Scout (Tallisibeth Enwandung-Esterhazy) (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
burnsbright) wrote2012-07-28 10:39 pm
burnsbright) wrote2012-07-28 10:39 pm
(no subject)
I have Scout use some gestures that aren't as universal as shaking her head and nodding. I try to say what they mean in prose and bracket-text as they're used, but I might as well list them here, too.
If she tips her head to the side, it's a gesture vaguely similar to a nod. It means 'yes, but not happy about it'.
Shrugging! Complicated! Mostly it means the same things it means to Westerners - 'I don't know', 'You're probably right', 'Sorry', 'I'm not involved', 'Awkward'. But there are three degrees of shrug, here.
If she shrugs with just her hand - usually in the form of turning it to flash her palm for an instant - it's pretty casual and light-hearted, maybe self-deprecating, saying the subject is open and she's willing to talk.
With her arm - this is a gesture you're more likely to be familiar with, where the arm is raised and the hand extended as if carrying a tray - it's pretty neutral, with more 'I don't know' connotations, and a bit more formal than a handflash
With her shoulder there are more connotations of discomfort or distrust and unwilingness to talk. It's mildly rude.
Pointing! There are ways and ways to point. Scout is most likely to point with her chin. It's nice and discreet. Pointing with her hands is ruder but more visible, and unless she's really upset she'll point with two or three fingers, or her whole hand, rather than one.
If Scout beckons someone to come closer, her palm won't be up or down, but facing in; the gesture is almost like grabbing someone and pressing them close.
Scout's also got various mudra-like gestures that are intended for herself, not the observer, so I'm not going to describe them. They tend to be along the lines of clasping her hands together in certain ways to remind herself to be calm.
If she tips her head to the side, it's a gesture vaguely similar to a nod. It means 'yes, but not happy about it'.
Shrugging! Complicated! Mostly it means the same things it means to Westerners - 'I don't know', 'You're probably right', 'Sorry', 'I'm not involved', 'Awkward'. But there are three degrees of shrug, here.
If she shrugs with just her hand - usually in the form of turning it to flash her palm for an instant - it's pretty casual and light-hearted, maybe self-deprecating, saying the subject is open and she's willing to talk.
With her arm - this is a gesture you're more likely to be familiar with, where the arm is raised and the hand extended as if carrying a tray - it's pretty neutral, with more 'I don't know' connotations, and a bit more formal than a handflash
With her shoulder there are more connotations of discomfort or distrust and unwilingness to talk. It's mildly rude.
Pointing! There are ways and ways to point. Scout is most likely to point with her chin. It's nice and discreet. Pointing with her hands is ruder but more visible, and unless she's really upset she'll point with two or three fingers, or her whole hand, rather than one.
If Scout beckons someone to come closer, her palm won't be up or down, but facing in; the gesture is almost like grabbing someone and pressing them close.
Scout's also got various mudra-like gestures that are intended for herself, not the observer, so I'm not going to describe them. They tend to be along the lines of clasping her hands together in certain ways to remind herself to be calm.