#mepari

[gailynovelry]

Writing Sign Language

Hey, quick tip for all you writer folks out there; when you write about a character who uses sign language, format it the same way that you format your spoken dialogue.

For example, here are ways you should not write sign language:

“She shouldn’t be worried about me,” Mepari signed.

She shouldn’t be worried about me, Mepari signed.

<She shouldn’t be worried about me,> Mepari signed.

And here is the way you should write sign language:

“She shouldn’t be worried about me,” Mepari signed.

You don’t need to write sign differently than any other language your characters speak, because the dialogue tag and story context should be enough to cue the reader in to how the character is communicating. What your character says isn’t suddenly different from other dialogue just because it’s not verbally spoken. Sign language is still language!

[gailynovelry]

I think some of my favorite aspects of my worldbuilding are the names and languages. I have a language document specifically for referencing Ulluic, and if you pay attention, you might be able to discern the difference between Ulluic names and Gadhian names, male/female/neutral names, and fei names versus human names. Here are some examples!

Crislie is a common Gadhian name, comparable to being named “Jane”. Crislie’s mother intentionally gave her and Evain very plain, ordinary names, in the hopes that it would help them be accepted in the small, insular community that is Gadlin. “-ie” ending names are considered very feminine in Gadhi. Crislie, personally, likes how her name sounds.

Mepari is technically not a “real” name in Gadhi, but Meparik is. Like most fei, Mepari named himself (after a character from his favorite book, in his case). “-i” ending names aren’t considered valid by Gadhi’s human society, but a lot of Talimour’s fei alter names to end in “-i” to make them gender-neutral, or just more cute. In Mep’s case, his fellow Frostbiters removed the “-k” to make his name better reflect how small and helpless he seems. Mep always resented that, but he couldn’t get them to stop, so he accepted it after a while. Only Charlan respects him as Meparik.

Vaerin’s name... is not a real name at all. Silamir haphazardly cobbled it together for her out of the Ulluan word “vae” (harsh sunlight) and the suffix “-rin” (in opposition to). Her name literally means “enemy of the sun”. Vaerin has sometimes considered renaming herself, but could never quite find one that suited her better.

Snow, well, named himself after snow, because his hair is white and he worships the god of winter, Fraihz. The Courtfather’s not a real inventive man.

Charlan is a Gadhian bastardization of jharlian, an Ulluan word that means “expensive” or “valuable”. Charlan did a lot of reading before deciding his name.

Gilde named themself after the golden color of their eyes, and because they liked the phrase “gilding the lily”. You can tell it’s a fei name and not a human name because Gadhian humans use “-dhe” not “-de”, referencing their god Gardhe. Fei... don’t often like Gardhe.

Ainzel named themself after a common folkloric character among the fei of Ullua. It’s the second name they’ve ever worn. Their first was Lalaura, after a kind of desert flower.

Jeidhe’s full name is Jeidhe Amry Fawkes (the third). “Jeidhe” means “steadfast. “-y” names are masculine by Gadhian standards.

So on and so forth. Have to leave it off on here for now, but I could go on forever about names, man! They’re fun.

[gailynovelry]

mep, your friends have concerns

“Well,” Vaerin interrupted, “it is not as if we are stealing from an innocent party…”

“Exactly! The Irongardhe want us to die. Stealing from them is like stealing an apple right from Gilde’s pockets. Is it really a bad thing if we do it to a bad person?” Mepari offered, helpfully lending the support of his dubious morals.

Gilde, with an insulted air about them, frantically dug through their pockets.

I wanted to put this somewhere, because there is a sad chance that it’s not going to make it into Shadow Herald’s sequel despite being disastrously funny. Just another example of Gilde and Mep’s horrible sibling relationship.

Shadow Herald Taglist: @the-great-teller-of-tales @ramblingrubyred @aziz-writes

[gailynovelry]

responses to their own stupidity

If anybody’s going to come up with a stupid idea and immediately hit backspace on it because she is entirely too afraid to make mistakes, it’s Vaerin.

If anybody’s going to come up with a stupid idea and impulsively do it without a second thought (and then forget to regret it), it’s Crislie.

If anybody’s going to come up with a stupid idea, recognize it’s stupidity, and do it anyway because he’s a little shit who deserves a good almost-teenaged rebellion, it’s Mepari.

SH taglist: @the-great-teller-of-tales @ramblingrubyred @aziz-writes

[gailynovelry]

Vaerin: Mepari, were you having a bad dream?

Mepari: No, a bad reality.

[gailynovelry]

⭐

One fact: Mepari hates the inseam on socks, but likes warm feet. Or he did, before he became the Winter Herald, and stopped feeling cold altogether.

[gailynovelry]

Happy STS! What is your favorite relationship (platonic or not) in your WIP? Why?~writing blog @paula-writes~

Oh dear, don’t make me choose, it’s so hard! I’m going to have to narrow it down to… too many.

Firstly, Crislie x Vaerin. Do you know how much fun it is to craft a soft, sweet, sappy relationship? Really fun. Even before they get together, their opposite energy bounces off each other really well. Crislie’s a big goofy dumbass who would punch a god if given the opportunity, and Vaerin’s a cowardly snark who is absolutely not ready to be a protagonist, and they’re constantly pulling each other out of danger, and I love it.

Secondly, Mepari’s interaction with Vaerin is always adorable. She mentally adopts him not two minutes after laying eyes on him. While he can be capricious with his affection, because he’s not a very trusting person, Mepari makes her his go-to person to hide behind when things get scary. It probably helps that she taught him how to sign, which gave him a greater ability to express himself. He’s grateful for that.

Here’s (one of) my favorite quotes from Chapter Eighteen;

Crislie jolted to her feet. “Vaerin! There’s something wrong with your weird fei son.”

The waif lifted her head, tiredly smacking her lips as Crislie trudged through the snow-buried clutter. “My what?”

“You tell me, you’re the one that practically adopted this bundle of dirt and rags.” 

Honorable mentions / Spoiler territory:

Another (slightly more serious) adopted son-parent dynamic develops between Mepari and Charlan

Crislie and Mepari’s relationship goes from “ew, not this guy” to “I would die for them”

Mepari and Gilde’s mutual sibling loathing (it’s kinda funny, but also kinda tragic)

Crislie and Gilde get into this weirdly desperate friendship cling later, but that’s very spoilery and sad

Inky is just a kindly grandpa to Vaerin, and he wishes he saw her more often

Crislie charges into battle on a direwolf and Mepari gets a pet crow to patpat

Snow genuinely loves his kids but he’s just... a really trash dad

Fraihz is pretty delirious and Mepari honestly doesn’t know what to do with them (besides internally scream)

They never interact on the page, but I can confirm that Jeidhe 100% wants Regent Elaina step on him, and that she would not mind doing so

Thanks for the ask! <3

Shadow Herald Taglist: @the-great-teller-of-tales @ramblingrubyred @aziz-writes

[gailynovelry]

Mepari: Can I ask you for your advice on something?

Crislie, who has not made a decision that didn't fuck her over for three months afterward: Sure!