rionaleonhart: revolutionary girl utena: utena has fallen asleep on her schoolwork. (sort of exhausted really)
Riona ([personal profile] rionaleonhart) wrote2024-12-11 03:40 pm

Meanwhile, I Just Title My Blog Posts With Whatever First Comes To Mind.

Titles are something I've always struggled with when writing fanfiction. I thought I'd take a look back at the fics I've posted this year and note down exactly why I chose the titles I did.

What I'm hoping is that, if I force myself to think consciously about why I choose story titles, the process might become a little easier in future. And, hey, even if it doesn't help, it might be an interesting exercise.

In reverse chronological order, my fic titles for this year:



Two Become One (Better Half, Thiu/Thiu). Taken from the Spice Girls song '2 Become 1', naturally! I was amused by the circularity here: Thiu, originally one person, was split into two people, but then those two people became a couple. One becomes two become one.

It's possible this title implies a larger focus on sex than the fic actually has. I apologise to anyone I've disappointed.

I also considered One Becomes Two, which I thought sounded even sillier than just straightforwardly using the Spice Girls title, and skipped a beat, from one of my favourite lines in the game: 'I can't believe my heart skipped a beat over this shit.' I tried to find a title that related to sharing a bed in some way, as that's a big focus of the fic, but nothing came to mind!

Wild Lands (Divilethion). From the excellent Koethe song 'Wild Lands'! Some of Koethe's music is inspired by the Life Is Strange series; I've always associated 'Wild Lands' with Life Is Strange 2 (although I don't know whether that was actually the inspiration for it), so it felt fitting for a story about brothers on the run. The song's lyrics - blood on our hands, 'we aren't innocent' - also seemed to fit Lynn.

This is actually the second fic I've titled after 'Wild Lands'; the first, from 2021, was blood upon our hands (Life Is Strange: True Colors).

Possibilities (Final Fantasy XV, Prompto/Ignis). One of my most common titling techniques, I regret to report, is 'I give up; I'm just going to use a word that's vaguely related to the story.' Prompto's haunted by the possibility that he could sleep with Ignis, even if Ignis doesn't actually love him back. Therefore: Possibilities. Nothing interesting, but it functions.

Crossroads and Crosshairs (Life Is Strange 2/The Coffin of Andy and Leyley). I like this one, actually! Sean crosses paths with Andrew and Ashley: crossroads. And then they hold him at gunpoint: crosshairs. I initially considered Crossing Paths and Crosshairs, but then I concluded that Crossroads and Crosshairs sounded better.

The only unfortunate aspect of this title: I already have a fic that's just called Crossroads (Danganronpa 2, Hinata/Komaeda). Whoops!

I suppose there's one other unfortunate aspect: Sean is threatened with a pistol, so there aren't technically crosshairs involved. They're metaphorical crosshairs. It's fine.

The Person You've Become (The Coffin of Andy and Leyley, Andrew/Ashley, NB incest). A theme I'm interested in when it comes to Andrew is the fact that he could have been someone else. Ashley embraces the person she is, but Andrew is haunted by the idea that, if it weren't for Ashley's influence, maybe he could have had a different life. The keywords for my Andrew icon on Dreamwidth are 'this is who you are now', and thinking along the same lines led me to name this fic The Person You've Become.

No Way Out (The Coffin of Andy and Leyley). There's no way out of their apartment; there's no way out of their relationship. They can't even envision who they'd be without each other.

Power Exchange (Metaphor: ReFantazio, everyone/everyone). There's a lot of sex in this fic for the purpose of literally transferring power, so it's very convenient that 'power exchange' is an established phrase in the realm of kink!

A Helping Hand (Omori). This title was intended to evoke the fact that the hallucinatory hands could be beneficial, rather than hostile, and also to reference Kel helping to settle Sunny down. It doesn't quite work for me, though; it's maybe a bit too cute for the tone of the fic.

New Experiences (Death Note, Light/Ryuk). This one's about as straightforward as a title gets. Light bangs a death god; it is very much a new experience, on both sides.

Shape of the Heart (Metaphor: ReFantazio, protagonist/Strohl). This title comes from 'Empire' by Of Monsters and Men, which I was listening to a lot at the time. In the fic, the protagonist is trying to make sense of his own feelings; he's trying to discern the shape of his heart.

Close Contact (Metaphor: ReFantazio, protagonist/Strohl). The protagonist and Strohl are sharing a bath together: straightforward physical close contact. The fic also looks at how Strohl has reassessed his thoughts since coming into close contact with the elda race.

After Hours (Ace Attorney, Apollo/Athena). Apollo and Athena fall asleep on each other at the office... after hours. Very much an 'I couldn't think of anything else' title.

Always Believe (Ace Attorney/Death Note). 'Always believe in your client' is a concept that recurs in the Ace Attorney series, so I thought it would be fun to evoke it in the title of this fic, in which Phoenix Wright's client absolutely did all those murders.

Cold Comfort (Death Note, Light/L). It's cold, and they're snuggling up to each other, which would usually be considered a comfort. But it's not very comforting, because they both want to destroy each other; therefore it's cold comfort. There's a fine line between 'nuanced title' and 'stupid pun'.

Above It All (Danganronpa, Togami/Kirigiri). Titled for Togami's conviction, soon to be tested, that he will remain entirely in command and physically unaffected during sex with Kirigiri. As with Always Believe, there's a touch of irony here.

Captured (Danganronpa 2, Hinata/Koizumi). I've already spoken in the end-of-year fic meme about why I don't think this title works. Koizumi's a photographer, so I wanted to use a photography term. I thought 'Captured' might fit with the way Hinata and Koizumi are cornered into sharing a bed, and might also evoke the idea of capturing a heart. But it sounds like it should be the title of a darker fic; it doesn't quite click for a cute little piece about awkward bedsharing.

Reciprocation (In Stars and Time, Isabeau/Siffrin). This is another title with an element of irony; Siffrin doesn't reciprocate. Or, rather, Siffrin reciprocates Isabeau's confession but doesn't reciprocate his feelings, with unfortunate consequences all round.

Closing the Circle (If We Were Villains, Oliver/everyone). This fic is about Oliver, in love with James, trying to exorcise his feelings by sleeping with everyone in their friend group except James. When he eventually approaches James, having already slept with everyone else, he's making the final link; he's closing the circle.

Life After Looping (In Stars and Time). A fic about trying to cope in the aftermath of a time loop. The title is straightforward, but it doesn't feel as lazy as a lot of my more straightforward titles, so I don't mind it; it works.

One Lucky Resident (Scrubs, Cox/Elliot). I had no idea what to call this, so I just used a phrase from the fic itself. Dr Cox, when he approaches Elliot, lies that he chooses 'one lucky resident' to sleep with per year.

Making Space (Final Fantasy XIII). Again, this is a pretty straightforward title. Sazh is worried that there's no longer space for him in Vanille's life, but they can still make that space.

Regrets (Final Fantasy XVI, Joshua/Clive, NB incest). A lot of my one-word titles are copouts, but I think this one works. This fic is about the conflict between the regrets Clive fears (the regret of sleeping with Joshua) and the regrets Joshua fears (the regret of not sleeping with Clive), and Clive's eventual decision to accept regret for the sake of his brother.

Divisions (Final Fantasy VII, Barret/Tifa/Aerith/Cloud). The idea here is that the characters are breaking down the divisions between their individual relationships to end up in one big relationship, but, to be honest, it's not a great title. I can never remember what this fic is called.

Wake Up (Final Fantasy VIII, Squall/Zell). This fic is about Zell waiting for Squall to wake up from his coma, and it's also about Zell waking up to his own feelings. As this is a loose rewrite of my early fic I Need You, I considered titling it something like I Need You (2024 Remix), but in the end I decided to go with something that allowed this fic to stand alone, rather than implying that it's necessary to read the original.

Understanding (Erased). This fic is about being repeatedly killed in a time loop until you understand your killer well enough to be able to break out. Very much one of my one-word copout titles, but at least it's thematically fitting.

Through the Looking Glass (Severance). This is an Alice reference, of course: the idea of crossing into another world (where, in this case, 'another world' just means 'not being at work for once'). There's also the concept of reflection, which makes sense for a fic in which two different versions of the same character meet each other.

The Fourth Temper (Severance, Mark/Helly, NB dubcon). Mark partakes in a workplace sex ritual with people dressed as the Four Tempers. Three of the Tempers are safely anonymous. The fourth Temper: whoops, it's your colleague, and things are now extremely awkward.

Across the Threshold (Severance, Mark/Helly). Helly's work self and Mark's non-work self are able to speak across the threshold of the office door. Regrettably, I have used the title format 'Across the X' five million times and can never be allowed to touch it again. (My other fics include Across the Distance, Across the Line, Across the Ocean, Across the Spectrum and Across the Road.)



I've kept an eye out for patterns during this title analysis exercise, and what I've deduced is that I like ironic titles and titles with dual meanings or dual relevance. And, er, absolute copout titles where I just grab the first half-relevant word I can think of.
abyssal_sylph: Venus has her hands in front of her mouth, she is looking straight ahead, at something utterly beautiful, she's in a forest. (venus (wktd))

[personal profile] abyssal_sylph 2024-12-11 08:47 pm (UTC)(link)
This seems like fun to do! I really want to do the same thing (aka: analyze why I chose the titles I did for my fics). Hope you don't mind! (I will link back to this post as the inspiration if you don't mind!)

[edit:] IDK how I forgot to mention this, but I like the way you type out your thoughts. Interesting(/pos) reasoning behind most of the titles ^_^
Edited 2024-12-11 20:48 (UTC)
abyssal_sylph: Hero is on Aubrey's side, he's smilling while holding Aubrey's shoulder, Aubrey is looking away, blushy. (pink popcorn (omori))

[personal profile] abyssal_sylph 2024-12-11 10:06 pm (UTC)(link)
I made the post ^_^
alaterdate: Emily smiling with roses (LDM Emily)

[personal profile] alaterdate 2024-12-11 08:56 pm (UTC)(link)

I love your blog post titles! I always wonder how you come up with such creative and interesting titles. Titles are hard.

I just defaulted either 1) The first thing that pops into my head or 2) To the song title thing because it's easy. I have a page in a notebook that is just song lyrics I like that could be titles. Sometimes the fic is inspired by the lyric, sometimes I just choose one that fits.

I like your underlying thoughts for your fic titles. Ironic and dual meaning titles always tickle the brain, so I think you have great taste in titles. This is an interesting exercise. Your fic analysis is always enjoyable!

scytale: (Default)

[personal profile] scytale 2024-12-11 09:02 pm (UTC)(link)
This was fun to read through ;D

One of my most common titling techniques, I regret to report, is 'I give up; I'm just going to use a word that's vaguely related to the story.'

High five!
doreyg: Volo from Pokemon Arceus looking thoughtful with a slight smile ([Pokemon] Thoughtful)

[personal profile] doreyg 2024-12-11 09:05 pm (UTC)(link)
I loved reading your thoughts on your titling process!

I generally go for song lyrics for my titles. There are some exceptions that I actually put thought into, but I definitely have a tendency to go for one of the more recent things I've been listening to. XD
risingcomet: (Default)

[personal profile] risingcomet 2024-12-11 09:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Struggling with titles is SO real. I'd have a full fic finished but not once did I think of an idea for the title. So I usually just borrow from songs or name whatever comes to mind (begging my friends for name ideas is also an option!).
wolfy_writing: (Default)

[personal profile] wolfy_writing 2024-12-11 11:44 pm (UTC)(link)
'Deus ex Fuckina'.

Okay, some of your friends are clearly evil geniuses.
risingcomet: (Default)

[personal profile] risingcomet 2024-12-11 11:53 pm (UTC)(link)
FOR REAL! Saving those titles for future use even if I may never use them

(Anonymous) 2024-12-11 10:52 pm (UTC)(link)
I think my favourite of yours is Crossroads and Crosshairs. I feel like that one works really well and definitely sounds better than the original.

I thought I might play along with this with all time titles, but frankly many of my older efforts are so embarrassing, but not even interestingly embarassasing? So I'll just pick some out that I either really like or which stand out as poor but noteworthy.

I'll put the year after them to distance myself from my failures!

Zamochit (Mediator) (2005) - Look, this one had to go on here. For one, who the hell is going to know what that title means? It's just pretentious. Second of all, it's not accurate to the part of fic that was posted, and I don't even think it'd have been accurate if I carried on. I like dark, but this is too specific for me. Anyway, if you couldn't tell, this is a word that I encountered in a book I was reading at the time and found very exciting as I didn't know it and I enjoy learning vocabulary. So I decided to use it (poorly!) in a fic title. I couldn't actually remember what book I got this from so I googled it to try and work it out, and I think it may have been Big Bad Wolf by James Patterson? I used to read a lot of Patterson books in my early teens so seems a good shout. (And if you're wondering what Zamochit is... I couldn't quite remember either beyond the general vibe, so google tells me "an old Russian method of murder which involves the breaking of every single bone in the body, one by one." The story, incidentally, featured no bone breaking.)

Lone Flame on the Water (Harry Potter)(2006) - I do like this one, there's an image I try to use at the end of the fic that it references - which is basically tea light candles (or a more magical equivalent) floating on a lake in memory of the dead as Regulus steals the Horcrux.

Adumbrate (Kingdom Hearts)(2009) - This title is a return of the school of "ma, I learned a new word!", but it's at least more accurate. It means to foreshadow / represent in outline, and I feel both of those are appropriate for a look at virtual Twilight Town and Pence waking up without a voice and a sense of unease as he can't remember Roxas but some vestiges of that memory remains. I don't mind this one as much, though again, maybe a tad pretentious?

Interrogation Interaction (Persona 4)(2009) - I'm noting this one as I've never been sure what to think of this title. I'm pretty sure I went with it as I like alliteration, the -tion repetition, and it is accurate to what's going on in the fic. But it sounds really clunky to me as you just wouldn't use the two words together like that.

Tripartite (Warchild)(2016) - I'll include my summary here: "Tripartite: involving three people or organizations, or existing in three parts. Or: In which Jos feels torn between his past and present, and expectations of what he should be." And this is why I like it: it perfectly encapsulates what I was trying to do in this fic. Jos' story is very much in three parts, and fully falls into the three people/organisations idea too: kid Jos on the merchant ship Mukudori (and his capture aboard Genghis Khan with Falcone), Jos rescued and growing up on Aaian-na and his devotion to Niko, Jos on Macedon as a symp spy to report on Captain Azarcon. A key part of Warchild is the conflict between all of these parts and how they together influence him.

Overlay/Uncover (Warchild)(2018) - I did something a bit different with this one. It's a sort of play on a synonym/antonym style title, and it's also thematically relevant to how I presented the story. It's told in two different points of view, and the first part is OVERLAY/Uncover while the second part is Overlay/UNCOVER. First takes Evan's POV as his memories of the past overlay his present as he tries to grapple with his memories of being a child on Macedon (and captured on Genghis Khan) with Jos, where he was the older one and the source of comfort, to him being on Macedon facing a very different Jos who is completely shut down, who he knows was taken by a symp (although he vehemently denies it) and their dynamic is completely reversed, as well as Evan only being able to translate gratitude physically while Jos abhors physical contact. The second part takes an outsider POV (Aki!) on Jos and Evan's relationship because Jos is allergic to talking about caring about people even in internal narration it turns out, and she concedes: "Maybe he always knew [this is how Jos shows concern], while the rest of us have had to uncover Jos layer by layer over the years, and still haven’t quite got to that core." So yeah, I really like this one.

A Trip Down Memory Lane (New Tricks)(2021) - I also enjoy this one as it's a multi-purpose title. It is a trip down memory lane back to the beginning of New Tricks, when Brian decides to interview as a civilian consultant to the police despite his work in the police having destroyed him. Within that, it's also a bit of a trip to that time when he was at his lowest. Brian Lane also has the nickname "Memory Lane" for having an eidetic memory, which also makes the direct link to Brian. Plus, technically, there's also a story of a trip that goes wrong in here - so it just works on multiple levels, and I enjoy those sorts of titles.

I'm definitely much better at titles than I used to be! My old ones are nearly all terrible!

-timydamonkey
wolfy_writing: (Default)

[personal profile] wolfy_writing 2024-12-11 11:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Titles are so hard! I definitely like either Meaningful Quote or grabbing the first half-relevant word I can think of when I title things.

Your post titles, for the record, are consistently amazing.
ai: dark magician girl laying on the ground holding a valentine's chocolate to her face (a19)

[personal profile] ai 2024-12-12 07:57 am (UTC)(link)
This was a most excellent read. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and processes: ironic titles ARE fun.

I think coming up with titles is the main reason I never really post anything with my name attached. It's easier to dump a fanfic under an anonymous comment as a request fill if I don't have to spend hours thinking about the title. It's an anonymous comment. I'll never have to think about it again. Therefore it does not need a title.
ai: a blue haired girl propping her head up with both of her hands (mk hands)

[personal profile] ai 2024-12-14 04:44 pm (UTC)(link)
The big "oh no" upon realizing that... I'm sorry, but hey! More of a chance to flex your title making skills? Haha.
muscle_wizard: (Elizabeth // Curious)

[personal profile] muscle_wizard 2024-12-12 12:55 pm (UTC)(link)
I really enjoyed this post! You've got me thinking on my own fic catalogue hmmm.

I personally love the use of ironic or misleading titles, but I suppose that's up to personal taste, haha. I think one word titles are always the refuge of: "Damn, I thought of everything but the title." I have been there sooooo many times.

From the beginning but when you contemplated "skipped a beat," because it was based on one of your favorite lines that's one of my favorite bits! To take moments from canon and segment the part that really appeals to you.

If I have the time today I might try my hand at my own post with the handful of fics that popped up in my mind reading this!
muscle_wizard: (Default)

[personal profile] muscle_wizard 2024-12-13 11:40 am (UTC)(link)
I did end up writing it!

It's nice when the brain ends up cooperating lol.
(deleted comment)
isprinceofcats: Picture of a blue squid guy with yellow sparkles. Caption reads "Edward Cullamari: the body emits light, and light is dazzling." (Default)

[personal profile] isprinceofcats 2024-12-15 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)
Riona, please don't do these good people a disservice by pretending that "Above It All" wasn't a reference to the surgeons vs doctors song in Scrubs. (I know that would have been significantly less comprehensible, given the fic's subject matter, but this is the reality I'm choosing to occupy anyway.)

I've only written one fic this year, and I think my title choice is fairly self-explanatory, but I might give this concept a go next year! If...if I write anything that's not That One Fic next year.
Edited 2024-12-15 20:45 (UTC)
isprinceofcats: Picture of a blue squid guy with yellow sparkles. Caption reads "Edward Cullamari: the body emits light, and light is dazzling." (Default)

[personal profile] isprinceofcats 2024-12-15 09:03 pm (UTC)(link)
"Okay, so this one's called The Devil Wears Prada, because in it, Bill murders someone named Prada and turns them into a skinsuit."
Edited 2024-12-15 21:03 (UTC)
tinkaton: eleanor shellstrop | the good place (♥︎ lizard)

[personal profile] tinkaton 2024-12-19 12:12 am (UTC)(link)
'I give up; I'm just going to use a word that's vaguely related to the story.'

sadly this is what I often resort to doing sjdhfkjsf

I'm always impressed by people who can come up with clever titles. (Your blog post titles are included in that because they always make me laugh.) Your reasonings for your fic titles were interesting to read! If I can't immediately think of a relevant song lyric or common idiom/phrase that works for a title I'm just like oh well nobody looks at fic titles anyway so cop-out title it is! (<---me coping with my uncreative titles)
meteordust: (Default)

[personal profile] meteordust 2024-12-23 12:58 pm (UTC)(link)
I really enjoyed hearing about the process behind each title! I love dual meaning titles too, or ones that take on a new meaning after reading the fic.

I've been trying to come up with unique titles for my fic, but I'm also guilty of the first-half-relevant-word title.

I'll usually search AO3 to see if there's already a fic in that fandom with the same title, to avoid confusion. But sometimes a title is too good to give up.
meteordust: (Default)

[personal profile] meteordust 2024-12-27 11:06 am (UTC)(link)
Family Business is such a great title for Supernatural though!