Precious and Fragile Things

In case it weren't obvious by now, I really stink at this whole naming thing. As it is I don't think the majority of my FFRPG characters would ever get past the initial planning stages without websites like Behind the Name. In those cases I'm not limited to fifteen characters or to picking out a name that represents me in some abstract way. So it should come as no surprise that this new name for my journal is not terribly creative.

"Jaded" is pretty self-explanatory. Online and off I am known to my friends as Jade, and for years now I've incorporated the term jaded when either describing myself or putting it in my nickname on various websites. Before I adopted the name mytimetoheal, this journal was jaded_journeys, and my Twitter is jadedinsc, so I guess I brought in some of the old school back into the new name.

The term Issola is from the Vlad Taltos books by Steven Brust.

House Issola is one of the noble Houses of the Dragaeran Empire. Issola tend to possess both physical and social grace. They have natural personal skills that make them suited for professions requiring interaction with others. Issola tend to serve as diplomats, seneschals of powerful nobles, and entertainers. In spite of their friendly natures, Issola do not hesitate to manipulate social situations to their advantage. Issola are usually very attractive, with pale brown hair and eyes, and wear green and white as the colors of their House.

The House is named after the issola, a wading bird similar to the heron. The issola hunts by standing gracefully in shallow water and striking at fish with blinding speed. It represents grace and guile. The Cycle Poem observes, "Issola strikes from courtly bow".

-From Wikipedia (Spoiler warnings for the book Issola at this link!)

One of my favorite characters in the Taltos novels hails from House Issola. Lady Teldra is featured quite a bit in the book Issola (gee, what a surprise), and it's in this book we learn why it is she's so great at her job. She genuinely loves people and in doing so she makes any who encounter her feel welcome and wanted, which is quite a tall order when you consider just how many different people/houses visit Castle Black where she "works."

Obviously, I don't consider myself like Lady Teldra (as Sam was oh so quick to point out when I was discussing this with him). I tolerate people on my good days, and on my bad days I don't like much of humanity at all. However, I do like being an observer, and I do still find human interaction fascinating despite my own social awkwardness. One of my favorite role-playing characters is something of a diplomat and is quite skilled at using his words to achieve a desired result out of others, and the times I've played him, he's managed to win most everyone over.

So, yes, you could say that with this name I'm fangirling a little bit, but there's more to it than simply showing my admiration of a great fantasy series. Now, when I start writing Vlad Taltos fanfiction, you can start to worry. Ahem.

P.S.: I want to thank Sam and Justin for putting up with me while I racked my brain for new ideas.

I'm ranting because I need to get my mind off stuff, and tomorrow. I'm tired and likely dragging my butt to bed though I should be washing dishes.

As I said in another entry, I finished reading Orca by Stephen Brust last night, which is another story of Vlad Taltos. Overall, I loved it and Athyra, and I liked the stories being told, for the first time, from outside of Vlad's point-of-view. I also loved the big bombshell dropped at the end of Orca, and I loved the way it made so many things from previous books click in my head. I literally went, "Aha! So that explains how X, Y, and Z could happen!" However, there is one thing that - had there not just been the totally awesome plot bomb dropped in the previous chapter - would have had me throwing the book against the wall.

( Dear Mr. Brust... [SPOILER warnings] )