#what's in a name

[atlaculture]

Hii! I was wondering if you could make a post about the etymology of the name Druk (Zuko’s dragon)? I googled it but the result was kinda confusing 😭

What's in a Name: Druk

According to the Korra artbook, Druk is the offspring of Ran and Shaw, the dragons that taught Zuko and Aang the Dancing Dragon forms. Meaning the golden egg that Aang and Zuko found was probably baby Druk.

I bring this up because Zuko's dragon is actually named after the thunder dragons of Tibetan and Bhutanese mythology. Druk is also the Tibetan/Bhutanese word for thunder; this is due to thunder being attributed to a dragon's roar in Tibetan/Bhutanese folklore. In fact, a more literal translation of the word druk would be "cloud voice". Considering the cultural inspiration for the Air Nomads, it's likely that Aang had a hand in naming Druk.

In general, Druk's name creates a lot of interesting cultural and thematic connections:

Zuko's Blue Spirit mask is a "Dragon King" mask. The Dragon King is a rain dragon who can conjure up storms. Since Zuko's alter ego embodies a dragon of rain, it's fitting that he would name his animal companion after a dragon of thunder. Zuko clearly likes weather dragons.

Until Korra's time, lightning bending was a skill reserved only for the Fire Nation's royal family. Since there can't be thunder without lightning, Druk's name also alludes to his connection to Fire Nation royalty. It's even possible that Druk is also capable of lightning bending; after all, dragons are the original firebenders.

While Chinese culture attributes dragons to the cardinal direction of east, Tibetan culture attributes dragons to the cardinal direction of west. Druk's name is a subtle nod to Iroh's "Dragon of the West" legacy.

The name Druk is also significant in Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism. Drukpa or "Thunder Dragon Lineage", is a school of thought in Vajrayana Buddhism. Also, the name Vajrayana literally means "The Thunderbolt Way" in Sanskrit, in which lightning is used as a metaphor for the "jolting" nature of enlightenment. Considering that Druk is the offspring of Ran and Shaw, who "enlightened" Aang and Zuko on the true nature of firebending, his name is quite fitting.

All in all, Druk is probably one of the best named characters in the entire ATLA franchise.

Like what I’m doing? Tips always appreciated, never expected. ^_^

https://ko-fi.com/atlaculture

[pahtoosh]

what's in a name

[image ID: a gif of steve and bucky smiling. /.end ID]

masterlist

18+

wc: 960 words

warnings: drama with a wasp, steve picks you up

a/n: shakespeare says names don't matter but in this case I say they do!!

pairing: stucky x gn!little!reader

summary: the first time you called Bucky "Baba" and Steve "Dada"

⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ☾ ﾟ｡⋆ ⋆｡ﾟ☁︎｡⋆｡ ﾟ

It came out by accident. You found yourself dozing off in Bucky’s arms while watching a movie. The whole day, Steve and Bucky had been doting on you, making you feel safe enough to slip into littlespace. It was your first experience with slipping in front of them for a long period. You felt so light. The fuzziness of your mind had you lifting off your toes and into the arms of your protector. 

Steve had been called for a meeting, so it was just you and Bucky cuddling on the couch. 

Bucky shifted a bit to get more comfortable. He wasn’t planning on getting up, but you didn’t know that. You furrowed your brow and held onto him tighter. Your next words tumbled out of your mouth like marbles down a staircase. 

“Baba, don’t go.”

Your words were slurred. Your cheek was smushed against Bucky’s chest and your sleepiness stopped your mouth from properly forming the words. Bucky heard you perfectly, though. 

His heart skipped a beat. His mind raced. He didn’t want to wake you up though, so he just kissed the top of your head and soothed you by rubbing his hand over your back. 

“I’m not going anywhere, baby.” Baba’s not going anywhere.

When you woke up from your nap, you remembered your little slip-up. Your face grew hot with embarrassment. 

“Hey there, sunshine.” Bucky cooed. “Are you waking up?”

You nodded and then slowly removed yourself from his embrace, still clinging to his shirt with one hand. 

“Do you wanna get up?”

You nodded, then shook your head and nodded again. 

“Is something wrong? Did you have a bad dream?”

You shook your head.

“What’s got you all shy?”

“Sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize, I just wish I knew what was going on so I could help you,” Bucky said as he rubbed your back.

“I- I called you Baba.”

“That’s nothing to be shy about.”

You shook your head, still avoiding eye contact. 

“Can I tell you a secret?”

You nodded.

“I liked it.”

You peeked out from your hiding place against his chest, allowing your soft eyes to ask a wordless question.

“I love takin’ care of you, honey. And if you love it too, enough to give me a special name, my only business is to keep going. I’ll show you how much I like being called your Baba.”

Ever so gently, you leaned in to kiss the tip of his nose. You got comfortable in the crook of his neck before softly speaking. 

“Baba. My Baba.”

𓏲 ࣪₊♡

It was nearly dinner time when Steve returned. The three of you decided to hang out on the balcony while waiting for the food to be delivered. You sat on the outdoor rug, playing with toys while Steve and Bucky sat on the bench, chatting about their days and looking much like the love-struck Brooklyn boys from the past. Only now they had a precious little one whom their gaze often turned to. 

Your mind was utterly blank. Any train of thought drifted away as you lost yourself in the colorful blocks. You reached out to grab another piece when a large wasp landed in front of you. Startled, you pulled your hand back, accidentally knocking over the little tower you had worked so hard on. The wasp must’ve been startled too, as it began flying in frenzied circles by the fallen blocks. 

Your whimper caught the attention of the two super soldiers. Being the closest one to you, Steve leaped into action. He swiftly picked you up and carried you to the other side of the balcony. 

“It’s okay, baby. You’re okay. I’ve gotcha.” Steve did his best to soothe your trembling figure. He bounced you in his arms, holding you tight. 

You took in a shaky breath, trying to shake the fear from your thoughts. 

“Scared.”

“I know, honey. Let’s go inside, hm? Bucky’s picking up your toys for you.” Steve carried you through the sliding door, making sure no other little creatures were around as he pushed the glass aside.

He sat on the living room’s armchair with you. Steve ran his hands up and down your arms, making you feel safe. It was as if he was slowing down time just for you. You felt much calmer by the time Bucky came back inside. He gently set down your crate of toys before kneeling by the armchair. 

“You okay, pumpkin? I’m sorry that happened to ya.”

“I’m okay, thank you.”

Bucky breathed a small sigh of relief. “I gave that little punk a good talking to. No more stingers are coming around here to scare my baby, ya hear? I’ll have Tony set some nets up to be sure of it.”

You giggled, loving how his accent came out with a twinge of sass. 

“It’s okay. Dada saved me.” You punctuated your sentence with a kiss on Steve’s cheek. The blonde super soldier’s heart swelled to three times its size.

He failed miserably at keeping a dopey smile off his face. He didn’t want to scare you off by making it a big deal, though. Play it cool, Steve. Play it cool.

“I-is that me?” He coughed to clear his throat, “Am I your Dada?” 

You nodded proudly and pointed at Bucky. “And he’s my Baba.” 

The next few moments were a blur. Steve pulled Bucky onto the chair, making his partner shout before chuckling in surprise. Both of them simultaneously decided that you needed to be peppered with kisses. You decided to get them back by holding one of their faces still while you returned the favor. The three of you were a giggling mess, squished on the too-small chair: the perfect start to your precious little family.

[fuck-u-maga]

You know what get's me. The radical right who like to cry 'well nazi stands for National Socialist German Workers' Party so it's the socialists/left who are the nazis!!' like the nazis didn't intentionally name themselves that so they could get the support of the socialist party who were popular at that time.

It's like how conservatives say they are all about family values and stoping pedos cause who would be against that, when they purposely hurt families and just elected a pedo.

[markscherz]

u probably know this but i find it really funny that youve named frogs in a comedic way and your last name is Scherz (german for joke)

You know, after a childhood of having people joking about my joke of a name, there was some righteous glory in being able to put the name to such good use.

[usamifriends]

Yotsuba Tamaki: The Clover Amidst Chaos

The number four is often seen as a bad omen in East Asian cultures because it sounds like the word death. I don't think it's a coincidence that the character with a deceased parent, Tamaki, represents number four.

Tamaki didn't have an easy life growing up. His father is probably an abusive alcoholic. His mother passed away from an illness when Tamaki was still young. What's more, he was separated from his little sister Aya, the only family member he had left, when she got adopted. His past situation seems to fit the idea of number four being unlucky; however, his name provides an interesting contrast.

Tamaki's full name is 四葉環 (Yotsuba Tamaki). His family name, Yotsuba, comes from the four-leafed clover, a symbol of luck. It is also the part of Tamaki's name with his representative number. By doing this, the writers turn the number four from a bad omen to a symbol of good luck. The story beautifully reiterates this reversal during IDOLiSH7's first local TV broadcast. When the local TV broadcast LIVE X LIVE offered to broadcast 5 minutes of IDOLiSH7's outdoor concert, the weather unfortunately hindered them. If bad weather isn't enough, lightning strikes down their sound equipment. The studio almost cancel their live broadcast because of the situation, but Tamaki steps up and starts dancing on his own. The other members support him by clapping, and the audience joins in. Because of Tamaki, IDOLiSH7 could keep its live broadcast and smoothly transition back to the song after losing sound. He and Sogo garner a lot of attention because of this specific moment, even the attention of President Yaotome. Tamaki, the group's number four, became IDOLiSH7's lucky four-leafed clover.

Tamaki (環) means a ring or loop to surround or encircle. These words remind me of connections and harmony. Perhaps his mother gave him this name in the hopes that he would grow up to be someone who could get along with anyone and form lots of connections. The meaning of his given name goes very well with the two side stories in Part 1 Chapter 3 where Tamaki struggles with conforming to rules that don't make sense to him. Iori tells him that if he wants to be with people, he has to learn to compromise. Agreeing with Iori, Tamaki thinks being completely free means being alone. Later on, Tamaki asks Sogo and Yamato if they think true freedom requires solitude. While it is true that living with other people requires us to compromise at times, Sogo and Yamato assure Tamaki that he does not have to be alone to feel free. From the way he cares for the members and the way he broke the dancing ban because other people wanted to see him dance, we know that while Tamaki is a free-spirit who feels suffocated by rules, he also wants to be around people and loves people deeply. The tension between freedom and the need to compromise in human relations is a central theme of Tamaki's growth; it is a question Tamaki continues to face even until Part 6.

Treat him to some King's Pudding if you see him this week!

[firthbetterorfirthworse]

You know what I love thinking about, Pride and Prejudice wise? The fact that, for most everyone outside of Darcy and Elizabeth (with the exception of Charlotte and the Gardiners) the main happy ending comes COMPLETELY out of left field.

At the end of the book, her own sister Kitty doesn't even remember Mr Darcy's NAME. He was just that dude that visited for a few weeks and was rude to Lizzy, and then showed up a year later and practically the next day got engaged to her.

Elizabeth just can't go on vacation anywhere without running into Darcy

[sins-and-gods]

The Lone Wolf names of Roost and Ryker

If you encounter an abandoned shack in the Meadows, you can find a secret export ledger wedged between the wall and a dresser. This tome does not appear on the map unless you are standing in the wheatfield directly outside the shack, otherwise it can only be highlighted if you hover over it with your cursor.

The tome is a ledger containing the pseudonyms of three clients: Grizzled Whisper, Dusty Rogue, and Bleeding Baron.

At first glance, the only useful information appears to be on the second page. The ledger tells us the Bleeding Baron's shipment was delivered behind the woodpile, but never retrieved, allowing the player to dig up a bag of loot.

If the player visits the drop-off locations of the other two clients, i.e. Dusty Rogue, no loot may be collected because the shipments have already been retrieved.

But this tome is actually connected to the side quest, The Merchant: the second page provides context to the fate of the travelling merchant, Baran Levere, while the first page hints at the codenames of two prominent Lone Wolves not otherwise revealed in the story.

Ifan ben-Mezd, the Silver Claw, explains that all those who are successfully initiated into their ranks are assigned a codename in the form of a two-word moniker. Codenames are necessary for Lone Wolves who hold active contracts to protect their true identities — they reduce the risk of exposure or retaliation if communications are intercepted, and prevent any transactions from being traced back to their origin. Arranging drop-off locations would allow supplies to be delivered discreetly, minimizing the need for direct contact between the operative and the courier, hence the secret ledger.

The implication of the ledger is that it once belonged to Baran Levere, a merchant in charge of delivering the shipments to drop-off locations specified by his clients. At least -- until he is assassinated, his entire inventory stolen, and his identity assumed by the Lone Wolf, Callo.

Clearly, the Bleeding Baron is a morbid play-on-words for Baran's bloody death, suggesting that Callo is the Bleeding Baron mentioned in the ledger. It is implied through storyline dialogue that Callo requested the shipment so he could lure his target to a more discrete location — the abandoned shack — and kill him.

In Act 2, Ifan gives the player a test to determine what their Lone Wolf name would be. He admits that he doesn't remember all of the questions, but Dusty is one of the answers, implying that the Dusty Rogue in the ledger is a Lone Wolf operative.

From the ledger, we know Stonegarden is Dusty Rogue’s specified drop-off location. Since Ryker is one of the only living beings in the Stonegarden — and a confirmed Lone Wolf — he is almost certainly Dusty Rogue.

Keeping in mind the Lone Wolf naming scheme, now that we’ve identified two-thirds of the clients in the tome are Lone Wolves, it becomes even more apparent that the ledger’s purpose is to keep a record of Lone Wolf exports, in particular. So, we can safely assume Grizzled Whisper must be the cover identity of a Lone Wolf operative, too.

If you visit the Cullwoods Mill, the Lone Wolf camp, you will notice every assassin is named with two-word monikers (i.e. Mummie Dearest, Slumberjack, Elixir Mixer, Honeyhook, etc.) -- everyone except Roost Anlon.

Since Callo is Bleeding Baron, Ryker is Dusty Rogue, and the names of all other Lone Wolves on Reaper’s Coast are known, by simple process of elimination, Grizzled Whisper must be Roost.

[minlout3heathlegs3ruffthrokfan]

Minlout Headcanon 17: Snotlout and Minden's Razorwhip seem to have a mutual understanding after their man-flight against the Flyers that day (Chain of Command), and even though Razorwhip babies aren't supposed to have names, Snotlout calls him "Whiplout" and the name just sticks. (Whiplout still enjoys taking Snotlout's helmet.)

[castingmysilver]

I have Thoughts about Guardians 3, and Rocket's arc.

Spoilers of course if anybody watching me here still cares.

--------

A name isn't just a callsign, especially if it's one you chose. A name is part of how you see yourself.

Rocket chose his first name as an act of *hope*, which was then absolutely pulverized. And in that pulverization, he lost every meaningful root he had, and every social link to anyone who could truly understand what he had been through.

Rocket refuses to be a Raccoon.

I don't mean that he just objects to being *called* one. I mean that he feels he *has no common species* at the beginning of the film. Even if he *was* a Raccoon-based prototype, which he doesn't know or believe for certain, he was deeply, fundamentally Changed. When he was modified, uplifted, and *tortured* "for his own good," he became something different than everyone else cowering in his cage. His species and his family was his experimental Batch now. And he is the only survivor.

He had believed that meant they were going to be a part of something beautiful and good and better than himself, and he was willing to serve that goal right up until he learned first that he was worthless to his maker's ideal of that beauty, and then that his family was going to be deleted like a typo out of the grand plan.

His whole life, right up until his near-death vision, he feared that all he was was somebody else's fuckup, wearing the name of a lost dream.

And then that changed.

He began to have hope. Then he made a choice of his own that he couldn't hide from his past anymore: whatever happened, he was going to stand or fall on his own power, and have a shot at making a difference along the way. And then...

He chose to be a Raccoon. To my mind he didn't just discover the name applied, he applied it himself; his kinship was with everything he wanted to save, all the potential experiments, not with his prototype path.

And that is also why it bothered me *much less* than it usually does when they mowed through minions and spared the final boss. Because they made it *Rocket*'s choice, and he chose in confronting his abusive father and disavowed God that *he would be Named by his choice to protect when possible, not just by his rebellion against the pattern set for him.* He was neither an heir of the Father's plan, nor a violent aberration who only existed to fuck it up.

He is Rocket Raccoon, and he's a Guardian of the Galaxy.

[youcouldmakealife]

Just to tell you that Aaron’s last name is misspelt. It is Vazquez not Vasquez.

Not an error, just an alternative spelling! There are a number of variations of that surname, and Vásquez is, while not the original spelling, a fairly common variant.

[frogofalltime]

it's funny that babies are often named before they are even born, or when they are very small and you have no idea of their personality yet. of course it makes sense because how would you refer to a child with no name, it would be impossible to arrange legal documents, etc. but how can you choose a name that suits their Vibes if you don't know what their Vibes are ?? i'm glad it's possible to choose your own name / nickname as you grow up because certain names just do not match the person they were given to at all, or maybe the name worked at one point in their life but not anymore, and we should be allowed to reinvent ourselves. this post is sort of about a conversation i was having with my (also trans) boyfriend but not exclusively !! anyone can change their name for any reason. and i think that's beautiful :)

[jay-avian]

Gonna write a little mini essay on EPIC the Musical. Names have a lot of power in this musical. They're usually used to indicate a character's presence or lack thereof.

One of the most obvious uses of names is for antagonists. So far, all of the antagonists have had their name sung as their introduction. This, for the most part, has been obvious. Upon listening to the musical again, I realized the same is true for siren Penelope. Her name is sung by a backup choir before her vocal appearance. Yes, her name has been sung before, but only by a singular character talking about her, rather than to indicate her presence (with the exception of Ody's dream to give the illusion of her presence).

In the Circe saga, I had a hard time remembering when, if at all, Circe's name was used as her introduction. In the song "Puppeteer", she sings her name herself to the crew. This might indicate that she was the antagonist to the crew all along, but had tried to keep her motives a secret at first. Scylla has her named mentioned by both the siren and Odysseus. After Ody's first mention when they reach her lair, we never hear it again, and we don't need to. We know she's there, we can hear her lurking throughout.

But when we get to Zeus, we don't hear his name at all in the musical (so far). Ody doesn't even utter his name the way he did with Poseidon in "Ruthlessness". Why could this be? It could be because this character needs no introduction to make his presence known, or that his introduction is simply by the name "Thunder Bringer". I originally thought that maybe Zeus isn't really meant to be an "antagonist" like the others, but simply seeks to restore some sort of balance. But on the other hand, other gods like Athena, Hermes, and Aeolus get their names mentioned too upon their arrival. In the snippets of God Games we've seen, Zeus still doesn't get a name drop (though he may eventually have one in that song or some other time).

Even Polites and Eurylochus get their names introduced in the beginning. Their names are used as they normally would: to get their attention, to give them orders. As far as Polites, his name is mentioned only once after his death, indicating his presence is still felt. But after that, he's simply referred to as "my best friend", an epithet rather than a name. Eury is sometimes referred to as "brother" by Ody, both a nod to their deep relationship as well as their literal one (as they are brothers-in-law).

When it came to "the wind god" and "the sun god", their actual names weren't used, but epithets instead. We hear the name of Aeolus only when Odysseus calls upon them. Poseidon's name, besides in his song, gets used by Odysseus when explaining to the sirens what had happened. Poseidon's wrath has already been revoked, his presence ever looming. He's always in the background somewhere just out of reach. (Saw a post about this part, but I can't find it again rip)

Odysseus is one of the few people who didn't get an introduction until much later. He isn't referred to as Captain until the third song and isn't referred to by name or epithet by Zeus during the first song. Ody only reveals his name himself when he's proclaiming to be the enemy of Polyphemus. Polites surprisingly doesn't use his name, only referring to Ody as Captain or, more importantly, "my friend" throughout the song "Open Arms". Eurylochus mostly uses Captain, but only says "my friend" and even "Ody" once towards the end of Mutiny. Both crew members' last mention of Odysseus was by the title Captain, indicating that at the end, they saw him as their leader, the man who they were meant to follow.

His name is also used by Poseidon, specifically "Odysseus of Ithaca", indicating his identity as king to some degree. Zeus both uses his real name and his title of king as well. Both gods refer to him as king in order to teach the lesson that rulers, like themselves, need to be ruthless or make tough decisions in order to be successful. Athena doesn't make a mention of his name whatsoever (so far), only stating that he is a warrior (of the mind), a general, the only titles important to her.

And lastly, we hear his name towards the end of Mutiny in the fight scene, indicating not only that he's winning the battle, but he is becoming an antagonist himself.

I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts. Let me know if I missed something (I'm fairly sure I did)

[airjemsfandump]

Is it? 😶

[dluebirb]

AU Status

I thought I'd list out the status of all my AU's for those of you who came from my other acc! Also just for me for organization purposes.

Ghosts of Our Days: (2012 AU w/ @theosb0rnway) On hold! (also slight writers block on my part) Who even knows what's going on with that thing! Not us.

Of Mutants Mystics and Magic: (ROTTMNT x TOH) I'm going to be reposting the prior arts to @m0ths-wanderings. I ran a tag list for updates last time! (@allyheart707 would you still be interested in that?)

Cardinal Rules: (Post movie rottmnt au) I'm just disregarding my actual plot for that. it's a silly little series. I might do smth with it. I don't know lmao

The Ride the Cyclone AU's: Like two people (and a discord server) know abt these. You'll know when you know lol

What's In a Name (W.I.N.): (My online experience comic, ft. my moots) Active! I've been brainstorming how to worldbuild the internet hehe... (also if I missed you when I was doing my rounds, or we're moots or in a discord server now and you want to be featured, LET ME KNOW! Love y'all)

I forget who wanted to be tagged in WIN status updates stuff so uh excuse my bad memory (sorry it's not much of an update, but I'm still doing the thing)- @paytato435 @friskyeee @fanatess @purple-the-turtle @averagetmntfan @justletmereadmycomics @bigmoneysniffler

[m0ths-wanderings]

PART TWO BE UPON YE

|| Part One ||

Tag List: *inhales* @theosb0rnway, @paytato435, @purple-the-turtle, @chaos-potat, @karonkar, @3mutantsinatrenchcoat, @friskyeee/@friskebits, @yelenapines, @spicy-apple-pie, @artsymeeshee, @allyheart707, @bigmoneysniffler @delicatechildwitch, @ghosty-0w0, @just-another-tired-gay-artist, @winkwonkblog, @fanatess, @robobunny-tboy @averagetmntfan