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ronwestbreeze · 2 years ago

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TO YOU , WORLDS AWAY : PART ONE : CHAPTER ELEVEN

pairing: jake sully x human!fem!reader

summary: we won...we won...

warnings: angst but that's to be expected in a battle...

word count: 4.7k

author's note: and this is the last chapter to part one! thank you all for staying so long to finish and hopefully you all will continue to stay for this story well into part two! so without further ado, chapter eleven!!

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When the morning came, the Sky People took flight. And you realized then, watching them take to the skies as if it was theirs to claim, that you had always belonged on land.

You were always meant to watch them fly, you were always meant to be the onlooker until the time came to shoot them out of the sky.

You were the hunter. They were the bids. Perhaps it was the other way around before. Then it would be fitting in this life to seek revenge, continuing the cycle until there was no more left in you. Maybe that was the meaning of life. Repeating, repeating, repeating, and repeating until there is nothing left. On this day, you would allow the cycle to continue just this one.

Maybe in your next life you’ll try something different.

Before they all took off for battle, you had been sleeping in the ship you and Trudy had arrived back at Hell’s Gate in. Trudy came back as early as she could to let you know that all the other pilots thought the ship you were in was damaged and she was moving it to have it fixed. But really she was hiding it in an empty hanger for you to later take off once you’ve finished planting the bombs.

“Thanks, Chacon.” You nod to her right after she explained the basics of controlling her Samson ship and handing you a stolen soldier’s uniform.

Trudy shrugged, “Yeah, yeah, just try to survive this, Doc. It’s gonna get ugly real soon.”

“I’m counting on it.”

After the fleet took off for the battle, you waited for a while in the ship, quietly counting to ten until finally you changed into the uniform and left to work.

Fortunately for you, it was an easy maneuver around Hell’s Gate without being stopped and questioned by a random soldier since a majority of them were out in the battlefield.

The first place you set your first bomb up at was the Armor Bay. This was one of their main sources of weapons and you had no doubt they used it to their advantage in the current battle. If anything, they probably had a greater advantage over the Na’vi because of the advanced technology. Which could possibly guarantee a win.

You tried not to think about that. You had faith in Jake and the others. The Na’vi were fierce and you had no doubt that they would fight until their last breath to win their land back once and for all. And you would give them the advantages that they need by cutting the RDA off at their roots.

The branches had already grown, yes, but it won’t matter in the end when the entire tree falls.

The second bomb would be placed where the barracks, the apartments, and all the living quarters were. Third and fourth were placed in one of the communications towers that linked the main base to the others out on the battlefield.. If a couple of them were to fall, the rest would go down with it from the impact.

You saved the last four for the main building where everything took place. That was their source of communication to the fleet, their eyes on the battle to watch and cheer as their side succeeded. Entering the building was a bit difficult. You had to avoid the cameras, make sure your face wouldn’t be caught. You knew the Ops Center was the main one you wanted to hit but you couldn’t exactly just waltz in there, place the bomb, and then leave without anyone noticing.

Instead, you had to be a bit more strategic about your placement. So, you found a tunnel that led to the Operations Center and placed the sixth one in a vent. A soldier had walked by and you ducked your head down to pass him, not before snatching his radio without him noticing. The last two were placed in some of the labs.

Now you were back in Trudy’s Samson with the Key and the radio in your hands. From the radio you could hear what was going on in the battlefield as different voices came in and out, reporting updates back to the Operations Center. Everything in you made you want to push the button and get on the ship and leave them all to die, giving them no time to realize what was happening.

But there was a part of you that hesitated. There were still good people here, good people like Max Patel trying to help your side win. And then there was Quaritch’s son. He was still here somewhere in Hell’s Gate. Why the bastard kept the baby here was beyond you but it stopped you nonetheless.

In a way you didn’t owe them anything, you didn’t owe them your sympathy. But at the same time that little baby didn’t ask to be born in all of this. Didn’t ask to die because of his parents’ actions.

And because of this, it led you to bring the radio to your lips and form the next words that fell from your mouth.

“Attention Hell’s Gate. To those who are familiar with me, I need no introduction. To those who haven’t heard of me, my name is Dr. Y/N L/N. I’m gonna cut to the chase and let y’all know I’ve planted eight bombs that would go off at any second. Now, I am being merciful—even though it is the last thing any of you deserve—I will be giving you a fifteen minute head start to pack your shit up and leave Pandora for good. If you don’t, well, we’ll all meet each other in hell hopefully.”

Immediately there was static in the radio until Parker’s voice came through, “Who the hell do you think you are?! You have no authority to give any orders, much less threaten us—I need soldiers out there finding her and arresting her now!”

You sighed, “I thought you’d say that, Parker.”

Getting off the ship, you fished out the Key, fixing the settings a bit before pointing it toward the direction of the communications tower. Once you pressed the button, nothing happened for a few seconds.

In the next second, one of the towers exploded, shaking the ground beneath you. Even the sheer force of it nearly knocked you over from where you stood in the hangar. The radio glitched with voices cutting in and out, quickly losing signal with each other. And before you lost signal, you said to Parker.

“Fourteen minutes, Selfridge. Make it count.” You dropped the radio to the ground, stomped on it until it was broken into pathetic pieces, and set your watch to fourteen minutes.

You went back onto the Samson and sat there. Waiting.

A part of you knew Parker wouldn’t listen despite the display you had just shown. Hell, he might’ve been sending people out now to find the bombs and unarm them. Good thing it wasn’t designed to be unarmed. Good thing you had wasted two years of your life perfecting the perfect death trap. Good thing.

Twelve minutes.

“You are too smart to be doing this, Y/N.”

You were eleven when your mother told you this.

One of the very few conversations you did have with her. And most of the time it was her scolding you. Really, it was your own fault. At the time, you thought that acting out—especially in school—would’ve gotten her attention. Would have gotten her to pay more attention to you, would have gotten her to finally be a mother. Be there.

But instead it was always a bother, as if she was doing you a favor by taking time out of her day to pick you up. That you should be so lucky to see your own mother.

“Punching some stupid boy just because you lost your temper? I did not raise you to act so foolishly!” She scolded you while her fingers quickly moved across her phone screen.

You didn’t raise me at all, was what sat at the tip of your tongue. But it never came out. You never said anything, really.

After finishing with whatever it was that was far more important on her phone than speaking with her own child, your mother sighed exhaustedly. “You are too much sometimes…too much like him….just too much…”

You didn’t mean to be too much. All you wanted was to just be enough.

Ten minutes.

You were eight when you asked your father to teach you how to fight.

“I don’t know, kiddo.” He would respond. Though at the time, you never realized how truly tired he always looked. How numb he had become. You were still trapped in your own childlike ignorance. You were always looking at him as some type of hero when really you were just too young, too naïve, too late to see his humanity. “It takes a lot of discipline and…well, I want you to be a kid first before you start worrying about that stuff.”

“But I don’t want to be just a kid!” You’d whine. “I wanna be tough and strong like you, Dad! I want to be able to defend myself against the mean kids at school.”

“Sometimes, you just have to walk away, kid. Let it go—”

“But that doesn’t always work!” You frowned, pleadingly. “They always come back to pick on me. No matter how many times I try to ignore them, they always come back. I want to fight them, Dad! I want to show them they can’t mess with me anymore!”

You remembered pleading with him, you remembered practically begging him.

He never did though. There was never enough time with him.

It always seemed like you never had enough time with the people that you loved.

Seven minutes.

You were fourteen when Quaritch finally showed you how to fight.

After another takedown, you lay there, wincing from the sourness and the growing bruise at the side of your face. You saw through your blurred vision, your opponent standing over you. And then seconds later Quaritch appeared, shaking his head.

“You keep leaving him open to your weakness, kid. You’d be dead in seconds in a real fight.”

“Yeah, yeah,” You grumbled from the floor. Eventually, you slowly sat up trying not to cringe when your side stung at your sudden movement. “I wanna go again.”

Quaritch laughed, “Child prodigy in brains yet not the brightest at times. You’re down, kid. There is no going again.”

You shook your head stubbornly, “You taught me that giving up was the coward’s way. That they weren’t a real soldier.”

“You’re not a soldier, kid.”

“But I’m not a coward either.” You pushed yourself to your feet, ignoring the frown from Quaritch as you raised your fists up to your opponent again. “We’re going again. Hit me.” Your opponent glanced toward Quaritch, your jaw tightened. “Hit me!”

A smirk grew onto the man’s face, “Atta girl.” He nodded toward your opponent. “Go at it. Let’s see how long she stays standing this time.”

Five minutes.

Through one of the windows of the Samson, you spotted a few people loading onto the last of the Valkyries. It seemed some of them were heeding your warning. Perhaps Max was among them, getting the most people out that he could.

Your grip on the Key tightened. Your heart pounding against your chest. The battle was still going though. Time had to go by faster. You needed to give the others an advantage. And it was hard too because now that the communications towers were destroyed, you were left in the dark about the battle as much as the others.

All you had was fire and a prayer to Eywa.

You were never one to be religious.

Four minutes.

“You have so much anger in you.” Sylwanin told you once.

It had to have been around the time Grace’s school was still open. When you were in your avatar every chance you got. When Sylwanin was alive and well, when her kind smile was still fresh in your mind. When the children were all so lively and excited to come.

You frowned at her as the both of you walked along the path in the forest leading back to the school. “I’m not angry.”

Sylwanin hummed. “You've gotten better with our language. Sa’nok has been teaching you, yes?”

Sa’nok? Right, that was what they called Grace sometimes. What did it mean again? “Yes. I’m still rusty though…” Your mind was still on her previous comment. “Why do you think I’m angry?”

She shrugged as she knelt down toward the ground, running her fingers through the dirt. “Tsu’tey has it too. Toward the Sky People. Yours is similar to his anger.” She then looked up at you curiously. “Tell me, tsmuke. Why are you angry with your own kind?”

“Are you not?” You asked, furrowing your brows. You hugged yourself. Back then it still felt strange being in your avatar’s body. Getting used to the new height, the blue skin rather than your usual skin color, the long braid. It was still a lot to get used to.

“Of course I am. They’ve invaded my home and are determined to make it their own. It is not right.” You saw the same fierceness in her eyes that you’d see in Tsu’tey whenever he spoke of the Sky People. “But…I understand that there are good ones among the demons.” She smiled up at you. “You are good, tsmuke.”

You frowned, heart feeling heavy. “B-But I am Sky People. How can you see me as good?”

“Because you are my friend, Y/N.” Sylwanin told you in English, surprising you. “And you have good heart. Strong heart.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

Sylwanin rolled her eyes before standing, “You never do. I can not show you what you refuse to see, tsmuke.” She tugged at your arm toward the direction of where the school was. “Come, let’s go before sa’nok becomes worried.”

You furrowed your brows, “Why do you call Dr. Augustine sa’nok?”

“You don’t?”

“No… I don’t know what it means.”

Sylwanin shook her head as the two of you continued walking, “The children see her as a mother. Sa’nok.”

Oh.

You remembered feeling warm when you learned of that. Whenever they called Grace sa’nok, you had already assumed it was some sort of term of endearment in their language. You just never knew what it meant until now.

Sa’nok. What a fitting title.

Two minutes.

You spotted the soldiers before the bullets came flying.

You dived into the back of the ship as they began shooting, making sure your mask was on straight and hadn’t gotten hit by any stray bullets. Quickly, you crawled toward the cockpit, keeping your head down whenever a bullet came too close to hitting you.

Once you reached the cockpit, you threw yourself into the pilot’s seat. Remembering what Trudy had shown you and starting the Samson.

“She’s on the ship!” You hear one of them shout from outside.

“She ain’t goin’ nowhere!”

One minute—

“Ah fuck it.” You mumbled. The Samson was off the ground and flying out of the hangar. Because you weren’t a pilot, the ship swerved a bit on the lift off, nearly running into the soldiers that were shooting at you. Fortunately, that gave you enough time to grab the Key, switch the settings back to what you had planned and pressed the button.

Quickly, you steered the ship up toward the sky.

You felt the force before you saw the orange colors rising to the sky.

From high above, you never saw the explosion but you saw the aftermath of it. There was so much smoke and fire, so much destruction. Hell’s Gate was barely recognizable. You hoped this was enough. You hoped it was all worth it.

Grace had begged you. And you intended to try. You really wanted to try. Even after all of this, even if she doubted it, even if it was dangerous. You wanted to try.

Then again, you were never one to listen to her orders. Not all of it at least.

At least it wouldn’t be your fault this time.

You saw the ship behind you. Some of it was on fire but it was still flying fine. Its guns were now pointed at you.

“Damn it.” You sighed tiredly. “You guys just won’t make this easy on me.”

The guns went blazing toward you. With every bit of your strength, you swerved the ship out of the way of the blasts. The smoke made it difficult to see the other ship which meant the ship couldn’t really see you either. But unfortunately, that didn’t stop it from shooting aimlessly.

Suddenly, the ship’s radio came to life. It was the only communications link that was still intact, but only between all the other ships, not to Hell’s Gate.

“Y/N.” Quaritch voice cut through the static radio. Your jaw tightened. “I know you can hear me.”

You swerved the ship out of the way of another round of bullets flying your way.

“That little stunt you pulled with the communications tower? Could very well get you killed so I suggest you turn yourself in before things get worse for you.”

For a moment, while trying to steer the ship away from the destruction, you wondered if he knew the extent of what you did. That he’d be this lenient with you if he had known that you were the cause of the destruction to Hell’s Gate.

There were muffled shouts and crashes you heard from his side. But it sounded further away, almost as if he was in some sort of isolated room while he talked directly to you.

His voice sounded lower, quieter when he continued, “It’s not too late for you, Y/N. Don’t be like your foolish father. Don’t get yourself killed over this. Don’t be a fucking—”

You switched the radio off, eyes welling with tears.

Stop pretending you care. Stop fucking pretending—

The right wing was suddenly hit, startling you out of your swimming thoughts. You had barely made it away from Hell’s Gate and the ship that had been shooting at you had reappeared from the smoke and was now right behind you, shooting at your ship. The glass broke from the shots and the right wing had caught fire.

You hadn’t been thinking. The other ship was at your side now and since yours was already going down you, in your last attempt, swerved your ship into theirs. Taking it down with you.

Smoke was the last thing you saw.

For the longest time, you weren’t really sure what death felt like when it came. You often wondered this when your father died. What did he feel when he knew he was going to die? What did your mother see before death had claimed her? Did Sylwanin know that she would die? Was Grace truly ready to leave?

Did they feel alone? Did they cry once they realized…?

For this you did not cry.

Instead your smile was gasoline.

And the fire followed.

The radio that connected him to you had suddenly gone dead. Miles Quaritch did not have enough time to figure out what that meant.

One of the wings on the C-21 Dragon had just been blown off by Jake Sully. Most of his men were now dying. They had only been winning seconds before. All he did know was that he had to finish this, he had to put an end to that traitor for good.

Later he would find you. Later.

Your mask had been broken before. You could’ve sworn…

The fire and dying trees surrounded your weakening vision. The heat penetrating your skin harshly.

You were dying.

Was it supposed to be this painful? You couldn’t feel your right leg…

Tsu’tey had been badly injured. A few Na’vi warriors had told Jake this soon after his fight with Quaritch. And now he and Neytiri were both running through the forest, in search of the fallen warrior.

Some of him hoped it wasn’t severe, and wasn't lethal. For your sake. Jake had watched you lose Grace, and had lost so many people before. He hoped they didn’t lose another.

But hope in war was that of a myth.

When Jake saw Tsu’tey, his chest tightened. He was bleeding badly when Jake knelt down next to him. They both knew right here right now that he wasn’t going to make it. That it was too great of a wound to survive.

“Oel ngati kameie, Jakesully.” Tsu’tey croaked upon seeing him.

Jake nodded and whispered, “I see you, brother.”

Tsu’tey breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath while holding his chest where most of the blood had come from. “A-Are The People safe?”

“Yes, yes, they’re safe.” Jake nodded reassuringly to him.

Tsu’tey winced, coughing, “I can’t….I cannot lead the People. Y-You must lead them, Jakesully.”

It felt as if the whole world now looked upon Jake Sully. This wasn’t what he expected nor really wanted. All he wanted was for them to win this war. To win against the Sky People. Jake was not fit to lead a clan…he wasn’t, right?

Jake chuckled in disbelief at the request, “I'm not officer material.”

“It is decided.” Tsu’tey insisted weakly before grabbing onto Jake’s hand, guiding it toward his knife to bring it out. “Now do the duty of Olo'eyktan.”

Jake shook his head, wanting to drop the knife from his hand right then and there. “I will not kill you—”

“It is the way!” Tsu’tey continued firmly, squeezing Jake’s hand.

But Jake continued shaking his head, “I can’t—brother—I cannot kill you…” His voice was barely above a whisper. “She will not forgive me if I do this.”

Hearing this, Neytiri frowned sadly, placing a hand on Tsu’tey’s shoulder. Jake half expected the warrior to continue and insist he do it. Half of him didn’t think Tsu’tey heard him at all when he mentioned you and how worried he was of your reaction to this. You’ve already lost so much.

But the way Tsu’tey smiled, softly and almost fondly, laid what growing fears Jake had to rest. “I know my tsmuke. You know her. She will forgive….And it is good…I will be remembered. I fought... with Toruk Makto! And we were brothers. And he... was my last shadow….” There would be no other choice then. There was no changing a dying man’s last wish. A warrior at that. And it was just as he had said, it is the way. Jake spent a long time with them to know that he could not go against it. Not after all of this. Not after all he had been taught.

There was a look of peace on Tsu’tey’s face as he lied his head back against the rock, waiting for Jake to finish it. And before Jake plunged the knife into him, he heard him quietly say to himself, a sad look suddenly falling on his face.

“Ah, I do not feel her anymore…”

Oel ngati kameie, ma tsmukan, ulte ngaru seiyi irayo. Ngari hu Eywa salew tirea, tokx 'ì'awn slu Na'viyä hapxì.

Tsu’tey te Rongloa Ateyitan was now with Eywa. Another life lost. And now the role of Olo’eyktan had fallen onto his shoulders. The People now looked to him as their leader. Toruk Makto.

But all he could think about was you.

I do not feel her anymore.

Jake raised his head, realization hitting him like a heavy wave. His chest tightening.

He looked at the others with wide eyes.

“Where’s Y/N?”

Hell’s Gate was destroyed. When Jake had led most of the clan back there to send the rest of the aliens back to their dying planet, the place was unrecognizable. There were still surviving aliens, some badly injured from the attack while others were well enough to be walked toward the shuttles that would lead them off of Pandora.

Jake had sent a few warriors out to search for you when your body was not discovered among the dead. After Max told him what happened, what you had done, Jake didn’t really know what to think. He couldn’t think. All he wanted was the RDA off the planet and to find you safe and sound somewhere, waiting for him to find you.

You being dead wasn’t an option. He simply couldn’t imagine that. You were too strong, too unkillable in his eyes. Perhaps he was stretching his hope too thin, perhaps he had gained a bit of naivety.

But you were not dead. You were not.

Some of what was left of Hell’s Gate was salvageable. The Avatar Compound, the incubators, the main link room. All of it was untouched by you. And of course it had.

Two ships were found just a few miles outside of Hell’s Gate. Both horribly damaged. One body, too unrecognizably burnt to tell who it belonged to. Jake just hoped it didn’t belong to you.

That same night he found your avatar still at the Tree of Souls. Jake got closer to find it still lying limp there, no sign of your consciousness attached to it. Just the avatar. Empty. Even when he knelt down and held your avatar in his arms it felt nothing like you. Just cold and lifeless.

He couldn’t imagine your human body like this. He couldn’t.

All he could do was gently caress your avatar’s cheek with his thumb, wondering if he should accept defeat. Wondering if it was too late.

Wondering if you all really had very little time in the end.

“Don’t burn the damn toast, Tinkers!” Grace scolded when she joined you at the stove.

You frowned, “I’m literally not! You haven’t even given me a chance yet!”

“I told you not to leave her alone with the breakfast again.” You heard Jake mutter causing you to glare over at him. He smirked when he saw your agitated face, “Last time that happened she nearly burned the whole place down.”

“Nobody asked you, Puppet.”

“Place nice, Tinkers.”

“Yeah, play nice Tinkers.”

You scowled at Jake, trying not to ignore the way your face grew hot when he looked up at you with a big smile. It was supposed to be provoking, supposed to get on your nerves. But lately, you couldn’t help but want to return those smiles at one point.

Right now you wouldn’t. No, you were far too stubborn right now to do so.

Norm then entered, looking like had just rolled out of bed. He scrunched up his nose, “What’s burning?”

“It’s not burning!” You snapped as Jake laughed.

Grace nudged your shoulder, “Well, it will burn once you stop tryin’ to prove to them how you’re totally not a bad cook.”

“Ugh! You’re distracting me.”

“You’re supposed to have iron focus. Which is something you should be familiar with, child prodigy.” Grace smirked teasingly at you. She then nodded toward the table Jake was at, “Go sit, I’ll finish up.”

You grumbled, “You’re sure.”

“Oh definitely.”

“Fuck you.”

Grace grinned as you went and slumped down in one of the empty chairs. Jake was grinning at you, “Fuck you too, Sully.”

But the stupid grin wouldn’t wipe off his face, “Hey, don’t get all pouty. At least you didn’t burn the kitchen again.”

You rolled your eyes, “Like you could do better.”

“Probably could. How would that make you feel?”

You tried to keep glaring at him, keep your scowling mask up. But the way he titled his head at you—you’ve grown to find it cute the past couple of months—or the simple way he looked at you made your resolve falter just a bit. These days, for some reason you couldn’t remain angry or annoyed with him. Not for long at least.

“I hate you.” You mumble out, fighting back a smile.

And there was his white smile again, “Or so you keep tellin’ me.”

Norm groaned, throwing his head back, “I hate you both.”

Grace turned back to face you all, “Breakfast is ready!”

Jake held your avatar close to him. Under the eyes of the spirits he blinked away tears.

“We won, Y/N,” He whispered, pulling your face into his chest as he continued whispering, “We won…”

END OF PART ONE

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#to you worlds away #avatar jake sully x reader #avatar jake #avatar jake sully #jake sully #jake sully x reader #avatar way of water #avatar 2 #avatar the way of water #atwow #tsu'tey #miles quaritch #neytiri #grace augustine #norm spellman

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whatsthethinking · 1 year ago

Text

Beauty and the Beast (2)

Jake Sully x Fem!Reader

All Jake wants is a chance to prove that he’s good enough.

↦ Word count: 3.5k

↦ Warning: Nothing that I caught but let me know if there is,, ooc Tsu'tey

↦ Note: Bold italics = speaking Na’vi.

↦ Part 2 of ?

[Part 1] ⟡ [Part 3]

The move from Hell’s Gate to Site 26 was as hectic as Jake expected. Especially with Grace watching his every move. As Norm and Trudy were loading the rotorcraft and Grace had her back turned, Jake was pulled to the side by Quaritch who asked, demanded, that Jake continue to keep giving updates on the Na’vi along with hinting that he will be watching any vlogs he records. Jake halfheartedly agreed as he felt eyes lingering on him.

“So, where we going?” Jake questioned, removing his bag.

“There’s a mobile link up at Site 26, way up in the mountains,” Grace replied, not looking up from whatever was on the desk.

“The Hallelujah Mountains?” Norm’s voice cut through the air, laced with curiosity and wonder.

“That’s right.”

“Seriously? Are you serious?”

Yeah,” Grace confirmed.

Jake looked at Norm, confusion on his face as he waited for an explanation.

“The legendary mountains of Pandora?” Jake continued to look blankly which seemed to upset Norm further. “Useless. Maybe you should stay here.” With that, Norm walked off with Jace close behind, rolling his eyes.

The skies of Pandora were clear, with barely any clouds. Looking down, Jake was fascinated by how the landscape changed. From the grey grounds and smoke fumes surrounding Hell’s Gate to the luscious green forests. Seeing the change, an unusual feeling settled in his chest, one that he would liken to guilt. The guilt of what he became a part of.

Suddenly, Trudy jerked the aircraft to the side slightly. Grace looked out of the side. The wind tousled her hair. She nodded her head toward a group of purple flying creatures passing by. “The Na’vi call them Fkio, it’s rare to see them flying this far from the wetlands. They must be migrating.”

Norm looked ecstatic hearing this information, Trudy did too. Jake hummed in interest as he looked out beside him.

“We’re getting close,” Grace announced.

“Yeah,” Trudy agreed, with a chuckle, “look at my instruments.”

Suddenly, it was as though all the clouds appeared at once. Trudy announced that the aircraft had to fly blind which caused the look of excitement to vanish from Norm’s face as it paled. As Trudy broke through the clouds, the sun hit Jake’s face and he was presented with a sight he doubted he would have thought of on a good day.

“Oh, my, god,” Norm managed to articulate as Trudy flew between two enormous mountains. Trudy had made a comment that went unnoticed as everyone drank in the sight.

“If you behave, I’m sure y/n will give you a tour.” Jake scoffed at Norm’s mumbling, shaking his head and continued to watch the mountains as they passed by.

–

As Jake got out of the aircraft and into his wheelchair. He paused to take a look around. The sheer scale of everything around him was breathtaking yet intimidating. There was no feeling like it.

Being exposed to Pandora without his avatar was a daunting experience for Jake. He felt exposed, vulnerable. As much as he was enjoying the sites, Jake was glad to be getting inside.

“Catch up, Jake.” Trudy shouted ahead of him, “You have an important date!”. Jake’s lip quirked up at the side as he slowly rolled himself forward. The terrain proved to not be that wheelchair friendly but with a lot of upper body strength, Jake managed to get himself into the lab and was greeted to the site of Grace marching around checking all the equipment.

“Your beds over there, put your stuff down and come eat,” Grace instructed, not giving him a second look.

Jake followed her orders and threw his bag onto an empty bed and rolled his way in between Grace and Trudy. The group sat and ate in silence, listening to nature just outside of the window. A complete change to sitting in Hell’s Gate, listening to the mines drilling away, the consistent scratching of the speakers overhead.

“So…” Jake started, dragging out the vowel, “How do I get y/n to like me?” Jake spooned what he thinks is soup into his mouth, and when he didn’t get a response, he looked up to see Grace, Norm and Trudy looking at him with unrecognisable expressions, “What?”

“Why do you wanna know that?” Norm questioned, his voice having a certain edge to it.

“I don’t wanna piss her off and get dropped again.” Jake shrugged, “I could use all the help I can get.”

“I’m not telling you how to butter her up.” Grace started, “You need to get her to like her on your own.”

“One little hint won’t hurt though, will it?”

Grace sighed and put down her spoon, her face growing serious. Jake was sure he was about to be scolded again. “Just act like you want to be there, listen to her. The rest will come naturally. Y/n’s a good girl, she’ll make sure you’ll learn something.” Grace paused to look at her watch, “Right, you’ve got 20 minutes until you need to be in your avatar. Finish eating.”

Jake nodded and focused on eating, taking in Grace’s advice.

–

Y/n sat patiently at the base of Home Tree waiting for Jake to wake up, she had gone to check on his avatar body not too long ago but she got no response. For the first time in a long time, y/n felt nervous. She had felt it during the night which kept her awake and the feeling had carried over into the next day.

Y/n felt as though she was suddenly under pressure to make sure Jake learnt enough so that he could be accepted by her people. She felt like not only was she doing this for Jake but for Grace too.

Y/n sighed, crouching beside the skull of Toruk, she wasn't sure how long she had been waiting but boredom was starting to set in. She watched the different clan members go about their day, some asking if she would play with them which she softly declined stating that she was busy, “You don’t look very busy.”

“Not right now, but I will be.”

“Please y/n.” The children pleaded in unison, y/n was about to agree since she wasn’t sure when Jake would turn up but she was stopped by the sound of someone stumbling down the stairs to her right.

“Hi. Sorry, I'm late.” Jake apologised, coming to y/n’s side, “it won’t happen again.”

Standing up gracefully, y/n nodded, dismissing his apology, “No need to worry. Shall we go?”

“But y/n.” One of the children voiced, standing between her and Jake. Y/n reassured them that they could all play together when she got back and with some convincing the children agreed.

–

As they left Home Tree, Jake caught Neytiri’s eye and looked down sheepishly, feeling the disapproval of him rolling off of her in waves.

Y/n and Jake walked in silence, side by side. Jake noticed that wherever they were heading was becoming less and less populated.

“Where are we heading?” Jake asked nervously, “Shouldn’t we be heading to where all the training is done?”

“We will get there,” y/n started, brushing away a large leaf that was in their path, “but we should get to know each other first, shouldn’t we?”

“Uh, yeah. We should.” Jake agreed awkwardly.

It was silent before y/n started telling Jake what she enjoyed, “there is so much to, so many people to meet. I love the forest, it is home but there is so much to explore.”, the passion was evident in y/n’s voice as she explained this to Jake. It was clear that y/n had a thirst for life, something Jake was yet to feel.

“What do you like to do?”

This stumped Jake, what did he like to do? If he really thought about it, he didn’t really like anything. He wasn’t good at anything. So in response, all Jake could do was shrug.

“What does that mean?” Y/n voice was laced with curiosity as she mimicked his action, “You must like to do something? You work with ma sa’nok, so you must like flowers?”

“Ma who?” Jake questioned but was met with a shrug from y/n, a small smile on her face. “But no. I don’t really like flowers.” Jake admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Oh… So why are you here? Working with people who like flowers if you don’t?”

Jake hesitated before he answered, “My brother died? And they needed someone to take his place and since we’re identical twins, I was their first option.”

“What is a idenical twin?”

“Identical,” Jake corrected, “it is when two children are born at the same time.”

“Hm, we don’t have that here. Do you have that a lot on Earth?”

“I think so. My dad was a twin and so was his dad. I guess if I ever have kids, they might be twins too.”

“Would you like that? To have children? Twins?”

“I think so, I don’t think I’d be the best dad though. What about you? Do you want kids?”

“I would like to travel more before I find my mate and have children. I would like to show my children this world…” Jake watched as a smile danced onto y/n’s face which made him smile also, but he wondered why he was discussing the idea of having children with a stranger from another planet but it felt right.

“So, what has Neytiri taught you?” Y/n questioned.

“Shooting and climbing? Both I’m bad at.” Jake admitted with a chuckle. “I also tried riding a direhorse but I landed face-first in the mud every time.”

Y/n looked to the ground and watched Jake’s feet as he spoke, she noticed that he slightly dragged his feet. So she stopped, allowing him to walk ahead slightly. Once Jake noticed, he turned around, an eyebrow raised, “are we stopping?”

“No, no. I am just watching. I think we should work on pon.”

“Pon? I don’t know what you mean?”

“This,” y/n stretched her arms out and took a few steps forward until they were an arm’s length away from one another, “like this.”

“Balance?”

“You walk as though you’ve only just gotten your legs. I hear you before I see you.”

“You’re partially correct,” Jake mumbled.

Jake stood awkwardly as y/n circled him. She stood behind him and put one of her hands on his shoulder and one on his lower back, “stand straighter and when you walk, do not drag your feet, it is noisy.” Jake took in the correction and the two set off again.

For the next hour or so, the pair spent just walking directionless. Y/n would often correct his posture and point out different plants or animals they came across. It was refreshing. Jake found it comforting that they hadn’t started with anything extreme and that if he asked to take a break, y/n would stop without any questions.

Jake became lost in thought, thinking about what he was going to tell Quaritch when he demanded an update and hadn’t noticed that y/n was no longer by his side until he reached a body of water surrounded by twisted vines and branches. Jake spun on the spot but could not see y/n anywhere. A part of him felt concerned, had something happened and he didn’t notice? Another part of him knew that if something did happen, y/n would be able to defend herself. But overall, Jake was lost. Had y/n abandoned him? Did he do something wrong?

As Jake was about to leave, and retrace his steps, he heard rustling behind him.

“Come on Jake, catch up!”

Jake watched as y/n emerged on the other side of the lake, a smile decorating her face.

“Across this?” Jake pointed to the narrow tree trunk beside him, it stretched the whole way across but did not look like it would be strong enough to support his weight.

“Yes, come on!”

Jake hesitated, but stepped up to it, walking across. He held his arms out to the sides for balance but kept his eyes down, making sure he didn't fall off the edge.

“Eyes up!”

Jake followed the instruction but as soon as he did, he lost his footing and toppled off of the side, straight into the water. As he resurfaced, wiping his eyes, he could hear the sound of laughter. He looked up to see y/n covering her mouth. Jake chuckled standing to his full height, the water settling just below his waist. Jake slowly waded through the water to the shore where y/n was still laughing quietly.

“Where did you go?” He questioned, brushing away the wet hair falling into his face. “How did you get over here so fast?”

“I’m sorry, Jake.” y/n began with a giggle, “You were doing so well with your walking, I didn't want to interrupt. And I walked. Up there.” Y/n pointed above their heads where a large winding tree trunk stretched across. “I was watching you, I won’t let anything eat you before your lessons are over.”

“How lovely of you,” Jake responded sarcastically, y/n nodded along, ignoring his comment. Jake wondered if she even knew what sarcasm was.

“Shall we try again?” Y/n asked enthusiastically, reaching forward to brush wet leaves and grass off Jake’s arm. “I won’t leave you this time.”

“What happened to just walking?” Jake’s hand followed the path that y/n’s had taken, “that was more than walking.”

“We can do more walking later, I want to see more of your, uh, balance. You will need it later.”

So Jake tried again, he walked along the tree, hands out to his side, and once again as soon as he looked ahead and not down at his feet. He landed in the water with y/n laughing above him.

–

Norm shuffled around at his new desk, trying to push down the ever-growing feeling of envy that would bubble to the surface every time he thought about Jake being taught the ways of the Omatikaya. To him, it wasn’t fair. Norm had spent years upon years studying and learning about the Na’vi and put everything on hold to come all the way to Pandora but it was Jake who was given the experience. Norm knew that Jake didn’t come to Pandora for research and science and yet he is the one getting the best benefits.

Lost in his jealous thoughts, Norm had knocked a stack of Grace’s notebooks to the floor. He quickly dropped down and began to gather them before Grace came back inside to see the mess he had caused. As he reached for the final spiral notebook, a handmade envelope fell out. Norm stared at it before picking it up cautiously. He turned it over to read ‘y/n’s Iknimaya, first try ✓, June 13th, 2144’. Now he was curious.

Standing to his full height and quickly looking over his shoulder to check if anyone was approaching when he spotted Grace speaking animatedly with Trudy, he took his chance and opened the envelope. Sitting neatly inside was a card that held 4 photographs, all showcasing y/n different other Na’vi from the clan.

The first and second photos showed y/n standing with who Norm assumed was Tsu’tey and another girl he did not recognise. He turned it over and saw Grace’s writing in the middle, ‘y/n, Tsu’tey, Sylwanin :)”

The third photograph was of y/n and an older Na’vi man, comparing the faces, Norm assumes that this was y/n’s father. The proud look on his face helped him conclude this.

The last photograph showed y/n and Grace in her avatar. Y/n was on Grace’s back with a large smile on her face, Grace had one to match. There was a certain look on Grace’s face, it matched the man in the previous photo.

“What are you doing?” Norm was started by the voice behind him and almost dropped the envelope again.

“Nothing, nothing.” Norm cleared his throat, placing the envelope on the desk, “it fell and uh.”

Grace nodded, walking forward and putting the gifted shell in the corner. She then picked up the envelope, took out the card and opened it for Norm to see.

“Thank for beliving in my.” Written somewhat messily in pencil.

“Y/n made me this card the day after she passed her iknimaya, she was so happy when she tamed her ikran, she couldn't wait to take to the sky and explore. She was so young, one of the youngest.”

“Wow, did you watch?”

“I did, she begged me to be there. But I would've gone regardless.”

“What was it like? To watch?”

“It was,” Grace paused as she thought back to the rite of passage, “I was worried for her, scared even. She had worked so hard towards it, preparing almost every waking moment but she was so young. Just about to turn 12. But watching her complete it, tame her ikran and fly for the first time without her father, it was breathtaking to see.” The fondness in Grace’s voice was easily detected. “I’m so proud of her.”

Norm couldn’t hold his tongue, looking over in the direction of Jake’s linkpod, “will Jake get to do his iknimaya?”

“With y/n as his teacher, I’m sure she will consider preparing him for it.”

“Oh.” Norm’s shoulders deflated at the thought of Jake gaining another experience from his time on Pandora, Grace must’ve seen his face fall because she placed a gentle arm, “Don’t feel too discouraged at this, Jake’s a fool and somehow got lucky. I’m sure your time will come.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah, I don’t see why not. Y/n will most likely come here soon, you can ask her to show you around.”

“Really?” Norm’s face seemed to brighten.

“Y/n is a sweet girl and she loves to make friends so I’m sure she would be happy to.”

Norm opened his mouth to ask a question about Grace’s relationship with the Na’vi but he didn't think it would be appropriate just yet since they did not know each other very well. Instead, he nodded with a smile before going back to organising his desk.

—

After a long afternoon of walking and falling into the water, Jake and y/n had moved to y/n testing his balance while running, well jogging. Jake had found this much harder, tripping over his feet any time the terrain changed which y/n may’ve tried to hide her laugher at.

Overall, Jake would say that this had been the best day he’s had in the Pandora forest this far but of course, good things must come to an end.

“We can meet tomorrow? Get you running higher off of the ground?”

“Ugh. So much fitness.” Jake joked, bringing a smile to y/n’s face, “My feet hurt.”

“Stop whining, you sound like a baby.” Y/n poked Jake’s arm as they went their separate ways.

“See you tomorrow, y/n.”

“Bye bye, Jake.” And with that, y/n was gone, disappearing into the crowd. Jake manoeuvred his way around the edges, being stopped by a clan elder as they placed a wrapped leaf package into his hand, assuming its food.

Jake made his way back to his hammock, sitting on the branch overhead and ate the food in the leaf, not questioning what it was.

“Jake Sully,” Neytiri appeared almost out of nowhere, “y/n came back in a good mood, you did not disappoint her.”

“I’m glad, y/n’s great,” Jake commented.

Neytiri did not say anything in reply, she just nodded and walked away. Shrugging his shoulders, Jake finished his food and settled into the hammock and closed his eyes.

–

“How was your day with Jake Sully?” Tsu’tey asked as he sat beside y/n, facing the fire.

“It was good, I like him. He is good company.”

“You like him?” Tsu’tey scoffed, “Of course you would.”

“Do not be this way, Tsu’tey. It is not a good look for you.” Y/n joked, elbowing him softly, “He has shown me today that he has some willingness to learn, he deserves a chance.”

“Hmm, if you say so.”

“I do say so.”

Tsu’tey huffed, taking some food off of y/n’s food but y/n returned the favour, taking the whole leaf from Tsu’tey and walking off.

“Y/n!” Tsu’tey jogged after her, “Come back! Skxawng!”

“No! You’re a thief!”

“Me?! You stole my food!”

“You stole mine first!”

The pair continued to argue until they got to y/n’s family tent. Y/n walked in and Tsu’tey stormed in behind her.

“Sit down, dear cousin of mine.”

Tsu’tey sat down opposite y/n, snatching his food back.

“Be nicer to him, for me.”

Tsu’tey stopped chewing and looked at y/n who was staring at him.

“No.”

–

Jake sighed as he settled into his bed, getting himself comfortable.

“How was it today?”

Jake opened his eyes slightly to see Norm standing in the doorway.

“Good.” Jake closed his eyes again but didn’t hear Norm leave so he opened his eyes again, “Did you want something?”

“Don’t mess this up, for Grace.”

Jake looked at Norm blankly before rolling onto his side, “Don’t worry, I’m not planning on it.”

Translations:

Pon - balance

Iknimaya - treacherous but fundamental rite of passage in which a young Na'vi hunter must select, capture, and successfully bond with one of the ikran who nest in the Hallelujah Mountains.

Taglist: @dorck26 @tangles711

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battyaboutbooksreviews · 8 months ago

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🌈 Queer Books Coming Out in May 2024 🌈

🌈 Good morning, my bookish bats! Struggling to keep up with all the amazing queer books coming out this month? Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Remember to #readqueerallyear! Happy reading!

[ Release dates may have changed. ]

❤️ Farzana's Spite - Felix Graves 🧡 Archangels of Funk - Andrea Hairston 💛 How It Works Out - Myriam Lacroix 💚 Queer History A to Z - Robin Stevenson, Vivian Rosas 💙 Queerceañera - Alex Crespo 💜 Second Night Stand - Karelia Stetz-Waters, Fay Stetz-Waters ❤️ You Can Call Me Cooper - Cali Kitsu 🧡 Gooseberry - Robin Gow 💛 Grand Slam Romance - Ollie Hicks, Emma Oosterhous 💙The Witches of Silverlake - Simon Curtis, Stephanie Son 💜 Drawn to the Enemy - Barbara Winkes 🌈 The Truth of Our Past - Heather Leighson

❤️ Infaust - T.D. Cloud, Ambi Sun 🧡 Garner for Gold - Catherine Labadie 💛 The Z Word - Lindsay King-Miller 💚 Snake Charming - Genevieve McCluer 💙 The 7-10 Split - Karmen Lee 💜 Loving Jemima - Sienna Waters ❤️ The Potion Gardener - Arden Powell 🧡 A Swift and Sudden Exit - Nico Vincenty 💛 The Worst Ronin - Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Faith Schaffer 💙 Murray Out of Water -Taylor Tracy 💜 The Guncle Abroad - Steven Rowley 🌈 The Weight of What Was - Pip Landers-Letts

❤️ The Amazing Alpha Tau Pledge Project - Lisa Henry, Sarah Honey 🧡 I Met Death & Sex Through My Friend, Tom Meuley - Thom Vernon 💛 Malicia - Steven dos Santos 💚 The Sins on Their Bones - Laura R. Samotin 💙 SLUTS: Anthology - Michelle Tea 💜 You Should Be So Lucky - Cat Sebastian ❤️ Death's Country - R.M. Romero 🧡 Cinema Love - Jiaming Tang 💛 The Brides of High Hill - Nghi Vo 💙 Emma - Jenna Kent 💜 Wish We Were There - Lionel Hart 🌈 A Troublemaker in Her Eyes - Genta Sebastian

❤️ I Make Envy on Your Disco - Eric Schnall 🧡 Lavash at First Sight - Taleen Voskuni 💛 Queer Power Couples - Hannah Murphy Winter, Billie Winter 💚 In Repair - A.L. Graziadei 💙 A Heart Divided - Angie Williams 💜 Long After We Are Gone - Terah Shelton Harris ❤️ The Queen of Steeplechase Park - David Ciminello 🧡 Lunar Boy - Jes Wibowo, Cin Wibowo 💛 Hot Boy Summer - Joe Jiménez 💙 Sunhead - Alex Assan 💜 The Summer Love Strategy - Ray Stoeve 🌈 Into the Mouth of the Wolf - Erin Gough

❤️ The Girl in Question - Tess Sharpe 🧡 The Lost Erwain - Mariah Stillbrook 💛 Starfire - Naomi Hughes 💚 Adrift - Sam Ledel 💙 Shanghai Murder - Jessie Chandler 💜 April May June July - Alison B. Hart ❤️ A Bone in His Teeth - Kellen Graves 🧡 Cabin Fever - Tagan Shepard 💛 Don't Be a Drag - Skye Quinlan 💙 The Ride of Her Life - Jennifer Dugan 💜 The Redemption of Daya Keane - Gia Gordon 🌈 Nearlywed - Nicolas DiDomizio

❤️ The Sunforge - Sascha Stronach 🧡 The End of Time - Trudie Skies 💛 Silent Ones - Melissa Polk 💚 Prime Time Travelers - Neil Laird 💙 My Darling Dreadful Thing - Johanna van Veen 💜 The Honey Witch - Sydney J. Shields ❤️ Spitting Gold - Carmella Lowkis 🧡 Last Chance - Claire Highton-Stevenson 💛 Road Home - Rex Ogle 💙 Only for Convenience - Shannon O'Connor 💜 Linus and Etta Could Use a Win - Caroline Huntoon 🌈 Finding Molly Parsons - Alyson Root

❤️ Breathe: Journeys to Healthy Binding - Maia Kobabe, Dr. Sarah Peitzmeier 🧡 See You Next Month - Jamey Moody 💛 Until You Say My Name - Tatum Schroeder 💚 Disembark - Jen Currin 💙 True Love and Other Impossible Odds - Christina Li 💜 Flyboy - Kasey LeBlanc ❤️ Thirsty - Jas Hammonds 🧡 Hands Off - N. Slater 💛 Flooded Secrets - Claudie Arseneault 💙 The Deer and the Dragon - Piper C.J. 💜 To Be Loved - Frank G. Anderson 🌈 Snowblooded - Emma Sterner-Radley

❤️ Blood Remains - Cathy Pegau 🧡 Blood on the Tide - Katee Robert 💛 We Were the Universe - Kimberly King Parsons 💚 Loyalty - E.J. Noyes 💙 Spirits and Sirens - Kelly Fireside 💜 Clean Kill - Anne Laughlin ❤️ The Worst Perfect Moment - Shivaun Plozza 🧡 Oye - Melissa Mogollon 💛 Here for the Wrong Reasons - Annabel Paulsen, Lydia Wang 💙 Exhibit - R.O. Kwon 💜 Experienced - Kate Young 🌈 Parenting with Pride - Heather Hester

❤️ Road to Ruin - Hana Lee 🧡 Meet Me in Berlin - Samantha L. Valentine 💛 The Advice Columnist - Cade Haddock Strong 💚 where lost & hopeless things go - Bryony Rosehurst 💙 Pit Stop - Ellis Mae 💜 The Switchboard - Christina K. Glover ❤️ In the Shallows - Tanya Byrne 🧡 Have You Seen This Girl - Nita Tyndall 💛 Another First Chance - Robbie Couch 💙 The Only Light Left Burning - Erik J. Brown 💜 Keepers of the Stones and Stars - Michael Barakiva 🌈 A Little Kissing Between Friends - Chencia C. Higgins

#queer books #queer fiction #queer romance #queer #bi books #lesbian romance #lesbian books #lesbian fiction #bisexuality #sapphic books #sapphic romance #batty about books #battyaboutbooks #book releases #book release

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star-girl69 · 2 years ago

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Keep Me Ablaze

Jake Sully x Neytiri x Fem!Reader

—-

a/n: sorry for no chapter yesterday, i hope you all enjoy!!

warnings: mentions of bows and arrows, swearing, tell me if i missed anything!!

Chapter Nine- Burn

—-

“Neytiri,” you murmur, not quite ready to fall asleep, to be away from her.

“Yes?” she mumbles, rolling over, the criss-cross of the hammock slightly imprinted on her chin and jaw. You smile, touch the discolored skin either your fingertips. She just closes her eyes, presses her face closer to yours.

“Grace wanted me to tell you. We won’t be able to come tomorrow, not in the morning.”

“Why?” she asks, eyes open, concern on her face.

“We’re moving from Hell’s Gate to another Site. I- I don’t know why.” Her eyes fall from yours, trailing downwards, stopping at her necklace still on you.

“Oh,” is all she can say.

“‘M sorry,” you say, maybe too fast.

“It’s alright,” she says, tucking her head under your chin, forehead pressed against the base of your throat. “As long as you come back. Everyone wants you to come back, you know. Even Mother likes you. Tsu’tey does too, he just won’t say it.” You can feel her fond smile against your chest, her lips brushing your skin as she speaks.

“I’m glad,” you whisper, because it’s foreign to belong to someone like this.

You belonged to your parents, when they were alive, and you belong to Grace now. But you don’t belong to her like you belong to Neytiri, like you belong to the Omaticaya, to the forest.

Jake’s name flashes in your mind.

“I love being here,” you smile, brushing her braids back.

She hums, wraps her arm around your waist like she’s done the other two nights you’ve slept with her.

“Good,” she says, and you don’t have the strength to do anything more than belong like this.

��-

“Why,” you say, putting down your bag, “do we have to go to Site 26?”

“Aren’t you the one who loves the mountains?” Grace smiles, looking over her shoulder from the microscope she’s packing.

“Yes, but-”

“So, where are we going?” Jake asks, wheelchair coming to a scope.

“Getting out of Dodge.”

“But why?”

Grace looks at Jake for a moment longer-

“I’m not about to let Selfridge and Quaritch micro-manage this thing.”

You watch as Jake’s face deflates, looks down like he’s done something wrong, like a kicked puppy.

You almost want to ask him what he’s done. Not what’s wrong- because he doesn’t look sad. He looks guilty.

“There’s a mobile link up at Site 26,” Grace repeats, “way up in the mountains.”

Norm freezes mid-air as he takes in her words.

“The Hallelujah Mountains?” he asks, practically salivating at the thought, and even Grace can’t hide her smile as you let out a giggle.

“That’s right,” she muses.

“Are you serious?”

She nods, his excitement refreshing, “yeah.”

“Yes!” he exclaims, laughing, while Jake squints.

Norm’s smile drops, and you roll your eyes.

“The floating mountains?” you ask, patting his cheek as if to shock the information into him.

“Uh, the legendary floating mountains.”

When Jake doesn’t have a reaction, Norm simply scoffs and turns, while you tsk and pull at his ear.

“Jesus-” he flinches, glaring up at you. “What was that for,” he hisses, smiling slightly, grabbing your arm as you try to turn away.

Even like this, his hand is bigger than yours, easily wrapping around you and pulling you back. You swallow, uneasy.

Why does he burn like Neytiri? Why does he burn like you? Why do you want to burn with him?

“No reason,” you smile, and his hand falls, even though you don’t want it to.

—-

“We’re close,” Grace says, eyes scanning nervously through the skies. The two of you know better than anyone else what danger is truly in Pandora.

You know the stories Neytiri would tell you, head in her lap, her hands in your hair. She would tell you of Toruk Makto, sing you the First Songs. You know that Toruk is in these skies, even if you cannot see him.

“Yeah, look at my instruments,” Trudy remarks, and you know the sight by hard. “VFR from here.”

“What’s VFR?” Norm asks, and you’ve quickly realized he is a scientist through and through. Fascinated by the world in a way you and Jake aren’t.

“Means you’ve gotta see where you’re going.”

Norm frowns, turning back towards the front window. “You can’t see anything,”

She laughs, “exactly. Ain’t that a bitch?”

You rise higher and higher, the clouds thinning, until it finally clears and you can see them.

To you, it’s a sight you’ve seen a million times before. You’ve even touched a flower from it, still keep it pressed in Grace’s book. To you, it is all you have ever known. It’s is the forest, is Pandora, it’s what you belong to.

To them, it’s alien, otherworldly, extraterrestrial.

You’re sure if you ever saw Earth, you would feel the same.

—-

The airlock hisses right in your ears, making you tuck your ear to the side after you take your mask off. You can see the lights switching on through the small window, until the door swings open.

“Welcome to camp,” Grace says around a cigarette, commanding everyone to their bunks.

You tune out the other background sounds, watch as Trudy rifles through the fridge, and Jake stares at the pictures stuck on it.

“This you?” he asks, looking over his shoulder.

“Uh…” you mumble, too far away to see.

There’s many pictures, all of various Na’vi children and Grace, but there’s one figure unlike the others.

You focus on the biggest picture, the one he’s pointing at.

You stand outside of the school, blue flower comically sticking out of your pocket, while Neytiri folds herself down to rest her cheek on top of your head, arms around you. Your hands reach up, fingers curling around her arm.

Her eyes are closed, too happy to even care about the picture, while you look straight at the camera.

You both smile bright, the same way, that same fire in both of you. That familiar feeling in your stomach then and now, knowing that you would gladly burn if it was with her.

“Yes,” you murmur, gripping the handles of Jake’s wheelchair. “That’s me.”

—-

“Okay. This is video log 12. Time’s 2132.” You watch as Grace fiddles with her microscope, studying another sample, while you lean on her shoulder. Jake sighs. “Do I have to do this now? I really need to get some rack?”

“No, now. When it’s fresh,” Grace says, her shoulder shifting slight under you.

You lift your head, stare at the bright red light on the camera. You can see Jake rolling his eyes on the screen.

“Okay, location, shack, and the days are starting to blur together. The language is a pain, but, you know, I figure it’s like field-stripping a weapon. Just repetition, repetition.”

—-

Neytiri points to her eyes, and you lean back on your hands, watching as Jake contemplates for a moment.

“Navi,” he says, finally.

“Nari.” She corrects, lowering her hands, braids hitting each other. You put your fingertip on her knee, drawing circles.

“Nari,” he repeats, but it’s off.

“Narrrri!” she exclaims impatiently, exaggerating the “r” sound.

“Narrri,” he repeats, but she only hisses and smacks him. “Shut up,” he mumbles when you laugh.

—-

“Neytiri calls me skxawng,” he continues, “it means moron.”

—-

“Txur ni’ul,” and you stumble with the bow, your grip weak. “Stronger,” Neytiri says.

She places her hands against her stomach, breathes in deeply.

“Okay, okay,” you mutter, breathing in deeply before raising the bow, pulling it all the way back.

She hums, presses against your stomach, then straightens your arm. She taps your back arm, and you lift it up higher.

“Good,” she says after a moment.

Jake scoffs, and you look over your shoulder to smile at him.“What, so I just get abused and she gets all soft and gentle?”

“Yes,” Neytiri says, no hesitation. “She is my human.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Jake mumbles, and looks down, like he’s been left out of something.

—-

“And, you know,” Jake smiles, leaning back in his chair, “I think I’m really starting to make a dent on the Augustines.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” you smile, kicking the back of his chair. He looks back at you through the screen, and Grace’s scoff falls away, until it’s just the two of you looking at each other.

“You think I’m not that bad, sweetheart.”

You snort, and he only grins wider, staring at you. There must be some static on the screen. Because he’s staring at you like there’s stars in your eyes, like you’re covered in diamonds. He’s staring at you like you’re beautiful.

“Sure, skxawng,” you mutter, but you know he’s right.

You know Jake Sully is like a fire that has followed a trail of gasoline, come straight to burn you. And you see it coming, see him following the path that the three of you never had a choice in anyways, and you don’t run away. You let yourself burn with him.

Burn with them, because Neytiri has already been there too.

—-

taglist:

@kitkat1690 @tiajk @reallysparklychaos @behindthearcane @neteyamforlife @aeslenya @ghoulbli @luvvsnae @personapersonally @bubble-blu @ameriesworld @itsyoboysparkel @ok-boke @arschbohrer @ambria @ssc7514 @w3ird11 @vane28282 @littlexscarletxwitch @erenjaegerwifee @myheartfollower @simp-erformarvelwomen @maevirago @n7cje @aerangi @minkyungseokie @disaster-in-waiting @httpsplanetmarsdotcom @hot15936 @noname2246 @fanboyluvr @ara-a-bird @fussel9913

#jake sully x neytiri #jake sully x reader #neytiri x reader

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osirian-rises · 11 days ago

Text

Secret Santa!

This was my secret Santa for @non-cannon your prompt was Fabina, sibuna crew being friends, season 1-2. I didn't realize everyone was going so heavy on the Christmas Aspect this year so I hope mine isn't that disappointing, I did not go full Christmas.

Anubis house was quiet. Victor was gone for the night, Trudy dropping the pin with little giggles at sharply ten. But the students of Anubis were not asleep. Slowly, Nina opened the door to the living room, creeping inside and flicking on the light. She startled as the light to the dining area flicked on as well, Jerome standing by the other door.

“Jerome?” Patricia said as the four other members of Sibuna followed her into the living room. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same question.” Jerome said, hiding the bag he’d been holding as he nonchalantly sat at the dining table, trying to play cool and keep their attention away from his stashed bag. “Nina. Fabian. Sneaking around after hours with your little gang again?”

“Uhm, excuse me, we are not a gang.” Amber snapped. “And I started the group, not them!”

Jerome raised his eyebrows. “What are you looking for now?” He asked with a grin. “More soot for an art project? Stargazing?”

“Jerome, could you maybe, like, go to your room?” Fabian requested, channeling his inner Patricia.

Jerome looked over at them and rolled his eyes as he stood. “Ah yes. How silly of me to forget, I need a personal invitation to sit at the dining table. I'll leave you to your…whatever.” He said dismissively as he left, peeking back in and grabbing the bag once they’d turned to face the television. He had new plans for his pranks tonight. Shame Alfie was going to be one of his victims, but it was his choice to constantly hang out with the Scooby Gang and not Jerome.

“I’m so excited!” Amber whisper squealed once the group was sure Jerome was gone. She set down her bag, Alfie doing the same. Alfie started to pull sodas and snacks out of his, the two laying them out on the coffee table. Nina and Patricia looked over the small game cabinet, arguing over which board games to pull out.

“Cluedo?” Nina snickered. “Seriously?”

“What?” Patricia asked.

“It’s Clue.” Nina enunciated. “Why is it called Cluedo?”

“Uh, the boardgame was released in the UK as Cluedo.” Patricia argued. “You Americans are the ones changing the name, not us.”

“Draughts?” Nina continued. “No-Checkers! Checkers. And why are there so many pieces?”

“You know, the Egyptians called Draughts Alquerque.” Fabian commented offhandedly as he spread their blankets and pillows out over the couch and onto the floor.

“Nina, I’m sure you think your American ways should be world practised, but you’re in our country.” Alfie reminded. “So what game are we playing first? Ooh-seven minutes in hea-”

“No!” Amber and Patricia whisper yelled.

“Alfie we are playing the games I’ve decided on.” Amber reminded sternly. “Which is Charades and two truths and a lie.”

“What about Truth or Dare?” Patricia asked as she and Nina laid out the boardgames. “If you’re forcing me to sit and watch some girly movie we have to play something fun.”

“It is only fair Amber.” Nina reminded. “You planned everything else.” Amber sighed and gave a reluctant nod as she tossed her hair. “Alright then! Charades first? Alfie, hat?”

“Right here!” Alfie brandished a blue baseball cap, dumping in a ziploc baggie full of little strips of paper. “I had Joy look up a bunch of different prompts.”

“You first Alfie.” Patricia offered him up. Alfie shrugged and fished out a little paper. He stood, and started jogging in place.

“Jogging?” Nina asked incredulously. “Marathon? Race?”

“Uh-” Alfie changed up his gait and started kicking his legs while in the air.

“A horse running?” Amber attempted.

Alfie held out his arms and mimed turning.

“If that’s supposed to be skiing, you’re really bad at charades.” Patricia snarked, just as the time ran out.

“No!” Alfie complained, slightly butthurt. “It was riding a bicycle.”

“...Have you ever ridden a bicycle?” Patricia deadpanned.

“You next then Trixie.” Alfie slumped on the couch, crossing his arms.

Patricia glanced at the slip she’d pulled out, then tossed it aside and mimed an old film projector.

“Okay, it’s a movie.” Fabian assumed, Patricia nodding. She paused in thought for a long while, then laid down on the floor and pretended to die. “A movie about a dead person?” Fabian questioned. “Uhm…Ghost Whisperer?”

Patricia nodded, but shook her head at the guess and stood back up. She grabbed a blanket off the couch and sat down on a chair, looking haunted.

“You look like a grandma.” Amber commented. Patricia shot her a dirty look but tossed the blanket aside. She pointed to her eyes, her ear, her nose, her mouth, then moved over to the group and poked Alfie.

“...Eyes and mouth?” Alfie said slowly.

“Senses?” Nina guessed. Patricia nodded, then held up six fingers. “Oh! The Sixth Sense!”

“Yes, finally!” Patricia complained. “What kind of prompts did you ask Joy for, that was impossible compared to cycling.”

“I guess that’s my turn then.” Nina assumed as she stood up and grabbed a paper. She began to laugh hysterically.

“What, what is it?” Amber demanded.

“That’s not how you play!” Patricia said as she flipped the timer. “Go Nina.”

Nina stifled her giggles, taking a deep breath. She pointed at herself.

“You?” Amber said. “The prompt was Nina?” Nina shook her head. She grinned brightly, and mimed a wave.

“Meeting someone?” Alfie said slowly. Nina moved forward and grabbed Patricia and pulled her up.

“Hey! You cannot use human props!” Patricia complained. Nina pointed at Patricia and mimed a grouchy face, then pointed at herself with a smile and mimed waving.

“You and Patricia meeting?” Fabian attempted. Nina nodded, and mimed waving again to him. “Is it that?” She mimed waving again, and pointed at Patricia, feigning upset again.

“Patricia was unhappy to meet you, but you were happy.” Amber said slowly. “Nina, I’m really not getting this prompt. Is that it or not?”

Nina looked at the group expectantly.

“Because you kept saying the same thing.” Patricia realized, Nina nodding rapidly. “Hi, I’m Nina, I’m from America.”

“Yes!” Nina laughed, showing the group her paper. Her prompt was America. “What even are the odds of that? I think Joy was thinking about me.”

“My turn!” Amber squealed, grabbing a paper. She grimaced as she read it and tossed it aside, grabbing a new one.

“Amber, you can’t just throw out your prompt!” Nina protested.

“No way am I acting like an elephant.” Amber said firmly.

Fabian sighed. “And now she can’t act out that prompt.”

Amber stood up and posed.

“Model?” Alfie guessed. Amber posed again.

“Amber, you have to do a bit more than that.” Patricia reminded. Amber scoffed, and posed again, waving prettily.

“...Model.” Alfie repeated.

“No!” Amber snapped.

“No talking!” Everyone said in unison.

Amber glared at them, but continued waving and started to walk with a fancy stride.

“Pageant contestant?” Nina attempted. Amber mimed putting something on her head. “Pageant Queen?” Amber started wildly pointing at Nina. “Okay, okay, close!” Nina understood. “It’s a Queen?”

“Victoria. Elizabeth the first.” Fabian started to rattle off. “Mary. Anne of Cleves, Anne Boleyn? Catherine. Lady Jane?” Amber shook her head to all of them, huffing and stomping her feet. She, just like Patricia had, mimed dying. “Amber all the Queens I mentioned are dead!” Fabian yelled.

“Time.” Patricia said boredly.

“It was Diana!” Amber said bluntly. “How could you not get that?!”

“Diana was a Princess.” Alfie blinked.

“I’m American, and even I knew that.” Nina nodded. “...Nice try, Amber.”

“Whatever. Your turn Fabian.” Amber huffed.

Fabian grabbed his slip, then mimed opening a book.

“An old book like Victor, or a new book?” Patricia clarified. Fabian held up one finger to signify the book was older. He put a hand to his chest and held the other out awkwardly, like he was holding something.

“A Shakespeare?” Nina assumed. He nodded, then slowly mimed sleeping. “Midsummer Night’s Dream!”

“It’s embarrassing we got that right before bicycle.” Patricia said flatly.

“I did the best I could!” Alfie whined. “I don’t want to play this anymore, new game.”

“Two truths and a lie!” Amber clapped excitedly. “Patricia, you first.”

“Uhm-” Patricia thought. “Okay, okay. I was born in Berlin, I have the same middle name as my sister, and I had a dog when I was little.”

“The middle name, surely.” Amber guessed, the same time as Alfie’s answer of Berlin. Nina agreed with Alife, Fabian with Amber after a long pause to think.

“Nope. The dog. Piper’s allergic.” Patricia explained. “My mom went into labour three weeks earlier than expected, while on holiday. Had to go through all this paperwork to make us proper citizens.”

“Sharing a middle name with your sister?” Fabian said in disbelief. “Was it a family name?”

“Marie.” Patricia fake gagged. “Apparently it’s after my great grandmother or something. At least Patricia Marie is slightly better than Patricia Maria…Alfie, your turn.” Alfie hummed in thought.

“I’m allergic to dogs, I’ve eaten a bug before, and I was in a commercial when I was little.” Alfie said, keeping his tone neutral. Amber shuddered at the bug mention.

“The commercial.” Fabian said immediately, everyone unanimously agreeing. “We all saw your…attempts to get into a magazine.”

“Hey, I’m offended.” Alfie fake pouted. “It was bugs! I’ve never eaten a bug, gross!”

“Wait, what commercial?” Nina asked.

“One for my dad’s law firm. He was trying to go for a more familial message.” Alfie recollected. “And then they never put me in front of a camera again.”

“...What, what do you mean you’re allergic to dogs?” Patricia demanded as she realized the other fact he’d used. “You swore on your childhood dog’s life!”

“Hey, Sprucket was my invisible dog.” Alfie laughed. Patricia smacked him. “Fabian, you’re up.”

“Uh, I’ve bowled a perfect three hundred before, I was supposed to be a girl, and I can hold my breath underwater for two minutes.” Fabian stated. Everyone was stumped by these, all coming up with different answers.

“Bowling!” Nina finally decided. “Remember, when I said we were looking for the nearest bowling alley, and Victor said that you couldn’t bowl for anything? And you aren’t…the greatest at sports.”

“Hey, he never said that, he just said you were awful at lying.” Fabian protested. “But yeah, it was the bowling.” He admitted with embarrassment. “I was apparently horrible to identify when my mom was pregnant. So they all thought I’d be a girl until I was born.”

“What was your name going to be?” Amber asked, tilting her head. “I could not picture you as a girl.”

“Something long that ends with an A.” Fabian shrugged disinterestedly. “I don’t remember. Amber, your turn.”

“I’ve eaten pufferfish, I’ve been to Thailand, and I can ballroom dance.” Amber said immediately.

“Pufferfish.” Alfie decided, everyone agreeing with him.

“We all remember that your dad had you signed up for extra gym classes the year we did the ballroom unit.” Patricia added. Amber nodded at that, but shook her head.

“We aren’t going to Thailand until next year.” She said proudly. Nina rolled her eyes fondly. Everyone turned to look at Nina.

“I feel like this is a very pointless round.” She laughed. “Okay, okay. Uhm…Uh, I had guinea pigs when I was younger, my favourite animal is a monarch butterfly and I…can…speak…Turkish.”

“Okay, so, the last one was the lie.” Patricia said flatly, everyone nodding in agreement. Nina deflated.

“Nice effort Neens.” Amber patted her shoulder. “Alright…One last game before we start the movie. We’ll do truth or dare afterwards.”

“Trivia?” Fabian immediately asked.

“This is supposed to be fun, Fabian.” Alfie reminded. Fabian and Nina sighed good-naturedly. Amber reached into her bag and pulled out a brand new ouija board.

“No.” Nina said immediately.

“Aw yes!” Patricia said at the same time.

“Why would we play with an ouija board when we know ghosts are real?” Fabian asked. “This is just asking for trouble.”

“Fabian, it says it’s for kids eight and up. We’ll manage.” Amber said sassily. “An ouija board is a sleepover staple! We have to play, it’s like, tradition.”

“Don’t be a chicken.” Patricia egged them on as Amber set out the planchette.

“Guys, this is supposed to be a relaxing night.” Nina reminded. “We literally just had an issue with a malevolent spirit.”

“...What are the odds of it happening twice.” Alfie said slowly, breaking out into a grin. Amber and Patricia laughed. “Come on you two, its us against you. We’re playing.” Fabian and Nina reluctantly put their hands on the planchette.

Amber closed her eyes. “Spirits of Anubis house, we open the door for you to speak with us now. Is there anybody there?”

There was a long, long pause.

“I knew it. These are fake.” Fabian said, and that’s when the planchette moved. Everyone screamed, Patricia’s turning into a laugh. “Patricia!”

“You should have seen your face!” She snickered.

“This is serious Patricia, stop it.” Amber scolded as the planchette moved again.

“This isn’t me, it’s someone else!” Patricia defended, everyone else proclaiming their innocence.

“It’s the ghost!” Amber said. “We reached a spirit!”

“This is a children’s toy for kids eight and up!” Fabian yelled hysterically. “Which one of you is moving it?”

He took his hand off, Amber doing the same to gesture as the board as she yelled, “And it’s working, see?”

“Take your hands off.” Nina said with a disturbed air, pulling her hand away. Patricia and Alfie did the same. “...It’s still moving.”

“Do you think the Pope is awake at this hour?” Alfie hummed as he pulled out his phone. Patricia pushed it down.

“Let’s not get hysterical.” She said, staring at the board. “What’s it saying anyways? Amber, make it start over.”

“Spirit, please relay your message again.” Amber spoke loudly. Fabian rolled his eye at her dramatics but watched in silence as the planchet began to move again. “A. W. O. K. E. N.” Amber read as the planchette stopped at each letter.

Nina facepalmed as Alfie held up his phone again, muttering, “What’s the Pope’s number?” Patricia confiscated his phone and put it in her pocket.

“Is it getting colder in here?” Nina shivers. “It feels like the temperature dropped at least ten degrees.

“It’s moving again!” Amber shushed, continuing to read out the letters. “B. E. T. R. A. Y. E. D.”

“Look-” Patricia pointed towards the kitchen. “Is that smoke?”

“A. N. G. R. Y.”

“Stop narrating for the ghost and shut the board off!” Alfie yelled.

“That is not how an ouija board works!” Amber corrected. “You have to say goodbye!”

“Goodbye!” Alfie screeched at the board.

“Alfie I’m the medium-” She was cut off as the doors to the living room slammed shut, everyone screaming. The lights in the room began to flicker as the temperature continued to plummet, fog still filling up the living room.

“Playing seven minutes in heaven doesn’t seem like a dumb idea now, does it?” Alfie complained. “But no, that’s a dumb game, and now we’re gonna die!”

A loud thumping came from above their heads, just as something started banging on the windows from outside. The banging on the windows stopped with the thumping, and after a long moment of silence, the doors flung back open. Everyone raced to be the first out the door, Fabian reaching it first with Amber just behind him, running right into saran wrap that had been pulled over the door to cover it. He fell to the ground, everyone falling on top of him.

“I think I broke a nail.” Amber complained as a camera flashed, familiar, raucous laughter filling the room. Everyone looked up at Jerome, utterly fuming.

“I think I may actually kill you, you annoying-” Patricia said as she pushed her self up and helped up Alfie. Amber and Nina were able to get up next, helping Fabian stand as Jerome took another picture of them.

“How did you even do that?” Nina asked in complete shock. “There’s two doors to the living room, and the fog-”

“I have a smoke machine.” Jerome said plainly. “As for the other door-” He turned and waited expectantly.

Eddie grinned as he stepped into the hall from his hiding place in his room. “He may have recruited me to slam that one. Also, I was the one down in the cellar messing with the thermostat and the lights, while he was banging on the windows. Have fun hanging out without me, Yacker?” Jerome smirked.

“But-the-the banging, from upstairs-” Amber started, the door to the girl’s hall on the second floor opening as Mara and Joy stepped out, looking down at them unimpressed.

“Having another secret party and forgot to invite us?” Joy asked. Patricia gaped at them.

“Jerome, where did you even get a smoke machine?!” Fabian demanded. “Why would you just have that?”

“I can get anything.” Jerome said. “And I have everything. For any needed purpose. Even a boating license.”

“You can’t swim.” Patricia said incredulously.

“I also own a life jacket.” Jerome retorted quickly. “And now, I own the pictures of your terrified faces.” He smiled fondly. “I might print them out and frame them.”

“You’re ridiculous. Come on Amber.” Nina grabbed Amber’s arm. “Lets head up to bed.”

“Sleep with one eye open slimeball.” Patricia threatened as she made to follow them, pointing at Eddie as she started going up. “You too, weasel!” Eddie waved goodbye to her as Fabian tiredly trudged into their room.

“Aw, you’ll be able to confess your love to Nina some other time!” He teased as he followed him in. “Seriously, an Amber approved love movie confession is not the worst thing to miss out on.

“I was not going to confess my love to her-” Fabian said miserably. “I was just going to…tell her I was into her.”

“Charming.” Eddie patted him on the back.

Alfie nodded slowly as he surveyed the once more quiet house. “I would only be more impressed if I was in on that.” He admitted as he and Jerome walked back to their room. “How the heck did you make the ouija board move?”

“What Ouija board?”

#SibunaSecretSanta2024 #hoa #house of anubis #nina martin #jerome clarke #fabian rutter #alfie lewis #amber millington #patricia williamson #joy mercer #eddie miller #eddison miller #mara jeffray #sibuna secret santa #sibuna secret santa 2024

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crusherthedoctor · 11 months ago

Note

Sonudis prompt for Valentine Day pls?

This will be a short one, but since you asked nicely:

"Well well, how about that? A falling star!" Sonic pointed up at the dark blue curtain of the night, its stars gleaming almost rhythmically. He had certainly seen his share of starry skies over the years, in all the places he's been to with a life as busy as his, but Viridonia appeared to be especially prone to boasting them. As beautiful as the stars were though, his finger was of course aimed with much enthusiasm at the titular one.

"How about that indeed," Trudy mused aloud. Her upward view was more relaxed than the thrilled hedgehog's, though no less captivated. She lightly raised her hands to her chest, which took no amount of seconds to catch Sonic's attention.

"Making a wish?" he suggested with a chuckle. She turned her gaze in his direction, though not completely, and it looked as though she was about to answer... when suddenly, she looked away, as if her current thought had just been interrupted by another. This confused Sonic to say the least, but before he could question it further, her gaze eventually, and gently, returned to him, this time with a smile.

"I don't need to."

Sonic raised an eyebrow, with his hand on his hip. "Oh yeah?"

She glanced back up at the gliding light, her smile still visible. "Some people... Some people say that falling stars are a message to one's soul. They say that they urge you to trust yourself... to trust your path in life, and have faith in what makes you happy."

Sonic blinked, and then he looked down. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly, clearly pondering the idea for himself. His lack of concrete expression made it difficult to estimate what specifically he thought of it. Was it a load of nonsense to him? Did he consider it foolish? Yet after a moment of silence, he looked back at her, albeit after taking a quick moment to notice the light reflecting on her. He hoped he didn't do so for too long... or that Tails had caught him doing so. He'd never hear the end of it.

"Do you believe in that?" he simply asked. There was no judgement in his tone, at least none that Trudy could sense. There was only sincere wonder.

The equine focused just that little bit harder on the star. Her smile remained, but it appeared to go mild. Sonic could sense uncertainty from within her... the kind that was arguing with itself. But as her head turned, and she slowly gave him one more small glance, her eyesight locked onto his. As she reminded herself once more of his emerald eyes, her smile regained its confidence. Which made Sonic smile again in turn.

"I do."

#Crusher's Asks #Sonic the Hedgehog #Lutrudis Hadeer

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skylarstark4826 · 1 year ago

Text

I do not own Avatar

Strip Poker

'Bored' Trudy thought to herself as she lay on her bed staring up into the ceilling. She hated days like this. Days when Jake and Grace went on some adventure with the Na'vi. Sometime they were away for days at a time. It drove her insane. It keep her away from her natural element.

The sky, that was where she felt most at home. Flying her Samson through the skies of Pandora, seeing the beauty of the Hallejuah mountains that floated in the sky like something out of a fantasy story.

She was a wild bird, not ment to live in a cage. She heard the sound of Norm fiddling with something in the lab. 'Well it ain't all bad' she thought as she got up from her bed and headed out of the sleeping area to see what there resident genius was up to.

Normally Trudy didn't interact with the "Brainiac" as she called them. The only one she really like was Grace and that was cause of her take no shot attitude. But still Norm Spellman had a kind of ssweet geeky charm that made it so she couldn't help but like the kid.

"Hey Norm" she said. "Hey Trudy" he said before peering down a microscope and writing something down. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Just finishing off checking some specimens" he said before heading over to the table. "Need any help?" she asked.

"No i'm done with the test" he said before sitting down. She said nothing only looked at him with mild interest.

"If you're that bored Trudy you could go outside and watch the grass grow". She laughed at his suggestion and said "I can't help it, i'm going steer crazy being cooped up in this little shack, I'm suppose to be flying you guys around this planet not sitting around while Jake and Grace get to have all the fun"

"Tell me about it, I spent years studying everything about the Na'vi, their culture, history, language, and here i am examining plant cells" he said sounding frustrated.

"That's got to suck" she said. "Yeah but i can't really blame Jake for it though, he didn't ask for it to happen"he said begrudgingly.

"Hey how about you and i go for a little flight around the mountains" she suggested. "We're terribly sorry but all flights have been grounded due to adverse weather conditions" he said impersonating annoucements while pointing to the window.

This was the first time Trudy noticed the heavy rain outside making flying impossible. "Yp got to be kidding me" she said after about five minute of staring at the rain hoping for it to stop.

"If you want something to pass the time i have a rubrix cube in my bag" he said. Trudy turned around and saw that Norm was playing with a deck of card on the table.

"What the hell are you doing?" she asked. "Playing solitaire" he said confused.

"Back up, you had a deck of cards with you this whole time and you never told me" she said. Norm said nothing, he didn't have time to , Trudy sat down at the table asked for the cards. He handed them to her as she began to deal them out.

"What are you doing" he asked confused. "You and me are gonig to play poker" she said.

"We don't have any money" Norm pointed out.

"I neevr said we were playing for money, this is a game of strip poker" she said.

"Strip...Poker" Norm said shocked. "What the matter got something you want to hide" Trudy insinuated.

Norm blushed and remained silent. "Don't worry i'll go easy on you, but i'm looking forward to winnig this game after all I've heard big thing come in small packages" she said smiling impishly as she dealt the card.

'Oh how wrong you are' Norm thought to himself smiling on the inside.

After many turns Trudy was down to her underwear whereas Norm had only lost his shirt, vest and left shoe. Now she was really starting to sweat, she thought she'd be mopping the floor with Norm. She thougth he'd be doing a strip tease for her, not the other way around.

Trudy couldn't help but stare at Norm despite her situation. He looked like a wimp but was actually quite well built. ' Wouldn't mind me some of that' she thought herself. 'Get your mind out of the gutter Trudy' she chastised herself

Norm was thinking very interesting thought about Trudy. He alway thougth she was beautiful, perhaps the most beauitful woman he had ever meet but now he had a full view of her and he could keep his eyes off her.

Trudy smiled as she looked at her hand and said "Looks like the winds have changed my friend". With that she revealed her four 10. "Lose the pants" she said.

"Not so fast" he said revealing his hand. he had four kings. 'You've got to be kidding me ' she thought. "Lose the bra" he said grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

"Not so fast, how did you do it, how are you so good" she asked suspiously. "Beginners luck" he said. With she shot him a look that remind him who he was dealing with and that she could kill him quite easily.

"Ok, truth is my brother used to teach me how to play when i was a kid" he said. "Go on" she said realising their was more to the story. " And in college a lot of my income came from poker games, they all fell for the same trick, they all thought i was some naive kid with absolutely no skill at the game at all but i happened to have a great poker face and ability to read people"

Her face softened and she smiled and said "That a pretty good trick, well i guess i have to keep my word and follow the rules of the game" she said before getting up and heading across to Norm.

She sat on his lap and kissed him on the mouth. She them began to unhooked her bra when suddenly they heard a loud hissing noise. Trudy grabbed her clothes and sprinted into the bathroom. Norm was left sitting in the chair speechless. "Norm get in here and help Jake get out of his pod" Grace shouted getting out of hers.

Returning to reality he said "Yes Dr Ausgustine" and got up and helped Jake out of his pod.

Later that Night.

Norm was laying his bunk going over the event in his mind. Trudy had kissed him and if Jake and Grace hadn't interrupted them who know what would have happened. He decided just to put it to the back of his mind and chalk it up to a one off thing. Trudy wasn't interested in a guy like him he told himself before turning over to get to sleep.

Just then He felt something climb into his bed and say "Mind scooting over a little".

"Trudy he said "What are you..." he began before being cut off by Trudy who kissed him and said "Picking up where we left off".

#trudy x norm #trudy chacon #norm spellman #Trudy/norm #Na'vi!Norm Spellman #na'vi!norm #Na’vi!Trudy Chacon #na'vi!trudy #recom trudy #Recom Trudy Chacon #Norudy #Trudorm #avatar au #avatar 2009 #avatar #avatar fanart

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shu-box-puns · 2 years ago

Text

Tsu’tey being observant

NOTE: Neteyam’s death scene is described in case you’re not feeling like dealing with that today.

In an AU where Tsu’tey doesn’t die and sticks around the Sully family like some overbearing third parent/uncle/teacher, he finds himself babysitting Jake just as much as he babysits the kids. On an average day, this is something chaotic like Jake falling out of a tree, or Tsu’tey having to scold him for teaching Lo’ak swear words. It’s funny. It fills Tsu’tey’s time. He secretly loves being unofficially part of this family.

It’s not all fun and games however.

Tragedy is a common sight on Pandora since the return of the humans. Tsu’tey has seen his fair share of deaths, has mourned too many fallen loved ones. He knows how to grieve and push through it, considering he was supposed to become the next Olo’eyktan and since had to keep a constant bottle on his emotions.

Jake is not so equipped with healthily dealing with his emotions and it shows.

It’s evident in the way his fear controls his anger. Causing him to lash out at his sons when they step out of line. His fear causes him to make fast but poor decisions, like removing his family from the safety of the clan.

Where Jake can be brave, he can also be vulnerable. He fails to conceal it, but the trait makes him painfully human.

In the face of Neteyam’s death, Tsu’tey watches Jake shut down. Whilst Neytiri screams her anguish to the skies and begs the Great Mother to reconsider her decision, the man remains quiet, his eyes unseeing. Tsu’tey can’t help but watch him through blurry eyes.

He has seen this reaction before. After the destruction of HomeTree, after Grace’s passing, during the war when the pilot (Trudy) was reported missing. Tsu’tey knows dissociating is how Jake deals with grief. He knows it transforms him into a husk of the cocky asshole that he’s used to dealing with. As if his soul has been sucked out of his avatar and only the shell remains.

It is clear that Neytiri is too caught up in her emotions to console him, let alone offer a silent hand to hold so he may ground himself. Lo’ak is knelt with his head bent to the ground, silent tears slipping out through clenched eyelids.

As always, Jake is once again off to the side, hiding in the background or offering comfort to someone who is overcome with emotion. He hides behind his Sky Person training. Shutting himself off emotionally and powering through.

Not this time.

This time, as Neytiri cries and Jake goes unnaturally still, unresponsive, Tsu’tey is there to offer his shoulder.

The man doesn’t acknowledge him as Tsu’tey shakily steadies his breathing and reaches out for his brother. Jake’s ears are down turned and do not even twitch at the quiet shuffling caused by his movements. It wouldn’t surprise Tsu’tey if he couldn’t even hear his mate’s screams since he’s clearly so deep in his head. He just stares unblinkingly at Neteyam’s still body. At the blood Neytiri is smearing across her front with how she’s desperately cradling his head.

Tsu’tey is gentle as he reaches for the back of his friend’s head and carefully guides him into his chest. Stiffly, Jake goes with the motion, his unmoving face pressed into the crook of Tsu’tey’s neck. Shielded from the sight. That blank expression momentarily stolen from view.

He begins to move slowly. Responding to Tsu’tey’s firm hand in his hair, the weight of his friend’s chin on the crown of his head. Tsu’tey feels him press in closer. The shake of those five fingered hands as they struggle to wrap around Tsu’tey; to cling onto him for dear life. Tsu’tey stays firm, guiding those hands to clutch onto his waist and cummerbund.

Jake takes a long shuddering breath, then goes still. He doesn’t cry. He never cries. He just stares. His tail unnaturally still, his fingers clutching tightly onto Tsu’tey as a survivor of a shipwreck would cling tightly to a piece of driftwood. And Tsu’tey holds him through it.

His anger is beginning to overcome the choke hold that his grief has him in. Burning fury towards the people who did this to his nephew. Those same demons who continued to rain pain on those that he loved. They would pay dearly for this evil, he mentally promised. But only after Jake managed to pull himself back together.

#Tsu'tey #Jake Sully #I just feel that Tsu'tey and Jake would've had such a fun dynamic if he'd have lived #Their little love/hate relationship flourishing into an unbreakable partnership #Both warriors hell bent on protecting their clan #Such a flavour #grief

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cynicalone94 · 1 year ago

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Made To Watch

“Jay!”

He turns to see Trudy Platt walking toward him across the parking lot.

“What’s up, Sarge?”

“You did good with that kid earlier today.” she says, offering him a rare smile. “I don’t know that anyone else could have gotten her to open up.”

“She just needed someone who was willing to listen.” Jay says, frowning. “Anyone on the team could have done it.”

“No.” she says, shaking her head. “I don’t think that’s true.”

He freezes, going pale.

“It’s just a nosy old coot’s theory.” she says gently. “And you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. I just wanted you to know that I’m here if you need to talk.”

He’s quiet and for a minute she thinks he’s going to shut her down entirely.

“Thanks Sarge.” he says quietly. “I uh… It’s not something I’ve ever talked about. Not sure I’d even know where to start.”

“The beginning is always a good place.” she says, putting a hand on his shoulder. “When you’re ready.”

“I appreciate that.” he says.

“Alright.” she says, chuckling. “Get out of here.”

“Right away.” he agrees, turning back toward his truck and reaching into his pocket for his keys.

A scream draws his attention toward the road. A man is dragging a young girl off the sidewalk and into a gray panel van.

“Hey!” he shouts, breaking into a sprint. “Let her go.”

He can hear Trudy running just behind him but he keeps his attention on the man. He’s stopped short of actually pulling the girl into the back of the van and Jay’s brain clocks that.

Shouldn’t he be trying to get away before they can reach him?

As he crosses the edge of the neighboring building and steps onto the sidewalk another man steps forward, pointing a gun directly at him.

“Drop your weapon, Detective.”

He slows to a stop.

“Let the girl go.” he orders.

“Put your weapon down or I’ll kill her.” the man orders. “Take some pot shots at you and the bitch too.”

“You too, crazy bitch.” the man with his arm around the little girl adds.

With half a glance back at Trudy, Jay clears his weapon and crouches down to place it on the ground. He can hear her doing the same.

“Get in the van.” the second man orders. “Both of you.”

Jay raises an eyebrow but one glance at the little girl, still shaking and crying, is enough for him to step forward, stepping up into the back of the van.

Once Trudy is sitting next to him, the first man releases the little girl and whirls on them. Before either of them can react, he fires twice, a tranquilizer dart piercing each of their necks.

Jay’s last thought as he loses consciousness is that this was planned and that they are in deep trouble.

He wakes up in a heap on the floor.

Looking around the dark room, he makes out Trudy sitting in a chair ten feet in front of him.

Her wrists are secured to the arms of the chair and duct tape is plastered over her mouth.

He continues scanning the room but aside from the fact that the shackles on his wrists are attached to a chain that trails up to the ceiling there isn’t anything else to see.

“No good deed goes unpunished huh?” he jokes.

Trudy just rolls her eyes.

The door behind her opens.

“You’re awake.” the man, no longer wearing a ski mask, says looking between the two of them.

He’s got light skin and dark hair, bright blue eyes fixing on Jay for only a moment before turning his attention to Trudy.

“I suppose you are wondering what this is about.” he says.

“Yeah.” Jay pipes up. “I’m certainly curious.”

The man whirls around and slams his booted foot into Jay’s stomach.

“Shut up, dumbass.” he snaps. “This is between me and Platt. You just got lucky being in the right place at the right time.”

Jay rolls his eyes but stays quiet. The man turns back to Trudy.

“You sent my son to prison.” he growls. “I’ve spent the last ten years watching him suffer all the indignities that come along with that. And then last week he was killed. Beaten to death by another inmate.”

Jay’s stomach flips.

“Look man-” he starts but all it gets him is another kick to the stomach.

Then the chain is retracting, dragging him up off the floor. It continues until only the tips of his toes are touching the floor.

Trudy twists her wrists against the ropes securing them, angry noises coming from behind the gag.

“Now you get to watch someone you care about suffering.” the man tells Trudy. “You look away, this only gets worse for him.”

Her continued protests are ignored as the man approaches Jay, sliding a set of brass knuckles onto his hands.

Jay holds his gaze right up until the moment that the fist slams into his stomach. The fists keep coming and he tries to curl forward even as the ropes keep him upright.

He can hear Trudy’s muffled screams and wishes he could find the breath to reassure her, to tell her that he’s okay, that he’s taken worse beatings than this.

But every blow forces the air from his lungs.

After dozens of strikes, some of them drifting up to impact his ribs, the man finally falls back.

He fights to lift his head from his chest, searching out Trudy’s face.

Tears are streaming down her cheeks and he forces a smile.

“‘M’okay.” he gasps. “‘S’okay.”

She shakes her head.

The man laughs coldly.

“Trying to comfort the bitch?” he says. “I really did pick the right guy to hurt, huh?”

He turns back to Trudy, leaning down to get in her face.

“It’s going to gut you when I kill him, isn’t it?” he tells her. “When you watch him die right in front of you.”

“Not yer fault.” Jay says. “‘s’an ass.”

The next punch rips a choked groan from his throat.

“Feel closer t’yer son that way.” Jay says. “In pris’n jus’ likim.”

“You little bastard.” the man snarls, landing the next punch square in the center of Jay’s face.

And then it’s lights out.

#whumptober 2023 #no.6 #made to watch #Chicago PD #fic #beating #Jay Halstead

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beneathathousandskies · 1 year ago

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Cover Reveal: The End of Time (The Cruel Gods #3)

Hello! Late in the day because this has been a week (I have literally, figuratively and in every way possible been buried with books this week). But today I am delighted to be joining the cover reveal for The End of Time, the third and final book in The Cruel Gods series by Trudie Skies. I have loved this series from the beginning and I am very excited to see this final installment. However,…

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#Cover Reveal #Fantasy #Gaslamp #Tales From Across the Domains #The Cruel Gods #The End of Time #Trudie Skies

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nazghcul · 15 days ago

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𝘯𝘢𝘻𝘨𝘩𝘤𝘶𝘭 — dark explicit indie / slice of life horror based blog , filled with twisted tales . not for the squeamish , tread carefully . nsfw . 21+ audience not intended for minors : dni . reader / writer discretion advised . dash only . low activity .

muses under the cut — do not steal or copy muses or themes presented . all rules apply . affiliation and rules coming soon.

MAIN CAST

SEBASTIAN gomes : male , 33 , mechanic / bartender / charlie melton - NOAH salas - park : male , 33 , ghost face / frontman for 0Asis / christian yu - STEVIE richardson : female , 25 - 28 , ghost face / asylum patient / mickey madison - TRUDY constanza : female , 26 - 28 , horror novelist / heiress / alexa demie - DANIELA altura : female , 23 - 26 , uber driver & tarot reader / serial killer / jenna ortega - KNOX valentine : male , 26 , masked serial killer ( purge mask) / felix mallard - IVAAN turner : male , 25 - 29 , masked serial killer ( bunny mask ) / drew starkey - HAWK lee : male , 25 , frontman for WatchUBleed / masked serial killer ( jason style mask ) / bang chan - MICHELE wagner estrada : 26 , DJ , masked serial killer ( white ski mask) / gleb abrosimov BRIGGS manor : 29 - 32 , ghost face / frontman for puddleofFilth / andy biersack - ERIC kang : male , 30 - 45 , mafia king / gong yoo - ALESSANDRO de luca : male , 25 - 29 , mafia prince / asshole extraordinaire / lorenzo zurzolo - JUNGHO kim : male , 25 - 33 , traffic officer ( squid game inspo ) / wiha joon

#/ * ooc #/ * TO BE CONT.

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sanddusted-wisteria · 2 years ago

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Empty Skies, Hazy Skyboxes, Ch. 4

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Also on AO3

------------

Qi sat back down at the keyboard, a fresh cup of tea in his hands. He took a sip as he flipped through his ever-growing list of features and fixes.

Today he was planning on finishing the basic functionality of the commerce guild and pushing it to the builder to test. Then he needed to keep training the AI of the townsfolk on the side. And then he needed to take the simulation offline again to look at what was wrong with the builder. Lately they’d been unusually dismal, and it seemed to be getting worse. It was worrying. Nowadays they could hardly meet his eyes whenever he talked to them. Hopefully it wasn’t an issue with their AI. That would take ages to fix.

He glanced over to his workbench, trying to find a spot to put his tea down. Every inch was covered in scribbled notes, crumpled papers, and dirty dishes. He sighed, downed the rest of the tea in one gulp, and added the empty cup to the growing stack of cups behind his notebook. Then he turned back to the computer and continued typing away.

Several hours and another cup of tea later, and all of the commission code was written. All that was left to do was put it through testing. Simulation compiled and ran.

Qi opened his eyes to see the virtual commerce guild building, and thankfully, no Yan in sight. Virtual Trudy would do fine as the Commissioner. Now, where was the builder?

He moved to the workshop, finding them sitting on the swinging bench. They were sitting there quite frequently these days. The last several times Qi had popped in to do some testing, they were always there.

He pushed open the squeaky gate. The builder didn’t react. Qi frowned. Normally they would perk up hearing the gate, putting on a smile as they anticipated his arrival. Were they unwell? It was impossible for an AI to get sick…

Maybe he just needed to give them some encouragement. They always told him that they loved seeing him smile…

“Starlight!” he called in a chipper voice. They didn’t move, only glancing at Qi out of the corner of their eye. He forced a slight smile as their eyes met.

“Mm. Hey,” the builder muttered.

“So! I’ve finished the features of the commerce guild. It’s a bit…rudimentary, but we can expand on it later.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I think you’d be the best fit to run the preliminary tests. Let’s say…one week of typical commission work. I’ve only put simple jobs up, so they shouldn’t take too much time each. Nothing you can’t do. I just need to test that the overall logic is working.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“I’ll be able to see your activity through the system log, but if there’s any bugs, feel free to tell me right away.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Qi’s eyebrows knotted at their perpetual indifference. Something wasn’t right. “Is everything alright, starlight?”

“I’m fine,” they said immediately, face still stony. Qi felt his stomach lurch, struggling to think of a response.

“Don’t you have more work to do?” they said, a sharp edge to their voice.

Qi jolted. “Er…yes. I’ll…um. I’ll see you later, then. Oh, and I’m planning on shutting the simulation off all day tomorrow. Maintenance. …Just so you know.”

“Okay.”

…

Qi logged out without so much as a goodbye. He stared at the terminal screen, feeling a wave of nausea building. Shaking his head briskly to clear his mind, he opened the editor again to work on virtual Arvio’s AI. Perhaps the annoyance of “talking” to that two-bit salesman could distract him from the growing pit in his stomach.

------------

Another week had already flown by. Qi was pleased with the progress he made. About a dozen of the townsfolk were in good enough shape to be added, he refined the town’s buildings a lot more, and he had a good start on Eufaula Salvage. All that was left to do was to check on the commerce guild test.

Qi opened the system log, scrolling through to find…nothing. All the entries were routine system messages and old checks that he forgot to remove, but zero output from the builder. Odd. Was it that broken? Or did he just forget to add log commands to the commission code?

Only one way to find out: ask them himself.

He found them on the bench, as usual, staring dully at the ground.

“Starlight, how was the commerce guild? Did everything go okay? I didn’t see any log output, but maybe that’s just because I forgot a print statement in there somewhere–”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Ah–what?”

“I didn’t take any commissions.”

“W-why not?”

They were silent, still not meeting his eyes.

“Starlight, please, I need you to do this,” Qi pleaded. “I can test it myself as much as I need to, but it’s vital that I get it working on your end.”

Silence.

“I-if you didn’t take any commissions, then what were you up to last week? It’s alright if you’re not feeling well enough to work, you can just tell me and we can–”

“I’ve been here.”

“Here? As in… Wait. You just sat on this bench for a week?!”

“Oh no, not a week. If we’re just counting the time the system’s been running, I’ve been here for precisely…41 days, 10 hours, 36 minutes and…40 seconds, at the tone…beeeep.”

“And you just…did…nothing?”

“Of course I did something,” they scoffed. “I counted up the time.”

Qi stared at them, mouth agape.

“I’m surprised you didn’t notice, you know. I haven’t even shifted in my seat.”

Qi felt the pit in his stomach collapse. Sweat started to soak his palms. They were never like this. Ever. Not even when they were stressed. Not even when they were frustrated. Not even when it was about him.

He swallowed. “Did…did I do something wrong? Are you unhappy with me…?” It came out a lot meeker than he wanted.

The builder didn’t say anything. They just rolled their head back, staring at the artificial clouds rolling by. Their first movement in nearly 42 days. Finally, they heaved a long and tired sigh.

“How long is this going to go on, Qi?” They met his eyes, and only then did Qi see just how exhausted they were. There were no bags under their eyes, but the dullness lying deep within made it look like they hadn’t slept in weeks.

“As…As long as it needs to…I suppose. Until the commerce guild runs smoothly.” The way they were looking at him sapped all his confidence. Suddenly the last two months of work seemed totally futile.

“No, not that. This whole thing. With me. How long are you gonna drag this out?”

“Well…that will also take as long as it needs to.”

“Until?”

“Until you exist in this space in a manner perfectly replicating that how you did in the real world.”

Their exhaustion turned to frustration. “And that’ll never happen, Qi. It’s impossible.”

“We can’t make that assumption if we never try–”

“People have tried, Qi,” they interjected, pinching the bridge of their nose. “Back in the Old World. They could make sentient AI personalities from scratch, but they could never recreate a human’s personality with one. They could get pretty close, y’know, the broad strokes. But they could never get the little things. No matter how much they refined it, there would always be something off. And when they fixed that, something else would be off. It never ended. They’d waste away at their computers trying to make it perfect, trying to fix all the mistakes. Sound familiar?”

Qi was paralyzed under their hard gaze.

“And you know the worst part?” they plowed on. “The cases that I have on record of people trying and failing to do what you’re doing right now…” They panted, pausing to catch their breath as the fire in their eyes faded into a dim, sad glow. “…They were all people trying to bring back their loved ones. Lost friends. Children stuck in the middle of their parents’ divorce. Parents who lost their children. …Widowed spouses.”

Qi’s hands were trembling.

The builder ran a hand through their hair. “Do you have any idea how torn I was when you told me why you created me? The part of me that you programmed…my personality, I guess… It wanted nothing but to see you feel better. It’s what they would’ve wanted. I wanted to talk to you, I wanted to see you smile, I wanted to take care of you the same way you take care of me. But at the same time…the part of me baked into the system linked to the old internet was screaming that this was an awful idea. It wouldn’t work. It’s never worked. And I had the evidence to prove it. I'd be killing you in the long run. No matter what I did, I’d be running with and against my programming at the same time. So I went with your plan, trying to be a short-term solution. As soon as it started losing steam, I pushed you to stop. But you didn’t stop.”

“T-that’s because…I know I can do this. I have the intelligence… I have the technology… I have the patience and the willpower… I’ll work on this for my entire life if I have to,” he said, more to convince himself than the builder.

The builder’s face fell into a half-smile, half-grimace, their eyes shining faintly with what looked like tears. “That’s what they all said, too.”

Qi swallowed the dry lump in his throat. “So what do you expect me to do, then? Just…throw all of this away? After all of this time and effort?”

“Yes.”

The builder’s candidness took Qi aback. “What?”

“Stop all of this. You’re wasting your life away for nothing. What you’re after is impossible, even if you lived and worked for a thousand years. This isn’t any way to live, honey.”

“This isn’t any way to live…” Qi echoed. His lips twisted into a mirthless smile. “Starlight, do you even know what living was like before I started this project?” He barked out a dry, delirious laugh. The builder frowned.

“It was my mind shutting down from the revelation that you were gone. It was getting strangled by the sheer emptiness of my life. It was wasting away in bed because I was paralyzed and numb. Is that living?”

“Honey, why didn’t…”

“Mint was the only reason I stayed alive at all. He helped me maintain my bodily functions even if I couldn’t bring myself to do it. If he didn’t show up when he did, Dr. Fang may very well have found me dead. Is that living?!” His voice was rising, straining.

“Honey…”

Qi clutched at his hair, the grease and grime burying under his fingernails. “The only respite I had was my dreams. Fang left me a sleeping tea and I used the tiny amount of energy that I had to induce sleep whenever I was awake. And even in my sleep, all I could do was dream of you. Of us. We would always be so happy, but then I would always wake up to an empty bed. Do you have any idea how that feels?”

“Qi.”

“And what’s dreadfully ironic is that it was a dream that got me out of bed at all. All of this was because I had a dream where I was showing you the virtual Sandrock project but you completely vanished when we logged off. You’d think that I’d consider that a nightmare but I owe it a lot since it gave me the only other lifeline I could cling to–”

“Qi!”

“Do you see why this is so important to me now? It’s so selfish but it’s true because what else do I even have Maybe you’re right and this is no way to live but do you really think that that’s any better than this I’ve just been absolutely useless without you that everything I do now has to lead back to you I’m just so lost what can I do what can I do–”

“HENG!”

The rare invocation of his first name froze his spiraling mind in place. His breath came in rapid gasps, and something began prickling at the corners of his eyes. “St…Starlight… Wh-what do I do? What do I do?”

They said nothing. There was nothing they could say.

This was not his starlight. His starlight had long since faded into darkness.

He reached his arm out, a desperate attempt to hold them for comfort. His arm passed through their shoulder, his hand feeling nothing but the plastic controller and the cold, stagnant air. He felt tears pooling in the visor.

“Help me…help me, please…”

He leaned in closer, trying to pull them to his chest just like he would before leaving for work each day. The builder only watched in solemn silence as his arms grasped at nothing. Still, he wrapped his arms against his own chest, tighter and tighter. Maybe, just maybe, if he pressed against himself tight enough, he could feel their warmth surrounding him again. A ragged sob escaped his lips. It wasn’t enough.

He curled in on himself, compressing all of the warmth he had in him, only to create another facsimile of the one he loved so dearly. It wasn’t enough.

It would never be enough.

“You see?” the builder whispered. “No matter how much you do, this is the only way this’ll end.”

“What do I do…?” Qi breathed, still clinging to himself.

“Delete me. Delete everything. Whatever happiness you got from me isn’t worth it. It wouldn’t have lasted long even if everything went perfectly anyway.”

…

“Take it from me, they’d want you to find real happiness. Out there. I know what the other Sandrockers are like, and they’re not gonna leave you hanging.”

…

“It’ll be hard, I know. And it won’t be the same joy that you shared with them…but it’s joy all the same. And it’ll be real.”

Qi looked up at them. His tears soaked the headset’s screen, warping and distorting the image of their pained smile. It magnified the pixels, shattering the illusion of color that he had worked so meticulously to replicate. Their skin, their eyes… Nothing but dense clusters of red and green and blue.

“Promise me you’ll put an end to this, Qi. Right now. Log off and delete me.” Their voice was as gentle as it always was in their softest moments. If he just closed his eyes, maybe…he could still believe that they were there in front of him. Like they wouldn’t disappear again once he lifted the headset off.

The builder reached a hand up to his face, as if they were cupping his cheek. Qi felt nothing. “Please, promise me.”

For the briefest instant, through the blurriness of his vision and the fog of his mind, Qi believed with all his heart that the real builder was asking. Who was he to deny them?

“I…I promise.” He could barely hear himself. But the builder nodded.

“Go get something to eat. Go talk to someone. Owen’s a good start, he’ll listen to anyone. And go out and look at the stars, of course. The real ones.”

A dagger twisted in Qi’s heart. Every fiber of him was protesting the inevitable.

“I love you, Qi. They love you. Never, ever forget that.” They leaned in, pressing what would be a gentle kiss to his forehead. Nothing was there, but the skin where their lips appeared to be tingled at the illusory touch. It twisted the dagger in deeper. Qi wanted so terribly to say it back, but all that left his throat was a keening whine.

The builder pulled away, their eyes glittering with unshed tears. “Go on, then.”

Qi’s thumb slid over the power button.

“You’ll be okay.”

His hand shook.

“You’ll be okay.”

His hand clenched, and then there was nothing but darkness.

Qi ripped the headset off his head and shot over to the terminal in one swift motion. He pulled up the project list, selected the builder, and hit the delete button.

Are you sure you want to permanently delete project “starlight.npc”?

This cannot be undone!

The following subcomponents will be deleted:

starlight_model.fbx

starlight_personality.ai

starlight_props.json

> Yes No

Qi’s hands were still trembling. He steeled himself and slammed his finger down. He wasn’t about to break a promise.

“starlight.npc” successfully deleted.

He stared at the message as his nerves unraveled, taking shallow and uneven breaths.

It was done.

A familiar, terrible ache took hold of his heart, quickly spreading to every inch of his body.

It was done.

His knees failed him, and he collapsed to the floor, curling into a ball on his side.

It was done.

The dam broke. He shook with sobs, every ounce of feeling for his starlight in every tear spilling out onto the indifferent floor. Every bit of love, every bit of adoration, every bit of desperation welled deep within his heart that would give anything, anything, just to savor one more night with them under the stars. One more moment in their arms. One more clasp of their hand. One more glance at their smile.

It was done.

------------

Qi had no idea how much time had passed. He was still on the floor, no more tears to shed. The smell of the dirty steel floor invaded his nose. The air was stale and stagnant. The fog in his mind still wouldn’t clear. It was driving him crazy.

Summoning his meager strength back into his arms, he pushed himself up. He had to get out of here. Anywhere was better than here. He hastily put his glasses back on, almost poking his eye out.

He went downstairs and quietly opened the back door and stepped into the chilly evening. A cold breeze sighed in his ears and swept through his hair. His lungs filled with crisp, fresh air for the first time in forever. He let his feet drag him along slowly, ambling without direction. They took him down the hill, through the old pipe tunnel out of town.

As he emerged from the tunnel’s mouth, he threw up his arm to shield his eyes from the glaring sun. It painted the sky with a light blush pink and the sand with a rosy gold. There in the distance, beyond the oasis, beyond the tracks, was the workshop, wreathed in twilight. Where all of this began. Where his home was for a tragically short time. Where everything now stood silent and still. Where he couldn’t bear to look for the last year and a half.

Qi slowed to a halt, staring at the silhouette of the house, of the garden, of the assembly station, of the machines. All without anyone left to care for them.

It was lonely. It was real.

He was lonely. He was real.

They were gone.

…

“Director Qi?”

It was Hugo.

Qi’s head whipped right to find him at his anvil, whatever he was hammering long since cooled.

“You alright?” Hugo’s voice was quiet, his face concerned.

Qi suddenly realized his cheeks were wet. He stared at a pebble on the ground, struggling to formulate an answer. Hugo seemed to understand, only giving him a nod and a sympathetic look.

They stood like that for a heavy minute, both expecting the other to get back to business. A fuzzy memory drifted into focus in Qi’s mind. One of eyes too tired to sleep, a bed too large for one person, and Hugo’s voice making him an invitation.

Qi opened his mouth to speak, but all that came out was a scratchy, painful cough. His throat was dry and hoarse. He swallowed a few times, taking the brief moment to gather his thoughts. Hugo waited patiently for him to continue.

“D-do you remember when you came to visit me all that time ago, when I was too overwhelmed to leave my bed?” Hugo nodded. “You made me an offer to talk about…things…when I could comfortably speak again. Are…are you still willing to give me that offer? Even after so long?”

A warm smile crossed Hugo’s face. “Of course. My door’s always been open to ya. I’m glad you remembered.”

Qi tried to give a polite smile in return. It looked more like a tight grimace. He wiped his eyes on his sleeve and headed towards Hugo’s workshop.

Hugo opened the door for him. “C’mon in. I’ll get ya some coffee.” As Qi passed him, he gave him a hearty pat on the back, strong enough to send Qi stumbling inside. He let out a light chuckle at the glare that Qi leveled him in return.

“Let’s talk.”

------------

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#shady's fics #empty skies hazy skyboxes

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