Seven! - VOICE; pretend it is after school

[gatewhatgate]

[ He sounds almost surprised to be a network post. There was something. He'd been wondering about it, then he forgot about it, then he remembered it again. ]

Names aren't that important, right? D'you think it's okay not to have one?

'Cause, I mean, people have to call you something. I never really thought about it before. Well, okay, I don't

Comments

voice;

[nottheanswers]

Names are complicated. People are likely to find things to call you even when they aren't provided, and if you're lucky, it will be something you can agree to.

The important thing is, if you had a name, what would you want it to be? If "Monster" is your answer, then there shouldn't be anything wrong with that.

Permavoice

[gatewhatgate]

Oh, I get it! People called me all sorts of things without me having a name. I dunno if I want to be called Monster, but it's the easiest.

[nottheanswers]

Could be. I had a name I didn't feel much connection to for a long time, myself, but convenience can be a big motivator.

If you could be called anything, what would you choose?

[gatewhatgate]

I dunno -- Monster? I can't think of anything else.

Did you change your name, mister?

[nottheanswers]

So it's one you're not sure about, but you don't know of an alternative, either?

And I had, a long time ago. Partly for professional reasons, but also due to that lack of connection. As a name it didn't mean as much to me as it had to others.

[gatewhatgate]

A friend called me it so I kept it. Um. [ He's squirming a bit, though it's audio so it's not seen, but ] D'you like your new name a lot better?

[nottheanswers]

Sounds like my own original name. If you thought of something different you wanted to be called, would you try to go by that instead?

I do like mine. It has its charm.

[gatewhatgate]

It's good that you like yours! But I can't think of anything different, so it doesn't really matter.

[nottheanswers]

There'll be time. If you're comfortable with Monster, it should be fine until you decide on anything else.

I suppose the lack of a name may be curious because of what it says about your situation. Is it unusual not to have a name where you come from?

[gatewhatgate]

Okay, Monster's fine for now.

Well, um, not everybody I know uses their real name, but most people have names unless they're like, NPCs or something. You know, I never remember random hobgoblins names.

[nottheanswers]

Then it's a matter of asking why you weren't given one.

[gatewhatgate]

Well, nobody was around. And then nobody cared.

[nottheanswers]

I think that is the implication everyone may be worried about. A name can be more than a marker of identity or history, but an indication of one's relevance.

And so you meet these people who do think you're important enough to be called something, and you are, but neither of you are sure what it should be.

And so, we have "Monster".

[gatewhatgate]

[ sounding more than a bit confused: ] That other guy said that it was a marker of control by the government or whatever, and - um, wait, and so we have Monster what?

[nottheanswers]

As the alternative.

And while it is true that names carry a certain power, I'd consider it naive to think the government is the only body to make use of it.

[gatewhatgate]

Wait a second.

Other people are trying to use names for bad stuff too?