REALLy big problem

[Nikki]

ok here's the skinny.

A few years ago, i had a GREAT friend named Jen and i still love her to death. recently, i've found out that it was her that had come up with the name 'Xzeliea Fantra'. When i was making my Fursona, i needed a name so i looked in my mind for a name and that one popped up! i didn't know where or who i got it from, but it sounded so pretty i decided that that's who i'm going to become! so, i guess i have been using that name for about what? 3 years now.

so now a month ago, i get a message on Deviantart from Jen and she talks to me. She mentions the name but doesn't seem mad. but now i feel awful because her brother tells me (today) that i have ruined her writing career and she doesn't want to do anything anymore because of me. I honestly don't know what to do since so many people call me by that name now...i feel like crawling tino a deep hole and covering myself up...

i..think i should kill off my fursona and make a new one...but...i'm so emotionally attached to her...i don't know what to do...

[techmaster-glitch]

Wait, ruined her writing career? Exactly what is the situation here?

[Nikki]

Basically we've both been using the same names for different things. Mine is for drawing my Fursona and hers is for writing stories. now she's afraid to publish anything because of my drawings of my fursona that has the same name

[techmaster-glitch]

That doesn't make any sense. Why would having the same name make someone not want to write anymore? Lots of different things have similar, even completely identical, names.

[Nikki]

because her friends went on Deviantart to look for her stuff and apparently the ONLY art of my fursona on there for them to see is the nude pic i drew a little while ago

[techmaster-glitch]

Ah...that...could be...a problem...
Man, I really wish I had some good advice, but I am devoid of it. Sorry.

[Nikki]

well the problem is it's NOT the only art on there. Apparently a piece of art that says 'Mature' draws people in more than art that is cute and perfectly innocent which really ticks me off

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

That's fairly expected. People do stupid things.

What you -can- do is talk to your friend, explain your side, and ask them what they think you should do, -together-, to sort it out.

If they want you to change your fursona, and you think that's reasonable, then you're going to have to bite the bullet and do it. If they're willing to change the name in their fiction, then that's good, too.

if they're really sunk, and think it's a huge pile of work to change the name in all the copies of whatever they have lying around, you can always get them to talk to someone IT-related, who may have a way of automating the process. Which would probably be a heck of a lot easier... ;-]

[Nikki]

What I can't see is why i can't just keep the same name. i mean, there's tons of characters that have the same name but are completely different...

[Zina]

This honestly sounds like something that you can only sort out with your friend. Talk to her and figure out a solution together. Maybe you both can change the name slightly, or something like that.

Either way, this does sound like a personal issue between you and your friend, and I don't think there's a lot anyone on this forum can do to help you.

[Aridas]

I don't see a reasion to destroy an entire character over the damn name, that's all I see wrong with your reasoning. Having to get a new name does NOT mean scrapping your character. If that's all you can think of, you're really being overdramatic about it.

[Ryudo Lee]

How much has actually been written about this other Xze?  Are we talking like a stack of books or a couple of short stories?

[TheDXM]

This cannot be the first time this has happened in the expanse of human creativity. So I'm assuming that there are people before you who have developed a logical, simple, and gratifying solution for both parties. Now, I'm nobody to tell you what exactly that is, but I think you may be overeacting a pinch.

In the first place, I don't really see why there's anything dramatically redefined by this situation.

A name is just a name, and millions of things can be attached to them, and really it's up to you and your friend to define what that is or isn't. As long as you two aren't deliberately attempting to blur the lines between what defines your character, or her's, I don't see what's the big deal with leaving everything exactly as it is.

But on the other hand if you feel guilty because you unknowningly swiped someone else's ideas, the best you can do is apologize for it. It's not all your fault, atleast not in my eyes. And since your friend doesn't seem to be blaming you either, you probably don't need to feel as worked up as you seem to be.

Now, personally, I'd change the name, but leave the character the way it was. A name or any word is nothing until it's attached to an idea, and unless you both developed identical identities for your characters AS WELL, it shouldn't make a difference. Since your friend was the first one to develop the name, I'd think you'd be the one to change... But far be it from me to tell you what to do.

[Fuyudenki]

(this post wasn't really helpful.  Sorry.)

[superluser]

What I can't see is why i can't just keep the same name. i mean, there's tons of characters that have the same name but are completely different...

What I'm going to say is not particularly easy for me, but I think it's the right thing.

You need to change your name, if you value your friendship with this other person.

Names are infused with significance.  Let me give you some examples.

When James Joyce named his alter ego Stephen Dedalus, he was calling to mind St. Stephen (the first Christian martyr) and Daedalus (who escaped the Labyrinth by the work of his own hands, only to see Icarus die when he flew too close to the sun).  Much of Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man includes references to flight and birds.  If one of Joyce's friends had inadvertently used the name Stephen Dedalus, Joyce would have had to completely rewrite the book, changing themes and motifs.

In Breakfast of Champions, Kurt Vonnegut has a white character named Dwayne Hoover and a black character named Wayne Hoobler.  Dwayne's last name was originally Hoobler, but his family changed it because they didn't want to be associated with blacks, so they changed it (I think in honor of Herbert Hoover).  If one of Vonnegut's friends accidentally used either name, then Vonnegut would have had to change it to another president, thus changing the year when the name change happened, and necessitating another near-homophone.

If your friend has taken time to actually create a name that has some sort of deeper meaning, then you should give the name to your friend, and don't question it.  No friendship is worth quarrelling over a name.  If you want (and heck, even if you don't), I can see if I can't come up with some suggestions for a new name for you.

(If it's a name with no deeper meaning, then you'll have to work it out yourselves.)

[RJ]

I don't think you should make it into a big problem. It's just a name, and the only thing that makes this problem different from others like this is that you know the other person.

I'd suggest you talk your side to Jen and then consider changing your name a little. A fresh start is never a bad thing, you know.

[Damaris]

You could also change your fursona's last name, or each of you add a (hopefully different) middle initial.

[Aridas]

And if you changed the spelling of the first name to "Xzelia", you'd have a fairly more real and unsuspicious name.

[Darkmoon]

Screw it. It's the internet, and multiple people can have the same name. All she has to do is say "Oh, that's someone else on Deviant Art. Odd, huh?" and that's that.

I mean, over time, I've found other people going under the name Darkmoon (hell, there was even another Darkmoon Firelyte once, which i thought would never happen). There's only so many names people can come up with, long term.

The reality is that if having the "same" name as someone else online is such a big deal to her, maybe she should really think about why it bothers her so much.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Heh. I've only ever run across one other llearch, and that was an ISP-assigned email address based on first-initial-last-name or something. AOL, IIRC.

Every other llearch on the internet is me. ;-]

But then, I can't say I've been looking hard, either...

[Alondro]

I've never had anyone with my name... nope, no Charles' anywhere else in the world.   

Frankly, I highly doubt this person's writing is on the level of Vonnegut's.  If I could read some of it, I'd let you know if there was any merit to you having to change your name.

Frankly, I suspect it's just some over-dramatic reaction from someone who could never make a living from writing in the first place.

[superluser]

I've found two others with the username superluser, but at least one started using it years after I had, and it didn't take a masterstroke to come up with it.  Anyone who has used UNIX or other multi-user operating systems could easily have come up with combining superuser with luser.  Heck, the Jargon File had an entry for superloser back in `96.

Frankly, I highly doubt this person's writing is on the level of Vonnegut's.  If I could read some of it, I'd let you know if there was any merit to you having to change your name.

It's not an issue of whether she's as good as Vonnegut.  Heck, when Vonnegut started, he wasn't as good as Vonnegut.  It's about whether she put effort into coming up with a name that had some meaning.  We all have to start somewhere, and what is more, a bad writer deserves just as much protection as a good one.

As to those names I promised...For the first:

Xvyder, Czoelip, Xztir, Vegenia, Ixora, Xzynya, Xzasifrie, Dbitunea
(experiment with different vowels--mine are basically what sounded good at the time)

And the last...

Imagda, Illustra, Utotia, Inventia, Mustea, Visitea, Phantsia, Figckea, Alutinea

[LionHeart]

I'm definitely with the "Talk to your friend" people.

It's entirely possible that the story may have been somewhat distorted in transmission. I've had that happen to me on occasion.

Don't do anything drastic right off the mark, especially based on a second- or third-hand report. Go direct to the source, and work from there.

[rt]

Feel free to correct this .. but since most of the time I see you reffer to your character as 'Xze' or 'Xze-Xze' "changing" the name from the official Xzelia-F should not be too much trouble. Looking it quick it seems that the only pictures named with 'xzelia' are those risque pictures you mentioned. So killing yourself off may be a hastey option.

Hopefully its enough difference, mabey its too close, but then just searching quickly there's a photographer on DA with a Xze-Something nick, stuff about motercycles named Xze, and an anime character. Plus 228,000 google hits for xze (Tires, Carbon fibers ....).

Anyways do the talk with the friend thing, ignore the brother .. second hand information is not all what it is cracked up to be.

And good luck too

[xHaZxMaTx]

That's the best advice I've heard, so far, rt.

[Nikki]

I think i may change the Last name =3

And they're only a few short stories that Jen's written so i don't think i did something THAT horrible..but for last name..i have no clue...

[Cogidubnus]

 She's willing to give up writing, over a simple snag such as this?

I would wonder how dedicated she actually is to writing. I mean, there are days and times when one gets simply drained but...wanting to give up entirely, because of one person sharing a name?
It is very true that the name Xzelia Fantra could mean something to somebody, or has some special connotation. And indeed, it could be frustrating to see that somebody else has also used it, in ways that having nothing to do with your own stuff. But, honestly.
Were the same thing to happen to myself, I would have no desire to stop writing. It would certainly be odd, yes, but nothing worth throwing the pen and pad out of the room for. (Cogidubnus was an ancient British king. I would be surprised to see anyone drawing anything about him, let alone anything risque.)
I would ask, though. Has she written much? Does she really want to write? It sounds like more a case of temporary frustration, more than anything else. If she really wants to quit, though...perhaps she should. It sounds like the name is more an excuse than anything.

Practically, though, you should try to accommodate your friend. Names are names are names. They hold meaning, but apparently this one holds a great deal of meaning to her - letting her have it might not be the worst thing you could do.

Reading RT's post, if there are multiple people with the name Xze, under every topic under the sun it seems, well...something you might want to point out to her when you do talk to her.

[superluser]

Reading RT's post, if there are multiple people with the name Xze, under every topic under the sun it seems, well...something you might want to point out to her when you do talk to her.

Heck, there's a Xeksue on this forum, which I mentally pronounce almost identically to Xze-Xze.

Also, have you spoken with her?  The sooner, the better, I think.

[Fuyudenki]

I think i may change the Last name =3

And they're only a few short stories that Jen's written so i don't think i did something THAT horrible..but for last name..i have no clue...

www.behindthename.com

Has a random name picker.  You can choose nationality and gender of names(maybe not so useful for last names).  I've used it to make more than a couple of names.  Shortly afterwards, a friend of mine commented that I'm suddenly very good at making up names on-the-spot.(Used to suck at it.)

[Valynth]

Problem?  This is what you consider a problem?!  This is no more than a minor shift in air particles!

Alright, lets have a look...  Okay, I see people have already called the Rose rule (a rose by any other name smells just as sweet), good.

The "leave the same name" group has a very good point.  heck, do you know how many John Smith's there are in the phone book?  Does that mean we assume they are the same person?  Nope.

Seriously, stop over dramatising everything in your life and you'll be much happier.

If anything I have more of a right to make a thread here to whine, moan, and angst about the choices I'm facing in my life than you have to make one moaning about this, but I don't because I know nobody can help me make my own decisions or second guess other people in my life, so I leave them out of it and actually get to work making decisions therefore leaving me with less decisions to make and therefore much happier and less stressed.

I'd say what I think your whole goal of this entire thread was, but I'm trying hard as heck not to "hurt" your "feelings."  Or even worse the "feelings" of the fictional character that rules your life so much you have to get advice the moment something doesn't go exactly as planned.

*coughs*  Did I just channel Darkmoon's eviler side?  Or was the lack of sleep?  eh, whatever, I'm going to stick what works and not care that I've been an a**hole.