What's
In A Name?
By: Footnote
Prologue:
Immortal
What's
in a name? Is your name truly who you
are? Can some name dictionary pinpoint
your personality based on the tiny little thing that you own but everyone else
uses? Is that truly who we are, our
names? If that isn't so, then why do we
say someone looks like his or her name?
"Oh, he looks like an 'Andrew.'"
So many questions to be answered, just like there are so many names to
chose from when a new life is brought into this world. My name is not anything special. I don't know who my mother is, but I suppose
she was a great fan of music for she named me Dante from an old song. Nothing anything special, just Dante, not
Danny or Dee. But maybe our names do
define us somewhat, for my name means "lasting." Heaven knows I have lasted for a very long time.
People always get
different reactions when they discover someone's name. When someone hears the name "Vincent
Valentine," their reaction is based on what they know. "Vincent" means "conqueror" and "Valentine"
would undoubtedly be associated with Valentine's Day, a day for love. Some may say "Oh, that's a pretty name! Very poetic…the Conqueror of Love…" while
others who know the man that bears that title know differently. Yet still, their reactions are based on how
much they know. They may remember the
indifferent Turk that was sent to Nibelheim so many years ago and remember his
unusual habit of staring at things.
They may think of the vampiresque figure hovering behind the leader of
AVALANCHE that had blood red eyes that matched his cape and cowl. Yet still others see what he truly is: a
beautiful work of art. His sadness and
sorrow sketch how the picture will look, forming the base lines of the
work. His anger and frustration will
define the texture of the figure's face.
His thoughts will color and shade the picture accordingly, however the
artist feels suitable. And when the
picture is done, when every line is in its proper place, when every color is
shaded to perfection and the work is flawless, the artist will add his
signature at the bottom along with the date scrawled tidily beside it with
Vincent's love. The most important part
of the picture to some is the signature.
If not for the signature, how would I know the name of the artist that
so skillfully made this beautiful work?
Yes, Vincent Valentine's love is the most important part of his picture.
While some names
strike wonder and awe into our heart, others bring us loathing and dread. A name like "Sephiroth." It sounds like the name of some horrible
creature that reaches its disgusting claws out into the night and robs cradles
of their children when in reality it is the name of a spiritual walk that's
otherwise known as "The Tree of Life."
Sephiroth. To some, it strikes
fear, to others hatred, but no matter how one looks at it, no one thinks that
the name sounds like that of a misguided child. No one knows that beneath all of it, there is a child that lay
crying, cold and lonely trying desperately to find someone to care for
him. No one thinks that "Sephiroth" is
the name of a little boy looking out the living room window, waiting for Daddy
to get home from work or the rain to stop so he can go outside to play. Why doesn't anyone believe that a name like
that could be of an innocent little boy?
It's all very perplexing indeed.
So what's in a
name? Sometimes names have literal
meanings that tell you right out what they mean, but those usually aren't
names; those are titles. We name places
according to what they look like. The
Blue Lakes, Green Mountain Pass, and the list could go on forever. Nothing names themselves though. Other people give names to things. Vincent's mother could not have looked at
her screaming child and thought to herself "I bet he's going to grow up to be
beautiful, so I'll name this boy Vincent because 'Vincent Valentine' sounds
cool." And Sephiroth's mother certainly
would not have thought that her son was to grow up to be the most loathed and
despised creature ever to crawl out of the pits of Hell and decide to name her
darling baby boy a name that leaves the impression that he was named after a
demon. That wouldn't have been very
motherly of her, now would it?
In all truth,
names don't mean anything at all. It is
just humanity's little way of keeping track of things and giving everything a
title to file alphabetically in some dingy avocado-colored filing cabinet. The reason Vincent Valentine's name strikes
everyone as poetic and strangely lovely is because Vincent Valentine is poetic
and strangely lovely. He is as
beautiful as any masterpiece I could find.
Maybe not when he was born, maybe not when he was growing and just
becoming accustomed to this thing called life, but the way he is now. Now that he's got it almost figured out and
knows there's no use pondering it but ponders it anyway. The reason Sephiroth sounds like the name of
some unholy creature is because people saw him as an unholy creature. They saw the war general, they saw the
maniacal way he ruthlessly killed just to reach the goal of his superiors. They never saw the little boy that needed so
desperately to be loved. They saw his
silver hair and turquoise eyes and saw the winged thing he could become and
called him "monster." By the time
Sephiroth sprouted those wings, it was too late for him and his chance was
wasted. In a way, it was Sephiroth's
childish foolishness that left the bitter taste of "monster" in humanity's
mouth. Monster or angel, Sephiroth was,
is, and will be forever now, just like Vincent Valentine. Both are immortal. Both masterpieces, one with sorrow and one with insanity and both
have lived up to their names.
Have I lived up
to my name as Dante? Such a simple name
and if I look it up again, it'll say the same thing as before: "lasting."
In the case of lasting, I honestly don't know. I don't know if I have lasted long enough yet. Maybe I have, but then again, maybe I never
will, but I suppose that's another story.
I may never be able to "last" as long as the Higher Powers (whatever those
are) want me to, but I have a feeling that I'll never, ever know. There are still so many questions left to
answered as well as asked, but all those will come in due time.
And the last
question: have you lived up to your
name?
*~*~*
Disclaimer: FF7 © Squaresoft. I don't own it. OC is mine.
Author's Note: First, thanks for
reading. Second, this is a story of the
Sephiroth Saga from a different POV.
I'm trying to not to brush up too much on what actually happened in the
game and go more for what's between the lines.
Please review and tell me what you think. Part one on the way!
~Footnote aka Trinity Valentine
