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mariaofdoranelle · 6 months

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Look at Us Now - ch. 20

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I think this is my time to shine with an unhinged A/N! I went to Rio to see Taylor Swift, she postponed my show when I was already inside the stadium enduring so much heat several people were passing out or got 2nd degree burns just to touch metal. Then I had to run from not one, but TWO mass muggings (if there’s even a translation for ‘arrastão’ in english). But now I’m home, on a very long break!! And with every intention to bring back LAUN Thursdays.

I’m also using two prompts! This anon one and this from @autumnbabylon

Warnings: language, light NSFW, a small home explosion

Words: 3,8k

If watching Maisie leave because of their custody arrangement was a painful part of Rowan’s weekly routine, he wasn’t ready for the ache he felt in his chest today, when he watched Aelin go with their little girl as well, after everything that happened in the past hours.

Turns out she was meeting Dorian today to discuss a patient she was seeing tomorrow morning. Even if they worked at different places, they often sought each other out when dealing with a difficult or uncommon case.

It was a bittersweet feeling, being alone after one of the best moments of his life. It all came back in flashes while he tried to clean Maisie’s room and the mess of toys she leaves scattered after her stay. He could barely remember where each toy went because his mind only had space for Aelin’s kisses and hips and soft sighs and the lavender smell that still lingered on his arms.

Rowan felt this joyful heat inside him, as golden as Aelin’s hair, making his hands tingle and giving him a sense of weightlessness he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Aelin barged into his house and demanded things he was preparing himself to beg her. Aelin pressed on his bed, squirming under his touch. Aelin having a lazy Sunday morning while he cooked his girls breakfast. Aelin. Aelin. Aelin.

His mind sounded like a terribly cliché broken record today.

A few knocks on his front door snapped him out of his thoughts. Did Aelin forget something?

A resigned sigh left Rowan’s lips when he realized it was not the blonde he was hoping for.

“Rowie Bowie.” Fenrys’ smirk was too big for his face. “I know something you don’t know I know.”

Before he could forget, Rowan picked the speeding ticket that was sent to his place and handed it to his friend. “You should really update your home address.” A pause. “And drive carefully.”

Fenrys moved out before Maisie could even speak. His bedroom even became a guest room, but the man has yet to change his address in any official records. Rowan didn’t mind as much as he protested, though; at least his friend’s Amazon packages were going to the right place.

“I should’ve gone to Aelin’s with Dor.” Fenrys folded his ticket and shoved it down his pocket as if it were an old napkin, then threw himself on the couch. “I swear to God, Rowan, you tell me every gossip in that base at lightning speed, but when you and Aelin finally—“

“You know I don’t kiss and tell.”

“Well, Aelin is telling right now. Over Adarlanian candy.”

Rowan chuckled and grabbed two beers in his fridge, then tossed one to Fenrys. ‘Kiss and tell’ sounded like such a diminishing way to put what happened last night, but the message was still the same. He didn’t mind how Aelin processed what happened and if she talked about him to her friends, it just wasn’t his style.

“Dorian was in Rifthold this week?” Rowan changed the subject, finally catching on the ‘Adarlanian candy’ comment.

Being a self-employed doctor gave the man a flexible work schedule, something that Fenrys could only dream of, working in the military. Dorian always waited for Fen’s breaks to go on trips, but Rowan saw how his friend looked like a lost puppy whenever his boyfriend left for medical conferences or to visit his family in Rifthold without taking him.

“Yeah. When he came back, he suggested we take the next step in our relationship.” Fenrys had a silly smile on his face, eyes trained on the beer bottle he clutched. “I’m very excited about it.”

Rowan sat back, surprised. “You’re getting married?”

“Not yet. We’re not ready,” said the man who’s been living with his boyfriend for about five years. Rowan wouldn’t mention it, though.

“You’re becoming exclusive?”

“Nope. Would you let me finish?”

Rowan raised his brows, a silent request to proceed, and watched his friend’s expression slowly melt.

Fen continued, “We’re adopting.”

Wow. Rowan’s mouth fell open, and he couldn’t quite find the words. Fatherhood is no joke, so this was the last thing he expected to hear from his most unserious friend, but he was so incredibly thrilled for Fenrys. He would absolutely nail it, just like he did everything he set his mind to.

“That’s amazing, Fen.” Rowan sipped his beer. “So Maisie gets a playmate, huh?”

“You bet she does,” he chirped, beaming. “We don’t have a lot figured out yet, and Dor’s still picking the breed, but I’m so excited.”

“The… breed?” Rowan trailed.

“Dor’s really into this dog breed stuff, so I’m letting him call the shots. I don’t care about that, I’m just happy to have a puppy.”

Oh. They’re adopting a dog, not a human. Now that Rowan thought about it, it made more sense.

They chatted a little more in his living room, and it was in the middle of a heated discussion about a colonel’s love life—more specifically, his excess of mistresses inside base—that Rowan’s phone chimed.

It was Aelin, and he was confused to hear Maisie’s screeching while her mother tried to talk to him. “What happened?”

“She wants to—“

“WANNA SEE THE PUPPIES,” Maisie interrupted.

Aelin sighed. “She just learned what an adoption fair is, and—“

It was hard to hear her over their daughter’s screams, especially because Aelin liked to look collected when Maisie threw a tantrum, which meant no shouting over her. However, Rowan understood her saying something along the lines of “It’s on your weekend with her.”

So that was the issue. Rowan was still a little confused, but it sounded like Aelin couldn’t give Maisie permission to go right away because it would be during his parenting time, and the little girl lost it.

“Hey, um—“ he cleared his throat. “Can you hand the phone to Maisie? I’ll put it on FaceTime.”

In the meantime, he cast a glance at Fenrys, grimacing. “I think Maisie wants to go to the adoption fair with you.”

His friend didn’t look up from his phone, smiling. There was a chance Dorian was texting him that right now. “Good. I bet she’s better at finding cute dogs than Dor.”

Over the phone, after hearing the story again from his daughter’s lips, Rowan looked deep into Maisie’s puffy eyes, using his serious dad voice to ask, “Did Uncle Dorian invite you to see the puppies, or you invited yourself?”

The last thing he wanted was to intrude in the couple’s plans, and he knew Maisie wasn’t beyond that to see puppies.

Yet, she shook her head. “He asked me. I promise.”

“Okay, then.” Rowan’s warning stare didn’t relieve Maisie yet. “But…”

His last word hung in the air, filling his daughter’s hopeful, wide eyes. Everyone joked about how every Whitethorn had the exact same set of pine-green eyes, yet Maisie’s were his favorite. He would do anything to never see them tainted with red, absolutely hated when his little girl cried, but he still needed to set boundaries.

“We’re not adopting any dog, okay? You can play with them, you can help your uncles pick theirs, but we’re not bringing a puppy home.”

Maisie agreed to his terms without protest, though he didn’t know for how long. Rowan sloped back on his couch when the phone call ended, waiting for Fenrys to finish raiding his fridge.

“Dor got you real good, man,” he said on his way back, holding two beers and a plate of Aelin’s chocolate cake. “Munchkin will call herself Ryder and make your life hell until you adopt an entire Paw Patrol for her.”

Rowan snorted, knowing his friend was absolutely right. But that’s okay, he also had faith in his own parenting skills. Being a five-year-old’s dad meant he had some pretty good bribes up his sleeve.

˜˜

Rowan should’ve known he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands away from Aelin for long.

His restlessness restarted after Dorian picked Fenrys up in his house to leave, and it was almost embarrassing how little he contained himself before speed walking the way that led to Aelin’s house.

Now she sat on her office’s desk, legs wrapped around him, right beside the medical books and magazines she should be reading now.

“We’ll have more time later if I just—oh, fuck.”

Rowan swallowed her whimper with a kiss, both hands on her ribcage while his thumbs teased her nipples under her shirt, through her lacy bra. Aelin pressed herself against him as if they could get any closer, and the weight of his length on her made her chase more friction in that area, biting his lip as she did.

“Did you lock the door?”

“Yes.” Rowan kissed the spot between her neck and her shoulder, careful not to leave a mark. It meant more trouble than it’s worth in their line of work. “But you still need to keep quiet.”

She chuckled, her breath fanned against his neck and made him want to do unspeakable—

“Don’t you think she’s too quiet?”

Her sentence sliced through his lustful haze. This was a dangerous sign, some of his most traumatizing moments as a parent started when Maisie was quiet for too long. He did some parent math in his head. Aelin’s clothes were still on, so they weren't gone too long. But he had a feeling it was longer than he should leave his kid unattended.

Rowan took a step back. “I should go check on her.”

Her bittersweet smile said she agreed, but Aelin was quick to tug him closer again, though it lacked the heat from when she did it minutes ago. “But it’s really rude to leave me hot and bothered like this.”

His reply was a noncommittal huh, too distracted by the smirk on her lips to think of a smart retort.

“Uh-huh. And I’ll only forgive you if you stay the night.”

Rowan smirked. “I guess I have no choice. I can’t leave unforgiven after such a great offense.”

She gave him one last kiss, though it was a bit hard amongst all the grinning, and sat back on the chair behind her books. He took the room in while giving himself time to cool down after their make-out session. Their houses had the exact same layout, but she used as an office the room Rowan used as a guest room, formerly Fenrys’ old room. The thought made him snort, calling her attention. He could trust Aelin to turn one of the biggest rooms in the house into a library.

She squinted her eyes at him. “What’re you laughing at?”

“Did you know that Maisie’s been telling her friends that her mother’s office doesn’t have walls, just books?”

“Yeah, I got that email too.” Aelin’s voice was amused.

Rowan stepped around the room, reading the books’ spines. Her office was nothing more than four walls of shelves, a couch by the window and a big desk with her computer in the middle. And a smell that kept Aedion and his allergies away from here.

The most frequent genre was medical books, but they weren’t even a third of them all. She just had everything there. Modern and classics. Fantasy and non-fiction. Horror and romance. At the latter section, Rowan’s eyes went up, away from what Maisie’s prying eyes could reach, and finally found what he was looking for.

“What’re you looking for?” Aelin asked, her voice as grave as a crime scene tape. Do not cross.

But it was too late for her, because he already found what he wanted. The Wrong Mr. Right. The Darkest Temptation. Doctor Daddy. Forbidden Single Dad. He tugged at a random one, wondering if he’d find a shirtless man in the cover.

“Put it back!”

The smirk Rowan concealed with a mocking pout was near transparent. “But I want to see if the pages are sticky.”

“Rowan Whitethorn.” Aelin got up from her chair. “You. Are. Ridiculous.” She pointed at the locked door. “Now go! You have a daughter to feed.”

In the living room, he found Maisie lying on her stomach on her play mat. Rowan’s chest warmed at the sight of his little angel. He kept his steps light, ready to sneak up on her. She was just playing on his phone, and to think he thought she’d—

What he saw on the screen was enough to sour his mood.

“Maisie.” Rowan used his stern dad voice, making the little girl stiffen. “What did we talk about games with guns?”

“Daddy.” Maisie’s voice was just as serious, maybe too stern for her height. “You’re a good man, but I can’t accept that.”

He didn’t argue, just outstretched his hand, waiting for her to give the phone back.

She complied with a frown. “Uncle Fen says you work with guns.”

Phones and Fenrys. Two of the long list of things he couldn’t leave Maisie with unsupervised. It wasn’t his favorite class to teach, but Rowan occasionally taught Gun Safety, mostly when there was a shortage of instructors or when Lorcan got mad at Fenrys for letting the new recruits cosplay James Bond with the guns. Not the kind of knowledge he wanted his five-year-old to have, though.

“Sometimes, I teach young people how to be responsible when they’re carrying a gun. It’s very different from those games you want to play.”

“Sounds boring.”

“Very. Now let’s make your mom some tea.”

Rowan set Maisie with a coloring book in the dining table while he looked for a snack to give Aelin while she studied in the office. When he found the tea bags and cookies, Rowan struggled to start the stove. In fact, after further inspection, half the knobs weren’t working.

“Mais, did your mom tell you anything about the stove?”

“She says we need a new one,” his daughter said without taking her eyes off her art piece.

Sounds like Aelin. Of course she’d try to buy a new one without even trying to fix this one. Stoves weren’t his area of expertise, but anyone could fix anything in the Youtube Era.

Which led him back to an issue he was currently dealing with, Rowan mused as he searched for Aelin’s limited toolbox. He failed Aelin when she needed him the most. She pushed him away and hid major stuff of her life from him because she found him unreliable and untrustworthy. Yes, they were together now, but Rowan knew damn well that having sex wouldn’t rebuild her trust in him.

Aelin told him she loved him, and he believed her. But lack of love wasn’t the reason his family broke apart years ago. Now she was giving him one more chance, and Rowan would be damned if he wasted it.

To his luck, Maisie was being a good sport while he tried to fix the stove. Apart from taking a look at the insides of it when he took off the knobs and the cover of the control panel, she kept to her coloring book. Not having to wrangle her gave him space to think.

His session with Yrene was nice, but it wouldn’t happen again. At the end, she recommended other therapists for Rowan and suggested they stay just with family therapy. He had a suspicion it was because he—very subtly—kept trying to pry out of Yrene Aelin’s opinions on everything he talked about.

But it was better than he anticipated. She helped him organize his thoughts and come up with own advice to himself. She’s great, or at least better at this than Fenrys. Rowan even scheduled another appointment with one of her recommendations, mostly because he still had some things to consider regarding Aelin.

Spiraling in his own self-loathing wouldn’t fix anything, but that didn’t mean his feelings had changed. Rowan was just moving forward and trying to fix things at the same time he dealt with his fucked-up conscience.

He had no idea how to gain Aelin’s trust again. But, today, he’d fix her stove. Rowan inspected the knobs for dirt. Cleaned the contacts. Checked for loose wires. Managed to keep the kid alive while she read medical journals. When Aelin left her office today, would she see herself relying on him like this in the long term, and not just this Sunday?

“I think we’re done here, Mais,” he said after reassembling everything.

“Finally!” His daughter jumped off the chair. “Daddy, this was sooo…” Maisie dragged the adverb for as long as her breath allowed. “boring.”

He lightly tugged on one of her pigtails. “But if I got it right, I’ll be able to cook whatever you want. How about that?”

The girl’s eyes lit up at that, and there was nothing else for Rowan to do than test. He had a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach as he turned the stove on.

Every single knob was working on full power.

Rowan let out a borderline arrogant laugh, his chest radiating with warmth as he picked Maisie up. “Are you seeing that?”

She threw both arms up. “We did it!”

He smacked a kiss at her cheek. He was smug, yes, but not enough to tell Maisie she didn’t do anything. His daughter could take all the credit she wanted.

After putting her back on the floor, he picked his phone to record this, since he didn’t want to interrupt Aelin’s study session.

“Hey, Aelin,” he said with the camera pointed at the working stove. “I cleaned it on the inside and fixed some loose wires. All six knobs are working now, as you can see. Now I’m gonna close one by one…”

As soon as the fire dimmed in the first knob he closed, it resurged a lot higher with a loud bang. Maisie’s loud scream was what unfroze him, making him disconnect the power source while loud footsteps came from the hallway.

“What was that?” Aelin asked, eyes wide from the kitchen door.

“Um—“

“DADDY KILLED THE STOVE.”

The little traitor. Hadn’t they fixed it together?

He made sure Maisie was alright, then explained everything to Aelin, even showed her the video. While he did it, Rowan expected everything. Anger, annoyance, frustration.

He just didn’t expect Aelin to throw her head back and cackle.

“You silly Buzzard.” She caressed his cheek with her thumb. “You didn’t have to do all this. I already bought a cooktop way cooler than this old thing.”

His face fell. “You did what?”

She wiggled her eyebrows at Maisie. “Now that there’s no stove, I guess we’ll have to eat pizza for dinner.”

The little girl cheered, bringing a smile to his face. He squeezed Aelin’s hand. “I’ll order one when you’re finished.”

It’s the least he could do, after completely butchering her half-working stove.

“Nah.” Aelin sneaked a peck when Maisie had her back to them. “Enough studying for today.”

˜˜

After putting Maisie to sleep, Aelin was telling him about the little parts of her day that he didn’t experience firsthand.

“Are you sure you don’t want one?” She offered the candy Dorian brought from Adarlan. Apparently, it was one of his most important obligations as her best friend whenever he visited his family. She had her favorites, but he often added some new ones for her to try.

“I’ll pass, but thanks.”

At first, it was really hard to understand the nature of Aelin’s relationship with Dorian. The fact that they’re thick as thieves despite being exes, were together and with other people at the same time with no jealousy… it’s a lot to grasp. Rowan didn’t think he ever would, but he did understand that whatever she had with Dorian didn’t impact her romantic feelings towards him, and that’s all he needed to know.

Besides, it was transparent how in love he was with Fenrys, in their own modern, slutty way. Rowan only had to thank the man for taking care of two of his favorite people.

“There’s this other thing…” Aelin trailed, biting her lip. The change in her expression was enough to pique his interest, especially when he saw the bag she retrieved from under her bed.

“Jizz and Bone?” He read out loud the name on the bag with a questioning tone, eyes widening at the suggestive logo.

“Yes.” Aelin’s face wasn’t half as serious as she was trying to make it look. “This is from Fen’s and Dorian’s favorite gay sex shop, but it’s just chocolate—“

“Are you telling me he bought you gay chocolate? Is that a thing?”

“Yes.” She wiggled her eyebrows at him. “And it’s not even the gayest thing I’m putting in my mouth tonight.”

Rowan pinched her side, making the little smart-ass squeal. He could always count on Aelin to keep the most embarrassing moments of his life alive. “You’re gonna explain the chocolate or not?”

“Yes!” She gave herself a moment to die down from laughing. “He bought it for himself, but gave me a bar when I told him we got together. It’s aphrodisiac chocolate.”

“Lovely.” Rowan made a show of pretending to look at it before giving it back to her. “But I don’t like chocolate.”

“But you love steamy sex.”

Rowan sighed. That he did. “Aelin…” he flipped her so he could cage her in the bed, hovering over her. He nipped her pulse point before whispering in her ear, “Take a quick look in the mirror, and you’ll see why I don’t need chocolate to turn me on.”

She shivered, but still grabbed his hair and made their eyes meet to say, “I want to try it. If you’re not a willing participant, I can try alone tomorrow with my vibra—“

Rowan groaned in protest, but rolled off of her to put the recommended dose of aphrodisiac chocolate in his mouth. He winced at the sweet taste, mixed with velvety flavors and exotic spices, but at least it was better than he expected. Aelin did the same, though she looked a lot more pleased with the taste.

They set a timer for thirty minutes as they were oriented to in the box, since Aelin wanted to do a precise evaluation, in her own words, and she continued to talk about her day. As much as she tried to make it sound simple, it took only a few minutes for Rowan to accept that he’d never understand her doctor talk, so he just nodded along and reacted according to her facial expressions. She could be talking absolute nonsense with an angry face just to get an equally angry reaction from him, he’d never know.

Aelin frowned when the timer went off. “I don’t feel anything. Did the chocolate work with you?”

“I never hoped it would.”

“Shame.” Aelin sighed. “Wanna fuck anyway?”

It was record-breaking, the speed in which Rowan pulled her to his lap.

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jpitha · 3 months

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Between the Black and Gray 13

First / Previous / Next

Gord seemed to know exactly where to go. He led Fen around the promenade, past shops and what she could only assume were restaurants. The different lighting and coloration of everything due to the different breathing gas mixture gave everything an otherworldly look and made it hard for her brain to settle into a rhythm. Gord seemed to have no such trouble and strode along with long, confident steps.

"Gord, where are we going?" Fen worked hard to not have to jog to keep up and settled for kind of a fast striding walk, like someone who was concerned - but not worried - about missing their train.

"I have - had - a contact here. I think they can help us get some parts. Remember, the Innari use a reactor tech that's similar enough to humans that they did a tech transfer when we first had Contact."

Fen didn't remember, but she trusted Gord enough to not say anything else. They walked deeper into the strange station, and as they walked, there were fewer and fewer oxygen breathers around until they were the only suited individuals around. Fen noticed that people were watching them as they passed and tried not to meet their gazes, but Gord didn't seem to be bothered by it.

Eventually, they made it to a small shop in a back corner of some place deep in the station. Without Spyglass' help, Fen was sure she couldn't make it back on her own. There was a sign out front in the Innari's script and Spyglass helpfully overlaid the translation: "Uumar Pin, parts bought and sold."

Gord pushed the door open and strode in. The shop was... Fen could only describe it as run down. The counters had scratches and worn places from decades if not centuries of people leaning on it, the screens and pads all looked like they had been left running for longer than she has been alive, and the corners were piled with dusty boxes. Fen had a moment of surprise. Of course there would be dust. Just because they're not breathing oxygen does not mean that things would magically stay clean. Gord walked up to the counter and his helmet cleared. "Uumar? You in?"

"Yes, one moment please, Sapient." A musical voice rang out from behind a partition. There was a bustling as some tools were put down, and Uumar stepped out.

Like most Innari, Uumar was feathered. Almost like a cross between a bird and a human, they had this fluffy look about them. Their faces ended in a sharp beak and their feathers were iridescent. Fen wondered if Uumar would be heavy. She assumed they were probably very light. Without looking up they started to reply "Yes, what can I help-" They finally looked up at the two suited individuals. "Gord? Is that you Gord? I haven't seen you in-"

Gord held up a hand. "Yes, it's been a bit, hasn't it. How are you doing Uumar? Keeping busy?"

Uumar's feathers ruffled. Spyglass indicated to Fen that meant they chuckled. "That's one way of putting it yes. Ever since we did the technology transfer, our drives have been sought after by just about everyone in our sector. What in the name of the Watcher are you doing here Gord?"

"I need some reactors. I'm in a bit of a bind, but I- I found a Starjumper. Spyglass. Was sitting in a Gren station for a couple centuries languishing. That was the only way she had survived the Empire. In the intervening years she had lost all her printable mass and all but two reactors. I managed to get one reactor going, but she needs six to be at full power. I'm printing parts, but replacing the reactors will take more than that. I'm hoping you can help me out."

Uumar ruffled their feathers again and crossed their arms - a very human gesture - "Gord, you don't do anything by half measures do you? I want to manage expectations. There's no way I can sell you four reactors, even if you had the Stars, which I assume you don't. I could probably sell you one and enough parts to make your broken one working. That would get you up to three and you could wheel and deal for the other three down the line. Three would get you powered up enough?"

Fen watched Gord. He made a big show of hemming and hawing, looking around, looking unsure. While he did this he sent an icon over to Fen's readout of a cartoon version of his face, winking. "Yeah, I think I could make that work Uumar. How much would I have to put down in order to secure the reactor, and how long would it take to install?"

Uumar blinked. Spyglass indicated that his body language indicated surprise. "Uh, If you gave me one thousand Stars and four day cycles, I could get you a reactor and install it. Balance of another thousand stars due upon completion."

Now it was Gord's turn to be surprised. "You have a human compatible reactor in stock?"

Uumar's feathered arms flapped once "Mostly. It's a core return for an upgrade to a Uumari transport, but it just needs an overhaul. A few fresh parts - one day cycle's work - and it would be ready to go."

Gord smiled broadly. "That's better than I had hoped. Fen, please pay them."

They both turned to face Fen, and she squeaked. "What?"

Gord shrugged. "You're the one with the money. You did take Tam'itarr's money right?"

She had taken it, both hers and Ma-ren's share. It had wound up being almost exactly two thousand Stars.

"Gord, can I talk to you for a moment?" Fen clicked her radio over to the suit-to-suit channel. "What are you doing?" She hissed.

"Getting us a reactor Fen. One isn't enough. Uumar here has a whole other reactor that they're willing to sell us plus parts to make our broken one work. We'll go from one to three. Three means we get our Stardrive, the wormhole generator and the weapons. Three is far better than I anticipated. I assumed we were going to be able to just buy parts for our broken reactor and have to use up all our printable mass building a reactor from scratch. We need this Fen. Tam'itarr was going to kill you and take the money back, what are you going to spend it on?"

On the one hand, Gord was right. Fen hadn't given any thought to the money after she grabbed it. On the other hand, she hadn't even really begun to mourn Ma-ren's death and now Gord was demanding he spend their - her - money on his starship. On the third hand, if they didn't get Spyglass fixed they'd be stuck here for who knows how long. Two thousand Stars was more money that Fen had seen all her life, but what was she going to do with it? All Fen wanted was some time to mourn and think and she wasn't going to get that if they were stuck here.

Sighing heavily, Fen touched her pad and cast the deposit to Uumar's device. "Received." He chirped. "We'll have the reactor refreshed and sent down to the docks first thing tomorrow."

"Wonderful!" Gord clapped Fen on her back. "Come on Fen, let's see what this place has to offer oxy breathers like us, and we'll head back to Spyglass and await the installation."

Fen and Gord said their goodbyes and walked out. As they walked, Gord clicked the suit-to-suit. "Thanks Fen. I appreciate it. I know I sprung it on you, but spending that money on Spyglass was the only way we were going to get out of there."

"I wish you had told me ahead of time what was going on, Gord."

"I hadn't planned on it Fen, but when Uumar said they had a whole reactor almost ready to go, I had to jump on it."

Fen didn't say anything as they made their way back up to the rest of the station.

#humans are deathworlders #humans are space orcs #sci fi writing #humans are space oddities #humans and aliens #jpitha #writing #humans and ai #humans are space capybaras #humans are space australians #Between the black and gray

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willtheweaver · 3 months

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Find the Word tag

Shoutout to @winterandwords for the open tag

(Rules: post a snippet from your WIP(s) that contains one of the words given to you to find)

The words I was to search for are: more, less, all, nothing

From WIP A feather in the Forest

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“What will you do?” Sora asked.

“I’m going after my friends.” Fen replied.

“How? You won’t last long as it is. Aves you may be, but one who is more ground than sky. There is much you don’t know.”

———————————————————————

Less

———————————————————————

All the youngsters took the assessment seriously. Even when they had no chance at passing certain trials, they did not let it show. They tried and tried, less they lose face with their peers.

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All

———————————————————————

“Still, she [Playa] did not put two and two together until Opal made some remarks about how one of us was not what they seemed.” Ivy continued. “Being the granddaughter of the Tha means you find out all of the village secrets eventually. She came to us and revealed the truth. She made us promise to keep the secret amongst ourselves. It was clear from her voice that she was deathly serious. We all agreed.”

———————————————————————

Nothing

———————————————————————

The Warning Stone was so overgrown that little of its surface could be seen. However, there was enough clean rock for Fen to make out several glyphs. These were close enough to the ancient fox script that he could translate it. The words inscribed sent a shiver down Fen’s spine.

Nothing valued is here.

This message is a warning about danger.

———————————————————————

Tagging @indecentpause @prophetic-writer @bunnymermaidwrites , plus open tag for anyone else interested. No pressure. Do your best.

Your words are: dream, ambition, hope, fail(ure)

#tag game #open tag #writing #creative writing #writer #writers #writers and poets #writing community #writer on tumblr #writeblr

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stellari-s · 4 months

Text

༊*·˚ 冬の深夜、凍った星が光った。

s tella ... 🌙

( nagi! ) — welcome to my blog! ☁️

masterlist under the cut.

en . spn (reading) . jp // p. o. c. // she, he, they.

i have an ao3 where i mostly post canon x canon works there!

sometimes i write ✨✨ ... i post random things when inspiration strikes! i do edits and stim boards sometimes.

mostly identity v focused i think, but i'm also into twst as well. so you may see posts related to that pop up 🙏

my ask box is always open if you wanna chat!

may contain nsfw (tagged as nsfw) or darker contents.

dm me if you are interested in joining an ithaqua discord server-

ask if you want to know my other blog handles.

— requests closed .ᐟ comms open .ᐟ

✨✨ commission info.

i do both writing and jp → en translation commissions and requests, when open. (note: for jp, although i don't have any official jlpt credentials, i'd say i'm around the n2 range. you can view samples in the link above)

please read — ☁️

into identity v and twst right now.

requests will always either be x reader short stories or head canons. long stories, original stories, and oc inserts are reserved only for commissions.

i do not write gendered readers unless it's for a commission. you're free to imagine reader as any gender you wish.

nsfw requests are fine, but just know i will be picky.

i don't take stim board requests at the moment ( ；∀；)

in the event requests are open, commissions will always be prioritized.

i have the right to reject any commission or request that makes me uncomfortable or if i feel i will be unable to finish for whatever reason without need for explanation.

please dm me first if you want to commission me. i do not accept requests directly through ko-fi if you choose to send money there.

☁️ — stories & head canons.

aesop carl does your makeup.

edgar valden (tries to) comfort you.

ji-woon hak going yandere for you.

dbd killers taking care of a sick reader. (ghostface, legion, nurse, twins, mastermind)

random ithaqua head canons to cope with sparse lore updates.

hope is like ice cream. // ao3 ver.

reflections on the self.

you have a snowball fight with ithaqua in the middle of a match.

a game of tag.

an unspoken contract. // ao3 ver.

the world of a snow globe.

on warmth.

a certain reunion.

pain and desire.

a stroke of luck.

dual punishment.

a bird in a cage // bloody kisses.

faces.

christmas wishes.

dead men tell no tales.

☁️ — media.

rosemary! naiad stim board.

frost! wu chang stim board.

tuberose! ripper stim board.

susie lavoie stim board.

last dance! bloody queen stim board.

far east wind! wu chang stim board.

anne halford + shall fen shall stim board.

above the high tower, a utopia.

our new october queen.

riddle rosehearts + floyd leech stim board.

twisted wonderland new years' attire 2024 icons.

☁️ — other.

30 day twst challenge: all days.

#banners by cafekitsune #stellaris.txt #masterlist #navigation #identity v #idv #第五人格 #twisted wonderland #disney twisted wonderland #twst disney #disney twst #ツイステッドワンダーランド #ツイステ #writing commissions #introduction

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cinnamonsikwate · 1 year

Text

we really need to chill with the ramonda and wakanda criticism, please :( like. i'll be the first to admit that k'uk'ulkan and talokan have had me in a chokehold since i first saw the movie, but i'm not gonna sit here and act like they did nothing wrong. let's not lie to ourselves now — k'uk'ulkan wasn't exactly a paragon of diplomacy when he breached wakanda's borders and started making threats and giving ultimatums.

maybe things could have been alleviated if he and riri had actually managed to talk while in talokan (and we could have had a whole different second half of the movie), but they didn't give us that ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

did nakia have to use lethal force on the guards? i would argue that — from the wakandan point of view — yes, actually (as much as that hurts to say 😭). let's review:

ramonda and the rest of wakanda didn't know that shuri had asked to go to talokan, and k'uk'ulkan didn't clarify that when he met with ramonda (when 454 years old with no one to practice your diplomacy skills with you reach, fuck up any alliance you wish to make you certainly will). it looked like a hostage situation and he was acting like a hostage-taker. he said there was nothing she could do or give to him to convince him to give her daughter back, that he'd kill shuri if ramonda tried anything. to ramonda, that might as well have been a declaration of war [edit: as has been pointed out in the replies, he actually does tell ramonda that shuri asked to be taken to talokan, but ramonda doesn't follow up on this, she just asks him what she can offer in exchange for shuri's return.]

okoye had already warned ramonda that the talokanil were pretty much impossible to take out via conventional methods, i.e., stabbing (and okoye was only trying to kill them bc they were trying to off riri); so ofc nakia was going to go in there armed to the teeth as a precaution

one of the guards literally said, "kill the princess!" when nakia showed up and the other one put a knife to shuri's throat. they weren't exactly innocent. they were warriors as much as every other talokanil, and were prepared to fight to protect talokan just as nakia was to protect shuri — by any means necessary

so. ramonda saw k'uk'ulkan and talokan as a very hostile, active threat to her daughter and her nation, and she took measures as she saw fit. were her actions rational? hmm, no, i'd say not. but let's remember once again that this is a woman who has had to deal with so much loss and grief in less than a decade — her husband, her son (several times!), and now, the possibility of losing her daughter as well is looming. we can cut her some slack for putting her heart first for once!

there are underlying themes of familial love, duty, and loyalty in the movie (english translation of love & loyalty by dbn gogo, sino msolo, kamo mphela, young stunna, and busiswa here. themes of protecting family are also in la vida, laayli' kuxa'ano'one, no digas mi nombre, jele, born again, and pantera). shuri and ramonda to each other, to the memories of t'chaka and t'challa, even to nakia, okoye, and m'baku and vice-versa. k'uk'ulkan and fen to each other, k'uk'ulkan to the talokanil and vice-versa.

Okay, it's like they're going behind our backs, hey

Bring them we're not afraid, hey

We are united as a team, hey

They can't see us apart, hey

Find us at the top, we haven't moved, hey

They tried us and got tired, hey

If it's in a hurry they get left behind, hey

All their sins will beat them

You'll never see me betray my own

And my affairs should always be mine

Indeed, I protect my family

I also have to improve my own

this definitely sounds like a wakandan anthem from the point when shuri is taken, but i'd argue that talokan starts feeling the same after the deaths of the guards — and neither of them would be wrong for that. love, duty, and loyalty are powerful driving forces, for better or for worse, with a weight capable of capsizing rationality.

from the very beginning, k'uk'ulkan was not acting rationally either. he operates on a very cut-and-dried, black-and-white worldview: either wakanda is an ally or an enemy, no room for nuance or negotiation. this viewpoint is, as we know, informed by his people's history and his own experiences with the surface world. he takes extremes with wakanda, cornering them against a rock and a hard place — assured destruction either by talokan's hands or the united nations'. he's acting from a place of love and duty, as ramonda is, but on a markedly larger and less palatable (to put it mildly) scale.

ramonda was put in a very difficult position as a mother and a ruler. it's not fair to solely fault her for the guards' deaths, or for talokan flooding wakanda. again, k'uk'ulkan made a terrible first impression, and that pretty much set the tone for everything else that went down afterwards. (though actually, if we're playing the blame game, let's pass the ball to the colonizers, the real villains anyway lmao. if spain hadn't been fucking around with the world in every direction, we wouldn't have to be here.)

so let's please, please put some respect on queen ramonda's name. it especially boggles the mind to see takes blaming her for "ruining" a ship, or for her own death. 🫠 seryoso ba talaga kayo??? 🥲

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spiders-hth-is-an-outlier · 1 year

Note

topic: Margo Hanson

Oh, man. You know, I was thinking the other day that Margo is a very difficult character to write, because she's so deeply human, which means she's very contradictory, and I think a lot of us have this impulse to present the Mythology of Margo the Destroyer as if it were a fact, when it's -- a fact, I guess, but it's actually not more true of Margo than a lot of other things are. She definitely has a temper, and I think Eliot (who did coin the Destroyer thing) really gets a vicarious thrill out of her little explosions -- Eliot, who pretty much never raises his voice to anyone in the whole series, seems to kind of view Margo as his Anger Translator, the person who dgaf when Eliot can't quit giving all the fucks, who's fearlessly in the moment of her emotions when Eliot is always second-guessing himself because of his crippling imposter syndrome. So because we see so much of Margo's character illuminated through the Margo-and-Eliot dynamic, I think that part of her gets foregrounded.

But she actually is often privately anxious or uncertain, and she has this amazing warmth and empathy that she's a little reserved about letting just anyone see (I think she lets Eliot live out that side of her a little, like he lets her live out his repressed willfulness). I think the scene where she tries to let the Muntjac have agency over her own fate is one of the best scenes in the entire show, and it's the way Summer plays Margo's sadness and her uncertainty and her helplessness in this incredibly human way that doesn't call into question any of the pride and the drive we've also seen Margo exhibit. All of that exists there together, along with that kind of natural, unforced wittiness that makes her probably the funniest character on the show, without being The Comedy Character. I also cherish the s4 scene where she thinks Eliot is dead, and she tells Fen that she won't grieve because she would never reach the end of that once she starts, because it is similarly this perfect mixture of humor and vulnerability and dignity. It's a scene that could be mawkish or melodramatic, but Summer is so magnetic, and she always seems so aware of Margo's full emotional range, and creates this perfect balance between what Margo can and can't reveal, will and won't reveal, of herself at any given moment.

I have a lot of complex feelings about s5, and I do not think it does Margo justice -- in fact, I think she fares worse than almost any other character, with the way her storyline becomes so completely warped around this question of whether or not she's a good enough girlfriend to Josh. That being said, I do always kind of hold this image of her at the very end in my mind, because she truly does feel like Best Margo to me there. It's not really earned by the story, but it is shot and acted very well -- the way she looks so relaxed and natural as she reclines on the sand eating her first meal in New Fillory, the way she projects warmth and softness and self-possession. I feel like I'm looking at someone who truly knows herself, who's been tested and who has been able to claim her successes and forgive herself for her failures, and it's a really beautiful transformation from the s1 version of Margo, who is sort of preening and bratty and self-promoting. I think more than any other character, I see her as someone who started out with a false idea of where she was headed and managed to take this weird, winding, nonlinear journey and become a person she was surprised to like as well as she did, shedding a lot of her more maladaptive defense strategies and figuring out how to actually show up for herself in a resilient and well-rounded way.

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dreadfutures · 2 years

Note

For dadw "that’s not how god works." With Ixchel and Cass?

For @dadrunkwriting !

Pairing: Ixchel Lavellan & Cassandra, on their way back from the tavern after ixchel disbands the inquisition.

-:-:-

"I was going to wait to ask," Cassandra began.

"Cass, noooooo," Ixchel moaned. "I've had to put up with Felassan prying into how Solas's stamina's held up, I really don't wanna talk about sex—"

"No! That's not— I mean— That's not what I meant to—"

Ixchel planted one hand against the wall of the stairwell and squinted at Cassandra. "So…what?"

"Ugh, on second thought, no," Cass said. "Forget I said anything. Come now, I was bringing you to bed."

"Shhh!" Ixchel spluttered, looking about in exaggerated distress. "Felassan or Dorian could hear you! Did that silly hat addle your brain, too?"

"That's not what I was asking!" Cassandra protested. "Maker, you are drunk."

"And you're not?" Ixchel said in horror. "Cassandra, how can you put up with me?"

"No! I am—do you not remember challenging me to that Avvar drinking game?"

Ixchel's silence deafened. She pursed her lips as Cassandra slung her arm around her shoulders and began to drag her upstairs once again.

"I will take that as a no," said Cassandra. "Allow me to refresh your memory, Inquisitor."

"I forbid it," Ixchel said quickly. "Also, I'm not Inquisitor anymore."

"You cannot have it both ways!" Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Either you are Inquisitor and I take orders from you, or you are not Inquisitor and I do not have to listen to you."

"First of all, you never had to listen to me," Ixchel said with as much of a prim affectation as she could muster. "Secondly, even if I were Inquisitor, you are Divine, so you wouldn't have to listen to me anyway."

"Then I don't have to listen to you at all?" Cassandra snorted.

"Whatever." Ixchel sighed. "Fine, what were you going to wait to ask but then asked anyway before I in'errupted you?'

"Solas…made the Veil?"

"Oh. Oh no."

"You say that like it is 'yes,'" Cassandra said with no small degree of chagrin. "I thought Vivienne was having me over. I really thought—"

Ixchel sighed and hung her head as Cassandra continued to carry her up the stairs. "It's a long story, but yeah," she said. "Is that really what you want to get into now, Cass?"

"My curiosity outweighs whatever reservation I have, I think," Cassandra said.

"But I don't want to, I dunno, challenge the things you believe," Ixchel protested. "I know what the Chant says about the Veil, and Spriits—"

"We know what the Chant says," Cassandra replied. "I can tell you who wrote, authorized, and translated each edition and chapter and verse, Ixchel. They were Tevinter, Orlesian… Whatever word Andraste gave us, someone else has interpreted, and re-interpreted. And I know of no others who have spoken to the Maker but she." Her body vibrated beneath Ixchel as she laughed. "Besides, the past two years have challenged the things I believe plenty, from their foundation upward. You would not be the first."

"That doesn't make me feel better," Ixchel said, her voice small.

"Then tell me something that does," Cassandra suggested. "Solas is the Dread Wolf. Is that not the enemy of the Dalish people?"

"That's—that's not how the gods worked," Ixchel said. "He was the betrayer. He was their family. But that doesn't mean the others were right, just because we call him that."

"Harellan," Cassandra said, her tongue stumbling over the elven 'L's.

"It meant 'rebel,' once," Ixchel said brightly.

"I see." Cassandra nodded. "So that means… 'Fen' is 'wolf'?"

They had finally reached Ixchel's quarters and the top of the stairs.

"Yeah," Ixchel said.

"So then is… Is 'fenhedis' the same thing is 'venhedis'?"

Ixchel stumbled as her steps tried to mirror her hurrying mind. "Dorian put you up to this!" she cried. As she stared, betrayed, at Cassandra, she guessed again. "Varric? It was Varric. That traitor—"

"It was not that long ago that you were interceding when I called Varric something similar," Cassandra said, and her lips began to twitch into another smile. "I was just wondering if it had meant something different long ago, as well."

"Andraste's tits, Cass! I'm going to sleep!"

#da drunk writing circle #cage of the ribs #cassandra pentaghast #ixchel lavellan #bloodied and broken bits

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qinfen-qingshen · 6 years

Video

youtube

[Awaken-F] Qin Fen's O!What Birthday Interview (Eng Sub)

#awaken f #qin fen #idol producer #*videos #this took so long bc i always try to rack my brain whenever fen does any of his heartfelt speeches #i really like the way he phrases things so i tried to be more poetic(?) in the flow of the translations

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yukirayu · 11 months

Text

This exhausted me for about a month, but I’ve finally finished it!

I’ve translated the Lamento drama CD which covers the aftermath of Bardo’s route, a.k.a. the only Lamento drama CD that had yet to be translated. And all tracks are linked in a single Google doc file.

Link: Lamento Drama CD: Bardo (Volume 3)

Disclaimers:

I can’t guarantee that this translation is 100% accurate. I needed a lot of help from both MTL and my own understanding of the general context of the scenes to figure out the complete dialogue, or at least attempt to, but I did my best for it to make sense. But even in spite of my best attempts, I’m not completely confident in the translation. If any of you notice something that is off or could be better translated, feel free to inform me about it and I’ll make the necessary corrections as soon as possible.

As previously said, this drama CD is set after the main events of Bardo’s route, so there are some spoilers abound. So if you listen to this but you have yet to play his route, let alone the game, you might be confused as to what’s going on.

AND AS A BONUS...

I previously created a post that compiled the links of my translation for each track of Taku's drama CD (from N+C latest VN, Slow Damage, to those who don't know yet). Each translation per track was in a separate Google doc, however.

So I compiled all the translations into a single document, and added some improvements and edits. You can also download it as a PDF, and each track is linked to make it easy for you to navigate.

Link: Slow Damage Drama CD: Taku AfterStory (Complete)

The original links are still there for reference's sake. This new link, however, also contains the translation (or at least edited MTL) for the lyrics of the ending theme of the drama CD, "predawn".

So with that, I bid all N+C fans, Lamento and Slow Damage hardcore fans, and ossan lovers a "Enjoy the drama CDs!".

#lamento #slow damage #fen tries to translate

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flutteringdreams-matw · 3 years

Note

The tortoise is employed thus. The burglar has with him a flint-stone and a candle about as big as a little finger. He lights the candle and sticks it on the tortoise’s back. The tortoise is then introduced through the breach into the house, and it crawls slowly around, thereby illuminating the house and its contents

This was a difficult ask - only because I tried very VERY hard to fit it into the Road to Normal shorts. Apologises for it taking longer @profoundoperatorstatesmanopera ! Also - sorry, I used google translate... someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

By a Candle (The Road to Normal 15)

The burglar moved quietly against the building, holding a mess of objects against their side. They hid in the shadows, side stepping to avoid the brightly shining lights above.

“Where is it,” the burglar murmured to their partner, feeling the stone against their free hand. Finding the doorknob, they turned it slowly, counting their lucky stars that it was open. Probably thought no one would break in. Quietly, they descended the stairs, careful not to alert anyone working below. Thankfully, the lab below was dim - no one was there.

Gingerly, the burglar put down their partner in crime, reaching for the candle and flint at their side.

“Okay, listen here you reptil inútil,” they hissed, crouching down to put said candle on its back. “All you got to do is walk from here to the desk. Got me?”

The tortoise’s head slowly emerged from its shell, blinking up as the burglar lit the candle.

“Hello - you understand right? Manson said you were the smartest one,” they drawled, waving their hand in front of the reptile. It blinked again, turning slowly toward the inner part of the lab. They sighed, frustrated. “Serves me right for listening to that goth freak. Said you were fast too - else I’d take the hamster. Or was it the guinea pig?”

The burglar waited impatiently as the creature moved throughout the lab, illuminating a general area for them to search.

What they didn’t expect was for the Fentons to be in the lab. Or to be enamoured by the dumb tortoise as it crawled across the lab, trapping the burglar in one section of it. Or for the weirdos to think it was a ghost.

Or for them to be down there for two hours.

How was she supposed to find it now?

:-=-:

“Why are you in the dark?” Jazz asked, flipping the lights. Her eyes found her parents quickly, huddled in the middle of the lab over… “Is that a tortoise?”

“Ghost tortoise!” Jack corrected, waving her over. “Too bad your brother isn’t around to see it.”

“Jack,” Maddie started, frowning. She sat up, studying the reptile as it continued onward, looking embarassed. “The candle is tied to its back. I don’t think-“

“Why is there a livetortoise in the lab!?” Jazz exclaimed, rushing over to it. She blew out the candle, watching the smoke wisp upward and the animal stopping, retreating back into its shell.

“It’s a ghost!” Jack replied earnestly.

Maddie and Jazz looked at each other. “Does it react to the ghost scanners?” Jazz asked.

“No.”

“Or have an aura now that the candle’s out?” Maddie added.

“Uh…. No.”

“So why did the two of you think it was a ghost?” Jazz asked exasperatedly. “Seriously, sometimes I wonder how you didn’trealize there was a ghost living -“

Clang.

All three Fentons turned, bristling in surprise as the burglar knocked over a metal object. Quickly, both parents drew weapons, but it was Jazz to recognized the intruder.

“Paulina?”

“Ugh,” Paulina muttered, raising her hands in surrender as Jack and Maddie lowered their weapons. “Oh hi,” she said sweetly, batting her eyes. “I’m like, so sorry but I was just looking for something to help me contact a friend of mine. Fen- I mean Danny let me in.”

Jazz frowned sceptically. “Which friend?”

“Oh… just the ghost boy,” she said dreamily. “I lost his number a few weeks ago and I just… if anyone would have it, it’d be you all.”

Jack, Maddie and Jazz looked at each other quizzically, looked at the clock and grinned. Danny was still on patrol and wouldn’t be back for another hour.

“He wouldn’t like this would he?” Maddie whispered to Jazz.

Jazz smirked. “Nope,” she replied. “And it wouldn’t do too much harm. Just make him embarrassed for a few hours. Besides - I owe him for earlier.”

“Well girlie, of course we have his number!” Jack boomed. Paulina was ecstatic, positively glowing as the orange clad man made his way over to a desk and scribbled down something on a piece of paper. “Any friend of Phantom is a friend of ours.”

:-=-:

“Let me get this straight... Paulina broke into the lab -“

“Yep.”

“In the middle of the night-“

“Correct.”

“With a Tortoise and a candle -“

“Uh-huh.”

“To find Phantom’s phone number?”

“You betcha.”

“And you gave it to her!?”

“Relax son, we didn’t give her Phantom’s number. We gave her your number.”

“… I… I have no words.”

The phone on the table lit up for the thirty-sixth time in the last hour.

“No wait - I do. Can I change my number?”

Links to previous: Eye for an Eye Infinite Realms Girls Night Out Torrent of Terror Forever Phantom Urban Jungle Livin' Large Boxed Up Fury Frightmare Claw of the Wild D-Stabilized Kingdom Come The C.A.T. New Normal Ectostorm Series

Suggestions welcome! Just put them in my asks and I'll get to them when I can :)

#danny phantom #Fenton Family #Paulina #tortoise #his name is cornelius and he is a gem #humour #the road to normal #I have no words #me too Danny

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translations-by-aiimee · 3 years

Text

Mistakenly Saving the Villain - Chapter 2

Original Title: 论救错反派的下场

Genres: Drama, Romance, Xianxia, Yaoi

TW for this chapter: Brief description of suicide

This translation is based on multiple MTLs and my own limited knowledge of Chinese characters. If I have made any egregious mistakes, please let me know.

Chapter 2 - Problem-Solving by Elimination

Scholar-Tyrant Song sat in the examination room, his mind blank.

The types of questions at the Banquet of Beauties were more terrifying than Goldbach’s conjecture. At least he would not panic if being questioned by his professor on Goldbach's conjecture.

The Langgan Terrace of the Golden Pheonix Manor was extremely luxurious and beautiful. There are countless cultivators and beautiful women flying in the depths of the clouds. Every guest was more beautiful than the last, and carefree laughter and obscene words were thrown around.

Song Qingshi silently recited his lectures on the human body structure, physiological hygiene, mouse breeding and other courses twice in his heart, finally recovering the calmness of a high-ranking medical student. Thinking about the lab mice he had bred for three years dying off, the scene in front of him no longer meant much.

There are two kinds of divine fires in the original person's body. The first was the Red Lotus Fire used for refining his alchemy, and the other was the Underworld Ghost Fire used for killing people.

Song Qingshi's expression became one that could repel others from thousands of miles away. He released the Underworld Ghost Fire from the palms of his hands, causing the flames to continuously jump at his fingertips and change into different shapes.

Fen Shen and He Ti ancestors are the treasures of all the cultivation sects. They did not usually involve themselves with the mortal world. The Nascent Soul cultivators are all big shots walking carefree in the immortal world. Not to mention the danger of the cutivating path; no one could guarantee that they wouldn't need to ask a doctor for help. Neither righteous cultivators or demonic cultivators were not willing to offend the Medicine Master Xianzun easily, let alone mock his perverse character.

When the cultivators saw the Underworld Ghost Fire, they knew that he was in a bad mood and kept their distance.

Song Qingshi was able to keep a clear area around him. He cut off the cultivators who approached him to make friendships. Then he released the powerful spiritual thoughts of a Nascent Soul cultivator and quickly took in all the beauties at the banquet. He looked carefully and tried to find the protagonist in the crowd.

However, Yang Yuhuan was thicker, and Zhao Feiyan was slender. Everyone had different standards of beauty. Song Qingshi was of the kind of person that was not very reliable. His eyes were quickly dazzled, only able to think that all of them were beautiful during the dinner. Even the maid who poured the water was graceful and beautiful. She was more beautiful than the stars on TV. He couldn't tell who was better looking.

But this stubborn scholar will never admit defeat!

Song Qingshi tried to use the process of elimination to solve the problem. First, he determined that the protagonist was a man, excluded all the maidens during the banquet. Then he needed to make a list of key observations, verifying claims, making careful assumptions, and removing the beauties that did not meet the standards one by one.

The twin brothers brought by the Sect Master of the Blood Demon Sect were extremely beautiful. Jade-like skin, fragrant, and passionately devoted, just like two identical lotus flowers on one stalk.

There can't be two protagonists, cross it out.

The young man brought by the immortal master Longhu Sect is also super cute. He is so childish and adorable, holding his immortal master in his arms and acting like a baby. The immortal master loved him very much, doted on him, and he even hand-fed this junior immortal his food during the banquet. He kept calling him "baby".

The protagonist is supposed to suffer a miserable fate. Cross it out.

The foreign monk from Beizhou used a mysterious iron chain to lead along a handsome man covered in wounds. He stumbled and followed the foreign monk obediently. But underneath, his body revealed a rebellious aura, like being an eagle with his wings tied but still wanting to break free and fly away.

The protagonist is a beauty, so he wouldn't be so heartless, cross him out.

. . .

Into the depth of the night, the whistful music of the Banquet of Beauties had long been replaced by debauchery. Many people took the beauties away from the tables, and the scene became more and more unbearable.

Song Qingshi did not want to peep into other people's private affairs, for fear of seeing something provocative and getting an eye stye. He kept his thoughts away from extra events and kept it focused during the dinner. Then he heard the foreign monk show off the man he had brought with him to the young master of the Hidden Moon Sect: "He was even a famous general in the human world. After he was defeated and captured, he was sold to me. He's an arrogant person, who resists even under the threat of death. He is very exciting to play with."

The Young Master of the Hidden Moon Sect introduced a soft and coquettish young man, and smiled: "A proud person has the taste of being proud, but there is also the taste of being well-behaved. Let's switch and try it out?"

The foreign monk hesitated. The Young Master of the Hidden Moon Sect cast a wink at the slave.

The charming young man immediately snuggled up on the monk’s chest and begged coquettishly: "I truly like majestic bodies of strong masters, please love this slave well."

Fan Seng was ignited by the tender words of this young man, and he readily threw the chain in his hand to the Young Master of the Hidden Moon Sect, and took the young man to the side hall. The Young Master dragged the chain fiercely, and forced the gray-faced man toward the secluded part of the garden.

There were many scenes like this during the dinner, and no one had pity for these tragic beauties.

. . .

Song Qingshi had already learned from the memory of the original body that the spiritual energy of the human world was thin. The lifespan of mortals was short, and the spiritual roots were occasionally weak. Just having a base foundation was like reaching the heavens. Some kind-hearted cultivators will accept mortals as disciples and give them the opportunity to ascend to immortals. Ten thousand years ago, there was a mortal named Mo Yuan who was extremely talented. He just relied on swordsmanship to become a Nascent Soul cultivator. His techniques rivaled the Fen Shen ancestors, and was thus called the Sword Sovereign.

However, the road to immortality was to fight for one's life with the heavens. It had difficult steps and repeated failure was common. Killing someone for their treasures occured from time to time. It was difficult to restrain their behavior with morality.

Weakness is the original sin. Mortals were like ants.

Even if it was the Sword Master Mo Yuan who took care of him, he could only lay down the rules among the elites of the immortal world. He ensured that the mortals who successfully built a foundation base were treated as cultivators and no longer playthings and slaves. But demonic sects and cultivators never cared about the rules. Not even just the mortal cultivators, the immortal monks also suffered in their hands. Their evil deeds were too numerous to count.

Golden Phoenix Manor was regarded as a famous sect in the immortal world, and all the cultivation furnaces in the Manor are of made and purchased in the mortal world.

So even if Song Qingshi couldn't tolerate what happened here, he couldn't interfere. He was slightly grateful that the identity that the system arranged for him was not a mortal, otherwise he would never survive two chapters, let alone save the protagonist.

Fortunately, it was just a virtual world. . .

Novels were all evil works; textbooks were the righteous materials in the world! The professor was correct in confiscating the novels of all the girls in class! If he had the opportunity to become a professor, he will not allow students to read novels! Help them to avoid their Three Views being poisoned!

Song Qingshi sighed silently.

Suddenly, a curse came from the garden. It was the Young Master of Hidden Moon Sect who dragged the stubborn man's corpse and returned with a disappointed face. The man's shirt was torn open, revealing his bruised body. His body was riddled with scars. He had taken a stolen silver chopstick, pierced his throat deeply and killed himself.

The silver chopsticks were very blunt, and it would be extremely difficult to kill yourself with one of them. You couldn't stab yourself with one without exhausting all your energy, which shows his determination.

Seeing this, everyone in the banquet joked. They laughed that the Young Master couldn't even take care of a mortal.

Hearing the disturbance, the monk left the charming young man and hurried back out of the side hall. He saw that the person he had brought was dead. His brows furrowed and his face was full of anger. The young master of the Hidden Moon Sect was even more angry than him. He turned the dead man over, revealing his back covered with lashes, and questioned the monk: "Why didn't you mark this little slave of yours with an Acacia Seal? How could you let him die?"

The foreign monk was stunned by his question: "What is the Acacia Seal? Some new thing from the Central continent?"

Seeing his ignorance, the cultivators couldn't help but mumble that Beizhou must really be a barren land considering that they didn't even know that an Acacia Seal is a well-known thing in the world. The monk was lost during this whole conversation and the Young Master was discouraged. He pulled the monk, hating iron for not making seal, explained the beauty of the Acacia Seal: "The Acacia Seal is a method created by Huanxi Xianzun. The owner can print it on the back of the furnace, and the body and soul of the furnace transfer into the hands of the owner. No orders are needed and it cannot die without permission."

Song Qingshi had found important information. He swiftly concentrated on this discussion and listened carefully.

Hidden Moon Sect's Young Master took out a red bead from his space bag. An idea sparked in his mind. He turned the bead in his hand. The charming young man who was standing next to the monk immediately knelt down and started to bark.

The monk waved his hand, disgusted and said: "It's so obedient, even if you try something new once in a while. If I raise them like this, I would get tired after playing with it for a few days."

"There are a lot of usages in it. You would know if you had used them yourself. This Young Master isn't going to list them all for you." The Young Master withdrew from spiritual mind he had put into the bead, and the young man crouching on the ground stood up. He was used to being humiliated in front of a crowd and blushed. After a while, he faded from his shame and stood behind his master with his head down.

Seeing that the monk still didn’t understand, the young master of the Hidden Moon Sect still educates patiently: “The most important thing is that unless you let the cultivation furnace die, the cultivation furnace will never die against your will. If you brand this little slave with the Acacia Seal, wouldn't it be more fun to make him unable to kill himself and then slowly break down his pride?"

The foreign monk had an epiphany. He nodded and agreed.

The young master of the Hidden Moon Sect erased the spiritual mind of the cultivation furnace's bead in his hand. He threw it to the monk, and said graciously: "Since the young master killed your beauty, I will will compensate you for it. You can take it and study the beauty of the Acacia Seal. Once you start, you won't be able to start."

The monk was overjoyed, and even boasted: "The Central continent people are really bold, this Black Vulture has made you a friend!"

The charming young man's face instantly turned pale. He looked at the original master desperately, looking like he had something to say, as if he wanted to beg, but in the end he didn't say anything, and went with the monk in tears.

The jewels were corrupted and it was like broken jade.

This extravagant feast had finally reached its climax.

The disciples of Golden Phoenix Manor concealed the radiance of the luminous beads above the temple, and let the darkness envelop the entire Langgan Terrace.

The guests raised their heads in amazement. They saw fireworks from several spells across the darkness, blooming in the air into a radiant golden phoenix, dancing lightly, announcing that the performances of the feast were about to begin. Jin FeiRen raised his wine glass and invited guests to share in the festivities again.

Song Qingshi marveled at the beauty of the Phoenix Dance, and admired it for a long while. Then he discovered that a young man in white clothes appeared next to Jin FeiRen. The young man had very clean and beautiful features, like green bamboo in the mountains, a bright moon in the sky. A layer of cold frost covered in his low eyebrows, his hair falling like a waterfall around his face. It was tied back with a ribbon. There were no other notable features on his whole body, but he still easily retained everyone's lingering gazes.

The tall and handsome owner was smiling and gently scratching the young man's palm with his fingers, praising his treasure in a gentle and soft voice, trying to get him to smile.

The young man turned his head away, despite the teasing. He didn't even want to spare him a glance.

Jin FeiRen twisted his head forcefully, and forced his hands behind his back with only one hand. He held him close in an embrace and kissed his forehead and the bridge of his nose carefully. Then he bit his lips hard, as if to he wanted to swallow him whole. The teenager struggled with pain, Jin FeiRen smiled and released him, leaning close to the youth's ear, and asked softly: "Do you want to learn the rules again?"

The young man froze for a moment. He stopped struggling, and sat obediently into Jin FeiRen's arms.

Was this the protagonist?

Song Qingshi secretly watched for a long time. He finally suppressed his social anxiety, ready to speak, and then LingBao Xianzun who had a good relationship with Jin FeiRen walked over and asked with a smile: "This is the new treasure of the Manor Lord? Is he pure? Does he have a good Yin constitution, a single spirit root of the water system? How about giving him to me to taste tonight?

Jin FeiRen glanced at the embarrassed and angry expression of the youth in his arms, gave him a squeeze, and refused with a smile: "Although he is just a toy, he suits my heart and it would be inconvenient to give him to you. Later, I will give my friends some top-quality products, all of them newly branded with excellent physiques and very clean."

LingBao Xianzun carefully looked at him. "Is your furnace still a virgin?"

Jin FeiRen said: "I don't want to treat him like an ordinary furnace."

Song Qingshi had already heard more obscene words tonight than he had in his lifetime. He understood everything that should be understood or even things that shouldn't be understood. He also understood clearly what a furnace was.

He watched as Jin FeiRen was pouring wine for the young man during the banquet, and he was a little unsure whether this was the protagonist. Although the white-clothed boy seemed to be more attractive than the other beauties present, the system had explained that the protagonist needs to be rescued from his miserable fate. Now Jin FeiRen was quite fond of the boy, and every beauty in the Banquet of Beauties was many times worse off than him. . .

Song Qingshi was anxious pondering these questions. . .

At this time, the phoenix finished its dance in the air, and fell into the crowd with a stream of light.

The light faded away, and a huge golden, carved bird appeared on the Langgan Terrace. On this bird frame was a beauty beautiful enough to destroy a city.

The gold fetters inlaid with jewels encircled his pure white ankles, and were tied to both sides of the bird frame with long thin golden chains. His upper body was caged with almost transparent thin fabric, and he could vaguely see the magnificent scenery decorated with gold jewels and jade underneath. On his lower body was a long dress in the shape of phoenix tail feathers made of gold and red feathers. His hair was adorned with pearls resembling mermaid's tears, the enchanting Acacia Seal on his back hidden by his long hair, flowing in the breeze. It was as beautiful as a phoenix with rich colors, the human peony in the world.

He held a jade flute in his hand, his thin lips slightly open, his beauty almost unnatural. The dark golden phoenix eyes seemed to be smiling but held no emotion, and he greeted the audience. Song Qingshi sat up straight. He recognized that this was the beauty in red that he had seen by the river bank.

When the red beauty glanced over at Song Qingshi, his eyes stayed for a while, then slid over as if he didn't recognize him.

Song Qingshi looked at the young man in white clothes on the left, who looked like a bright moon, and the beauty in red clothes on the right, who looked like peony in his prime. He was panicking; he couldn't tell who was more beautiful and more like the main character!

The exam questions of the system teacher were too difficult. . .　

Is Scholar-Tyrant Song going to fail his course?

#mistakenly saving the villain #chinese novel #chinese bl #english translation #song qingshi #mistakenly saving the villain translation

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historicalbeauties · 3 years

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Anon said:

I have never met any other Nevas either! I am Finnish, and it is incredibly rare name over here (hence the ask for being anon, as I am scarily easy to track down if someone wants to be a creep) and the name translates to a "fen" (type of a bog)! And yes, it felt incredible to see a post that felt like it was accidentally custom made for me, just to tell me that I can have the wardrobe I dream of and rock it the way I am now. Thank you so much, again, for that post - it keeps on makimg me so happy I keep on tearing up.

That is so cool! I’m delighted.

I tried googling to see if Neva was a known nickname for “Genevra” in English. I found at least two other instances (one of them fictional) of women named Genevra and called Neva. But Genevra is not a common name in English at all. It’s a version of Guinevere/Jennifer.

#my second cousin is named genevra #but that's because she was named for grandma Neva lol #weirdly enough her little sister olivia really looks like that childhood photo of Neva #i say weirdly because Genevra and Olivia's mother was adopted and there's no genetic link between them!

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potahun · 4 years

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Favorite “Wo Men De Ge” Performances, all groups and match-ups included.

No ranking. Just faves.

“Yan Hua Yi Leng | Fireworks Cool Easily”, by Liu Yuning x Xiao Gui (Wang Linkai)

“The rain drizzles softly. In my hometown, the trees and grass grow deep” -- completely overlooked this performance at first. it starts off kind of plain and then gets weirdly intense in the last 1min and now it won’t get out of my head. hmm

“Tian Xia You Qing Ren | Lovers In The World”, by Qin Shen Shen (Li Keqin x Zhou Shen)

“Love is one cycle after another, one reincarnation after another, no matter whether in the southeast or the northwest; love is part after part, thread after thread of rights and wrongs, rendering lovers forever unable to say ‘see you again’.”

legit shouldn’t even have tried to translate this literally but you know what this shit is about. You’ve seen it. It fucks things up.

“Carmen”, by Mei Nan Zi (Fei Yuqing x Li Keqin x Zhou Shen x Xu Weizhou)

“Men are but a pastime, nothing impressive.” ----- Four “handsome men” sing about love and men being pastimes and dance dorkily to music with a cabaret feel. what’s not to love?? also 2 of them didn’t get the memo that it’s not a performance in duos and cant stop showing off their duo’s chemistry. just kidding. unless

“Xin Yuan Yang Hu Die Meng + Shi Ren De Lü Tu | New Butterfly Dream + A Poet’s Journey“, by Yun Dan Feng Qing (Fei Yuqing x Ayanga)

“Should we understand at once, or should we pretend not to? Knowing a lot or knowing little, what is difficult is to know when to be satisfied.”

I had to listen to this again to remember why I liked it and mmm. fuck. mhm. yeah. good. Also, I cannot translate this. Sorry. I tried.

“Meng Xing Shi Fen | Dream to Awakening”, by Ren Xianqi x Xiao Gui (Wang Linkai)

“You’ve known from the start that sadness would be hard to avoid; why fall so deeply? Because love is always hard to give up, hard to part with... Why still care about that little bit of warmth? You have to know that sadness is always hard to avoid, in that moment from dream to awakening. There are some things you don’t have to ask now, and people you never have to wait for.”

Aside from it being super funny in context, this performance is also close to my heart because it’s one of my all. time. favorite. songs.

“Na Pian Hai + Ting Hai | That Sea + Listen to the Sea”, by Qin Shen Shen (Li Keqin x Zhou Shen)

“Let us forget that sea, let us start over again in the next life. Let us, time after time, life after life, never separate again”

This one gets the prize of the most seamless mixing of two songs into one.

“Xin Tai Ruan | Too Soft-Hearted”, by Jie Tou Pai Dang (Ren Xianqi x Liu Yuning)

“Falling in love is always easy, but getting along is too difficult. If it’s not yours, don’t force it anymore” -- hnnnnnnggg in the category “songs with amazing lyrics that are always relevant at some point and timelessly too good”.

“Xin Ru Dao Ge | Like A Knife To The Heart”, by Qin Shen Shen (Li Keqin x Zhou Shen)

“I’ve really loved for you, you’ve really left with him. All I could give, I gave it. I can take everything, except letting you know... that I feel like my heart has been pierced with a knife”

-- HAHA this is the worst translation I’m sry. Anyways, the musical arrangement is hard because there are no beats for almost the whole song and when you’re harmonising without some beats or rhythm it’s hell and yet. yet. this is the harmonising kings duo, baby. oh yeah.

“Ai Jiang Shan Geng Ai Mei Ren | Loving the Beauty More Than Power”, by Jie Tou Pai Dang (Ren Xianqi x Liu Yuning)

“Red flowers go with green leaves, of course. But who will stay beside me in this lifetime? Elusively, we come and go. The feelings from the past resurface; the lotus breaks but its threads last. I sigh quietly. The world’s happenings bears many changes”

-- this song is literally impossible to translate properly, sorry, but it is one of my all-time favorites. Despite the simplicity of the stage and the changes in the song’s arrangement, as far as I'm concerned, these two truly captured its spirit of the song *chef’s kiss

“Ling Yi Zhong Xiang Chou | Another Kind of Homesickness”, by Fei Yuqing x Li Keqin x Zhou Shen

“Those clouds and trees; do not block the road to that hometown” - or as I like to call it: the harmonising trinity of death.

that gesture FYQ does at the end, when he drops his hand? my soul went down with it

“Qiu Niao | Prisoner Bird”, by Yun Dan Feng Qing (Fei Yuqing x Ayanga)

“I am but a shadow that you can do without as you please, coldly watching the way you look when you lie” - I didn’t initially count this in my faves. But the more I listen to it, the more I love it and now I LOVE it.

“Piao Yang Guo Hai Lai Kan Ni | Crossing the Sea to See You”, by Zhou Hua Jian x Ayanga

“For you I spent half a year of savings, crossing the sea to see you”. hnnnnnngggggg best. version. of. this. song. I've heard.

“Ni De Rou Qing Wo Yong Yuan Bu Dong | I Will Never Understand Your Tenderness”, by Luo Qi x Liu Yuning

“I do not want to make love too blurry. If you love, then love clearly.” -- hhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggggggggg.

“Wo Ai Ta | I Love Him”, by Zhou Shen x Xu Weizhou

“We once leaned on each others’ shoulders. Now, we’re each drifting away in the sea of people”. -- 1) Very good. 2) Screamo? 3) Some kind of Nightwish-like opera singing that sounds very good.

“Qi Shi Bu Xiang Zou | In Truth, I Don’t Want To Leave”, by Yi Jian Qing Xin (Zhou Hua Jian x Jiang Yi Qiao)

- “The truth is, I don’t want to leave, the truth is, I want to stay. Stay and accompany you every spring, summer, autumn and winter...” -- this song can never go bad. Zhou Shen clapping with that slightly emotional look on his face, like he’s this close to crying? That’s me.

“Qian Li Zhi Wai | Beyond A Thousand Miles”, by Yun Dan Feng Qing (Fei Yuqing x Ayanga)

I send you beyond a thousand miles away, you’re soundless in black and white...”

This is not even part of the competition, but...you know.

“Tian Ya | The End of the Earth”, by Jie Tou Pai Dang (Ren Xianqi x Liu Yuning)

....I’m not going to translate it. I’m not even sure I fully get it. But boy, it’s so good.

One of the reasons I watched the whole show, actually. damn. dammmn.

“Ye Lang Disco”, by Qin Shen Shen (Li Keqin x Zhou Shen)

“On your left, draw a dragon with me, on your right, draw a rainbow.” ASKALKSLKDJSLKDA. Joy. In its purest, silliest form.

^bonus unsolicited qin shen shen pic, which illustrates how I feel about some of these performances. yup.

#wo men de ge #xiao zhan #zhou shen #ayanga #xiao gui #wang linkai #liu yuning #zhou hua jian #na ying #li keqin #ren xianqi #luo qi #fei yuqing #our song #it wouldnt be beyond me to add numbers to this as time goes by #but for now these are my faves #li ziting #Christopher wong

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tailorvizsla · 4 years

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A Proper Mandalorian Courtship - Chapter 2

Title: Hurt, Healing, Help Pairing: Paz x OFC, OFC x OMC Word Count: ~2350 Rating: MA Warnings: Cursing, canon-typical violence, crack humor that’s also serious Chapters::Ch 1 | Ch 3 | Ch 4 | Ch 5

📚 My Master List 📚

Notes: This chapter contains potentially triggering material. Warnings for: mentions of past child abuse, past violence, and a lot of cursing. No graphic details, just a passing mention of certain situations that have occurred. The flashback occurs ~ten years before the story is currently happening.

Also, your nickname is Shu'shika. It means tiny disaster. I've been trying to format the HTML for this update on AO3 for two hours now, I don't think I can handle any more of the text popups right now. Also posted on AO3, where you can hover over the stuff in Mandoa or unfamiliar terms to see translations and notes.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes and translations. Also let me know if you want to be tagged or something. @mandalorerose I am so sorry, pls don’t goor me from the server.)

[flashback]

The bright sunlight fills the clearing, bringing a touch of warmth to the smoky, frosty morning air. High up in the trees, the birds flit from branch to branch, watching the proceedings with unabashed curiosity. Occasionally, tiny creatures fight amongst themselves, scolding each other with a flurry of chirps.

Grinning, Paz sidesteps Neten’s blow easily, clamping down on his bracer tightly. Using the other man’s momentum, Paz latches onto Neten’s extended arm and pulls hard, causing him to lose his balance. Once he stumbles forward, Paz gives him a good shove, sending him careening forward into the soft grassy earth. A low ‘ooh’ goes up from the crowd as Neten trips and slams into the ground with a heavy thud. Paz nods, holding back, giving Neten enough time to recollect himself.

“Nice form, good strength,” Paz says, to encourage the younger man. “Let’s go through it one more time. Then we’ll break for water.”

“Sounds good, alor'ad,” Neten says.

“Swing at me,” Paz orders. “And I’ll show you the best way to…”

He trails off when he receives notification that his door alarm has been disabled. His brow furrows as he considers it for a few moments. Neten falters.

“Uh, you still with us, alor'ad?” Neten asks.

“Yeah, sorry,” Paz said. “Swing at me.”

Paz recently upgraded the locking mechanism to keep the kids out of his candy stash. He does not mind sharing, but when six kilos of candy disappear in one week, he has to put his foot down. That, or the other parents would strangle him. Paz shakes away the feeling of unease and catches Neten’s fist in his. Grasping firmly, he halts Neten’s attack, freezing him in place.

“You’re trying to build up momentum from too far away. See how this leaves you open while you're swinging? Get in a bit closer,” Paz says, showing Neten how his previous attack left him vulnerable with a solid blow to the gut. “Stick a bit closer and – “

The door chime goes off again. Then it disables itself a second time. Zeli said she would be busy helping in the kitchen today. Paz frowns.

“Uh, right. When I push you forward, roll into the fall,” Paz says. “It’ll give you some space to work. Now, try it again.”

Neten swings a third time. Paz pushes him harder this time. Instead of falling, Neten curls his body forward and rolls into the fall. He comes up on his feet, but quickly loses his balance. He falls over.

“Shit,” Neten sighs.

“Just takes practice,” Paz says. “Get up, you’ll get it right.”

After walking him through the proper counter a few times, Neten finally manages to roll directly onto his feet and absorb the momentum with his knees. Then Paz turns to the crowd.

“Partner up,” he says. “Neten, you partner up with Fen.”

As he assigns partners, he chooses to place the most advanced fighters with the novices to ensure they teach the others. Paz finds he still cannot shake that weird feeling in his gut. Something nags at him until he decides to go investigate.

“Revala,” he says. “Keep an eye on these idiots for a minute?”

“Sure thing alor'ad,” she says, coming forward. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah…I just need to check on something,” he says. “No more than a few minutes. If they give you any backtalk, you have my full permission to make them run until they drop.”

“Yes, sir,” Revala exclaims gleefully as she turns back to their drilling vod, “Alright, losers, I’m in charge, and I’m going to make you suffer.”

“Gaa’tayl, alor'ad!” someone yelps.

Rousing laughter fills the clearing at the plea for help.

“K’atini!” Paz snaps over his shoulder. Wimps.

He turns toward the entrance to the hideout. Their current home is situated deep in a granite canyon. It was at one point some sort of pirate bolt hole, but over the decades, other Mandalorians had come and gone, making the space larger and adding some basic furniture. It is cramped, but it is well-hidden and easy to defend. Not only that, the family quarters have separate showers, a perk he does not hesitate to abuse. He makes his way down the main hallway, avoiding the fistfight between Din and Terys.

“If you two are going to slap each other like whiny little aruetiise, do it outside,” Paz snaps.

“He ate my uj’ayali,” Din snaps in response. “I was saving that, you dickhead – “

“I didn’t eat your fucking uj’ayali,” Terys grunts as he elbows Din in the side.

Paz shakes his head and continues toward the living quarters. Winding through the hallways, he finds himself surrounded by a throng of scuffling children. He breaks it up with a firm growl and sends the guilty parties to time-out. At long last, he comes to his door. As his hand hovers over the pad, he feels that sense of dread worsen, like a block of lead has suddenly materialized in his belly.

Paz almost hesitates, but he pushes forward. Something isn’t right here. He types in the code and watches as the door silently unlatches and swings open. He steps into the living area, his feet heavy and uncooperative. That feeling in his gut warns him to stay silent.

When he sees Zeli’s boots on the floor, he frowns.

He sees the second pair, hidden just out of sight, at the same time he hears Zeli’s cry. Paz inhales sharply and turns toward the bedroom, thinking that someone is actively forcing themselves on his beloved.

“Yes, Liam!” she cries out, stopping him in his tracks.

Paz can only stare, his stomach roiling violently at the sight of the two figures entwined under the light sheets. For several seconds, he stands there, frozen. Taking in the sights and sounds of their lascivious coupling. The wet slap of sweaty flesh meeting and Zeli’s throaty, animalistic keening. The way her short pink nails dig into Liam’s shoulders. The way he fervently fucks into Zeli, repeating what Paz had done with her just hours before.

“Oh, gods, Liam! Harder, h-harder!” she sobs, her sinewy body arching under his.

“Ni copaani hailir gar,” he pants. “Gedet’ye, cyare."

From here, he can see her digging her heels into his backside. The raised red welts she has left along his spine and shoulders. The livid bite marks along her shoulders.

As the harsh, unpleasant shock starts to set in, he feels his lips and face go numb, a deafening roar filling his ears. His chest tightens as he tries to tear himself away from the lurid scene, only for his gaze to land on the couch.

They had placed their helmets on the seat - her cherry-red helmet next to his deep grey helmet, the forehead ridges pressed together in a sweet kiss. As if to mock him. Paz turns his stinging eyes to the low table. The pieces of their armor are arranged neatly on the table. It is clear to him that the lovers had taken turns stripping each other, piece by piece.

This is not an act of drunken, frenzied passion.

This is a deliberate act of practiced intimacy.

In the years Paz and Zeli have been a couple, building their future together, she has not once asked him to use blindfolds. She has never once asked to break down that one last barrier keeping them from tasting each other’s lips for the first time. Yet here she is, fucking one of their closest friends in his bed. All while stringing him along with the promise that they will be one, that they will remove their helmets for each other for the first time on their wedding night.

How many times has Zeli allowed him to debauch her in their bed? In the same bed where Paz professed his love for her for the first time? The same haven where they spent countless hours in each other’s sweat-slick arms, fantasizing about the warriors they would eventually gift the tribe? How many times has he run his fingers along her breasts and inadvertently dragged his fingers through the dried remnants of another man’s sweat and saliva?

Revolting nausea fills him, that numb feeling creeping through his entire body, leaving him feeling so empty and cold. As his hands begin to shake, he clenches them into fists at his sides, his breath coming in shuddering pants as he struggles to not fucking sob. Bile rises in his esophagus, leaving his throat feeling bloody and raw.

Why?

The question keeps chasing itself through his thoughts as the agonizing knot in his chest threatens to tear him apart. He hears a giggle from the bed as Zeli flips Liam onto his back, the sheets shifting to reveal the delectable curve of her lower half, plump and succulent as she starts to bounce on his cock.

“Come in me, cyare,” she purrs to him.

“A-are you sure? You’re not - not - contraceptive – “

“Paz won’t know,” Zeli laughs. “He’s desperate for kids.”

Those words are the catalyst for his rage, like a lit match dropped into a barrel of volatile jet fuel.

Incandescent rage unfurls explosively in his chest, evaporating the cold sorrow that had once filled him in an instant. He feels his blood pressure and heart rate spike, leaving his vision thin and black and pulsating at the edges. Paz takes one menacing step toward the doorway, his entire body trembling as he struggles to contain the inner maelstrom of hatred.

It would be so, so easy for him to make them suffer, to make them feel the bone-deep agony they have inflicted on him. All he has to do is step into the bedroom. Look at their faces. Break the blood-oath of secrecy they had sworn to uphold a second time. By seeing their faces, he is a witness to their identities, and they will not be given the option to marry.

With just a few more steps, he can destroy them; he can take away everything and everyone they have ever loved. He can make Zeli’s worst nightmare a reality – she will lose her father, her sisters, and her friends. She will have only her lover by her side. Liam will be declared dar’buir by proxy. They will both be exiled in their dishonor and shame.

Suddenly, he sees Zephyr’s gap-toothed, mischief-filled grin and he comes to a grinding halt.

Zephyr was broken when Liam had found him huddled in the burnt-out husk of his ancestral home. Raiders had tortured his family and forced him to watch as they were killed, one by one. After they had taken their amusement, they had beaten Zephyr, leaving the young boy to die alone in the wastes. It was only by pure fortune that Liam had seen the smoke and gone to investigate, thinking it was his prey.

Instead, he had found a mute six-year-old boy wrapped in a ragged, blood-stained blanket, his tiny, emaciated frame covered in a multitude of bruises and lacerations. It took three years of love from the Tribe for the boy to speak again. After those first words, Zephyr had risen from the ashes of his shell, soaring like the celestial starbird.

Zephyr had finally found his voice and his manda, bringing life and light back into his eyes.

His gut wrenches and a new type of agony lances through his heart. It pierces him, wounding him so deeply he physically cannot breathe. He bites down hard on the sides of his tongue to stifle the sob threatening to escape his throat. His teeth break skin and the taste of copper fills his mouth. Paz cannot do it. He cannot be the reason Zephyr has to relive the loss of his family.

He will not be the reason the light leaves Zephyr’s eyes again. No amount of agony inflicted upon him - a grown man - could ever justify harming an innocent child for the sake of revenge.

Paz forces himself to exhale. Blinking, the tears finally fall, burning their way down his cheeks before finally soaking into his beard. Stiffly, he makes his way back to the couch and picks up their helmets, taking Zeli’s in his left and Liam’s in his right.

Acrid bitterness fills the shattered remains of his heart as he looks down at Zeli’s helmet. The paint on the forehead ridge has worn away from the many passionate kisses they have shared. Cynically, he wonders how much of that paint was worn away by Liam. How many embraces have they shared behind his back? How many times have they bared their fucking souls to one another in his bed?

Paz turns back to the door and exits, leaving the couple to their tryst. As the door clicks shut behind him, he suddenly feels intense exhaustion, his armor suddenly becoming stifling and heavy. Each breath feels like tar in his lungs as he leans heavily against the wall opposite the door.

“Hey, Paz,” Din says, coming toward him. “Bad news. Your idiots outside managed to set something on fire – “

Seemingly sensing something wrong, Din comes to a halt an arm span away. He leans forward slightly, coming to his side, in a show of brotherly concern.

“Ori’vod,” Din says softly. “Are you okay?” Paz draws in a great, gasping breath, his gaze still fixed on the door.

“Not in the least bit, vod,” he admits hoarsely, his voice breaking.

Din looks down at the helmets in his hands and comes to the only logical conclusion. He hisses through his teeth.

“I will drag them to the Foundry like the worthless fucking hut’uun they are,” Din hisses, his fingers flexing as he takes a step toward the door.

“No,” Paz says immediately, shaking his head.

“Why the fuck not?” Din demands sharply, his voice rising to an angry roar. “They betrayed the Oath, Paz!”

“Din, keep your voice down,” Paz says, ushering him away from the door and toward the Foundry. “I know what they did.”

“He called you his brother,” Din snaps angrily. “She called you her intended. They are liars, they broke their Oaths - !”

“Zephyr,” Paz says, his voice cracking again. “I don’t want to risk…”

The rage leaves his brother in an instant. He deflates like a wilted desert orchid. Din sighs gustily, looking between him and the door.

“What can I do to help, vod?” Din asks quietly.

“Just keep people away from me for a while,” Paz utters. “Armorer…she will know what to do.”

Gods, he prays she knows what to do.

“Absolutely,” Din says, clapping him on the shoulder. “I’ll always be here, ori’vod.”

Paz swallows thickly and nods, not trusting himself to speak. When he has regained control over his legs, he starts the long walk to the Forge. Each step feels like he is scaling some sheer cliff, the air thin and frosty in his lungs. Din runs interference, keeping the people trying to get his attention at bay. Pausing, he closes his eyes and considers what he is about to do.

Aliit maan bal solus kyr’yc.

He knows what the right thing to do is. Paz just does not know if he can do it.

For the first time in his life, he finds himself questioning his faith.

[current]

Armorer is in the middle of brewing a pot of her favorite tea when she hears footsteps in the Foundry. She looks up and sees Paz poking his head around the main doorway. That simple gesture brings back many memories of their earlier years together. Armorer has left the door to her private quarters open, the curtain drawn back, inviting those in need of guidance into her home.

She reaches for a second cup just as he reaches to knock on the door frame. Even though they’ve been family for nearly three decades, he still insists on knocking.

“Paz, join me,” she says.

He steps inside, ducking his head in a polite, respectful greeting.

She turns back to the chipped tea pot. Their new Tribe introduced them to the concept of tea, and now, she indulges every afternoon. Paz joins her and pulls a metal straw out from his gauntlet.

“What brings you here, Paz?” she asks, as the scent of the hot, spiced tea permeates the air.

He stares down at the cup, tension filling his massive frame.

“I wanted to ask your advice on something,” he says in a serious tone.

She remains silent, her brow furrowing.

“I’ve taken an interest in a woman,” he says. “And I want to ask her to be my partner. I want to know more about proper courtship traditions.”

It is only through years of experience and training that she does not jerk in surprise. She takes a moment to gather her thoughts. She is somehow surprised and not surprised at the same time. He has gotten to that age where a hunter starts staying at home for longer periods of time to teach their skills to the next generation. Although he is also bound to be lonely, she cannot recall him mentioning a partner.

She knows her friend, and she knows he will not entertain the idea of a serious relationship without the promise of marriage. After what the aruetiise had done to him, he had thrown himself into the hunt, turning his back to the possibility of marriage. Or anything long-term, really. The wounds were so deep she did not think he would ever fully heal.

He – like the rest of their kind – has been shaped from birth by hardship and struggle. He has had to fight for the victory of every single sunrise. Despite the crushing setbacks in his personal life, Paz has held his head high, always teetering on the edge of fully reaching mandokar - the ideal virtues of a Mandalorian warrior. It is that lost lust for life that has held him back all these years.

Now, he is ready to move forward, to hunger for each moment and experience in his life. Throughout the years, Armorer has seen glimpses of the warrior he could become. He is on that path now. Her heart fills to the point of overflowing for him.

She nods once.

“You know of our Tribe’s tradition of exchanging blades before the vows are spoken,” Armorer says.

Paz nods.

“What about here?”

“Alor Dezha has remarked that the Elders prefer to publicly acknowledge that the vows have been exchanged before the wedding night physically occurs. They typically do this as part of the wedding feast. Ultimately, it is your decision. You may choose one, both, or neither. As you know, we make do with with what we have. We do not have rigid rules in place.”

“That’s less complicated than I thought it would be,” he responds. “Nevertheless, I want to do this the right way for her. I think I’d like to do both.”

She is truly pleased with the news. If he is interested in entering the riduurok there is a chance he is also interested in rearing offspring. He will make an excellent spouse, parent, and teacher.

The youngest child here is eight years old. In just a few years, he will be fitted for his armor, and he will no longer be a child. Armorer and many others have expressed the desire to hear more little feet in the hallways. Hopefully, Paz will continue doing what he does best – inspiring and encouraging others through his leadership and his unwavering dedication to the Resol’nare.

Perhaps the other Hunters will begin reconsidering their unwed statuses so they may finally begin to increase their numbers once more.

Paz fidgets with his cup for a moment, breaking her from her reverie.

Now, she must satisfy her curiosity.

“Who has caught your attention?” the Armorer asks, keeping her tone casual and light, even as her thoughts whirl with plans for the feast and bonfire celebration.

Her thoughts then leap to naming ceremonies, but she restrains herself. They will need time to settle in as a married couple before producing or finding children.

“I want Shu’shika."

Armorer blinks in response.

“Shu’shika has caught your attention,” she confirms, carefully keeping her voice neutral, to give herself time to think of an appropriate response.

“Yes. How do we go about this courtship business, then?"

How unorthodox. Yet, as she considers it, she can see why he wants you. Paz has always appreciated the company of those who put the Tribe before themselves, and you are no exception. If a hunter or child has need, you will forego sleep to ensure they are properly cared for. Nothing will keep you from caring for those around you. Your dedication and loyalty to the Tribe will never be contested. With extra training, Armorer can see you shaping up into a halfway decent warrior in time.

“What exactly do you wish to know, Paz?” she asks curiously.

“How?”

Armorer blinks, though he cannot see it. She had not been ambiguous.

“What do you mean how?”

“How do I convince her to agree to courtship?” he clarifies, giving her what she interprets as an expectant look.

A furrow forms between her brows as she stares at her companion. Based on the rampant, unbridled scuttlebutt, there is no shortage of available and willing partners for a hunter of his stature and skill. She herself had once harbored an attraction to him, though that had been roughly two decades ago when she was just a feral, hormone-riddled teenager with far more free time than common sense.

“Most people start by asking their interest out on a date,” Armorer says slowly.

“A date,” he repeats.

Armorer almost sighs. Perhaps she had overestimated Paz’s general intelligence level.

“A date is an activity wherein two individuals assess their mutual compatibility and – “

“Armorer, I know what a date is. What does that even have to do with courtship?”

"Courtship is dating, Paz, but with the intent to marry, and no carnal relations."

"Oh. That makes sense. And how do I get her to agree to this?"

“How do you normally secure your partners?” she asks bluntly.

Paz recoils ever so slightly.

“I have only had a handful of one-time arrangements…since…”

Well. That is unexpected.

“Paz, you must simply ask,” she responds. “You are one of our best hunters. There are many who are interested in having you as a partner. I am certain she will be flattered by your request.”

“…but how? I haven’t asked anyone out on a date in eighteen years,” Paz says. “I honestly don’t know what people do on dates nowadays.”

“Just ask her to accompany you on an outing,” she responds.

“So, like…shooting? Do people even still go shooting on the first date?”

“Just pick something you know she enjoys,” Armorer says, faintly annoyed.

“Alright, I can do that,” he says. “One more question, Armorer.”

“What is it?” she asks.

Despite her affection for the older man, she is unable to keep the annoyance out of her body language. Maybe the age-old Mandalorian saying still holds true today: three braincells for the entire Tribe and the Alor holds two of them for safekeeping. However, Alor Dezha is a Hunter down to the marrow in his bones...perhaps it would be best to leave the braincells in the possession of a Tradesperson, where they won't risk being eaten.

“You’re a woman, aren't you? So, tell me: what do you ladies like on dates?”

She is so offended and incredulous that she splutters indignantly at him. As she struggles to come up with a proper retort, she becomes aware of his shoulders shaking.

She tightens her jaw. He always has been able to get under her plating to chafe at her like no one else. If anyone else had grown the balls to ask her something like that, she would not have hesitated to put her hammer through their skull.

“Paz, get the hell out of my room.”

He erupts into boisterous guffaws as he thumps his fist onto the table.

“Would you want chocolates? Flowers? The severed heads of your enemies?” he gets out through his giggles.

“I will goor your ass into the Forge,” she says in amusement, reaching for her hammer in warning.

Holding his hands up in mock surrender, he gets up to leave, and hightails it away before she can make good on her threat.

Armorer smiles under her bucket.

She hasn’t heard him laugh like that in a long time.

He will be just fine.

Paz paces nervously around the table for the fifth time, pausing to try and flatten the curling plastic tile underfoot. When that fails, he continues on his path around the table. Paz stops when the door opens. Din strides in, closes the squeaky door behind him, and takes a seat. The chair groans under his weight as he leans back.

“So, what’s got your bucket straps chafing?” he asks.

Paz immediately regrets asking for help. Especially from Din. But, being his brother through both vow and combat, Paz trusts no one else as much as he trusts Din.

“I need some advice,” Paz says carefully.

“What sort of advice?” Din asks, his helmet tilting a bit to the right.

“I want you to swear you won’t tell anyone,” he says firmly.

No one needs to know about his lack of experience.

“I won’t tell anyone,” Din says.

“Swear it,” Paz stresses flatly.

“Alright, alright,” Din says.

“On my honor, I swear I won’t tell anyone about anything we’re about to discuss.”

Paz takes a deep breath as he struggles to come up with the words needed to explain his unique situation. How the fuck is he supposed to even ask about this?

Has Din ever even been on a date before?

Gods above, he is too old for this shit.

“Does this have anything to do with those problems men your age typically get?” Din asks suddenly, breaking the silence. “You know, below the codpiece?”

He gestures down toward his crotch, as if his words were not mortifying enough.

“What?” Paz asks incredulously.

Din holds both hands up as if trying to defend himself.

“Look, Paz, every rifle malfunctions eventually,” Din says in what he might think is a comforting tone. “Especially when a man starts to get into his forties and fifties – “

“No, stop. My di - that part of me is just fine,” Paz snaps in annoyance. “I’m not that old, you little shit.”

“Oh. Okay,” Din says. “So, what is it? You’ve been acting really strangely for the past few weeks.”

Their buir did not raise either of them to be a hut’uun. He can do this, get those words out. He is a grown-ass man and he can be direct. Fuck delicacy. That kind of bantha-shit doesn’t work for Mandalorians, anyway.

“There’s a woman I’ve taken an interest in,” Paz says. “I’d like to give her a proper courtship. I was wondering if you had any input on where I could take her on a date.”

Din doesn’t react. For a moment, Paz wonders if Din even heard him. As the seconds tick by, the buzzing of the fluorescent lights overhead seems to grow louder. Then he hears a choked wheeze from his modulator, one that sounds like someone is strangling a de’kath bird with piano wire. Din’s shoulders shake violently as he starts to howl with laughter.

“You’re – you’re coming to me for advice on dating?” he gasps out, “Me? Din Dumbass Djarin?”

Paz falters at the mention of Cara’s affectionate nickname for Din. He shrugs once in response. Then he sinks down onto the table and crosses his arms.

“Yeah. Half a braincell is better than none, right?”

Din goes silent for several seconds.

“Holy fuck, you’re serious,” Din whispers. “Paz, I can barely keep my shit together. What makes you think I, of all people, would know anything about dating?”

“I haven’t been on a proper date in eighteen years,” Paz says dryly to Din. “I don’t know how this shit works anymore.”

A pregnant silence follows.

“Din, I’m over Zeli. I’ve been over her bantha-shit for a few years now,” Paz says. “I am ready to try something long-term again.”

“Fuck,” Din breathes. “We’ve all been wondering…if you’d…you know.”

“Stop wallowing in my self-pity and move on with my life?” Paz asks sardonically. “The past few years…I have been working on improving myself. Figuring out how to best honor the Resol’nare...All the stuff we were supposed to figure out years ago.”

“Paz, I’m happy to hear that,” Din says. “I’m glad you’re going to be you again.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Paz says, waving off Din’s comment. Shit, this is getting too emotional for him. “Whatever.”

Din snorts.

“Anyway. As for dating…I mean, there are better people to ask. I really could not help you with the dating thing.”

“Surely you’ve had a partner,” Paz says. “I’ve heard rumors about you and Cara.”

“Cara wants the simple things in life: good beer and to regularly beat someone's ass,” Din says. “I just so happen to be good at both finding good beer and getting my ass beat. When I asked her out, she almost pissed herself laughing at me.”

“Well, she said yes, which is more success than I’ve had,” Paz says. “I don’t know shit about this. The only people who care about courtship are the Elders.”

“And you now, apparently,” Din argues back.

He does have a point.

“Well…she means a lot to me. She isn’t a temporary arrangement,” Paz says carefully. “I’d like to do this the right way for her. So she knows I’m serious. And that I'm not just after...sex.”

Din inhales deeply, tapping his fingers on the table as he stares at the wall.

“Well, buir once told us that women like providers. So, go find a really big marsh deer, kill it, dress it, and bring everything back to her,” Din says, shrugging his shoulders. “Women like meat and leather, right?”

His tone is as uncertain as the way Paz feels about presenting you with a dead animal. They stay silent for several seconds.

“I’m fairly certain buir was joking when he told us that,” Paz says slowly.

“Huh,” Din says. “You know, now that it’s been said out loud…it does sound kind of ridiculous. Shit.”

They stay quiet for several moments, considering how truly fucked they both are when it comes to relationships. They’ve both had the occasional pleasure arrangement. And pleasure arrangements only require interest and about ten minutes. After his dumpster fire of a relationship with Zeli went down in a fiery, messy explosion, Paz never really considered settling down for marriage.

Why is this so damn difficult?

Din sighs, breaking him from his reverie, and tilts his helmet in his direction. It’s a sort of acknowledgement, an understanding that they are both committed to figuring this courtship business out together. Paz supposes that Din’s going to have to learn a few things, too, if he's somehow going to convince Cara to stick around with him for more than a few months. At the very least, Paz is grateful that Din picked someone smarter than himself. At least their children will have one intelligent parent.

“So. Who is it that has you acting all emotional, all ready to get domesticated?” Din asks, waving his hand around a bit.

“Shu’shika,” Paz says. “She’s…she’s the one I’m interested in.”

Din’s head snaps up so hard and fast that Paz hears his vertebrae crack from here.

“What?” Din asks. “Shu’shika?”

“What the fuck is with that tone, Din?” Paz snaps irritably. “If you’re going to insult her – “

“What? No, no,” Din says. “I’m not insulting her, no way. She doesn’t seem like your type, Paz. She’s…uh…not the most athletically gifted. Or the best at...hand-to-hand combat.”

That is the most diplomatic tone he has ever heard from Din and it pisses him the hell off. Paz does not like the idea of someone insulting you.

“She’s perfect the way she is,” Paz says flatly.

Din holds his hands up in surrender.

“I’m not judging your taste in women,” Din says mildly. “I was just…uh…surprised. I thought you’d go for someone like Nayel, or maybe even Revala.”

“They aren’t Shu’shika,” Paz says, shrugging.

Nayel and Revala are both warriors and hunters, the two of them direct competitors for their age and skill group. Nayel has even made a few passes at him, but her hand against his doesn’t send that little bolt of tingling pleasure radiating up along his spine. She always wants to fight with him. While he appreciates having good sparring partners, he sometimes wants something quieter.

“Well, we are both shit at this,” Din says. “So, we treat this like any other battle to be fought and won. What intel do you have for me?”

Paz starts to list the data, growing more comfortable as he settles into the comforting routine of what he does know how to do. Win a fight. Then again, he isn’t sure if he should be looking at courtship like it’s a battle to be won.

Notes:

Alor'ad - Captain Vod - comrade, mate, brother - different contexts based on the people involved Gaa'tayl - help Aruetiise - outsiders, traitors. When used to refer to an outsider, it's not an insult. It's just a state of being. When used to refer to a Mandalorian, it's an insult. Uj'ayali - Mandalorian cake made from ground nuts, fruit, spices. Delicious. "Ni copaani hailir gar. Gedet'ye, cyare." - "I want to fill you. Please, my love." Cyare - beloved Dar'buir - "Divorce" from a parent, like disowning them. Rare, usually only done if the parent is a shithead. Starbird - Star Wars creature that is basically a phoenix. It's supposedly reborn in the heart of a star, etc. Manda - Soul, that which makes someone Mandalorian hut'uun - coward, an egregious insult Aliit maan bal solus kyr’yc. - Family first and the individual second - randomly made this saying up. Mandokar - the virtues of the ideal Mandalorian - aggressiveness, tenacity, loyalty, and a lust for life. Riduurok - love bond between two spouses, marriage Resol'nare - The six tenets by which all Mandalorians abide. Short version: "Education and armor, self-defense, our tribe, our language and our leader all help us survive." Alor - leader Goor - Goore --> Grenade --> You toss a grenade --> Therefore goor is the Mando equivalent of yeet. Humor from Tumblr. De'kath bird - An animal I made up a long time ago for another story. The bird sounds like a raven, a tuba, and a paper shredder all got together and made an ugly, horrifying baby. Marsh deer - An animal I made up a long time ago for another story. A marsh deer is about twice as tall as a giraffe and has huge antlers that can cause serious damage if they ram someone. They are generally herbivorous, but when they are in the middle of rutting season, they become opportunistic carnivores. They also dislike humans and will attack unprovoked. Also, they make for good eating and hunting. OYA! Shu'shika - Nickname I made up using shu'shuk (disaster) and -ika (diminutive), means Tiny Disaster. Because Reader is a tiny disaster.

#tv: the mandalorian #the mandalorian #A Proper Mandalorian Courtship #din djarin #paz vizsla #paz vizla #the armorer #paz vizsla x f!reader #paz vizla x reader #paz vizla x you #family relationships #din djarin x cara dune #original characters #angst #heavy angst #no use of y/n #star wars #paz vizla x f!reader #series: a proper mandalorian courtship

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