#they’re my little blorbos and I love them however there is a point where it just gets silly

[kirbyofthestars]

i don't believe i need to elaborate on why You are a bigender icon (you are bigender and also cool), but. zohar silhouettemirage requires explanation, being from an obscure sega saturn slash ps1 game that has a cool concept, mid-tier execution.

so. basically the entire lore of silhouete mirage is that every living being is either Silhouette (blue) or Mirage (red). you literally cannot naturally be both at once because silhouette and mirage powers repel each other to the point that you will not survive trying to harness both at once.

zohar (along with the player character, Shyna, and every other boss in the game) was part of an experiment to create a person who can harness both the powers of silhouette and mirage. as a result, zohar has two different forms (with different names, at that) that they can switch between at will: zohar metatron, their silhouette form, and zohar sandalphon, their mirage form. zohar is extremely powerful and proud of it, and because of this they are the rival of the player character, shyna.

now here’s the part where it gets bigender: their two forms have slightly different personalities and gender expression. metatron is more straight-up aggressive and masculine (and uses a sword), and sandalphon is more passive-aggressive and feminine (and uses a gun). (in general, they are kind-of an asshole but i love them for it they are so blorbo to me.)

in the japanese manuals and guidebooks, they aren’t referred to with pronouns (because that how standard japanese is) but in the game, every instance they are referred to with a pronoun or noun is gender-neutral—except for right after their introduction where shyna refers to them as something along the lines of “that man-and-woman” when “that person” would’ve worked just fine. in the english localisation, however, zohar is referred to with it/its in the manual and he/him in the like one instance they are ever referred to by a pronoun in the localisation. despite being referred to a he/him, they are referred to with gendered nouns based on their current form; metatron is “son”, and sandalphon is “daughter”.

too bad uh. the horrors happen to them. *opens my fix-it fic doc and adds another sentence*

also, the japanese-exclusive silhouette mirage guidebook has some funny little 1-panel comics. in one panel, shyna asks zohar how it is being both a man and a woman, and they’re like “meh, it’s alright” except they say it twice whilst switching between their forms—once in a more masculine way, and once in a more feminine way. in another panel, zohar is at a bathhouse, just standing there with a bucket and no idea if they should go in the men’s side or the women’s side.

other than that despite being obviously gender-non-conforming in whatever way their gender is never played or laughs or treated as anything weird or whatever. even the funny comic things in the guidebook are relatable. it’s so based.

i hope this fits in the askbox that's a lot of words

!!!!!!!!!

[heniareth]

OH HI HI :D For the soft ask meme if I may exhibit a little Astala greed >_> I desire more information about my blorbo that I might rotate her in my head with greater detail 🌾🌿💦any or all of them is fine, whatever works for you <3 <3 <3 hope you have a gorgeous day today!!

HI HI HI!!!! I finally get to answer this!! I'm so excited :D :D :D Pardon the wait, but I'll make it worth your while, I promise XD Off we go! Under the cut because it's LONG! And let's start with the dark stuff, bc why not? >:)

💦 If you as the writer could erase one traumatic event from this OC’s life what would it be and why?

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of death of a parent, depression of the other parent, and the resulting childhood trauma for this whole question

Definitely, 100% sure, her mother's death, all the stuff that lead up to it (which I talked about in this post and in this other post, which are both asks) and all the stuff that happened because of it (read: her father growing terribly depressed, then getting sick and not being able to work, then Astala herself getting sick, and later Astala having to work way sooner than she thought bc suddenly her father was the sole provider for the family and it wasn’t enough)

On one hand bc it's the single biggest traumatic event for Astala (the fight with the archdemon and the encounter with the broodmother are close seconds, but at that point she is older and has more ressources and help to deal with them. And she left those two encounters victorious, more or less. Her mother's disappearance was a massive blow that had her struggling to stand afterwards)

On the other, however, it would've been so amazing for her to have her mom backing her up in the matter with Vaughan, the matter with the Blight and keeping the Alienage and her family safe while Astala ventured out into the world. Adaia would've been a huge help by simply being there for her when she came back from the broodmother or the archdemon with the words of wisdom of one who had already been fighting for decades and who knew Astala very, very well

Also, I would've loved to see Adaia and Cyrion being terribly in love with each other (because those two would’ve been THE SWEETEST), see the relationship between Astala and her mother grow and evolve, maybe Astala would even have had a younger sibling??? Who knows! It was robbed from us!

Also also, Zevran meeting Astala's mom and she's this small 40-something-year old woman who is tough as nails, who immediately clocks him as a very experienced rogue, who casually informs him that life will become very unpleasant for him if he hurts her daughter! But who also recognises that he's battling with his own demons and takes Astala aside to remind her that she has to be patient with this poor man, who offers sympathy and support if he wants it bc she's seen some shit as well? Please sign me UP that would've been amazing!!! She would’ve loved Zevran and Zevran would’ve loved her and Adaia would’ve had another rogue to talk rogue-stuff with bc Astala never really got the whole rogue-ing. Truly, we've been robbed T.T

So yeah, Adaia's death it is

🌿 What way does your OC show that they care without using words? What way do others show your OC that they’re cared about without using speech?

Oh this! This is a lovely question

Astala can be quite verbal and verbally expressive. It's probably a habit she's learned over the course of her life bc things get much easier for her when she can just talk about them directly (Nelaros gets to suffer that. In a shameful act of self-promotion, I'll link the chapter of my fanfic where Astala sits him down for A Talk (you already know the chapter, wild-houseplant, but I thought it might be appropriate for the convenience of others))

That means that she's the person who will try to awkwardly reassure you through words ("It'll be fine! You'll see"). She knows it doesn't always work. It doesn't even work for her most of the times (it tends to put her in a worse mood, in fact), but it's what comes to easiest to her, especially if she's not familiar with the person to be reassured and/or physical contact is not an option

But also what she does most is ask you to tell her about the problem. First, because that alone can help, but second, because it helps het as much as the other person. She likes to know what's going on if somebody's feeling down. She also likes to jump directly into possible solutions, but has learned over time that sometimes (many times) simply listening is the way to go

Physical touch would be her second choice if verbal comfort is not available (for whatever reason). A hug, a hand on a shoulder, a ruffling of the hair, a squeeze of the hand, a bump with the shoulder, Astala has means and ways to show care physically. She is also, however, very keenly aware that people don't always want to be touched and thus errs on the side of caution

The third option, if she can't reach the person in question verbally or physically, would be to take care of their stuff. Hand them an extra big slice of bread with their meal. Pester them to go to sleep early. Take over some kind of chore they had to do

If all else fails, she'll hover. She'll be watching, alert and ready, in case something (anything) happens and she can do something (anything) to help. She gets restless when the people she likes aren't okay and don't let her help

As for how others would show her they care, here's a handy dandy non-conclusive list:

Cyrion has brought Astala plums and other little things she likes to cheer her up more than once. He's not big on the physical, but leans more towards words of comfort and advice.

Adaia always made time for her daughter. She would listen without comment, not offer advice unless asked directly, and simply hug the hell out of Astala

Shianni likes to take her under her wing for a change when Astala's having a rough time. She'll get her out of the house or otherwise think of something that'll distract her. She's also very much one for hugs

Soris will offer his time and company to Astala. He'll also patiently allow her to talk through whatever is going on in her mind at the moment. He himself will be mostly silent during these conversations

Alistair will make jokes. So many jokes. He'll genuinely try to cheer her up by being silly. As the story progresses, he will also start taking over some of the duties that come with leading the companions. AND he'll make sure Astala rests when she gets sick (he’s one of the only ones capable to out-argue her when she insists that she’s not sick)

Morrigan will scoff and huff and offer sarcastic comments about how Astala's mood is ruining the day, but she will also watch her back very intently, especially if Astala's having trouble with human men. She'll provide a slice of (her brand of) cold, hard realism if Astala is getting lost in intense emotions of long duration

Leliana will listen and talk. She and Astala play off well against one another. Leliana is genuinely interested in what Astala has to tell and is generous with her enthusiasm (both over things that excite her and things that excite Astala)

Zevran's first choice of comfort is, I think, physical. It might be a full-blown hug, it might be a caress, it might be a simple, fleeting touch. He's very good at assessing how much is desired and what is needed. He offers a sympathetic ear of the kind that validates the experience that is being shared. He keeps an eye on Astala, making sure she takes good care of herself. He stands right next to her when things get tough, lets her know as much as possible that she can rely on him. And he works so hard to make it work, to make them work, to learn how to bear his issues and shortcomings with grace and how to forgive and love hers. He tries to be more verbally expressive, because it's Astala's first choice of communicating and she's trying to be better at not heckling him and giving him space when he needs it

(Now I'm emotional)

🌾 Describe your OC through the eyes of someone absolutely head-over-heels in love with them

Ho boy. Hooooooooo boy this is THE question. Thank you so much for asking this I'm so excited!!!!!! That's also why I left it for last (and why I took so long with this XD XD XD) Let's go!! And for this lovely question, you even get a snippet of one moment vere Astala dresses up fancy, probably for the Landsmeet (it had to happen. It just had to. I can’t write this story without leaving Zevran absolutely gobsmacked at some point)

Zevran stepped up directly behind Alistair and looked up.

“Alright, alright, I’ll show off,” Astala said begrudgingly, and, noticing him, gave him a small grimace before she made her way down the stairs.

Zevran, meanwhile, had to remind himself to breathe.

His Warden had pulled her hair up. What held the dark curls in place, he did not know, but they showed off her neck and strong shoulders. Said shoulder were bare, in the style of dress common among the Fereldan city elves. Stiff linen formed the wide and straight collar, shimmering silk billowed with every step and shone like liquid metal, gauze bunched up at the armholes of the otherwise sleeveless dress and spilled out over Astala’s arms, surround them and presumably re-attach to the dress at the back. Scars old and new littered her skin, some of them light lines and patches, others dark spots; each of them spoke to the warrior she was. Zevran couldn’t help but think back to how she had looked after leaving Orzammar: sick, bent over, eyes dull and surrounded by dark circles. How different from the woman before him, who stood tall and strong, who smiled to herself as she ran her hands over her dress, whose eyes spoke of determination, of a thirst for justice, and who turned towards him, tilted her head, and asked: “How do I look?”

Zevran tried to put his thoughts into words. She looked like a wave breaking over a ship to drag its crew with her. She was a cool lake in the mountains on a hot summer day. She was the vast, star-dotted night sky and the storm clouds mounting up on the horizon. He could’ve gone on for a long time; Maker knew words usually came easily to him. And yet, his tongue was tied.

Well. I don't know about description, but somebody has a serious case of pining.

Thank you so so so so so so much for these questions XD XD XD As you can see, I had a ton of fun with them, especially with the last one. All of them give me a serious case of brain go brrrrrrr, which is exhilarating. This is also very very long, so take as long as you want to read through it XD And off I go to answer more :D :D :D Have a lovely day!!

[ranahan]

I’m glad you enjoyed it! I’ve tried to not put an obnoxious amount of technical terms in my posts, because while I am just the kind of a nerd who enjoys that, I assume that it’s a pretty small audience who share that enthusiasm. So, you know, if there’s ever a post that has too much jargon, drop a comment to that effect and I’ll try to get around to clarifying it.

Oh yeah, the MandoCreator dictionary is by far the best out of the “major” fandom dictionaries. My personal favourite though is this one by @sootyships.

Ideally you would have a community for developing a naturalistic language, that would use the language exclusively. That seems to be how new natural languages arise. Unfortunately, internet communities are difficult arenas for communication, because they’re missing all the context: you can’t point at a thing and invent a new word for it. That kind of a completely natural language emergence also seems to require a couple of generations of speakers (not necessarily actual generations, school year classes or internet generations seem to suffice).

So my thoughts about creating a community conlang are a little bit different. I’d like to see enough vocabulary and grammar development that you could first communicate in the language monolingually; and then let the community change the language and derive new words however it happens naturally. Just agree that languages change, and there can be variation, and that’s a great thing and not something to have schisms over. Easier said than done I’m sure; there have been many a schism over changing the language among the most popular constructed languages. But personally I just love the idea of a conlang with dialects.

As for pus… well, a couple of thoughts.

First, not every new word can be related to something in the dictionary. There just aren’t enough roots for that. At some point you are going to have to make new ones (and that’s where knowing a bit about phonotactics is great, because that’s what makes the new roots sound like the existing ones).

And second, even if you are going to derive a word from an existing word, look at the etymologies in natural languages: they are all about metaphor, not logic. My first idea for a word for rust was bes’tal; then I realised that that’s just not what a natural language would call it at all, and made it talin instead. Like “blooding,” because rust looks a bit like dried blood, right? And I might change it again if I think of something that’s culturally more fitting. Think about deriving new words as poetry, not as a logic puzzle.

And that being said, the poetry and metaphors should be of the culture. You are absolutely correct in this. When you look at a thing and ask “what would my blorbos call this?” you need to look at it through their eyes. Are they sedentary or nomadic? What level of technology do they have, is electricity to them about electrons or sparks or thunder? I think this is where Traviss did pretty well, and that’s a large part of why fans find Mando’a compelling enough to learn (although it’s also been pointed out there were many Western cultural assumptions she also failed to check).

And last: the easiest way to derive a new word is to use an old word in a new sense (the fancy term would be polysemy). Look in an English dictionary and see how many different senses words like “see” or “different” have (mine has 14 and 6, respectively). So a word for pus? Kyor: it’s to a body what rot is to a plant, no?

I’ve seen lots of people use haveyir, ‘to guide,’ presumably backformed form jehavey’ir, ‘to ambush.’

But I don’t think jehavey’ir means “to lead astray.” I think it’s “to falsely lie in wait.” As in, the same root as haav, ‘bed.’

Change my mind!