Are you trying to come up with the metaphors from scratch? Whenever I write for Oma, I always use Tao or Zen sayings. (I actually found the original "If you immediately know the candlelight is fire" one, and it actually makes sense in its original form. Damn that Oma.)

sometimes I can make them up myself. I've done that for...something? Not Shifu or Oma but for someone. But it's time to break out old wise nonsense

Gotta love the ancient mystical bullshit. Sometimes I wonder why TPTB decided it'd be a good idea to make Oma and the Others so freaking cryptic. Maybe they just want us fanficcers to extensively exercise our brains, or something.

I don't think *they* get it. So, if they just come up with some stuff and say it's mystical, then by default it's unknown to everyone and stays mystical. Easy out!

I watched the commentary on "Absolute Power" once; they admitted that most of the time they make it up (like the wick thing), and sometimes they can sound clever, but other times even they have no idea what it means. They had to have DELIBERATELY mangled the candlight-is-fire one though.

It is too clear and so it is hard to see.
A dunce once searched for fire with a lighted lantern.
Had he known what fire was,
He could have cooked his rice much sooner.

OMG! I could never write Shifu! Now I'm intrigued. :-)

Meh, it's just a bit part in my long line of camoes that I have managed to make work in this novel.

Instead of writing those sayings in Omaese, maybe what you need to do (insert plot bunny) is have Shifu suddenly start speaking like everyone else does. Daniel and Jack turn and stare at him in this sudden change of speech pattern, and he looks at them innocently and says, "I can speak your language as well. As long as I'm here, it should help me fit in better."

That would be funny. I also can imagine Shifu doing the whole hip-hop thang. Er, maybe not.

Doesn't work for the story I'm trying to tell, though. You could always add it to your long list of ideas ;)

What you need is one of those insta-translation sites on the web.

Type Shifu's dialogue in English, hit Enter, receive incomprehensible Zen mistranslations in return. :-D

Type Shifu's dialogue in English, hit Enter, receive incomprehensible Zen mistranslations in return. :-D

I want one of those! *g* I'd speak like Shifu all the time and then nobody could misunderstand me ever again. *g* OTOH, nobody would know what the heck I was talking about, but maybe that would be for the best. *g*

Could you have one of them to ask Shifu to "speak English, dang it"?

After all, it worked for Daniel: "I'd like the truth with a side order of clarity." ("Threads" the extended cut)