corral, tries bucking him and bucking him, but the man clings on, even when his hat falls into the dirt.

The horse is exhausted. He eventually stops in the middle of the ring, panting for breath, his legs shaking slightly. Dean straightens at attention.

So does the Lakota woman, he notices. She looks worried, her brows furrowing.

Sanderson swipes a hand over his graying hair and moustache to collect himself. He raises his head with an arrogant smile.

“You see, gentlemen. Any horse can be broken,” he says. He kicks the horse with his spur. “Move along, mustang.”

To everyone’s amazement, the horse obeys him. He moves forward at a slow clip. All the men applaud, even Dean, belatedly.

“There are those in Washington who believe the West will never be settled,” Sanderson continues. “The Northern Pacific Railroad will never breach Nebraska.”

His gaze draws over to the woman. Her eyes are filled with tears as she watches the Colonel makes his rounds.

“A hostile Lakota,” he says in derision, “will never submit to providence.”

She stares back at him with steel in her watery eyes.

Dean doesn’t realize his jaw is clenched tight until he feels the strain in his jaw. He forces himself to relax, with his hand on his dampened belt.

“And it’s that kind of small thinking that would say this horse would never be broken,” Sanderson says. “Discipline, time, and patience. That’s all you need to level a wild thing.”

Just then, the horse stops abruptly.

“Mustang?” Sanderson asks in warning.

Dean tenses. He knows what’s about to happen.

“Sir!” he calls out.

But it’s too late.

The stallion revs and charges, bucking even wilder than before. He swings his head and rears back high on his hind legs with a powerful bray. Sanderson yells in fear and strain, but he stays on the creature’s back.

The horse’s angry eyes take on a darker shade of conviction. When all four of his hooves hit the ground, he finally bucks hard enough to get the Colonel off his back, though he still clings to the reins near the animal’s head. He comes face to face with the horse’s crazed eyes. His own are wide and full of terror.

Hot breath heats Sanderson’s face. Then the horse swings his head and tosses the man out of the ring. In the process, the horse falls on his side and shatters a section of the wooden beams that fenced him in.

While he shakes his head and gets his hooves under him, Dean and Benny help the Colonel up to his feet. His uniform is a wreck, and now, with a bruised body and likely a couple of broken ribs, the man is fuming.

Kline and Roman wrangle the horse’s reins and keep him more or less in place. The Colonel shoves Dean and Benny off of him. He reaches for his gun at his belt and aims it at the mustang. Dean goes rigid in shock, but he knows he can’t interfere. If he does, it could warrant some major discipline.

The Colonel pulls the hammer back on the revolver, but before he can pull the trigger, the sound of cutting rope and a feminine yell breaks the silence in the clearing. The Lakota woman pulls the Colonel’s arms down, and the gun goes off into the ground. Her elbow comes up quick to strike the man between the eyes. He careens back into Benny, who catches him.

Meanwhile, the woman swings up onto the mustang. She grabs a stronghold by the neck and barks something in her native language. It spurs the horse onward, and he breaks through the crowd of men at a gallop.

Dean watches with widening eyes and furrowing brows. “Shit!”

He runs to the stables where he finds Baby waiting for him. Her black coat ripples as she stamps impatiently.

“Come on, sweetheart,” he beckons. He leads the mare out of the stable, and after grabbing a coil of rope from the supply bench, he mounts her smoothly. With a subtle kick of his heel, she picks up speed to follow the mustang and his rider.

They’re already approaching the gate where the men are quickly trying to close it. There’s still a window of opportunity for escape, but not only is Dean on their heels, Roman also stands on a pile of crates filled with iron parts that are due to be shipped out in the morning for continued construction on the railroad. Roman holds a rifle. He trains his weapon on the woman, taking deadly aim.

Dean’s jaw clenches and his brows furrow. He knows then, in the breadth of a few seconds, that he has to make a choice. If he does nothing, both she and the horse are as good as dead.

Sam used to call him reckless, stubborn as the horses he spent long hours taming.

Right about now, his brother is probably right.

Dean reaches for his gun, aims, and shoots within the span of those seconds. Roman goes down before he even knows what hits him. His chest plumes with blood after he slides down the crates and flops heavy to the ground. His eyes stare unseeing at the crisp blue sky.

The mustang tears through the narrow opening in the gate, and Dean isn’t far behind. The woman is an excellent rider, far better than he expected her to be. She clings to the horse’s neck and mane, and she doesn’t even use the stirrups. She clings on when the horse leaps over rocks, and when she notices Dean tailing her, she urges the horse at an even faster gallop.

Dean’s face furrows with determination. Baby is built for speed too.

He gives her a little kick with his heel. “Come on, Baby. Go!”

He’s able to keep up with the mustang just a few yards behind, even when they reach rougher terrain, going further up and into a canyon. He follows them through every curve and dip, guiding his horse just as much as she's guiding him.

Dean takes his rope in hand and turns it above his head, but his attempt to lasso the mustang's neck fails; the woman saws straight through the rope with her knife.

"Damn it!" Dean mutters.

He's forced to let go of his frayed rope when he and Baby nearly careen off the edge of a cliff. His heart settles high in his throat as he grits his teeth, but he pulls back on the reins hard and leans in the opposite direction. Baby's able to bank left, saving them from a long way down to certain death.

They continue up the narrow path the mustang has trod ahead. It carves around and through the mountain.

Dean mentally grasps for a plan, aside from just keeping up. Without even a bit of rope, he doesn’t know how he’s going to slow the woman down without hurting her or the horse. He doesn’t want to have to use his gun.

Eventually, the canyon breaks into a patch of desert, and then, grassy plains and tall forest trees. The mustang begins to tire and slow to a stop. His rider murmurs soothing things to him, stroking his neck. She turns back to look at Dean over her shoulder in dismay. She knows she’s caught.

“All right, sweetheart. That’s enough,” Dean says.

He sidles up next to her and intends to grab the mustang’s reins.

That’s when her swift kick comes, dead in his forehead.

AN: And here we go! 😅 Feels right that November is Native American Indian Heritage Month. 🫶🏽 For that reason especially I've done my best to do the Lakota people justice, even in this little series and complete work of fiction.

There's a lot packed in this first chapter, and yep, I did borrow a bit of scene from one of the best scenes in Spirit as an homage. From here on out, we're literally going off road...

Next Time:

Dean falls out of his saddle with a yell, landing hard in the grass. The impact knocks the air out of his chest and his hat off his head, not to mention the pain that rattles down his back.

“Son of a bitch,” he wheezes, while trying to get back up.

The woman jumps down from the mustang’s back and all but leaps on Dean. Straddling his waist and grabbing a fistful of his collar, she lets out a battle cry and raises a small knife at him. It’s probably no more than two inches long.

Dean may be on the ground with a smarting forehead, but he’s still got the upper hand. He grabs her knife-wielding arm and whips out his pistol from his belt. Her eyes widen, and she stills above him. The gun lies between them, aimed for her chest. They’re both breathing hard.

Dean has a problem.

Looking into her eyes, soulful and brown, the slope of her nose and her full lips, parted with shock… 

COMING 11/10! (New chapters every Sunday.)

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[valcaine]

hi I just crushed my leg with a fourwheeler a bit ago have a piglin fella I wanna use for a roleplay

[ookaryi]

Nahida redesign! Breakdown below

So I adore Nahida as character, but especially as a southasian I always wished she would have more cultural motifs in her design. I really wanted to see something that could be realistically in the game, that adds to the original, while retaining the few great details hyv put in her design so I thought why not do it myself!

I based her dress on the lehenga instead of having the basic dress, as it's closest to her silhouette (missed opportunity!!!!!!). Its traditional wear, yet not as ancient as the saree which i thought fits nahidas youthfulness. Tbh I just split the dress in 2 lol, as i love her patterns

These prominently feature the bodhi leaf, which in buddhism symbolizes enlightenment and wisdom. So it was important for me to not alter those elements, and I changed almost nothing else on the dress.

What I did change are the sleeve things (?) To an actual dupatta, which is a type of long scarf. Put even more bodhi symbols there. Sorry for bad pic

Additionally I added a maang tikka (head jewelry) and earrings. I kept her bangle and the ghanta bell (used in hindu rituals) on the back as these are the other cultural elements she has.

The Mehndi design is a Lotus to reference one of her inspirations: Anahita, persian goddess of wisdom and flowing waters and where Nahida's name comes from. She is also inspired by hindu goddesses like Saraswati (also goddess of wisdom and more), Aranyani (forest goddess) , a forest fairy from the buddhist Kusanali Jataka tale, and likely even more.

And for the last detail: I gave her anklets, in reference to Aranyani/Rukkhadevata.

One of Rukkhadevatas title was Queen Aranyani, and the actual real goddess is said to have worn anklets with bells that were heard in the forest. Tho I removed the bells, since Rukkhadevata is dead and forgotten now, and so you can't hear her anymore. :')

Bc of it's purpose it's not the flashiest design, but I had so much fun researching, learning so many new things and trying to incorporate them back to Nahidas design! If someone educated has more to add or something I can correct I'd love to hear :)

[usermakki]

hello lovely! Hope you're well! Maybe I'm interpreting it wrong but I keep thinking about how if tsaheylu is such a comforting bonding action, do you think the na'vi only join during mating or in other cute private moments too? I can't stop thinking about tsaheylu whilst cooking together or just star gazing/cloud watching and soaking in each others existence - how do you think the avatar mens relationships might incorporate tsaheylu into the little moments with their loved ones??????

author’s note ; ANON!!! ARE YOU LIVING INSIDE MY WALLS?? i was Literally thinking about this concept a few days ago.. so like the nerd that i am, i did a Lot of research on this topic and, no joke, i read a ton of official content about na’vi culture and customs; but tsaheylu is only described as a neural connection served to share sensory information between the na’vi, pandora and its’ creatures. but the fun of fandom is that i can make with that whatever i want ;) also, wasn’t in the mood to make a header or post separately :p

pairing: neteyam, lo’ak, tsu’tey, jake, ao’nung, rotxo, tonowari x reader

content ; tsaheylu as a bonding pastime and a form of affection, established relationship + mating bond, afab!pregnant!reader, na’vi!reader, dreamwalker!reader, eyktanay!neteyam, children + parenting, fluff, aged-up!characters, lowercase intended

・・・・・・  ɴᴇᴛᴇʏᴀᴍ

  ﹒ɞ  during meals by virtue of being so busy with his eyktanay duties, the second in command in the clan after his father, neteyam ensures to cherish all of the moments he gets to spend with you, as sparse as they may be. he makes sure to hunt your favorite meats and harvest the tastiest of fruits, with only your satisfaction at the forefront of his mind. whether you choose to have your meals on the communal grounds, or separately, at your marui, or any other place, neteyam aims for your comfort. he will let you accommodate yourself, always giving you some space to sort yourself out—but the moment you sit down alongside him, he's quick and eager, carefully grabbing both of your kuru and performing the connection. neither of you minds whoever is near, as you prepare the food to your liking, all the while sitting so close you feel like one. the physical proximity only intensifies the tsaheylu, it makes your skin prickle with sensitivity, hairs standing on end, only soothed by the warm touch of his hand on your hips, shoulder, and arms. there's no need for talking, aside from quips and short comments regarding his duties, anything else is shared through the bond, picked up by your neural tendrils and felt deep in your being. the food tastes better, your responsibilities are merely distant thoughts, there’s not a single worry in your mind, and all because of him.

ㅤ

・・・・・・  ʟᴏ'ᴀᴋ

  ﹒ɞ  when cuddling i say that lo'ak performs tsaheylu with you the second most out of all of them. he is an affectionate person by nature, always craving your touch and connection, and the familiarity it brings with it. he enjoys spending all of his free time with you, either in the presence of others or by yourselves, but he prefers to keep the action of bonding just between you two. whether you're unwinding at your marui after a long day, or cuddling into his side at the shore as you watch the sunset, there's no doubt that either of you has reached out to connect your tswin just as you arrived. it is a comforting practice, having you pressed against him as you enjoy the leisure waves of your emotions washing over the both of you. pair that with his physical intimacy, in the form of a gentle stroke of your hair, the faint graze of his fingertips along your skin, his tail playfully flicking at yours, the low murmur of his voice next to your ear, and you're sure to reach nirvana. it's not uncommon for both of you to fall asleep like this, tangled in one another, swayed and lulled into slumber with the only thought in your minds being each other.

ㅤ

・・・・・・  ᴛꜱᴜ'ᴛᴇʏ

  ﹒ɞ  while performing your chores it took quite some time for your human mind to comprehend the spiritual and physical importance of the kuru to the na'vi. tsu'tey had slowly guided you through the process of bonding with a pa'li and an ikran, patient with the minimal grasp you had over his customs and culture, all the while, you were completely unaware of his desire to bond with you, or of that being a possibility, even. now that you are bonded, he is overtly eager to perform the tsaheylu with you in your day-to-day; of getting to feel all of your emotions, and acquaintance himself with all of your thoughts, desires, and fears. it's exhilarating and domestic in a way you wouldn't ever think capable of being. any time you are at your marui, cleaning, weaving, tsu'tey is always at your side, tswin connected to yours, as he partakes in his own activities. you can feel the shivers along his skin, the itching thought that plagues him, that warm, fluttering feeling whenever he gazes at you. time goes by quickly like that, with neither of you noticing or caring—too enthralled by the intimacy and the distinct softness of your affection for one another, with no need for touch.

ㅤ

・・・・・・  ᴊᴀᴋᴇ

  ﹒ɞ  while caring for your children parenthood came easy for both you and your mate, it just felt right from the beginning, when you held your firstborn for the first time and everything just clicked into place. jake loves spending time with the kids, and it seems that it's all that you do as of lately—four children are quite a handful, after all. and so, in the middle of all the craziness of your family life, you separate a few moments for yourselves, to be connected and present for one another, through the tsaheylu. be it during a cuddle pile, as your children snore and drool over the both of you, or as you bathe them in a lake one by one, both feeling all the happiness and love doubled through the bond as you watch your kids splash each other and play their small people games. the comfort the action brings is very grounding; a reminder that you're present with each other, as well as present for one another during all the moments of your lives, and your children's. jake loves feeling your emotions through the link, and he never forgets to sit down for a while and watch it all unfold, your bright smile and the gleam in your eyes. it's a special moment between all of his favorite people. 

ㅤ

・・・・・・  ᴀᴏ'ɴᴜɴɢ

  ﹒ɞ  as you prepare to sleep sob, sniffle, just thinking about ao'nung sorting out a time for you every night so you can talk over your day and bask in each other's presence <3 he gently takes your hand right as you enter your marui, careful not to drag you abruptly, and leads you toward the hammock so you can sit down to rest your swollen legs. you're accustomed to it by now, reaching for his kuru absentmindedly as he stands over you, spilling every single thought inside his head, while he dries the saltwater from your skin with a cloth—and if you take too long, he'll hastily connect your neural tendrils himself. his yearning to perform tsaheylu with you is adorable, not only because he adores you and always wishes to be tethered to you as one, but he aches to feel the child in your womb, as well. he places his forehead on your belly, speaking to you quietly in between the kisses he pecks over your skin. it is all very delicate and vulnerable, as you can feel all the affection he pours through the link, and it always brings tears to your eyes. that's his way of reaching out and connecting with you, of letting you feel all of the enthusiasm he doesn't outwardly show. 

ㅤ

・・・・・・  ʀᴏᴛxᴏ

  ﹒ɞ  when weaving and crafting your mate spends a lot of his time weaving and crafting you gifts, pouring much of his love into the craft. and it's no surprise that you're with him in those moments, either lying beside him as he works, or sitting so close to him he sometimes feels the need to ask for some space, or else his hands begin to falter. every time this happens, your tswin are linked, and you peacefully enjoy the quiet as you watch him work. you can feel all his dedication and affection through your connection, and it's all very sweet, as you watch his hands dexterously create something completely dedicated to you. the tsaheylu only strengthens rotxo's words and actions, not that there is any need for it, because he makes it very clear how devoted he is to you and the relationship. so you take the opportunity to let him know, and feel, how much he means to you, and how grateful you are for being so loved and taken care of—by thinking and remembering of all your favorite moments alongside him, so that he can feel all the love and devotion through the link. sometimes you're so intensely invested in this, that rotxo needs to stop weaving from how hard his hands are trembling.

ㅤ

・・・・・・  ᴛᴏɴᴏᴡᴀʀɪ

  ﹒ɞ  while counseling the clan people tonowari is such a busy man—both of you are, being leaders of your clan and ministering every decision and caring for all of the people. the time you spend together is scarce and it ends too soon; for most, that would be the cause of countless fights and the origin of unhappiness, but your love is strong and you nurture it every day through small, meaningful acts. Any time spent together is an opportunity to be as close and connected to each other as you can. So performing tsaheylu while tending and counseling the clan folk is common, and despite being such an intimate act, not a cause of embarrassment. in fact, being connected while making important decisions has proved to be very effective, as you can feel each other's emotions and thoughts through the tswin as if they were your own—it makes it easy to understand your mate and compromise with him. it makes for a beautiful impression, as you sit side by side in the middle of the dwelling, knees and thighs touching; tonowari expertly soothes and advises a hunter, meanwhile, you tenderly spread healing balm over the wound of another. it is a sentimental form of intimacy, a testimony of the devoted understanding in your relationship. where others see hassle, you and tonowari only see cooperation.

[nkjemisin]

Hi!

I’m currently struggling to go to sleep the night before a big solo performance for a school event, so I figured I’d ask one of my favorite authors a couple things I’ve been wondering about. (Does flattery still work on people?)

So, I believe I remember you saying something along the lines of “people ask me why I write about weird sex magic. It’s because I read Greek mythology, and it has a lot of weird sex magic.” And I’m paraphrasing that horribly, but I was wondering, what things *have* you drawn inspiration from? I’m in love with the way magic is portrayed in both the Dreamblood books and the Broken Earth trilogy (I’ve yet to read the inheritance series), and I was wondering what inspiration you had? They feel kind of different to me—dreamseed and it’s counterparts seem really rooted in the four humors and the way some older mythos have a big fuss around the seed of gods and all that fun stuff, but the magic in Broken Earth feels a lot more . . . introspective, I guess? It seems like you’ve written it to be much more focused on the individual’s own perception of it, and that influences what they can do/how they do things. And I don’t really think I’ve seen anything that leans into that angle, as far as mythos goes. (Though I really, really cannot claim to be knowledgeable in that.)

And for the second thing: do you have any tips to becoming a good reader? I can read *fast*, but I really feel like I don’t get more than just the surface and shallow ideas about the message/themes the author might intend. It always seems like people are able to come up with very introspective, in depth dissections of their favorite characters and books, and I can’t help but look at those sometimes, and go, “wow, what was *I* reading?” I guess that it might be a learned skill, but I don’t really know where to start. I guess I also wanted to ask about what themes and such you wanted to incorporate into the Broken Earth trilogy (that was my introduction to you, then Dreamblood, then the Great Cities), but that’s really just a secondary thing to this question.

Well, regardless of whether or not you answer, I just wanted to ask so I could stop thinking about it constantly. I can’t wait to jump into the Inheritance Trilogy next time I buy books.

Flattery doesn't work on me, but I do love to talk shop, so... 😄 Cutting for length:

To your first question, about the different ways I depict magic -- first, it's not just Greek mythology that I use. There are soooo many cosmologies and cosmogonies out there that show gods as rowdy, horny, petty, and basically human, just with weird magic powers on top of that. The Dreamblood books are specifically informed by ancient Egyptian mythology and culture. I did some research into ancient Egyptian medical texts -- in particular the Edwin Smith Papyrus -- so I drew from those to create Gujaareh's four dream humors. I wanted Gujaareh to feel like an ancient Egypt that might have developed if magic actually worked... and if its own version of Imhotep had been a manipulative megalomaniac who decided to start a magic-controlled theocracy. tl,dr; Ancient Egyptians had a thing for humors and surgery and gods that were into sex lettuce, so that's what I claimed for Gujaareh.

With the Inheritance Trilogy I ranged more widely in what I mooched from existing cosmologies, because I wanted to build a belief system that resembled real-world stuff but wasn't just our world's gods in costume. For example, I noticed that lots of systems suggested that existence or human genesis begins with gods banging or fighting (or both), so I came up with a creation myth chock full of gods banging and fighting. Familiar hanger, new clothes on it.

But the Broken Earth books aren't about gods. There's a mythic frame "explaining" the Seasons and past disasters and Father Earth and so on, but that wasn't the focus. I was more interested in the ways we apply myths to people, treating some marginalized groups as simultaneously superhuman and subhuman... but never simply human. Same for the Great Cities books. It's meaningful that other cultures have discovered the existence of city avatars and worked them into their cosmologies, but only as a bit of detail to make the world more complete. Again, the mythology isn't the focus there.

I can't help you on becoming a good reader, sadly, because I am a very bad reader these days. I have a lot of trouble shutting off my "inner editor voice," which is a thing that I've heard a lot of other pro authors (and editors, and reviewers) mention. People in my business spend years developing the ability to spot problems in writing... and the inner editor is what happens when you stop being able to shut that ability off. The typos, the clichés, the patches of language that could've been trimmed out, all of it just starts to glare. The thing is, all books have issues like this, and most of the time they're not even errors, just... pecadilloes. The little things that are part of reading work made by human beings. They mean the writer was tired and didn't proofread as closely as they should, or maybe the writer was waffling on word use and inadvertently ended up using one a little too much, or maybe they were having a fight with their copyeditor about spelling and missed a grammar flub. Just part of reading. But if you, like me, have an inflamed inner editor, then instead of taking in the whole picture of whatever the author is trying to show you, you get nitpicky. You get irrationally angry at typos. You hyperfocus on the author's tendency to use one word too much. (A writer friend told me I use too many "plinths," for example.) You spend time thinking about structural issues and not noticing the language, or vice versa.

But since I'm currently in self-imposed reading rehab, maybe this will help you: For me, it helps to move away from what's familiar. I read a lot of stuff outside the SFF genre, because it's easier to shut off my inner editor when I'm less familiar with the tropes, the styles, the concepts. I've also really gotten into audiobooks, for example, because when I can't see the text I can't critique it, or at least not as instantly. So that's all I can suggest. If you've developed the habit of gulping down books, find a way to throttle the flow, so to speak. Try playing audiobooks on half speed, to train yourself to patience. Read outside your comfort zone, which will force you to slow down and take things in because of the unfamiliarity. Maybe try ebooks with the text blown up a lot, so that you have to turn the page more often; I don't know, just spitballing now. Maybe folks will have better suggestions in the comments. Hope it helps!

[the-lunar-library]

TO THE RAVENS

To many who live on the Moon, the matriarchal dog-worshipping Dog Heads are barbarians, but Lykedon thrives in the cosmopolitan luxury of the lunar capital – and in the palace of the mysterious King Endymion no less. His exact job isn't on official record, but superficially he's known as the royal librarian, and his knowledge of both lunar and Earthborn literature is second to none. A careful and canny man, Lykedon isn't easily surprised. But when a famous prophet rolls into his city on a strange mission, even Lykedon finds himself surprised – and more than a little amused.

I've talked a lot about how my research ended up shaping the book's setting and placing realistic limitations on the characters. But the Dog Heads? They were a chance to let loose and have fun, so that made Lykedon a fun character to write. I think he's intriguing, a character I've only scratched the surface of. He's very confident and secure, but not at all loud about it. He'll let people insult him, but he almost always retains the upper hand. That can't have always been true. Where did he start in life? Why did he leave his homeland behind? What about his voracious passion for literature? Even as the author, I don't know the answers to all these questions. I think any crucial information about Lykedon would only come drip by drip, and largely by his own choice.

His name is pretty straightforward – Lykedon, “wolf-like”; Dog Heads love incorporating dogs and wolves and foxes and their different attributes into their names. In my write-up about Dog Heads, I talked about how the Greeks and Romans of the time would have had stories of dog-headed men. Though Dog Heads aren't werewolves by any means, they believe they're descended from Artemis' hunting pack, who were honored and turned into humans. The Greeks and Romans had werewolves in their myths, at least humans who were changed into wolves. As far as I know, the myths themselves don't link werewolves to the Moon, but the Greek language does link wolves and nighttime – an ancient Greek word for “twilight” is lykophos, literally “wolf light”. Also, Lucian situates his own “dog-faced men” on the Moon.

As for Lykedon's design, I wanted to incorporate the flame-haired men Lucian writes of. Probably not all Dog Head men dye their hair in fire colors, especially once they leave their homeland. I never give a reason for it, but it probably relates to something in their mythology. One of my sources discussed a (quite cruel) Roman religious ceremony involving tying firebrands to foxes' tails and releasing them to run around. No one really knows why this custom came about. (It reminds me of things like foxfire and kitsune, so I wonder if there's some deeper, very basic symbol at play.) The point is, I think it's fair, when world-building, to include things that exist without explanation. Similarly, Lykedon's silver facial tattoos are mysterious, as the designs are used all across the Moon in Artemis worship, but they're so old no one's entirely sure what they originally meant. Their design is made up, but one of my sources talked about how some Thracians in ancient Greece had silver facial tattoos. (Sadly, no word on what they depicted.)

I like having these things unexplained. If I ever write more about the Dog Heads, it gives me room to experiment and develop their customs more – or leave them open and mysterious.

Through his smarts and excellent people skills, Lykedon has very successfully made his way into Kynthian-Roman culture, but he's proud of his heritage and still does the whole Dog Head thing: fiery hair and a dog-shaped headdress. More often he wears his casual headdress, which includes a small dog skull with false inset eyes. His fancy one is painted wood with dog's teeth and tassels along the back. Its design was inspired by two ancient Greek drinking cups.

Despite his startling hair and headdress, there's something pleasant, optimistic, solid, even a little warm about Lykedon. I would say don't trust it. Lykedon is certainly capable of forming close relationships, caring about others, even loving others. But he's an intelligent, well-connected, and highly maneuvering man, so... don't always trust it.

[yujeong]

Question from the Fanfic Writers Ask Game:

11. What’s something neat you’ve learned while doing research for something you were writing? Also, how much do you worry about doing research in general?

I'm extremaly curious to know what type of fandom research people do and learn about their discoveries.

Hiiii! Thank you for taking interest in this, I appreciate you sending me the ask ❤️ Hmm, I have a weird relationship with research: I always feel I do 1. No research at all and 2. Not enough, when I acknowledge to myself I had to look up at least SOME things for my fics. In general, I am ignorant about a LOT of stuff, so research feels daunting and scary and even when I discover what I want to, I don't know how to incorporate that into my stories or if it's even correct information. I feel super self-conscious about it, which is why I normally don't write fics that require knowledge I'm not at all familiar with. Cowardly, sure, but the potential mistakes are too many for me to take that risk. (I'm learning though! The next fic I'll post will include some Thai cultural stuff related to Dharma that I had to thoroughly study about. I can only hope I won't screw it up.) Self-deprecation aside, I'm going to share some of the stuff I had to research for my fics - posted or not - to help people understand what I mean:

1. I had to look up various medical facts about stabbing (how deadly it is, how much time someone needs to heal etc), due to a scene that involved one in The Knight's Pawn, 2. I looked up videos of Muay Thai sparring matches in order to be able to write a sparring match in The Knight's Pawn - as well as see the differences from western boxing. Muay Thai is also something I've researched for another fic and to properly understand Pete as a character, 3. I had to look up sooo many chess terms for The Knight's Pawn, specifically for the chapter titles and summaries. Fun fact, the title of the fic makes no sense in chess; I told my irl friend who plays chess as an amateur about it and he proceeded to lose his mind lmao, 4. This will sound silly probably, but I studied Bangkok's map in order to be able to figure out a driving path for a trip down memory lane. I specifically wanted to figure out the distance between the main and minor family compounds (fun fact, it's approximately 15 minutes by car and 1 hour via public transport). I also looked up Lumphini Park and it's how I found out about dragon lizards! Very cool creatures, I wouldn't go near one ever, though, 5. I don't know if this one counts, but for the things you can(not) change, I had to watch Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox around 5 times in order to be able to portray the parallels correctly haha, 6. Since just a mission was based on ApoBuild's Bvlgari event, I looked up the venue it took place in, which is Icon Siam near Chao Phraya River, one of the most famous shopping malls in Bangkok, 7. For To Consume and Be Consumed's 1st chapter I had to... um... look up if it's possible for someone to not get an erection even if both the prostate and the penis are stimulated for a long period of time. The results suggested it is, so I tried to not stress over it too much 😅 The reception of the chapter was a lot better than I anticipated too, so I was happy with it, 8. Now, to start off about the fics that haven’t been posted yet and to remain in the spirit of the horny, I've looked up about autoerotic asphyxiation, if it's safe to use ice cream during sex (it isn't), if it's safe to have sex when someone is sick (it depends), the effects of GHB and how damaging a human bite can be (a lot if it's not treated immediately due to the bacteria in our mouths), 9. In the same realm, I've done a LOT of studying about La Pietà, the famous sculpture by our boy Michelangelo, so much so that for a while I couldn't escape it - I was seeing it everywhere. I'll keep the reasons for doing such research hidden for now, but it does involve smut xoxo, 10. I've only scratched the surface for this one, but I have begun studying about chronic pain for a post-canon VP fic I want to write. It doesn't involve smut and I don't think it will, but you never know, 11. Again, idk if it counts, but I've read Uzumaki for a NonWhite/TeeWhite fic I want to write one day, in order to draw parallels and whatnot. I'm very into parallels in case you haven't noticed haha, 12. Last, but certainly not least, the most difficult thing I've been researching and will probably never stop researching is Buddhism. To truly get Pete, you need to understand even the basics of Dharma and there are just so many things I don't know about it. Baby steps, but I'm getting there.

[arillustrated]

I just saw your latest ATLA (Zutara) art and it's just AAAAHH (Cultural accuracy is always loved in that house) I love it so much ;-; Your artstyle is so detailed... In your brainrot time, I wanted to share my ATLA brainrot : Lian "The Maker", a character exclusive to the first videogame.

To quote one of the Avatar Generations main developers, "She likes builds big robots, she's just so cool"

She's a non-bender, but she builds steampunk-like mechas, she is that cool.

YOOOO i love that she gets the "she's just so cool" stamp from the developers that's hilarious i love that for her. i love niche interests. i havent played the video game and i have to stop myself from buying every atla media ever bc i will have no money 🥲

as for cultural accuracy? thank uuuu i am having a lot of fun researching fashion from around the world to incorporate in my designs 🥰 but honestly i dont know if accuracy is the best word because ive been combining designs from different cultures based on what i think the real-world equivalent would be. im thinking of specifically zuko in which i combine thai and chinese traditional dress bc there's canonical precedent and my personal headcanons about zuko's fashion choices. i may make that it's own post. that and talk about the storyline for my 20s Gaang AU that currently lives rent free in my brain

[blackjackkent]

5, 12 and 27 for Hector (or any other BG3 characters that you have thoughts on, haha)

(Pop Culture and Fandom-Themed OC Questions)

Hee - ty for the ask! Hec's the only BG3 OC I've deeply developed at the moment, so we'll stick with him for now.

5. What song(s) do you associate with your OC?

Ooh. I'm always very bad at this. [goes to look at Spotify] I don't tend to think of these in advance, but some thoughts off the top of my head.

"She Sets the City on Fire" by Gavin DeGraw has some good vibes for his romance with Karlach; not entirely correct in all the lyrics but the chorus is Very Good.

Everybody knows she's a perfect 10 And I'm hanging on tight till the whole thing ends, 'Cos New York sky can't get much brighter. She sets, she sets the city on fire.

There's actually a lot of songs in my main Spotify playlist that make for good Hector/Karlach feels - "Gone Gone Gone" by Phillip Phillips and "Daylight" from Maroon 5 also fall in this category.

As for Hector himself... this is more challenging, but "The Cave" by Mumford and Sons sticks out at me as a possibility. Its lyrics are pretty metaphorical and subjective but I think (or at least am choosing to think in this moment) that its references to Plato's Cave suggest that it's about someone opening their eyes to the wider truths of the world and incorporating them into a wider, stronger worldview. Which is certainly a good representation of Hector's journey over the course of the game.

12. What animal would your OC have as their His Dark Materials daemon?

Fun question! I love His Dark Materials haha.

Hm. An owl, I think. Fairly wise, not flamboyant but observant. And a guided missile predator when needed. :D

27. In a murder mystery, what role would your OC play? (e.g. detective, sidekick, wacky suspect, rival investigator who gets in thew way, red herring, true culprit)

I'm guessing he'd be the detective, given how thorough he's been about researching the Open Hand murders and how mad he got at Valeria about her not taking her job seriously. XD

[timothylawrence]

4 and 7 for the writing game 🥰

omg... tumblr user filbort !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4. What's something you've researched but haven't incorporated into your fic?

ermmm ermmm.... ive done a lot of native swana culture research but never been brave enough to really incorporate that beyond a few throwaway lines in fic !!! im too shy LOL

7. What character do you enjoy writing most? Why?

omg i wrote so many... but if i had to boil it down to three it'd be Katagawa, Sasha, and Naoko. For Kat, he's got so much personality and he's just. so animated so writing him is a LOT of fun. he's very rewarding and different stages of his redemption so to speak are really fun to jump around.

For Naoko, she's equally as rewarding imo!! getting to see her change from what little we have in canon to whatever i put her through (sorry girlie ily) makes me feel really rewarded and happy LOL. it's also fun to write her interacting with people and in situations she hasnt previously been through!

and for my dearest darling Sasha... I think it has a lot to do with how complex she is.. she's a much deeper character than people give her credit for so it's always a joy to explore her character and how she ineracts with different people :3 <3

[zepskies]

Podcast Interview With Idling in the Impala: "Y/N and Let Y/N…"

Here we go! Sandra and Kasey, the lovely hosts of @idlingintheimpalapodcast — the podcast for all things SPN and fanfiction — invited me on the pod for an interview…

We chatted about Dean Winchester and Jensen Ackles’ early roles, the best and worst seasons of SPN, the joys and pains of writing Soldier Boy, and much, much more.

That’s right, there be some hot takes coming in this convo, and I had an absolute blast with these two! (And like I said in Sunday's announcement, I’m also putting my name and my voice out there for the first time! 😆)

So if any of that sounds interesting, feel free to dive in!

(**Important Note: Just to preface, we recorded this back in June, so it was before I posted certain stories or even started developing Lost on You. It was also when Tumblr activity/engagement was going through a spring/summer slowdown lol.

Links to all the fics and podfics we mentioned are at the end of this post.)

Have a listen: ⤵️

Interview Timestamps –

(Plus fic recs, SPN writer shoutouts, and more!)

1:44 – Who’s your guy: Sam or Dean?

3:35 – Getting into Supernatural for the first time (and seeing “Deanisms” in Jensen’s early roles).

10:15 – We debate the best and worst seasons of SPN: talking Mary Winchester, the British MOL, MOC Dean vs. Demon Dean, Chuck/God villainy, “jump the shark” moments, and that ending.

30:29 – Favorite SPN characters besides Sam and Dean.

32:34 – Writing fanfiction, joining Tumblr, and writing reader inserts vs. OCs.

38:05 – To “Y/N” or not “Y/N,” and the power of 2nd person. (**Disclaimer: Despite my hot take on this, I’ve loved a lot of stories by authors who use Y/N in reader insert stories.

Also, if I’m remembering the book You and its characters incorrectly forgive me, it’s been like 5 years since I read it lol.) 

51:00 – Favorite fanfic tropes in romance, the joys and challenges of writing Soldier Boy (AKA: the Original Asshole), and attempting to humanize Ben in Break Me Down.

Shoutout to @deans-spinster-witch always for giving me the inspiration to write BMD. 💚

Why We Love The Boys – A review of Supes Ain’t Always Heroes

1:07:57 – Engaging with readers, tips on increasing engagement, optimizing your Tumblr blog, writing schedules and processes, and incorporating reader feedback into stories.

1:26:38 – Sandra graciously narrated Midnight Espresso (Dean Winchester x Plus-sized Latina!Reader). We chat about what sparked the idea for the ME-verse, self-representation in fanfic, feeding Dean, loving Dean, and writing about culture and ethnicity in the fandom space.

1:38:26 – Chatting about the inspirations behind Smoke Eater, a firefighter!Dean AU; law enforcement procedurals, House MD, and researching for stories.

1:44:30 – Which Jackles character is the easiest or most fun to write?

1:47:39 – The challenges of writing Sam vs. Dean.

1:53:15 – Shoutouts! To some of my favorite SPN authors. I could only remember a few people off the top of my head (stupid me), but I love all of you!!

@waynes-multiverse @dean-winchester-is-a-warrior @luci-in-trenchcoats @rizlowwritessortof @waywardxwords

@deanwinchesterswitch @deanbrainrotwritings @deanwritings @spnbabe67 @thatonewriter15

@justagirlinafandomworld @kaleldobrev @artyandink @princessmisery666 @wayward-dreamer (– and many more.)

2:00:40 – How I came up with my username.

2:05:04 – Kasey’s Secret Question…

2:07:38 – Advice to fanfic writers and creatives for inspiration and/or wisdom.

2:16:35 – Sandra and Kasey’s lovely outro: self-representation in fandom, escapism, diverse voices, and more. (“Reach out a hand. Touch somebody. …Not like that.”)

📖 Fics Mentioned:

Sandra: @talltalesandbedtimestories -

Some Sunny Day Series – Dean Winchester x OFC - (I'm in the process of reading this entire series and it's been a joy to read! 💜)

Past Due – Dean Winchester x Reader

The Iceman Cometh – Dean Winchester x Reader

Cowboy Canter (Original Fiction) – Inspired by cowboyish Dean/Jensen.

Kasey: @sam-is-my-safe-word -

English Cottage-verse – Sam Winchester x Reader (I've read it and it's fantastic! 💜)

(K)not for sale – Soldier Boy x Dean Winchester

Alex (Zep/Me) -

Break Me Down – Soldier Boy/Ben x F. Reader

Midnight Espresso (& the Series Masterlist) – Dean Winchester x Plus-sized Latina!Reader

Dream With Me – Dean Winchester x Plus-sized Latina!Reader

Smoke Eater – Firefighter!Dean Winchester x F. Reader

Every Second Counts – Russell Shaw x F. Reader

🎙️ Stories/Podfics Sandra has narrated for me:

Podfic Playlist

And please remember to check out all the other awesome interviews, narrated podfics, and fun topics covered by Sandra and Kasey on the Idling in the Impala Podcast!

[nexility-sims]

What was your initial inspiration for your story? What idea came first, the plot or the characters?

ahh, what a great and slightly complicated question ! i’ve addressed the basic “how did the story come to be” question a few times in bits and pieces, particularly this answer about sources of inspiration, but the gist is:

the direct inspiration was alyssa’s story (@thegrimalldis). hers is how i learned “royal simblr” was a thing. i was intrigued by the tropes that accompany most royal stories, by the big events friends did together, by the collaborative storytelling possibilities. i've always been scornful of irl modern royalty, tbh, although the history is more interesting. i'm trained in "history from below," so i don't spend much time at all thinking about kings and queens and rich elites during work hours. why not do it with a hobby, i reckon ! in this general sense, the plot came first, and was a basic starter premise of “what if the right/wrong person married into the wrong/right family.”

however, the characters—some of them—were very much preexisting. i’ve been playing with the same family, the bancrofts, since … winter 2016 or something like that. the key to longevity, for me, had been incorporating new ideas or fascinations into my legacy gameplay. obviously, if i wanted to do a royal story, then it would have to be connected somehow ! i refashioned rowena a little bit, since i’d played with a story involving her in the past, and decided she’d make a perfectly scandalous imported princess. therefore, rowena existed first.

i think it's fair to say that royal simblr is mostly white and euro/anglo-inspired, in terms of the characters and the cultures depicted, so i wanted to go in a different direction. i created the reyes family once i had the story idea, and they ended up being shaped by courses i was taking at the time and curiosities living rent-free in my mind. it's hard to escape the influences of colonialism even in fiction, but the kernel at the heart of my worldbuilding is meant to be a rejection of settler colonialism first and foremost. so, the plot and characters have become intertwined with that creative interest—imagining an otherwise, another version of the past, if you will, to be cheesy. apparently, one thing about me is that i love doing research for work and also for fun fkjdlgjfksg

[rheima]

Ayo Rhemia!! I haven’t seen you around a lot, but there’s a big topic I’ve been wanting to ask but haven’t because I thought it was a weird topic to ask about, so just ignore it if it is. Or discord pm about it instead lol

I haven’t read much of team player, but I’ve been interested in the ask blog. What I’m curious about is how you’ve incorporated the themes of politics into the characters and how you’ve gotten the research as a young writer (that sounds… intense… but this is just for my own practise and fun basically.)

I ended up accidentally creating a set of ocs where I realised young adult modern politics is basically the main theme, and seeing in ur work it seems really interesting. But I don’t know much about politics other at all (than seeing tumblr posts, which is uh-not a really credible source of information), and it’s pretty scary to begin research :’)

So I thought I’d ask how you did it! If this is all too much, I’d just be curious how you came up with the idea of team players.

hihi!!! cant say that i've done much deep research SPECIFICALLY for teamplayer (other than re-checking details about luis and lily and their culture cause i dont wanna get it wrong, i keep it in mind whenever i write them) because i'm just naturally a very political person, and the way that the teamplayer characters themselves are built from experience. none of them are intended to be political mouthpieces for me! all of them are hugely on the left but they have varying inner-community opinions, and they're all very... teenaged.

a lot of the experiences of the characters are just mirrors of what i've picked up from being in both the online LGBT community and the one i knew in middle and highschool. it's a bit of a comedic parody of the whole twitter environment in 2020-2021, though the year isn't all that specific!! one of these bitches dsmp fans though lets be honest

i'm sure a lot of the topics i talk about will shift as i grow myself, and as the characters grow, but as they are right now, these are mostly 14-15 year olds only dealing with the effects of large-scale problems like climate change, lgbtphobia and poverty, and they generally respond like 14-15 year olds in those issues. they're not old enough to dig their claws in deep to the root of the problem, but they've got shit to say about it, especially because it directly hurts them. and they'll occasionally argue about it! cora and fate's cartoon argument was very funny (especially because i agree with neither of them)

fate is the biggest projection of me in terms of political opinions, but he's also the projection of the political opinions i had when i was 14, which were naive and well meaning but ultimately harmful and ignorant. i've always been deeply political, and i've just stumbled into my way into a story that tackles a LOT of topics about lgbtphobia.

also i would recommend checking out the comic if you haven't!!! im not super proud of chapter one and will probably redraw it someday but chapter 2 has been very silly so far

[elinawriterofwords]

Hi! I'm writing a book about a princess with far too many love interests and not nearly enough brain cells (she shares one with her handmaiden, Sappho, who usually keeps custody of it.)

The majority of the book takes place in a fantasy world equivalent of the Mediterranean. Since there are gods and goddesses who aren't always portrayed very nicely and aren't based on real religions, I decided it's better not to make the setting a 1:1 reflection of the real world. However, I still want to honor the cultures that lend these fantasy lands their backbones. I'm still researching and developing characters and countries, and if anyone has feedback on how to write better representation, I'm happy to receive it!

If I'm doing a good job:

Thalia, Sappho, Pelagios, etc. = Ancient Greek (with intentional liberties, especially regarding religion). It might help me to influence their values and personalities based on different regions and time periods in Greek history

King Cyrus = Achaemenian. He's not very sympathetic so I should probably include at least another Persian character.

Faraj = of Amazigh descent (Likely his mother should have passed down more of his culture to him than she currently has. That needs to be fixed.)

Aisata = Undecided (more research needed at this point), from a nation in West Africa, possibly Mali

Zhurong Yu = Tang Dynasty, with tropes from Xianxia and court dramas. Strongly influenced by Taoist and Buddhist beliefs despite having a strong Confucian streak.

Zhuge Wu = More aligned with the culture as it's reflected in the Warring States period, again incorporating tropes from Xianxia and court dramas. Very Confucian in philosophy.

Empress Diao = Likely from the region near Turkey; more research and probably a name change are needed. Again, not the most sympathetic.

Things I want to avoid:

Explicit references to real religions

Treading into unsavory territory regarding tropes and stereotypes, intentionally or not

use of the word "tribe"

A "western" concept of "good" and "evil." Thalia's character arc is influenced by the Taoist idea of yin, yang, and balance, but I'm also going to be researching other cultures' concepts as well.

implying slavery is okay, even if the characters have their struggles working out the ethical implications when it's all they've known

characterizing any one group as being mainly or mostly heroes or villains or being inherently better or worse

Poorly navigating the power dynamics between Thalia and her peers, particularly Faraj.

Erasing Thalia's bisexuality, even if she has a preference for men

Romanticising Thalia's depression.

My Wish List

More characters of a wider variety of ethnicities and more significant parts for the non "Greek" characters, especially early on.

Improving relations between Thalia and her fellow wives as she lives in court. Some can be mean, but there needs to be some camaraderie

Passing the Bechdel test in most chapters lol

Visible trans characters (I have some, but "outing" them feels like it's not my business?)

Visible disabled characters

Aisata deserves all the love. She should win a popularity contest.

Thalia entering her Villain Era should be fun to read

A consistent message and theme about the importance of listening to, learning from, and uplifting others; intersectionality

Trying to get back in the reading scene. Currently reading A Court of Thorns and Roses. I'm always looking for new friends, so feel free to say hi, especially if we have stuff in common!

[bodeliving]

Building on a Theme – Decorating Rooms

Designing and planning how you will decorate a room, rooms or even a house can be a lot of fun. Incorporating a scheme or theme into the space can help to give it a certain charm.

Whether you work a theme throughout the house, or consider each room individually, creating ambiance and character will maximise the rooms potential. Using this to your advantage can make a living room relaxing, a bedroom comfortable or a workspace inspiring.

Your décor could take you back to a time, a place or it could help spark conversation. You can also use your decorating to make rooms feel bigger, smaller, shorter or taller. However, you decorate, the important thing to remember, is that it should speak to you.

Your living spaces are just that, yours, so be sure to create something you can fall in love with.

Let’s take a look at how to build on a theme.

Step 1 – Choose a Theme

Logically, your first step will be to decide on a theme. This could relate to a colour scheme, lifestyle, places, interests or even culture. Think about what the space will be used for; bedrooms should have minimal distractions and avoid bright colours (the exception to this, is a child’s room). Shared living spaces can benefit from inspiring artwork or photographs that nurture conversation.

Step 2 – Research

Once you have decided upon a theme, you should begin to research the theme. This can even be applied to colour schemes, finding out what colours are complimentary to each other or what feelings can be evoked by certain colour schemes.

If you have a theme related to a place, time or culture, look into the history and imagery on the internet. You never know what sort of inspiration you may find.

Step 3 – Planning

Planning how you will implement your theme into your space can help identify potential clashes of colours or other disruptions before you get started. Working out the size of your space before you buy materials will help needless waste or shortfalls. Also think about the tools you’ll need for a perfect execution.

Pro Tip – When planning to decorate a space, add a 10% margin to allow for mistakes and mismeasurements. It’s better to have too much, than not enough.

Always consider your furniture as well as décor; do you plan to buy new furniture or are you working around existing furnishings. Can any existing furniture be upcycled or refreshed to better fit with your theme? Having a plan in place will almost certainly help keep your work inline with your vision.

Step 4 – The Task at Hand

With plans in place and materials on stand-by, its time to get stuck in. Remember to follow your plan and try not to rush things. Mask off to keep tidy edges and clean up whilst you work. Keeping the area free of clutter is sometimes easier said than done, so take regular breaks and have a little tidy as you go.

Step 5 – Sit Back and Enjoy the View

Once you’re finished, the masking tape is off and the furniture is in place, it’s time to enjoy your handy work.

As you can now appreciate it in all its glory, try adding some little finishing touches to compliment the theme. This could be a relatable item on a shelf or bookcase, a picture, painting or other artwork. House plants are always a welcome addition to living spaces.

Adding a final touch brings a sense of closure to the job allowing you to enjoy what you have created.

In need of some inspiration?

Why not take a look through our homewares collection? With throws, coffee tables, artwork, and much more. Our Scandinavian inspired designs and décor take a minimalist approach using natural textures and neutral palettes, perfect for creating relaxing, contemporary homes.

[birindale]

Alright, a brief disclaimer before we get started. While I am a big nerd, I’m also frequently an idiot & prone to convincing myself of weird bullshit bc it ‘seems logical’ or I’ve misread a critical piece of information. My qualifications for talking about any of this are minimal: I speak English, kindergarten-level French, and a smattering of Irish. I know the basics of Japanese orthography because I had to make some fake names for a fic and went way overboard, which lent itself well to my hanzi transcription here but does not mean that I can read (much less speak) a single language which uses them. I’ve researched every definition and assertion presented herein to the best of my ability, but as a non-speaker there are nuances which I cannot possibly grasp or convey effectively. All that to say – this is just me fumbling for meaning in an incomprehensible world, not like, a definitive account of any language or culture’s interpretations of the characters and/or their names. 

Except the French. I speak for the French now. 

Let’s dig in, shall we?

Adora / She-Ra

Adora is usually Adora, at least approximately, with the exception of the Greek ‘Antora’. My guess is that it was tweaked to avoid conflation with the Greek (near-)homophones άδωρα, “useless/white elephant” and ᾰ̓́δορᾰ, “leather sack/un-flayed”). 雅多娜 and 阿多拉 are both primarily phonetic, being used to best approximate ‘Adora’ with Xinhua’s standard hanzi, but this flavor of character (phonosemantic compound*) contains practical information for us, too. 雅 is (most often) graceful, elegant, and in literary uses can mean such things as 'proper/correct' and 'friendship'. 多 is 'many/a lot' but it’s made of two 'meat' radicals (which used to be visually similar to 夕, evening/bright/moon, hence the form of the reduplication), which I'm sure Adora would appreciate. 娜 is beautiful, graceful, and was so common in the transliteration of female personal names that it was incorporated into native Chinese ones as well. 阿 ain’t shit, but one of its other readings (ē) can mean ‘unfairly partial to’ so if you reeeeeeally squint it can be some kind of meta-commentary on the golden child/scapegoat situation. Of course, it also means hill, so it’s just as likely to be a reference to the (proposed) meaning of the Hebrew ‘Adora’ (which is to say, extremely unlikely. Remember that part of my disclaimer about me getting stuck on weird bullshit?). 拉 is ‘to pull/lead/invite in’, but again, just your standard transliteration choice. It crops up in a lot of the -ra names, just you wait.

*Man I don’t know how much to explain given how few people are going to read this. Chinese characters (here ‘hanzi’) often have semantic and phonetic components, right? 形聲, we calls ‘em. Phonosemantic compounds. Like the 豹 from Catra’s name is made of 豸, the ‘beast radical’, indicating this is about a creature, and 勺, which means ladle but tells us how the compound is pronounced (or was, in Old Chinese), to disambiguate it from other ‘creature’ characters. More on this later. 

She-Ra is always She-Ra (or She-ra/SheRa) unless she’s 神娃. They went off with the hanzi on this one, look at this: 神, of course, means a god, soul, countenance, magic, sublime–and 娃 means girl/child (as one could intuit from its semantic element, 女) or ‘doll’. Magnificent. We’ve got ‘doll-god-magic-girl’ over here and it still sounds kind of like She-Ra. It’s more of a pseudo-phonetic calque than actual phono-semantic matching, but it’s fun! (In the Taiwanese version of the 80s show, Adora was 神娃, and She-Ra was 神力女超人. Which is Wonder Woman. Not just ‘roughly translates to Wonder Woman’, that’s literally just what they call her.)

Angella

Angella, Angela, Ângela, Ángela… All fairly standard. As I mentioned in my initial post, it originally had a hard G, as it’s derived from the Greek ángelos, ‘messenger’ (itself a translation of the Hebrew “מלאך”, whence also words/names like “Malachi”). Late Latin saw some pretty dramatic palatization that was further compounded over the centuries and voilà: ˈeɪn.d͡ʒəl. But that’s more about the word’s history than its meaning. The thing is… she’s not that deep. She’s a lady with big white wings, it was SoCal in the 80s, of course they were gonna riff on angels. Her hanzi’s mostly standard transliteration characters. 安 is like, safe/calm/sheltered, 杰 is ‘viscous’ (or an alternative/simplified form of 傑, ‘outstanding/hero’ which is probably more what they were going for) and 拉 is that -la/-ra character I mentioned. Get used to her, buddy. Interestingly, the mainland versions use 琪 for the second syllable, which is non-standard and means like, fine jade/flourishing plants/something precious and beautiful. And shares a phonetic component (其)* with the standard transliteration of words that make a “key” sound, 基--which is jī in Mandarin and "gay" in Cantonese, which they do use as such. So technically I could have written it Anjila and Angeila (or something) but like we all know what they were going for, even if they used a hard G. The semantic component is just 玉, jade–used in a lot of compounds meaning or referring to beauty & immortality, so very appropriate. It doesn’t have the same color connotations as it does in English, since historically white jade was more highly prized than green (thus the Jade Emperor’s pale robes), but we could talk about the history of Chinese ores all day. Moving on!

*So the way that I look up characters–and it could be that this is like, the insane person way to do things--is by identifying one or more radical/s. 安, for example, is the hanzi for ‘girl’ under the ‘house’ radical, 宀. If I recognize a radical (as I did here), I search for it (‘girl’) on wiktionary, go to ‘translations’, click on the first hanzi I see (in this case, 女仔) and then click on the character I actually want. From there it’s just a matter of grabbing my goal from the ‘derived characters’ section under Translingual, up at the top, or else going to the Appendix:Chinese radical/女 (where 女 is a stand-in for whatever radical). Even more on this later.

Bow:

Bow is mostly just translations of the word ‘bow’. The hanzi threw in another ‘god’ character, with an optional title of ‘prince’ (王子, literally king+child). Flechdor was his name in 80s France as well, sometimes spelled Flèche d’Or (literally ‘arrow of gold’), but that -or suffix is used to form agent nouns, so it could also be like, Arrower. I thought Arqueiro (“archer”) was a pun on te quiero for a bit, which was weird because that’s the Portuguese name, not the Spanish, but it turns out I was Spelling it Wrong and mentally transposing th E and I 👍 Don’t get cocky, kids. Never believe you can read.

Castaspella 

Castaspella is all transliterations or calques. Sorciella was her 80s French name, think ‘sorcery’. Rainha Mágica and Rainha da Magia are both Queen of Magic/Magic Queen, mágica is just less common in Portugal. Vrăji is Romanian for ‘cast/enchant’, and while -spella isn’t anything, I think Vrăjisvrajă would have been pushing it a bit, even for MOTU. Conjuria is a cognate with English conjure, and Trollarella is from trolla, not troll. Yes, trolla is just the verbed form of troll, but it means casting spells, okay? (It was also a planet in He-Man, but somehow I don’t think that was taken into consideration). Her hanzi are almost all transliteration-standard—卡 means stuff like wedged/stuck/pinched/choked (bc it’s 上 and 下, up and down, combined see? Word version of ↕) 莎 is nutgrass (that 艹 is the most common radical form of 艸, grass. Note how it looks like grass). 塔 is a tower/spire/pagoda. 貝 is cowrie & all that entails (贝 is its simplified form, and the usual choice for transliterating ‘bei’*) and is the only non-standard transliteration here. 拉 is our ‘invite in’ ending.

*The distinction between aspirated and unaspirated /p/ is (in modern times) shown by using B for the unaspirated sound. Aspirated sounds are like… put a hand in front of your mouth and say ‘spots’. Then say ‘pots’. Do you feel that puff of air on the second one? That’s an aspirated P. That’s how we got from ‘Peking’ to ‘Běijīng’--like yeah it’s technically a /p/ but English speakers instinctively aspirate Ps at the beginning of words, so a B is a closer approximation. And yes, the p in Castaspella is unaspirated.

Catra

Catra actually has fewer variations of her name than she did in the 80s, if we ignore the adjustments for local spelling. I think the ‘-atra’ sound would be a bit rough to map onto hanzi, and there was already the convention of ‘what if we took names from Wonder Woman’? So 豹女 (‘leopard’ and ‘girl’ respectively) was born. Romanian has a word, cătrăni (from cătrăn, ‘tar’) that means ‘to get upset’/‘to tar’. So I think it makes sense they would want to lean into Feline a bit. SPOP seems to have abandoned the ‘Felina’ name that was so popular abroad in the 80s but a cursory search for the term is just returning ‘Breaking Bad finale’ and ‘lingerie brand’ so I uh… I can see why that would be... something we don’t want children googling. 

Double Trouble 

Double Trouble is our first problem child. Since their name is just like, two words? And not a pun or something? Folks ran with it. Calques abound. The Arabic, for example, is 'twin/triplet/quadruplet' (usually twin) and... basically 'annoying'. Pesky. They’re the irritating twin (relatable). Danish kept it simple, adapting their word “duplikat” to more closely resemble its ancestor, the Latin duplicātus, thereby making it seem more like a name. Like it’s 1:1 just what we’d spell ‘Duplicatus’ in English. Tuplapulma– Tupla's just 'double', from the Swedish 'dubbla' (no relation to 'tulpa'), and pulma is 'trouble'. Double Trouble. Doublia was their French name in the 80s and is one of their more unusual choices (French people love making names unnecessarily longer). The Greek is a calque. Hebrew’s a calque (though apparently an expression in its own right). The hanzi’s a calque. Norwegian’s a calque that they’ve squished into one word. Portuguese, calque. Romanian is actually ‘stand-in’, as in a play or movie, which is fun! The Spanish is weird–Doble Dilema is just a more alliterative calque, but I dunno what Doppler Morfer is about. Doppler’s a German surname and Morfer’s French slang for ‘eat’ (allegedly from Greek morphe via Italian morfia, i.e. ‘face hole’)--Spanish has a version of it but that’s spelled with an a, and it doesn’t explain why the German dice-maker’s here. Absolutely mystifying. Dupla, meanwhile, is just the feminine form of ‘double’. Swedish and Turkish are both calques. 雙重 is the attributive of twofold/double (双重 is its simplified form), and 麻煩 is trouble, so just more calques there. 

Entrapta

Entrapta is… I mean, it’s a hell of a name to begin with. There’s at least one Fimation script where she’s called Entraptra (though they fixed it by dub time). I’m guessing on the Romanian here, but I think they wanted to avoid confusion with entrată, “introduction” when they went for Captanta. Wild speculation on my part. Tecna and Tecnia of course relating more to her role as tech princess than her original gimmick of ‘loves traps’. The Mandarin is kind of weird but seems to be adjacent to a transliteration, just clipped. Standard Chinese syllables are (CG)V(X)* so a full transliteration would be ~Yīntèlāpàtǎ which is like. I mean. It’s pretty long, but no longer than Castaspella. It could be a transliteration of ‘trap’ that’s been rearranged to end with 拉 like everybody else, but why? We may never know. 特 and 帕 are also standard transliteration characters, they mean special (and formerly bull) and wrap respectively. The Cantonese broke ranks on this one, 魔** is the ‘demon’ character from Hordak’s name, 髮 is ‘long hair’, and 女 is ‘girl’. She’s Horde Hair Girl, and that’s beautiful. 

*C for Consonant, G for Glide, V for vowel, X for coda–there’s also tone to consider but we’re disregarding that here. 

**More rambling about radicals time. I had a hard time finding this one, so we’re using it as an example. First, I zoomed in as much as possible, because the font on the credits is way too small. I recognized the forest radical, 林 (bc it's just two tree radicals 木), and the ‘house built into a cliff’ radical 广 (I don’t think that’s its real name), so I searched for “广林” and scrolled until I found a result that listed bother under the components. I did not recognize 鬼, bc for real, the credits are so so tiny–and kept getting turned around thinking 魔 was 鹿. Which is understandable when they’re teeny tiny blurry little characters but is pretty much exactly equivalent to reading the English word “demon” as “deer”. Like I guess they start the same and the ends are similar-ish but jeez man, come on. Use your eyes.  When I don’t recognize a radical, and the character I want isn’t conveniently displayed under ‘derived characters’, I approach things in the least rational way possible. Common sense suggests you just go to the list of radicals and find the one you’re looking for, right? Wrong. I go to the list of Jōyō kanji, because that’s what I did when I first started and I hate changing my methodology, even when it would be more convenient to do so. Instead of estimating stroke order or just looking at the Unicode block, I make things harder for myself under the pretense of familiarity. I didn’t see it at first glance, but 田 is right there, so I grabbed the version with a little hat (甶) and wouldn’t you know it, there was 鬼. I ctrl+F this character on the Jōyō list and realize I could probably have just kept scrolling. Repeat this like 50 times and behold: transcribed credits! Fortunately I had already done most of these like a year ago so it didn’t take too long in the end.

Flutterina 

Flutterina had a surprising amount of variation, but I hesitate to call most of them calques? Like the Scandinavians (and the Greek, and the Romanian) all used their word for ‘flutter’ with a feminine diminutive suffix, although I guess the Greek’s more like ‘flap’. "فـرفـر" (not to be confused with "فرفر" which apparently means pee?) is also flutter, plus what I think is the diminutive (I’m like 90% sure but they didn’t write the vowels so it is theoretically possible they threw in a Ya for reasons I’m too dumb to understand), and then instead of a feminine suffix they went with the clipped version of us/our (-na). So uh. Either it’s ‘our little flutter’ or they were imitating the -ina sound and decided not to use the feminine suffix present in like, every Arabic spelling of an -ina name I can think of except Lina. Arabic speakers, if you know anything on why that may be… please help me. The hanzi are just various spellings of Butterfly Princess. Aéria was her French name in the 80s & is pretty much just ‘Aerial’. Mariposa is Spanish for butterfly. The 80s Quebecoise is flit/flutter with a feminine diminutive, functionally voltiger+ette. Why the 80s Brazilians went with ‘Flora’ is beyond me, since it’s cognate with the English flora, but they did it so I’ve written it down! I guess!

Frosta

Frosta’s a bunch of ice puns. Shocking, I know. 冰霜女 is just ice+frost+girl, but 冰霜 also means ‘to freeze’, or as a noun is a cold/aloof personality. Glacia is glace (French for ice) with a feminine diminutive–you can see how it’s related to glacier there, huh? Ψύχρα is typically ‘cool’ or ‘chilly’, but it’s used in a lot of translations of phrases we use ‘cold’ for in English (e.g. cold-blooded, Cold War) and would properly be anglicized as ‘Psíxra’ but like… look, it’s the same sound as ‘psyche’ (they’re both from ψῡ́χω, isn’t that fun?) so I’m relying on convention instead of the average reader’s anglicization-of-Greek-conventions literacy. You’re welcome. Escarcha is frost. Gélida is the feminine singular of gelid (cold physically and/or emotionally). No earthly clue what Vergia is about–maybe from vergō? Because her wand turns? Ask the Quebecois. 

Glimmer

Glinster is sparkle/glimmer, like a spark or a mote of light. Kimalle is glitter (suspected to be from Old Nose skimi, which would make it cognate to English ‘shimmer’). Scintilla is a flash or sparkle (think ‘scintillating’), Cintilante is from that same root but can also mean bright or brilliant. Rază is ray(s) of light, via Vulgar Latin radia. Destello is sparkle/sparkling. Lueurette is lueurre (glimmer/glow) plus the feminine diminutive suffix -ette. Now the Cantonese is 光明, “light, illumination, brilliance” spelled with light/ray/bright+clear/bright/to understand. That 明 character is actually a sun (日) and moon (月) squished together (that doesn’t really matter I just think it’s neat). The Mandarin appends 仙子, which is literally immortal/celestial being + child but as a compound usually just refers to a female immortal (子 is often used as a diminutive for girl names) or fairy. 仙’s etymology is contested, and there are a couple variants–older instances use 僊, which is the person radical + ascend/move up, like they’re ascending to immortality, yeah? But 仙 and 仚, the modern ones, both use ‘person’ + ‘mountain’, just in different configurations. [I’ve here deleted an incomprehensible monologue about Mt. Penglai. You’re welcome.]

Hordak

Hordak! Very straightforward. Take ‘horde’, slap on a scawy stop consonant, bam. Thence also Clanek, as in Quebec the Evil Horde was called Le Clan Maléfique (not to be confused with La Horde Sauvage of France). Khórdak… have I talked about aspiration yet? Oh good. Okay, so Greek doesn’t have an H. “oh but clare, what about words like Hera or hippo or homosexual?” okay wise guy, modern Greek doesn’t have an H. And I mean, it kind of does, η exists, but like… it’s not the same. It used to be a proper H sound, but by like 400 BC it had been phased out for the vocalic η, necessitating the development of the ‘rough breathing’ diacritics, which as I understand it have been phased out in the modern language. You know the Greek word for horde is just ορδή? They could’ve just called the man Ορδακ. Idt it’d even mess with the lip flap. Or-dak. Hor-dak. I didn’t have to learn all this shit about Koine phonology. Whatever! 千面魔, bit of a departure. 千 is thousand, 面 is face/aspect, 魔 is (as we discussed in Entrapta’s entry) demon. 千面 sort of feel like they go together, like Entrapta had the 魔 by itself and Horde Prime has 千面 without it, so thousand-faced demon? Whether that references the galactic or Etherian Horde is for someone that can speak any dialect of Chinese to guess. 

Horde Prime

Speaking of Horde Prime, he’s quite the little primadonna, huh? All sorts of fancy titles. Le Grand Maître de la Horde, Mestre da Horda, Amo de la Horda are all ‘master of the Horde’… Hord Prim, Hordiano Primero, Lord Prime, those sound familiar. Αρχηγός and الرئيس are just [the] boss/leader. The hanzi are more interesting, we’ve got 千面族王--that ‘thousand-faced’ plus 族 clan/family + 王, king. The king of the thousand-faced family. Nice. And then 霍德至尊... lmao. Quickly/lightning + morality/ethics + emperor/most-revered, most-respected. Little weird until you realize 霍德 is pronounced Huòdé & he’s just the Emperor of the Horde again. And Lord Primal! Wow! That’s not even a word in Norwegian! 

Huntara 

Huntara has a few of the same problems re: the letter H. The French don’t pronounce Hs at the start of words (the big reason He-Man is called Musclor over there), so -tara can stay but they substituted their own word for hunt. Greek, too, made use of their native θηρεύω, which is more thēreúō, but that's because they don't have an infinitive & that's actually the first person conjugation of the stem θηρεύ-. Romance languages spoiled me, grammatically speaking. They also changed -tara to -tira for some reason. Fortara is literally fort+tara, which is a weird choice, but whatever. Cazadora is just ‘huntress’ or the feminine form of adjectival hunting (e.g. “that’s a hunting dog”, not the gerund), as is the Arabic. And jakt of Jaktara is just ‘hunt’. The hanzi uses the standard transliteration characters for -tara, 塔拉, both have which have come up, plus 聶, which… I mean, I expected it to be hunt or something, but it’s ‘to whisper’. It’s just a triplication of the ear radical. What does it mean… what does it all mean…

Kyle

Kyle is the same in every language! It’s mostly held to be derived from the Gaelic caol, narrow/strait, but there is some speculation it’s a reference to King Cole–though that’s only in reference to the surname Kyle, presupposing that the personal name is derived thereof. Imo it owes its English pronunciation to the root word, Old Irish cáel, bc caol is more like “cowl” to my admittedly barely-trained ear.

Light Hope 

Light Hope is another round of calques. The Arabic is ‘the hope’ + ‘the bright/luminous/shining’, which may be like, the hope of the light or something, but without the harakat I can’t draw any conclusions on case forms so I’m flying blind here, unless anyone out there knows how to read & wants to make my day 🥺. French is ‘big hope’, probably because most of their words for light end on vowels so the liaison wouldn’t be as smooth a glide? Greek is ‘shining hope’, Hebrew is luminous/clear/bright light, Korean is ‘light of hope’, Norwegian is a calque, Brazilian Portuguese is ‘hope of light’, Portuguese Portuguese is ‘ray of hope’. Romanian is the nominative of speranță, so “Hope”. Spanish is ‘ray of hope’, Swedish a squished-together calque, Turkish is a calque. 

Light Spinner

Light Spinner was the worst character to find names for. Transcribed whole sentences trying to figure out which part was her name/if it was even mentioned, bc nobody wanted to credit her and subtitles don’t exactly label people. Right, so, Arabic is an abjad, yeah? It doesn’t require the use of vowel marks. Like they exist, see the aforementioned harakat, but it’s superfluous if you’re actually literate/speak a language which uses the script. But thanks to nonconcatenative morphology, it uses transfixes (like a suffix, or a prefix, but it’s trans) to directly modify words’ roots. So instead of like… god okay, instead of trans- + -fix, you’d take the consonants from one and alter it according to what you wanted to communicate. Except most roots are only three letters so uh TRN+[fix], uh… tinx. Remember Tinx? Not the influencer, the prototypical animal companion for Catra. It’s like that. Hm. This metaphor is broken, go google transfix, I’m moving on.

All that to say! There are no vowel markers on the Arabic subtitles, because why would you watch cartoons in a language you can’t speak even a little (curiosity! bitch!), so once I got it all written out it still had to be… ‘decoded’, I guess? “غازلة” to start, and there at the end we see the feminizing suffix “ة”, aka tāʔ marbūṭa. I didn’t touch on it for Huntara, did I? She’s got one too, but “صيادة‎” is a common enough word it just showed up in the dang dictionary, unlike Miss Difficulty over here. It’s sort of equivalent to like, -ess, or -a, or -ix, in that you append it to a masculine noun to make it feminine. Not to say all names with a ة are female, sometimes they’re just singular, or.. We’re getting off track. “غازلة”, sans ة, is of the غ ز ل • (ḡ-z-l) root. Related to handling graceful/delicate things, mostly flirting and spinning (and things related thereto, like spindles and spiders). And gazelles. But that one’s phonetic. And again, no harakat, so I’ve had to hedge my bets a bit but I’m fairly confident it’s ḡāzila as in spinner/spinning, not ḡāzila as in sweet-talking. Just like, contextually. As I’m fairly confident the “نور” of “النور” is ‘light’ and not ‘blossom’ (ال is just the definite article). Theoretically I should be able to hear the difference between those too since blossom is more ‘nawr’ than ‘nur’ but tbqh I can barely process half the sounds people make in my native language, let alone others. Dutch is a calque, French is ‘weaver of light’. The Hebrew is… Hebrew is also an abjad. Their vowel markers are called niqqud, and they were also Not Included in the subtitles. And “אורגת” isn’t on wiktionary, so this one was a bit of a journey but basically it’s “אוֹרֵג” ‘weaver’ with a terminal tav, which is often used to turn masculine nouns feminine (evidently as a reflex of Proto-Afroasiatic, though which reflex is a matter of debate and I can’t even pretend to know enough about it to weigh in). And “האור” is just the singular definite of light, so–Weaver of the light. The ‘of’ is implied, because Hebrew has this case called the constructive that ties nouns together (by gender/number agreement, similarity of vowels, etc.) instead of a genitive preposition or a possessive case. There are these things called binyanim that group different verbs together, right, and according to which binyan a word’s in you conjugate it differently. Like how in French most words add an avoir to become passé composé (j'ai oubliée, I have forgotten) but a few of them use être (e.g. je suis née, I was born). Those particular examples are 1:1 but English is a fucking mess and we’ve nothing so neat as binyanim or the so-called House of Être so forgive my reliance on the French. God most of this boils down to ‘trust me, I asked a native speaker and read wikipedia’ but like bro…. Trust me. I asked a native speaker and read wikipedia. ANYWAY. The Korean is illusion/fantasy’s light; that -의 is the possessive marker, appended to 환상, a Sino-Korean word (from 幻想 ) that can also be used to mean ghost/phantom, as in phantom pain. The hanja are mystical/fantasy/mirage (幻) + thought/idea/desire (想), which we aren’t gonna break down further bc they were already converted to hangul. Luminosa is bright/luminous/full of light. Iluminada is the feminine form of the iluminado, the past tense of iluminar, so like, Illuminated/Enlighted. Fuior is an unspun bundle of fibers like hemp or flax, & of course de Lumină is ‘of light’, so like, there’s an implication of work that needs to be done but also freshness, a farm to fork for fibers kinda situation. It’s nice, if depressing given who we’re talking about. Hildandera de Luz is a calque, more literally ‘spinner of light’. The Cantonese is 面紗 (veil) + 女 (woman). 面紗 breaks down to face + piece of fabric, e.g. cotton/muslin. All three of those are in the Mandarin too, but preceded by 光明, ‘light/brightness’. Remember that one from Glimmer’s name? We have fun here. 

Lonnie

Lonnie is also always Lonnie. Most commonly Lonnie is a diminutive from Alonzo, from Alonso, from Alfonso, from Alphonsus, which is generally held to mean ‘noble and ready’, from the Latin form of a Visgothic name (Aþalsfuns)--but, that’s a “boy’s name”. Loni, which is pronounced the same, is a derivation of both Apollonius/Apollonia and Leonius/Leona, from Apollo (of uncertain etymology) and Leo respectively. So there’s potential for it to mean either sun god(dess) or lion(ess) as well. There’s a Hawaiian noun/name element, Lani, that is also pronounced the same & means, roughly, sky/royalty. I’ve never seen it stand on its own as a name, it’s usually short for something like Leilani, or Kailani, or Tepualani, along those lines, but it’s in frequent enough use as a nickname I wouldn’t surprised. And it should be said that in the 80s cartoon Adora had a friend in the Horde named Lohni, though I sincerely doubt our Lonnie was named for her.  

Mara

Mara is almost always Mara, with the exception of Polish. I think the holdup there is that mara is like the -mare in nightmare; it’s a demon in Germanic and Slavic mythology, sitting on people’s chests and absorbing their dreams. Although the Belarusian мара is derived from the Polish, and that means hope/dream, so… It’s interesting, actually, there’s quite the dichotomy of meaning in the name. Māra is the Latvian dawn goddess, their expression of the Proto-Indo-European *H₂éwsōs (though as she’s married to their chief god there may be some conflation with *Dʰéǵʰōm), the highest-ranking of the female gods. Versus the English mara, from the Proto-Germanic *marǭ (From Proto-Indo-European *mor- “malicious female spirit”, from *mer- “to die”). From that same *mer, we get the Sanskrit मार (also Mara), a malignant figure in Buddhism who tries to tempt people away from enlightenment. … it’s also Japonic slang for dick. Bc guess what tempts you away from enlightenment? Man, let’s see. There’s a story in the Book of Ruth where a woman (Naomi) changes her name to Mara because it means ‘bitter’, though that’s spelled “מרא” instead of “מארה” as our Mara is in the credits. Words with the same Hebrew spelling are the aforementioned nightmares & Buddhist Mara, plus a ‘curse’, “מְאֵרָה”, but note those niqqud—that one’s pronounced more like ma’ara. Like it’s literally phonetic, it’s not that deep, I just want it to mean something. Like I want the Arabic to be from “مَرَح”, ‘to be joyful/merry” but it’s “مارا”. It’s just Mārā. I gotta accept that. Grumbles and shuffles my notes. Well, Mara is also short for a bunch of names in different languages, e.g. Maria, Marcus, Marcel, you get the drill. It’s a last name in Irish, from Ó Meadhra (close enough to O’Mara)... I shan’t comment much on the O’Mara. They’re a sept of the Dál gCais. Ruled what’s now County Clare for a time. We have some enemies in common and some… not so much. There are two other Maras in the Masters of the Universe canon–the first is from The New Adventures of He-Man, the 90s sci-fi run, upon whom our Mara’s design is based (they share little else). The second is a recent addition, mother of Randor (Adora’s dad) and Keldor (Skeletor) in the CGI He-Man books. As this is the first canon where they’re full brothers, I guess they wanted to make a new ‘mom’ instead of picking one or the other. RIP Amelia and Saryn. Very few people cared about you. 

Mermista

Mermista had a few variants of ‘siren’ in the 80s, but was largely left alone. I mean, even the Quebecois left it. They renamed She-Ra. This time around we’ve got a little more variety, mostly derivatives of whichever language’s word for mermaid. E.g. Dutch meermin+mist (you gotta love a direct cognate) = Meermista. The French is… their word for mermaid is sirène, right, but they changed it to Siréna (diction-wise about the equivalent of changing ‘wren’ to ‘rain’), which they did also use in the 80s but sort of ignores the obvious reine pun potential. So what if it’s a “homophone” and “impossible to trademark”. Being cringe is more important! Sigh. Well, Greek word for mermaid is γοργόνα (gorgóna), slap on a feminine diminutive, there you go. Now Portuguese has several words for 'em: sereia, sirena, sirene, just depends how close you stick to the Old Galician-Portuguese serẽa. Portugal went with an -ica combination, feminine form of -ico, you get it. Brazil went with the feminine form of sereno ‘serene’ which is fair… it could also be an adjunct feminization of the NOUN sereno, which means ‘dew’. The ambiguity serves it well. Let’s see. -ista is the accusative feminine of the Romanian -ist, so… Mermaidist. Although I guess they lost the terminal vowel in sirenă, so… Mermaist? Spain took sirena and threw on a feminine adjectival suffix, plus an accent on that e that I thiiiink is there to reinforce the pronunciation? Now, the hanzi. The Cantonese and Mandarin are both 人魚姬 (Taiwan uses the simplified 鱼). 人魚 is mermaid, person + fish, see? Now 姬... Literary term of respect for a woman, i.e. "Lady", a mythological river (commonly held to be from the River Ji, outside the palace of the Yellow Emperor), ‘beauty’, ‘concubine’... and gay. Specifically lesbian. Now this is entirely because the Cantonese is homophonous with English ‘gay’ but boy I’ll take it. At least Angella had the plausible deniability of sandwiching it in with the rest of the transliteration, this was a conscious addition. Mermaid wlw, technically canon. 

Micah

Micah’s always Micah unless he’s Mikah, which is actually a little weird because in German and Dutch it’s usually spelled Micha? But it can also be a girl’s name, usually pronounced like ‘Misha’, so maybe the Dutch went with Mikah to differentiate? And the Germans said Fuck It? Well, anyway. Micah’s a Hebrew name, “מִיכָה‎” derived/shortened from Micaiah (“מיכיהו”), which means ‘who is like G-d’ (a rhetorical question to which the answer is ‘nobody’). See also Michael, which means the same thing but uses a different theophoric extension and is sometimes interpreted as a statement. ‘Micah’ loses the direct reference to deities and just implies the subject of the rhetorical, so really it’s “Who [is] like…?” to be filled with whichever name of G-d ye please. He was a Filmation invention, premiering in Micah of Bright Moon (written by Robert Lamb), though I’ve no idea who designed him. Robert Lamb did a lot of great worldbuilding so I wouldn’t be surprised if he created the character.

Netossa

Netossa was kept as Netossa in a surprising number of languages, but there are exceptions. Greek is ιστός (istós), here probably meaning web/woven fabric, + -ούλα, a feminine diminutive from Latin -ula. They’ve got plenty of words for nets so not sure why they felt the need. Portugal and Spain both went with derivatives of the Latin rēte (“net”), the former adding a feminine diminutive & the latter just a regular femininizing suffix. Romanian plasă means net, they did the same thing. And nät is Swedish for net. Her hanzi are all standard transliteration characters; 娜, 塔, and 莎 we’ve talked about, and 杜 is stop/reject/birch-leafed pear. It’s just a tree radical and an earth radical, here purely functional.

Perfuma

Perfuma’s mostly speak for themselves. I’ve no clue how the Dutch arrived at Florica; it’s a Romanian personal name, but the Dutch word for flower is bloem, and it’s not like they have a lot of Latin influence. The hanzi are 百, “hundred, countless” + 芬芳, “fragrant, perfumed”, with an optional 公主, “princess”. 芬 and 芳 both mean fragrant/fragrance on their own, too—see how they both have the grass radical on top there? That’s the semantic compound, bc they’re nice, probably-flowery smells. Jasmine was her French name in the 80s too, but interesting story—Perfuma is actually a combination of two concept dolls, the plant-magic Tara and scented Jasmine. Combining those into scented plants was both efficient and whimsical, even if they ended up calling her, you know, Perfuma. The Greek is just aroma with a feminine diminutive, they’re where we got the word in the first place. Flora is a direct cognate. Romanian’s a calque, they got their word for perfume off the French (parfum). Swedish too, they just have their own word.

Razz

Razz’s hanzi are actually pretty funny. 糊塗, bewildered/confused/messy/chaotic + 仙, an immortal, remember that one from Glimmer? + 婆, old woman/grandmother/mother-in-law. Grandma “she a little confused, but she is a spirit”. 婆 is gruel/paste/applesauce, stuff that’s muddled, and 塗 is daubed/smeared/scribbled. Taiwan just transliterated it with the standard characters, though it’s worth noting 兹 is a literary form of year/time/the present. Heheheh. Norwegian went with Rosa, probably because they only use Z in loanwords (Rosa just means pink), and Brazil… uh… hang on I gotta go ask for help. Hi I’m back. Rizzo is homophonous with riso, laughter! That’s adorable. (Thank you Brazilian friends who will never read this).

Rogelio

Rogelio is always Rogelio, which is a Spanish name derived from Late Latin, but people disagree on which word and by what means. Hanks & Hodges suggested in their 1990 book that it “may be a diminutive form of *Rogātus* ‘requested, prayed for’.”, via Rogellus/Rogelius, but others are confident it’s Germanic in origin, equivalent to the modern English “Roger”, via Late Latin Rogerius (an explicit Latinization of Roger). Rogelius is attested from the 9th century, and Rogerius from the 11th, and like it would make sense as a relation to Roger, it’s just moving the alveolar to the postalveolar, but the timeline… Okay, no, let’s back up. If we look at the modern Spanish pronunciation, it was almost certainly a soft G (Late Latin to Old Spanish convention /ʒ/→/ʃ/→/x/, rather than /g/→/ɣ/→/…/), Latin G was always guttural, and… uh… did Frankish have guttural G? Whoa. Turns out Frankish didn’t have a G at all lmao. They had /ch/, which was a merger of *g and *h from Proto-Germanic. The Lex Salica has /z/ which could be interpreted as /g/→/d͡ʒ/→/j/ as every other West Germanic language (by this reckoning) just went straight to /j/, but it’s literally just in the Lex Salica so it’s kind of a stretch. Urgghgh. So let’s see, there was a Rogellus executed under the Emirate of Córdoba, but not for apostasy, so he was probably ethnically Hispani (or at least his father was), but Gothic was pretty much only hanging on in a handful of names even after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire (Latin: It sure was popular!). But ‘Rodrigo’ was still kicking around, which is from the same hrōd element as Roger, so there’s a precedent for it in the region. Hm… Oh, one of the other martyrs was named Rodericus/Rodrigo, so there’s even a precedent in the same city, in the same couple of years. And there’s the reconstructed element *𐌲𐌰𐌹𐍃 • (*gais) from Gothic names, so they have a local equivalent to *gaiʀ even if they don’t want to mix Gothic and Latin elements… yeah idk what Hanks+Hodges were on about, this seems pretty straightforward. Rogatus was a popular name in Africa Proconsularis, but if we take it as the ancestor of Rogellus would that presume an emigration to the Iberian peninsula during the Umayyad caliphate? It feels like it would be strange under either power to adopt it across the strait. It also seems like it fell out of use in the waning years of the Western Roman Emperor, being shortened to Rogas, maybe to avoid being linked to the Rogatist heresy? God (literally) forbid you suggest Christians practice pacifism. Um. All that to say. I think it means famous/honorable spear 👍 

Scorpia

She’s another easy one, just a few tweaks here and there for the most part. Greek makes sense, the -ia suffix is for abstract nouns, whereas -ina (well, -ίνα) just turns masculine or neuter nouns feminine. Pretty much 1:1. The Spanish is interesting actually–there’s this thing called the Sonority Sequencing Principle, right? Basically the structure of syllables in most descendants of Proto-Indo-European is such that we put sounds in orders that don’t require too much work to jump between. Like it’s easy to go from a T to an R, and an R to a T if there’s a vowel in front of it. You can say True, or Hurt, but starting a word with an Rt feels fuckin’ weird. Like you can do it, but what the hell. Try and say Rtue out loud, right now. You’ll instinctively (presuming you’re a native PIE-descendant-speaker) try to insert a vowel, probably to rhyme with ‘virtue’. Well, Latin allowed this principle to be violated by beginning words with S+[consonant cluster], like spatha (sword), in a process called the s impurum. The Western Romance languages, like Old French and Old Spanish, developed prothesis (adding letters on front) to make these words easier to say, evolving into espada and épée. We actually have a few examples rattling around in English, like “afar”. Uh. I’ve gotten off track. Well, that’s why the Spanish word for scorpion starts with an E! Moving on forever! Um. The Swedish word is skorpion. 蠍女 / 蝎女 both just mean scorpion (the latter uses a simplified character). Not sure why they added the ‘child’ when 蠍 also means scorpion, but weirdly it’s harder to find information on linguistics in other alphabets 🤔 They do just say 蠍 in a couple dialects, apparently, but that’s all I got. 

Sea Hawk 

Sea Hawk. Beautiful, empty-headed Sea Hawk. I’m like 99% sure he was named after the Errol Flynn movie; I know he was explicitly inspired by that and Captain Blood but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a source on the name in particular. A seahawk is a kind of skua, but I believe the term predates their official classification, and it’s also widely applied to ospreys. If you’re a raptor and you don’t mind getting your wings wet? Seahawk it is. The movie which inspired him was supposed to be an adaptation of Rafael Sabatini's 1915 novel The Sea Hawk, but unlike the 1924 silent film they went a bit off the rails. It instead dramatized the escapades of privateer Sir Francis Drake (properly a “Sea Dog”, if we want to get technical about sea fursonae), who was allowed to maraud so long as he did it for Mother England, in a script called Beggars of the Sea, a title which they elected not to use in the end bc it had less clout. Their problem with the Sea Hawk book was that the plot was too similar to the aforementioned Captain Blood (which also starred Flynn, and was also an adaptation of a Sabatini book. Get new material, guys). So in the book he’s this Cornish guy who’s sold into slavery by a jealous half-brother, Joseph-style, except instead of getting promoted out of it he’s pseudo-rescued by some corsairs and joins up, becoming “Sakr-el-Bahr”, which for a 1915 anglicization of صقرالبحـار isn’t half bad (I’ve gone with Ṣaqr al-Baḥḥār by modern conventions, but you get the gist). Anyway the guy in the book kinda sucks but could be worse? The movie is more irritating to me personally, it’s predicated on “Elizabeth I needs to build a navy” when her piece of shit dad tanked the economy and razed half the old growth in Ireland to build his stupid bitch fleet. Like a bitch. The English navy outnumbered the Spanish Armada, they were just pathetic baby ships with worse armaments because technology had advanced and the English were incompetent war-mongers. Man sorry I gotta get this shit back on track I just really hate Henry VIII. Havfalk is Danish for Sea+Falcon. Zeearend is literally sea eagle but is the name for white-tailed eagles. French is falcon of the seas, Greek is ‘raptor’, Hebrew’s a calque, Italian’s a calque, Portuguese is a calque. Lup de mare is literally 'sea wolf' but refers also to sailors and the pomarine skua, which feels weirdly specific to me. Spanish is a calque, Turkish is a calque. The hanzi are calques but can also just mean ‘osprey’. 

Shadow Weaver 

Speaking of calques! Shadow Weaver is a pile of them wrapped in a tacky robe. Arabic’s a calque, Danish is a calque. Dutch is more like ‘Shadow Braider’ but you get the idea. French is a feminized version of ténèbres, from Latin tenebra, ‘shadows’, (as in English tenebrous, aren’t cognates fun?). Σκιά is just ‘shadow’. Hebrew is a calque, Italian’s a calque. Portuguese is shadowy/shady/gloomy. Mreajna… I have no goddamn idea. Mreaja is net/trap, and mreana is the word for barbel, but like… fish? trap? I don’t think that’s right. Spanish is a portmanteau of tejedora (weaver) and sombras, (shadows). Kötü Büyücü is just ‘evil witch/sorcerer/etc.’ and I think that’s beautiful. 織/织 is weave, 影 is shadow, then in the Mandarin 女巫, which is typically translated as witch (see the hanzi for girl? remember her?) but here’s where I want to step back and point at why we should never call what I’m doing here “reading”, and why research is so cool and sexy. These days, 女巫 is mostly used in reference to the witches of traditional western media-–pointy hats, broomsticks, what have you, or the deconstruction thereof. But it’s also one of several terms for a female practitioner of Wuism. Now a lot of English speakers choose to translate wu as ‘shaman’ but I hold with those that use the romanization because tbh? Stupid not to. There are connotations! You can use the term in an effort to describe the function of a wu, sure, but a 1:1 translation implies a 1:1 religious function that does not exist, because Wuism is not equivalent to shamanism, because shamanism is not a religion. I’m down with the term as a descriptor, though I prefer the adjectival form, but I do not think that every ecstatic religious functionary should be referred to by a collective title, especially one with criteria so little understood by the layman. But I digress. Mair makes a decent case for its derivation from the Old Persian maguš, which I think I could get on board with as a translation, but again, there are connotations. Even within English, like, the difference between ‘a priest’ and ‘a priestess’? But I digress! I only know about wu at all because I was on another completely distinct research kick a few years ago, and I recognized 巫 by sheer dumb luck of it having been relevant enough to internalize the hanzi. Don’t get shit tattooed on you based on google translate. Do I digress? Very well, I digress. I am large, I contain multitudes. One of the proposed etymologies of 巫 relates it to 誣, which uses the character as its phonetic component but ‘speech’ as its semantic, and means lying/deceiving. I don’t even necessarily agree, I just think it’s appropriate to bring up given. Well [gestures at Shadow Weaver]. 

Spinnerella

Honestly I think they were going for a slant-reference to Cinderella with that one, but I don’t have any evidence of that. Another contracted transliteration in the hanzi categories, as we saw with Entrapta earlier. Spinola/Spinala are the best I could approximate on the romanizations; they’re less loyal to the actual sounds of the hanzi but are closer to what they would be saying if it were 1:1. Still don’t understand why they made these shorter. Tournelle's a calque, though if it's from tourner or tournoyer I couldn't say. Spinerella I’m like 99% sure was a typo, because the German word for spinner is Spinner, so… yeah, I think they just missed an N. The Greek is from σβούρα, a spinning top/vivacious person, and έλα, which seems to be a rarer diminutive, as in fustenella? Honestly I think it may just be from the Latin -ellus. Rodarela similarly applies the -ela suffix to rodar, ‘spin’--cognate of English ‘rotate’, but this time the -ela’s definitely from Latin. Rotalia is… well, it’s a genus of amoeba, but I think we can safely intuit that it’s from Romanian rota/roti, ‘rotate’, from the Latin for wheel, though the -alia has me stumped. It could be in imitation of names like Talia, but that’s… not Romanian? And it’s not like they’ve a dearth of feminine diminutives, you know? Well. Girela is a bit more straightforward, it’s just from girar, ‘turn’. Cognate with English gyrate (and gyre, kind of).

Swift Wind

And last but not least, good ol’ Swifty. Some calques, some wildcards, some portmanteaux. The Arabic is elegant/graceful wind (although “ريح” can apparently also mean fart, so there’s that). Fougor’s been his French name since the 80s (though he was Rafale, ‘gust’ in Quebec), but it’s up to us to parse its meaning. I think it’s from fougueux, ‘spirited, lively’ with the -or suffix to make it an agent noun (think like, drive→driver), so like… Enthusiast? Ardor…er? Look, it ain’t perfect. But his name as Spirit was Éclair (lightning. not like the pastry. I mean it is, bc the pastry is named lightning, but. you know) in the 80s, so it’s not like they were stepping on any toes. Hooves. Whatever. The Greek is just ‘wind’. Hebrew is ‘storm’. 돌개바람 means ‘whirlwind’, which I’m pretty sure is from 돌다, dolda (‘to spin’)+ -개, which attaches to verbal stems to form agentive nouns, but take that with a grain of salt bc nobody’s broken it down in English anywhere and it could just as easily mean ‘wild dog’ bc I must emphasize once more that I don’t speak most of these languages. 바람 is 100% ‘wind’ for sure though I’m actually omniscient. Okay, 凌雲飛馬. 凌雲 is a literary form meaning reach the clouds/soar, and… wait. Jesus christ is that Shinogu? What the fuck. The bullshit surname I picked for my bullshit anime fanfiction, the one I talked about in the first fucking paragraph of this monster? It’s here, for some reason, so that’s… incredibly jarring for me personally. Uh. Yeah, 凌? It also means to endure/surpass, it’s like ‘to overcome’ (+雲, clouds=soar, see?). Sorry, I’m reeling a little, there are over 2100 kanji just in foundational Japanese and 凌 isn’t even one of them what the fuck 

Okay. I’m calm now. I’m normal. Uh. 飛馬 is another literary one, ‘to ride on a horse so fast it feels like it’s flying’, it’s just 飛 ‘to fly’ + 馬 ‘horse’. The Taiwanese is just simplified versions of the same hanzi. Norwegian’s a calque, Portuguese means ‘gale’. Vifor is Romanian for snowstorm, but it’s apparently derived from Old Church Slavonic вихъръ (vixŭrŭ, “windstorm”) and is in use as a surname. Vientoveloz is a calque that got squished together. So’s the Swedish. Kasırga is ‘cyclone/hurricane’. In the 80s he was also called Brisa (‘breeze’) in Spain. I have to go do some math and figure out what the fucking chances of that shit happening were

Okay after a brief delay (coding hard) (do NOT look at it on mobile) I have uploaded the international names of all major and secondary SPOP characters, plus a few tertiaries for a little extra flavor. All languages using the Latin alphabet have been transcribed 1:1, and where non-Latin alphabets approximate the English names, I’ve chosen to represent them as such. Like yeah there’s no J in Greek but Ánd͡zela is as close as they can get to /d͡ʒ / without reclaiming the word ángelos from like 1500 years’ worth of palatization, so… I’m just writing the English name. You can read it with a little accent in your head if you want. 

A huge thank you to @gveret-fic (whose fics you can check out here!) for helping me with the romanized Hebrew spellings! And teaching me that the definite article is a prefix, bc that made a lot of words make sense suddenly. If there are any native speakers of the other transliterated languages out there… please, god, make sure I didn't fuck up your language's romanizations too badly. i'm just one nerd