1. Is it just me, or does every Marauder site advertise their RP as "A Marauder RP... with a twist!" And is there any twists involved? OMG, time-travel! OMG, Voldemort attacks! OMG, drugs in the '70s! Like that's never been done before.

2. I love how you see all these resource forums for RPs popping up like acne, yet they all die just as fast as RPs -- if not faster. It's like people don't realize running a site to help people actually takes a little effort.

3. Names. I like names, they're fun, and I like choosing some more rare/trendy ones. However, some people really... go overboard. I've seen an

• Autumn Strawberry Jones -- now, my best friend is named Autumn, but Strawberry? Come on!
• Jupiter James -- Where's Uranus?
• Remember Davis -- Her brother had an ethnic name, too, and he was made first. Hmm.
• Jersey Daytona Williams -- I've always wanted to be named after a shirt. And a city in Florida.
• Paisley Jean Michaels -- I'm assuming they didn't realize the imagery they'd create.
• Cain and Abel Potter -- Just... creepy, idk.
• Edward Anthony Masen -- And he wasn't playing Edward Cullen. He was just some random high school emo kid. WTF?
• Juno -- And guess who the PB is? If you guessed Ellen Page, you get a cookie.
• Harlow Shiloh Apple Jones -- I hate seeing celebrities give their kids cute names because then that means everyone in RP is going to use them.

The worst? JEZEBEL. Okay, seriously. No parent would name their kid Jezebel. Do people realize that it's synonymous with hussy? Apparently not.

Just... Wow.

*raises hand* I am thoroughly guilty of giving my characters god awful names for the lulz.

One of my characters in my sci-fi game is named Arrow Archer. Her parents worked in a factory making weapons, and they got a kick out of it. They also weren't the brightest crayons in the box.

I also have a character named Cherry who has hippy-ish parents. He's a dude.

Then there's Vahni Alexander. That name tickles me pink because he's a thief in a medieval world, has a silly thiefy riff-raff name, and then...his last name is all noble sounding. xD It makes me happy.

And I have a million others. >_> But I dunno, I have fun giving characters horrid/weird names and then making up a story behind why the heck they have a name like that. It's also amusing when other characters call them on it and tease them for it. >:3 Of course, I also don't pretend they're good names. I tend to use them in RP as, well...bad names. Like poor Arrow Archer. She wants to get her name legally changed when she's an adult. :B

...I made a villain and called her Vendetta. I did this in about 2004, took a break from RP in the middle, so it's not like it was that long ago. I did it deliberately, too. Mwaha

Now she's a teenager and still called Vendetta. Although I did go to pains to work out where she got the name. It's lame, it's random, but I love it.

I wouldn't presume to bash the strawberry thing--I mean come on, there is a kid out there called Apple.

I am going to call my first born Potato ('Spud, of course). Just to see what happens. >>.

I enjoy a silly name, provided the character is aware their name is silly, unless they are trippy like their parents. It makes for entertainment and something out of the ordinary.

And I know a Jezebel. Lawl. I also know a Basil, a Felix and a Jazz.

Excessive use of 'y' irritates me, however. Just because they're Irish/Scottish/from Super-Awesome-Fantasyland does not mean you can take a normal name, throw in a bunch of 'y's and expect me not to giggle.

I was working on a modern setting forum taking place in the city and I made the character who was the US President. His name was Kalen Doomforge.

DOOMFORGE FOR PRESIDENT: VOTE FOR ME OR BE DAMNED TO THE MISTY REALMS OF DEMONS AND DARK FANTASY THINGS

DARTH SEPHIROTH CASTS MAGIC MISSILE AND EVERYONE DIES.

...are you serious? :sweat:

I had a character named Juno - but was fantasy, male, and made before the movie was even in development. I was trying to go with something like Juneau, Alaska. *shrug* I thought it was an alright name for a fantasy character.

I like normal-ish names. Though I do admidt to giving ridiculously outdated names as a joke - I play Aberforth Dumbledore at one site, and gave him the middle names "Wilford Eustace" - and he has a small herd of pet goats: Esther, Obadiah, Jahel, Cornelia, Methuselah, Bernice, and Rhoda. I find it totally amusing. But it fits - Abe's in his late 90's, so he'd pick outdated names.

I like ethnic names to a degree. I find Welsh names purty (Like Rhiannon, Rhys, Aeron...), but I don't pick unpronounceable names. Even with Asian names, I like ones like "Rin" - simple and straightforward, while still being different.

About the Jupiter name, though - I have a friend named Nova. But I think it's supposed to be kind of hippie-ish. And Jersey is a place, isn't it? And a breed of cow. Though Morgan is a breed of horse...

I like normal names, though. There's nothing wrong with them!

Haha, names are fun. I share a Herbert (last name not needed when you're a super cool manservant-assassin-butler type thing). I love naming characters after random places.

Tungamah.. it's calling for a character. Kialla and Lemnos I've used, Orange I've always wanted to use... cause I think orange is a ghastly colour. Does that make me evil? Basil is an awesome name, though to me it's synonymous with possum (bloody basils!), I've had a Bruce, bahaha --- I should match that with Sheila. Or Shirl.

I don't think I should be allowed to have children. Who knows what they might end up with..

On the Marauder RP's, I hear ya. XD That's why I prefer to go AU; if they mention a twist.. They're like all the others, it's a decoration or something.

When it comes to naming my characters, I prefer the proper names. Troy, Edward, Theodore, ect. Sure, I like having originality, but I put that in the character, not the name. And really, having a proper name anymore is original. They're all exotic rare bizarre names that I would - if they didn't - hate my parents for naming me such a thing. c.c;

Weird names are fun, if, like Rhi, you give them to your characters for the lulz. Trendy names are...well, trends, and they die out. Which they should. What really annoys the heck out of me is when parents in RL give their kids traditional names with a new, more 'modern' spelling. Like instead of naming a girl Jewel, they'll name her Jool or Juehl. The only time I've seen a name like that which works, is a little girl who was called Isabeau instead of Isabelle. It was pretty and at least made sense because it was masculine form rather than feminine.

Some of my more unusual RP/character names: Ivy Dervila Ballantine (ftw!), Delphia Doe, Joselee Ballantine, Sterling, Cormac MacFealltoir, Darien, Mairin, Dermot Aaron (aka 'DerryAar') Ballantine...oh, and there's the classic first-ever-roleplay-character name, Guinevere Iris duVeau. x.x Rich French purebloods with snooty names, NOT ftw. My friends and I have also created a community character called Old Bart, who has one squinty eye which has a milky sort of film over it, one leg, a Voldemort nose, and a giant mole which doesn't detract from his beauty at all. He beats people with his cane and shouts 'WHY?!' and 'STUPID!' in a wheezy old voice. [/tangent]

And the thing about Jezebel--gah! I find that incredibly frustrating, not to mention when people name their characters Lilith. Adam's original Satan bride does not a good namesake make. From Wikipedia...

Disease-bearing wind spirits? Female night demon? And people actually name their characters after this harpy?! *headdesk*

I agree with that. It saddens me, because I started doing it and now everywhere I see is that. I don't believe I started it, I just swear I never saw it before I did it. Mine is at least a twist! Gosh!

Resource boards make me sad, because they'd be so great if they worked but they don't, because people are lazy.

Names! -dies- I love names. I think weird names are the shizz. There is nothing worse (to me) than naming a character something normal. It's blasphemy! Waste! If I wasn't a Christian I'd make a religion worshipping interesting names and anyone who called their characters by a boring name would be summarily executed. I can understand it in real life, because no one wants to condemn their child to a lifetime of teasing because they're called Bertha or Apple Pie. But in character!

Not that my characters are actually called weird things. There's Laoise (Leesha) Casey who is Irish, Ruaidhri (Rory) Munroe, who is also Irish, and Svindri Iseult, who is an alien. They just aren't boring. And making me call a character something normal would be torture of the worst degree.

I know people with weird names -- but just a few. Like Adelle, though she's French; and Sarika. She's part-Asian, but that's an... Indian name, I believe. I don't know. But I really dislike weird names when they don't fit the setting. Like, Harry wouldn't name his sons Cain and Abel, sorry. And in a present-day high school forum, there's not going to be a bunch of strange fruit names. Where are the Megans, the Jessicas, the Rachels? I love the name Rachel, but I would never name my character that, since it's my name as well, lol.

And for the record, I love the name Juno. Just not anymore sinc epeople use it because of the movie... and then they use Ellen Page.

I like weird names mainly because I have the most scottish name you will ever hear. and no, I won't tell it to you. And no, I'm not scottish, except by heritage and name. o_O I always have neat names for my chars. Like, my favorite char ever was named Ewan Xen. SCOTTISH-ASIAN BLEND FTW! It's like sweet and sour haggus. xD

I'm thinking that if I ever have children, their names will be inspired by Norse mythology- Thor, Odin, Midgard, Fenrir, or the like. God damn, Fenrir would be an awesome name. Hey ladies, if you ever want a man who'll name his son Fenrir, I'm right here.

HEY GUYS: I'm going to make a Marauder RP with the biggest twist yet--the twist is that there is no twist. It is merely a normal Marauder RP. HOMG, BEING UNORIGINAL IS NOW BEING ORIGINAL AGAIN.

Gah, weird names drive my conservative streak off the charts. Parents that are tacky enough to name their kids after fruit and such should have their license revoked. Seriously, that's like conditioning your kid to grow up into a sociopath. My neighbor thought about naming her son Martini instead of Martin until her mom smacked some sense into her. What's next? Vodka Jones?

I know how you feel about strange names. I have ONE somewhat unusual name that I THOUGHT I made up, but then a football player turned up with it, and he's older than me, and the name turned up in an OLD AS DIRT Star Wars table top RP book. So... I'm not as original as I thought. Other than that, I have a tendency to run with Welsh or Russian names because I like the way they sound.

Oh, lol. Star Wars, Final Fantasy, AND DnD? Lovely.

Thing is, people in the real world do name their kids weird things. It's reality, so I see no problem with it popping up in the RP world. I knew a Cosmo and I know a Cassiopeia (who's middle name is Chandi). I also know a Jaya and a Harper.

My own name is Rhiannon, which isn't exactly common (at least not that spelling) and my middle name is Knight. :B My mom's name is Retha. Also not a "normal" name. I like "weird" names, myself. Love them to death. I rarely use "common" names unless it's for contrast--I like giving really, really bizarre characters "normal" names, and normal characters bizarre names. xD

It's also, as I said before, really fun if the character realizes their name is whack and others comment on it.

But to me, weird names are the bomb. Sure, I wouldn't wanna be named after a fruit, but I love my name and always took pride in not being one of four Jennifers in the classroom. ;3 Sure, people mangle the hell out of my name trying to say it, but that's just amusing for me.

xD I so wish I had a Welsh name so I could correct people on the pronunciation all the time.

Your family is awesome. There is no doubt in my mind, your family is awesome.

Unfortunately (or fortunately??) I don't RP Harry Potter anymore and haven't for several years, so I have next to no opinion about the Marauders Era RPs... but I can see where that would be extremely frustrating. If you advertise a twist, follow through!

With the names, though, I think "unique" ones can be fun, SO LONG as there's actually a neat story behind it.

And the names need to fit the character! My Victor could never be an Anatole or a Lancelot or a Digby.

Likewise, not every pretty blonde female should be named Sunshine Buttercup Hartley.

I really would like to know what happened to the Ambers and the Kaylas and the Abigails. Now those names are more unique than the "unique" ones, sometimes. XD

Oh man! And what about the David's and the John's and the Josh's?! They must be off with the girls not named Wednesday Chrysanthemum.

David is too busy protesting Scientology to be roleplayed as.

wut

I think we have a trophy wife name right thar.

I've .. never had much of a problem with this? XD But if I did, I can understand the annoyance. Of course, I know a bunch of people with unique names -- Dree, Caylee, Brittan, Jada, Season, Melody, Colton, Siri, Hart. Of course, most of these names aren't so strange to me as they are just different .. One of my closer friends is Kristina (first) Loré (middle) -- but then again, she is half German.

I guess it kind of depends. But fruit names? Good god, who gave them that idea? xD

Haha, I seem to come across weird names a lot. Although they're not exactly weird, just a bit illogical in the sense that you wouldn't often find a school where almost all of its pupils had unique/interesting names.
I'm a bit guilty of this, though, because I have a male character called Darcy (who acts nothing like Mr. Darcy, the poor soul). But I also have one called James, which hopefully doesn't make people want to kill me. D:

It also bugs me when people use weird names in modern-day High School names and claim that they're really common in (other country here). Especially Scottish names. I have never ever met anyone called 'Seumas', and I live in the city. Don't make it up! I'm sure there are people called that but it isn't common. Seriously. Ruaraidh I could relate to though, as I know at least four people called that (it's pronounced rue-ray if you're interested).

I think they just decided to spell Seamus wrong for that one. Except...that'd be good for an Irishman....not a Scotsman. I can see Seamus O'Brien. Not Seamus Buchanan.

Nope, Seumas is actually a Scottish name. Obviously Seamus is much more popular, which was why I double-taked (double-took?) when I saw it.

(Double took.)

I've never heard Seumas. Though, I'm not scottish anyways [Except by heritage. HA! Ehm....anyways...back to odd names]. But that does seem an odd one. Not as odd as...like....Taliesin [Tally-eis-in], which I wanted as a name if I wasn't named Collin. xD

Hahaha! xD *bows* Why thank you!

1. I'm bothered by "original and unique" RPGs that all consist of the same things as well. *pats*


2. I'm bothered by all the graphics forums popping up tbh. Do these people have any idea how much work has gone into PC and RCR? In some ways, graphics and resource forums are harder to manage than RPGs because they depend more on the administrators than anyone else most of the time, and the staff has to deal with a much broader member-base across a lot of genres and difficulty levels, which makes the actual management a lot harder.


3. Let's see all the weird names I know XD

Manish, Faiz, Harsha, Yang, Bem, Mwuese, Terwase, Ngoombu, Ember, Erdoo, Aphton, Ariel, Rowan, Yelena.... yeah, I have a diverse friend circle! My characters have pretty normal names because I don't play in fantasy genres, but I don't have a problem with unusual names or "normal" names as long as it fits the setting, because crazy names really do exist.

Although I do have an issue with names when they come out of other fandoms for reasons I can't really explain. I'm bothered by characters names Wednesday, because all I can think of is Wednesday Addams, and am bothered by names like Sirius Turner, which to me just screams HP and PoTC.

You know what? There are plenty of perfectly good names in the world - ones that people (usually) know how to pronounce. There's not a real good reason to make up a name in a universe that USES common names.

I like having names with cool meanings, but that are still common, you know? "Shea" means Hawk, "Morgan" has to do with the sea, "Camille" has taken on the meaning 'warrior maiden', "Connor" means 'dog lover'. It's much funner to pick names like that, anyways. ^^ And they ain't boring, neither!

I propose that the only names with plant connotations that are acceptable are Trees (Rowan, Willow, Forest, Aspen), Flowers, and Herbs. NO FRUIT. OR VEGGIES. Cherise is excluded. All others are off limits unless your last name is "Shortcake". Or it's a pet.

But 'Concept' names in general bother me, and months and days and seasons as names. Like, "Hope", "Charity", "September", and "Chastity". I'd never go for one of those, personally.

I'm proud to say that I roleplay a George (and he's a teenager, yes). Yay. And he's with a Dorothy. <3

What if you like to make up names? That, for me, is a good enough reason to make up names. Especially in a writing situation where real life is not affected.

I'm amazed at how many 'strange' names there are out there! I don't personally know many with weird names, I suppose in NZ it's less popular. I know a Shankari, a Najah, a Dale (female), two Loches (and I cannae spell their names!), a Scarlett and that's all I can remember. My Aunt is called Nola xD

On the name thing: weird ass names are so annoying, in my opinion. When you have people signing up for your forum with a name like "Firlyth Ducrytel" you kind of just stop and go "buh?" I wouldn't know how to pronounce that, let alone think of naming my child that.

Personally I have a mixture. For more unusual names like Atarah, Lilika, Danika I have Elizabeth, Adriana, Ryan and Shawn. It depends on the character's background for me, I try to give them something fitting (eg, more unusual for pureblood/rich/celebrity, more normal for middle-class). I have to admit to hating made up names though, mostly because they usually sound better than they look, so when other people try to pronounce them it doesn't work.

I have to admit though, I love giving my characters interesting names that they then hate. For example, my sister and I have been discussing the concept of a family where their father was a popular musician, so when their mother had children she decided to make this known by calling them Reed, Harmony and Melody. And they are not happy about it.

I try not to judge then, when I see more unusual names. Unless the character thinks that the name is perfectly normal and no one can find it unusual, it doesn't bother me too much.

For my characters, I really try to aim for the obscure-but-not-too-much category of names. I've used Oliver, Dorian, Adrian, Jude, Silas and Seth, for example. Probably the best name I've ever come up with was Dorian Strangeways. Strangeways is an actual surname, I didn't make it up. I would also really love to use Roland, sometime.

I bet NONE of you can pronounce this: Ardwyad. It is a real name. And It's Welsh. Pronounced Ard-OO-yad. Mahaha. I love Welsh names. Still have to learn that language though.

If I'm going with a more unique name for a character, I tend to balance it out with a more normal middle name. Like, I've plade a Teodora Lynn (prn. teh-oh-DOR-uh). The same goes when I'm using a boyish name for a girl; I'll balance it out with a feminine middle name, such as Devon Alexandra or Devon Isabelle. I've also had a Kimberly Shayne. And a Jessa, Adelyn, Rachel, Paige, Haylie, and Kadee.

I tend to stay pretty normal with guys. I have a Gabriel Levi and Richard Leon, but that's about as "unique" as it gets. Then there's Elias, Caden, Edmond, Riley, Oliver, and Jamie. My all time favorite name for a boy is Isaiah Thomas, though. <3

The most annoying name I've seen is Harlequinne Apple-Grace Rizzo. I was like "O.o ... uh. Hmm. -scratches head-"

And as far as "I'S GOT A TWIST!" RPG boards: that's why I tend to stay away from the HP boards these days. They're pretty much all the same. It's either "lykwoah VOLDEMORT! -flails-" or "what?! TIEM TRAVEL?! oh noes!" I mean, there are great HP boards, but I'm usually turned off when I see "complete with awesome new twist".

Not that the other boards to any more original... what? Two rival schools forced to become one? Art kids struggling while being famous? GOSSIP GIRL RUNNING AMOK?! )= It's a sad day for me when I can't find a good RPG to be a part of. I'm prolly just too picky, though. xD

I love using slightly unusual names. It might have something to do with the fact that my year group had three Jessicas, four Bens, two Daniels, two Kates, three Natashas, etc. Plus they just give the character a little edge from the start. I won't use anything that's difficult to pronounce, sounds horrible put together or something I wouldn't name my own child. And generally if the first name is more left field, the middle name will be a bit more common. My newest character's name was Dakota Illusion. Yes, it was a boy. No, he didn't like his name :]

My general rule is that I don't give my character a name I wouldn't have given my own child. That being said, I'm fond of quirky names, and will probably end up naming my children something unique, though not so unique that it will get them teased.

I'm very adamant about the authenticity of my characters' names though: I love to research surnames and base the history/heritage of the character on what I find out. I also have a penchant for unusual surnames, because people don't get to pick these. They're stuck with whatever their parents were called, unless they have a horrible horrible surname and hate it enough to change it.

I try to stay away from totally ridiculous names... But I like using somewhat uncommon ones. For boys (which is basically all I play) some of the more unusual ones I've used are Dante, Clemency, erm... I can't tihnk of others. >_<

One thing I ask (and I don't know if this has been mentioned yet) is why, why, why are there so many female characters with male names? I mean, yeah, it was kinda cute when it started, but now there's about a million of them. Are there really that many girls with boys' names? But for some reason there aren't that many boys with female names. I've seen a boy named Ashley once... And I've had a male named Lauren, but it was a shortening of his real name, Laurence, so it wasn't like his parents actually gave him a girl's name.

Meh. Just a board fad, I guess?

My parents call my sister Jezebel, or Jezzy or something like that. Her real name is Lauren. I had no idea it was synonymous with 'hussy'. I may have to tell her that.

I rather like weird names, as it is. I'm rather intent on naming my first child Gideon, assuming it's a boy. If it's a girl, my wife can have him. That is, when and if I get married, considering I'm only 16. I get the boy, though. I love that name, and my mom loves that name. I even have parental approval. OH. I've seen loads of weird names, though I don't often stray from HP boards, so that may explain it. So I've plenty of weird named people. There are some names I actually like, though, like 'Atlas' and don't ask. I named one of my characters 'Zedekiah' once, and his last name was 'Benett'. No one actually used his full name, just calling him 'Kiah'. Played an Astynax before. Wondered where in the world they found that name.

I didn't know Jezebel was a bad word. o__o There's one member at my site whose character is named Jezebel, mostly since the character's father names ALL his kids after biblical figures. Talitha, Ezekiel, Jezebel, etc.

Uhm, I guess weird names are worse when you're at a human rpg. At the werewolf/ werecoyote rpg I roleplay at, people have CRAZY names.

My second character is Hybrid Holocaust... I only picked him up as a character because he was a character in need of a player that had an AWESOME name. I worked with the person who asked me to play him and made up a whole family tree. His mom is Asphyxia Holocaust, and his whole family tree have real-word first names and synonyms-of-massive destruction as their last name.

My friend actually got me to join one board 'for the lulz' and gave our characters silly names. Zilakit Sayuri. His last name is a common name in Japan for girls... and his first name isn't a name. xD His sister is Winter Ansai and his cousin/lover is Maddox Ansai.

WEIRD NAMES.

But now he's one of my favourite characters. >_o;

But that being said... I love quirky names. And Greek and Roman names. Telemachus is one of my favourite names for a boy (the others being Tristan, Julius, Gabriel and few others). My favourite name for a girl is Anticlea. :D