Ahaha. I basically just wrote this exact comment in reply to luciazephyr above and then deleted because I thought it was getting too tl;dr for the anon meme. So in other words, I feel you!
I have a nickname that was used all through childhood, and I have my legal name which has always been used by a different set of people than the nickname (which is still used by people who've known me since childhood), and then there are several versions of my legal name, and then there's my online handle which at this point I've been using for a significant portion of my life, and is mostly a written name because it doesn't really have a set pronunciation, and then there's my stylized initials which I almost feel more strongly about than any of my spoken names because I put it on things I'm putting my honor/pride into, then there's the fact that when I'm calling myself something in my head it's never my name, it's "kid," or "lady," or something like that, because I don't really feel myself in any of those names: and actually I tend to think my naming history is simpler than a lot of folks', because after all, I've never legally changed it, nor even made a particular effort to get people to use a different nickname.
So. ...this is kind of a thing with me. I have no idea what my own Name would be.
A lot of fantasy novels deal with it by having truenames be something entirely separate from the names we get called? In fact in some fantasy novels I think truenames are a lot closer to what Dresden thinks of as a soulgaze - they're not language, they're imagery. Or they're really complicated, long descriptions, which are constantly changing or growing, like the computer-code like truenames in Young Wizards.
But I kind of like what Dresden Files does with it, because you have the spirit creatures who really are there names, because in some ways they are as simple as a single unchanging word, spoken. And you have people like the White Council wizards, who treat, and empower, their names like almost like the Sidhe do, because they've been taught early on to protect and value them, and maybe also because, dealing with the forces they deal with, they need that rock-solid version of self that they can turn to in extremity and know who they are.
But your average vanilla mortal - and this gets mentioned at least once in one of the early books - their names aren't stable, aren't simple, are hardly worth the collecting, because by the time you've bought the name and set up the spell, half the time they've changed their mind about who they are, even if they ever had just one person that they were in the first place. And yet they still have power, because all names have power, it's what names are for, you just have to be like quicksilver through a net to get a hold on it. Mortals are tricksy like that. ^_^
And ooh, your last two paragraphs fascinate me, because either I wasn't paying enough attention when reading the books, or I just haven't yet gotten to the relevant books. Because that DOES make a whole lot of sense, in terms of how names work in the DF universe. In fact, that stuff is awesome.
THIS yeah, I think the RPG book says a mortal's Name will only be fresh for a few months. Wizard's Names last quite a bit longer. Immortal Names tend to be absolute.
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timeasmymeasure
Re: A haunting in Iowa City
Date: 2011-03-11 07:02 am (UTC)I have a nickname that was used all through childhood, and I have my legal name which has always been used by a different set of people than the nickname (which is still used by people who've known me since childhood), and then there are several versions of my legal name, and then there's my online handle which at this point I've been using for a significant portion of my life, and is mostly a written name because it doesn't really have a set pronunciation, and then there's my stylized initials which I almost feel more strongly about than any of my spoken names because I put it on things I'm putting my honor/pride into, then there's the fact that when I'm calling myself something in my head it's never my name, it's "kid," or "lady," or something like that, because I don't really feel myself in any of those names: and actually I tend to think my naming history is simpler than a lot of folks', because after all, I've never legally changed it, nor even made a particular effort to get people to use a different nickname.
So. ...this is kind of a thing with me. I have no idea what my own Name would be.
A lot of fantasy novels deal with it by having truenames be something entirely separate from the names we get called? In fact in some fantasy novels I think truenames are a lot closer to what Dresden thinks of as a soulgaze - they're not language, they're imagery. Or they're really complicated, long descriptions, which are constantly changing or growing, like the computer-code like truenames in Young Wizards.
But I kind of like what Dresden Files does with it, because you have the spirit creatures who really are there names, because in some ways they are as simple as a single unchanging word, spoken. And you have people like the White Council wizards, who treat, and empower, their names like almost like the Sidhe do, because they've been taught early on to protect and value them, and maybe also because, dealing with the forces they deal with, they need that rock-solid version of self that they can turn to in extremity and know who they are.
But your average vanilla mortal - and this gets mentioned at least once in one of the early books - their names aren't stable, aren't simple, are hardly worth the collecting, because by the time you've bought the name and set up the spell, half the time they've changed their mind about who they are, even if they ever had just one person that they were in the first place. And yet they still have power, because all names have power, it's what names are for, you just have to be like quicksilver through a net to get a hold on it. Mortals are tricksy like that. ^_^
Re: A haunting in Iowa City
Date: 2011-03-11 07:13 am (UTC)And ooh, your last two paragraphs fascinate me, because either I wasn't paying enough attention when reading the books, or I just haven't yet gotten to the relevant books. Because that DOES make a whole lot of sense, in terms of how names work in the DF universe. In fact, that stuff is awesome.
Re: A haunting in Iowa City
Date: 2011-03-11 07:26 am (UTC)