ask-the-joys:

fuckyeahmcrquotes:

Weirdly, I get a lot of messages like the above. Whilst I try to respond with thought-out and creative answers, the thing is I’m not any better at creating Killjoy names than the next random fan out there. I just use something called the internet and fib my way through. But I decided that I might as well share what I know anyway, because it may help someone. So sit back and prepare to be DAZZLED by my amazing knowledge of nothing.

First things first, though, is…

Useful links

Scene Names – this site is amazing because of the list of words, which a lot of can make awesome Killjoy names, but also because it has some tips and tricks at the top to make a good name. A few words don’t work (RAWR anyone?), but you can still normally find something cool or unique in here.
International Rollergirls’ Masterlist – if you think I’m kidding, I’m not. This list is a goldmine. There’s hundreds of potential Killjoy names just waiting to be chosen or put together. Seriously, have a read through.
Horse Show Names – nope, still not kidding. This one isn’t as helpful as above, and there’s a lot of ones that wouldn’t make good Killjoy names, but if you mix-and-match you can find some gems in here too.
Pet Names – there’s A LOT of interesting categories, each with tens and hundreds of different names and words… and they all have meanings and explainations, too!
List of Extremely Hazardous Substances – because a lot of them actually sound quite cool, like Ricin, Fluorine or Nicotine.
List of Poisonous Plants – see above, like Belladonna, Hemlock or Cicuta.
Cool Screen Names – there’s some interesting combinations and base words in here… a few of my favourites include Jester, Pantera and Ectasy.
RP Vocab List – roleplays are normally chock-full of (often) cringeworthy but also interesting synonyms for common words, and this compiles a lot of them into one place.
100 Beautiful and Ugly Words – because a lot of these words can be combined into names quite easily, and the list itself is quite interesting because it shows the contrast between ‘beautiful’ and ‘ugly’ words in English. There’s also this list of 100 Most Beautiful Words.
A to Z of Positive Words – there’s a lot of them, and they’re actually really useful for Killjoy names.
List of Positive Words – which includes some phrases down at the bottom, too. Try picking out your favourites from here and mixing them with…
Negative Words List – admittedly, some of these don’t fit, but there’s still a few good ones in there. If you think about the in-universe names, a lot of them combine positive (Fun, Party, etc) with negative (Ghoul, Poison.)
Killjoy Name Generator (and another) – personally, I don’t suggest just using this generator, but using some of the results and combining several of them or making up your own with this generator as inspiration is a good method.
Killjoy Slang – yes, it’s by me, but you might actually find something interesting/inspiring in there, so give it a read.

There’s also the obvious ones, like a Thesaurus, which can be surprisingly helpful.

Okay, now let’s get down to business.

Wordplay

My Killjoy name is Nine Knives. I choose it because of the old saying ‘Cats have nine lives’ and because my real name is, surprise, Cat! Also, I like knives… the number nine. I’ve found at wordplay makes good Killjoy names as long as it’s either obvious, or works anyway. One of my friend’s names is Sin Kitty, which is a take on ‘Sin City’ and a reference to her nickname, Kitty (yes, I like to keep people with similar names around me; makes me feel important.)

You can find some “useful” phrases for this here, although try thinking up your own too. And also, OneLook is great for searching for parts of words and clever homonyms and RhymeZone is good for looking for… well, rhymes. And there’s this list of homonyms, too.

Examples of wordplay (feel free to use/abuse these): Achilles Hell, Miss Creant, Malady in Waiting, Missing Lynx.

Prefixes/titles

It seems that in the Killjoy world, prefixes are relatively common. Off the top of my head, there’s Agent Cherri Cola, Dr. Death Defying and DJ Hot Chimp. They seem to fit with the character’s roles in the stories and be more honourable than official, but that doesn’t have to always be the case. Try combining that maybe less-than-unique moniker you’ve been thinking about with a prefix/title from this list or my one and see what you come up with.

Examples of titles (feel free to use/abuse these): Major Minor, Miss Alignment, Lady Chance, Doctor Darwin.

MCR references

You may say it’s obvious, but Killjoys are a creation of our lovely boys in MCR so it’s almost fitting to include a reference to MCR in your moniker. And song lyrics (and titles) are normally goldmines for interesting phrases, word combinations or just vocabulary in general – they have to be, after all! That said, a lot of MCR-referencing names are quite common, because we’re all fans of them after all, so if you’re looking for a completely unique name, this may not be the way to go.

Here’s a list of interesting phrases/words I’ve compiled from MCR songs.

Oxymorons

Oxymorons (or oxymora) are always fun to play with; they don’t have to always be the technical sense of oxymorons, which is to cause a paradox (I believe), but just two constrasting words stuck together. In-universe, there is the obvious Party Poison – party = energy, poison = death. Things like Quiet Riot, Silent Scream, Bittersweet, et cetera, make good Killjoy names, at least as bases. Try using something colourful or light-hearted with something dark or grim. Here is a list of common oxymoronic phrases.

Examples of oxymorons (feel free to use/abuse these): Suicide Sweetheart, Sweet Sorrow, Invisible Ink, Perfect Misfit.

Rhyming

Rhyming has been used for decades to create catchy phrases, slogans, songs, poems and names, because something which rhymes often sticks in your brain better than something that doesn’t. Also, rhyming names roll off your tongue well, because the words are similar or have a connection/pattern. That said, perfect rhymes aren’t the only ones you can use – assonance (matching vowels) is also extremely effective, along with half-rhymes and alliteration. The RhymeZone dictionary I mentioned earlier is amazing for finding rhymes, but there’s also Rhymer and you can also just try searching the internet.

Examples of rhymes (feel free to use/abuse these): Honey Money (perfect), Static Addict (assonance), Violent Violet (alliteration), Silver Cleaver (syllabic).

Cliches

Okay, everyone has probably used cliches. That’s why they’re cliches. And I’m not gonna say DON’T DO THIS, because it’s not my place to tell you what you can and can’t have as a Killjoy name. That said, though, I’d like to warn you away from the ‘cliche’ names, ones which are very common or maybe even overused. It may be you absolutely love a name, but if ten other people have the same one, is it still as special? Often, the answer is no. For example, something like Black Mariah, in reference to Hang ‘Em High. It’s actually a really cool name, but it’s also well-known and not very unique, especially considering other people will probably have the same idea and want to use it too. There’s also the basics like Toxic Sunshine (I’ve seen this in loads of places), Demolition Lover, Crimson Blood, et cetera. If you really have your heart set on something other people are using, try taking it adding your own twist to it (look above for some ideas!).

Most of all, though, have fun and enjoy creating your new alias! Don’t ask other people to tell you whether it’s okay or not; if you like it, use it!

Super useful for yall to find your joy names