A Note On Pseudonyms

[redbrunja]

 nimblnymph  was commenting about sexism in language, and it got me thinking about usernames. Specifically, (and I know I have people on my flist who do this and I don't mean to be insulting, this is totally just my opinion) how much I hate it when people use some part of a character's name in their username.

You know.

Mrs_Hatake

I_heart_hakkai.

Anything with Snape or Severus.

Even more subtle references: blooming_sakura or whatever cause me to twitch.

First, I always wonder how long you are going to like that character enough that you want them to be the most visible part of how you present yourself online. Secondly, I make the assumption that you are fourteen and feel the need to wave around your fictional boyfriend or (also fairly common) your OTP like a banner. I also (despite knowing really excellent writers who do this, and often aren't writing about the character referenced in their handle) assume that your fanfic is not worth my time.

Comments

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Dressing up as someone else just seems like a terrible derailment of the whole point of the process.

Yep. Regardless of how much you both like a series and a pairing, the fact of the matter is that she is not going to be living with Roy Mustang and he's not going to be living with Riza Hawkeye.

piped to the kirk,

? That sounds kind of dirty.

both of us letting our fondness for a few special fandoms creep into the reception favors...well, that's just a small part of the larger tapestry. No problem there

Agreed.

[tobu-ishi.livejournal.com]

Lord, yes. Exactly. I went on a few dates once with a fellow otaku who was clearly trying to date Rinoa Heartilly and using me as a conveniently physically similar substitute, to the point of calling me his "sorceress". It spooked me off very, very quickly.

That sounds kind of dirty.

Erm. >.> It's a Scottish tradition and my family has Scottish roots. It means to have a bagpiper lead the way either from the bride's home to the church, or from the church to the reception hall, or both. Kirk is Scots for church.

Bagpipes being a love 'em or hate 'em sort of instrument, it would take a pretty saintly groom. XD;

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

I went on a few dates once with a fellow otaku who was clearly trying to date Rinoa Heartilly and using me as a conveniently physically similar substitute, to the point of calling me his "sorceress". It spooked me off very, very quickly.

That is because you are a sane woman with a sense of self-worth.

Bagpipes being a love 'em or hate 'em sort of instrument, it would take a pretty saintly groom. XD;

I'm sure your groom will either a.) love them or b.) more importantly, want you to have the wedding you've dreamed of and agree that bagpipes should be involved.