#zeromylesperhour

Anon said: So I have another question about names! For reasons, I've always been called by my middle name over my first name by people close to me. Would it count as not giving my name to the fae if I use my first name, which I don't feel as connected to?

Anon said: Didn't the tradition of giving middle names to children came from superstition about the power of true names. This got me thinking, are you ok in Elsewhere U if you have a middle name and you use your first- and last name freely, and do the school official papers keep record of the middle names of the students

theperidotshade said: On the subject of names at Elsewhere University, I'm curious about how it would work out for people like me who go by our middle names/double names. They're essentially nicknames, because we actively choose which of our names to go by, but they were still given to us, so...?

ambicolor said: Sorry if this has been asked before, but what about middle names? My cousin goes by his, but would that count as a true name?

automatomicatomaton said: On the bit about true names - how much power do middle names have?

For some people their identity is very much tied up in their full name and the sense of connection to family it provides, among other reasons; for these people it would be an extremely bad idea to give away any part of it, although full control would possibly be dependent on knowing the full name.

For others, who only feel a strong connection to a piece of their full name, the parts that don’t mean anything to you wouldn’t have any power. However, giving out any part your name that might be on record would be inadvisable. Even if your first or last name alone doesn’t carry any significance, it would make it easier for something to potentially dig up your full name and work out the piece that does mean something. The University takes great care with the official paperwork, and it’s generally considered secure between the custom iron file folders and the encrypted online systems, but, you know. Murphy’s Law.

Anon said: Okay, so on the topic of true names I have something that I've been wondering about. I have two names (English and Hebrew) both given to me by my parents. Which do you think would count as my true name, or is it just a situation of having more to hide from Them?

Anon said: ooo for true names - what about those of us who were born with two different names in two different languages, gifted at the same time? We're one in one country and a different name in another - which name would be our true name? The one used more often? The one which was technically written down first?

It depends what they mean to you – if one is significantly more fundamental to your sense of self than the other, that would be your true name; if they’re equally important they should both be hidden (although I think potentially with two True Names, one would need to know both in order to have full power over you. If you were given a command by someone who Named you with only one of your two names, the compulsion would be strong but you’d stand a chance of resisting).

Anon said: would there be a loophole around being controlled by your given name if They mispronounced it? Like, if you were to give Them your own name written down, and when They speak it They mispronounce it... ? Would that negate the control, while still being a fair trade on your part?

theperidotshade said: Also, what if someone pronounces their name differently than it's phonetically spelled, or typically pronounced? Could they use the typical pronunciation and be safe, or is it about more than just how the name is spoken?

A mispronounced name – a name spoken differently than the version you know to be yours -couldn’t control you. A spoken or signed (as in sign language, not signature) name holds power, and so it must be spoken correctly. A written name does not, in the sense that if someone who knew your true name slipped you a note with your name and a command, you would not be compelled to obey it. But honestly banking on mispronunciation would barely buy you time at all – they’d figure out how to say it sooner rather than later, if only by repeating it a hundred times with increasingly outlandish inflections.

Anon said: So let's say someone was trans and they hadn't come out yet but they had already picked a name out would that be the name they shouldn't give to the gentry?

Yeah, it would – it doesn’t matter how many other people know it (and the fewer the better among people on campus). What makes it a true name is that it’s who you consider yourself to be.

Anon said: Okay, what about a hypothetical scenario in which all of the logistical issues are handwaved away and a person has no "true name"? Like, hippie parents living off the grid (no birth certificates) who just wait, making no assumptions because they believe in self-determination, until their little tyke is old enough to choose a name?

If you’re in the unusual position of never having found a name that you feel a strong connection to, you would be invulnerable in this particular aspect of campus life.

curiousmindsinlurve said: About the names thing theoretically speaking if someone got married and took on their spouses' last name would their maiden name hold more power? Or is it vice versa?

Whichever holds the most significance – I imagine that it varies pretty wildly between people who are radiantly happy to share their loved one’s last name and people who have changed their name because it’s customary but still feel a strong connection to their maiden name and the family history that comes with it.

mithrils-hanger said: Elsewhere U musings, and i suspect that my RPG writer experience has given me a skewed perspective of what is important, but. can you imagine how intense the University's efforts at protecting their records must be? forget mundane identity theft issues, the Payroll, Registrar, and Records departments house untold numbers of true names in their files. every employee. every student. present and all those past. even something as simple as an attendance roster could spell the doom of a student.

nickystar said: A question about EU, if it hasn't been answered already: I assume that to enroll at the school, you'd legally have to apply using your real name, and those in charge of the school would keep these names on lists somewhere. But how do they keep the Fair Folk from finding them and using them for their gain, and who all would have access to the names?

Everything legally and unavoidably essential is kept locked in custom iron filing folders and behind several layers of encryption in the heavily guarded computer systems, in the heavily guarded offices that deal with these things. Students and professors are referred to from the first week on by their chosen names, and they’re kept track of with student ID numbers and photos. It’s not usual for the exhaustively screened staff in charge of all this to have nightmares about making a mistake.

oddloop said: I feel true names would still have power. Whether or not its chosen or given, it is your power and closer to your heart, so by giving that knowledge to someone else you share your power, give them the power over you that you have yourself

True names absolutely have power – it’s hooked into the fundamentals of who you know yourself to be. It can obviously be used for harm, to compel you against your will. But it can be used to save you - this is the flipside. If you’ve eaten the food underhill, if you are too enchanted or dazzled or lost to find your own way back to your own mind, someone who knows your true name can break the spell and call you home.

pretzel-log1c said: In certain tales, Nicknames can be just as powerful as True Names. Especially if they are given. Are their any students that get trapped into the mold of their nickname? Like say, if a student went by Mouse?

It’s happened before. With any luck you don’t choose a safename that has any huge significance to you, and you’re aware enough of your own emotions to tell if you’re getting too attached to it. But these are not guarantees.

Your nickname probably won’t change you. But the rules are bendy here.

tookmelongenough-right said: In regards to Elsewhere U and names, I remember a series where you could bargain to give away one name per boon, so someone could, if they were desperate enough, make up to three deals with the fae. Four, if you had two last names.

If your true name is your full name all together, if you name yourself with the entirety of it – then yes, you could sell it piece by piece. Each fragment would have some power, enough to buy something valuable, if they thought you’d be coming back to make another deal or three.

kikinickle said: Another question about True Names: If you've had a nickname as long as you've had your real name, given to you at birth (or even before birth) and used as often as your legal name (though by fewer people) throughout your life, does it count as much as your legally given name?