Decision on Hannu's Name in Shadows!

[lit_gal]

Thank you, especially to the European flist members. So, to sum it up, Hannu is a perfectly fine name, but clearly a Finnish name which might cause confusion. So, I like Hannu, and I think of Hannu as Hannu and don't want to change it. Instead, I edited chapter four to include this little conversation when Blair, Hannu, Clare and Karl head back early for lunch...

A tiny bit of a revised chapter four...

Listening in on the other half of their team, Jim could hear Blair's voice rattling on about how he was usually much better with missions. No one was rushing to reassure him. Jim gritted his teeth and spent a moment listening to that distant conversation.

"So, Hannu? Isn't that a girl's name? Man, that must not be such a easy name for a soldier to have, huh?" Blair asked. Jim flinched and wondered if he was going to have to go rescue his guide. He didn't feel any easier when a long silence followed.

"Blair... that must not be such an easy name for a man to have," Knudsen finally retorted.

Blair immediately began laughing, the sound bouncing and skittering on the concrete and steel separating Jim from his guide. "Oh man, you have no idea. I learned to talk fast and run faster when I was a kid, but it's not like I have a whole lot of manliness to defend. I let the alpha dogs bash their heads into each other while I just watch from a safe distance, anyway. But you? You like ooze testosterone."

"I... I ooze testosterone?" Jim knew that Knudsen's English was perfect, so he was guessing the confusion he could hear was because the man was trying to understand Sandburg.

"Totally," Blair agreed enthusiastically.

"I actually have had no trouble with the name. Hanne is common enough for a woman, but Hannu is Finnish. I am named after my grandfather."

"Ah. Cool. Blair means 'dweller of the plains and fields.' Mom was totally into wandering the earth and getting in touch with her spiritual truths, so she wanted to give me a name that would remind me to do the same. Of course, then I went and hooked up with a cop and started taking on gunmen with water hoses and vending machines, so I'm not so sure it worked."

Jim could hear the disbelief in the silence, but then if he hadn't been there for Blair's adventures in creative weaponry, he probably wouldn't believe it either. And then without taking a breath, Blair was off on how his necklace was topaz, which had supposed mystical properties to sharpen thinking and encourage both creativity and pragmatism. When Blair then went off on the placebo effect of psychological talismans, Jim made a mental note to pin his guide down later and figure out what was running through the man's head to get him so worked up. Luckily Tobias was off on the refractive properties of gemstones and Jurgen was happily chatting away about psychological crap. He should have known that Blair would win over the two scientists even if Makepeace clearly still had issues. Makepeace's issues had issues when it came to Blair.

Comments

[velvetwhip.livejournal.com]

Brilliant! Great save! Plus, it reads very smooth and natural to me, so it's a good addition all 'round.


gabrielle

[lit-gal.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad. I had to switch some stuff around, but I don't want to completely ignore the issue.

[knitty-woman.livejournal.com]

This is helpful and very in-character. I'm not European, and I was actually having trouble remembering that Hannu was a male. Nice resolution to the issue.

[lit-gal.livejournal.com]

Apparently the Finns are a breed unto themselves when naming their babies. I'll have to keep that in mind for the future.

[laurie-ky.livejournal.com]

Excellent re-working. And throwing Blair's name in just added to the save.
Laurie

[lit-gal.livejournal.com]

He really doesn't have the manliest of names himself, so calling someone else girly is a little.... nervy.

[(Anonymous)]

Wow, you fit that in wonderfully! I really that with the Hannu name stuff, we got a whole lot of Blair being Blair, and his commentary on his own name.

Hannu's reaction to Blair...priceless. "I...I ooze testosterone?" tee hee.

A great little story accent from the whole name controversy, and it fits in so well that no one would even notice if they were reading it for the first time.

Yay!

-Jenna

[lit-gal.livejournal.com]

I thought that if I had to flip stuff around and give them a conversation, that I really wanted to do some development. I think this shows just how much Blair doesn't fit in this world. And yeah, Hannu is now officially confused by Blair-logic.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

That works fine. And I loved the addition of Blair explaining his own name. *g* Of course, then I went and hooked up with a cop and started taking on gunmen with water hoses and vending machines, so I'm not so sure it worked. *laughs*

[lit-gal.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad, and this fits thematically with the team not connecting but struggling to find some way to connect. Jim does it through the physical (training) and Blair tries to talk his way into it. I think the story is better for it.

[shakatany.livejournal.com]

I didn't comment earlier because I couldn't add anything helpful. It's a wonderful nice save.
I once kept a list of all the (American) names I came across that are gender ambivalent like Leslie, Marion etc. I think a lot of names that were originally male names have been given to girls so now they are considered feminine. Foreign names can be equally confusing - I recall that I went huh? when I first came across Erich Maria Remarque.

Shakatany

[chaoskir.livejournal.com]

Arrgh it sounds so interesting and I like the tiny bit. I want to know what's going on. I love the fanfiction about The Sentinel.
So All the The Sentinel story make me sooo curious and I really wished I could buy the DVD's anywhere.

[orchidluv.livejournal.com]

Ah, I'm so far behind on my reading. I'm promising myself I'll catch up with several stories (including this one) as soon as NTS Book 2 is finished, but I wanted a dip into your LJ tonight and I found this little bit which is delightful. So Blair to be at once utterly oblivious to the impression he's making and at the same time so calculating, because he totally knows how disarming and charming he can be. Really looking forward to reading this from start to finish shortly.