#elegy

Just straight-up stolen from this post. In order to keep the randomness pure, I've also used a random picker for the Cosmere characters!

1. Ulaam has been turned into...an eoraptor!

Ulaam: Hmm. Arms a little short. Ulaam: No worries! I'll just add a couple of new, longer arms! Ulaam: [Straining to reach his workbench with his tiny dino arms] Ulaam: ... Ulaam: Uh oh.

2. Szeth has been turned into...a beaver!

Szeth: At last. Szeth: I am someone who creates, someone who builds. Szeth: I shall be the happiest, fattest beaver of all.

3. Ann has been turned into...a capuchin monkey!

Ann: [hanging upside down off of the ship's rigging] Ann: Honestly, I'm pretty happy.

4. Galladon has been turned into...a groundhog!

Galladon: I will sleep beneath the earth, unbothered. Galladon: Until I come to the surface and proclaim more winter for all. Galladon: ... Galladon: I'm kind of feeling it.

5. Lirin has been turned into...a llama!

Lirin: ... Lirin: Well...at least I'm good for...shearing? Lirin: Perhaps my woolly coat can be used to keep others warm! Hesina: It says here llamas also sometimes bite or spit at people. Lirin: I would never!

6. Akane has been turned into...a dilophosaurus!

Akane: [is a dinosaur, but one wearing a fashionable pink and white sweater] Yumi: I-It looks good on you? Akane: I hate my life.

7. Yumi has been turned into...a gecko!

Yumi: [Is hanging from the ceiling in Nikaro's room] Yumi: Honestly...I've never been so relaxed in my life.

8. Parlin has been turned into...a lobster!

Parlin: Not going to lie. Parlin: I was hoping for some kind of forest creature. Parlin: Well, at least I'm functionally immortal this time.

9. Adolin has been turned into...a vole!

Adolin: What. Adolin: H-How am I supposed to duel like this?!

10. Radiant has been turned into...a baryonyx!

Radiant: Do not worry, Shallan. Radiant: My one enormous claw will function as my sword. Radiant: I can still be what I was to you. Shallan: So I do I just turn into a dinosaur sometimes or...?

11. Elegy has turned into...an oppossum!

Elegy: ... Elegy: Despite the glowing ember hole in my chest that I still have for some reason, I feel as though I've lost some of my...gravitas.

12. Dalinar has turned into...a rabbit!

so im a big name-nerd and i really wanted to make my MC have an extremely purposeful name to the backstory. especially since ive heard a rumor (i havent fact-checked it. mostly because i dont want it to be wrong, i think it is neat in an unfortunate way) that bastard children of yore (at least within Puritanical circles and similar) would be named things like "Lament" to show their parents regretted their birth, regretted the sin/"sin", and so on

so i did check first to see if the familial and pillar-of-the-kingdom names (i specifically checked Adder, Elle, Lorelai, Lowell/Lance, Dalia, Abrin, Astrite, Constance, and Reina. i couldnt find the royal family's surname, i probably just missed it. but i am done looking, im sure itll appear in-game soon enough assuming i didnt miss its appearance. so i just looked at forenames) were limited to a specific regional equivalent or era of popularity or language, just to know if my MC's name had to exist within a specific parameter. thank you for that not really being the case (the closest parameter i could find was there was some Latin root usually, as some names are associated with English, others Spanish according to BehindTheName.com and Wikipedia and the like. couldnt find Astrite though lol if you have any info to give on that name, id love to know it), it made my self-imposed task easier 💀 so i was like "okay, just needs some kinda Latin root in its meaning, got it"

which, if youre curious "Lament" does then fit. according to Wiktionary, the word is based off the Middle French word of "Lāmentor" (which the verbage for is present and to the self, like "I wail, I weep") as well as the Latin root of "Lāmentum" (which is the present-continuous of "wailing, weeping"). so it does fit within the parameter of having a Latin root, should that be of interest to anyone

but mmmmmyyyyyy thing is: i dont like the sound of "Lament". i also dont like that it is so close to the twins' names, personally; my dyslexia is sensitive that way. and also, frankly, as much as i want that kind of "your family largely regrets you" feeling, it doesnt suit Queen Elle to give her own child that as a name. but i do like the element of "Lament" that is, not just regret, but a song or poem of sorrow. so i looked up what other songs/poems like that there are

and the idea of Queen Elle's final child, who she died giving birth to, being named Elegy (or, if you really wanted to make it a pun: Ellegy). the word is featured in Latin as "Elegīa" as a noun, which comes from the Ancient Greek adjective of "Elegeíā" (as in "elegeíā ōidḗ", or "an elegiac ode/song"). it means a song/poem reacting to death. which you might go "what is the difference between a lament and an elegy then?" and that's a good question that i also had lmao basically, an elegy has three parts: a lament of the death, a praise of who the dead used to be, and then a consolation of which the living are comforted after the death. you have to have all three to be considered an elegy. you have to only have the first part— the regret and grief portion — to qualify as a lament. so that's kind of cute, the idea of Queen Elle hoping her final baby will grow up with, not just grief of never knowing their mother, but also the praise of who Elle was and a consolling comfort to move on. that's sweet. it reminds me of the bittersweet grief yet hope that is within "Coco"'s song "Recuérdame"/"Remember Me"

(the word did come to inspire the term of a "eulogy", but theyre not synonymous; a eulogy is just the praise portion of an elegy. if you wanted a synonym for a eulogy, that would be "an obituary" from what i loosely understand)

but it's also a kind of fun way for Adder to feel an additional "permission" to treat this hypothetical Elegy child how he does. because i can see Adder and his abusive children and whatnot seeing this child's name as an (false-)affirmation that Queen Elle regretted having this baby

so. that is my MC's name. im very happy with it and wanted to share it. im surprised i got so much of what i wanted: a "lament"-ing name that still befits Queen Elle to have given her baby. i feel very fortunate

also, as a final fun fact about the name: the original Ancient Greek adjective form of it, "Elegeíā", made me think of the pun "Elle's Gaia" (or "Elle's Gaîa" or "Elle's Gaea" if you prefer that spelling of the goddess). which, Gaia/Gaîa/Gaea is the Ancient Greek goddess that represented Mother Earth. so "Elegeíā" → "Elle's Gaia" → "Elle's Garden". y'know. the sacred grounds where Reina was murdered on MC's birthday. isn't that a fun pun 💀

so fun, in fact, im tempted to name my MC "Elegeíā"/"Elegeia" instead of "Elegy". but alas. i have self-imposed that i must have a Latin root in the name, and "Elegeíā"/"Elegeia" are the predecessors of the Latin term "Elegīa"/"Elegia" → and the English word of "Elegy", and ergo "Elegeíā"/"Elegeia" itself does not have a Latin root. i even checked other languages to see if they descended from the Latin term yet still had the pun applicable, and naaahhh. the modern Greek word is seemingly identical to the Ancient Greek one even, and ergo has no Latin influence. c'est la vie. maybe i will take off these handcuffs i put on myself someday, but not anytime soon

still, Elegy and Elegeia are very cute names. im glad i did so much research, im very happy with my findings

thanks for listening to my TED Talk about giving my MC a depressing name lol

also, as always, thank you for making and sharing with us such a very fun game 🫂💕

Babe, this is insane. Who are you!?

I love this so much. Just the sheer research and effort you put into this!! Fun fact from myself, Astrite actually comes from “Astrit” which means star or viper. It became Astrite by auto correct alone and I thought that was a sign.

Elegy is so cute, and actually quite fitting considering you can't say it without saying Elle.