#North Indian Weddings | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

astronicht · 2 months

Note

re: Mordor's location

I'm confused! I can understand being annoyed that Mordor is in the east (for me, it's because any new birth/new beginnings symbolism fails. BUT on the other hand, it works great with tolkien's biblical stuff - from study.com, "'East of Eden' is an allusion to the Biblical Book of Genesis. After Cain murders his brother Abel, he is exiled to the land of Nod, 'east of Eden' (Genesis 4:16)". I LOVE Tolkien's biblical symbolism, and smeagol murdering his brother is a direct cain/abel reference, so having the evil be to the east really works for me.

So I guess I'm just wondering if a) the symbolism thing is what irritates you about Mordor's location (or if there's something else I'm missing), and b) how does the evil being in the north resolve this?

Hey cool question!

Caveat that I’m literally just liveblogging my first ever read of LOTR, so while I read Hobbit as a kid and I know the movies and a good portion of the medieval prose and poetry Tolkien is drawing on very well, the only LOTR text I can reference is… from the Shire to Weathertop. Additionally, my perspective is as a medievalist, but I wasn't raised Christian and can’t speak to Tolkien’s personal faith, just to how he might use (and does use) historical Christianity (and a bunch of non-Christian narratives) in his work. At least like. Up to Weathertop.

Short answer a) not exactly! b) Because I expected evil to be in the north, and it checked that box. So-- your particular interest in Christian symbolism is immediately relevant here, because about 700 years before the King James Bible, in the medieval literature (and medieval Christianity) among which Tolkien has settled his own Middle-Earth, people had very very strong feelings about the cardinal directions, and North was heavily associated with Lucifer — this being stated explicitly in an Old English retelling of Genesis called The Old English Hexameron. Here, Lucifer's fall starts like this:

"with a presumptuous pride (moodiness) he said that he would make his throne above the stars of God, over the height of the clouds, in the north part, and be like unto God." (p. 17; not my translation but my guy Henry Wilkins Norman nailed it)

mid dyrstigre modignysse cwæð ðæt he wolde wyrcan his cynesetl bufan Godes tunglum ofer ðæra wolcna heannysse on ðam norð dæle and beon Gode gelic. (p. 16)

In non-Christian stories (though written down centuries later by Christians), the Gylfaginning in the Prose Edda describes Hel as “down and to the North” (sorry, just a link wiki here). So, same idea, and beyond these texts, North is generally associated with hell, death, or evil in early medieval literature, much more clearly than East usually is (even factoring in Old English and Old Norse stories about Cain, Attila the Hun, and the more exciting fauna of the Indian subcontinent, all of which formed the early medieval idea of East). Thus, finding out that an original Big Bad, of whom Sauron was “but a servant,” had once made his throne in the north made me go “OH! He didn’t forget after all!” in utter frustrated delight. My confusion wasn't exactly with evil in the east; it was the lack of evil in the north.

(this reply is really long, but my main point ends here, for anyone looking to bail out)

Actually, Genesis retellings in Old English are absolutely fascinating; I’m not wedded to Christian-only symbolism, but if it’s what you enjoy a lot, I very much suggest looking into the Hexameron and Genesis A, both great examples and very well known to Tolkien.

Personally I suspect I'll end up reading the symbolism of Mordor in the east as a more complex and varied thing than solely a reference to Cain's banishment. But to be really clear, in saying that I'm definitely not saying that Cain and Nod aren't valid interpretations (especially when they work for you so well!). Just my guess and my perspective. Old evil in the north and Mordor in the east is really interesting! So was the story of how Hobbits etc wandered out of the east to colonize the Shire, in another early medieval echo. And with Aragorn's throwaway "In those days the Great Enemy, of whom Sauron of Mordor was but a servant, dwelt in Angband in the North" I got an extra point on the map, from which the story immediately unspooled into an even wider and richer thing. Which is so neat, I love everyone in this bar, etc.

Just a quick further note on Smeagol, because I happen to have just gone past this bit and it's fresh! As far as I know at uhhh this very early point in LOTR (maybe it's changed later), Deagol was not his brother but simply his friend: “He had a friend called Deagol, of a similar sort, sharper-eyed but not so quick and strong” (though if you like the Cain and Abel imagery, this doesn't change that much tbh! I can see how it hits that note regardless). They are under the same matriarch (perhaps implying family ties) who eventually throws Smeagol out years after Deagol's murder; I liked that bit, bc I have no idea where Tolkien's pulling proto-hobbit matriarchs from yet, and Smeagol later lied and said the matriarch had given him the One Ring, implying that she was a ring-giver like an Old English/Norse thane or king. Smeagol and Deagol (and Frodo) are also wrapped up in lots of different tropes and symbols; Cain and Abel, yes, but also Beowulf and Grendel, and probably some other stuff I'll notice in like 10 years and yell at the ghost of Tolkien about. I think these stories work so well because they’re layers upon layers. It’s stories all the way down, you know!

Much like this reply, which is endless, so sorry about that.

#IMMENSELY LONG ASK REPLY IM SORRY IM SORRY #ask replies #astro lotr #with further apologies for being pedantic but also not doing my own translations

42 notes · View notes

shaadiwish · 1 year

Text

These super stylish and trending winter wraps for brides and bridesmaids will ensure warm and cozy winter weddings. For more, visit ShaadiWish.com.

0 notes

world-of-wales · 2 months

Note

Wait, what? Could you explain the M and India UK thing?

It all dials back to the Commonwealth and uk- india ties in terms of it. So, a little background - commonwealth was the second international organization/group joined by India after the UN. But the commonwealth was the first it joined as an independent sovereign state. Now at that time india was one of the first countries who put forth the demand that republics should also be able to join the CW and countries like them should not be expected to keep the monarch as the head of the state to be a condition for joining what is being called a voluntary organization. Because if they keep the monarch as the head of state, then the whole idea of independence from colonization loses its meaning. So the Indian leaders at that time put forth the demand that republics should be allowed in too, and these countries will be a part of the CW but no authority of the UK or the head of atate/monarch will extend to them. That was accepted because it was a fair demand and made sense. Hence, india joined the CW.

Even back then i.e post indepence in 1947 till the time of the london declaration in 1949, there was a lot of debate and controversy over the whole joining buisness and even then a large section of politicians and leaders were like this is stupid, why are we going back under their influence after having a 100 year long struggle to get out of it. But the then government including Jawaharlal Nehru (my fav Indian pm) who was his own foreign minister, were like India will need to have some sort of connection and some sort of ties with other nations internationally to make sure it can work in the global world. And even today, the Commonwealth forms the bedrock of india's contemporary relations with a number of African states and its dealings with canada, australia, etc.

JLN and his interim government agreed with the influence argument so they put forth the demand for the joining of republics with their own heads of states. It was agreed upon by the UK. But even after that, since india's independence a large section has been against the Commonwealth with the same arguments and people,intellectuals, politicians like shashi tharoor, the southern state CMs, some North Indian parties feel that India should leave the CW.

Now flash forward to the wedding in 2018, meghan came out wearing a veil embroidered with the national flowers of all the CW states, including guess which ones? The republics which are sovereign!!! Including - india (lotus), Pakistan (jasmine) and Bangladesh (water lily)

This thing was picked up by journalists and they ran with it on social media and in newspapers that the royals still think we are theirs. The whole of South Asian twitter was a mess, everyone was criticizing the UK, asking for the high commission to be summoned in front of parliamentary committes to see why they thought it was okay. In india politicians from both sides - the ruling bjp and the opposition parties jumped in. It basically became a f*ck CW, f*ck UK narrative. Now add to this the whole history of colonization and that makes it even worse.

The whole problem that people had with it was that, despite nearly 75 years of independence, UK still thinks we are theirs so why don't we kick them to the curb, we don't need the CW to have trade and other diplomatic ties with other states anymore. Pakistan, Bangladesh etc also had the same issues but it was the most amplified in india.

So in the official circles, for the first time, formal demands were being made that India should leave CW in 2018 because of that Givenchy wedding outfit and the attitude which it must have accompanied. It was always a thing in india, on the fringes of politics, to leave the CW as an agenda for some sections, but nobody ever took any initiative for it except making statements. The government didn't do it formally because let's be honest, 2018 was just a year off the next national elections and they had bigger fish to fry back then but I know it was pretty much a done deal as per the news coming out from 'sources' close to the cabinet, plans were being made. But it was sorted out later, a lot of it because bjp shares common ties with the Tories in the UK so they could smooth it over.

#ash's asks #anons

16 notes · View notes

princesssarisa · 1 month

Text

The last three Love Like Salt tales in Cinderella Tales from Around the World consist of one from Pakistan and two from India.

*These tales stand out in two chief ways from their European counterparts. First, by not following the standard Cinderella or Donkeyskin storyline after the princess is banished, but going in completely different directions until the standard father/daughter reunion ending. Secondly, by handling the meaning of "love like salt" in a different way. Where the European versions emphasize that food without salt is tasteless, these South Asian versions instead skewer the poetic cliché of equating love with sweetness and point out that savory food is just as necessary as sweet food, if not more so.

**The king asks his many children (more than just three, and in one case including sons as well as daughters), how much they love him, and all but the youngest daughter reply "Like sugar," "Like honey," "Like sweetmeats," etc. But the youngest daughter says "Like salt," so her father has her abandoned in the jungle.

**In the end, she invites her father (or her entire family) either to her wedding feast or just to visit her home. She serves no food but sweets, which her father soon tires of, and when she finally serves him salted food instead, he realizes the value of salt.

*As for what happens in the middle of the story...

**The Pakistani tale of The King and His Daughters is the simplest: a prince just finds the princess hiding in a hollow tree, falls in love with her, and marries her.

**In one of the two Indian tales, both titled The Princess Who Loved Her Father Like Salt, the princess comes to a palace where a prince lies dead, with many needles sticking out of his body. One by one she pulls out all the needles, somehow knowing that this will bring him back to life, but one day she pauses to take a bath, and her slave girl pulls out the last two needles instead, reviving the prince. She tells him that she's the princess and marries him, reducing the real princess to a slave. But eventually he learns the truth and replaces the false bride with the true one. And refreshingly for this type of story, the slave girl isn't killed or severely punished, but forgiven by the princess, though she is forced to serve her again.

**In the other Princess Who Loved Her Father Like Salt, the princess is newly wed and pregnant when her father banishes her, and she ends up giving birth and raising her son in a golden palace in the jungle. The boy becomes the protagonist, who goes on a journey that involves rescuing three fairies from a Deo (giant) and winning half the kingdom by granting a wish of the king's. He then takes the king (his grandfather) to see his mother, reuniting the family.

Now for some footnotes from me:

*I'm surprised that this book doesn't include any Love Like Salt variants from the Americas, because I know they exist. There's a picture book from the '80s called Moss Gown, which I remember reading in elementary school, which is based on an oral version from North Carolina. That version is problematic, because it takes place in the South before the Civil War, on plantations full of slaves, and because the white heroine's helper is a a black "witch woman," a literal case of a "magical Negro." But I do like what she gives to the heroine: a dress that by day is a raggedy thing made of moss, but which turns into a beautiful ballgown at night. I wish a European variant or two had shared that detail.

*I'm also surprised and disappointed that this book doesn't include the Ashkenazi Jewish variant How Much Do You Love Me? (a.k.a. The Way Meat Loves Salt), where the father is a rabbi, the heroine's love interest is a rabbi's son, and her magical helper is the prophet Elijah in disguise, who gives her a magic stick that grants her wishes. That version has also been adapted into a picture book, which I've sometimes seen in the gift shop at my local synagogue's annual Jewish Food Festival. @ariel-seagull-wings has also shared it here.

The next set of Cinderella tales in this book are the subtype of One-Eye, Two-Eyes, Three-Eyes.

@ariel-seagull-wings, @adarkrainbow, @themousefromfantasyland

#cinderella #love like salt #fairy tale #variations #cinderella tales from around the world #heidi ann heiner #pakistan #india #tw: needles

12 notes · View notes

theloveoftoms · 2 years

Text

Loosing Control - maverick x reader (top gun)

Summary: After loosing control of your f-14, and feeling like you don't belong at top gun, your husband maverick is there to turn your night around!

This fic came from the request I received from @tinfoilhat2719. Their request had said, "Hi! Can I request a fic for maverick from top gun? So reader and maverick are married and the only person who knows is goose. Reader is a very good pilot who’s also participating in the top gun program and is the only female there. One day she almost loses control of the plane and things almost take a horrible turn. She takes it really badly and starts to doubt herself saying that she doesn’t belong there and doesn’t deserve to be part of the program, so maverick reassures her that she is a good pilot and that she deserves to be there just as much as the rest of them, something cute that shows how much he loves her."

A/N: HELLO everyone, I saw this request that I got this morning, and I had such a fun time writing it! Keep the requests coming, I love writing in response to a prompt, and I'll try and work at them soon! I ran (but mostly walked lol) 3k this morning and then made a salad for lunch and had tons of fun writing today! I'm getting back into the groove of things :) I couldn't think of a name for this at first so I was just going to call it 'husband.' I hope you have a great day/night/whatever time of day it is for you. And thank you so much for reading my stories, it means the world to me! xoxo - Mac :)

*also, the readers callsign in glacier, their rio is rogue, their plane is called bravo, and the instructor/bogey is callsign bandit. cheers!

Word Count: 3.5k

"I can't believe you're married mav," goose said, pinching his nose, "Out of all people, you! You're married!"

Maverick laughed, sliding his arm around your waist, "When you meet the one," he begun, pausing to look at you, "You just know."

You smiled, brushing a piece of maverick's brown hair behind his ear, gazing lovingly into his oceanic green eyes.

"When did you guys get married anyways? God, don't tell me you went to Vegas and got Elvis to do it?"

"No!" you exclaimed laughing, "It wasn't Elvis!"

Maverick smirked, "we went up to Los Angeles for the weekend and got married at city hall, it was short and sweet."

Your wedding was quick, the service lasting no longer than 20 minutes, maverick in his pristine white navy uniform, his jacket bearing his name, and as for you, you were in a silk maxi dress that you had bot at a boutique downtown with a pair of nude heels. A woman in a pant suit helped the two of you sign the papers, and even took your photo with the bouquet of pink tulips that maverick had surprised you with on the morning of.

Maverick and you had met many years ago, back at base camp where you both were learning how to fly f-14's for the first time. Maverick and you had met in the class room, the two of you working together on a project that helped show the instructor each of you we're ready to get into the cockpit. You fell in love with maverick's rebellious ways and flattery. The two of you would sneak out together after curfew and hit up all of the rest pubs in the area, drinking and dancing, and getting to know one another.

After graduating, the two of you got shipped off to different sides of the world. Maverick was working aboard an aircraft carrier in the Indian Ocean and you were off working at NAS north island, flying and performing work both on the ground and in the sky. Long distance was tough, but the two of you tried to keep in contact as best you could, but most of the time, both you and maverick were drawn away from the telephone with such busy schedules.

Only fate would allow you and maverick to reconnect a few years later at top gun. Now that the two of you were back together again and seeing each other on a regular basis, you decided maverick was it for you, he was the only person you ever wanted to be with. So, when one night, the two of you were out during the sunset, walking along the shore, and maverick asked, with an antique ring that used to belong to his mother, kneeling on the sand, telling you how beautiful you were and how lucky he was to have you back in his life again. "All I want in life is to be with you," he had said, "Will you marry me?" And of course you said yes.

Goose shook his head, patting maverick on the shoulder, "Congrats mav. And you too Glacier. You guys are both so cocky and bold I'm surprised mav didn't pop the question the second he saw you back here."

Maverick shook his head, rolling his eyes at goose.

"So is there going to be a party or anything? I better let Carole know, she's not going to believe it."

Silence cast over the room, "Goose," maverick said dryly, "You can't tell anyone about me and y/n just yet."

"Yeah," you said, taking over the conversation, "You know how the commanders felt about the two of us dating, could you imagine what they would say if they found out we were married?"

Goose nodded, "Alright. But man mav, you missed what could have been one hell of a bachelor party."

Maverick laughed, "I could only imagine!"

...

"Bravo is ready for takeoff," you said proudly through my headset to the tower, taking a quick glance back to my RIO, with callsign Rogue, who's given you the thumbs up.

"Permission to taxi Bravo," replied the man from the tower, his voice loud and scratchy on the radio, playing sternly through the ears of your helmet.

Under your command, your aircraft was beginning its trip to the runway, when out of the corner of your eye you noticed maverick ascending the steps into his aircraft, goose following from behind.

"Have a good flight Glacier," maverick said, giving you the thumbs up from his spot in his aircraft.

"Thanks Maverick," you said, the wheels of your aircraft just rolling onto the runway, "See you in the skies."

"God, you two are insufferable," Rogue has said to you with a smirk.

You rolled your eyes, "We try to be, Rogue."

With you in command, your plane began to jet forward, sending you swiftly into the air. The sudden acceleration made for in increase of g's, sending you flat back into your seat. You've been flying for abut five years now, and the gravitational-force of the plane taking off into the sky still sent you gasping for breath, although now, you knew how to handle it. You had built up an immunity to the g's, but that first one during each flight, drawing you straight back into your seat, still surprised you from time to time.

A rush of adrenaline was sent flying through your body as your plane made a rapid climb into the clouds, pulsing through into the clear skies ahead. You loved the way that flying made you feel, ever since you were a kid and you took your first ride in an airplane. You loved being able to look down on the world from your place high in the sky and soar above it all. It had been a tough journey to become a naval aviator, but it was all worth it when you could spend your days flying freely in the sky.

You were one of the few females on the base, but the only one enrolled in the top gun program. While other women worked as sailors, and instructors, and nurses, you were the only female top gun pilot. You had to work twice as hard to be taken seriously in your industry, and three times as hard to even receive an invitation to top gun.

The first day you drove on base, listening to uplifting rock songs on the radio, you felt that you were where you had always belonged. Finally, you could be up against other skilled pilots and you would also be improving your own flight tactics, strengthening your skills to become even better than you had been before.

You coasted the jet above the ocean, and with the help of Rogue's navigating, slowed your speed until the others met up with you over the hills along the sea.

Maverick and goose were performing a different exercise, so today it would be iceman and slider working with you and rogue to take down the bogey.

Iceman pulled up beside you and greeted you with a hand signal, a common one, signalling his readiness for the exercise.

"Lets work as a team and take this guy down," you said.

"Copy Bravo," he replied.

The two of you carried on ahead at a suitable speed, one fast enough to get out of dodge when the bogey would reveal himself, but slow enough to be able to look around for said competitor.

All of a sudden, the rush of a jet flew overhead, making your aircraft go unsteady, "Rogue," you called out, "Where's he headed?"

"Bogey is heading northeast at 480 knots, bring it up to 480 Glacier," Rogue said, clipping his breathing device on to better engage.

"Bringing her up. Iceman do you copy?"

"Affirmative Bravo. Taking the lead."

Fuck. There he goes again, trying to take over.

Men can be a nuisance sometimes, especially when they try to tell you that you're not good at what you do, or that you're un-suited for the role of a pilot strictly because you're a female. Iceman is a great guy, cocky as hell, but sometimes, I can tell that he would rather be in the lead instead of let a woman be in command.

"Copy ice," you replied, slightly defeated.

"Hey ice," rogue spoke up from the back, "Remember this is a joint mission. Both you and Glacier are in command. Work as a team."

A smile ran across your face as you quickly popped your mask off, "Thanks Rogue."

At the end of the day, its good to know your RIO has your back. At first, you were actually sort of nervous to be assigned a new RIO. You never know how the person flying with you will tolerate you or your flying techniques, but after some collaboration and understanding, Rogue and you turned out to make quite the team.

"Copy Rogue. En route to the bogey," iceman said clearly through the radio.

So, you let iceman take the lead, and you followed from behind, assisting the best you could.

"Increasing speed to 485, "Iceman said, realizing the bogey was increasing speed at a pace that was quicker than usual.

You followed suit, increasing your speed, keeping your eye on the instructors plane, keeping a safe distance between iceman, who has finally began to speed up and close in.

"What are you waiting for iceman?" You said over the radio, "Time is not our friend here."

"Cornering up," Iceman said, "I've got missile lock on him."

In front, you watched as Bandit took a steep dive towards the earth, the nose of his plane nearly vertical, avoiding the missile lock from your partner.

"Shit!" Iceman called out, rapidly changing the course of his flight pattern to chase after bandit.

"I've got you from the back ice, you are clear to close in," you spoke, catching your breath as your aircraft took a dive below.

"Too close for missiles, switching to guns," ice said, when all of a sudden, bandit made a straight climb at a gradual level, bringing his plane back up, higher than before.

"Fuck, not again!" Iceman said.

He had missed yet another shot. It was your turn to lead.

"Permission to lead iceman?" you asked, already preparing yourself to feel the rush of gravity sending you flat into your seat.

"Granted Bravo. Take the lead."

So, in an instant, you sent your jet flying vertical after bandit, how badly you wanted to catch up to him and be able to take the shot that would win you the exercise.

"Permission to increase speed if needed Glacier," Rogue said from the back seat, "he's going nearly vertical now."

Following the advice of your RIO, you increased the speed to 492 knots, which made you feel the power of your jet even more, the g's sending you back into your seat, your eyes struggling to keep open, your lungs struggling to breathe. But you needed to take a shot, so you used all concentration you had left and did your best to put missile lock on bandit.

Just as your eyes sloped shut, you saw the green box turn red, you had got missile lock on bandit, and then, as the sound in your ears started to ring and sound foreign, the colour running from your eyes, everything going spotty and white then black, you fell back into your seat, unaware of anything.

"Glacier!" Rogue called from the back seat, "GLACIER," he called agin loudly, "Shit, guys," he said into the microphone, "Glacier's out!"

Panic filled Rogue's voice and Iceman who was screaming your name through the radio, "Glacier is in trouble!" he said to bandit.

As you lay there, fully blacked out, your aircraft began to plummet towards the earth. Falling fast, the altitude decreasing rapidly without any pity.

"Glacier," Rogue called you again, "Altitude 9000, 8000. Wake up!"

"Do something bandit! They're going to crash!" Slider said over the radio.

"Ice, slider, stay back, I'm going to put missile lock on, we'll see if that can wake her up," bandit said over the radio, maneuvering his aircraft near yours, putting missile lock on your plane.

An earsplitting buzz filled the plane, and Rogue continued shouting your name, eager to wake you up. "Altitude 7000. 6000," he shouted, "5000, 4000!"

As he called out 3000, your eyes began to flit open, slowly and groggily. At first you couldn't hear a thing, but the screams of your RIO and the buzz of missile lock filled the air around you. Your eyes fully opened to see the ground approaching quicker than expected. "Holy Shit!"

Your plane was spilling out of control, it was up to you to regain it.

"She's re-engaging sir," Rogue called out.

Thinking quick, you fought the g's and brought your hands to the controls, pulling up into a flat flight pattern, gaining control of the aircraft. "Oh my god," you gasped, out of breath, scared shitless of what just happened.

"That's enough for today, let's head back to the base. All good to fly Bravo?" asked bandit.

You wiped the sweat on your forehead with the back of your palm, what the hell just happened?, "Affirmative bandit."

...

Once you had landed on the base, and parked your jet with precision, completing the uniformly straight row, you hopped out of our plane and scrambled down the flight of stairs quicker than you ever had before. You were upset, god how embarrassing was it to black out and nearly crash the jet.

"Lieutenant y/l/n!" Bandit called out, noticing you were already half way to the main building, "Wait up."

You waited for a couple seconds, nervously pacing back and forth, clutching your navy helmet in your hand, your face red and blotchy. "Sir," you greeted him "What is it?" you asked, when he finally caught up to you.

"I just wanted to say that wasn't your fault," he said stiffly, taking of his own helmet, "these things happen sometimes."

You nodded, god how you didn't want to be lectured by your instructor, not to mention the one who had been the most rigid about your flying and your personal choices involving maverick.

"Go take a shower and then just relax in your unit for a while. There is no need for you to finish the lesson today," the older man said firmly, "Take it easy."

Is he telling me to go home? God, no, I worked so hard to get here, I can't go back!

"Then we'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning."

Looking like a deer caught in the headlights, you shook your head laxly and replied with a very faint, very dry, "yes, sir."

On the walk back home, your thoughts filled your head with undesirable scenarios. Your a shit pilot. If you belonged here, you wouldn't have blacked out like that. the second you got to your apartment, a quaint condo just on the edge of the row of base housing that was overlooking the ocean, you threw off your flight suit, throwing your helmet to the floor and crawled into the shower, where you let the misty water run cooly over your head, filling your ears until all you could hear was the silence of the water, drowning out your unwanted thoughts.

You turned off the creaky faucet, and wrapped yourself in one of your white fluffy towels. Your hair was still very wet, and the water droplets trapped in your damp waves were slowly running down your back, trickling down your spine. You dried yourself the best you could with your bath towel, the fan on the ceiling in your bedroom helping you speed up the process, but making you chilled in the effort.

Still in a towel, you slumped down on your bed, staring endlessly on the ceiling, the same troubled thoughts filling your head like radio static. You were filled with regret and were left feeling like you didn't belong because of your mistake. how could I have been so stupid, you thought as you got dressed in a pair of black workout shirts and your top gun tee, which as soon as you had put it on, you wished you had grabbed something else.

why am I even here? its not like I deserve it after that mistake.

god all of the guys must think im an idiot. Rogue will probably never want to fly with me again.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. You didn't really want to see anyone right about now, but you thought you would at least go see who it was. You looked through the lookhole to find your husband, maverick standing there with a bouquet of tulips in his hand.

He knocked again, "I know you're in there y/n."

You collected your damp hair in your hand and brushed it behind your shoulder and then opened the door to find maverick there with a somber smile. "Hey," he said, "Can I come in?"

"Were married Pete," you said, "Of course you can come in."

He followed you into the kitchen and stood across from you as you relaxed into one of the two bar stools, setting his rose-tined flowers down on the counter. "I heard about what happened."

You looked away and didn't say anything, a common trait of yours was silence when you were upset, and not speaking for too long left you feeling numb.

"It can be scary when you loose sense of things up there," he said gently, taking your hand in his, caressing your thumb gently between his fingers. "Its happened to me before, and when I heard you black out on the radio, it was scary for me."

You looked at maverick sorrily, "mav. I don't want to talk about it right now. I don't want to think about such a bad pilot I am."

maverick signed, sitting down beside you, "Glacier," he begun, "Whatever you're thinking, whatever crap you're telling yourself, its not true."

You put your head in your hands, slumping over the counter, "Maybe I don't belong here?" you asked, "Maybe im not cut out to be at top gun. Maybe I should work a 9-5? be a secretary or something?"

Maverick shook his head, putting a hand on your back, rubbing in circular motions, "What do you say we go for a walk?" he asked, switching the path of the conversation.

You sat straighter, looking up at your husband, his green eyes, like stars in the night, gazing into yours lovingly. "Sure," you began, "But I'm going to need your jacket."

Maverick smirked, shrugging off his aviation jacket, one nearly identical to yours, but bigger and more comfortable. His bicep and pectoral muscles flexing in the act.

Maverick's jacket was warm and fresh up against your skin, and it had the pleasant woodsy sandalwood scent that belonged to your husband. It was a bit big on you, but that's what made it the most comfortable jacket you had access to.

You grabbed your aviators and keys and locked up, your hand intertwined with mavericks as you begun your walk.

You waked through the neighbourhood of houses, past the grocery outlet and the park until you reached the ocean. The sun was beginning its descent for the night, and the base was written in shades of tangerine and marigold.

"Want to sit down?" you asked maverick, "we could watch the sunset?"

Maverick looked around, down the beach to where Antonio's, the local bar was, "actually," he said, "I have something better in mind."

You followed maverick down the sand into Antonio's to find your classmates all standing around the main table which had some fries and other restaurant snacks on it. Each one of your classmates with a beer in their hands and a lax grin written across their faces, the same grin, each in a different font.

"Surprise!" they said, loud enough to excite you, but soft enough not to disturb the ambience of the bar.

You looked to maverick, who had a big grin written across his face.

"Maverick!" you said, "What is all of this?"

Goose stepped forward, "We all heard about what happened, and we thought that a recovery that quick from a blackout deserved a celebration!"

"And since I know that you mind tends to wander to the worst," maverick said, giving you a nudge with his elbow, "I suggested that the guys get something set up for you."

You pulled maverick into a hug, pressing your face against his, "thanks mav."

"You mean a lot to all of us," goose begun, "and your always there to help us out, both in the classroom and the air."

"You are a pretty great wingman," iceman said, "or would it be, wingwoman?" he laughed.

You rolled your eyes, "thanks guys." And you looked to your husband, who somehow had the time to set all of this up, "Thank you mav."