codename

[Queshire]

Basically, I need a good codename for one or maybe two of my characters.

Basically, in my WIP there's this organization. It's a combination of an interdimensional police force, military, and adventurer's guild. I haven't decided on a name for it yet, if you come up with a good one, I'd love to here it, but for convience we'll call them the Knights.

Two members of the Knights are particularly famous, or perhaps infamous. They are a man and women team. They have a reputation as the Knight's superweapons. No matter what the mission, no matter what the odds, they'll complete it... at the cost of a lot of property damage. Destruction and death are said to follow them. The two are always seen together, and rumors abound about what their relationship is. Actually, they're happily married to each other and are the parents of the main character, but the world at large doesn't know that.

The man is a mage. Specfically, he is a very powerful fire mage. With a single spell he can decimate an entire town, however that's not the dangerous part about him. For all his power, it's his mind you have to watch out for. He's a master of tricks and illusions. While he could just blow most things off the face of the earth, he prefers to uses tricks and strategies to get them to defeat themselves, and he's really, really good at it. The most disturbing thing is his personality. No matter he situation, he always smiles, always laughs, always acts the fool, as if it was all just a big game to him. He could, and has been, stuck in the dungeons of a demonic fortress about to be executed and still laugh. One rumor says he was trained by Loki, another says he IS Loki.

I'm thinking of having people call him the "Laughing Devil" but if you have another idea, I'd be happy to here it.

It's the woman that's giving me trouble. She's the complete opposite. While he's constantly laughing and smiling, she's stoic, never showing emotion, or at the very least showing emotion in ways that only those closest to her can pick up on. She's a warrior. She loves weapons. She can pick up any weapon and use it compently if not master it. She's also dedicated to her missions and doesn't care about honor, or at very least her sense of honor is different then most others. More then once, she has brought a machine gun to a sword fight. She's the type of person that would attack her own son if he got in her way during a mission, not out of any malice, but simply because if he think he's right, he has to prove it by beating her first.

She's commonly rumored to have an affinity for ice magic. I'm not sure if I want that to be the truth or just a rumor. If it was true she could use ice mirrors to set up tricky shots and ice bullets to disable someone without killing them, but it seems kind of corny to have her affinity be ice while her partner/husband has an affinity for fire. If not ice, then she'll have an affinity for lightning, using it to boost her speed and hand to hand abilities. I really want to be able to use my taser knuckle idea. ^^ Now that I think about it though... maybe she could just use ice magic while having an affinity for lightning magic? Having an affinity in one doesn't stop you from using the other, it just makes it easier/stronger to use magic you have an affinity for... Well, whatever, what do you guys think?

Now, the main problem is what to have her codename be. Honestly, I have no clue. Preferibly it would be something that refrences her attitude and abbilities like he husband's codename of "laughing devil," Also, it would have to be something others call her. The newspapers or people that hear about their exploits. Not something she or her organization calls her. I'm thinking maybe something along the lines of Valkyrie, or Frozen Angel, but really, I have absolutely no clue. Any help?

Ahem, so to reiterate. My questions are this;

-The husband of the team is currently called the "Laughing Devil," is that a good name, or do you have any other suggestions.
-The wife of the team is rumored to have an affinity for ice magic, should that be the truth, just a rumor, or a rumor but she uses ice magic at times.

Main Question:
-What the hell should I call the wife of the team!?!?!?!? Honestly, I am stumped, I have no clue what type of code name to give her!

 

[Caged Maiden]

Do you want the names to reflect their powers? I have used animal names for my crime bosses, and code names for my spies like sabre, nighthawk.... I usually don't get very creative or unique, because a cool name isn't my main objective... it's concealing their identities. I named the female head of my organized rebellion the Merciless Doll.

If you are shooting for names these people are going to be referred to during the story, I'd go with the adjective-noun combination and go for something dramatic. Laughing devil is good, but I'm not sure how I feel about the word devil. It sounds Christian to me. What about: fiend, demon, or something along that line?

 

[Cinder]

Laughing Devil is a good name, but there's nothing memorable or spectacular about it. I'm absolutely useless with names. Much of my names come on the spur of the moment, so perhaps using this names temporarily until a better ones comes along, will suffice.

I think in terms of code-names, a name of only one word would be better. Look at the X-Men, how many of them have two words as part of their name? When you described the fire mage, the image of an almost Joker-like character sprang to mind. If you can meld the playful, devilish, destroy everything part of his personality with his strategical side, with only one word, you're on to a winner. Personally, I was thinking something like Illusionist, Diabolist or Devil. But like I said, I'm useless with names.

I like the idea of the female character having an affinity for ice that is rumoured. This allows for a brilliant moment in the plot where she can unleash her powers to an unsuspecting crowd, putting an end to the years of debate over her affinity. It would certainly be memorable for the character audience and the reader. I think giving her an affinity for lightning yet having her use ice magic would be quite strange for the reader.

In terms of her name, how about something related to ice/light like Aurora? I love the husband/wife, fire/ice theme. I've always seen fire and ice as two substances that cannot win each other, and that applies to a husband and wife sort of relationship in that they are both equals.

I hope I helped in some capacity!

 

[Queshire]

Well, the codename's what others call them, not what they call themselves. Simply put, it's what others, the average citizens, the newspapers, the villians of the world, call them after hearing about their power and their exploits.

Now that I think about it, I agree that Lauging Devil wouldn't work, not because of it's christian nature, but because I might want to use devils in my story later!

 

[Caged Maiden]

I think in that case, they probably got their names by witnesses to what they have done, and in general people aren't that creative. I'd think basic stuff... maybe front-page of a paper sort of thing. Best wishes.

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

How about "Snowblind" for her?

 

[Queshire]

sigh~~~ they're not super heroes... they're closer to cops or military.

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

sigh~~~ they're not super heroes... they're closer to cops or military.

Given that you said this:

With a single spell he can decimate an entire town, however that's not the dangerous part about him.

Maybe they are cops/military, but they appear to also have superpowers.

 

[Queshire]

no, they have magic. Somebody going around in tights and capes would probably get laughed at then eaten by a dragon.

 

[Steerpike]

That's not really much of a distinction. Superheroes don't have to wear tights and capes. Superhero powers aren't distinguishable from magic, though not all super heroes have magic powers.

 

[Queshire]

let's not get into arguing semantics, I say they aren't superheroes, so they aren't superheros. Simple as that.

 

[Rullenzar]

Usually codenames are short. So for newspapers you could have 'Laughing devil' the name the public knows them by.
And codenames would be what they use for each other.
Newspaper names:
Man- Devil's Jester / The comedian/ or what you have
Woman- The Ice Queen / The enforcer / Woman scorned

Codenames: Chuckles & Scorn
Hyena & grouch
Jester & stone

 

[Steerpike]

let's not get into arguing semantics, I say they aren't superheroes, so they aren't superheros. Simple as that.

You can call them what you like.

Something this central to the identity of the characters is something you should really come up with yourself, rather than asking others to do it for you.

 

[Benjamin Clayborne]

let's not get into arguing semantics, I say they aren't superheroes, so they aren't superheros. Simple as that.

That's fine, they're not superheroes, but you can't give them superpowers and expect it to seem reasonable if other characters in your story treat them like normal people. Cops who also can destroy entire towns with a single thought are not seen as ordinary mortals by their peers.

 

[Steerpike]

That's fine, they're not superheroes, but you can't give them superpowers and expect it to seem reasonable if other characters in your story treat them like normal people. Cops who also can destroy entire towns with a single thought are not seen as ordinary mortals by their peers.

Yeah, that's a good point. Ties in to managing reader expectations. If they have qualities of superheroes, then realistically you have to deal with the reader's reaction to that and they're expectation that the reaction of others in the fictional world will be consistent with it. Even if you call the characters ham sandwiches instead of superheroes.

 

[Sir Tristram]

Try Frost Walker, Snowbird, Winter Fury, Ice Stalker, White Huntress (Is that Artemis???), Glisse (Ice in French), Coldheart, or some such thing for the woman.