An Exploration of Nicknames

In other Words, Why I am Lady Cinnibar.

A) Cinnibar

1) Because I kept spelling it with both an 'a' and an 'i' and finally formalized it to be with the 'i'. Mostly because I forgot my password for the yahoo account spelled with an 'a', so had to open a new one. :P

2) When I was a small child of perhaps five or six, my mother affectionately termed me the Cinnamon Fiend, because she was unable to keep cinnamon sticks in stock. I found them delicious, and would devour them for a wholesome snack. I would also have cinnamon on anything. Now, of course, my tastes are more discerning, so I will no longer put cinnamon on any object that can be considered 'dinner' and not 'dessert'. Nor will it visit my eggs for breakfast. (Although toast, dry cereal, oatmeal, cream of wheat, and milk are all still viable victims.)

a) I still adore cinnamon. I would go so far as to name it my favorite spice, above and beyond all others. I even, gasp, prefer it to chocolate.

3) Alas, I was of the fan-girl age when Sailor Moon came out. My friends having dubbed themselves heroines, I was made an honorary villain. In order to avoid death, I became Nephrite's Little Sister, who was enslaved against her will to the Queen, and so on and so forth. Making me a villain, they chose to mutilate a long established moniker of mine, and thus from the Cinnamon Fiend, I became Lady Cinnabar.

4) I have been informed that the crystal cinnabar is a slightly poisonous form of petrified mercury.

a) I am rather stiff and formal when I do not know a person (petrified).

b) My sense of humor leans to the sarcastic (poisonous).

c) I am rather mercurial of habit and personality.

d) Eventually, my friendships die off, poisoned by my very nature, or they gain an immunity to my peculiar brand of insanity. Which doesn't happen with the stone, since mercury in large doses is fatal, and you do not grow immune to it. As with any heavy metal, it accumulates in your tissues, eventually leading to a fatal dose. Why do you think they no longer put it in thermometers? (my apologies, indeed, for my harsh humor, but I find myself angry at a number of people who 'gave up' on me, for no other reason than they were tired of my mercurial manner.)

5) Cinnabar Stone is also a variant of garnet, and is often used in jewelry.

a) I like garnet.

b) It's a reddish-brown cinnamon sort of color. Or hyacinth color. Ahem. What did I say again about cinnamon?

c) I like jewelry, and ornamentation.

d) The red/ brown/ purple color is a peculiar favorite of mine, and I would hazard so far as to say that all stones of a red hue I love and adore. Though not so fine as those stones of a golden hue. Ahem.

i- I own some jewelry made from cinnabar stone. I also own the crystal form of cinnabar, for my amusement, being an amateur gem-cutter. Very, very amateur. Geology is thrilling, isn't it?

6) Cinnabar was much preferred as a fancy form of ornamentation in older days. My manner, at times, is that of a much older age. Okay, yes, you can say I'm stuck in the past. It would be accurate. It would also be accurate to say that I have morals and ideals that do not supposedly belong in this enlightened day and age. Then again, the concept of chivalry was much sung about, but seldom practiced.

7) Cinnabar is still used as a form of ornamentation. I like ornamentation, and I'm usually a fine adornment upon my friends. I also like the finer things of life.

8) The temperment of a Scorpio is that of mercurial. Both dangerous, and life giving. Fiery, and calm. Ahem. If further information is necessary, look up the term 'mercurial'. Also look up Scorpios.

9) Having used the nickname for several years, it has developed its own nicknames. LC, Lacey, and Cinniq being but a few of them. It has grown on me, and I will answer to it as readily as my own name.

B) Lady

1)The 'Lady' prefix is an honor reflective of my past ancestors social station. In no ways or means do I hold any of those stations, for alas, war takes its toll on all classes, but it's a form of respect for my ancestors. So, about six generations ago, my ancestors had a little more oomph than the usual.

2) I absolutely flatly refuse to act like a peasant or villein, and will act with manners more dignified and reserved. I may have been born in a Mob-town (see Baltimore History), but I am in no wise ruled by the common mind.

3) I am arrogant, self-assured, and self-righteous. If you can think of any other social class in the days of serfs and knights and nobles in which a woman could be such and get away with it, feel free to tell me.

4) I am also generous, and kind, with the means to be so. I would give you the shirt off my back if it would help.

5) I am well-educated and of good birth and breeding. I can give you a basic chart of my ancestors back a few generations, and can tell you sommat of their actions. On both sides of my family, minor royalty is mentioned. I would not claim to higher, but we had some minor tie ins to the royalty on both sides. Minor. (However, the barons of Hungary were often known as the 'Little Kings' having a degree of power over their individual holdings that no one else possessed. Until the Magna Carta.) Also however, see above note that it's more than a few generations ago. So, technically, it's nothing more than an amusing anecdote about my family history. Even so, it *is* true. I am well bred, and well taught.