what the hell kind of name is benton

[aria]

Okay, BURNING QUESTION TIME, because I'm trying to write Fraser POV things and I keep tripping over and second-guessing the damn pronouns. When in doubt, consult the internet!

Poll #648

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 20

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When reading a Fraser POV story, I like/don't mind him referring to himself as

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Fraser
11 (57.9%)

Benton
14 (73.7%)

Ben
3 (15.8%)

When reading a Fraser POV story, I will allow, under certain circumstances and depending on the skill of the writer, him referring to himself as

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Fraser
12 (63.2%)

Benton
11 (57.9%)

Ben
9 (47.4%)

When reading a Fraser POV story, I really don't like him referring to himself as

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Fraser
4 (28.6%)

Benton
2 (14.3%)

Ben
12 (85.7%)

Me personally, 'Fraser' is invisible to me when I read it but I kind of feel weird having the guy refer to himself by his last name inside his own head when I'm writing him. My default is 'Benton' because I assume that's the name he uses in his head, and at this point when I read it, it also comes up invisible. I actually hate 'Ben' except in exceptional circumstances ie when the narrative starts when he's a child, because plenty of old friends call him Ben without it making me twitch. ('Benny' is not even an option, although if you're writing Vecchio-POV I find it mad charming.) The problem is that this makes sense to me but I imagine that 'Benton' is not invisible to other people and possibly even annoying, and having some raw numbers might be nice.

Comments

[alwayswondered]

This is weird actually, because I really don't know what I call myself in my own head. If I were writing a me-POV fic it would be I-I-I all the time and I doubt I'd ever use an actual NAME for myself, but if I were writing third person limited fic about me, the name I'd choose for myself would vary according to the circumstances. I find myself identifying with a different name in different contexts, and it's not necessarily the name that other people call me in those contexts (though it often is, because I impose it on them). I suppose my choice would vary depending on the most prominent relationship or setting of the story.

I'd imagine Fraser is the same. I think he 'plays' Fraser more than he actually IS Fraser, but Benton and Ben can both work for me and can also seem off, depending on the situation the author sets up. I can well imagine that with certain people he sees himself as Benton and others as Ben, like the way some people are allowed to call me M__ even though I don't like it because they've ALWAYS done it and some people have to call me M______ because I want to project a different image to those people.

Randomly, I sort of like fics in which Kowalski carries on calling him Fraser after they're a couple, just because he's used to it and/or likes it better than his first name. I think that's a pretty cross-fandom thing for me, though, and I accept that it's weird.

[aria]

That makes lots of sense, and also explains why I was dithering enough to make the poll -- in the main when I'm writing Fraser-POV fic, it's internal and relationship-oriented enough that it makes sense to me to call him Benton, but the one I've got right now is primarily a casefic, and I kept on switching back and forth without really noticing.

I'm absolutely with you re: Kowalski continuing to call him Fraser, though. Maybe if/when they're a couple he occasionally throws in a first name in the same way that Vecchio occasionally says "Benny" but in the main I think it's odd if Kowalski (or Vecchio, for that matter) doesn't keep using "Fraser."