#''alor'' is just a more generic term for ruler

[syn0vial]

observation on beviin's nicknames/titles for boba based on how he's feeling about him at that particular moment

cheerful/fond/playful: bob'ika 😊😊😊😃😃😍😍😍😍

neutral/serious: mand'alor

annoyed: alor 😒😒😒

[galacticgraffiti]

Hello dearest Gala 💛 it has been such a pleasure getting to read Veman’alor and I would love to hear your bonus feature director commentary about Boba and Alor’ika’s conversation about certain Mando’a terms at the end of Chapter 14.

Send me an ask to hear some director's commentary on any of my fics

First of all, I am so sorry it took me literal weeks to get to this, I've been a little overwhelmed. But now, let's dive into their relationship and my thoughts on it.

══════ ✺ ══════

The relevant excerpt:

“What does… there is this word you keep using. Well, not really a word. A root, I would assume. It’s in so many words you say and I never know what it means.” “What do you mean?” he squints. “When we first met, you called yourself… veman’alor. And then when Din came, you called him the Mand’alor. And last night, you called me alor’ika. Is that… are those words related? What do they mean? I can’t stop thinking about it. I have never heard any of these before, they’re not words that Intayc ever mentioned to me.” Boba is quiet for a while, his hands restlessly ghosting over your back while he stares into empty space. “You are right, cyare,” he finally says. “Alor is the common root. It means… something like ‘leader’. Djarin… he is the Mand’alorby right of victory. He won the darksabre in combat and so he is the leader of Manda’yaim, the planet you would call Mandalore. I am… I would be the rightful ruler by birth. Veman means- something like true, or real. Heritage does not matter as much in Mandalorian culture as it does in some monarchies. We have a saying… Gar taldin nayc jaon’yc; gar sa buir, ori'waadas'la.Skill in combat is most important in our culture, more important than bloodline. I could challenge Djarin for the throne of Mandalore, but I do not want it… for now. But of this planet right here, of Tatooine, I am the rightful ruler. I bested the old ruler in combat, even if he did not put up much of a fight. So that is my title. And you- should you accept your role as my… my riduur, you would become alo’riduur, the king’s wife. Until then, you are my alor’ika, my princess… ‘little leader’ is what it means literally. Does that answer your question?” “Oh.” You inhale this flood of information. Your heart stumbles when he says until then like it is a set thing, like it is inevitable that you shall be married. You want to ask him about it, but your cowardly heart won’t let you. “Thank you for explaining. That… that was more than I had hoped you would tell me.”

My (admittedly very ramble-y) commentary:

So, I while writing Chapter 14 realised that I had never actually had her ask what veman'alor meant, so she would not know exactly what the word implies. I kept on pushing the explanation back because it never seemed to fit the conversations I was devising. But I knew that I wanted to put some semblance of first 'I love yous' in the next chapter, so it felt important to discuss this before we went there.

Since there already was quite a bit of Mando'a in this chapter, I thought it would be a good point in time to bring this up. Also, to be honest, I just really fucking love that language and will seize any opportunity to talk about it.

I am assuming that most fans, though not all, will have heard/read the term 'Mand'alor' at least, but since the rest (specifically veman'alor and alor'ika, as well as alo'riduur for this chapter) are terms that I myself made up, I thought it would be fun to explain my thought process and the linguistics behind those decisions.

I don't know if it makes sense to have Alor'ika recognise the rootword - I know not everyone thinks about language as much as I do - but I indulged myself and let myself put that in, like a little piece of myself I was giving her.

I am so fascinated by language in general, and by Mando'a specifically because it ties so inherently to Mandalorian culture - like the kov'nyn, or the fact that 'loving' is expressed by kar'taylir darasuum, 'knowing forever', or the fact that we know the Mando'a word for Soldier (verd) and army (akaan'ade), but not the word for 'to ask' which arguably should be more common, but it is not - simply because of the culture. (Also not to go down a rabbit hole here, but akaan'ade itself is a fascinating word because it is a composite of akaan (war) and ade (children), so the Mando'a word for army literally means 'Children of War' which is as disturbing as it is fascinating.)

ANYWAYS as you can tell this scene was pretty much just as excuse for me to ramble about Mando'a and Mandalorian culture. I did think it would fit, especially in the context of Alor'ika wanting to know more about Boba and where it comes from. And I think it signifies that he trusts her - he teaches her about his mothertongue and thus about his culture. She, slowly but surely, is no longer an aruetii because Boba chooses to accept her into his life and to share parts of himself he probably has never shared before.

Finally, I felt like, at some point, I should at least mention marriage so it would not seem completely out of the blue once I finally got around to it, because in my head, that was always the general direction. Boba, to me, seems like a man of tradition as well as slightly possessive. So I thought once he finally realised he was indeed in love, he would like to make it official.

══════ ✺ ══════

Very sneakily adding some folks who may be interested in my weird little brain: @book-of-baba-fett @fivesarctrooper @rowansparrow @maygalodon @thefact0rygirl @djarrex @imtryingmybeskar @solidago-sempervirens @ashotofspotchka @milf-obi-wan-kenobi @ahoeformando @thesithformerlyknownaskenobi @maybege @corrabell @rescuethewretched

[mneiai]

Mandalorian culture worldbuilding thing I’d like some opinions on before I actually use it anywhere:

I vaguely mentioned in Cuy’kaysh Dar that there might be like different roles for a Mand’alor’s spouse and I was thinking of continuing with that, as Mand’alor is “sole ruler” meaning that their spouse really shouldn’t be on equal footing despite sharing everything etc as Mandalorian marriages do, and also that Mandalorians would recognize the necessity for different types of marriages for a political/military leader.

Continued babbling under the read more:

So, I was thinking of both what those roles might be and also what they might be called and so far have this. These are loosely based around what we know of what Mandalorians would find favorable in spouses (and what, culturally, they might be more attracted to) and what would be needed from a spouse of a Mand’alor.

(riduur means spouse, ‘alor is a term for ruler but here together their meant to mean spouse of the Mand’alor)

Cho’rid’alor - (from choruk, stone) a Mand’alor’s spouse chosen for their political and/or military power, is a strong and fervent ally for them while they rule, but is not expected to be any romantic/sexual partner. They would potentially become Mand’alor if their spouse died early and there was no other good candidate that would challenge them. This creates greater stability if the Mand’alor doesn’t have adult heirs. They can also temporarily take the role of Mand’alor while their spouse is recovering from injury/illness with very few issues.

Tra’rid’alor - (from tracyn, fire) a Mand’alor’s spouse who is in a romantic and/or sexual relationship with them and are expected to look out for the Mand’alor psychologically/physically, but are not expected to have any part in ruling. Even Mand’alor’s can’t control who they fall in love with and that person just might not be suited for ruling (obviously they’d be Mandalorians and attracted a Mand’alor, so they wouldn’t suck at fighting, but that’s a different beast than ruling, even on Mandalore).

Vhe’rid’alor - (from vheh, earth) a Mand’alor’s spouse who is a co-parent with them, who may or may not be a romantic partner/love match. A single Mand’alor may just find a Vhe’rid’alor from among their close friends, if they think that person would raise their children (and future potential Mand’alors) well, as a Mand’alor has less time for raising their children than is generally acceptable in Mandalorian society. They often also take up ruling the clan, to relieve the Mand’alor of that extra responsibility.

Yu’rid’alor - (from yustapir, river) a Mand’alor’s spouse who is both a love match/romantic partner and part of the political system. Named for a river, as they travel through all parts of a Mand’alor’s life with steady, constant power. Like the Cho’rid’alor, they are good at politics and/or military leadership, enough that they could potentially be a Mand’alor and definitely be a temporary one. Like the Tra’rid’alor, they share a passionate relationship with the Mand’alor and are expected to show care for their bodies and minds. Like the Vhe’rid’alor, they can be trusted to work for the good of their clan and raise future Mand’alors.