#this is also why I rarely write 'Aventurine [insert action or description or emotion etc here]' in replies

[defiedlife]

HC: AVENTURINE AND NAMES.

This is something I've been meaning to make a little post about, as I realized it shortly after playing through the 2.0 story. Names hold a unique significance for Aventurine, both for himself and when he refers to other people.

"Aventurine" is not his real name, nor does he really treat it as a name at all. It's a title, it's an occupational designation, but it's not truly him and it never will be. Though this title grants him some degree of freedom, it also still represents the hold that the IPC has on him. He bears the title, accepting it because it's the only way he's even remotely free, but he resents it too.

He will never simply say "I am Aventurine." He's careful about it, of course, but he'll always word any introduction of himself such that he could be referring to a title, nickname, or even an object—specifically a tool of the IPC—when he tells another person his current moniker.

If he ever willingly tells someone his real name, it is a privilege and a sincere sign of trust that he'll hope the other person does not take lightly. His real name is foreign on the tongue to most, and a door to the past that he barely survived. To say his real name is to open that door and call upon the person he used to be; to look beyond the mask and truly see what's become of someone scarred so deeply by trauma that he still has nightmares of his past to this day.

It's for this reason that if he couldn't call himself Aventurine, he wouldn't know what name to give anymore. One identity is him, and yet isn't, while the other is deliberately hidden away from the majority of the universe. He must protect what's left of his real self, lest he lose it completely.

Conversely, and partly because of his attitude towards his own name and title, he very rarely addresses or refers to anyone only by their first or last name (or both). He typically includes some form of honorific or simply uses a title instead, or else a combination of the two. If neither are possible (or for variety, so that this habit of his is a little less obvious), he'll append some sort of specific description immediately before or after a person's name. If use of a name isn't necessary, he might even avoid saying someone's name altogether.

If he does refer to a person only by their name, it's indicative of either a significant closeness or intentional disrespect, with the latter intent reserved only for those he really hates. (There's only one known person on his "hated" list so far. It's Oswaldo, for reasons.) This all creates a form of distance between himself and others; an intangible barrier to keep any connection or relationship from being too personal. Despite him being a gambler, that's one risk he isn't willing to take until he truly feels it's safe.