One, the name change provides a level of "this isn't really me" psychological distancing that can keep someone who's "shy" writing an SI that's posted live. It also keeps folks from making comments where it's publicly posted referencing the character from feeling like a personal attack against the author.
Two, changing a name in that specific way lets you know there's Weird Magic Shit going down. There's a series of My Little Pony SI fics collectively called "My Little Heartbreak" that used the "Fair Folk" as the mechanism for transfer and they stole the "SI's" name after stuffing him into a "mare suit" and branding her where the cutie mark would go before giving her the name Heartbreak.
The folks renaming BA's avatar here seem nicer about it. It may also have to do with the "Significant Names" thread of Tenchi Muyo!
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''
-- James Nicoll
Two, changing a name in that specific way lets you know there's Weird Magic Shit going down. There's a series of My Little Pony SI fics collectively called "My Little Heartbreak" that used the "Fair Folk" as the mechanism for transfer and they stole the "SI's" name after stuffing him into a "mare suit" and branding her where the cutie mark would go before giving her the name Heartbreak.
The folks renaming BA's avatar here seem nicer about it. It may also have to do with the "Significant Names" thread of Tenchi Muyo!
''We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat
them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary.''
-- James Nicoll