[ Oh, okay. Her name's from a book. Makes sense why he's never heard of it before, then; he's never read a romance novel in his life, probably never will. Just not his style.

He— gets what she means, though. A street rat with a fancy name. That's not something that happens; nobody he knew growing up had one of those. They're all just commoners with common names. Anyone with something fancy — well, he wouldn't have judged, but plenty of people would have. Trying to sound better than you were. Maybe it'd get you more, better clients. Maybe it'd mean you'd think you were better than the rest of them. Not that he'd have ever cared, but the dichotomy between worlds does exist.

He sighs, pulling himself away from his past. It's over. It's done with. There was nothing pleasant to remember and it's in everyone's best interests that he was removed from it. ]

It's a common name.

[ Is it? He says it almost robotically, like it's something he's convinced himself of. Like it's an excuse for something. ]

Names hold a lot of power, yeah. You couldn't just change yours? Guess it don't matter here, but still. Why not just say you're someone else? Spare yourself the trouble, disappear.

[ It's... exactly what he did, actually. Found a way to overcome the technological barriers, got out by changing his name. Though if the opportunity hadn't presented itself through outside forces, he never would've done it. Wouldn't have even thought about it.

Still a question worth asking, though, since he's keenly aware of what a life-saving option it turned out to be. ]