In Fantasy names have power, the true names of things are how magic is worked. It's a metaphor that reflects the workings of the real world. Nick names, full names, pet names, secret names, all mean something, all carry with them stories and implications, all have a certain amount of power in them.
When I was young(sometimes still nostalgically) my parents called me Stever Beaver.
When I was a camp counselor the campers and counselors called me Steve-o.
Once when Adam, Beanpole, and I were at a party we started to take peoples cell phones and make random calls. One person I talked to asked me who I was and I said apropos of nothing "This is The Candlestick Maker." Periodically when Adam and Beanpole are feeling especially playful they'll call me that.
When I first moved to Chicago the people I was hanging out with called me Hounddog.
Adam and I took a road trip out to the west coast a couple years ago. There was a stretch of 200 miles or so that was littered with signs for sweet cherries. That night we decided my fictitious boxing name would be Sweet Cherry Nelson. When Adam wants to get me pumped up he calls me Sweet Cherry.
Julia calls me Stevienelno.
James calls me Sjnelso.
As a kid my mom's family would call me Stevie and I hated it, now some of my friends do it and I like it.
My soccer coach called me Nelson.
At work I am Steven. Most everywhere else I am Steve.
Many people, for reasons unknown to me, refer to me by my full name Steve Nelson.
What people call you, what you answer to, shape and define you. Names are like hints, suggestions, of who a person is. They can also be armor. They can give form and protection but can also destroy.
To name a thing is to bring it into the world. That is not always wise.
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