• Tapping your nose means that you are thinking.
• Putting your hand on your stomach means that you are sleepy.
• When you speak to a friend or someone you are close to, you speak with your legs apart.
• When you speak to someone who is not close to you, or you have never met before, you speak with your legs close together.
• It is considered rude to walk behind a Zentai or someone of high authority.
• Waving is an impolite gesture, in Zeldia, you say “Hello” by putting the palms of your hands together, like if you were praying.
• Women who are married must wear sandals or any other open-toed shoes. Women who have boyfriends must walk barefoot everywhere. If a woman is single, she must wear closed shoes.
• Sticking out your tongue means that you are bored in Zeldia.
• Women cannot wear white until at least a month after a relative has died. The same for men, but with yellow.
• In Zeldian weddings, you throw grass at the bride and sand at the groom.
• On Sundays, Zeldians cannot visit other tribes unless given a special permission.
• Eating meat is illegal in Zeldia unless the animal died of natural causes.
• Fishing is also illegal.
• Staring at someone is a way of complaining in Zeldia.
• Swinging your head side to side, like if you were saying “no”, while grinning is a way of saying that you are excited.
• Touching your neck while frowning is like saying that you are sad.

I think that is really cool.
Love them all Misty.

Thank you so much!

Yeah, it is.

Thank you!

Very cool indeed! Usually I only see this sort of development in science fiction. I just wonder how you can give all this information to the reader smoothly and without overwhelming them.

Good point Kat. I think Misty is smart enough to figure how to.

Have you considered getting a subforum for your world, Misty? I think you might have enough development to qualify - and if not, you could easily come up with enough. This is extremely creative!

Do you have reasons for any of this cultural development? Like, how did it come to be a tradition to throw grass and sand at weddings?

Indeed. I hope she tells us how she did it some day because I don't think I could! At least, not that many.


OK, I thought she already had a subforum. I access most threads through the "active topics" link and rarely look at the board the thread comes from. I saw a bunch of posts about her world, and assumed they were in a subforum!

Get a subforum, girl!

Awww thank you all so much! Throwing grass at a wedding is a symbol of their relationship with nature. And I plan on getting a sub-forum. And furthermore, I don't really know how I thought of this! It just... came to me!

Just coming to you is a good method of thinking up things, as long as you do something with the stuff that comes to you.

I feel kinda sorry for the groom, getting showered in gritty sand.

Looking forward to the time when you get a subforum!

Me too! Oh, and I also feel bad for the groom but oh well! It's nice to have the men suffer for once!

We wouldn't suffer, we would accept the sand to show we are willing to be covered in sand to show how much we love our wives.

Like!

We get rice thrown at us in this world.

Are there consequences for some these, like sticking out one's tongue? Or for violating them?

@Varon: I don't understand...

@Others: Sorry for my suffering post. Heat of the moment...

Very interesting, Mist.

Sorry.

Is using any of the body language considered rude that involves (mostly parental) consequences?

@Varon: Waving is rude. That's it I guess.

@Elanor: Thank you very much!

@Varon: Oh! And also, if you speak to a friend with your legs together, or if you speak to someone you are not close with with your legs apart, it is rude.

Okay. Are there consequences for those?

Well, if your parents are strict about that, they could ground you. If not, then people would just consider you a rude and disrespectful person.

Okay.

What does being grounded mean in Zeldia?

Ummm, same thing as here. Your parents take away privileges and stuff...

Okay.

What do children believe to be the worst privilege taken away?

Being able to use your talents. Like if you are a Zeewok, your parents wouldn't let you draw or dance or whatever you do.

Now that is harsh.

Haha!

But not forever, just for the time the parents decide.

Oh, okay.

Yeah, if it was forever, then THAT would be REALLY harsh! Taking away a child's talents... awful.

Yeah.

That's very neat. OH! You know what would be neat... Since being grounded permanently/long-term (i.e., a year or more) from your talents would be a very harsh fate, what if that's a punishment for certain extreme crimes? I know you don't have a lot of crime in your world, but you could do something very neat with that, I think.

Well, when you are a servant, or in the cell cave, you can't use your talents anyways so...

Servants can't use their talents?

Nope. It is also part of the punishment.

Wow, I am glad that doesn't happen to me. I have said it before, and I will say it again, I can't wait for you to finish this book.