#when the rashti walked among us

[voluptuarian]

Are they really your beloved ocs if you don't pose their Hero Forge minis all cute and take a bunch of photos?

[hivebreed]

IRKEN CON LANG : 

link to part two 

Some notes about syntax: Because titles are immensely important in their society, most sentences are formulated in third person. There is no “to be” verb and no articles attached to nouns except those that denote possession. Generally, Irken follows a standard SVO (subject-verb-object) order except in the case of conditions or prepositional phrases. E.g.: “To conquer, Tak wants to go” or “Now, Zim wants Dib to leave.” 

Now, with regards to pronunciation, all “s”s are drawn out like a snake’s hissing, and all “z”s are drawn out like a buzz. All consonants at the end of words are always stressed, e.g., “ziM” or “taK.” Similar to many Pacific Island languages, all vowels are voiced. For example, “a’zue” would sound like “a’zzzzooee.” All vowels make the long sound except for “a,” which make the short sounds like the “a” /æ/ in “cat.” All i’s are rounded (/î/) rather than short like the “i” in “sit.” Apostrophes denote a clicking sound similar to Yautjan or Poleepkwan. 

Now, let’s get into it! 

GREETINGS : 

hello- asha (informal) 

hello- a’shoha (formal, used when addressing superior officers, the tallest, the control brains, etc.) 

goodbye- ore’za (informal) 

goodbye (i will heed and obey)- (name) shral z’out eshi a’zue

good morning (may mach shine upon your steps)- soz shmen etash / etash’am (pl.), dia mach klar 

good night (may yuri/takshi safeguard your rest)- dia yuri/takshi bakar shmen lishnu/lishnum (pl.) 

QUESTION WORDS : 

who/whom- onz

what- ki’shu

when- ki’zu

where- koze

why- pou’kisha

how- ze’sea

which one- ki’yesh nun

VERB TENSES : 

Tenses are very easy to remember. You simply take a verb (of which many only have two conjugations: one for singular and one for plural) and add a pre-fix before it. “Shral” is used for future tense, “ze’se” for past tense, and “ken” for past perfect tense. There is no present perfect tense in Irken. Imperatives are simply conjugated verbs that are spoken with greater emphasis and more assertive body language. And the word for must is “kanu.” 

COMMON VERBS : 

to go- al’eza / (plural; spoken when referring to “we” or “you guys”) al’ezam 

to fly (spaceship)- vosh / vosham 

to walk- etash / etash’am  

to run- kou’su / kou’sum 

to sit- shmiz / shmizam 

to rest- riz’oshe / riz’oshem 

to sleep- lishnu / lishnum

to eat- nash / nasham 

to drink- zwesh / zwesham 

to speak- ol’esu / ol’esum 

to work- trazu / trazum 

to pray- puli / puli’am

to serve- zav’so / zav’som 

to protect- bakar / bakar’am

to bow- besh / besh’am 

to stay- rez’ea / rez’eam

to leave- kit’es / kit’esam 

to follow- shmiv / shmivam 

to fight- haz’aza / haz’azam 

to die- kam’azai / kam’azaim 

to give- hazae / hazaem 

to take- lash’me / lash’mem 

to know- tashmach / tashmach’am 

to want- vles / vlesam

to need- bezwe / bezwe’am 

to like- remze / remze’am 

to hate- rash’ayi / rash’ayam 

to love (romantically)- ren’zea (old irken; no longer in use) / ren’zeam 

to love (brotherly/familial)- ke’ashea (old irken; no longer in use) / ke’asheam 

NUMBERS :

* After ten, all subsequent numbers are sequenced. For example, “eleven” would be said as “one-one” and “eighty” would be said as “eight-zero.” Likewise, 1,000,002 would be spoken as “million-two.” 

0- osh

1- yo’ush

2- ze

3- za

4- ska 

5- shen

6- shis

7- sez

8- u’ish

9- nu’ash

10- zes

hundred- sash

thousand- shmiz

million- shmil

billion- sil 

trillion- zril 

UNITS OF MEASUREMENT / TIME : 

(roughly translated to) liter- mez’on

shmekak- something similar to our Celsius 

meter- mis’a 

gram- zra’ze

second- fwaz

minute- fwaz’e

hour- es’ake

day- shaz

night- rashti

year- liz’ye

lightyear- as liz’ye

century (dynasty)- shik’ti 

now- ku’se

later- pise 

soon- shek’zo 

never- pa’rasim 

always- kou’shu 

again- aka

before- avas

after- asavre 

COMMON PREPOSITIONS : 

at- nak 

above- pi’soa 

across- atra’se

against- shon

among- mizan

below- anbas

behind- kesu

beneath- azba

beside- akos

between- ans

in front of- vedas

during- pazdas

down- desa

up- leze

from- sozna

into- naz

near- prez

toward- dizek’so

or- z’ie

of- az

off- kouz

on- soz

to- pos

too- ok (pronounced like “oak”) 

for- pu

by- pa

under- azbas

within- nazra

with- ka 

past- shak’se

outside- dek’shi

[voluptuarian]

I don't know if it'll make it into the story proper, but I know at some point in their marriage Sula and Red will have to have a conversation about Red's deep-seated concerns that Sula might lose interest in him once he's no longer attractive, particularly as he ages. Intellectually he knows that probably won't happen, but a lifetime of his value, even his security, hinging on his youth and looks has made it impossible for him not to worry about it. The irony of this situation being that Sula considers getting to grow old with him a special privilege, one she couldn’t have with her first husband, and for many years doubted she would ever have, expecting to die at war-- Red couldn't have found anyone less bothered by the idea of him getting old and gray than the woman he married.

[voluptuarian]

Since I’ll never be able to draw a proper picture of either of these kids, I decided to make them in Bebinator. So here are my main babies, Sula (the stale cinnnamon roll on the left) and Red, the Soft Boy on the right. 

[voluptuarian]

one line description tag

I was tagged by @thewinedarksea to describe my current writing projects in one-line; I have a lot of projects, but here are the major ones.... 

When the Rashti Walked Among Us: A death-seeking guerrilla fighter meets a desperate slave while on a suicide mission against the empire that destroyed her home and rescues him, with life-changing consequences for both. 

The Witch’s Man: Arrested for witchcraft and wrongly condemned to death, an innocent man is unexpectedly saved from the gallows by the arrival of a real witch, who offers to help him escape if he becomes her slave.

The Triumph of Venus: Struggling with the fallout of a lost war and his own sexuality, a traumatized Victorian veteran begins a kinky affair with his dead friend's widow, but despite both having vowed to keep things strictly physical, love intervenes.

The Dancing Ground: The myth of the Minotaur retold from the point of view of his sister, Ariadne, who, led by a string of prophetic dreams, finds a creature in the darkness beneath the palace and defies law, braves exile, and faces gods to save him.

The Living Pearl: Seen as holy by her people, a teenage princess born with albinism sets out on a pilgrimage through her kingdom, accompanied by her loyal and secretly love-lorn bodyguard-- romance and adventure ensue.

Where Angels Fear to Tread: A disgraced reporter and a handsome club singer forge an uneasy alliance in order to investigate the death of a coat check girl in post-WW2 New York, but find that murder is just the tip of the iceberg.

The Bed of Pyrrhus: After Troy falls, Andromache and Helenus become slaves together in the household of Pyrrhus, Achilles' son, where they must endure exile and disgrace to survive.

Currently-untitled fantasy 1: A magical tornado erupts in the house of hedge witch, spiriting the witch's niece and their eccentric wizard boarder into a pocket dimension, where the two are pursued by a dangerous figure from the wizard's past.

The King’s Shadow: The newly-crowned king of a nation plagued by assassination and intrigue wakes one night to find an infamous assassin in his bedroom, but she's not there to kill him-- in fact, she might be the only person around interested in keeping him alive.

Maram: In a village on the edge of the desert, the ordinary purchase of a not-so-ordinary goat drags sick and solitary butcher Maram into the middle of a millenia-long war between mankind, fae-like peri, and demonic div, and ultimately to a vengeful and beautiful warrior, a new life, and his own destiny. 

Currently-untitled fantasy 2: A rogue god possesses a priestess, raises an army of evil spirits, and sows a swathe of destruction in a bid to sever the holy tree that connects earth to heaven; a girl struck by lightning, a prince with no country, a shaman, a warrior queen, and a bard join forces to stop it.  

Sedna: Hunting for seals, a young girl finds a naked man frozen in the ice, unintentionally continuing a decades old-drama involving her own family and the favor of a wrathful sea goddess.

To Look On Tempests: In a cyberpunk future of dystopian grime, crime, and revolutionary sentiment, an ex-con accidentally kidnaps-- and unintentionally rescues-- a prostitute during a job gone wrong, and the two stumble awkwardly and hesitantly into love.

I don’t honestly know that many other writers, but I tag @nativepeach and anyone else who feels like doing this!

[voluptuarian]

Red has the body of a tol but the heart of smol, just saying.

[voluptuarian]

So there’s an upcoming scene in my main novel that I’m stupidly looking forward to writing. Basically Red (the male lead and also the sweetest and purest cinnamon roll there has ever been) originally came from a herding and fishing community, and grew up raising goats and sheep. But after being taken captive and enslaved as a child he hasn’t really seen or interacted with more than a house cat since. Then Sula (the heroine) rescues him and takes him back to her homeland, which is full of weavers, spinners, and their zillions of goats and sheep and not only is this something he actually knows his way around, and how to handle (unlike basically everything else he’s dealing with now) but it’s these animals he used to raise himself and hasn’t seen since he was a kid and he’s just tickled to be working with them again. It’s the most ridiculous thing to be so excited about writing, but it’s going to be so cute, and it’s one of the first times you (or Sula) get to see Red’s personality, and actually see him happy and I just adjgjgjfkl

[voluptuarian]

*Decides the main culture in my fantasy novel will all wear skirts so I can weed out the weak readers early on*

*Patterns the other lead culture off of peoples who wore skirts and robes pretty much all the time*

*Realizes my male lead is never actually out of a skirt the whole novel except when literally naked*

I am pretty ok with all this, actually.

[voluptuarian]

Chakchali - Hill People 2/5

Formerly based in the plains to the west of the Chimu mountains, the Chakchali (lit. "those who walk the circle") are a traditionally nomadic people, cattle herders living and travelling with their livestock for most of the year. Old allies of the Machi, the two peoples are closely related, sharing the same language and much the same culture, as well as a long history of intermarriage and trade.

With the coming of the Valeron, the Chakchali lost both their herds and grazing land, and with it much of their culture. Most have taken up the customs of their neighbors and become farmers and craftsmen, but strive to retain their own identity despite the loss of their traditional way of life.

[voluptuarian]

*chanting* give me answers about Sula and Red!!!! Also, Yamato/Takeo?

Sula and Red (they’re two oc’s of mine, and my babies)

who holds the umbrella when it rains – Red is taller, so probably him. 

who is the grumpiest in the morning – Red. He tries to be a morning person, but just can’t do it. 

who worries more when the other is sick/hurt – !!!! Probably about the same?! He’s a doctor and she’s a soldier so they should be used to either, but they’re both ridiculously concerned about one another! I think maybe Red would be more upset by really minor stuff. 

who plays pranks on the other – Red, but never mean ones!

who is always the first to suggest cuddling on the sofa –  nnnnnhm Red? (They are both cuddlers. Cuddlers cuddling all the time.)

who insists on creating nicknames for the other – Suuuuula

who drools on the other when they’re asleep – lol Probably Sula. (I can’t help but think Red would have been trained not to.)

who says ‘I love you’ first – Red. It’s legitimately Red. 

Yamato and Takeo

who holds the umbrella when it rains – Takeo 

who is the grumpiest in the morning – Neither! Takeo strikes me as one of the people who’s wide awake and like doing stretches at 7 in the morning. Yamato’s probably a late sleeper, but wouldn’t be a grump, just kind of cute and dazed. 

who worries more when the other is sick/hurt - TAKEO

who plays pranks on the other – probably Yamato. But tbh they’re probably really fail pranks, and ones Takeo probably wouldn’t even understand. 

who is always the first to suggest cuddling on the sofa – Yamato, and as awkwardly and indirectly as possible.

who insists on creating nicknames for the other – Yaaaamato

who drools on the other when they’re asleep - Yaaaaamato

who says ‘I love you’ first – I think it was Yamato in canon?

[voluptuarian]

Machi - The Hill People 1/5

The Machi (lit. "those who make") are a race of farmers, artisans, and craftsmen native to the grasslands at the foot of the Chimu mountains. A peaceful people, they value stability and cooperation above warfare and expansion; however, they are also deeply proud and independent, and make fierce fighters when roused to war.

The Machi believe in a single god, the creator Sa-Ki, as well as a host of spirits, and revere the stars as the souls of their honored ancestors. They consider the earth and its resources sacred, and seeing themselves as its tenants and keepers, are careful to work and live in concert with it.

After the deadly arrival of the invading Valeron empire and subsequent destruction of the grasslands, the Machi were driven into the shelter of the hills, which they now make their home.

[voluptuarian]

"And what would you have been, if the Valeron had never come?"

"A fisherman."

[voluptuarian]

"Tell me what you would have done at twelve years old; alone, terrified. You don't know what it's like to be so afraid that you would do anything to keep yourself safe."