What do you answer to?

[Jenica Sabiny]

Really I'm just curious. Nothing complicated: what names do you answer to? IRL and/or board-wise.

Board-wise I will immediately answer to Jess or Jen. A bit delayed on Anga (or Ang), and Lanya and Geld get nothing. NOTHING.

IRL I answer to Jess most often among friends - just Jess. Management will always use Jessica. Only two people have ever used Jessie before, and they were both older and therefore didn't bother me. But it's so rare that I don't like it much.

I also answer to "Rican," which has become a nickname among a few friends. Short for Puerto Rican. I am referred to as The Rican in conversation; I find it funny.

Oddly enough, although most of my friends will say Jess to get my attention, they'll use Jessica when discussing me in conversation.

Within my family I'm Jessica to my brothers (full name, never shortened), Girl to my dad, and Wiggy, Wig or Wig Wig to my mom. I would respond to Wiggy/Wig IRL or on the board, honestly; it's pretty much my name to my mom, so I recognize it. I got this name from my oldest brother; when I wiggled in my mom's tummy and he felt it, he called me Wiggles. It got shortened over time, and I will respond to any of the three variants I gave

Here's a weird note: my oldest brother's name is Jose. In our immediate family, he is Joe, even though we're Hispanic. To everyone else he's Jose (pronounced Hoe-zay), including his wife. She tells me that this is how she used to distinguish family from everyone else on the phone, before she knew our voices.

I call my sis-in-law Family. This is my standard greeting on the phone: Helloooooooooo family! She loves it; her own family is insane in the bad way, so she appreciates being included in mine instead

I call both of my brothers Bro when first addressing them on the phone, but Joe and Dave respectively later on and in person. I call my mother Mumsie (I have NO idea where I came up with that) and my dad Dad (unoriginal, I know). However I VERY rarely call my dad anything at all in conversation; I just talk to him and he replies.


OMG ROXXORS EDIT: I thought of a couple more worth mentioning. At work, people who know me enough to be good acquaintances but not well enough to be good friends call me Velez (last name). One guy asked me how my name is actually pronounced, and now insists on called me my full name anytime he sees me, complete with Spanish pronounciation.

[Kamar Deythal]

David at work and school, Dave at home and to immediate family. My grandfather insists on calling me Chip (as in "Chip off the old blockhead").

For years, while at school, I got called Perogee, cause of my last name (Perreault). After that, I got called D-dot P-dot, cause that was my signature. That got shortened to P-dot when everyone realized how hilarious that sounded.

Other than that, my mother is called Tripper, a hockey nickname. She had a tendency to trip people (NEVER on purpose tho!) while going after the puck. But she's either Mom or Sharon to me. I call her Sharon when in public and around other women, cause if you just say Mom, 95 women turn and look at you.

Dad is dad, and I don't have the problem calling him dad in public cause he lives in the interior of BC and I don't actually get to see him much.

My grandfather insists on calling all of us kids by our nicknames, but no one else uses them.

I also answer to Kamar or Kam both here and on some of the live online games I play. Sometimes Jay or Jayden, as that is another name I use on other live games.

That's all I can think of atm.

[Lylessa Uluki]

Most people call me Hannah. Which is my name. I'm not very exciting.

I really only have one nickname that has caught on. Some of my friends have taken to calling me Momma Bear, which I actually like. (One of my cats, Zephyr, is nicknamed Bear.) I realize they call me Momma Bear because I am frighteningly maternal to my cats, but it suits me.

On the board... whatever. Lyl, Lylessa, Uluki, I know all of them are me. (The character, on the other hand, only goes by Uluki, never her given name.) The people I played her with before never call me by her name because they knew me as me before I created the character, but I'm fine with being called that. I like her.

[Gia Rilan]

In real life I am Tovia... and no, that is not a nickname or a name that someone stuck on me because they felt like it, it's on my birth certificate. Mom heard it on the radio and loved it, and so Tovia I became.

Also, I have started answering to Tovi, I don't know why. Though, in fairness, it's probably because I started tacking an '-ie' onto the first syllables of some of my friends names. Karma, I suppose...

On the boards, I'll answer to whatever that's vaguely related to my user name.

Yeah, so y'alls can call me Tovia if you want... or Tovi or whatever.

[Frug]

Frug and Frugen are RL nicknames I've had for years.

Phil is best though. Philip works though I don't like it.

[Pagusel]

So it's Ming Ming, but it pretty much makes sense to call me Ming. Chinese people recognize Ming as an immovably masculine name, but Ming Ming is also a generally more boyish name, I'm told. Some people make other variations thereon, to mixed reviews.

My main nickname other than morphological variants on my given name is Nug Nug, as given by my middle younger sister when she was a baby. Babies make weird reproductions of the things they hear, I guess? Again, variations (Nug, Nugs, etc) apply.

Oh and on the board I go by my name, or MM, or Dorcas or Pagusel and NOT shortenings of those names. No "Pag." Why? Because the first syllable of her name rhymes with "spa," not "bag." And the second syllable rhymes with "book" if you took the "k" off, and the third syllable sounds like "sell." You got it. And the primary stress is on the first syllable. Now you got it.

I also assume most catcalls on the street are directed at me, although I do not reply. Particularly charming catcalls can get a smile. You can also address me as Madame Fashion Editor.

[Lylessa Uluki]

You know, I actually suspect that the people who call me "Lyl" on the board are mispronouncing my character's name. I'm not sure how you could get any sensible out of those letters from the correct pronunciation.

For the little it's used, my character's given name should be pronounced lie-LESS-uh. So "Lyl" would not be like "Lill," but closer to "Lyle." But not quite that either.

Well when you shorten it to Lyl I'd say "Lill" but Lyle is "Lie-ll".
I'll admit that I've been saying the full thing wrong in my head.

[Valz Malar]

Mathew, Matt, Luke (only by a senile-long gone now-uncle who thought I was someone else), Wray, Sergeant, Sergeant Wray, sometimes ass or "The Ass" (probably due to my large ass-I'm not positive though), tonight while at work I was called Dick on two seperate occasions by friends. Don't know what my ex calls me...I respond to just about anything as long as you are looking at me and it is foul. Online it is either Valz or Leonidas. You know...

[Jenica Sabiny]

I admit that I was totally mispronouncing your name, Uluki. Shame and woe!!!

Tovia is an awesome and totally unique name. I cannot communicate how jealous I am!!!

[Julen]

Yeah, I've been saying "Lil-lessa".

I answer to "Julen" around here. Also "Falcon". At most online communities, I'm known as "Falcon Bertille."

"Kathryn J. Brown" is the name I publish my stories under. It's also what my mother called me if she was mad. If she was really angry, she lengthened it to "Kathryn Johnson Brown."

All my friends call me "Katy".

My husband's pet name for me is "Katypuff."

Railtus used to call me "Mistress", until he figured out what a complete wimp I am. Now he calls me "Mistress Marshmallow."

[Jenica Sabiny]

I've been getting Lylessa correct, but Lyl definitely became Lill - because it's less awkward-sounding to me than Lyle. Lyle is a boy's name damnit.

Julen, what books have your stories been in?

[Julen]

Julen, what books have your stories been in?

Only two books so far:

My short story "The Mask of Medusa's Daughter" was published in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress anthology #20.

My short story "Seasons and Stone" was recently reprinted in The 2nd Coming -- The Best of Pirate Writings, Volume 2. (Which, contrary to what one might expect from the title, is not written by, for, or about pirates.)

Also, two magazines:

My short story "Even Small Prayers" appeared in the June 2002 issue of Realms of Fantasy.

My short story "Dark Queen" appeared in issue #37 of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine.

The magazines are probably pretty hard to come by. But the last time I checked, Amazon was selling the Sword and Sorceress anthology for about a nickle.

[Jenica Sabiny]

I'm on that like white on rice. Poor rice. That needs to save money.

So maybe it's brown rice...

[Lylessa Uluki]

Um... I think something weird is going on with the posts? Because I totally didn't say what the post says I said. The quoted text is me, but...

Well when you shorten it to Lyl I'd say "Lill" but Lyle is "Lie-ll".
I'll admit that I've been saying the full thing wrong in my head.

...Is not. Nor would it make sense for it to be. And I'm a tiny bit freaked out.

I agree the "Lill" pronunciation makes the most sense for "Lyl." Just the fact it was getting picked as a nickname made me think the whole name was confusing people. I'll need to clarify that next time I edit my character sheet.

I will definitely have to look for those stories.

[Frug]

*laughs*

I'm sorry lyl, that was me. I like, clicked on edit instead of quote, and thought I was editing my own post and... Yeah...