#how names are used

[corvidaes-crow]

A Dissection of Names

TL;DR: CQL shows affection through name-calling and attention hogging, ORV does that too but also focuses on names and how they define you, LCF looks at names with attributes as gifts vs titles, and Turning touches on names as burdens instead.

I watched The Untamed/CQL (and read MDZS) as one of my earliest introductions into East Asian fiction. I found myself turning over in my head how its story was affected by the censorship of queer relationships in its medium, as well as the ways Wei Ying and Lan Zhan conveyed affection for each other in the place of explicit expression. And one of those main forms of expression is through calling each other's names and holding each other's attention. Instead of the physical aspects of a romantic and/or sexual relationship, here is a subtextual way to express affection that is private, tender, and laden with meaning. In terms of the significance of names that I learnt from repeated "Wei Ying" and "Wei Wuxian!" calling, with a multitude of inflections and unspoken meanings, when one of the main characters' dialogue is almost exclusively a name, then names must carry a huge amount of significance.

And then I read ORV, by extent ORV fics (in general major character traits/canon speech habits become very prominent in fics), and Yoo Joonghyuk says, "Kim Dokja," like it's one of the only phrases he knows. So solidified my understanding that names are Important. Specifically, to say someone's name and have them pay attention. Who needs pet names when you can taste each syllable of who someone is on your tongue? But with ORV it's not that simple. ORV adds another layer to the name game. 'Dokja' being both 'reader' and 'only child' is briefly touched on in the early part of the novel. Later, it focuses on the first nature to build on the YooHanKim triumvirate of Reader, Writer, Protagonist. And titles get added to the mix - . Who is Yoo Joonghyuk if not the Protagonist? What is Kim Dokja if not a Reader? What else can Han Sooyoung be, when the only thing she can do is write? Titles are tokens of identity, simplified for efficient distribution. It's economic - an easy way to judge someone, or a convenient place to start to know them.

And sometimes titles are names too. In LCF, the two souls involved in a world/body swap give up their names freely - eagerly, almost. The motif of 'names' as attached to the theme 'identity' is narrowed to names as given by others. "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," but if any flower by the name 'rose' smells as sweet, then what? The scent must be indelible in the letters of the name. If a name and its corresponding attributes are shared between different entities, it is more fittingly called a 'title'. At the beginning of TCF, in KRS!Cale's early interactions with the Henituse family, Cale Henituse is not a son, nor a master, not a villainous heir - he is the inhabitant of a body with a title. 'Cale Henituse' is a mere title, with the attributes of selfishness and asocial behaviour and unreasonable temper. A mere title - because the person behind the name is gone. The person using that name exists unknown by the people that call him it, and acts accordingly to its attributes. 'Cale Henituse,' as other people know him, is a mix of concept and preconceived conclusion. When Cale reveals the swap, those that knew 'Cale Henituse' before the switch must now re-identify Cale as a separate entity. They must go through their memories and make a clean cut in their mental timelines of 'Cale Henituse's Change and Improvement,' where previously they have either explained away or skipped over the incongruencies because any other reason is 'impossible'.

Meanwhile, the purer form of gifted names comes as 'Raon Miru' (and 'Dodam Miru', for another example). Raon's name is a gift that actively shapes his identity. We see its effects clearly in his demeanour and sense of self, more so because of his young age - "the great and mighty Raon Miru!" is an untouchable, revered, free Dragon. As Cale gave the name after a period of careful thought, and as he continues to respect, acknowledge and dote on Raon, the once-trapped Dragon toddler in the cave can happily associate 'Raon Miru' with 'loved'.

Turning depicts a more unpleasant experience with gifted names, though they are also given out of respect and/or love. Surnames and given names are bestowed with little to no consultation of the one who must now live with that name. Yuder accepts his last name 'Ail' ambivalently, as it is one of many surnames given out that day. It is meaningless except that its existence marks him as more than a random lower-class citizen. On the other hand, Kishiar la Orr's gift of the name 'Yudrein' in the first timeline becomes a burden that Yuder is all too happy to abandon. It haunted him in the form of the rumours that he renamed himself as a result of his ego, or the misconception that a man he resents gave it to him as "an honourable gift and source of pride," as bestowed names are normally perceived. Sometimes you are given a name that is not yours and you do not know what to do with it, but it is what someone has chosen for you and they meant well by it, so you wear it every day until you get used to hearing it and thinking of yourself. You do not grow into it. It does not grow on you. It will never fit you. By now, you are too tired to fight it. Names are gifted with affection. Sometimes they are only received out of obligation.

Or maybe any name on you can feel right, as long as someone calls it with a complete, complex understanding of you.

[notrobinsomethingworse]

Dick, deadpan: You hid a racoon in your room.

Jason, crouched by a sleeping racoon currently sleeping on a pillow. Theres scratches all over his arms and legs. He doesn’t seem bothered: yeah? What ya gonna do about it?

Dick: Un-hide? The goddamn racoon in your room?

Jason: But I’ve named him.

Dick: Well, un-name him.

Jason: He’s Barty.

Dick: I don’t care.

Jason: …

Jason: We can use him to fuck with Bruce.

Dick: …

Dick: Would Barty like some food?

[egophiliac]

still ruminating over Lost In the Book With Spooky Skeletons Part 1, so here's a selection of some of my favorite little bits! (...some more loosely paraphrased than others) (I just feel like Idia has no room to criticize in general, okay)

anyway, I'm sure we're just going to have a fun time celebrating Halloween and nothing bad is going to happen whatsoever! :)

[chloesimaginationthings]

William Afton has top tier FNAF parenting skills

[anbaisai]

Book 4 Mystery

The recent tweel cards got me wondering... just where did Yuu sit during the ride back to NRC in book 4?

And after analyzing the design I came to the conclusion that we must've been playing Floyd Leech Pro Surfer 3

(Continuation here)

[eats-a-berry]

i wasn't sure exactly what i thought adult gideon should be doing, but i DO quite like the triple combination of cowboy-biker, drag queen, and used car salesman at the same time. she's always a busy person!

[oobbbear]

I want to post this here too because I’ve seen it happen a few times

Please understand that there are cultural differences and language differences, if you see this happening let the person clarify what they meant, that person might just not be familiar with words the western side of the internet use

[stil-lindigo]

the calamity.

a comic about being seen.

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creative notes:

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all my other comics

store

[featheredcrowbones]

the cast of OM after my MC makes them gayer except for the kids whose only worries are crayons and cookie dough

[axiliern]

tim's got the vibe of the viet mom who makes way too much thịt kho and gets stuck eating it for leftovers for weeks

[stealingpotatoes]

OMGGGG YOU LIKE AVATAR I'LL EAT GLASS I'M SO HAPPYYYYYYYYYYY

will be get ever some art of it from youuuu?

PUT THE GLASS DOWN eat this instead

[technically-human]

Full name

[dykestache]

new heart bong 🫀

link!

[egophiliac]

buckle up lads we're going BACK INTO THE BOOK

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Happy Thistle Debut Day!

[raycatzdraws]

I love how you draw the chain with wolfie

Thank you!

Squish Wild! Squish 'im!