#repcomm hell

[mysticaltora8276]

Did I happen to mention that I do not like the Republic commando book series? Now the thing that I dislike aside for the obvious prejudice and racism and misogyny and ableism that permeates the book is the fact that it’s just so misinformed. And the thing is is that the author is intentionally misinformed.

Now this could’ve been an interesting story of someone with a radically stupid world view mind you in universe, but a different world nonetheless coming into contact with people who have a different world view and could’ve been good with someone who just has a weird viewpoint and an unreliable narrator. But nope. We’re supposed to take this guy seriously and take his word as gospel, even though he is demonstratively wrong.

And what’s worse is that the author constantly dismisses his emotional abuse as “being a good father.“ I don’t wanna know what kind of relationship the author had with her father because if that’s the kind of relationship that she and her father had…because it’s emotionally abusive.

Also what’s infuriating about this is the fact that there are moments tiny moments where it’s almost like her characters become self aware of how messed up it is, but they aren’t given enough screen time or they instantly shut down by non-arguments. So it’s almost like a part of the author is aware that this viewpoint is messed up, but refuses to let it go because it interferes with her fantasy. Again, if this was written by an unreliable narrator with a Jedi who has the facts to balance it out, it would’ve been interesting if a bit infuriating from a pro Jedi perspective. As is? It is a mess of prejudices, misinformation, and propaganda on the part of the author. In short, this would be good material for the Imperials to use as propaganda.

[mysticaltora8276]

Nope he wouldn’t kill Palpatine. He’d aid him and kill off Jedi by the dozens. Fox wouldn’t be thrilled either and let’s just say the Order wouldn’t be thrilled with Mr. Self righteous Jusik. Anakin and Obi-Wan would take him out

The war would be over very quickly in a republic commando/Coruscant guard crossover because the second he heard about the corries being mistreated by Palpatine, Ordo would have just straight up killed the chancellor with Jusik as his getaway driver. The next thing a very confused Fox knows is that he and his men have all been adopted by a very angry mando called Skirata. He doesn't know what happened but his evil boss is dead and he can now get more than 3 hours sleep a night so he's cool with it.

[papanowo]

no amount of canon is going to stop me from believing the batch were delta squad fanboys when they were kids

[verpine-art]

i colored it <3

[verpineshatterrifle]

Arligan 👁️👄👁️

listen ok... it's about how he tries so hard to play by the rules and do the right thing, and he knows skirata and his gang aren't playing by the rules at all, and how maybe he wishes he could go rogue like that too, but he can't, right

and as the war drags on he gets more and more beaten down and disillusioned but what the hell can he do about it? everybody knows it's all wrong but there's no way out

[mysticaltora8276]

I’m fine with people having their own can and what annoys me is when people force other people to become “true fans” and force their form of what they want on other people. As a sequel lover, this was constantly pushed upon me. I was sad is when I remind them that being old enough to remember when the prequel came out and when the backlash was around the previous were well loved to either, but then they put on their nostalgia goggles or welcome them to their face and pretend that they were “always beloved.” Give me a freaking break. I remember when people hated Ahsoka and Hayden and Ahmed Best (so much though that the man almost committed suicide over it.) and Jake Lloyd who was bullied for doing it. Everyone goes through phases of where they hate something, but I am really gotten sick and tired of particularly other social media platforms that act like that they are the authority on what goes on and if you don’t agree with them, then you’re not a “true friend.“ Yeah, sequel lovers can be guilty of that but I’ve seen more prequel and original trilogy lovers do it and they get mean about it. I mean, I’ve been insulted and ridiculed and called all sorts of lovely names that I will not repeat because I have more class than the people who did it and it’s quite frankly exhausting. That’s more more or less I kind of retired from those social media platforms, cause I’m sick of having to do something I like and gave me comfort.

Did I like everything that comes out or have I liked everything that comes out? No. But you know what I don’t do? I don’t take the Internet to rant about it. Yeah Republic commando is my personal punching bag, but I only ridicule the characters and the setting because as I’ve said before in other post, I’ve had personal experience with emotionally manipulative people and I do not like a book that actively promote sexism, racism and xenophobia and a very pernicious anti-religious segment to minority religion.

Arguments about what's canon and what's not in SW fandom are kinda pointless, I know for a fact that every fan has their personal frankensteined version of canon based on what's best for their own blorbos. I love picking up a random licensed book to sneer at half of its ideas and then steal the rest. Some shows and books and comics and whole movies are simply not incorporated into my belief system. That's how we roll

[mysticaltora8276]

“Let’s not be too hasty. We know where their bolt-holes are, and with a little ingenuity we can track their movements. They step out of line—the Empire gets a treasure map with here be Jedi on it.” (501st)

May I remind you that basically Jaing and by extension the Nulls are saying that if somebody doesn’t “get in line” ie Jedi that they are going to point the empire their way and basically be OK with a genocide happening on their watch and by their hand. Again, these are the people that the narrative think is OK to root for. I want to jump into that scene and start hitting them with very blunt instruments and giving them blunt force trauma while screaming that you don’t do that to people suffering a genocide.

[mamuzzy]

I'm sure you hear this all the time, but why can't we just let people enjoy things? Why are fandoms so caught up on following "the rules" and chasing away people who think differently? I follow a Star Wars blogger who is getting harassed by the usual neckbeards because they say he isn't following the naming convention for droids. Normally droids have a dash between the series and their specific identifier (such as R2-D2 or C-3P0). But this blogger has a headcanon where he believes the Crips gang exists in the Star Wars universe and they would replace the dash with the letter C. So instead of using R4-C0, he goes by R4cS0. I agree it's weird to imagine gang bangers shooting Glock19s at a Jedi, but just let the guy enjoy stuff!

I'm not sure if you wrote this to me, because I said something that makes people feel they are not allowed to enjoy things, or you just needed to vent someone, but I go with the latter. ^^

And I fully agree with you that people really should just let others enjoy things. We are paralel-playing with dolls in a giant sandbox, and I think there is place enough for any kind of headcanons.

There are people who prefer fanon and headcanons and they shouldn't be bashed for their ideas, it's not like they are hurting anyone.

But this should be work in the otherway too. Fanon lovers shouldn't bash people for sticking to the canon, or not using the "community-agreed" headcanons.

The only thing I can't tolerate is hatereading/hate blogging. Creating headcanons around hating a single character.

I don't like someone's idea on a fan-something? I simply don't interact.

I have no idea what is Crips gang (ok, briefly looked up, I'm not from US, sorry), but if headcanoning them into Star Wars makes this person happy, I will be happy for them, and let the haters choke on the C.

[engagemythrusters]

oh fuck i never considered canon mandalore vs legends mandalore in terms of. repcomm. and mount kyrimorut. and the skiratas.

shit.

[mysticaltora8276]

Again, these people are supposed to be the good guys and they’re talking about a time where the so-called ideal father grabs someone and sexually assaulted them. And as much as I like to crap on the Knowles, I actually feel bad for them because these little moments indicate that somewhere deep down side of them, they are aware that something’s off, but they are too blinded by their dare I say attachment to their father to do anything about it…..

Republic Commando: Triple Zero, Chap. 7

In my opinion, this is one of the first exchanges between Ordo and Skirata that so starkly illuminates the dissonance in their relationship: perhaps even KT herself got so blinded by the honesty of what she’d written, she couldn’t face it again.  

Notice how ready Skirata is to dismiss Ordo as a thug. How he assumes that all he sees is all the clones do. This tracks with his constant reinforcement of the Nulls as psychotic and unpredictable and basically incapable of functioning in “the real world” without him (read: functioning according to his expectations and to his music). Meanwhile, Ordo is so obviously trying to placate Skirata’s pride, it’s embarrassing; he’s operating so far ahead of Skirata at this point, even KT writes Skirata as playing catch-up in the dialogue, when she normally privileges the POV character.

And then! Skirata still consoles himself that he’s doing alright (stellar, even!) by Ordo, despite reading fear in Ordo’s face. 

This isn’t to say that Ordo doesn’t have hang-ups about Skirata – without question, the dude has daddy issues. (In a better version of this series, Besany would be the one to shove Ordo’s face up against that truth.) BUT it completely changed how I interpreted Ordo’s actions from that point, now that it seemed clear he had an inner world he kept to himself, perhaps for obvious reasons. 

[arliganzey]

repcomm ama hell yes! (1) favorite trait you like about zey (2) favorite scene in the books you don't think is mentioned enough (3) controversial opinion you've been dying to spill if u wanna, if you don't, a nsfw headcanon you've always had instead :P (or both!)

Krad thank you for the ask!!

My favorite Arligan Zey trait: I can't pick just one so I'm going to ramble. There is a line that says 'there was a sigh in his voice' and I just feel that in my soul. He's so tired and angry after Triple Zero and he completely loses his shit after Bardan leaves the Order. This scene makes me cackle:

ZEY SAID OSIK 🫵

and then maybe more importantly, he tears up and cries when he meets Venku. Like okay? So he's a giant softie apparently? That's fine, I can be normal about this

2. There are so many good scenes in this series it's hard to pick just one, but the first scene that came to me is really early on in Hard Contact when Omega Squad meets for the first time and gets their Qiilura mission from Zey and Bardan. Darman is a boy scout and asks a question (because he is a true pleasure to have in class), which impresses Zey. Padawan Bardan is sitting on a crate and it doesn't say he's kicking his feet but we all know he's kicking his feet. Then in the middle of it the Gurlanin shapeshifter starts shapeshifting and Zey completely loses his train of thought. It's kind of a goofy/awkward scene and I love it.

3. 🙈 all right I have a hot take. I reread the scene where Etain tells Kal she's pregnant, and while yes he's an asshole about it, my biggest takeaway as a new parent was: holy SHIT this 60 year old out of practice Mandalorian man just voluntold himself to take care of a NEWBORN and RAISE A BABY. He had three kids and raised the Nulls from very small children, he knows what he's getting into. (Okay arguably as the 'absent father' he may not know what newborn care is like but Mandalorians take childcare very seriously so I'm going to say he has some experience). Fandom/haters really shit on this scene, and yes it's super uncomfortable, yes Kal makes threats (which he specifically regrets later), but what other choice does he have? Etain's not going to leave her post and she's going to have a baby with NO PLAN FOR CHILDCARE.

Which, btw, in the real world is one of my number one sources of anxiety when I hear expecting parents have no plan for childcare lmao

Republic commando AMA all day every day~ NSFW quick headcanons below:

3.5 NSFW HEADCANON(S): Etain is a dom and Dar loves it. Zey is an exclusive top until Vau when he discovers he's actually a sub/switch (dragging my rarepair into the mix here). Throwing a bone to the Maze/Zey ships out there: Zey bottoms for Maze but they switch sometimes OKAY DONE

[nocturius8015ficore]

**EDITED VERSION** 18th of October.

Nocturius: 4th Republic Commando fanfiction! This one is about Kal Skirata and the clones as children facing some difficulties on Kamino.

————-

Title: Growing up.

Fandom: Star Wars Republic Commando books by Karen Traviss

Characters: Kal Skirata, RC-8015 ''Fi'', Mij Gilamar

Rating: Family-friendly ** Fairly accessible to people who don’t know RepComm / alcohol consummation **

Topic: Growing up, clones, medical concern.

Pitch: RC-8015 ''Fi'' is a clone cadet who noticed some chronic pain for him and his squad. He decide to talk to his sergeant about that since he doesn't understand where it come from.

Like almost every night for the last three years, there was a thunderstorm outside. As a Cuy’var’dar, Sergeant Kal Skirata had his own quarters with a window showing the never ending wet hell.

Fierfek.

Skirata was sick of that dampness and his ankle wasn't in a forgiving mood. It seems the pain was echoing his own mood. He went over the cabinet to swill a mouthful of dry tihaar, a Mandalorian tongue-burning spirit.

Training 106 kids to be commandos and Nulls-Class special ops was hard. It took a lot of imagination to find new challenges to outsmart those little prodigies. No, not outsmart, let’s be honest, they were a lot smarter than him, to stimulate them to their full potential.

The really hard part was to keep day after day his composure and not let himself sink into the depressing thought of those kids having no future. They were blissfully ignorant of how the universe was unjust to them. The Sergeant was about to take another sip but got interrupted by a knock on the door.

‘’ Come in! ’’ he said.

He knew that was not the kaminiise, they would have communicated with him on the com before. They never come to his quarters anyway. A little boy entered the room. Even with universal blue fatigues and the standard haircut, Kal Skirata was able to tell apart each clone boy under his protection. That one usually had a wide cheerful grin on his face, but not this time. It was RC-8015, Fi. He had let the squads lads named themself. That was one of the only few ways he could let them express their individuality. This time, Fi wasn’t all smiles. He looked worried and distressed.

‘’ Sergeant Kal, I would like to talk to you about something. I’m sorry to disturb you. ’’

‘’ Sure, son. Sit there, help yourself in the drawer. ’’

The boy did what he said, but didn’t take a bite in the warra nuts bar yet. Which was worrying in itself. The clones were always hungry.

‘’ I… I’ve noticed that my brothers from Teroch and I feel the exact same pain in the chest, around the sternum area and the rib cage. Some nights, we have difficulty breathing because of it. There are also ligaments and muscles in the back of the legs and most of our joints. I know it’s not the training or musculoskeletal injuries. I’ve signaled it to the med-droid but the scans said our vital signs were normal. ‘’

Skirata shouldn't have been surprised to hear such advanced language from a 5 looking 10 years old boy, but he was. He stood up and walked to the boy and ruffled his hair affectionately.

‘’ Shabla tinnies, they can’t do their job properly, mh? Let me have a look, the old school way. ‘’

He indicated Fi to remove his shirt to inspect his chest and with his bare hands. He tried to feel some irregularities in the area the boy mentioned. Kal Skirata wasn’t even close to be a doctor, but he knew enough about medical stuff to recognize when things were wrong. Fi stayed very still, fully trusting the only human adult who had ever care of him.

‘’ If I push there? Does it hurt? ’’

‘’ A bit. ’’

‘’ Take a deep breath, does it hurt more? ’’

‘’ Yes .’’

The child was visibly in pain but he wasn’t acting to get attention. He knew him. He was the kind to hide it or literally laugh when getting himself in an accident. That was a goofy little one, not a whiny one. The kid was brutally honest with him, no masking, he deserved the truth.

‘’ I’ll be honest with you, Fi, I'm not sure what you have, but I will talk to my colleague Mij Gilamar, who is an actual medical doctor and ask around if it’s just your squad or all of you. Could be my fault for being too hard in the training or something else. We will find a solution. In the meantime, I’ll schedule you more swimming, ok? ’’

‘’ Ok, thanks Sergeant Kal! ’’

Fi hugged him spontaneously and put the whole warra nut bar in his mouth, winked and poorly articulated a goodbye as he left the room. Skirata couldn't repress a chuckle. They were so innocent. ***

The very next morning, Kal Skirata went to the Nulls quarters. They each had their own beds and some personal furniture. He insisted on that. He wanted to make clear they were no animals. Sadly he couldn't win the same level of comfort and intimacy for the commandos.

Without a word, all the 6 Nulls-Class gathered around him in a perfect line, waiting for instructions. They were usually pretty rebellious but not to Kal. He was Kal’buir for them. Their father.

‘’ Udesiir sons, I just want to talk with you about something. ’’

‘’ Is it something we have done, Kal?’’ said Ordo, the leader of the small group. The kid was looking at him with his anxious big eyes.’’

‘’ Of course not, ad’ika. I want to ask you something personal. Do you have chest and leg pain? Especially at night? ‘’

The little boys turned to each other and in a same voice they answered yes. Skirata felt his heart sank.

‘’ Why have you never told me that before? ’’

‘’ We didn’t want to bother you with that, Kal’buir, it’s only because we are growing too fast. I’ve looked on the holonet, there is nothing we can do about it.’’ said Kom’rk, the Null was already very versed into hacking the kaminoan firewalls to access off-world intel.

‘’ Well, I will find something. Next time, you talk to me about any unusual stuff happening to you, alright? We can’t trust the med-droids even less some aruetiise on the holonet to make a diagnosis about you. You are too unique!

‘’ Yes Kal! ’’ they said in unison.

Soon after his quick meeting with the Nulls, the Sergeant went to his friend and other Cuy’val’dar, Mij Gilamar. After telling him in detail Fi’s perspective, he actually laughs.

‘‘ Your boy, Fi. You should bring him to me in a few weeks. His observations were pretty keen. He would make a terrific medic. ‘’

‘’ Yeah, I’ve noticed it. I was planning to make him a sniper but I think he might wear both hats real fine. Actually, I plan to teach all my boys some field medic skills like yours ’’.

‘’ Common sense, really. About the growing pains, that was highly expected but I understand you didn’t guess osik, you are on head shorter than anyone here.’’

‘’ Funny, ner vod. ’’ he said sarcastically. ‘’ But there is truly nothing we can do about it?’’

‘’ Well, not really. And it’s gonna get worse when they hit puberty. ’’

‘’ Fierfek. ’’

Somehow, his brain almost forgot that this growth stage was about to start and will be very difficult to handle indeed.

‘’ Will… they grow normally? I mean, twice as fast, but about their… ’’

‘’ I know what you mean Kal, I’ve thought about it too. I don’t know the details of the aiwha-baits meddling with their genomes and hormones, but they seem to have everything we have, but stronger, faster and it’s not gonna be easy for any of us. They needed to keep the testosterone level accurate for max aggression as soldiers.’’

‘’ It’s gonna be a shabla nightmare for all of them. We’ll need to have a talk. Serious one.’’

‘’ We have about four or five months ahead, but you are right. I’m gonna get in touch with the others. There is no way the flashtraining is covering that. We’ll have to talk about it ourselves. I’ll be on it, don't worry. ’’

Gilamar and Skirata stayed silent for a moment. They were both worried, but the doctor suddenly had an idea.

‘’ I think we can teach them self-massaging. ’’

‘’ What?! ‘’

‘’ Not that, di’ikut. For the legs and chest pain. Therapeutic deep tissue massage. Releasing tension they accumulate during the day. Stretching the muscles and ligaments. Bring the boy tomorrow. If it works, we will teach it to all of them.

In the early afternoon Skirata and Fi came to Gilamar’s medical office. The cadet didn’t show a lot of nervousness but was very curious about the non-kaminoan medical equipment there. The doctor showed on a holoprojector some mix of basic theory about chiropractic, physiotherapy, osteopathy and other less known non standard, or archaic medical procedures for a week. The next one, he began to train them with some practical exercises.

At first, Kal Skirata was unsure about how to perform some spinal adjustments but got the general idea. Fi on the other hand, was very good. The boy took his time and did things with astounding dexterity. He even did some little miracle with his ankle.

The boy would be a great medic, he thought. Could have the potential to be a surgeon with that precision, his sensibility and attention to the surroundings… or a musician, thinking of it. If he would have had the opportunity to choose but that was impossible. Sniper/medic was the only option.

‘’ You got it better than I, son. I'm proud of you! ‘’ he said, moving his feet like a new one. ‘’ Do you think you might be able to teach it to your squad? ’’ the child smiled widely.

‘’ Of course Sergeant! Already did! ‘’

‘’ Oh great, we will cascade-training the other squads under my care then .’’

‘’ Really? I’m gonna meet the other squads? Can’t wait to make new friends! ’’ his face illuminated.

‘’ Just for a couple of days, but yes.’’

Skirata felt sad about it, squads were isolated from each other most of the time, except for some competitive training. The program for commandos required it. Will those boys ever have a normal social life? What would happen after their training when they will see the civilian world?

Meet ordinary people. Meet women.

That night, Skirata thought he might sleep better without his ankle pain but he actually felt worse. He took the bottle of tihaar and drank its contents till he passed out.

[sootyships]

Why jetii and not jedai(i)?

The Doylist explanation, of course, is that jetii is a Harlin word, and Harlin was doing his own thing. Let's talk Watsonian.

I'll separate the post into 3 sections: [j]e[t][ii].

/d͡ʒ/, /j/, /t͡ʃ /...

In the Repcomm soundtrack, "J" is pretty consistently pronounced as a /j/, a "yod" like in "hallelujah". So how come jetii uses a "J", if mando'a didn't use to have a /d͡ʒ/ sound? The spelling probably just got updated once "J" came to stand for /d͡ʒ/ and the clones singing Vode An etc were applying the J-as-yod rule across the field when they perhaps shouldn't have. Maybe it was spelled "chetii", "tsetii" or "detii" in the past.

T vs D

While Traviss says,

Occasionally, the pronunciation of "t"s and "d"s are swapped. "T" is the modern form; "d" is archaic,

it would seem to me more likely that perhaps Mando'a did not possess a /d/ sound at the point in time when the word for Jedi was adopted, and so the /d/ turned into a more familiar /t/, and the pronunciation did not "update" when the sound change occurred that (re?)introduced /d/ into the language. Alternatively/additionally, Traviss could be correct, and at the time /t/ mutated into a /d/ in particular positions, such as in jetii and kote, where it is between two vowel sounds. (In the Repcomm songs it sounds to only apply to kote, but it is a little difficult to make out what phonemes exactly are being used much of the time, anyway...)

AII, AYII, -II...

We have jetii, aruetii, kaminii, even or'dinii and prudii, that refer to people, so the -ii as a suffix most likely refers to people. So keeping the "ii" is important, "ai" would lack the morpheme. But why not -aii, like in vaii, or -ayii like in wayii? Hell, no idea, actually. Maybe Basic experienced a Great Vowel Shift the same as English, and what is now pronounced as [aɪ] was originally [iː]? Though, maybe not, because the predecessor of the Jedi Order (in Legends) was the Je'daii order. On the other hand, perhaps [a] (like in Jedi, /ˈd͡ʒɛd.aɪ/) was not present as a phoneme in mando'a at the time the word's adoption (perhaps mando'a "A" was pronounced with a more back vowel sound such as <ɑ> like in "father"), or was an allophone of, say, [ɛ], and <eii> is not allowed in mando'a, so the more open vowel got dropped, leaving only -ii.

Basically I have no answers, only theories. :')

[mysticaltora8276]

If I made add my two cents worth at it as a pro Jedi fan, I might add that Kal Skirata to is looking at Maze, who saved someone from a genocide of his own free will and is yelling at him for basically saving a person who is suffering from a genocide……. And as this person has pointed out, the absolute cretin is making it about himself.

Not giggles.

Maze has TOUCHED DOWN on Mandalore and holy SHIT do I have problems. Cut because it’s mostly rage down there.

Keep reading

[cabezadeperro]

Hey!! Can I compel you with Maze/Zey - 26? <3

hi friend!!!! late but here it is! thanks for giving me the chance for writing this ship lmao

the song was bug like an angel, by mitski. ~940w, G, mutual pining. post order 66--i checked the wookie but i haven't read the last repcomm books (and i never will ♥️)

Did you go and make promises you can't keep? Well, when ya break them, they break you right back

---

There’s a clean mug face down on the rack by the sink by the time Maze leaves the bed. It’s still early, the morning sun coming in clear and liquid through the eastern windows. The small house is cold and quiet: Maze rubs at his face, bare feet shifting on the creaking floorboards of their borrowed kar’yai, and doesn’t bother calling out.

He goes back to his room for his boots and a jacket. There’s still caf in the pot on the stove: he tops up Zey’s mug and takes it with him when he leaves the building through the unlocked back door. 

The kitchen garden is still waking up: green can be seen here and there, young leaves peeking through the black, half-frozen dirt. The cold cutting wind that rolls down from the north smells of snow: Maze leans his hip against the low wooden gate, sipping at his caf, and breathes it all in. 

Patchy, dirty snow still survives on the rough gravel path, on the dry short yellow grass that grows at its sides. Maze cuts across the field at the back of the house, making his way through the sparse veshok forest. Here and then he can see the print of Zey’s cane where he dug it deep into the snow and the mud.

Zey’s wearing a too-small coat over his sleeping clothes, bare ankles too pale under the paler sun. he’s sitting on a big round stone, the snow hastily cleared away, and by the time Zey leaves the trees behind his head is tilted and his hand around his cane.

He’s lost weight in the past few weeks, and his hair and his beard are longer and messier than they ever got during the war, but he hasn’t changed much: he still looks like the proud tall man Zey remembers, and most of the time he behaves like he is still that man.

But somehow, Maze knows better—somehow, and very much despite himself, Maze allowed himself to get to know him, and he knows that the man once known as Jedi Master Arligan Zey is no more.

He leans against the rock at his side, and Zey blinks down at him, shifts a bit to the side; Maze grunts at him in thanks and sips at his caf, hugging himself against the cold, watching the rolling, craggy hills. Patchy snow, yellow dead grass, rotten fences, the ruins of a long-abandoned kar’yai here and there. It looks both old and too new to be true, too new to be good. 

Zey’s fingers are cold when he brushes Maze’s. Maze lets him take the caf and stuffs his hands in the pockets of his trousers.

“I wanted to see it. One last time, before I leave,” Zey says. He was never a talker, but he speaks so little now: his deep voice is hoarse and low with lack of use. Maze hums. “How did you find me?”

Maze shrugs. “You’re not hard to find.” He wanted to be found.

Zey hums. He returns his caf to Maze, and Maze finishes it off: it’s no longer warm, just lukewarm, not quite tepid.

The birds are singing. They are somewhere hidden among the branches of the trees, and low in the ground, in the short grass. Now and then, a quick dark shadow bursts into the air, cutting the cutting wind with little sharp wings. Maze has learned to expect them, but he can’t say he is used to them, to it: Mandalore is alive in a way he isn’t sure he enjoys, alive in bursts of alien and unexpected activity. The birds; the bugs. The strills that roam the fields. The little rodents and the alien look in the eyes of the big wild goats. They are cruel, clever beast. Two weeks ago Maze had to help the boys in Kyrimorut bury the carcass of one of the strills: one of the goats had broken its skull open with a kick sometime during the winter, and the spring thaw had released its body to rot and weather. It stunk to high hell, and the ground was still frozen, and in the end they just burned the thing and called it a day. 

“You don’t like Mandalore,” Zey says. Maze blinks: he can feel his eyes on the side of his face. 

“I like it as much as I like everything else,” he replies. It’s not a lie. Zey snorts.

“Precisely,” he says. He sighs. 

He won’t ask Maze to go with him—he knows Maze won’t. He’s had enough of Jedi for a lifetime: he doesn’t know what he wants from his life, but he knows joining Master Altis anad his group isn’t it. 

It’d be easier if Zey asked Maze to leave with him anyway. Maze dislikes this push-and-pull, hates the loaded silences and the careful looks. He’d hate them less if he didn’t know perfectly well they are not entirely Zey’s fault.

Zey stands up with a groan. The grey in his hair glints under the sunlight, paints his dark head in silver. 

“Let’s go back to the house,” he says, still looking at the field. Maze stands up as well: he forgot his coat inside, and he’s so cold and shivering so bad his muscles hurt. 

Zey doesn’t need the help, but when he reaches for Maze’s shoulder, Maze allows it: his hand is warm, and the ground under the veshok trees is porous and full of hidden pitfalls under the snow.

[verpineshatterrifle]

For the repcomm character song:

Etain Tur Muken

ok ok i guess technically this one would be darman's pov but it's like, about both of them, and it's him ABOUT etain, and it FUCKIN RUINS ME OK

MY MY YOUR EYES LIKE FIRE IM A WINGED INSECT YOU'RE A FUNERAL PYRE. IM A WAKING HELL AND THE GODS GROW TIRED.

but also #etainlives so while Take Me Back To Eden FUCKING RUINS ME, have a bonus song specifically for JUST etain that doesn't imply her death because it DID NOT ACTUALLY HAPPEN OKAY.

LOVE, LET MY LOVE INSIDE GO FREE!

LOVE, LET MY ANGER TURN INTO PEACE!!