what's in a name

[threebetrayals]

Sender: Anonymous
To: Everyone
Subject: Names

[Sorry, he's not going to put his "name" to something like this. It's awkward, and given that his "name" right now is just "Nameless Wanderer", he's pretty sure attaching it to this post would get people asking questions that aren't any of their business.]

Do you like your name? What does it mean? Who gave it to you? Would you change it if you could, and if you would what would it be?

I'm doing some research on names and why humans get so attached to them or don't.

Comments

Sender: Maedhros

[holdshisown]

I'm not a human, but my people are fond of naming both ourselves and everything around us.

I do have quite a few names, actually, each one given to me by a different person and with different meanings to all of them. I... have complicated feelings toward most of them, which is why I did end up chosing a different one for myself after a while.

[threebetrayals]

[Sir share some names, please, some of us don't have one.]

Does it mean anything? The name you settled on, I mean.

[holdshisown]

It actually have two different meanings, depending on how you read it. Maedhros could mean either 'shapely redhead' or 'pale-glitter' if you go by the more archaic spelling of the name.

[threebetrayals]

[...seriously?]

And are names like that common with your people? Names that literally descriptive, I mean.

[He is assuming you're a redhead, after all.]

[holdshisown]

[Yes?]

Very much so. Names are a very serious buisness among my people, your name is supposed to give people some small glimpse of who you are. Mother-name's in particular are supposed to be that way since they are somewhat prophetic in nature. And I took half of my own name from my mother-name.

[He would be assuming correctly, then.]

[threebetrayals]

I see.

You said you weren't human. What are you, then?

[holdshisown]

An elf.

[threebetrayals]

What is an elf?

[holdshisown]

We are the firstborn children of Eru, much older than humans and unlike them we are immortal. Once we come of age we do not age as they do, though we can be killed by violence or grief these deaths are not necessarily permanent.

[threebetrayals]

[So...some kind of godling or something. Got it.]

Grief?

[holdshisown]

[Not even remotely similar...]

Too much grief can kill us. We... fade, I suppose you could say.

[threebetrayals]

[He's trying! They don't have elves in Teyvat!]

Fade? As in you just stop existing?

[holdshisown]

[And they only have one somewhat absentee god in Arda! But he's not having too much of a problem accepting there might be others in other worlds!]

Fade as in... our life just slowly but surely fades away until our spirit has completely abandoned our body.

[threebetrayals]

[...so are you guys spirits?? He gives up.]

That sounds horrific. No offense.

[holdshisown]

[Only if they loose their bodies?]

No offense taken. It is horrifying for us too. Who, after all, want's to die such a slow wasting death?

[threebetrayals]

Hopefully that doesn't happen to you.

[Does Wanderer know this guy, personally? No but that still sounds horrific.]

[holdshisown]

Ah. I did manage to avoid such a fate and I... I do hope I wont fall to it here. But, considering I've been doing fairly well I think I wont have to worry.

[This is not entirely true, of course. He'd been pretty close to fading by the end of it, he doubts he'd have lingered long even if he'd chosen not to throw himself off of a ledge.]