I've spent a dizzying portion of my online life trying my hardest to have one name for everything. While I mostly succeeded on my own terms, my preferred name does still vary slightly across different contexts. I wish I wasn't so picky about the details, but since I am, I suppose it would be best to be explicit about it.

Ash

Proper noun · any case · informal

This is my name! You can always call me Ash. It's not strictly unambiguous (other people have this name, too), so it's probably best for informal settings.

Ash Astral

Proper noun · case-sensitive · musician alias

This is the name I publish music under; it's two words with the first letters capitalized, like a full name. It feels very formal to be referred to in this way, almost overbearingly so outside of the music context; I ask you to consider other options if you're just talking about me as a person.

ashastral

Handle · strictly lowercase · online presence

This is my username on most websites. It's always one lowercase word when I have the choice (pay no mind to my YouTube channel's generated username). This is a great way to refer to me on the Internet; it's unambiguous and pleasantly informal compared to my musician alias.

One exception to this is cohost, where I managed to snag the username @astral. You can call me that instead on cohost.

A. Astral

Truncated proper noun · case-sensitive · dance game alias

I use this truncated name for two purposes: when crediting myself in a simfile, and when registering for dance game tournaments. The main reason for this might be called search engine unoptimization. If someone searches for "Ash Astral", I want them to find my music, not my simfiles - and definitely not random VODs of ITG tournaments featuring my face and body! The particular "F. Lastname" truncation pattern comes from how the official ITG simfiles were credited.

Things that are not my name

Can you find the problem(s) with each of these names? The answers are written above!

• AshAstral
• Ashastral
• ash astral
• a. astral

Things that are no longer my name

• Fraxtil was my username and musician alias for many years. I changed it in 2019, but anything I made in 2018 and prior keeps this name attached, including music and simfiles.
• ÆSC was the alias I used for the song Y.E.A.H., written for Club Fantastic in 2020. It's unlikely to be used again.
• shala* was the secret alias I used to tease the song Headspace (under the anagram alias "Aceshaped") in 2018. When the "*" is spelled as "star", it forms an anagram of "Ash Astral"! This is also unlikely to be used again.