#-conventions. letters and sounds

[horse-shit]

2019 me: fuck it heres some guys {oc's}

sometime later: oh even if the concept of regions is gone other than basics {northern, southern, eastern, western, middleton}, I should connect my characters to backgrounds as best i can so i have a better reference for what they'd look like for irl picture references! this'll be so much fun!

me now: ...fuck-- goodb.ye first names you've had since the beginning that are basic boring names... you will be missed....

[meowsticmarvels]

inevitably one of the things that happens upon playing vlr is that. sigma's name is funny at first and then it just kind of becomes normal to you. over time it's like ok well that's his name whatever. but then if you bring ze up around a friend who hasn't played you are doomed if you bring up sigma because they will bring it up . And then it just is kind of like. Yeah well thats his name I guess sure

[oceandiagonale]

Actually, Guzman is his spanish name.

OH YEAH some other folks pointed that out too, makes sense since it's an irl Spanish name (probably why I see it around a lot!) 😳

(normally it's a surname, I've only seen it used as a first name once in a blue moon -- but also in the pokemon world it's pretty clear that naming conventions aren't the same lol)

[hellofeternity]

ORV transcends language | how ORV is kind to readers (1.1k words)

the difficulties in analyzing text are already numerous without a language barrier, the way one word can mean 5 things and when you put it in a sentence suddenly it can mean 50 things and put that sentence in a paragraph? go further and put that paragraph in a page? construct a whole world around it, weave it into the fabric, and suddenly you are painting with words.

ORV is a daunting text, it calls and references so many mythos world wide, greek, roman, indian, chinese, japanese, it plays with meaning and intent and uses gaps in our knowledge like weapons, making us extrapolate our own meaning between the sentences, it is a tome of knowledge when it comes to histories and philosophies it feels at times like I will never understand all these things inside it.

One of the difficulties of reading a translated text is that when we analyze a text the authorial intent weighs very heavily in our minds, sure we can immerse ourselves in the world but once we start picking apart at the threads we hit a wall pretty soon when we start asking ourselves "what did the author mean by this?" however in a translated text there is an obvious gap, a game of telephone, did the translator actually capture the authors intent? or are we just reading the translators perception? sadly I don't know korean, and I cant say I have the drive to learn it, as such I know there will forever be a side of ORV that I will never be privy to - however I am bilingual and had the pleasure of reading two translated versions of ORV, an English translation and an Arabic translation, I didn't finish reading the said Arabic translation but a couple things stood out to me when I briefly did ORV is very kind to readers, following along in other stories can seem confusing at times, the pacing might be too fast and you might miss some details in a characters actions, the wording might be too vague and ah damn 20 pages later you realize you don't actually know why the characters are doing what they are doing. A big writing adage that you will see a lot is "show dont tell" and it holds merit, but ORV doesn't subscribe to it, because ORV shows AND tells. ORV built a world around readers and reading, and it makes sure that there is clarity every step of the way on what is happening, first by starting out as a homage to the isekai genre, and not deviating too much at the start, making the readers feel at home in a worldview they are familiar with, systems, leveling, videos games etc, and when it starts deviating it explains things with clarity that no matter how bad the translation is you understand the general intent, and secondly by being VERY blatant about the names of things and having a built in "story" system that is built on common story tropes and names the themes for you! take for example "unbroken faith" and "Blade of faith" both of these are two translated versions of dokja's sword. I will never know which one is closer to the original authorial intent, but I can tell you something, dokja's sword is symbolism to the faith he is wielding. (CH386 vague spoilers) or the entirety of "the great war of saints and demons" being about the concept of good and evil fighting and how kimcom aren't just above being good and evil, they are both. By using story tropes that we are familiar with to explain the complexity of situations in a simple forms you no longer have to worry about losing you readers understandings through language barriers. Every story in the world in every language knows what good vs evil is, every language has the words to explain them. and therein lies the beauty of ORV. But of course this isn't to say translations don't matter, it does speak to the strength of an original texts clarity when it accounts for the big things by making them simplified, but when we get down to the nitty gritty it starts to lose form take for example

"Tell me, you fool. If I continue to regress, will I ever get to meet you again?"

this person here has a great write up explaining the translators thoughts behind this specific line

but it has spawned a lot of debate in the English speaking fandom, as to the strength of its translation, I remember when I first saw someone claiming that its a mistranslation and "you fool" isn't part of the original, my first thought was "and so?" I do not mean to be dismissive to the original text, but I do not exist in a space where I can appreciate it in the original korean, I do not exist in a worldview where I can understand the historical implications of a lot of the characters, and even when I try to research it in English sadly the resources do not exist yet and its even more laughable to think of finding these things in Arabic. (Goryeos first sword doesn't have an English wikipedia page as a clear example) a lot of people have issues with the most popular English fantranslation of ORV - and I can understand why, being bilingual I have a lot of opinions on how a lot of things SHOULD be translated most of the time, and have done my own translation work but as I sit and think about this popular translation I cant help but just feel love for it, it might be lacking to some, it might be inaccurate at times to others, but its just enough for me to paint the gaps in the text with my perceptions, the words used are tied to my affections the Arabic translation of ORV is clunky, it is messy, it doesn't have as much grace as the English translation of ORV does, the words barely string together cohesively, but it has enough clarity, enough intent, and enough love for its readers, to catch their hearts, their attention and their energy

and so I want this to be the first post on this blog because, the author is dead here, not because I buried them, but because the tower of babel fell down a long time ago, and all we have is rubble and each other. a lot of the analysis on this blog will try to be respectful to the korean original wherever it can, however my words will be coming from an anglosphere perspective, and build on other English reader's perceptions of a text translation that a decent amount of people don't think is adequate, but just like ORV is kind to us, we can be kind back, I will quote the most popular version because its what connects us together, and while the authors intent might be lost, we can share our own meanings with each other, and build our own intent from the rubble.

[hecatesbroom]

As a writer, why is it so hard to write an appreciative letter to a friend :') I'm supposed to be good with words!!

[notquiteaghost]

customer making small talk at work: [legal name] is a good name, i've always liked unique names

me: yeah, so did my parents!

customer, who also clocked my pronouns & definitely just assumed i meant 'Actually, that's my birth name': oh, really?

me, who has a similarly unique birth name but also i inadvertently stole my brother's name with one syllable changed and i dont want to get into all that while ringing up her shopping: haha yeah. i like it though!

[mathmusicreading]

Xiè Lián: My surname is Xiè, my first name is Lián. Huā Chéng: You can call me your third husband. Xiè Lián: What happened to my first two husbands?!

I learned Huā Chéng was having Xiè Lián call him "husband" from Ty the Canasian on Kictor's YouTube, I found this when I was trying to corroborate the linguistics, and I indulged and bought the official Seven Seas Entertainment (translator and editor are on Tumblr!) English translations of the books so here's further confirmation from Volume 1:

ETA:

I made this post private because I was unhappy with it (misspelling/misformatting Wúmíng, knowing I wouldn't have good reach for larger and less biased sample size even if I could have tagged better for the fandoms and characters if Tumblr organized by more than the first five tags), but I'm making it public again since it finished and so did the similar poll that fun-mxtx-polls was kind enough to make for me.

Not to bias towards the first option, just to explain it, the first option and why I wanted this poll come from the naming pattern trivia for MXTX's love interests/male leads/gongs, which I think you can best read on Huā Chéng's page on the Heaven Official's Blessing/Tiān Guān Cì Fú wikia. I'm just using that as my citation given:

I'm not sure if MXTX has discussed this meta in-joke somewhere and if so, where.

The SSE Glossary: Terminology note (all volumes of all three MXTX novels) only explains the second and third gongs, and implies MXTX is doing this purposefully. Lán Wàngjī's wikia page explains only the three published gongs, and implies this started from fandom phenomena creating a proto-stage pattern (if you subscribe to "one is chance, two is coincidence, three is a pattern"). Huā Chéng's page linked above is the odd man out and so probably incorrect about Lán-èr-gē vs. Lán-èr-gēge, but it goes above and beyond by explaining the fourth gong, and it uses the most neutral language regarding this trivia.

I think citation is unnecessary for "gē" (哥 | 哥) meaning "big brother" and in certain contexts having the connotation or meaning of "eldest brother" (admittedly my unverified inference), "èr" (二 | 二) meaning "two", and "sān" (三 | 三) meaning "three".

I actually like so much because I like to think if it could use more wordplay and less literalism. Please forgive me for being a poor reader not remembering exactly, not buying the TGCF raws yet, not being able to buy the SVSSS and MDZS raws, and only being able to find old fan translations/interpretations of MXTX's fourth novel preview, but let me explain:

I believe Luò Bīnghé isn't being called "Luò Bīnghé-gē" (or rather "Bīng-gē" since I think? it's more usual to use the suffix with the single/first character of a person's given name, not with their full name, especially when the full name is three (or more? some of my reading has mentioned two-character last names but I didn't find if culture was strict about then making the given name be only one character) characters) for the usual reasons to address someone with "gē", but actually the PIDW!Luò Bīnghé is being called Luò Bīnggē (or "Bīng-gē") because he's more aggressive than canon/SVSSS!Luò Bīnggē who when being differentiated gets called Luò Bīngmèi (or "Bīng-mèi"), and I love that "very fitting reasoning for the naming, not strictly literal and not so bound to literal".

Then with Lán Wàngjī, I see the opportunity that his nickname could have used the natural naming of "erhua is used as a diminutive suffix", and the "er" would have been homophonous with "èr" (二 | 二) for "two" for him being the second gong, and homophonous to the potential "proper address for him as the second Lán son/brother".

In the most literal sense, you'll notice that the gongs so far have had their nicknames be using "(big) brother" and Huā Chéng's uses láng (郎 | 郎) "son" (his stated meaning, although it can also mean "man" and "husband" and the latter is how we can interpret he wanted it to be when coming from Xiè Lián). There's nothing wrong with that and the numbers are perfectly probable, and would still be so as they grow, but also they could feel more like "contrived" coincidence, which is part of my wanting to get away from literalism a little bit, not just my loving clever wordplay. With Huā Chéng, I don't have a homophone I can use for punning like with Lán Wàngjī, or really the "cultural language use where literal suffixes/honorifics get used figuratively for XYZ purposes", but I can make it fit with character interpretation. To me, Sān Láng doesn't have to be "Third Son" because "he has two older brothers" and in fact we aren't sure that he was telling the truth about that—instead, I think Huā Chéng could be being clever with not just getting Xiè Lián to call him (Third/surname "Three") Husband but in saying his name is "Third Man" because this is the third alias he gives Xiè Lián. (Some additional feels this gives me: It's like he's saying he's the same person Xiè Lián met before, that they shared all of that experience and it mattered, that he's the final form of that person wanting to be with Xiè Lián, that he's like a fairy-tale character with many names and forms and a true name and form and all along there was a trick or thread to follow in knowing and identifying him.) It just works out so perfectly because of the third way he introduces himself to Xiè Lián matching him being the third gong, and also the fairy-tale significant number of "three".

Finally, with the fourth gong, I've looked at Suika's TGCF Afterword translation, a NovelUpdates MDZS spoilers forum post by K.san crossposted to the Grim Reapers Have No Days Off spoilers forum by alexfilia, a reply to this post in r/tianguancifu by u/chenmochou, and also this post in r/tianguancifu by u/Loud_Daikon6167 which cites a TikTok I can't see either because of TikTok's thing about opening to a random page/the homepage or I assume the TikTok being removed or locked. Given the first NovelUpdates post maybe having more of a direct translation compared to the first Reddit post, it's still not definitive to me whether this is "actually more of a fandom thing, with MXTX acknowledging and participating in it enough to help make it possible" or it's "MXTX doing this on purpose with her name choices and character traits, whether she meant to have the pattern from the start or later, and yes could have been influenced by fandom" because I think "Other: 四少" is probably about the male lead(s) compared to it following "Protagonist: the uke's name is not determined yet" so it doesn't seem like the fandom came up with a nickname out of whole cloth. "Four young masters" is perfectly probable and could be equally reasonable, and "four ikemen" could even follow in reasonability; in fact it could be more likely and realistic since this is a modern setting, which would have different use of "young master" to me, and because we believe the gong to be the regular human and the shou to be the grim reaper. But for the wordplay, I would have liked it if the gong were the grim reaper and the "four theme naming" came from the famous "sì" (四 | 四) meaning "four" is homophonous with "sǐ" (死 | 死) meaning "die/death" and the latter being used in the Chinese for "grim reaper"/"death god".

[utilitycaster]

a brief guide to types of fantasy names

I put some syllables together and they sounded nice

I put some syllables together and I can't say they sounded nice per se but they do sound vaguely like they come from Arthuriana so close enough

reasonably common real-world name but a letter or two is changed or added

extremely apt real-world character descriptor but a letter is changed (you know who you are)

two reasonably common real-world names smashed together in some kind of fantasy name particle accelerator

this means something meaningful in a foreign language (real-world)

this means something meaningful in a foreign language (elaborate conlang, self-created)

this means something meaningful in a foreign language (hey Siri, how do you say Fateful in Quenya? Set alarm for D&D Session Zero for 45 minutes from now.)

real-world names, but exclusively ones that are no longer in common usage, frequently either from the ancient Mediterranean region or else medieval European names

"this is Linda and she fights dragons. fuck you."

referred to only by a series of complex and mysterious titles

rigid naming convention across the board, but within that any one of the above is possible

some kind of pun or overly long memeified joke

I don't know what data set the fantasy name generator runs off of and I'm too afraid to ask but not too afraid to reap the benefits

acronym that I never replaced

Literally just a noun

[adobe-outdesign]

I like Neopet naming conventions because they all fall into the following categories:

Weird set of letters that don't describe anything in particular but man do they sound good (Acara, Xweetok)

Puns (Flotsam, Jetsam)

Onomatopoeia of an animal noise (Buzz, Hissi)

Contains part of a real animal name (Cybunny, Moehog)

Real animal name but I don't think you tried at all (Koi, Kau)

Named after real-life actor Bruce Forsyth because the original version of the pet was just a recolored photograph of him (Bruce)

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

Oooh! A great Gavin Finney (Good Omens Director of Photography) interview with Helen Parkinson for the British Cinematographer! :)

HEAVEN SENT

Gifted a vast creative landscape from two of fantasy’s foremost authors to play with, Gavin Finney BSC reveals how he crafted the otherworldly visuals for Good Omens 2.  

It started with a letter from beyond the grave. Following fantasy maestro Sir Terry Pratchett’s untimely death in 2015, Neil Gaiman decided he wouldn’t adapt their co-authored 1990 novel, Good Omens, without his collaborator. That was, until he was presented with a posthumous missive from Pratchett asking him to do just that.  

For Gaiman, it was a request that proved impossible to decline: he brought Good Omens season one to the screen in 2019, a careful homage to its source material. His writing, complemented by some inspired casting – David Tennant plays the irrepressible demon Crowley, alongside Michael Sheen as angel-slash-bookseller Aziraphale – and award-nominated visuals from Gavin Finney BSC, proved a potent combination for Prime Video viewers.  

Aziraphale’s bookshop was a set design triumph.

Season two departs from the faithful literary adaptation of its predecessor, instead imagining what comes next for Crowley and Aziraphale. Its storyline is built off a conversation that Pratchett and Gaiman shared during a jetlagged stay in Seattle for the 1989 World Fantasy Convention. Gaiman remembers: “The idea was always that we would tell the story that Terry and I came up with in 1989 in Seattle, but that we would do that in our own time and in our own way. So, once Good Omens (S1) was done, all I knew was that I really, really wanted to tell the rest of the story.” 

Telling that story visually may sound daunting, but cinematographer Finney is no stranger to the wonderfully idiosyncratic world of Pratchett and co. As well as lensing Good Omens’ first outing, he’s also shot three other Pratchett stories – TV mini series  Hogfather  (2006), and TV mini-series The Colour of Magic (2008) and Going Postal (2010). 

He relishes how the authors provide a vast creative landscape for him to riff off. “The great thing about Pratchett and Gaiman is that there’s no limit to what you can do creatively – everything is up for grabs,” he muses. “When we did the first Pratchett films and the first Good Omens, you couldn’t start by saying, ‘Okay, what should this look like?’, because nothing looks like Pratchett’s world. So, you’re starting from scratch, with no references, and that starting point can be anything you want it to be.”  

Season two saw the introduction of inside-outside sets for key locations including Aziraphale’s bookshop. 

From start to finish 

The sole DP on the six-episode season, Finney was pleased to team up again with returning director Douglas Mackinnon for the “immensely complicated” shoot, and the pair began eight weeks of prep in summer 2021. A big change was the production shifting the main soho set from Bovington airfield, near London, up to Edinburgh’s Pyramids Studio. Much of the action in Good Omens takes place on the Soho street that’s home to Aziraphale’s bookshop, which was built as an exterior set on the former airfield for season one. Season two, however, saw the introduction of inside-outside sets for key locations including the bookshop, record store and pub, to minimise reliance on green screen.  

Finney brought over many elements of his season one lensing, especially Mackinnon’s emphasis on keeping the camera moving, which involved lots of prep and testing. “We had a full-time Scorpio 45’ for the whole shoot (run by key grip Tim Critchell and his team), two Steadicam operators (A camera – Ed Clark and B camera Martin Newstead) all the way through, and in any one day we’d often go from Steadicam, to crane, to dolly and back again,” he says. “The camera is moving all the time, but it’s always driven by the story.” 

One key difference for season two, however, was the move to large-format visuals. Finney tested three large-format cameras and the winner was the Alexa LF (assisted by the Mini LF where conditions required), thanks to its look and flexibility.  

The minisodes were shot on Cooke anamorphics, giving Finney the ideal balance of anamorphic-style glares and characteristics without too much veiling flare.

A more complex decision was finding the right lenses for the job. “You hear about all these whizzy new lenses that are re-barrelled ancient Russian glass, but I needed at least two full sets for the main unit, then another set for the second unit, then maybe another set again for the VFX unit,” Finney explains. “If you only have one set of this exotic glass, it’s no good for the show.” 

He tested a vast array of lenses before settling on Zeiss Supremes, supplied by rental house Media Dog. These ticked all the boxes for the project: “They had a really nice look – they’re a modern design but not over sharp, which can look a bit electronic and a bit much, especially with faces. When you’re dealing with a lot of wigs and prosthetics, we didn’t want to go that sharp. The Supremes had a very nice colour palette and nice roll-off. They’re also much smaller than a lot of large-format glass, so that made it easy for Steadicam and remote cranes. They also provided additional metadata, which was very useful for the VFX department (VFX services were provided by Milk VFX).” 

The Supremes were paired with a selection of filters to characterise the show’s varied locations and characters. For example, Tiffen Bronze Glimmerglass were paired with bookshop scenes; Black Pro-Mist was used for Hell; and Black Diffusion FX for Crowley’s present-day storyline.  

Finney worked closely with the show’s DIT, Donald MacSween, and colourist, Gareth Spensley, to develop the look for the minisode.

Maximising minisodes 

Episodes two, three and four of season two each contain a ‘minisode’ – an extended flashback set in Biblical times, 1820s Edinburgh and wartime London respectively. “Douglas wanted the minisodes to have very strong identities and look as different from the present day as possible, so we’d instantly know we were in a minisode and not the present day,” Finney explains.  

One way to shape their distinctive look was through using Cooke anamorphic lenses. As Finney notes: “The Cookes had the right balance of controllable, anamorphic-style flares and characteristics without having so much veiling flare that they would be hard to use on green screens. They just struck the right balance of aesthetics, VFX requirements and availability.” The show adopted the anamorphic aspect ratio (2:39.1), an unusual move for a comedy, but one which offered them more interesting framing opportunities. 

Good Omens 2 was shot on the Alexa LF, paired with Zeiss Supremes for the present-day scenes.

The minisodes were also given various levels of film grain to set them apart from the present-day scenes. Finney first experimented with this with the show’s DIT Donald MacSween using the DaVinci Resolve plugin FilmConvert. Taking that as a starting point, the show’s colourist, Company 3’s Gareth Spensley, then crafted his own film emulation inspired by two-strip Technicolor. “There was a lot of testing in the grade to find the look for these minisodes, with different amounts of grain and different types of either Technicolor three-strip or two-strip,” Finney recalls. “Then we’d add grain and film weave on that, then on top we added film flares. In the Biblical scenes we added more dust and motes in the air.”  

Establishing the show’s lighting was a key part of Finney’s testing process, working closely with gaffer Scott Napier and drawing upon PKE Lighting’s inventory. Good Omens’ new Scottish location posed an initial challenge: as the studio was in an old warehouse rather than being purpose-built for filming, its ceilings weren’t as high as one would normally expect. This meant Finney and Napier had to work out a low-profile way of putting in a lot of fixtures. 

Inside Crowley’s treasured Bentley.

Their first task was to test various textiles, LED wash lights and different weight loadings, to establish what they were working with for the street exteriors. “We worked out that what was needed were 12 SkyPanels per 20’x20’ silk, so each one was a block of 20’x20’, then we scaled that up,” Finney recalls. “I wanted a very seamless sky, so I used full grid cloth which made it very, very smooth. That was important because we’ve got lots of cars constantly driving around the set and the sloped windscreens reflect the ceiling. So we had to have seamless textiles – PKE had to source around 12,000 feet of textiles so that we could put them together, so the reflections in the windscreens of the cars just showed white gridcloth rather than lots of stage lights. We then drove the car around the set to test it from different angles.”  

On the floor, they mostly worked with LEDs, providing huge energy and cost savings for the production. Astera’s Titan Tubes came in handy for a fun flashback scene with John Hamm’s character Gabriel. The DP remembers: “[Gabriel] was travelling down a 30-foot feather tunnel. We built a feather tunnel on the stage and wrapped it in a ring of Astera tubes, which were then programmed by dimmer op Jon Towler to animate, pulse and change different colours. Each part of Gabriel’s journey through his consciousness has a different colour to it.” 

Among the rigs built was a 20-strong Creamsource Vortex setup for the graveyard scene in the “Body Snatchers” minisode, shot in Stirling. “We took all the yokes off each light then put them on a custom-made aluminium rig so we could have them very close. We put them up on a big telehandler on a hill that gave me a soft mood light, which was very adjustable, windproof and rainproof.” 

Shooting on the VP stage for the birth of the universe scenes in episode one.

Sky’s the limit 

A lot of weather effects were done in camera – including lightning effects pulsed in that allowed both direct fork lightning and sheet lightning to spread down the streets. In the grade, colourist Spensley was also able to work his creative magic on the show’s skies. “Gareth is a very artistic colourist – he’s a genius at changing skies,” Finney says. “Often in the UK you get these very boring, flat skies, but he’s got a library of dramatic skies that you can drop in. That would usually be done by VFX, but he’s got the ability to do it in Baselight, so a flat sky suddenly becomes a glorious sunset.” 

Finney emphasises that the grade is a very involved process for a series like Good Omens, especially with its VFX-heavy nature. “This means VFX sequences often need extra work when it comes back into the timeline,” says the DP. “So, we often add camera movement or camera shake to crank the image up a bit. Having a colourist like Gareth is central to a big show like Good Omens, to bring all the different visual elements together and to make it seamless. It’s quite a long grade process but it’s worth its weight in gold.” 

Shooting in the VR cube for the blitz scenes .

Finney took advantage of virtual production (VP) technology for the driving scenes in Crowley’s classic Bentley. The volume was built on their Scottish set: a 4x7m cube with a roof that could go up and down on motorised winches as needed. “We pulled the cars in and out on skates – they went up on little jacks, which you could then rotate and move the car around within the volume,” he explains. “We had two floating screens that we could move around to fill in and use as additional source lighting. Then we had generated plates – either CGI or real location plates –projected 360º around the car. Sometimes we used the volume in-camera but if we needed to do more work downstream; we’d use a green screen frustum.” Universal Pixels collaborated with Finney to supply in-camera VFX expertise, crew and technical equipment for the in-vehicle driving sequences and rear projection for the crucial car shots. 

John Hamm was suspended in the middle of this lighting rig and superimposed into the feather tunnel.

Interestingly, while shooting at a VP stage in Leith, the team also used the volume as a huge, animated light source in its own right – a new technique for Finney. “We had the camera pointing away from [the volume] so the screen provided this massive, IMAX-sized light effect for the actors. We had a simple animation of the expanding universe projected onto the screen so the actors could actually see it, and it gave me the animated light back on the actors.”  

Bringing such esteemed authors’ imaginations to the screen is no small task, but Finney was proud to helped bring Crowley and Aziraphale’s adventures to life once again. He adds: “What’s nice about Good Omens, especially when there’s so much bad news in the world, is that it’s a good news show. It’s a very funny show. It’s also about good and evil, love and doing the right thing, people getting together irrespective of backgrounds. It’s a hopeful message, and I think that that’s what we all need.” 

Finney is no stranger to the idiosyncratic world of Sir Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman.

[walkingnearfoxes]

Meet-and-Greet (Homelander x Reader)

You have a run-in with a disguised supe at VoughtCon. It goes better(?) than expected.

Warnings for smut, incels, and pre-season 1 Homelander.

VoughtCon.

It’s your first time going to the annual convention. When its location was announced to the public, you and your friends worked tirelessly to afford tickets and pay rent simultaneously. It wasn’t every year that Vought chose your home city as the base for its biggest convention, and you couldn’t miss the chance to see the Seven in person.

The Seven. The idea of being in the same building as the world’s most famous superheroes was unbelievable. You wouldn’t call yourself a Seven fanatic, but you certainly did well when bar trivia was on superhero lore. No one could blame you for that. Vought did an excellent job making their heroes appear larger than life, and while you weren’t sure you would ever have the confidence to speak to one of them, being in the same space as them was more than satisfactory. 

The convention halls are as glorious and overwhelming as you expected them to be. Beautiful booths line the main room in aisles upon aisles. Vendors sell products ranging from Seven plushies to hero-shaped soap to personal devices that make you glad for the convention’s 18 and older age restriction. It is all devastating to your bank account, but a wonderful sight to behold. Your friends had registered you all for a few panels throughout the day, but you’re sure the booths alone would be enough to entertain you.

At some point, you and your friends accidentally separated. They were entranced by a company selling dice, and you lost them in a sea of A-Train cosplayers. It wasn’t too horrible a fate. You would see your friends regardless at the first panel in an hour, giving you plenty of time to peruse VoughtCon at your own pace. Your steps eventually land you at a booth that crafts teas personalized for each Seven member. 

You pick up one of the bags of Homelander tea. Stars and stripes decorate the b; his name is written in bold red letters across the packaging. Underneath his name is the tea description - a crisp black tea with red hibiscus, vanilla, and clove. 

“Would you like a sample?” The vendor, a woman dressed in a stunning Queen Maeve cosplay, walks up to you with a smile. “That’s our bestseller.”

“I can see why,” You say warmly. “It sounds delicious. Would love a sample, if it’s not too much trouble.”

“Of course!” She beams and turns to grab a sample from behind the booth. She carefully hands a tiny cup out to you. “Should be the perfect temperature by now.”

You take a sip. Sure enough, it tastes heavenly. You detect the vanilla first, then encounter the harsher clove. The notes blend perfectly with the hibiscus. It all cultivates into a smooth, strong cup of tea. You let out a slight hum of pleasure as you smile back at the vendor. “Damn. That’s good.”

She opens her mouth to answer, but a man beside you cuts in. “I really think the vanilla  was the wrong call.”

You blink and turn to face this conversation intruder. He is one of the many Homelander cosplayers you have encountered today, but one of the least impressive. The padding to the suit is obvious and uneven; his biceps look unnecessarily large while his legs have lost all muscle mass. His blonde wig looks stringy. Worst of all, he is giving the vendor a look that says he knows his opinion is correct. Maybe said arrogance would be more at home on the real hero, but on this half-assed version, it looks pathetic.

The vendor, bless her, smiles politely at him. “What would you change? We’re always open to feedback.”

“Get rid of the vanilla completely,” The man says, a sentence you never thought could be said so pompously. “It’s too soft. Add something like…cinnamon. More powerful.”

“Jesus Christ,” You mutter, earning a snort of amusement from a man beside you.

Cosplay Homelander takes this reaction as an invitation to speak to you. He turns to you, his hands on his hips in an obvious imitation of the real hero. On him, it’s more akin to a pouting child. “The strongest man on the planet needs something more interesting than vanilla.” He declares.

The vendor shoots an apologetic look towards you as other people come up to the booth. You smile and wave her off, allowing her to go and cater to more polite customers. This leaves you with Homelander Lite. You could probably walk away, but this man is just asking for a confrontation - and you’re in a good enough mood to provide.

“Did you actually try the tea?” You ask him, holding up your tiny sample cup for emphasis. “It’s really good.”

He scoffs. “I don’t have to try it to know it’s wrong. He needs something more complex.”

You tilt your head. “You speak for him?”

Another chuckle from the man behind you.

Fake Homelander sputters and then waves his hand. “Look, I know Homelander. He’s the fastest and strongest man alive. He broke the sound barrier when he was seven-”

“Six.”

Your interruption brings him to another stumble. His jaw drops as he looks at you. “E-excuse me?”

You shrug. “If you’re going based on canon, Homelander is six in Origins. Not seven. Remember the scene in the train yard?”

You can see each gear screeching to a halt in Diet Homelander’s head. Before he can muster up a retort, the man behind you makes his presence known. He stands beside you, arms folded across his chest as he stares at the younger man. “I think you should just walk away, buddy,” He tells him. “Can’t recover from that.”

Deflated Homelander looks between you and the man, his cheeks as red as his cape. With an incoherent and aggravated mumble, he storms off. You watch him trail away with a smile of satisfaction; sure, it would have been better if it hadn’t taken another man to get him to leave, but you’ll take the small victory. You turn to the more pleasant stranger. “Thanks for the backup.”

The man grins. He’s dressed in light jeans, a red shirt, and a blue cargo jacket - one of the few people here not dressed as someone else. “Not a problem. That was fun, he says, looking down at the tea still in your hand before looking back up at you. “So. Big Homelander fan, huh?”

You smile back and shrug. “I know enough not to embarrass myself at a con.”

He laughs. “Clearly. For the record, I like the tea too. I think it’s just perfect.”

You look closer at the man’s face. A baseball cap covers most of his hair, but you can still see some blond strands. Even in the hat's shadow, his eyes are a striking blue. You frown, your gaze drifting to one of the massive Homelander banners hanging from the high ceiling. The resemblance is…uncanny. When you look back at the stranger, his smile has turned downright devious. “Darn. You caught me.”

You clutch your sample cup so tightly you’re surprised it doesn’t crack under the strain. “You…no. You’re not…”

The man glances around the two of you. When he seems satisfied no one is listening or watching, he meets your gaze again - and this time, his eyes are a simmering red. You can feel the heat from where you’re standing. You don’t have time to gasp before he blinks them back to normal with an impish smile. “Yeah. I am.”

Your brain short-circuits. You want to ask questions. You want to apologize for existing in front of him. You want to flee. But all you can manage is a quiet voice that sounds nothing like your own. “You…look different without a cape.”

Homelander barks a laugh. “Oh, I think I like you.” Without looking, he takes the cup from your hands and tosses it into the nearest trash bin. “Follow me.”

It’s not a question. He immediately turns and begins walking down one of the aisles. You walk after him in a daze. He seamlessly bends through the crowd, no one wise to the fact that the leader of the Seven is brushing past their shoulders. Even without their knowledge, he is effortless in carving a path for himself through the crowd - and, by extension, you.

Homelander finally leads you to another, much quieter branch of the convention center. He guides you through one door, and then another, before you’re in a silent hallway. You realize each door has a name of one of the Seven on it. No security, but who would try to startle a supe? Homelander stops in front of the door with his name, The Homelander, written in bold red. He opens it with a quiet hum and steps inside. When you hesitate at the threshold, he turns and looks back at you. He looks confused at first, then settles on an amused smile. “Come on. I don’t bite unless you ask.”

Your breath stutters a moment, and by the quirk to his lips, you’re sure he heard it. You step inside anyway.

Homelander’s makeshift dressing room for VoughtCon is a maze of color. In one corner, a pile of gifts from fans has grown tall enough to rival your height. You spy dozens of bouquets, wrapped packages, letters, all yet to be opened or read. A vanity sits in the opposite corner with a mirror, various trunks and, of course, the suit. His classic suit is hanging on a black mannequin without a head, a startling contrast to the real man who led you here. The reds, whites, and blues are somehow twice as vibrant as they were on any of the cosplayers. As you admire it, Homelander removes his hat and tosses it onto the vanity chair. He brushes a hand through his hair before turning to face you. Without the cap, there is no doubting who he is. You’ve seen that stare on screens, banners, and countless pieces of merchandise. You never thought you’d find it staring back at you.

Homelander studies you briefly. “What’s wrong? Never been invited backstage before?”

You huff a laugh that sounds much squeakier than your usual laugh. “Uh…no. First time.”

“First time,” Homelander repeats in an amused murmur. He steps closer, and you resist the urge to move away. There’s something so contradictory in his presence. You find yourself wanting to go to him and run all at once. He seems to notice the inner conflict and shakes his head as if easing frightened prey. “Relax. Your heart’s pounding like a little rabbit.”

Right. Homelander can hear your nerves. You take a slow breath and look at the gift tower as a distraction. “That’s awfully impressive.”

Homelander laughs and turns to look at it, his hands falling to his hips. You remember the poor comparison to him the two of you had chased off outside. “Ah, the adoring fans. It’s a shame I can’t read through all of them, but…it’s nice to see.”

Something about those words seems to ring hollow, as though he doesn’t fully believe what he’s saying - like it’s something he’s rehearsed. You watch him for a moment before his gaze falls back to you. He notices your stare and lets out a huff of laughter. “What?”

“Why are you in disguise?” You ask, gesturing to his outfit. If you ignore the knowing glint in his eyes, he looks more like a soccer dad than a hero. “Do you do this a lot?”

 Homelander shakes his head and tugs off the jacket. His arms are strong, but he’s leaner than you expected - especially with his suit standing like a voyeur behind him. “These conventions can get real stale after a decade or two,” He explains. He turns to place the jacket alongside his hat, carefully draping it over the head of the chair. “Sometimes it’s nice to see who your real fans are.”

“And invite them back to your dressing room?” You ask with some revived humor.

Homelander doesn’t answer immediately. He instead takes the time to blatantly look you up and down. You feel a familiar heat in your stomach flicker as he steps back closer to you. This time, seeing the growing hunger across his face, you can’t help but take an unconscious step backwards. Your back hits the wall, and he follows to lean dangerously close to your face.

“Like I said, these conventions get stale,” He purrs softly. “And lonely.”

A million thoughts fight for power inside of you at once. You wonder how often Homelander has done this with other women at other conventions. You confirm with yourself that he and Queen Maeve broke up a year ago, so it isn’t an affair. Are you really moments away from hooking up with the Homelander? It can’t be real. You must be caught in a vivid imaginary scenario and will be back in the vendor aisles any second.

Then, his hand reaches out and takes your forearm. He squeezes gently, and any rational thought in you begins to flatten. His thumb brushes over your smooth skin in a circle. “What do you say?” He asks, his voice dropping further. “Want a more intimate meet-and-greet?”

It’s an awful line, but surely someone of his stature is allowed those lines more than most. You finally smile. “How could I say no?”

“You couldn’t,” He murmurs back, and presses his lips to yours. At first, his kiss is gentle. He kisses you like he’s trying to memorize the curves of your lips. You give yourself to it readily, returning the kiss with a sweetness that cuts a smile into his mouth. Then, when he decides he has you, he becomes hungry. He slips his tongue greedily into your mouth and takes control of the kiss as his hands reach up to cup your face. His hands are warm against your cheeks, and you can’t help your soft moan of approval. You taste his tongue, and can’t help a quiet laugh. He feels it and pulls away a bit, looking almost insulted. “What?”

You shake your head. “No, it’s just…you actually kind of taste like vanilla.”

Homelander blinks, blinks again, and then slowly smiles. This smile is different than his others. For a split moment, it isn’t guarded. “Well…ain’t that ironic?” He murmurs, then eagerly leans in to kiss you again. You respond by resting your hands on his shoulders, pressing tenderly on the tight muscles. He growls against your mouth, an animalistic sound that curls between your legs. One of his thighs slides between yours. It pins you in place against the door, and with a slight nudge, he puts pressure against your crotch that makes you gasp against his mouth. He chuckles and pulls away to begin dotting kisses along your neck. “Sensitive,” He murmurs between kisses and little nips. “Been a while, sweetheart?”

It may have been, but that doesn’t sound very sexy. “You’re just good at this,” You answer instead.

“Flattery will get you everywhere.” Homelander’s smirk is plain against your skin, even as he bites down hard. You gasp at the surprise of his sharp teeth, but he immediately soothes away any pain with a tongue circling slowly over the mark he’s left. He sucks down delicately, and it only leaves you wondering what else that mouth is capable of. He pulls back and looks at your neck to admire his handiwork. “There. A little souvenir for ya.”

You huff a laugh. “A badge of honor.”

“Knew I liked you,” He growls before kissing you hard. He doesn’t break away from the kiss as he hands nimbly finds your pants and undoes the button. He shimmies them down your legs - and your panties along with them - with a practiced ease that again makes you wonder how often he’s pulled this little trick. If he keeps touching you like this, you can’t bring yourself to care much. You aid him by arching your hips and kicking the offensive materials to the side with a little shake. Homelander wastes little time then in kissing his way down your body. He ducks his head underneath your shirt, and you feel him playfully nip above your belly button before his hands find the backs of your thighs. “Up we go.”

Homelander hooks your thighs over his shoulders. Your back is pressed against the door now, your weight entirely on him. The leader of the Seven is on his knees before you. Despite knowing the man is capable of holding up airplanes, a flare of anxiety grabs you. You curl your fingers in his hair - an action that makes him unabashedly groan - and whisper. “You don’t have to-”

“I don’t have to what? Eat you out?” He looks up at you from between your legs with an arched brow. “You’re a fan. You should know I don’t do anything I don’t want to do.”

You don’t have time for a reply before he’s licking a long stripe up your cunt. He groans first at your taste, but your moan of pleasure is quick to follow. Just like his kisses, he starts slow. He takes the time to know your taste and what flicks of his tongue make you twitch in his arms. He eats you out like he has all the time in the world. His hands eventually wander from under your thighs to your ass, squeezing your cheeks with a possessiveness that would frighten you if you weren’t so aroused. He’s vocal, frequently moaning and slurping at you like you’re his dessert. It leaves your legs shaking, and he hasn’t even sped up. Your clit throbs, and you whimper. “Homelander, please…”

He fully stands up, one hand still on your ass while the other presses to your stomach, pinning you easily to the wall. He’s now merciless against your clit, sucking with a relentlessness that has you spazzing against his hold. He’s inhuman with the way he works you. You forget everything about where you are, that several supes in this hallway can almost certainly hear your moans. All you know is that you might lose your mind if you don’t come soon.

And then he stops.

You let out a loud whine of disapproval before you can stop yourself. Homelander laughs, easing you down to bring your trembling legs around his waist. He coos at your expression. “You look like a kid that dropped their ice cream one.”

You squirm, but his one hand on your hip is enough to keep you still. “That was cruel,” You whisper, your voice hoarse.

“Oh, you have no idea,” He murmurs, and kisses you gently. He tastes like you, and you can’t help but groan before he pulls away to speak against your lips. “Don’t worry. I’ll make you come. But you’re not coming without me.”

He kisses you again. You can hear him unbuckle his belt and shuffle his jeans down. Instinctively, you tense. He shushes you, turning to brush his lips against the side of your face. “Relax, babe. Just gotta…” He whispers as he slowly thrusts into you. His cock pushes into your sopping heat inch by inch. You let out a strangled gasp at how he seems to press at each delicate point inside you. As he bottoms out, he throws his head back with a sigh of relief. “There we go…”

He’s thick, a stretch that would have been painful without his diligent prep. Instead of pain, you can’t think straight. You have never felt this full in your life. Your breath comes out in gasps, and when your eyes lock with his, he grins. “First supe dick, huh?”

You let out a shaky laugh. “First supe dick.”

“Well, hang on tight,” He murmurs. His hands cradle your hips as he thrusts up, pushing you up against the door. Your eyes fall shut, but his gaze never leaves your face. He goes harder as he feels your body adjust until he’s fucking you against the door like it’s his last night on this Earth. His hands are surely leaving bruises against your hips, but you relish it. Your head falls back in bliss, a series of moans spilling out you have no control over.

“God, so many sluts out there would kill to be where you are,” Homelander hisses against your ear. “You’re like a glove on my cock, fuck. Take it. You’re fucking mine now.”

It’s unclear if he means for you to hear all of this rambling. He mumbles most of it against your neck, and you’re both too far into this to make much sense of anything. It doesn’t matter. You orgasm regardless, your voice suddenly gone as it vibrates through your body. Homelander gasps against your skin as your cunt clenches down on his cock, and he immediately follows you in climax - as if he had been waiting for you to finish. He finishes inside of you, and it nearly triggers you to a second orgasm with how full you feel.

There’s a knock on the door.

Every muscle in your body tightens, but Homelander doesn’t move. His head is still buried against your neck as he calls out an agitated reply. “What?”

“We’re on in 10, Homelander,” The Deep’s voice calls from the hall, caught between amused and nervous. “But…uh…take your time.”

“Go away, Deep,” Homelander growls, still inside you.

You hear feet quickly walking away, but you still don’t move. Homelander initiates the move for both of you, slowly returning your feet to the ground. His hands remain on your hips as he chuckles and kisses your jaw. “Well…I’m not usually one to wham and bam, but looks like we’re on a time crunch.”

He lifts you off of his cock and deposits your feet back on the ground. He steps away from you to grab your discarded pants and underwear, tossing them to you lazily. “Hurry up.”

You listen, feeling half-drunk. Your underwear is soaked through, and you wince lightly as you pull your jeans over your shaky legs. Only when you’re fully dressed and straightening out your hair do you realize your phone isn’t in your back pocket anymore. You look up. Homelander is holding it and typing away. He looks at you with a smirk as he hands it back to you. “That’s where I’m staying tonight. Room code’s attached. I’ll be there around eight.”

When all you can do is blink dumbly at him, Homelander snorts and takes your shoulders. “Guess we have to save the banter before the orgasms, huh?” He easily spins you to the door, and pats your ass. “See you later, sweetheart.”

You open the door with your phone in hand, stepping outside back into the hallway. You turn to look at him again in your continued daze. “See you.”

Homelander winks, then closes the door. The last thing you see is him walking towards his suit.

You walk in a trance through the forgivingly empty hallway and find your way back to the convention center's main hall. It’s emptied a bit without multiple panels going on, and it isn’t long before one of your friends spots you. She runs up to your side in a hurry. “Dude, where have you been?! We’ve been looking for you!”

You blink. “I, uh…got a bit sidetracked.”

“By what…” Your friend trails off, eyes widening as she spots the hickey on your neck. She laughs. “Oh. That kind of side mission. At a con? You dog.”

Your lips twitch into a smile. Would she even believe you if you told her? 

“Give me the details on the way,” She says, taking your hand and pulling you towards another hall. “I don’t wanna miss Homelander’s opening remarks.”

You can’t help but bark a laugh. Right. You’re going to be sitting through a panel led by Homelander with his hotel room on your phone and his come soaking your underwear. 

Your friend sees the look on your face and gives you a curious look. “What?”

“I’ll explain later,” You say with another laugh. “Come on. Let’s hear what the All-American man has to say.”

[b3ach-bunn7]

OPEN ARMS

Touya is bored in the back rooms of comic con, where you and your nephew accidentally find him

support course Touya, they found him he’s alive and well, two povs

—————————————————————————-

Touya is not embarrassed that he works in the support field of the hero world.

Not everyone is destined to be a hero. Sure, it stings that his little brother is one of the top ten pros in Japan. And sure, it stings a little more that it was supposed to be him if his father's twisted little training program had gone the way it should’ve. He was the one who was supposed to be a hero, what with his incredible fire quirk and all. It’s just his luck that his quirk was too powerful for him to handle, and all his dreams had ended in a fiery inferno on Sekoto peak.

The doctors said Touya was lucky to even be able to walk after what happened to him. Touya doesn’t think it’s very lucky to have a body full of scars or an unusable quirk, but he counts his blessings where he can get them.

He’s come to terms with it at least. He thinks the counselling he’d been forced to go to for a year had beat the determination to prove everyone wrong out of him. It also gave him the realisation that now, his fathers attentive, controlling personality was all focused on his sweet little brother Shoto. Pre-counselling Touya probably would’ve turned to a life of crime, but therapy got to him first. 

So, instead of fighting villains, Touya sits behind a desk and designs hero gear.

For his brother specifically. Turns out even perfect Shoto’s quirk has its ups and downs, and Touya’s gadgets were some of the best. He had graduated top of his class, after all. And it’s nice, if he’s being entirely honest. There’s a weird sort of bond the two had formed, the endless hours spent together in his lab and tweaking over the little details in designs. It’s all a little too sappy for Touya’s tastes, but it’s nice.

But this. These stupid hero events are what Touya hates the most. 

These aren’t the formal ones. No, these are the conventions filled to brim with over-excited fans dressed in mediocre cosplay. At least the fancy events he can stomach, what with the open bar and pretty heroes all dolled up for him to flirt with. But this? The sweaty teenagers and overpriced memorabilia are all things Touya can do without. He has no idea why he even has to go to these things. His mother says it’s in case Shoto needs anything from him but what could he possibly require? Touya is sure the little kids clamouring for an autograph on their IcyHot themed water bottles are no threat to his gear. And yet, he still finds himself sitting in a room on some random corridor, idly working on some new tech.

It’s all his mothers fault. All it takes is one look, one tilt of her head and he’s doing whatever the hell she asks of him.

Touya huffs. He scratches at the worn out collar of his shirt. The lettering on the front is worn down, specks of yellow scattered across his chest. It’s hot, and his jeans stick to his legs and he wishes there was a wide enough window in here so he could smoke. The designs in front of him are mediocre at best, sloppy work that he knows he’ll have to go over again. Anything to kill some time.

He wonders how pissed mom will be if he bails. He doesn’t think he should be blamed, honestly. It’s so horrifically boring here.

That is, until he hears a loud thud, the sound of the door to his private little room slamming into the wall. There’s a kid on the other side of it, in a poor rendition of Shoto’s hero costume, and a woman runs in shortly after him. A pretty woman.

Maybe this day isn’t so boring after all.

———

You’re going to be arrested for breaking and entering. With a seven year old child, no less.

Today was supposed to be fun. Busy, crowded, comic convention fun. But instead, youre in a random room in a random corridor where you definitely should not be. It might be a tad bit your fault. You love Kenzo like he’s your own. He’s your first ever nephew, young and gap-toothed and adorable. But he’s hyper on a normal day so a one as exciting as today should’ve had you on a higher alert than you were. Especially with how over-excited he was to meet his favourite pro hero.  

You like Shoto. As much as someone can like a celebrity without it being creepy. If you’re being entirely honest, you don’t really get the hype about pros, but Kenzo is quite the opposite. He’s obsessed, down to his IcyHot socks up to his IcyHot cap. You’d paid an obscene amount of money to get him these tickets. VIP all day passes for the weekend, with a hero meet and greet included. It was expensive. Very expensive, but you loved Kenzo and you also loved being his favourite aunt who gave him his favourite birthday gift.

It was all going well. Aside from a couple crowded escalators and merchandise you’d been forced to buy, Kenzo was behaving himself. He's usually quite rowdy if you’re being brutally honest, but the promise of seeing Shoto had him on his best behaviour.

That is, until you get lost.

It was inevitable really. The map you’d been given at the front desk was hard to read. And honestly, you’re quite useless when it comes to directions anyway. The heat that presses against your skin and Kenzo’s incessant tugging on your sleeve doesn’t help your brain work. You’re sweating, even in the tank top you have on, and the constant noise humming around you doesn’t help.

“Kenzo, please stop pulling my shirt, I’m trying!”

He whines, loud and tinny in your ears. “Come on, the line is gonna be huge by the time we get there!”

You ease his little fingers off. “Okay, so. I think if we go to… the third floor? The meet and greet is there?”

Kenzo groans. You shoot him a glare at the back of his head. You’ll never have kids. One day of whining and you don’t think you can handle any more. 

The map is confusing even without your stupidity. There's a key on the side with about one hundred labels on it cramped in the corner, and you’re shocked anyone can get around with this thing. But, after another few seconds, you think you might have it figured out. You can just walk in a direction and you’ll find your way.

“Okay. I think I found it! Let’s-”

You glance down to where he’d been having a tantrum on the floor. And he’s gone. A cold chill spills down your spine and your head darts up. 

“Kenzo? Kenzo, what-”

You look around, your heart beating faster than it ever has. You call out his name, and people around you turn. It feels a bit surreal, a hall full of cosplaying heroes that can’t help you find your missing nephew.

You’re sisters going to kill you for losing her kid. You’re going to kill yourself for losing her kid.

And then you see it. A red and white cap that looks exactly like the one you’d bought Kenzo half an hour ago. 

You push forward through the crowd, trainers squeaking against the floor as you call his name. And he turns to you, and it’s the steely determination in his eyes that makes your panic worsen.

“Kenzo, get back here!”

“No! I’m gonna find Shoto!” 

And he runs. Seven year olds are fast, you unfortunately find out, and very nimble. He slides through legs and somehow manages to not fall over and he dashes across the hall. You apologise to everyone as you barge past, trying to close the distance between you two.

He doesn’t even know where he’s going. Not anymore than you do at least. That’s why, you think, when he comes to a random door on the end of a pretty secluded corridor, he comes to the conclusion that Shoto would be in there. You have no fucking idea why he thinks that, but he belives it enough to push through and you curse again.#“Kenzo, you can’t go in there!” You hiss. 

But it’s too late. The door slams as it hits the far wall and Kenzo rushes in. You follow quickly after trying to tug him back, but it’s too late.

The room is small. You think it’s supposed to be some sort of break room, because there’s a fridge and an island table. There’s wide windows on the far wall, and sunlight streaks in lazily along with a soft breeze that tickles the surface of your skin.

And there’s a man. Sitting on the island with papers and pencils scattered in front of him. A very attractive man, the longer you look at him. His hair is stark white, falling in waves across his face. His skin is marred with scars but you can see the lean muscle through them, anyway. His eyes narrow as he looks at you two, piercing blue eyes that look you up and down slowly.

Kenzo looks at him suspiciously. “You’re not Shoto.”

His eyes move down to Kenzo, who you think is trying to look intimidating. “I’m not.”

His voice is deep and a little raspy, and you have to pull your eyes away from him. You kneel down next to Kenzo and turn him to face you.

“Of course it’s not Shoto, you idiot.” You scold. “Don’t run away from me like that again.”

Kenzo pouts. “You can’t call me a idiot.” 

“I can when you run away from me.”

“I’m telling mum.”

“No, I’m telling mum.” You close your eyes, and take a breath. “It’s very dangerous what you did, Kenzo. Please don’t do that again.”

This is why you can’t be a parent. The whole scolding part. Just two blinks of those big brown eyes and suddenly you feel like you’re the one who did something wrong.

“Sorry, auntie.”

You pull him into a hug. “It’s okay, Kenzo.”

It’s not forgotten to you that the man at the table is watching all this. You stand back up and he’s shamelessly turned to you both, head propped up on his palm.

“That was real cute.” He drawls and you bite back a smile.

“Thanks. Now Kenzo, what do we say to the man for barging in here like we did?” You nudge Kenzo’s shoulder and he groans.

“Do you know where Shoto is?” 

“Kenzo, no.”

The man at the table laughs. “No. I’m his brother, if that helps.”

You wish you were one of those crazy fangirls so you could fact check that comment. But you’re as clueless as Kenzo is.

Kenzo narrows his eyes. “Liar.”

The man frowns. “I’m no liar, kid.”

Kenzo crosses his arms. You cover your mouth with the map in your hand to hide your smile.

“Prove it.”

A sigh. “How am I meant to do that?”

“Dunno. A real brother would know how.”

Kenzo speaks with such conviction that you can't help but let a snort escape you. Blue eyes shift towards you. You hold up two hands in apology, and take a step back.

“I have a fire quirk like him.” 

Touya holds out a hand, and you and Kenzo watch in awe as a blue flame licks around his fingers. Kenzo is only impressed for a moment, though. He shakes his head with all the energy of one of those stalkery news reporters always in the paper.

“Shoto’s fire is yellow. Not blue.” 

Touya shakes his head in defeat. “You're right. I'm a fraud”

Kenzo tugs on your sleeve. “Come on, let’s go.”

“I make all his tech, if that interests you at all.”

It does, you think, because Kenzo’s eyes light up ever so slightly, and he pauses. You unhook his little fingers from your shirt.

“For serious?”

“For serious. I’m Touya, by the way.”

His words are for Kenzo, but he looks at you as he speaks. You smile, a little nervous under his heavy gaze.

“I’m Y/N. This is my nephew-“

“Kenzo. Can I see your gadgets?” He cuts in, dashing forward to where Touya is.

You roll your eyes. Touya moves his chair back slightly. You get a better view of the Radiohead t-shirt he has on, and the jeans that hug his legs perfectly. He pats his lap for Kenzo to sit on and you watch as he clambers on. God. You wish it was you.

The thought makes your face heat, and you shake your head a little. You’ve literally known this man for about two minutes and you’re already acting like a degenerate.

“You can look at these. New designs I’m working on.” he says, dragging over his paper.

You walk towards them. You lean forward on the table, elbows propped in front of you. Kenzo leans forward too, and his little eyebrows furrow. 

“These drawings are messy.” He says and you laugh.

Touya grins. “You’re mean, kid. They’re works in progress.” 

Touya reaches for an empty paper. He lifts Kenzo up effortlessly and sits him down on the chair. He pulls a pencil from his pocket and passes it to him.

“Why don’t you show me some of your designs? And I can show Shoto. Meanwhile, I’ll get to know your pretty aunt.” 

With that, Touya’s attention turns to you. 

“Am I the pretty aunt?” You flutter your lashes at him.

“I hope so.” 

He smells good; like smoke and something spicy, and the smell overwhelms you as he steps closer. He rests his hip on the table, and you’re sure he’s flexing a little more than necessary as he crosses his arms. His arms look good though, so you’re not one to complain.

You look at Kenzo, who’s drawing increasingly messier drawings. Hes trying to copy some of the designs Touya has done, and it’s so cute. 

You drop your voice to a whisper. “Are you really Shoto’s brother?”

Touya sighs heavily, like the question pains him to answer. 

“Yep. Older, by ten long years.” He narrows his eyes at you a little. “You're not one his crazy fangirls, are you?”

You shake your head. “Oh, no. I never really got the appeal, you know. He’s kinda broody.”

Touya raises an eyebrow. 

“Oh! Not like that- I mean, your brother, he’s very- A good pro! I just don’t-“

Touya laughs a little, patting your shoulder. “Only teasing, sweetheart.”

He inches towards you just a bit. 

“So. You here for the convention, then?”

You wave your VIP lanyard. “Yup. Birthday gift for Kenzo.”

Touya nods, impressed. “Expensive birthday gift for a seven year old.”

“Have to keep my status as favourite aunt somehow.” You shrug.

He hums under his breath. “You here for the whole weekend?” 

“Yes. If he doesn’t run away from me again.” You mumble and Touya grins.

“Yeah, I’m here on babysitting duty, too.” He grumbles and you look a bit confused.

Babysitting his… pro hero little brother? You’ve seen Shoto on the news. All big muscles and that fiery look in his eyes. You’re sure he doesn’t need any assistance with anything. 

Touya scratches at the curve of his jaw, the faint stubble growing in catching against his hands. “My mother. Very overprotective. Seems to think me and my tool kit can help the number four pro hero if he needs it.”

You snort. “The hammer might come in handy.”

“Yeah, if I bothered to even show up.”

You laugh. Kenzos taken up three whole sheets of paper with his scribbles, fingers darkening from the lead of the pencil. He’s humming something you can’t recognise under his breath, his whole body now resting on the table.

“You here with your boyfriend, or is it just you and Kenzo?”

You flush ever so slightly. You can feel him turn to look at you when he asks, and when you look his way, his attention is all on you. “No boyfriend for me.”

“Mhm.”

You lick your lips. “You, uh. You got a girlfriend keeping you company in here?”

Touya tilts his head. A few stray hairs curl over his faceand you want to reach over and brush them away. 

“Nope. I fuck-“

You gasp, reaching forward and covering his mouth. But it’s too late. Kenzo’s head darts up, his mouth dropping open.

“He said a bad word!” He points an accusing finger at Touya.

“It was an accident! Don’t say that!”

Kenzo frowns. “But he said it.”

“And he’s very sorry. Go on, keep drawing.”

Kenzo, though disbelieving, looks away. You go to scold Touya, but then you remember your hand is covering his mouth, currently. And his lips are soft and the scarred skin on his face is smooth against your palm, and you let go like he’s on fire.

“Oh, god, I’m sorry.” You wince. “Probably shouldn’t just grab you like that.” You laugh sheepishly.

“Don’t worry about it.” His voice drops to a whisper. “If you wanted to touch, you could’ve just asked, sweetheart.”

You shove his shoulder, and try to pretend that he can’t see the red flush all over your cheeks.

“Shut up.”

“Feisty. I like it.”

You flick his shoulder. “Stop. I don’t need my nephew to hear us flirting with eachother.”

Touya grins. “So we’re flirting?”

You lean a little closer. Your shoulder brushes against his. “I’d hope so.”

You’re bolder than you usually are. Touya brings out something different in you, something that stirs in your gut and leaves you blushing like a teenager. You like it. You like him, even though you only just met. At a hero convention, nonetheless.

Touya sits up suddenly. He taps the VIP pass that dangles around your neck. “You should get going. The meet and greet is soon.”

“You know when the meet and greet is?” You ask, and he huffs.

“Course I do. The second it’s over I’m home free.”

You nod. He searches in the pile of pens he has on his desk and pulls out a marker. He grabs your hand, and starts writing his number on it. His palm is soft, and you can feel the calluses on his fingers as he writes. 

“I could’ve just given you my phone, you know.”

He shrugs, glancing up at you. “Yeah, but this is more romantic.”

You huff a laugh. Touya drops your hand.

“Alright. You’re here tomorrow, right?”

You nod.

“Perfect. You call me once you’re finished up. We can drop Kenzo home, and then I’m taking you out.”

“Wow. You work fast.” You praise.

He hums under his breath. “You like it slow?” He drawls and you brush him off.

You walk over to stand behind Kenzo.

“Your drawings look great, Kenny.” You squeeze his shoulder.

“Thanks. This is a glove that gives Shoto explosion. Like Dynamight has but it’s fire.” 

“Ah. Very nice.”

Touya leans a little closer too. “This is great, kid.”

Kenzo sits up. “If you use them you have to tell Shoto I helped.”

“Oh, of course.” He assures. 

You fix the hat thats become skewed on his head, his curly brown hair sticking out every side. “Come on, Kenzo, we gotta get going.” 

Kenzo hops to his feet, already bounding towards the door.

You turn back to Touya. “Do you happen to know where the meet and greet is?”

Touya nods. “Third floor.”

“Right. Thank you.” You say.

Kenzo rattles the doorknob from across the room and you sigh. “That’s my que to leave.”

You shoot Touya a smile. “Thanks for all this.”

“Thank you. You’ve made my day much more enjoyable.”

Touya walks you the short distance to the door. Just before you leave, he grabs your arm and stops you in your tracks. He’s tall, when your standing this close to him, and he leans down just a little so you can hear him better.

“Don’t forget about our date.”

You grin. “Wouldn't dream of it.”

—————————————————————————

IM BACK GUYS 🥺🤣😖 I literlaly have been SWAMPED. With uni, life. I have like six hundred birthdays in April and my own in May 😖

I feel like I’ve forgotten how to write but I guess that’s what happens when u take such a long break. Also I’m beta reading this at two am so if there’s any mistakes there r not

I also like.. changed the pov half way because I wanted to like who’s gonna check me

ENJOY THO I MISSED U ALL

[sanguinesmi1e]

I am begging the Warrior Cats, DC comics, and Danny Phantom fandoms to learn the difference between "rogue" and "rouge."

Normally I don't really care too much about misspellings on the internet. Language is fluid and use changes conventions, bla bla bla. This is a pet peeve I'm apparently never gonna get over, though.

The letter combo "ge" often makes a soft "j" or "zh" sound. Like in beige, garage, general, gouge, etc. But because English has borrowed things from many languages, this rule isn't consistent.

The letter combo "gu" results in a hard "g" consonant. As in guerilla, Prague, dialogue, penguin, guess, etc.

As an aside, this is how you know how to pronounce the two different Gs in "language" because they follow this rule exactly.

Therefore, "rouge" is pronounced "rüzh" and refers to a red color, typically a cosmetic for one's cheeks (aka blush). Also the name of the DC villain Madame Rouge.

Conversely, "rogue" is pronounced "rōg" with a hard G and refers to an independent, uncontrollable, aberrant individual who acts outside the strictures of society, often in an unlawful manner. This is the word I most often see misspelled.

So please remember, if the G is in front of a U you don't need to *guess* how it's pronounced, but if you get mixed up you might end up blushing!

[teletraan-archive]

Cybertronian Names

The following is from an episode of Autobot special operations commander Jazz’s audio series titled “More than robots that transform”, a show focused on educating other species about cybertronian culture:

“A common question us autobots get from the beings we protect is one involving our names. Humans in particular get confused about alien robots having names like Bumblebee or Ratchet. Be confused no more, listeners, because Jazz is here to lay down the details!”

“Names actually hold a very significant value in cybertronian culture. When a bot activates, whether forged from a well or constructed cold, they immediately have knowledge of their designation. This designation, or first name as it’s commonly referred to, is a sort of placeholder name made up of random letters and numbers. Bumblebee, for example, used to be known as B127 for most of his life. My first name was JZ14, hence the number fourteen decals I got.”

“Eventually, when a cybertronian gets enough life experience and develops a a more refined personality, their true name materializes in their brain modules. The true name defines a bot’s entire being, what they’ve accomplished and who they are. Due to the sacred nature of it, sharing one’s true name is usually reserved for those closest to you. As a result, cybertronians typically use nicknames that are either something they find interest in or are a less meaningful versions of the their true names.”

For this podcast, I’ll share my true name on this podcast. Most will call this blasphemous, and I’m definitely anxious, but I believe sharing culture is as important as fighting tyranny. Here goes. *The sound that emits from Jazz’s mouth is reminiscent of a radio switching between music stations, accompanied by an unusually soft grinding sound that evokes a skateboard sliding down a rail.* That roughly translates to Appreciator-Of-All-Cultures-Light-Footed-Agent-Of-Freedom. Pretty appropriate, if you ask me.”

“That’s about it for this episode, thanks for listening and here’s hoping your future ends up being brighter than the stars!”

(This short fic is primarily about how I’d handle naming conventions for the transformers. The name JZ14 for Jazz is an idea I had based on Jazz’s Studio Series toy having the number fourteen on his doors.)

(Special shout out to @lets-try-some-writing for inspiring this with her amazing TFP fan fic, which I’ll link below)

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

???????

They... changed Meleanor's name to "Maleanor"????? It's a one letter difference and probably done to match the Draconia family’s naming convention with Maleficia and Malleus (all starting with “Mal-“, as in the Latin prefix for “bad”), but…

They wrote her name as “Meleanor” in JP???So did the name change occur somewhere down the line and they never made it consistent across both versions? 😂

The capital city (City/Metropolis of Dragons) is canonically “Dragonopolis” (which sounds so silly, lol) and Briar Country (the continent Briar Valley sits on) is “Briarland” (one word).

Not that anyone cares, but also it’s “Heinrick”—

[elliespectacular]

Do you still have that Jellicle name generator saved anywhere? Some friends and I used it for our OCs and it was an absolute blast!

The name I got was Callio the convivial cat, which is short for Calliope, who I played in Xanadu. She has a whole costume and everything now!

Even if you don't have it anymore, tysm for making it ;-;

Xanadu mention! Also I do still have it saved! This one is revised a little and I might make more changes later, but here it is in text form:

Jellicle Name Generator

This will give you a name that is relatively in-line with the naming conventions seen in Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot and later adapted into the musical Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber - and unlike those shitty "last name and your birth month" name generators, this one won't doxx you in the process.

Before we begin, a bit of terminology we'll be using: - Portmanteau: Turning multiple words into one word linked by a sound or letter. Compelling Television = Compellevision. Punk Squid = Squnk - Smoosh: Combine words by simply removing the space and (optionally) changing the word positions. Country Jester = countryjester - Prefix: Goes before the name, like Mr. or Captain - Suffix: Goes after the name, like Jr. or The Great - Cat-like term: Something associated with cats. Meow, Whisker, Bell, Claw, Scratch, etc.

FIRST: Roll a D20 to determine your base name

An uncommon person’s first name

First syllable of a common last name + a unit of measurement. Portmanteau 'em.

Short, dangerous noun + a non-dangerous profession. Smoosh 'em.

Two Latin words. Portmanteau 'em.

A simple present-tense verb + sophisticated person's first name. Smoosh 'em.

Cat-like term + sophisticated person's first name. Smoosh 'em.

Combine two short nouns, then add "-er" "-ie" or "-est" to the end.

Think of an actor you like. Shorten their first name to its shortest nickname.

A medical term spelled incorrectly.

A food you liked as a kid + a pretentious word. Smoosh 'em.

A figure of legend/myth. Remove one syllable and any spaces.

An older person's first name that isn't common today.

Last name of a historical figure + a silly word. Portmanteau 'em.

A kids' name with 2 or more syllables + that name again without the first syllable + an onomatopoeia. Portmanteau 'em if you can.

A silly word + the first name of a former coworker. Portmanteau 'em.

A kind of public event + a cat-like term. Smoosh 'em.

Something from ancient history. Shorten what you came up with into a single word.

Something you do when you're nervous. Take that verb and add "-er" to the end to make it a noun.

Silly word + hostile-sounding verb. Portmanteau 'em.

Two silly words with 2+ syllables each. Smoosh 'em.

SECOND: Roll another D20 for flavor

Before you roll, consider how your name sounds without any additional flavor. If it's fine on its own, feel free to leave it as-is. Otherwise, roll on!

Suffix - An upsettingly average last name

Suffix - Think of a hobby. Your suffix is "The _____ Cat"

Prefix - A short adjective

Suffix - Think of an adjective. Your suffix is "The _____ Cat"

Prefix - Choose Mr. Mrs. Ms. Mx. or something similar

Suffix - Think of a color. Your suffix is "The _____ Cat"

Prefix - Any one-syllable word. Repeat the word a second time, adding or replacing the first consonant with that of your base name.

Suffix - Think of any non-proper noun. Your suffix is "The _____ Cat"

Suffix - it's the word Cat

Suffix - it's the word Kitty

Suffix - it's the word Kitten

Prefix - Choose "Sir" "Madam" "Captain" or something similar

Prefix - Choose "Lord" "Lady" "Noble" or something similar

Prefix - His/Her/Their Majesty (or any pronoun you prefer)

Prefix - His/Her/Their Grace (or any pronoun you prefer)

Prefix - Mc

Prefix - Van

Prefix - Von

Prefix - De

Suffix - Any cat-like term

And you're done!*

*This is as much a creative exercise as it is a "generator" so feel free to mess with the formula and/or let your result inspire something more original. Add multiple layers of flavor if you want. The rules are not rigid. I recommend generating a few names and picking your favorite!