I need an opposite for mist!

[Juliana]

I have wind spirits in my new WIP, and for when they take on spirit form I'm using 'mist/misted', which I really like. At present, when they take on human shape I'm using 'materialize' but that's not half as cute and catchy.

I've tried all sorts of synonyms for 'materialize', like corporeal, but nothing has the right sort of ring. I'm thinking maybe something completely unrelated to the word 'materialize', but which will convey solid form, a sort of opposite to mist.

Any ideas? I'm plain out.

 

[Hex]

um.. solidify? fog? de-mist? ice?

 

[alchemist]

Coalesce?

 

[tinkerdan]

The could cohere or become coherent.

Although I sort of like the more obtuse: rime.

He ,thankfully, misted away before my eyes: affording them relief.

He rimed against the far wall like a piece of slime.

 

[thaddeus6th]

Depending on how you want to write it, 'coagulate' might work. Little clunky, perhaps.

Coalesce is nicer.

 

[HareBrain]

Embodimentify?

 

[Juliana]

Embodimentify

Now there's a mouthful.

I quite like rime, but it's a little too obscure...

Ugh, this is hard.

 

[Ursa major]

Opposite of mist? Well, I think I have a hit for you....

Condense.


Yes, I know this term refers to a phase change from gas to liquid, but it... er... frees you to be a bit more vague about what their true nature is when in human form. (Note that this suggestion comes with free hand-waving. )

 

[Remedy]

They could "tangify" --- from the word: tangible.

Precipitate? = cause (a substance) to be deposited in solid form from a solution.

 

[HareBrain]

Whatever you do, don't de-mistify them. It'd take all the intrigue away.

(Sorry, I'd make a sensible suggestion if I had one!)

ETA: just realised no one's suggested incorporate. That no good, or is it too business-sounding?

 

[Locrian]

I like condense and precipitate, though condense refers to liquids. Crystallise could give them an interesting quality as well.

 

[The Judge]

I'd use reify, which means to convert something that is abstract into something concrete or real. It's used for ideas or concepts, but I don't see why it can't be used for mist-beings!

Otherwise, inspissate means to thicken by drying, though it doesn't really roll off the tongue, so I'd second coalesce, which I use for when mist thickens, or cohere.

 

[tinkerdan]

Over all mist is just a fog or moisture, which if put back together is water, which be could frozen to ice.

They could be pools or puddles: maybe poodles. Some poodles do look a bit like sheep.

I'm not sure how a mist of flesh and blood might work but maybe it looks like smoke and smells like burning flesh.

All I know is if some of my friends when up in smoke; they would surely be missed.

 

[Kerrybuchanan]

Coalesce sounds good for me. Is this YA? If so, that might affect the choice of word.

 

[ratsy]

I like Solidify
Modify? Re-form? Transpose? Harden?

How about something basic like 'gel'

Her spirit form gelled and once again I saw the beautiful girl standing with her hand on her hip, silently judging me.

 

[Phyrebrat]

Manifest? Accrete?

pH

 

[Ihe]

Compress, thicken, densen (to make dense). This last one I read once, and since it's not commonplace, it could work. Some of the other suggestions are nice, but too prosaic for such a mystical transformation. "To densen" follows the line of using words that aren't usually used as verbs and forcing them into being ones, like "to mist".

Example: "The sentient, smoky gale densed into a fist that felt much like the real thing on the impertinent man's face."

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

You wouldn't need to use the same word on every page, though, would you? You could use solidify, condense, etc. as it seems to fit the tone of the scene or situation.

 

[hopewrites]

I agree with Teresa, you'll want to fit the solidifying descriptor to its emotive context as well the action being described.

I still get agitated at the description of a train "flouncing" away. It fit the character, and the emotive context, but for godsake trains dont flounce!

*ahem* Sorry. Tangent.

I'd go with what works best for each transformation. I assume that your characters dont coalesce the same way every time, just as my thoughts dont return to the realm of sense every morning as I awaken. That transformation being dependent on the emotive context of the dream they are leaving behind and the urgency level I set before falling asleep the night before (and what song is playing on my radio alarm clock).

 

[Juliana]

Is this YA? If so, that might affect the choice of word.

You wouldn't need to use the same word on every page, though, would you?

Yes, it's YA which is why I wanted something catchy. I do want to be able to use the same word over and over, since it'll be specific to their vocabulary; basically it's for when they move from spirit form to human shape. I want something with a bit of a slang feel to it...

Some nice ideas already, thanks everyone! You're all stars. I think I'll try some of these out and see how they work in context.