Tag: Laero

Kradhi, 16 year old severely depressed warrior extraordinaire.

Narrowing down some final details for clothing in Laero because why not??

Summer outfits for the Laero are still made of fine wool because, hey, it never gets that warm. A linen undertunic (t-shaped tunic) and a short, wool overtunic,  woven hosen over shorter underthings (attached to the undertunic), boots made from reindeer hide, decorative sashes and her bell, of course.

Also working on her tattoos a bit. Her right arm I’m more or less satisfied other than the picky details (she has the sacred animals with their particular symbols). Left arm is more general, and might be changed later. She also has tattoos down her spine and covering most of her back.

Laero tattoos are thin line tattoos because they’re a form of scarification with ink put in before the wounds heal.

They like embroidery for their clothing but it’s almost always geometric designs and again, usually very thin, with none of the intricate picture-based embroidery that’s found on clothing worn by other cultures (specifically the Marzjen, with whom they do a fair amount of trade).

4 AND 6

4: Do you have an writing habits/rituals?

I don’t think so? The only thing I do is that every time I start a new draft I open a blank document and type it all from scratch again. But I don’t know if that actually counts!

6: Favorite character you’ve written?

RETTA. I have an emotional connection to all the girls in Laero but Retta is definitely the most fun I’ve ever had writing a character. I’m sad I have to take out most of her scenes because reasons, but that just means I get a chance to write some new ones.

I always love my own writing but this tiny lesbian pirate destroying the patriarchy will never not be one of my favorite things I’ve ever written

I don’t know what part of my subconscious invented Retta but she is a GIFT

20 for the writing meme!

A sentence I’m proud of? Don’t you mean All Of Them? Oh man, well I don’t know off the top of my head a sentence that I really liked BUT you can have this scene from Laero because I love it (pardon Retta’s accent):

“You cannot humiliate
my men in this way,” Bozier said. Retta stood in front of him, arms crossed,
unrepentant.             

“He insulted me first,” she said. “I’m here doing you the
favor and you let your people treat me like this thing?”            

“You are a woman-”            

“I’m warrior, just like you! I demand equal amount of
respect!” Retta snapped right back at him, eyes flashing. “And if you no give it to me then I’ll take it by force.”            

“You are a prisoner here, and you’ll do as I tell you
to!” Bozier roared.          

“There’s no single one of your warriors that could keep
me or Geri here against our will and you damn well know this thing! I’m no some
doe-eyed little housewife you can intimidate with your bulk and your loud voice
and this blade is no just for show. It’ll work just as well on you as it will
on your men.”          

“You’re threatening me?!”
He slammed his hand down on the table so hard that a ceramic mug bounced off
and shattered on the wooden floor of his cabin. He stood, drawing himself to
his considerable height. Even the most hardened of his men would have quailed
under the rage in his eyes but Retta leaned in farther.            

“Dje,” she said,
and her voice was as cold as the ice fields Bozier had left behind. “The next
man who dares to insult me will lose tongue. And the next man to touch me will lose hand. You will make this clear to your men, or
you’re going to have many less warriors ready to do your bidding. I am no one
of your dog, who will come and lick your boots after you kick me. I am no one
of your wife, who will make you dinner after you insult me. And I am no one of
your maiden, who will accept the unwelcome advances of the warrior out of fear.
I am Marzjen, and I fight back.”

tc-doherty:

Have some nerds. I love, love, love costume design and the costume design for Laero in particular is super fun. These are more typical outfits and less what they actually wear in the book (except Retta) but hey.

Retta: The Marzjen adore bright colors for their fabrics which are usually covered with sea motifs. They wear tons of jewelry, too. Mostly coral in white, pink, or blue. There’s also lilac and yellow coral but it’s rare and if they’ve got that much money they usually jump to much flashier sunstone instead (what Retta has on her belt/earrings) because they love play-of-color and anything flashy. The color of the overtunic contrasts with the undertunic and breeches which are usually black and white.

Kradhi: This is a summer outfit for her, since I usually draw her in winter clothes. The Laero base their outfits to blend into the leaves of the Norforest which range from obnoxiously bright green to navy based on the season. They do a boatload of embroidery, usually geometric. While they mostly confine themselves to blue and green, they love red and yellow and use those colors as accents a lot. And of course Kradhi keeps her ceramic ‘bell’ on her sash at all times, like a good warrior.

Nelli: She usually wears her military uniform, so this is what she would have worn if she went into the free cities on leave. The only concession to her rank is the blue tattoos on her arms (temporary plant based dye, the patterns change but the color has to do with rank). They wear less clashing colors than the Marzjen or the Laero. Most of the accent design isn’t straight embroidery but bead-work instead. The head scarf is usually worn loose, held up with a headband but can easily be converted into a more concealing arrangement in case of sandstorms or just really bright sun.

Also Retta is excited, because she always is. And I hate using this color for Nelli’s skin because it isn’t dark enough but I’m still too lazy to go to the store and get another of the right color….

Have some Laero costume design!

Retta’s are a bit different but really not that different at all. They similar in the fact that neither the Marzjen or the Laero have systems of writing so they use tattoos to convey information instead.

Retta’s has her ranking tattoos. She also has a very large religiously-oriented tattoo on her back. And then she has an arrow over her heart pointing ‘north’ (superstition that such a tattoo means you’ll never be lost at sea).

But after Nelli compared Retta’s tattoo to a compass rose, she actually had an ‘N’ added to it so she’ll always find her way back to Nelli instead.

Retta’s really gay and so am I and we all just have to deal with that.