<<Steel!>>
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SpoilerSteel Wolf,
You’re absolutely right about names! It’s up to us to makeour names memorable. We can be given any name under the sun, but it’s how we interact with others and the world that ultimately makes a difference. I might be sad right now that my name, to me at least, sounds so plain and unremarkable. But I also believe that I do possess the ability to at least LIVE remarkably!
…Even so? Thanks for the compliment on my name!
I will confess something strange here as confessions, of anytype, were one of the things I said would be acceptable in these letters. When I was growing up my father told me that he was once an adventurer, a hero, of some renown. He said that around the Limsa Lominsa area that people would call out to him by name and that he never had to buy his own drinks in any tavern. He bought me many books, but the ones he brought me the most were these tales of daring heroics and epic adventures, fairytales and the like, and so I grew up feeling very strongly that I wanted to be a “hero†too.
I understand that that’s a fairly naïve life goal. When Isay “I’d like to be a hero like in the stories!†to people as my life goal they are unsurprisingly taken aback and say “helpful†things like “That’s not very realistic†and “Ok…or maybe you could do something more tangible!†I’m chuckling about that now because neither one of us in the conversation walk away from it feeling too terribly satisfied. It’s as though one of us was a sheep and the other a colibri and we just spent a significant amount of time making noises at one another, not understanding why nothing seemed to be getting through.
But I got off track here! I always do. My last name,Medvyed, I thought it might carry some weight in Limsa since my father said he was a hero himself. It would have been many years back, I think, but if he were so heroic obviously if I introduced myself I might be able to make some real connections.
But nope. Nothing. There have been a few people here andthere that have recognized the name as belonging to a noble family. There were a few that remembered him being a particularly good businessman. And, regrettably, there were many still that apparently believe that he owes them a significant amount of money and that I, as a result, owe it too. There were no accounts of his daring, protective spirit. I’ve been rather let down…
But there is good news in that as well that hang onto withthe fierce optimism that only a girl who read a hundred old books on adventuring heroes could maintain! This means that I have a chance to, like you said, make a name for myself. If now my lastname doesn’t mean much except that my family has money (and subsequently seems to owe it to debt collectors), it’s absolutely in my power to change that story. If I go around and do all the things that I believe I should do to help others, to fix things, to make each place I walk into a better place to be before I walk out of it… perhaps the story attached to my lastname will become something better!Â
If I can actuallydo good, real good, in the places I travel and I hear someone exclaim something positive about Medvyeds I’ll know it was because I’VE done something right—not because of any legacy before me. And that feels good to me. I’ve thought about dropping my last-name in the past and just being “Saachi†everywhere I go (since the name still sounds unpleasant to my ears), but I haven’t done it because I like the idea of making the name something positive. I don’t know; maybe that’s just as naïve as anything else. But it cheers me up!
Do you know what else cheers me up? I’m about to tell you:cheesecake!Â
Someone I helped a few days back had a cheesecake sent to my innroom. That’s so exciting to me! It’s extremely good, but it’s a bit messy. And now I’m really thirsty…. But, ultimately, I think those two minor downsides are still worth it!Â
<there is a bit of a smear here from cheesecake that fellonto the paper and she hastily tried to brush off>
Honestly, just knowing that someone like you is out therefeeling as lost in the world as I am sometimes, looking for some kind of a connection to hang on to, really bolsters my spirits! You’re right that Eorzea needs more like us. Everywhere you look you can see people who have just sort of given up. They assume that the way things are now is the way that they’re just going to keep on being. I don’t believe that. And it doesn’t like you do either. What is so encouraging about this is that if there are two of us who feel that way there must be more as well. And if everybody who feels the strength and conviction to fight back against oppression and apathy does so… there’s no WAY a change for the better isn’t being made! I don’t know… just realizing that makes everything that was feeling so heavy and hard a few days ago feel so worthwhile now.
I wrote this letter to you while sitting on our sharedbarstool and grinning like a fool (some would say that’s the only way I grin).
Write back to me if you have the time or inclination! Itdoesn’t have to be about anything heavy. You can write an entire letter devoted to cheesecake if you like (…though I suppose cheesecake still counts as ‘heavy’, just a different kind). It feels nice just to have another friend to reach out to!
-Saachi
You’re absolutely right about names! It’s up to us to makeour names memorable. We can be given any name under the sun, but it’s how we interact with others and the world that ultimately makes a difference. I might be sad right now that my name, to me at least, sounds so plain and unremarkable. But I also believe that I do possess the ability to at least LIVE remarkably!
…Even so? Thanks for the compliment on my name!
I will confess something strange here as confessions, of anytype, were one of the things I said would be acceptable in these letters. When I was growing up my father told me that he was once an adventurer, a hero, of some renown. He said that around the Limsa Lominsa area that people would call out to him by name and that he never had to buy his own drinks in any tavern. He bought me many books, but the ones he brought me the most were these tales of daring heroics and epic adventures, fairytales and the like, and so I grew up feeling very strongly that I wanted to be a “hero†too.
I understand that that’s a fairly naïve life goal. When Isay “I’d like to be a hero like in the stories!†to people as my life goal they are unsurprisingly taken aback and say “helpful†things like “That’s not very realistic†and “Ok…or maybe you could do something more tangible!†I’m chuckling about that now because neither one of us in the conversation walk away from it feeling too terribly satisfied. It’s as though one of us was a sheep and the other a colibri and we just spent a significant amount of time making noises at one another, not understanding why nothing seemed to be getting through.
But I got off track here! I always do. My last name,Medvyed, I thought it might carry some weight in Limsa since my father said he was a hero himself. It would have been many years back, I think, but if he were so heroic obviously if I introduced myself I might be able to make some real connections.
But nope. Nothing. There have been a few people here andthere that have recognized the name as belonging to a noble family. There were a few that remembered him being a particularly good businessman. And, regrettably, there were many still that apparently believe that he owes them a significant amount of money and that I, as a result, owe it too. There were no accounts of his daring, protective spirit. I’ve been rather let down…
But there is good news in that as well that hang onto withthe fierce optimism that only a girl who read a hundred old books on adventuring heroes could maintain! This means that I have a chance to, like you said, make a name for myself. If now my lastname doesn’t mean much except that my family has money (and subsequently seems to owe it to debt collectors), it’s absolutely in my power to change that story. If I go around and do all the things that I believe I should do to help others, to fix things, to make each place I walk into a better place to be before I walk out of it… perhaps the story attached to my lastname will become something better!Â
If I can actuallydo good, real good, in the places I travel and I hear someone exclaim something positive about Medvyeds I’ll know it was because I’VE done something right—not because of any legacy before me. And that feels good to me. I’ve thought about dropping my last-name in the past and just being “Saachi†everywhere I go (since the name still sounds unpleasant to my ears), but I haven’t done it because I like the idea of making the name something positive. I don’t know; maybe that’s just as naïve as anything else. But it cheers me up!
Do you know what else cheers me up? I’m about to tell you:cheesecake!Â
Someone I helped a few days back had a cheesecake sent to my innroom. That’s so exciting to me! It’s extremely good, but it’s a bit messy. And now I’m really thirsty…. But, ultimately, I think those two minor downsides are still worth it!Â
<there is a bit of a smear here from cheesecake that fellonto the paper and she hastily tried to brush off>
Honestly, just knowing that someone like you is out therefeeling as lost in the world as I am sometimes, looking for some kind of a connection to hang on to, really bolsters my spirits! You’re right that Eorzea needs more like us. Everywhere you look you can see people who have just sort of given up. They assume that the way things are now is the way that they’re just going to keep on being. I don’t believe that. And it doesn’t like you do either. What is so encouraging about this is that if there are two of us who feel that way there must be more as well. And if everybody who feels the strength and conviction to fight back against oppression and apathy does so… there’s no WAY a change for the better isn’t being made! I don’t know… just realizing that makes everything that was feeling so heavy and hard a few days ago feel so worthwhile now.
I wrote this letter to you while sitting on our sharedbarstool and grinning like a fool (some would say that’s the only way I grin).
Write back to me if you have the time or inclination! Itdoesn’t have to be about anything heavy. You can write an entire letter devoted to cheesecake if you like (…though I suppose cheesecake still counts as ‘heavy’, just a different kind). It feels nice just to have another friend to reach out to!
-Saachi
