#note in bahasa

[ubaylukis]

Jika dunia tak baik buatmu, kamu harus tetap baik pada dirimu sendiri.

[vexacarnivorous]

not very codeblr of me, but i've finally sat down and started a journal for my language learning studies. it's also my first time using a dotted page instead of lined or blank and i'm quite happy with it

don't mind the chaotic colour highlights lol

[alfisyahrin]

Bersamaku mungkin tidak akan sesempurna itu namun kupastikan akulah satu-satunya orang yang jatuh cinta kepadamu meskipun malam hendak tiada hingga menjelang pagi yang meninggi pada sinarnya.

Bila tidak bersamaku, setidaknya aku pernah memiliki cinta paling rela. dan menimang mu melalui doa saat berbahasa dengan kata tak lagi bisa.

[youliveveryday]

[polyglot-thought]

[Thai, Indonesian, Malay->English]

Cute animal I found out existed today: The Flat-headed Cat (Prionailurus planiceps)

And they are endangered 😢

They are native to southern Thailand, Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra and Borneo.

Since I am a language blog, I will show you how to refer to Prionailurus planiceps in the official languages of each respective country (Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia) 😄 with Color Coded Translations

—

Thai

แมวป่าหัวแบน

maew bpàa hŭua baen

flat-headed (wild) cat

—

Indonesian

kucing liar kecil

little wild cat

—

Malay

kucing hutan

forest/jungle cat

—

Please correct me if I made a mistake

[eay1esha]

[handweavers]

something that comes up for me over and over is a deep frustration with academics who write about and study craft but have little hands-on experience with working with that craft, because it leads to them making mistakes in their analysis and even labelling of objects and techniques incorrectly. i see this from something as simple as textiles on display in museums being labelled with techniques that are very obviously wrong (claiming something is knit when it's clearly crochet, woven when that technique could only be done as embroidery applied to cloth off-loom) to articles and books written about the history of various aspects of textiles making considerable errors when trying to describe basic aspects of textile craft-knowledge (ex. a book i read recently that tried to say that dyeing cotton is far easier than dyeing wool because cotton takes colour more easily than wool, and used that as part of an argument as to why cotton became so prominent in the industrial revolution, which is so blatantly incorrect to any dyer that it seriously harms the argument being made even if the overall point is ultimately correct)

the thing is that craft is a language, an embodied knowledge that crosses the boundaries of spoken communication into a physical understanding. craft has theory, but it is not theoretical: there is a necessary physicality to our work, to our knowledge, that cannot be substituted. two artisans who share a craft share a language, even if that language is not verbal. when you understand how a material functions and behaves without deliberate thought, when the material knowledge becomes instinct, when your hands know these things just as well if not better than your conscious mind does, new avenues of communication are opened. an embodied knowledge of a craft is its own language that is able to be communicated across time, and one easily misunderstood by those without that fluency. an academic whose knowledge is entirely theoretical may look at a piece of metalwork from the 3rd century and struggle to understand the function or intent of it, but if you were to show the same piece to a living blacksmith they would likely be able to tell you with startling accuracy what their ancient colleague was trying to do.

a more elaborate example: when i was in residence at a dye studio on bali, the dyer who mentored me showed me a bowl of shimmering grey mud, and explained in bahasa that they harvest the mud several feet under the roots of certain species of mangroves. once the mud is cleaned and strained, it's mixed with bran water and left to ferment for weeks to months.  he noted that the mud cannot be used until the fermentation process has left a glittering sheen to its surface. when layered over a fermented dye containing the flowers from a tree, the cloth turns grey, and repeated dippings in the flower-liquid and mud vats deepen this colour until it's a warm black. 

he didn't explain why this works, and he did not have to. his methods are different from mine, but the same chemical processes are occurring. tannins always turn grey when they interact with iron and they don't react to other additives the same way, so tannins (polyphenols) and iron must be fundamental parts of this process. many types of earthen clay contain a type of bacteria that creates biogenic iron as a byproduct, and mixing bran water with this mud would give the bacteria sugars to feast upon, multiplying, and producing more of this biogenic iron. when the iron content is high enough that the mud shimmers, applying this fermented mixture to cloth soaked in tannins would cause the iron to react with the tannin and finally, miraculously: a deep, living grey-black cloth.

in my dye studio i have dissolved iron sulphide ii in boiling water and submerged cloth soaked in tannin extract in this iron water, and watched it emerge, chemically altered, now deep and living grey-black just like the cloth my mentor on bali dyed. when i watched him dip cloth in this brown bath of fermented flower-water, and then into the shimmering mud and witness the cloth emerge this same shade of grey, i understand exactly what he was doing and why. embodied craft knowledge is its own language, and if you're going to dedicate your life to writing about a craft it would be of great benefit to actually "speak" that language, or you're likely to make serious errors.

the arrogance is not that different from a historian or anthropologist who tries to study a culture or people without understanding their written or spoken tongue, and then makes mistakes in their analysis because they are fundamentally disconnected from the way the people they are talking about communicate. the voyeuristic academic desire to observe and analyse the world at a distance, without participating in it. how often academics will write about social movements, political theory and philosophy and never actually get involved in any of these movements while they're happening. my issue with the way they interact with craft is less serious than the others i mentioned, but one that constantly bothers me when coming into contact with the divide between "those who make a living writing about a subject" and "those who make a living doing that subject"

[tu-es-gegg]

Malay Words / Perkataan Bahasa Melayu

pronounciation notes:

c -> ch (e.g kucing is pronounced ku - ching)

air (as in water) is pronounced aa-ir

syaitan is pronounced like shy - t- ah -n

most of the time "i" is more like an "ee" than "aye" (e.g tikus is pronounced tee - kuus, itik is prounounced ee - tee - k)

au -> ow (like how without the h-, the ouchies, e.g hijau is pronounced hee-j-ow)

[antimony-medusa]

MCYT on Ao3 — January '24

The state of MCYT on Ao3, just for fun. Yes I do this every month, I like numbers. This time the period we're covering will include many holiday exchanges, so I'm excited to see if that's represented!

The Cube SMP (8 works)

Slamacow Minecraft Animations (Web Series) (10 works)

iDots SMP (23 works)

30 Day SMP | Free Trial SMP (27 works)

Legacy SMP (28 works)

Cogchamp SMP (29 works)

Content SMP (30 works)

Epic SMP (32 works)

Art of Survival SMP (36 works)

Dominion SMP (38 works)

Shady Oaks SMP (49 works)

X Life SMP (51 works)

100 Hours Hardcore SMP (54 works)

IvoryCello's Prison Escapes (Web Series) (56 works)

Bear SMP (60 works)

SadSMP (66 works)

My Inner Demons - Aphmau (Web Series) (67 works)

Mer SMP (82 works)

Area Unknown SMP (89 works)

Kaboodle SMP (91 works)

Tortillaland SMP (115 works)

House Builder Gang SMP | HBG SMP (135 works)

New Life SMP (169 works)

Slimecicle Cinematic Universe (Web Series) (174 works)

WitchCraft SMP (182 works)

Pirates SMP (213 works)

Rats SMP (234 works)

SMPLive (295 works)

SMPEarth (304 works)

Mianite (Web Series) (379 works)

Outsiders SMP (393 works)

Afterlife SMP (395 works)

MindCrack RPF (504 works)

MyStreet - Aphmau (Web Series) (543 works)

Evolution SMP (693 works)

Minecraft: Story Mode (Video Game) (824 works)

Karmaland SMP (842 works)

Fable SMP (1,012 works)

Lifesteal SMP (1,546 works)

Origins SMP (1575 works)

The Yogscast (3,215 works)

Empires SMP (6,408 works)

QSMP | Quackity SMP (7,375 works)

3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series (10,336 works)

Hermitcraft SMP (20,093 works)

Dream SMP (85,051 works)

Minecraft (Video Game) (110,119 works)

Video Blogging RPF (279,422 works)

Some notes:

No new tags that I saw this month, though as always I could have missed something! As you can see, we already have quite the assortment of canonized tags.

Fics are still primarily in english, but we have three exceptions with significant spanish fics. Karmaland (740 of 842 are in spanish, from 731 last month), Tortillaland (110 of 115 are in spanish, the same as last month), and QSMP (752 of 7,375 are in spanish, from 668 last month.)

QSMP also shows 39 fics in French, up from 30 last month, and 405 in Brasilian Portugese, up from 375 last month. While I did not check every language this month, I checked on the languages I knew had a fic in QSMP and we see 1 fic in ASL (probably a misclick as it appears to be in english), 1 fic in Bahasa Malaysia, 1 fic in German, 1 fic in Esperanto, 1 fic in Filipino, 5 works in European Portugese, 5 fics in Русский (Russian), 1 fic in Suomi (Finnish), 1 fic in Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese), and 3 fics in 中文-普通话 國語 (Mandarin Chinese, I believe), all the same as last month. New is two fics in Polski (Polish), one fic in Svenska (Swedish), and one fic in Dansk (Danish).

In the small and micro fandoms (under 200 fics), some of the most active small fandoms have grown out of this category so we only saw small amounts of growth. The standout fandoms all saw an increase of 6 works, and that was a tie between Content SMP, New Life SMP, and Witchcraft SMP. Note that Content SMP was coming up from only 24 works, so 6 new works is an increase of 25% of the fandom, truly impressive.

In the midsize fandoms (200-1000), Fable SMP has broken that 1000-fic mark and can no longer qualify for our standout fandom! Instead, our most active fandom was Evolution SMP, with 33 new works, followed by Mystreet with 20 fics and Minecraft: Story Mode with 24 fics. Mystreet and Story Mode are both new fandoms so it's unclear whether that's people retagging old work or true new fics.

For the post-canon big fandoms: Empires went up by 178 works, singificantly more than last month's 117, but not beating the previous month's 240, and Dream SMP's increase of 918 beat the previous month's 767, but is still only the second time I've seen this fandom fall under a thousand works plus a month. Hermitcraft is between seasons right now, but still experienced that holiday exchange boost, as its increase of 784 beat both last month's 574 and the previous month's 651. For active fandoms, traffic series posted a staggering 831 fics, which is its highest ever number, beating April 2023's 671 fics. QSMP saw 865 fics, which is part of a three month decline (894 last month, 913 the month before), but still posting numbers that are only exceeded by DSMP.

Overall, the number of fics posted under Video Blogging-RPF (the umbrella fandom that contains all MCYT) is 4,223 fics, a significant increase from last month's 3,489, and the previous month's 4,035, but still exceeded by October's record 4,702. Notably, it's higher than the summer numbers and almost exactly the same as the number we saw last January, 4,235 new works.

Detailed breakdown under the cut

The Cube SMP (8 works, 8 last month, 0-fic increase)

Slamacow Minecraft Animations (Web Series) (10 works, 10 last month, 0-fic increase)

iDots SMP (23 works, 22 last month, 1-fic increase)

30 Day SMP | Free Trial SMP (27 works, 27 last month, 0-fic increase)

Legacy SMP (28 works, 28 last month, 0-fic increase)

Cogchamp SMP (29 works, 29 last month, 0-fic increase)

Content SMP (30 works, 24 last month, 6-fic increase)

Epic SMP (32 works, 32 last month, 0-fic increase)

Art of Survival SMP (36 works, 36 last month, 0-fic increase)

Dominion SMP (38 works, 33 last month, 5-fic increase)

Shady Oaks SMP (49 works, 47 last month, 2-fic increase)

X Life SMP (51 works, 50 last month, 1-fic increase)

100 Hours Hardcore SMP (54 works, 54 last month, 0-fic increase)

IvoryCello's Prison Escapes (Web Series) (56 works, 54 last month, 2-fic increase)

Bear SMP (60 works, 59 last month, 1-fic increase)

SadSMP (66 works, 66 last month, 0-fic increase)

My Inner Demons - Aphmau (Web Series) (67 works, 64 last month, 3-fic increase)

Mer SMP (82 works, 80 last month, 2-fic increase)

Area Unknown SMP (89 works, 87 last month, 2-fic increase)

Kaboodle SMP (91 works, 87 last month, 4-fic increase)

Tortillaland SMP (115 works, 115 last month, 0-fic increase)

House Builder Gang SMP | HBG SMP (135 works, 134 last month, 1-fic increase)

New Life SMP (169 works, 163 last month, 6-fic increase)

Slimecicle Cinematic Universe (Web Series) (174 works, 169 last month, 5-fic increase)

WitchCraft SMP (182 works, 176 last month, 6-fic increase)

Pirates SMP (213 works, 195 last month, 18-fic increase)

Rats SMP (234 works, 229 last month, 5-fic increase)

SMPLive (295 works, 286 last month, 9-fic increase)

SMPEarth (304 works, 289 last month, 15-fic increase)

Mianite (Web Series) (379 works, 373 last month, 6-fic increase)

Outsiders SMP (393 works, 374 last month, 19-fic increase)

Afterlife SMP (395 works, 390 last month, 5-fic increase)

MindCrack RPF (504 works, 503 last month, 1-fic increase)

MyStreet - Aphmau (Web Series) (543 works, 523 last month, 20-fic increase)

Evolution SMP (693 works, 660 last month, 33-fic increase)

Minecraft: Story Mode (Video Game) (824 works, 800 last month, 24-fic increase)

Karmaland SMP (842 works, 824 last month, 18-fic increase)

Fable SMP (1,012 works, 945 last month, 67-fic increase)

Lifesteal SMP (1,546 works, 1,461 last month, 85-fic increase)

Origins SMP (1,575 works, 1,541 last month, 34-fic increase)

The Yogscast (3,215 works, 3,213 last month, 2-fic increase)

Empires SMP (6,408 works, 6,230 last month, 178-fic increase)

QSMP | Quackity SMP (7,375 works, 6,510 last month, 865-fic increase)

3rd Life | Last Life SMP Series (10,336 works, 9,505 last month, 831-fic increase)

Hermitcraft SMP (20,093 works, 19,309 last month, 784-fic increase)

Dream SMP (85,051 works, 918-fic increase)

Minecraft (Video Game) (110,119 works, 438-fic increase)

Video Blogging RPF (279,422 works, 4223-fic increase)

[tentangtenang]

Refleksi Strength Training: Saat Hidup Sedang Riuh-riuhnya, Mungkin Ini yang Butuh Kita Ingat Sekali Lagi

"Jangan lupa napas, ya! Ayooo, jangan lupa napas."

Kalimat ini hampir selalu dikatakan oleh coach saya ketika kami sedang melakukan strength training (olahraga latihan beban). Mungkin ini kesannya lucu, "Kenapa sih napas doang harus diingetin, emang ada orang yang lupa bernapas?" Awalnya saya pikir juga begitu, tapi ketika sedang melakukan strength training, ternyata saya bisa lupa bernapas! Saking fokusnya bertahan dan menstabilkan diri sampai 1 set gerakan selesai, saya sampai lupa bernapas. Terkadang juga bingung, "Ini saatnya tarik napas atau buang napas, ya?" 😂🙏🏻

It’s the little things that matter. Hal kecil, sih. Hal sederhana, sih. Tapi kita lupa~

Kalau dipikir-pikir, hal serupa sering terjadi pada diri kita, ya. Saat hidup dan pernikahan terasa riuh dan tidak baik-baik saja, kita seringkali lupa pada hal-hal kecil dan sederhana (yang sebenarnya tidak sekecil dan sesedehana itu, dan justru memberikan dampak yang besar). Apa saja?

✅ Kesempatan hidup dari Allah. Bahkan sebelum kita membuat list kebaikan yang Allah beri, kesempatan untuk bisa hidup dan memaknai kehidupan saja sudah anugerah, bukan?

✅ Kemampuan untuk bisa bangkit dan bertahan yang Allah berikan. Siapa sih yang sekarang hidupnya benar-benar baik-baik saja? Rasanya nggak ada. Kayak quotes yang sering kita dengarlah, "Everyone you meet is fighthing a battle you know nothing about." Memangnya siapa yang bisa membuat kita tetap bersedia menjalaninya lalu bangkit dan bertahan kalau bukan Allah?

✅ Bahasa-bahasa sayang Allah yang dihadirkan-Nya lewat ujian. Kita suka merasa nggak disayang ya sama Allah, apalagi kalau tema hidup kita isinya lagi banyak sedihnya. Tapi kan itu tanda Allah sayang dan masih merhatiin kita nggak sih?

✅ Bisa menangis dan menemukan kelemahan diri. Terkadang mungkin kita cengeng, tapi, dengan sedikit demi sedikit upaya, sebenarnya setiap tangis dan kelemahan diri yang kita temukan bisa mendorong kita untuk bertransformasi dan menemukan salah satu kunci hidup: bahwa kita memang lemah tanpa pertolongan Allah. Kalau kita nggak merasa lemah, mana mungkin kita akan kembali pulang dan minta tolong sama Allah, kan?

Begitulah. Dalam sendu yang sedang terasakan, sebenarnya hidup kita ini "meriah" dengan seluruh kasih sayang dari-Nya meski mungkin saat ini kita masih berproses untuk memahaminya.

Ini note to myself, kita saling mendoakan yaa. Semoga Allah karuniakan kepada kita jiwa yang lapang untuk menjalani hari-hari ke depan. Wallahu 'alam bishawab.

[catastrxblues]

articles and news on what’s happening in west papua are so appallingly scarce that i could rarely find any except a few before this. as an indonesian, i didn’t even know any of this is happening in the first place until a few months ago because rarely any of the big news outlets have ever brought it up, much less in a scale that is necessary to gain the world’s attention. SO PLEASE CHECK THIS OUT, one article at a time if it seems too much (which is what i'm currently doing too).

i think it’s important to note that while indonesia has been loudly advocating for palestine’s freedom, it has also been committing silent acts of violence against the people of west papua and exploiting them for years and silence those AND others who have tried to bring it to light.

things included in the thread ->

ARTICLES :

freewestpapua.org *the link isn't working at the moment but op has included screenshots in the tweet!

west papua : a history of exploitation (al jazeera)

courtesy of amnesty international

OTHERS :

amnesty international - "sudah, kasi tinggal dia mati" pembunuhan dan impunitas di papua (in bahasa)

BOOKS TO READ :

'the road : uprising in west papua' by john martinkus

'an act of free choice : decolonisation and the right to self-determination in west papua' by pieter drooglever

'merdeka and the morning star : civil resistance in west papua' by jason macleod

’see no evil : new zealand’s betrayal of the people of west papua’ by maire leadbeater

‘freedom in entangled worlds’ by eben kirksey

‘poisoned arrows’ by george monbiot

‘papua blood’ by peter bang

’west papua and indonesia since suharto’ by peter king

pdf available :

’the united nations and the indonesian takeover of west papua’ by john saltford

’west papua : the obliteration of a people’ by carmel budiardjo and liem soei liong

FILMS TO WATCH :

rebels of the forgotten world (1991)

blood on the cross (1999)

freedom for west papua (1999)

papua merdeka (2002)

west papua — the secret war in asia (2007)

forgotten bird of paradise (2009)

strange birds in paradise — a west papuan story (2010)

west papua — a journey to freedom (2011)

mama malind su hilang (our land has gone)

benny wenda — oslo freedom forum (2012)

isolated (2013)

courage is contagious — TEDx sydney (2013)

the road to home (2015)

punks for west papua (2016)

run it straight (2016)

act of no choice (2019)

paradise bombed (2023)

investigative tv reports :

inside indonesia’s secret war for west papua — ABC news (2020)

selling out west papua — al jazeera (2020)

INFOGRAPHICS :

amnesty international

brief history

2017

2018

[vexacarnivorous]

just tried the spanish course on duolingo and it really is amazing how different the bahasa indonesia & spanish courses are. for one, you guys have speaking lessons and stories you can check out?? the favouritism smh /j

being serious for a second, the speaking lessons really do make a difference. i think it's seriously a shame that the indonesian one doesn't have them, because they're so fun and it makes you really listen to any differences in what the person is saying and how you differ. it's really good to be constantly speaking the language as well, and it quickly destroyed any nervousness i might have made doing it just bc i was constantly doing it. i think it would be super cool if duolingo would get around to it in the future, but i think the indo course is still in development

[darkcreamz95]

Joker Out Amsterdam Concert Report (6.12.2023)

The night where things for me are never the same again...

[ Click here for the The Hague Concert Report ]

Hey yo, so this is really overdue. I'm going to be honest, my comments for the show itself are pretty much the same as the ones I made for the Hague, which is that the boys are amazing as always live and bless the crew for their work too.

So I will just be writing short notes about this particular night:

- Got to the venue at 4.30pm, got around number 180.

- PSA if you are going to visit Melkweg for the first time, there weren't any cloakrooms so you would have to tie your coat around your waist. Getting a locker was tough when the internet signal wasn't strong, and even if you get one the locker size feels like a shoebox, so yeah, avoid bringing a big bag with you if you can.

- I was around four rows away from the stage and standing at the floor on Kris's side that night. This means I get to focus more on Bojan AND MY GOD THIS ENERGETIC PUPPY~

- When Jan first came on stage, first thing I did was turn to my friend and say JAN IS SHIRTLESS OH BOI

- We got Mia Nicholai as the opening act~ For me, she was alright. While I'm not her biggest fan, Mia singing live sounds better than her studio recordings heheheh...

- Those who are there would know that Bojan stopped the show midway to make sure security safely escorted a girl who "fainted". I will let the girl's friend explain the situation here in this tweet. While what followed after that was real awkward, if that's what the girl wishes, let's respect that.

- I've said enough about me singing 'Umazane Misli' in Bahasa Malaysia, so I will let this mini comic tell you the story.

This trip, I set out to watch Joker Out live in the Netherlands while meeting up with old friends from back when I was studying there. In the end, I got way more than I asked for. I'm really happy that back in July 2023, I decided to go all in for this.

Thank you again to all the Tumblr peeps I met during those two days! May 2024 be a good year to you, and if you are attending the Spring tour, may you have tons of fun!

Kudos to Vita Orehek for shooting this at that moment, it's been weeks and this still haunts me in a good way...

[youliveveryday]

[eay1esha]

[belaephemeral]

of flesh and bone, thunder and lightning

Pairings: Wanderer x Reader (gender-neutral) 

This oneshot will refer to Wanderer as “Scaramouche”. Feel free to replace this with the name you chose for him as you read!

Summary: Every gesture, touch and action that you share with him is something that you will always treasure. From the way his eyes securely lock onto yours, like two puzzle pieces falling into place, to the fingers that interlock with yours, like threads of an interwoven tapestry of adoration that perfectly weave together; it simply just isn’t enough. But what you always desire for are the kisses that are oh so characteristically him. You yearn for the invigorating way it nourishes and rejuvenates the ardour that blooms in your heart whenever he conveys his endearment through a loving and intimate embrace. 

Word count: 3000

Author’s Note: Happy belated White Day everyone! (I meant to post this earlier but I had a presentation and a mock exam. Sorry for the wait!)

(PS: I named Wanderer “sayang” [“love/darling” in Bahasa Malaysia] because I couldn’t think of a name that would fully reflect his personality and what he means to me. I will always refer to him as “Scaramouche” so, I gave him a cute pet name! Though I was extremely compelled to call him baby girl. Haha, let me know what you named him!)

From the moment of his conception into that hollow, artificial shell to his current incarnation as the enigmatic, wandering wayfarer, the former renowned Balladeer isn’t well versed in the language of intimacy. In fact, he is rather perplexed with your inherent fluency in it. 

One evening, he found you peering over his shoulder as the clouds soared overhead and the ink of nightfall spilled onto the expanse of sky that hung over your forms. “What do you want from me?” he inquires brusquely, inexperienced with the notion of being inextricably tethered to someone. A connection forged by the countless moments you have shared together, the numerous battlefields you have both emerged victorious and triumphant from as you stood over the bodies of your enemies, and the several occasions he’s learnt that he could tolerate your presence and the serene silences that envelop you both after a tiresome day. “Do enlighten me as to what you are thinking - though I can’t guarantee I’ll retain interest in this conversation if you simply wanted to engage in small talk.” As expected. There’s that honest and straightforward reaction that you’re well acquainted with and a familiar demonstration of his infamously sharp tongue and blunt remarks. 

Absent-mindedly, you gingerly draw the pressed hems of his white collar closer to the centre of his chest, your hands slowly reaching towards the various embellishments that adorn his body and minutely adjusting them to their rightful place. Scaramouche notices the way your brows knit together, as though you were slightly vexed by the mild breeze prior that put them into a state of disarray and disturbed them from the rich cobalt and baby blue fabric that they were fastened to. 

Inquisitively, his orbs observe your movements, waiting for your next words. He  waits with the patience you would never have been able to rouse within him when you initially met. Gradually, your eyes meet his, and you struggle to conceal the beam that threatens to spill onto your face. The expectant look that glazes his features and the way your hands smooth out the folds of his signature attire reminds you of your various encounters with the felines you’ve run into throughout your journey. Resisting the urge to ruffle his hair just as you did with the inky-black shorthair you met a few hours ago, you tilt your head up to peer into his dark pools of purple and whisper, just loud enough for him to catch your words amongst the whistle of the wind and the howl of the approaching night: “The sun is setting; shall we retire for the night?” 

Scaramouche isn’t used to physical displays of affection: your touch makes him flinch momentarily, but his muscles relax as your presence permeates into him and your delectable scent renders him defenceless. Simultaneously, his thoughts are occupied at the irony of how you intend to maintain his aesthetic integrity despite the grime and dust that speckles his pristine ivory outfit and the minuscule crimson cuts peppered onto his smooth and unblemished pale skin. 

Continuing your tentative ministrations, you gaze into his dark indigo orbs, which are flecked with specks of aquamarine and royal blue - you gaze into them as though you’re searching both for an answer and searching for a glimpse into what could possibly run through that inquisitive and yet tranquil mind of his. 

Abruptly, his head snaps away from yours, the ornaments adorning his body twinkling as he does so. He exhales, releasing a sound that, to an ordinary passerby, verges a fine line between mutual amiability and absolute contempt. In reality, he uses the derisive scoff that escapes him to try and conceal the flush that creeps along the apples of his cheeks and flourishes to the tips of his ears. Slowly, he closes one eye and snidely peeks at your form with a timbre full of mirth and he softly purrs: “Hmm? What, you can’t fall asleep with me around? And here I was - assuming you had something important to tell me. Well, despite expecting more, I guess it can’t be helped.” A glint of playfulness flashes onto his crystalline orbs. Candour laces every sentence that leaves his mouth but his words betray the way he unconsciously beckons you ever closer to him to witness the stars string themselves into constellations before your very eyes.

“Well, if it is ever anything about you, it most certainly is important to me.” The former Fatui Harbinger isn’t as sly as he thinks he is - your perceptive gaze catches traces of the pink that dusts his bewitching visage and the slightest dilation of his obsidian pupils. After he finally unravelled the persona he had skillfully hid underneath his artificial facade, you revel in the way your closeness flusters him and you relish in the way you are the only person he’d traverse these lands with to find his true identity and meaning in his newfound life. 

“It’s astonishing how you can utter that without an ounce of shame. I guess it’s by your nature - fortunately your fighting capabilities and, well, decent appearance compensate for your rather brazen personality.” 

With an astounded gasp, you lightly swat his shoulder, earning the faintest snigger from the male. Eyes glinting with mischief and a subtle smile curled with mirth, he observes you once again chuckling exasperatedly at his antics. “Well, excuse me for caring about you - aren’t you freezing in that outfit? At this rate, you might catch a cold.” As the moon rises, the temperature slowly depletes. The chill of the wind bites into your skin but Scaramouche seems unfazed by it - he, in fact, basks in the gusts that periodically billow by. His brows are no longer furrowed and his jaw unclenches, content with the way the breeze tousles his deep purple tresses and causes stray strands of hair flutter against his face.  

Gently, you slink your arms around his shoulders, your fingers drawing nonsensical shapes on the nape of his neck. “I need to have my sparring partner in tip-top shape. Nursing you back to health is not something I want to add to my itinerary - you should be well-aware that my schedule is completely full.” You add haughtily, his teasing remarks spurring you to counter his verbal advance with a challenge of your own. “And I’ll have you know that in the time it will take for you to recover, my combat proficiency will certainly surpass yours in no time. If that’s the case, then I assume that you want to lose to me again?”

“Why you-” his head dives forward as he launches an attack on your jugular. “Rest assured, I do not have a delicate constitution, unlike those other ordinary mortals.” As he buries his nose into your collarbone and his digits trace your ribs and waist, you convulse with laughter as his touch dances against sensitive parts of your upper torso. Your hands attempt to resist his ministrations, but his physical strength overpowers you, not that you were putting much of a fight in the first place, and you’re stupefied by the teeth that unexpectedly graze your clavicle and leave the affected area tingling with electricity. Audaciously nipping your neck as you titter, he softly murmurs against your skin: “I’ll let you stew in your victory for today, koibito, but I’ll have you know that I do not intend on losing - must I remind you of who remains the reigning champion in all of our duels?” 

Averting your head away from his firm grip, you blow a raspberry, sneering smugly at him: “Sure, call it whatever you want Scaramouche - construe the indisputable fact that my talents and ability outclass yours, which obviously excels way beyond your current capabilities, into whatever palatable narrative that will satiate you. Just accept your defeat already.”

His eyes catch yours and one of the corners of his mouth lifts upwards, just enough for you to notice the glint of his boyish fangs. “Oh, koibito, you’ll renounce those words once I conquer you on the battlefield tomorrow. I’ll remind you of the sweet taste of my overwhelming prowess.”

His intoxicating presence infiltrates your senses like a potent toxin: he renders you defenceless to his reticent whims. From prior fleeting meetings and brief acquaintanceship that solidifies into something more, it is in moments like these, you can feel the pulsing and robust bond that has bound you two together - a bond you nor he could sever without incapacitating the other that has been irrevocably tied to this everlasting string that connects your beings. 

Swiftly slicing into the universe that has formed between you and him, a drop of rain splatters onto the plane of grass that lays beneath your feet. A few droplets multiply into a light drizzle, which then gradually lead to a downpour that descends relentlessly onto your figures. 

Yelping as a cold stream of water cascades down your back, you instinctively pull Scaramouche closer to your form. Reaching your hand above your head, you promptly draw one end of his hat downwards in a futile attempt to shield both you and him from the torrential rain. Over the thundering pitter-patter descending above you, you make out an exasperated yell erupt from the form within your grasp: “Seriously, you’re using my hat as an umbrella?! The audacity!”

“Stop moving your mouth and start moving those legs! Let’s hurry to the house before we’re both soaked through!”

Briskly, your hand wraps around his lithe waist whilst the other clasps his nimble wrist. You pull him firmly towards the quaint cottage that Granny Ruoxin kindly let the two of you reside in after taking care of throng of Treasure Hoarders and stray agents of the Fatui who sought to disturb the peaceful village. 

As the rain pelts down onto the vibrant expanse of orange and yellow fields, Scaramouche stumbles and teeters as he loses his footing. The dirt dampens with the downpour and the muddy surface threatens to pull him down as his ukon-geta sinks into the moist soil underneath his figure. Noticing his struggle, you whisk him into your arms. Hoisting his frame closer to your chest, you support his waist in one hand, tucking his form closer to your bosom as his legs are securely lifted up with your other hand. 

Scaramouche’s features contort into one of shock but he is unable to fully explore his sudden astonishment as your ministrations cause him to desperately cling onto your shoulders to avoid falling down. Incredulously, he shouts: “A little warning would have been nice!” Closing his lids, to calm his thundering heartbeat and to allay the sudden spur of bewilderment, he hollers: “Is this really necessary? You shouldn’t fret over me in such a situation - put me down and take care of yourself first.” 

Fidgeting in your hold, he ruffles like an agitated and displeased feline, clawing his way out of your secure embrace. For once, it isn’t because your actions have aroused that inherent feeling of vexation or irritation that wells in his being. For once, (even if these are things he’s thought about countless times, but he internally, indignantly and stubbornly refuses to accept this) he’s concerned about the hefty burden carrying him places on your form, already weary with the elemental reactions inflicted onto you and the countless swords and weapons you had to defend yourself and him against. For once, he’s afraid you’ll become ill with every transparent drop of water that descends onto your exquisite profile. For once, he’s at a conflict between relishing in how your arms sturdily and firmly grip his form with the same overwhelming strength and power he’s witnessed in innumerable battles, and reprimanding your foolish selflessness that blinds you from the danger of trekking through the vast plains of terrace fields and hills that await you on your journey to the quaint village. 

“Pipe down, Scaramouche, do you honestly think that I would let you walk in this storm with sandals like that?” Glancing at the clogs that limply hang from his feet, he grimaces at the soil that cakes the dark wooden soles and he’s starkly reminded of the pain that shot up the length of his calf when he stumbled moments ago. 

“Hmm? Cat got your tongue? If so, hold on tightly, ohimesama, let me take care of you now.” It’s astounding that even here, you’d snarkily tease him so. It’s astonishing that even now, you don’t seize your romantic advancements - not as you briskly send a cheeky wink and gallantly march towards the cozy cottage that awaits the two of you. Heavy rainfall splatters relentlessly onto your visage, which seems even more breathtaking as the water highlights your charming features. (Not that he’d actually vocalise these thoughts - maybe it’s because of his pride or because he’s afraid of inflating your ego any more than it already is. Perhaps it’s because he trips over the words he wishes to tell you, your beauty petrifying him so much so that he feels vulnerable in a way he’s never experienced before and flustered that he lacks the same amount of experience you hold in amorous endeavours.) 

After being well-acquainted with your headstrong, albeit also quite frustratingly stubborn and obstinate, nature, he surrenders to your whims. The only thing he can do is to securely loop his arms around your neck and, begrudgingly, use his hat to provide some way of deflecting the incessant downpour. He flushes at the way you reflexively move your head closer to his, your damp strands tickling his jaw. Instinctively, you nuzzle your nose into the crook of his neck, tucking yourself into him to cover what little could fit underneath his headwear. 

It certainly will be a long journey back to Qingce Village, he muses, gazing beyond the tempestuous storm and the clouds brewing with strobes of lightning. The tenacious glint never leaves your captivating optics even as you inhale and exhale shakily whilst climbing the rolling hills and undulating pathways to your desired destination. Even as your chest heaves under his weight and tracks of rainwater stream down the curve of your cheek, the edge of your chin and the hollow of your neck, your hold is unfailingly firm under his lithe thighs and the broad column of his back and shoulders.

He’ll have to reward you for your efforts later - such chivalrous acts deserve commendation - something that even he is aware of. He acutely recalls how much you you yearn for his recognition - albeit not explicitly, he knows how voicing your merits inextricably affects you. Who is he to deny you your well-earned praise? Who is he to not demonstrate his utmost gratitude of your efforts? He’ll certainly show you his appreciation - he just hopes you’ll be able to bear the gravity of his newfound passion - a sudden onslaught of fervent ardour that consumes him wholly. It would be an expression you would have never expected from him but like your proficiency in wielding the elements, you’ll diligently endure him. After all, that’s what is expected of the partner of the former renowned Balladeer. And he knows you definitely won’t disappoint.

_____

Scaramouche isn’t one for showing his admiration outright - especially not in broad daylight and exposed to the judgemental scrutiny of outsiders who have no right to learn of his ardent affinity for you. He absolutely abhors the idea of anyone seeing how your actions make him putty in your hands. He detests the thought of anyone seeing how a heart manifests in his artificial rib cage, rattling against wire and alive and beating within that hollow shell of his puppet body. 

Under the private gaze of the moon and your eyes only, away from the daunting, captious view of the outside world, he unravels himself to you. His touch is inexperienced, but as his reincarnation’s name suggests, he craves discovery and desires exploration. 

Like electricity, his lips leave supple trails of kisses along your jugular - his actions igniting sparks in their wake and making your skin tingle with a numbing and thrilling static that persists even as he draws himself away from you. Despite the stringent, blunt and yet considerate facade he performs in-front of others, you can taste the lingering remnants of his territorial, cunning and dominant persona through the way he smirks against the expanse of your clavicle, and writes his name with the purple and light red flowers that begin to blossom on your torso. You’re submerged in the palpitating sensation he sends throughout your body, conducting a current of his fervent ardour to every area of your pliant and yielding form. It spreads through the vast network of veins and blood vessels that come to life with every caress of his hands. It jumpstarts an uproar of passion that had once lay dormant deep within the core of your being for so long, awakened by the energy he fuels into you with every movement of his deft digits and the ravenous purple orbs that bore into yours. 

Eagerly and rapaciously, he consumes the sounds that escape your mouth, punctuated by the roaring strikes of thunder that briefly illuminate your entwined figures resting on your shared double bed and guided by the sustained metronome of the rain that continues to fall outside and casts shadows along the mahogany floors of the cottage. Selfishly, he drinks you in like you’re the only entity that will satiate this vehement desire - like you’re the only person to satisfy this intense hunger that ravishes his entire being. He delights in the way you squirm underneath his form, desperate to chase him, to hold him accountable for the pulsating ache he triggered into every single inch of skin, flesh and bone within your body, to ensure he’s responsible for the searing libido that courses through every fibre of your being. 

Even within the haze of frantic, erratic movements and desperate, yearning caresses, he realises that in this moment, you never fail to make him feel like he belongs. Your presence provokes him to feel like he was always destined to be engulfed wholly by your tender embrace. Like he was preordained to be irrevocably tethered to your celestial presence, like he was fated to be loved by you. To return your fervent reassurances that ensure he is more than an just the discarded puppet he was born as, and the comfort you provide by will-fully devoting yourself to guiding him to the future that he deserves, he’ll drown you in his affections. 

Ever chasing the next thrill, the next competition, he’ll see how long you can withstand before he completely overwhelms you. 

After all, he’s grateful for everything you’ve done for him. This is just one of many ways for him to show his appreciation.