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[overqueasy]

pickles’ nipples ❤️

[theladyfae]

booped so hard i fucking unfollowed u by accident 💀

nooooooo it's okay ur winning anyway 🫶

[muzzlemouths]

Congratulations on being born :) im happy you exist

[aanoia]

Orphic (pt.3)

pairing; Ao'nung x Sully!reader Orphic; (adj.) mysterious and entrancing; beyond ordinary understanding words; 3,000 warnings; injury, mentions of death Pt. 1; Pt. 2; Pt. 4; Pt. 5 Okay, the thing is, every single time I attempt to write a story like this, I always try to make it slow burn. However, as apparent in this chapter, I have ZERO self control. They were supposed to hate each other for a few more chapters. Anywho I'm not really mad, y'all are gonna love the next chapter (hopefully as much as I loved writing it)

“I wish I was there.” Kiri smiles, wonder in her eyes. “The ocean has blessed you with a gift, brother.”

“The tulkun have not returned yet.” Ao’nung mentions, his back against a palm tree as he rests his arm on his knee. “And even then, no tulkun is alone.”

“Well, this one was. And it was missing a fin. Like a stump. On the left side.” 

“Poor tulkun.” Tuk mutters quietly as Y/n frowns. 

“Payakan.” Tsireya says quietly.

“What?” Ao’nung mutters.

“It’s Payakan.”

“Who’s Payakan?” Y/n asks curiously. 

“A young bull who went rogue. He’s outcast. Alone. And he has a missing fin.” Rotxo answers.

“They say he is a killer.” Tsireya adds. 

“No, no.” Lo’ak tries.

“He killed Na’vi, and other tulkun.” Ao’nung explains with a loose shrug, and by the look on his face, Y/n can tell that it is a serious crime. “Not here, but far to the south.”

“No, he’s no killer.”

“Lo’ak, you are lucky to be alive.”

“I’m telling you guys, he saved my life. He’s my friend.”

Neteyam stands with a smirk, “My baby bro! The mighty warrior, who faced the killer tulkun, and lived to tell about it.”

Lo’ak shrugs him off, standing angrily, “You guys aren’t listening.”

“Lo’ak, I’m listening!” Tuk reassures. 

“Lo’ak, come back!” Kiri tries, but the boy is walking away. 

“You skxawns.” Y/n sighs, standing up. She glances at Ao’nung. “I’m going to go relax.”

“Wait, we have somewhere we want to bring you guys.” Ao’nung stops her, grabbing onto her hand. “You’ll want to see it.”

“Oh, okay.” She nods, an indigo hue coming to her cheeks. “Alright then.”

Tsireya smiles widely as she stands, “Let us go!”

Neteyam stands and glares at Ao’nung, pulling his hand off of Y/n and dragging the girl to the water. She smiles and calls for her ilu, before diving into the ocean. Ao’nung comes up beside her on his ilu, signing to her.

“I bet I’ll beat you in a race.” He signs, grinning smugly.

She raises a brow, “First off, you would not. Second, I don’t know where we are going.”

He thinks for a moment, “Sounds like a you problem.” And he takes off quickly, leaving a trail of bubbles behind him. Y/n rolls her eyes, and follows him. She stays just right behind him for now, allowing him to lead the way. Once he’s steadily heading towards a large cave entrance, she urges her ilu ahead. Her ilu managed to pull forward, ahead of Ao’nung, and she smirks. They enter the cave, which turns out to be an entrance to something even better. Y/n’s mouth gapes in awe as she surfaces, looking around the beautiful terrain. 

“I told you you’d want to come along.” Ao’nung smiles at her, surfacing beside her.

She smiles at him, “And I told you I’d win.”

He scoffs lightly, “I let you win.”

Y/n nods, “Yeah, I’m sure you did.”

“We are here.” Tsireya says to her siblings softly. “This is the Cove of the Ancestors. Our most sacred place.” Y/n shields her eyes from the shining sun as it begins to fall behind the rocks. “Eclipse is the best time of day to be here.” Once it’s darkened, they make their way to something glowing brightly under the water. “This is it, this is the Spirit Tree.” 

Y/n’s face lights up, if they’ll have it, she can connect with her parents here. The group swim down there, and Ao’nung nudges Y/n’s side. She shoos his hand away, sticking her tongue out at him. He smiles, the sides of his eyes crinkling. Y/n makes it to a branch like part of the tree, and carefully connects her braid to it. She closes her eyes, and allows her senses to fall away. 

She’s back home, walking through the forest. It’s dark out, but the various glowing foliage light her way perfectly. She hears laughter, shared between a man and woman, and she follows the sound. Walking through a bush, a small clearing is revealed. Sat in the middle, entangled in each other, are her parents. The man looks at her, and his face lights up.

“My daughter.” He says softly, smiling. 

The woman looks over, and untangles herself from her mate, standing to embrace her daughter tightly. “Y/n.” She grins, holding her close. Y/n accepts the hug, her eyes tearing up a bit. 

“Hi, guys.” She responds quietly as a strong pair of arms wrap around the both of them.

“How are you, child?” Her father asks quietly, rubbing her back.

“I’m okay.” She responds, sniffling softly.

“So, why are you crying?” Her mother asks, pulling away enough to wipe her cheeks of any stray tears. 

“We left the forest.” Her parents nod, aware. “And I… said something I shouldn’t have to Jake.”

Her mother hums quietly, “He’ll forgive you, sweet child.”

Her father pats her back, “He cares about you, as if you were his own daughter. No matter what you said, the two of you can fix it.”

Y/n nods, smiling a little. “Thank you guys… I’m happy I could see you again.”

“The same goes for us.” Her mother responds. 

Y/n feels as if her body is being shaken violently, and she frowns. “I think- I have to go.”

“So soon?” Her father asks.

She nods, “I’m sorry, I will come back.”

Her mother kisses her forehead, “Stay strong, my daughter. We love you.”

“Very much.” Her fathers adds.

Y/n awakes abruptly to Ao’nung shaking her. She looks at him, rather annoyed he pulled her away from her parents. But upon seeing his look of worry, and following his hand to where he was pointing, she forgets about it. Kiri is seizing. The tree's glow is strobing as Y/n rushes over to her, she disconnects her braid and swims upwards, trying to get Kiri to the surface. 

The group surfaces, “Come on, someone help me!” Y/n yells, pulling Kiri to her ilu.

“Kiri!” Tuk cries. Y/n’s ilu squawks as the girl pushes Kiri over it’s back. She gets on behind Kiri.

“Is she breathing?” Rotxo asks worriedly. Normally, Y/n would tease him about it, but now is not the time. Y/n plugs Kiri’s nose, bending down and breathing air into her lungs. She does it a few times, before Kiri coughs.

“Get her to the village! Hurry!”

“Let’s go! Let’s move!” Y/n instructs out loud, and her ilu takes off. 

Y/n watches worriedly as a copter lands on the sand. She stands next to Ao’nung, which brings her a bit of comfort. Since the night before, it’s different with him. He sat next to her when she was struggling, and he offered to help and stayed when she didn’t tell him anything. He showed her a side she wasn’t sure even existed in him, and she’s thankful he did. Norm walks out of the copter, and Y/n doesn’t have time to be happy about seeing a familiar face. Her father and Norm exchange a short hug and greeting.

“Neteyam, Y/n, keep them back!” Jake instructs. Y/n frowns and glances over the crowd, sighing deeply. 

“Stay back guys.” She says enthusiastically, Ao’nung laughs softly. 

“You’re very efficient.”

“I try.” 

He takes her arm gently, “Come. I’d like to show you something.”

“But Kiri…”

“Will understand.”

Y/n for a moment, but ultimately decides she’d be no help if she was there, so she nods. “Okay.”

“Are you leading me to a secluded place to murder me?” Y/n asked, mostly joking, her hands covering her eyes as her ilu steadily moves through the water.

“Not yet, no.” Ao’nung smiles, glancing at the girl. 

“Oh, so soon?”

“Most likely.”

“Encouraging.” 

“You gonna open your eyes one day, or what?”

“You didn’t tell me I could.”

“Well, you can.”

“Are you sure?”

Ao’nung laughs, and Y/n smiles. “Just open your damn eyes, skxawng.”

“Sheesh, sheesh, fine.” She slowly removes her hands, and her eyes light up. They’re in a cave, decorated with glowing foliage and moss. The two of them are in the pool, in the middle of the cave, and surrounded by rocky ledges. It’s one of the most beautiful places she’s seen.

“What do you think?” Ao’nung asks softly, studying her expression. 

Y/n looks over at him and grins, “I thought it was very beautiful until I had to see you, fishlips.”

He laughs, splashing water at her, “Shut up, treehugger.”

She splashes him back, chuckling quietly, “Sorry, sorry. It is beautiful here. And I guess you don’t ruin the view.”

“Oh, thanks.” He smiles, sliding off his ilu. He sits on the rocks, his feet dangling in the water. Y/n joins him, accidentally sitting too close, and she’s hyper aware of her thigh touching his. “You don’t have to tell me… but what happened yesterday? Is it something I can… help with?”

Y/n glances at him, then back at the water. “No.” She answers softly. “Nothing you can change. It’s just…” Ao’nung waits patiently for her to answer, watching her. “Jake and Neytiri… they aren’t my parents, not really.”

He tilts his head, “Then… who are your parents?”

A ghost of a smile appears on her face as she thinks of them, “Their names were Tsu’tey and Y/n. I got my name from my mother.”

“I assumed.” He teases.

“Shush. Anyway, they, uhm, they died. My father, before I was born, and my mother during childbirth.” She stares at the water intently. 

“I’m sorry.” Ao’nung says softly, taking her hand.

“It’s okay. Uh, Jake and my mom were best friends, they became a part of the Omatikaya clan together as avatars. And my father and Neytiri grew up together, so…” She shrugs. “They took me in when my mom died and named me after her.”

Ao’nung hums softly, “Is that why you were crying yesterday? You miss them?”

“No- well, I do miss them. A lot. But uhm, I said something I shouldn’t have to Jake.” Calling him by his name felt foreign on her tongue. “I told him that I wish it was him that… died. And not my father.”

Ao’nung nods, squeezing her hand, “And that’s untrue?”

She nods, “Very. I just feel suffocated sometimes.”

“I understand that.”

She looks over at him, “I didn’t even explain why.”

“The crippling pressure to constantly take care of your younger siblings?” Y/n’s silent and he smiles a little. “I understand.”

“Tsireya?”

“Yeah. It’s not like she gets in trouble much, but everything can be so dangerous sometimes. And, you know, I’m going to be the future Olo’eyktan, so I need to take care of the rest of the clan as well.”

Y/n nods, “I understand. I hate to say it, fishlips, but I think we have a lot more in common than we realized.”

He smiles, “I’ll never hug a tree.”

She shrugs, “You’re loss, honestly. They’re very good huggers and they never judge. No one, other than trees and my father, have met my hug expectations.”

“Well, you just haven’t received one of my hugs before.”

Y/n raises a brow, “You are not good at hugging.”

“How do you know?”

“I can just tell.”

He scoffs, “That’s disrespectful.”

“It’s just the truth.” 

He let’s go of her, swiftly standing up. “Stand up.”

She laughs a little, “What?”

“I said “Stand up.””

The girl hesitantly does so, and yelps as Ao’nung tightly wraps his arms around her shoulders. She pauses for a moment, before slowly hugging him back, wrapping her arms around his waist. She rests her head on his chest, hiding her smile. His hug is meeting her expectations. He buries his face in her hair, breathing her in deeply. This is his sly way to hug her, and he silently gloats to himself. She can feel his breathing, the gentle rise and fall of his chest, and his abnormally fast heartbeat. 

“Are you scared of me?” She asks quietly, repeating his own words.

“What?” He asks softly, not getting the reference. 

“Are you scared of me?” She repeats.

He pauses for a moment, smiling a little. “I’m not scared of you.” He whispers. 

“Then why is your heart beating so fast?”

“‘Cause you’re cute.”

Once the two arrive home, Y/n rushes to the familiar morai, where Kiri finally awoke. She gasps softly, kneeling beside Tuk. 

“Oh, Kiri.” She says softly, brushing hair of the girl’s eyes. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” Kiri cries quietly, taking Y/n’s hand and squeezing tightly. “Can I hug you?” Y/n asks quietly, and Kiri nods. She pulls Kiri up slightly, enough to wrap her arms around her and hugs her gently. “Sh, you’re okay.” She reassures, rubbing her back. 

A smaller pair of arms join the hug, and then their mother’s. The Sully girls stayed in that group hug for a while, relishing each other’s presence. Finding comfort in each other’s support. The peaceful atmosphere is ruined by Jake, Norm, and Max reentering the tent. The girls pull away, each of them secretly wiping their eyes. 

“Sorry to interrupt.” Norm says sincerely.

“You’re okay.” Y/n responds, glancing at her father. He meets her gaze, and she frowns. 

“Can we speak?” He asks gently, and she nods. She squeezes Kiri’s hand one last time, and nervously follows her father out.

“I’m sorry I didn’t stop her from seizing- or that I wasn’t there when you guys were trying to wake her up. I didn-” She’s cut off by her father’s arms crushing her in a hug.

“No, I’m sorry.” He admits quietly, and his tense shoulders relax once his daughter hugs him back. “I’ve put impossible expectations on you, and went too far scolding you when you didn’t meet them. I know I’m not your father.” His voice cracks, but he tries to hide it with a cough. “And I’ve failed stepping in as one. But you’re my babygirl, no matter what… even if I’m not your dad.”

She shakes her head, her eyes filled with tears, “No, don’t say that. I can’t deny that you’ve made some mistakes, but you were doing the best you could. What I said yesterday wasn’t true. It’s not how I feel. I do wish my father was alive, but not that you took his place. I love you, dad.” Her voice breaks.

He breathes in deeply, rubbing her back. “I love you too, babygirl. Eywa has blessed me with you.”

She smiles a little bit, a few tears leaking out, “The feelings are mutual.” The two pull apart, and Jake gently wipes the tears from his daughter’s face. 

“How were you supposed to have prevented her seizure?” He asks, his brow raised. His eyes are teary, but he doesn’t cry. 

Y/n laughs softly and shrugs, “No clue.”

He nods, patting her shoulder. “You do your best to keep your siblings safe. I appreciate you.”

She smiles, swallowing thickly, “Thank you.”

He ruffles her hair, “Come on, let’s go inside.”

Y/n glances behind her father, to see Ao’nung alone on the beach. “I- uh, I’ll be right there.”

He glances behind him, and his brows raise in surprise. “Uh huh, alright then.”

“I’m just making new friends, like you said.”

“Yeah, yeah. Go. Don’t be too long.” 

Y/n smiles, and givs her dad one more quick hug. “I love you, dad.”

“I love ya too, kid.” He kisses the top of her head, before nudging her towards the boy. “Go on.”

She quietly walks to the boy and sits beside him, once again their thighs touch. She nudges him with her knee, and he looks over quietly. He studies her for a moment, before sighing deeply and looking back out to the water.

“A penny for your thoughts?” She asks softly.

“A what?”

She pauses for a moment, “Right… a super cool shell for your thoughts?”

He hums quietly, “I have plenty of super cool shells.”

She nods, “Okay. Well, I’m pretty sure mine is cooler.”

“May I see it?”

“...Not at this moment, unfortunately, no.”

He smiles a little, “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”

She smiles back at him, “Just thinking out loud here, but I’m assuming I haven’t convinced you?”

“You’d be correct to assume that.”

She sighs, shrugging a little, “Welp. It was worth a shot.” She stays there, looking out over the horizon. She doesn’t say anything else, just sits there. Like he did for her. She’s not sure if that’s what he wants, but he hasn’t told her to leave yet.

“Is Kiri alright?” He finally breaks the silence.

Y/n nods, “She’ll be okay. She’s just shaken up. I don’t know what Norm and Max think about what happened, but as far as I know, she’s okay.”

“That’s good. Whatever it is, I don’t think it’s something those skywalkers would know about.”

“Why’s that?”

“The Spirit Tree was reacting to her… it wasn’t something scientific, it was spiritual. That much is certain.”

“Yeah, I agree. All I’m worried about is whether or not she’s okay.” 

“I understand.” He answers simply, and continues staring out into the ocean. The silence is comfortable, but Y/n can’t help but be slightly worried for the boy.

“Are you okay?” She asks gently, tearing her eyes away from the water to look at him again.

He doesn’t answer, and she doesn’t press. She bites her cheek, and scoots closer to rest her head on his shoulder. She understands him, he understands her. Although they got off on the wrong foot, people can always change. Eventually their true colors will always poke through the facade. It all depends on who decides the chip at the walls and gives the light a peephole to shine through. After a few moments, Ao’nung lays his head on top of the girl’s, and they sit together in silence.

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[torukmaktoskxawng]

'anla - part seven

Series Masterlist Summary: The next generation is getting ready to complete their Iknimaya. Ao'nung and Y/n aren't exactly hiding, but people are finally noticing. Pairing: Ao'nung/Fem!Na'vi!Sully Reader Warnings: Mature language, overprotective parent, heated arguments, heated gazes (in a sexy way), fluff, coming of age, mentions of mating, mentions of drowning and death, etc posted on ao3 Word Count: 8k+ Tag: #'anla ao'nung fic Na'vi Words: Marui - house/pod, ilu - plesiosaur like animal, tulkun - whale like animal, skxawng - moron, akula - shark like animal, olo'eyktan - clan leader, ma'yawntu - my love, paskalin - honey, syulang - flower, tìyawn - love, tsahik - spiritual leader, tswin/kuru - queue braid, tsakarem - tsahik in training, tsurak - skimwing, ikran - mountain banshee, tsaheylu - the bond, swoa - intoxicating beverage, oel ngati kameie - I See you, ma'yawntutsyìp - my darling, nantang - viperwolf, ma'ite - my daughter, taronyu - hunter Taglist (bold indicates "could not tag"): @bangtanxberm @aonungmyaddiction @lv9su @aisselasstuff @yourusername1 @amortencjja @king-julian6201 @gg-trini @im-in-a-pansexual-panik @mikeyswifie @heart-an0n @iloveavatar @urdads-gf  @kentfisherswifee6 @sakurayuki8655-blog @ken-zah @nilrilie @g-l-1-t-c-h-3-r @iovemoonyy @sopluto @frvv A/N: Two chapters in just two days??? Anyway, like I said the last chapter, I had to split my writing into two parts since it was getting to be over 10,000 words, so here is the next part!

The trip back to the village was a quiet one, Y/n's mind still reeling about her conversation with Neteyam. Jake thankfully didn't ask and acted as a pillar of strength when they returned home. He made one look at Neytiri and she opted out of saying anything, gladly letting her husband and her daughter return to the marui but not before she held them both in her arms out of relief that things would be alright between them. Y/n went to bed early, exhausted from all of the events of the day that resulted in the grief come bouncing back. If she woke up in the middle of the night to find herself in a cuddle pile of both Na'vi and human siblings, she didn't mention it, and none of the Sullys made any comments the following morning. Everyone was just happy that bonds were mending and hearts were healing. They were one step closer to feeling like a family again.

Lo'ak was visibly more comfortable walking beside Y/n that morning, knowing that she and their father had talked, and was happy to no longer walk on eggshells around either of them. Y/n appeared more relaxed as well, despite receiving some odd-looking glares from nearby Metkayina girls. To ignore the stares and lighten the mood a little more, Y/n shoved her little brother into the water before he could even blink. The resulting splash sent Y/n laughing and Lo'ak sputtering when his resurfaced, vowing revenge. It was then that Ao'nung and Rotxo showed up, grinning down at Lo'ak's predicament while standing beside Y/n.

"Quit messing around, Lo'ak," Ao'nung teased good-naturedly, "We got work to do today."

Lo'ak frowned, slightly embarrassed but summoned an ilu for himself. The other teens do the same and they head out to work, all the while Rotxo explains today's task to the Sully children, "When training to be a warrior among the Metkayina, you have to ride an ilu to chase away predators that threaten the young."

"Bro, we used ilu to rescue a tulkun and fought against Sky People," Lo'ak retorts, "I think that should count."

"He's got a point," Y/n added, "I think we rescued plenty of our young doing that."

Lo'ak squints his eyes in his sister's direction, "I couldn't tell if that was sarcastic or not."

"Figure it out, skxawng."

"It is all about tradition," Ao'nung explained, "I am sure the Elders would appreciate us keeping up with old traditions despite we have done enough to become warriors ten times over already despite our young age."

"So we're only doing this to impress a bunch of old people?" Lo'ak questioned with an added groan, getting splashed by Y/n in the process.

"Lo, for someone who just tries to fit in--"

"I know, I know," he waved her off half-heartedly.

"I'd like to see you talk that way to Grandmother."

A bit of color drains from Lo'ak's face, but otherwise he says nothing. Ao'nung laughed as they leisurely swayed in the water, leaning over in Lo'ak's direction, "They say that the Elders see and hear all. I would watch my back if I were you, Lo'ak te Suli. Maybe make a necklace for them as an apology."

Y/n laughs while Rotxo's smile slowly turns up into a mischievous grin, eyeing Ao'nung while opening his mouth, his eyes all-knowing, "Speaking of necklaces, that is a very nice arrowhead, Y/n. Akula?"

Ao'nung spun to glare at Rotxo in warning while Y/n briefly pressed a finger to the arrowhead she had yet to take off. She quickly retracts her touch and pointedly doesn't look at Rotxo, "Yes, thank you."

By now, Lo'ak is also staring at the necklace, eyes widening each time his brain puts another piece of the puzzle together, head tilting to Ao'nung, then Y/n, then back again. Rotxo could see Lo'ak's realization slowly dawning on his face and decided not to let up for the sake of teasing his friend, "Did you make it? Or was it given to you?"

"The necklace is mine... the tooth was a gift."

"Oh? From who?" Rotxo's big eyes practically sparkle with mirth, staring directly at Lo'ak as he adds, "You know, speaking of tradition, usually when a Na'vi gifts another something as special as that, it means they are courting--"

"I think we should split up on our patrol," Lo'ak abruptly states, briefly glaring daggers at Ao'nung while urging his ilu forward to swim beside Rotxo, "As I am about ready to strangle both of you, I will be going with Rotxo."

"Sure," Ao'nung shrugged, "Meet back here around midday?"

"Alright. See ya then."

Ao'nung and Y/n watch Lo'ak and Rotxo speed their ilu up and swim away, jumping in and out of the water before disappearing on the horizon. The pair waits until they are completely alone before Y/n flashes a side-eye glance in Ao'nung's direction, "You told Rotxo?"

"I didn't tell him anything," he defends, "But practically everyone has been asking. They all probably know."

"Yeah... 'Teyam used to tease me about it." She smiled sadly at the memory.

"Did he? I was so sure he would have killed me."

"No, he was the brother you didn't have to worry about," she huffed a small laugh, "Lo'ak and Spider on the other hand... well, you've been punched by the one before, and Spider might be more level-headed but you have never seen him truly angry."

A small glimmer flashed in Ao'nung's eyes, a wave of respect for the human boy washing over him, "That's intriguing."

She snorts quietly, her eyes returning to the spot where the other pair of teenagers disappeared, "I'm pretty sure Lo'ak has known about us for a while, maybe before I even knew there was an 'us.' So I wouldn't worry about him. He's just acting like a child."

She raises an eyebrow when Ao'nung emits a small growl, "Maybe your brother should worry about me if what I heard about him and Tsireya is true."

"Oh, please. They have been fond of each other since the day they met, don't act like you didn't notice." Y/n rolled her eyes.

"I am going to kill him."

"You will do no such thing if you know what's good for you," she glared dangerously back, though Ao'nung noted that it was not as heated or as threatening as her usual glares, "You cannot hate him for seeing your sister and then turn around to see his. Besides, I think your mother doesn't mind it after she and I talked that one time we were foraging. She heard my side of things and I think she actually approves of Lo'ak and Tsireya now."

Ao'nung goes back to that day when he found Y/n and his mother walking out of the forest together, his ears sheepishly pinning back against his skull when he remembered what had happened after Y/n had left, "My mother asked about you."

Y/n's eyes widened, "She did?"

"And she tells my father everything, so..."

"Same here. I think our sisters know, but they are not saying anything. They would take it to their grave if we asked them." Y/n smiles to herself.

"It wouldn't matter. This whole village is full of spinsters," Ao'nung snidely comments, "Everyone's business is everyone's business."

He watched as the gears openly turned in Y/n's head, her eyes looking to the sky while she asked, "... Is that why there were girls staring at me down by the docks this morning?"

"I do not know," initially, he shrugs, but she watches as Ao'nung's eyes slowly start to sparkle as his teasing grin reemerges, "Maybe they are jealous."

"Jealous?"

"Of course," he flaunts dramatically, "Jealous that a forest girl from a faraway place managed to steal the future olo'eyktan out from under their noses."

Her scowl immediately pitches into a laugh when he reaches over and briefly grabs her tail. Y/n pulled away from him before he could do it again, still laughing while trying to evade his hand.

They urge their ilu to swim a bit more after that, chasing one another playfully until they get to their next spot for patrol. By the time they got there, Ao'nung noticed that Y/n was staring off into space and looking a little unsure of herself, "What is it?"

Her eyes and ears lower, gaze pointedly staring down at her hands, "We mentioned honoring tradition earlier, then just now you reminded me of your stature. Maybe the Elders wouldn't appreciate the chief's son choosing a forest girl over one of their own."

Ao'nung scoffed, "The Elders don't care about that sort of thing. You are Na'vi. That's all that matters to them."

"But even you didn't think we were true Na'vi," her eyes flick up to his and his blood turned cold under her stare, "Not when we first arrived."

He slouched, ears drooping while his eyes softened into regret, fingers twitching with the need to reach out to her, but remained in his lap, "I was wrong."

"Maybe. But there are others who still think the same way you did. They still look at me, Lo'ak, and Kiri and think we are freaks. I am pretty sure even Tuk has more friends than us because she at least looks Na'vi."

"That is not why she has more friends," Ao'nung tries to smile, "Tuk is Tuk."

Y/n hums to herself, feeling one corner of her mouth twitch at the fond thought of her baby sister, "That's true."

"You..." Her eyes flick back up to Ao'nung when his voice didn't sound very confident. He wouldn't look her in the eyes, clearly feeling out of his comfort zone. She patiently waited for him to speak, occupying herself by watching drips of water fall off his brow or glisten in his hair, the sun reflecting off his wet braids like diamonds. Y/n's chest squeezed, but it wasn't an uncomfortable feeling. It was warm and it was spreading over her like a comforting blanket that her mother would leave beside the fire. Her thoughts are disrupted when Ao'nung finally finds the courage to look up, "You have never once doubted yourself like that. Lo'ak and Kiri sometimes still look at themselves and hate what they see, but not you. You've never doubted yourself, Y/n, so why start now?"

"It doesn't matter whether or not I despise how I look," she carefully answers, feeling small and scrutinized under his disbelieving gaze, "It matters what everyone else would think if they knew you were courting a deformed freak."

"You are not deformed."

"No?" She bitterly questioned, frowning as she lifted up her hand to him, purposely wiggling her pinky finger, "This doesn't freak you out? It is alien."

"So what?" He reached out for her hand, "An extra finger just means there is more of you to hold."

The response stuns her to the point she didn't react when Ao'nung slipped his hand into hers. Looking down, she stared at their joined hands, fingers wrapped around one another in an ornament of two different colors. Looking back, their skin tones complimented each other beautifully together, and the contrast just made sense. Y/n was still amazed about how big Ao'nung's hand was compared to hers, despite being the same age. Once those thoughts vanish, all that's left are Ao'nung's smooth words and the color slowly rising in her ears.

Y/n scoffs, trying to play it off, "Do you think yourself charming?"

Ao'nung grinned, "Only for you, ma'yawntu."

The term of endearment surprises her out of a laugh, playfully horrified, "Eywa, no."

"Paskalin?"

"Stop."

"Syulang?"

"Please, you are embarrassing."

"I got all day, tìyawn." Ao'nung laughed, "What would you like me to call you?"

"How about my name?" She asked sarcastically.

His smile was wide, bright, and downright beautiful. It took all of Y/n's willpower not to melt right then and there, "Of course, Forest Girl. It's what I prefer anyway."

"I'm sure it is, Seaweed Brain."

~~~~~~~~~

Ronal's baby was born in the traditional way, in a water birth ceremony called the First Breath, where the whole clan gathers around in shallow water to celebrate. Now, normally the tsahik would help the mother guide her newborn to the surface to take its first breath, but seeing as Ronal was the one expecting, one village healer and Tsireya were chosen to help her. This was a new kind of ceremony for the Sullys so they hadn't fully participated until after the baby was born, then they proceeded to celebrate with the rest of the Metkayina.

Kailani was a beautiful baby girl and everyone adored her. Nearly everyone wanted to see her and hold her. As the newest baby in the village, she had earned herself a lot of attention and was loved by all, especially her older brother and sister. Ao'nung was little enough that he couldn't remember when Tsireya was born, and Tsireya had always been the youngest, so this was the first time either of the chief's children experienced what it was like to have a new baby in the family... and it showed.

This became obvious a month into Kailani's life when Tuk came out of nowhere and started to drag Y/n and Kiri by their hands toward Ronal and Tonowari's marui, "Come on, come on! I wanna see the baby!"

The teen girls reluctantly follow their little sister, smiling fondly at Tuk's excitement. It was adorable to see that Tuk didn't have much experience with babies either. Approaching the pod, it was obvious neither tsahik nor olo'eyktan was home, and yet there were soft cries coming out of the marui. Tuk drops her sisters' hands and runs in while Y/n and Kiri dutifully follow. Walking inside, they find Tsireya and Ao'nung sitting close together, appearing a little worried and exhausted while looking down at the small baby lying in her big brother's arms. Both of the reef teenagers looked up when they heard someone enter, and Tsireya waved them over, "Have either of you seen our mother?"

Kiri and Y/n exchange a look before the former responds, "She's in the healer's hut. A warrior came in all scraped up from getting thrown against the coral reef."

"What is wrong?" Y/n asked.

"She won't stop crying," Tsireya admits shamefully, looking a little distraught, "We do not know why. We fed and changed her, but--"

"Have my sisters help," Tuk confidently offers without missing a beat, proud at her idea, "They know about babies. They helped Mama take care of me when I was little."

Tsireya and Ao'nung pointedly look up at the older Sully sisters, their eyes desperately pleading. Kiri was initially going to scoff at Tuk for her idea before Y/n wordlessly stepped forward and knelt down in front of Ao'nung. One look and she could tell why Kailani was so upset. Her tiny body wasn't exactly held close to Ao'nung's body but was instead held in his arms and in his lap. It didn't look comfortable and Y/n pitied the child.

"Here," Y/n offered, leaning over and helping Ao'nung adjust his hold on his baby sister, having him lift Kailani up from his lap and making sure he kept supporting her neck, "Babies need a lot of skin-to-skin contact at the beginning of their lives. It helps them bond with their mothers and other members of their family."

Y/n helps Ao'nung lift Kai until she's nestled snugly against his chest, her face protected in the crook of his neck. Almost immediately, the baby calms down, trying to bury her cold little nose into her brother's warm skin. Ao'nung is unable to speak or look away from Y/n, his ears only perking up as a sign he is listening when she keeps on explaining, "Try not to pinch her tswin. Without any hair to protect it yet, the tswin can be extra sensitive."

Kiri smiled softly to herself as Y/n continued to list several things Tsireya and Ao'nung could do, both of them listening with intense determination, all the while Kiri could only think about her older sister. It really was a shame that Y/n didn't want to take on the role of tsakarem, instead passing it along to Kiri when her adopted sister had shown an interest. Y/n still remembered a thing or two about healing from when Mo'at had begun to teach her, but from what Kiri understood, Y/n would get easily distracted and would beg their grandmother to dismiss her so she could go find Neteyam and train alongside him to become a warrior. Mo'at eventually gave in, fondly stating how Y/n was just like her mother, then proceeded to name Kiri her successor.

While Y/n may not like the method of healing and preferred hunting, she was still pretty knowledgeable when it was needed, and as Tuk said, she and Kiri remembered what it was like having a new baby in the family. Tsireya and Ao'nung appeared incredibly grateful for Y/n... but Kiri couldn't help but grin under her hand while looking at the way Ao'nung was staring at her older sister. The way his mouth formed such a secretive smile without the intention of showing it, his eyes subtly falling from Y/n's eyes to watch her lips as she spoke before flicking back up to her eyes before anyone would notice. But Kiri noticed, and she eventually had to look away because she felt as though she was intruding on something so intimate.

Rotxo had told Kiri and Spider about the mysterious arrowhead-shaped tooth that suddenly appeared around Y/n's neck one day, but the adopted Sullys didn't want to believe it. Lo'ak had scoffed, rolling his eyes and refusing to talk about it, but Neytiri had overheard and had this all-knowing smile on her face as she cooked over the hearth when her children walked back into the marui after bidding Rotxo goodnight. Jake and Tuk were none the wiser but Kiri had a feeling that her father was like Lo'ak, trying to ignore that something was clearly going on between Ao'nung and Y/n. Now, it was more obvious than ever.

~~~~~~~~~

While Y/n had not been able to complete all of her rites of passage alongside Rotxo and Ao'nung, she and the other Sully children still cheered them on and celebrated alongside them, especially after watching in amazement to see how a young Metkayina must finish certain challenges alongside their bonded tulkun brother or sister. After finishing those trials, along with taming their own skimwings, Ao'nung and Rotxo were gifted a special article of clothing, their first tattoo as warriors of the clan, and three beads for their songcords. Everyone was proud of the reef boys, now celebrated as young men among their People.

Next was going to be Y/n. She was determined to follow suit, as were Lo'ak and Kiri. They went out to practice for their trials every day, playfully competing with one another. Whilst Kiri was planning on becoming a healer in the tribe, she still wanted to tame a tsurak as her rite of passage and receive a Metkayina tattoo meant to signify healing. Jake and Neytiri were not sure how to feel about three of their children rushing toward adulthood, but they were supportive either way. The older Sully children tried very hard not to exclude Spider in the many training exercises, but he goodnaturedly shooed them away and told them to have fun and train hard. He may not be able to follow them, but he will still cheer them on from the sidelines, being there in spirit.

Lo'ak passed his trial with Payakan with flying colors, and now he and his sisters would move on to taming their own tsurak. Kiri did so with ease, her attachment to Eywa helping her befriend the mighty skimwing instead of mastering it. All of her siblings cheered for her from the docks, watching her disappear to wander with her new friend beyond the sea wall. Lo'ak was determined to go next, and while it looked a little rocky at times, he too, mastered his own warrior's mount, and Jake yelped and whooped proudly for his son. Lo'ak also left the safety of the lagoon to explore with his new friend and likely introduce him to Payakan.

When it was Y/n's turn to go tame a skimwing, Ao'nung approached her and spoke quietly under his breath, "Remember. The tsurak are temperamental creatures. Much like an ikran, you have to work hard to form a strong and loyal bond with them."

"Got it," Y/n nodded in acknowledgment, wrapping leather around her knuckles per her father's advice. Speaking of whom, Jake was approaching his daughter so Ao'nung simply nodded his head toward Toruk Makto and walked away to stand beside his own father.

Jake narrowed his eyes as he watched Ao'nung leave before softening his gaze and speaking down to his firstborn, "You're your mother's daughter. That makes you the best flyer and hunter on an ikran, so this will be a cakewalk for you. Tonowari told me that the ikran and the tsurak share a distant ancestor, so it's easy to see where they get their stubbornness from. You know how to tame stubbornness. You'll be a pro at this."

Y/n tried her very best not to visibly shrink up under her father's advice and praise. She wants to stand tall and proud under his words of affirmation now that they're starting to see eye-to-eye, but it is still a work in progress. She's not used to her father being so encouraging as of late, due to him stressing out over the war, moving away, and losing a son, so it was still a big step that needed adjusting. So, Y/n instead smiled widely up at her father and whispered a small thank you before rushing over to get the tsahik and olo'eyktan's blessing.

Ronal and Tonowari bid Y/n good luck with their own hidden smiles while Tsireya shared her confidence for her friend and lifted Kailani's arm up to wave at the Sully girl for encouragement. Ao'nung flashed his forest girl his own secret smile and a small nod, barely noticeable to the naked eye. Y/n practically beamed and with a new wave of confidence, turned and ran down the long dock to the very end, diving gracefully into the water.

All forms of sealife greet her underwater, her breath held as she forced herself not to get distracted. Since that fateful day against the Sky People, Y/n had been training herself to hold her breath longer, hoping to never have to worry anyone over her drowning ever again, not wanting to be a burden. Without wasting any time, she called out for a skimwing to approach her.

She had managed to find a school of fish Ao'nung told her was the tsurak's favorite snack, so she swam close to the fish and continued to call out, her heart singing when her strategy worked and a familiar beast gradually glided toward her, its powerful, scaled body creating a disturbance in the water. Looking like a Terran gharial, the tsurak approached with purpose and demanded to be respected, other small fish species quickly scattering to avoid it. With its long, sword-like snout, it gave itself personal space, and with its beady, soulless eyes, it analyzed Y/n. For an animal that was nearly domesticated with the Metkayina, Y/n wasn't worried about whether or not the creature deemed her as a threat, but then again, she looked different compared to all the other Na'vi the tsurak likely grew up with, and it was possible the skimwing could smell the part of her that descends from demons.

Y/n didn't take the kind and befriending approach as Kiri did. That form of taming only works for someone as Eywa-blessed at Y/n's adopted sister. Instead, she kept herself between the beast and its likely prey, the schoolfish behind her. The threat was clear. If it wanted to eat, the tsurak would have to go through her first.

The reptilian-looking fish didn't appear insulted by the threat and leisurely swayed side to side, jaw gradually opening and closing to breathe while stuck in place, showing off its small rows of razor-sharp teeth while staring Y/n down and waiting for the right opening to strike. Y/n slowly and carefully pulled her kuru braid over her shoulder all the while keeping her eyes locked on the tsurak. As they continued with this ocean version of a standoff, Y/n gradually began to inch forward, only moving in small, very slow strokes of water.

When she got too close, the tsurak opened its jaws and snapped down, quick as lightning, but Y/n was prepared for it. Much like taming an ikran, she quickly moved out of the way before the creature could bite her head off and, using her knuckles and palms now wrapped in leather, clamped down on the jaws of the creature, keeping it shut with as much muscle she could muster while using her newly found momentum to quickly swim onto the skimwing's back, never letting go. Knowing she would only have a second before the creature was no longer stunned, Y/n let go of the jaw with one hand and quickly grabbed her braid, immediately forming the tsaheylu.

The beast wiggled and then paused, swaying calmly back and forth as the connection was made. With her lungs slightly beginning to burn, Y/n didn't panic but also didn't hesitate to give the creature the order to resurface, now letting her other hand let go of the tsurak's snout in good faith. She promises to let the tsurak eat, later, if he swam up for air.

As quick as a bullet, the tsurak follows its new rider's order, shooting up through the water at great speed. Y/n nearly forgot to hang on tight, clamping her thighs down on the creature's back as tight as she could, her ears beginning to pop at the very sudden water pressure as they rose higher toward the surface. Sunlight was coming in fast and, before she knew it, Y/n was out of the water, leaping through the air, and plunging back into the ocean, all while still holding on tightly to the back of her very own tsurak. The beast resurfaces more gently this time and stays leisurely swimming above the water, giving Y/n much-needed time to breathe. She smiles when she can hear scattered cheering from the beach and docks but keeps on task, trying to stay focused. She has yet to fly with her new ride.

Adjusting her grip on the creature, she gives her new order, clenching her thighs again while preparing for the powerful beast's ascent. The tsurak begins to speed up, faster and faster until it's zipping through the water like a ship. Eventually, it gains enough momentum and the creature lets out its wings, extending them until they begin to catch air, and then the body rises out of the water. Y/n hangs on tight, stamping down the anxiety in her gut, sharing her determination and willpower through her new bond so the skimwing knows she means business. There is no room for failure.

The tsurak doesn't stumble, doesn't break, and doesn't lose focus. As they sail, the pair sails gracefully without a single wiggle or wobble. Y/n can faintly hear cheering in the distance but doesn't let it phase her. One more test. She gives the order and holds her breath, immediately bending down and pressing her body tightly against the creature's back.

The tsurak retracts its wings and points its snout down, briefly falling through the air before diving straight into the water below. The impact and mighty force of it all was much more powerful than riding an ilu, and Y/n had to hold on for dear life. Water rushed through her ears and she squinted her eyes in order to see better, but she held on and she held firmly. She would rather get her arm pulled off than let go, so she held on tighter, her leather wraps doing the trick to give her a better grip. One last order and Y/n feels the pair of them shooting back up through the water and into the air again, and this time, Y/n hoots triumphantly at the top of her lungs, hanging on tightly with one hand but throwing her other fist in the air, her trial complete.

Several people are cheering with her on the beach and in the water. Spider, Tuk, and Jake are whooping and hollering like party animals, ecstatic for their daughter and sister. Ao'nung and Rotxo are cheering alongside them, along with several other Metkayina watching the event. Y/n beams proudly at all of them from a distance, then proceeds to follow Kiri and Lo'ak's lead and head for open waters.

Ao'nung is smiling just as proudly from the beach, and once Y/n takes off, so does he. The chief's son immediately breaks into a sprint down the side of the beach, diving into the water before another word can be said. Once below the surface, he calls for his own skimwing and takes off after the Sully girl.

The only one who appeared to notice Ao'nung slip away was Neytiri, but she appeared to be smiling as she watched the reef boy chase after her daughter. A brief wave of déjà vu washed over her as she watched until she couldn't see either tsurak anymore. She smiled fondly, proud and filled with unimaginable joy as she had witnessed history repeat itself, much like it had with her when she first chased after Jake on their ikran.

The new warriors do not stay out for long. When eclipse comes, Y/n, Ao'nung, Lo'ak, and Kiri return for the Sully children's ceremony. The sunlight disappears and it's replaced with a bioluminescent glow everywhere, as far as the eyes could see. Lo'ak, Y/n, and Kiri stand before Ronal and Tonowari as they are presented with their rewards, their article of clothing, and the beads for their songcords to signify this triumphant milestone of adulthood. The Na'vi believe that every person is born twice and the second time is when a Na'vi finds his or her place among the People forever.

Once Ronal and Tonowari bestow the three Sullys their first tattoos, they were officially one with the Metkayina, marked with warrior and healer ink. Everyone gathered around the new young adults and congratulated them, making room for the parents to squeeze their way through the crowd and finally gather their children up. Neytiri held her children against her, joyous tears in her eyes even as her heart broke, mourning their childhoods but celebrating their futures. Jake held his children just as tightly but didn't make a sound, afraid of what would come out if he tried to talk.

The ceremony gave way to celebration, large bonfires lining up and down the beach, the flames rising high into the night sky, embers blinking down on Eywa's children along with the stars above. The Metkayina dance together in wide circles around the fires, conjoined in several different rings, moving in opposite directions as they sang, talked, laughed, ate, and drank to their hearts' content.  

Y/n found herself dancing around a fire that was shared by most of the newest warriors of the tribe, people around her own age, and her brother and Kiri. There were so many fires along the beach, however, so it would be nearly impossible to find out which ones her other family members were socializing at, hidden among the chaotic crowds of flailing limbs and boisterous songs. She allowed herself to let loose and cared little about what others thought of her, letting the swoa warm her stomach and the fire her skin. She stuck close to Kiri and Tsireya for a short while before the chief's daughter ran off to find Lo'ak. Y/n and Kiri playfully rolled their eyes before the latter decided to turn in for the night-- which is just code for she was going to keep Spider company so their adopted brother didn't feel left out. Y/n let her sister go without complaint, giving her a brief hug and voicing how proud she was of her. Kiri smiled brightly under the praise and took off, leaving Y/n's heart feeling warm as well. Getting roped back into dancing, Y/n danced without a care in the world, not bothered by whether or not she looked bad, and sang with the others until she was breathless. The celebration was getting to be too disorderly with everyone having so much fun that faces had begun to blur and sometimes when people danced, they were spinning too fast to figure out their bearings. 

But Y/n let her feet carry her to her intended destination, and that was right into Ao'nung's arms. With her family elsewhere and other Metkayina having too much fun to otherwise gape at the sight, Y/n danced with the chief's son for practically the whole night, tired and out of breath, but never wanting to stop. She couldn't help it. With the fire lighting one side of his face and the bioluminescent ocean lighting the other, Ao'nung looked ethereal, and Y/n couldn't stop her rapidly beating heart even if she wanted to.  

Ao'nung only looked at her, never caring about who saw them, his smile gentle and eyes proud, not helping the flips Y/n's stomach was taking. Her body felt like it was on fire in the best way possible under his gaze, and maybe it was the lighting, maybe it was the liquid courage, or maybe it was the way he was looking at her, but her mind was open and her voice was knocked loose from her throat as she pulled her reef boy close to her and whispered so only he could hear the words that she knew, deep down, were only meant for him, "Ao'nung. Oel ngati kameie."

Ao'nung's eyes briefly widened, mouth falling open in shock, yet he couldn't take a breath in. The fire didn't help the blooming fire in the forest girl's yellow eyes, piercing up at his and leaving him breathless, unable to come up for air. She didn't look afraid or even bothered by his reaction, instead, she smiled, a little cheekily, as if she could see just how much she affected him. Slowly, he comes back to his senses, a smile slowly creeping up his lips once more. His hands gently cup both sides of her face, marveling at how her entire head fit perfectly in his palms, while her reasonably smaller hands move to hold his sides, keeping his body close to hers. Ao'nung leans in, taking a small breath in through his nose, memorizing her scent before he gently fits his lips against hers, to which she responds in kind. The kiss tasted like sea salt and swoa, but neither complained, closing their eyes and reveling in their closeness.

Despite her lessons, Y/n regrettably needed to pull away for air, and when the kiss broke, her soft pants ghosted across Ao'nung's skin, hot and prickly, and when her eyes opened, she stared up at him through her eyelashes, cheeks slightly flushed. It took a tremendous amount of willpower to relax his body, his heart racing to the tempo of drums playing somewhere in the crowd. Eventually, his mind clears and he manages to find words again, leaning his forehead into his forest girl's.

"Ma'yawntutsyìp Y/n. Oel ngati kameie."

~~~~~~~~~

Neytiri sees everything when it comes to her children, especially her firstborn daughter. That girl is a spitting image of the mother who birthed her, except for the little human features she inherited from her father, so Neytiri often knew what was going on in Y/n's head because she had been in her daughter's footsteps. Neytiri was young once. She knew what it was like to be in love.

Neytiri te Tskaha Mo'at'ite had seen the lingering glances, the stares when the other wasn't looking, and the smiles that were only shared between each other. Furthermore, Neytiri had noticed the arrowhead on Y/n's necklace the second she came home that day, and then the mother noticed Ao'nung anxiously waiting to get out there and chase her daughter into the sea astride their tsurak. And of course, even in the vast crowds lining the beach the night of Y/n's ceremony, Neytiri could see the young pair kissing, unbothered by the amount of people around them. It felt as though no one had seen them but her. 

And yet, she had not said a word. Much like Y/n and Ao'nung's sisters, Neytiri intended to take their secret to the grave if it meant seeing her eldest daughter smile again. Sure, Neytiri was fiercely protective of her children, but she would never refuse her child when it came to whatever made them happy... especially after she had lost Neteyam.

So Neytiri kept quiet and just watched from a distance. Now that three of her children were seen as adults among the Metkayina, their tattoos a physical sign as such, she wasn't gonna go around telling them what to do anymore and just enjoyed their company while it lasted. After all, soon they will choose men or women to be with... and not long after that, Neytiri will find her marui emptier than the day before.

One fateful day, Neytiri found herself alone with Y/n in their family pod, cooking some fish over the fire to prepare meals for the rest of the Sullys to take with them throughout the day. It was a quiet and comfortable morning until Ao'nung showed up, respectfully greeting Neytiri before asking Y/n if she would like to join the other warriors on a hunt that afternoon.

Y/n perked up at the offer, her smile brightening under Ao'nung's gaze. Wordlessly, she nudges Neytiri's shoulder with her forehead, and her mother leans into the touch before the daughter draws away and stands up. Y/n briefly grabs Ao'nung's arm before diving into the water with the intention of having him follow her. Ao'nung stayed a second longer, lingering in the doorway of Neytiri's home when he noticed the woman staring at him. Despite wanting her daughter's happiness, Neytiri also wants her daughter to be safe, so she briefly glares at the chief's son before simply looking back down at her task, "If she gets hurt, I pluck your eyes out."

For some reason, he knew she wasn't talking about the hunting party.

That same night, during communal dinner, Neytiri could see just how obvious Ao'nung and Y/n looked. Instead of sitting with her family, Y/n sat with his, conversing between him and Tsireya without a care in the world. Occasionally, the chief's son would try to sneak a kiss on the forest girl's cheek, hiding it by pretending to whisper in her ear. Y/n would smile shyly, her pinky finger subtly reaching out for his hand whilst she talked to his sister.

This time, Neytiri wasn't the only one who noticed, and she cursed herself for not trying to distract her husband sooner instead of openly gawking at the young pair with him. The moment Ao'nung reached for Y/n's pinky finger, Neytiri could feel her husband tense up beside her. Immediately, she knew what was about her happen once her mate quickly stood up and she was helpless to stop it. 

"Jake--" She had gotten up as well but it was too late. Her mate had already stormed off in the direction of their daughter. Several eyes throughout the communal meal turned in their direction and Neytiri could feel their stares prickling along her back, her other children now aware of something wrong when she stood.

"Mama?" Tuk asked.

The older Sully children immediately clock the situation once they follow their mother's gaze, seeing their father clearly out for blood as he beelines for the chief's family. Spider immediately scrambles to his feet, "Shit--"

Neytiri didn't know whether to hiss at or agree with Spider's observation, her feet taking her to where Jake was going, the rest of her children now standing up to follow her as well, abandoning their meals. Neytiri would not make it in time, but even from where she was, she could hear the commotion already starting when Jake reached down and grabbed Y/n's arm, pulling her to her feet and away from Ao'nung, "Alright, young lady. Time to talk."

"Dad, what--"

Ao'nung immediately rose to his feet without thinking. Neytiri almost pitied him, "Sir--"

Jake's glare fell on Ao'nung, his voice dropping low to a tone only the military side of him could produce, "And you, boy. Did you mate with my daughter?"

"Dad!"

Y/n's exclamation further drew the attention of the tsahik and olo'eyktan, along with even more Metkayina sitting around the growing commotion. Neytiri could see Ronal and Tonowari stand up as well, their eyes only on Jake and their son, dread forming in her gut at the idea of what might happen next. Ronal handed Kailani over to Tsireya and marched with her mate over to the confrontation as Jake continued to talk down to her son. 

"And whatever you say better be the answer I'm hoping for, young man. So choose your words wisely."

Neytiri finally reached her husband and grabbed his arm, opening her mouth to try and get him to calm down while the rest of their children stood around them and simply observed with worried glances. Ao'nung glared only at Jake, his shoulders squared back, and stepped up no doubt to defiantly say something stupid before Y/n stopped him from where she stood behind her father.

"Ao'nung," she warned loudly, to which his eyes flicked to hers at the sound of her voice.

Time stilled as everyone turned to Y/n, waiting to hear what she had to say, even her father. She didn't look at anyone else other than her lover. All Y/n had to do was flatten her ears and just ever so slightly tilt her head, eyes locked on his the whole time for Ao'nung to get the message, loud and clear. His shoulders lower and visibly calms himself under her stare, and in response, Ao'nung merely nods. The young Metkayina backed down, stepping away from Toruk Makto and glancing off to the side, eyes and ears lowered like an injured nantang pup. Jake's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, glancing between Ao'nung and his daughter, trying to figure out what had just happened.

From beside Lo'ak, Kiri silently gasps behind her hand as she whispers to the younger brother, "Oh, my Eywa. He's so whipped for her."

"Bro-- shut up," Lo'ak hissed back, glaring at his sister's tiny amused smile while Spider laughed under his breath.

Jake didn't have time to berate his other children as he shook off his confusion and his wife's arm, letting go of Y/n's bicep but keeping her frozen to the spot under his cold, scrutinizing glare, "Look at me, young lady," she refused at first, eyes flicking elsewhere in shame and fear, "Look at me."

Her frown twitches just as the fear dissipates, her usual distaste for authority returning. Her eyes harden as she purposely and slowly glares up at her father through her eyebrows, her entire posture now defiant and standing strong against him.

Either Jake didn't notice this subtle change in body language or he didn't care, glaring right back at her, "Tell me the truth. It's a simple yes or no. Did you mate with him?"

She flashed her fangs, grinding out her response between her teeth, "No, sir."

"Do you plan on it?"

"I do not see how that is any of your business anymore."

"Y/n, where I'm from, you're still too young to have a family," he points back to Ao'nung without ever taking his eyes off his daughter, "And he is the chief's son--"

"You can't tell me who I can or cannot be with when Mom went against everyone and everything she believed in to be with you," her tone was strong and accusatory, throwing Jake into a state of shock as he nearly stumbles back. Y/n stood strong against her father, her words bold and as destructive as a tsunami wave, "I would not exist if you hadn't gone off and mated with the chief's daughter so don't you dare try to sound as if you are above such scandal." 

"Oh, snap," Spider muttered, earning an elbow to his chest from Lo'ak.

The entire commotion had been driven to silence, everyone waiting with bated breath as to what would happen next. Neytiri felt both fear and pride for her daughter, again, feeling history repeat itself through the eyes of her child. Tonowari finally broke the silence and the stand-off by stepping between Jake and Y/n and placing a comforting hand on Toruk Makto's shoulder, all the while pointedly staring at each and every Na'vi who was openly watching the family feud, "I think it is time for everyone to return to their meals."

Ronal backs up her mate's demand by glaring at all the bystanders, "Go on."

The Metkayina scatter, either to return to their seats or avert their eyes back to their food, the silence now filled with casual mumbling among the People. Jake's ears droop when he realizes the size of the audience he attracted by his outburst and he has the decency to look ashamed. He peers back to his family and mutters, "Lo'ak. Spider. Take the girls home."

"I can walk myself home, thank you very much," Y/n snarled dangerously, stepping around Tonowari and her father and stomping through the parting sea of Na'vi who dared to get in her way.

Tuk pouted and stomped her foot defiantly, "So can I!"

Kiri sighs in mental exhaustion toward her baby sister, "Tuk..." 

Once the other Sully kids gathered and vanished from the meal, Tonowari glanced between Ao'nung and Jake, "Let us return to my home to further discuss this."

Ronal gestured Neytiri over to her before looking over her shoulder to address Tsireya, "Stay here, ma'ite."

Tsireya nodded appropriately, keeping Kailani close to her chest as she flashed a small look of encouragement to Ao'nung. She watched her parents and brother walk out of the community marui, the Sullys following suit. Neytiri walks out into the night with her husband's hand in hers, squeezing his fingers in encouragement.

Once the group was safe inside Ronal and Tonowari's home, Jake immediately apologized, "Brother, forgive me for my actions against your family. I was out of line and your son did not deserve my behavior toward him."

Tonowari raised his hand to gently silence him, "I will not fault a father for just trying to protect his child. There is nothing to forgive. Ao'nung is still young and has much to learn. Before he began to court your daughter, he should have gone to you for your blessing immediately."

Ao'nung, clearly embarrassed, kept his head down while he quietly whined, "Father, please--"

"You are the one who wishes to court Toruk Makto's daughter, boy," Tonowari directed his gaze to his son, eyes darkening but not as a threat, but in disappointment, "As the future of our clan, you should have done what tradition demands."

Jake took pity on Ao'nung, watching the way a father looked down on his son, immediately thrown back to the past when he, too, looked down on Neteyam and Lo'ak, and instantly knew he had to speak up this time, "No. I don't blame your son for not coming to me. I don't deserve that sort of respect. Y/n is strong-willed and she knows I don't deserve the respect of being her father or any traditions that require me to be so. If anything, she would much rather have Ao'nung ask for my sons' blessings over my own because her brothers respect her as an individual who can make her own decisions... unlike me."

Tonowari nods, looking back to meet eyes with his mate. Ronal shares a silent conversation with him before the chief turns back to the Sullys, "If it is any consultation, Jakesully, Ronal and I have approved of this match a long time ago."

Ao'nung's head perks up with interest, "You did?"

Jake's question echoed Ao'nung's, equally shocked, "You did?"

The chief explains with a distant look in his eyes, "I was much like my son at that age. Arrogant, crude, and desperate to please the other reef boys around me. All it took was to find Ma Ronal to get my head back on straight. From that day on, I only ever ran after her." 

Ronal pointedly looks at Neytiri, her chin held high, "Even though he is destined to be olo'eyktan one day, my son has never shown interest in a mate. Never. Not once. That is... until he met your daughter."

Neytiri took Ronal's stare as an opening for her to add to the discussion, raising her hand to gently take her husband's arm to grab his attention, "Jake. I already knew."

Jake turned back to her, still shocked and sounding like a broken record, "You did?"

"Everyone did," she nodded, smiling slightly, "Apart from you. Why do you think none of us have said anything before now? It is because we have accepted it and even approved of the match. We all would have said something sooner if we were against it. Y/n is taronyu now and she does not need our permission to live her life anymore. She never had."

Jake takes a moment to collect his thoughts, breathing deeply in and out slowly through his nose. He stared off into space, conflicted with a war going on in his head before Neytiri simply squeezed his arm and he returned to the present. Jake looked back at his wife before raising his white flag, turning his gaze onto Ao'nung with an expression of guilt.

"I am sorry, Ao'nung. I shouldn't have accused you of anything. I know Y/n is capable of taking care of herself and I know she wouldn't have given you the time of day if she didn't think you were a good man," Ao'nung stands up straighter, appearing grateful and nodding to Jake before the former marine turned to Tonowari, "We'll take our leave now. I apologize for interrupting your supper."

Jake takes Neytiri's hand again and they walk home, speaking as they walk so their conversation is kept private before they would have to face their children, "Does he have to court her now? They're too young."

Neytiri hums in agreement, "Courting sometimes takes years, Ma Jake."

"It wasn't with us."

She hums again, only it was full of fond amusement, "If I recall, you never courted me."

A small grin played on his lips, a little drained from tonight's events, but it was genuine all the same as he playfully spoke, "No, but if I recall, you knew exactly what you were doing taking me out there to the Tree of Voices, alone, wearing your hair like that and wearing that lovely top--"

"Ma Jake!" Neytiri gasped in astonishment, gently slapping his chest and laughing as they finally made it home.

The parents quiet their amusement before they walk into the marui, instantly met with five pairs of eyes, four yellow and one brown. While the rest of their children stared expectedly at them, Y/n immediately looked away, ears pulled back in embarrassment and tucking her knees up to her chest.

Jake immediately beelines for Y/n, slowly sitting down beside her as he wraps an arm around her shoulders, "I'm sorry."

Conflict flashes over her face. It felt as though she and her father were back at square one, fighting as though they hadn't already sorted out their issues. Then again, this wasn't Neteyam, or the war, or Y/n's depression. Jake was just trying to be the classic overprotective parent he was always meant to be. He wasn't acting as a soldier. He was acting as a father, and that's all Y/n had ever wanted from him. Slowly, she melts into her father's embrace and sighs, "I know. You were just being my father. That is not something I'll ever blame you for. Just... don't be so embarrassing next time."

Jake and the rest of the children laugh while he just holds Y/n close. Neytiri smiles at the scene, trying to memorize it as best as she can so she can share it with Neteyam the next time she visits her son. After all, Y/n was one step closer to moving out of their family marui and wouldn't be able to hug her father like this as often as they used to. As sad as that made Neytiri feel, she was comforted by the fact that Ao'nung was kind and good to her daughter, and she would never be alone again.

A/N: The next part will be the final! Basically, I wrote everything that I wanted for this story, and the rest of it can be told in just one more chapter, so I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have!

[anangelwhodidntfall]

Hi I was wondering if you could do a loak x twin sister reader were reader and loak are kids and are doing the most stupid things like pushing each other out of trees, wrestling, that kind of stuff then time jump to now and they are explaining what they used to do to aounung rotxo and tsiraya, and all three are like " Excuse me" then neteyam is like "you're surprised?" Just some funny stuff

(Neteyam is fine in this cause my heart) :(

A/N: I loved this request so much <3, I based the twins on Zack and Cody from The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.

It's a twin thing: Lo'ak Sully

Your dad was sure that he was gonna be sent to an early grave from the amount of stress that you and your brother put him through. See you and Lo'ak were twins and identical ones at that and lived to be absolute menaces. You two would always fight and wrestle with each other and bicker with each other over the stupidest things and the older you got the more bolder and stupider you got. 

"So twin I was thinking..." Lo'ak said. 

"That's a dangerous thing." You said making Spider laugh at your comment. 

"You know we never had a rematch since the last fight that you won." He said as you rolled your eyes.

"We don't need to have one. I'm the strongest twin. For example." You said before you pushed him off the branch causing him to fall through the trees.

"Bro! Lo'ak are you okay?" Spider asked running down to go check on him. 

"I'm fine. Damn sis, you pushed me like a damn dude." He said groaning as you helped him. 

"Told you I was the strongest one." You said with a shrug. 

"Oh really?" He said as you two started wrestling each other as Spider moved out of the way knowing how rough you two can get during these. 

Neteyam had been tasked with going to hunt down the three of you, and as he was walking through the woods he could hear fighting and grunting making him reach for his knife just in case he wasn't you two idiots. He reached the clearing and saw you and Lo'ak on the ground fighting with each other while Spider leaned up against the tree with an amused look on his face. 

"Do I even wanna know?" He asked Spider. 

"No probably not. She pushed him out the tree and said she was stronger than him and then they got into another wrestling match as you can see." Spider said as Neteyam shook his head at you two. 

"Alright, that's enough, you two." Neteyam said pulling Lo'ak off of him. 

"Bro I was winning." Lo'ak complained as Neteyam helped you off the ground and brushed some of the dirt off of you.

"Only because I was letting you." You said getting ready to start the fight back up until Neteyam stopped you. 

"It's almost eclipse. We need to get home. Let's go you three." Neteyam said. 

While you were walking home, you and Lo'ak kept pushing and bumping into each other until he bumped you a little hard causing you to fall to the ground with a yelp as your twin laughed as your older brother rolled his eyes at you two.

"One word. Payback for earlier." He with a smirk as Spider and Neteyam helped you up. 

After Spider's kidnapping and the return of the Sky People, your family was forced to leave the forest and go safety somewhere else. While you were leaving, you felt your twin reach for your hand making you look up at him, which brought a small smile to your parent's faces at how you two could communicate without saying anything. 

After nearly weeks of traveling on their ikrans, your family had finally arrived in Awa'atlu, desperately seeking Uturu to get away from war. You guys were ultimately granted sanctuary with a warning from your dad directed at you and your twin to be on your best behavior and not up to your usual antics. 

"You miss him don't you?" Your twin asked coming to take a seat next to you as you feed your ilu.

"Yeah." You said quietly. 

"I miss him too. I feel guilty for not realizing he was missing until it was too late." He said as you reached for his hand. 

"He's gonna be okay, we'll find some way to get him back." You said squeezing his hand as you two continued feeding your ilu's. 

A few days later, the twins and Neteyam were sitting with Tsierya, Roxto, and Ao'nung talking about the forest and the twins were discussing some of their former antics with laughs while their three new friends looked at them in shock. 

"You pushed him out of a tree?" Tsierya asked shocked. 

"Yeah, I did. It was only fair for all the times he push me out of one." You said with a shrug.

"But you seem so nice. I can imagine you two doing something like that." Roxto said as Neteyam laughed.

"Surprised? Don't be. I'm sure that they are only like this because our dad told them not to do anything to get us kicked out." Neteyam said. 

"I would love to see you two fight." Ao'nung said. 

"Sorry fish man, our fights aren't for your entertainment." You said to him. 

"That was a good one sis, but she's right. We only fight each other for our own amusement and not for your entertainment." Lo'ak said glaring at him. 

You and your twin may be reckless and feed into each other's intrusive thoughts but at the end of the day, you two would always have each other back through thick and thin. 

[eitaababe]

JEALOUSY, JEALOUSY !

a/n — part two of 'stars in your eyes' @fluloa convinced me 🕺

part 3

—

Oddly enough, the next few days of your life weren't complete torture. You were starting to get your breathing techniques down, and able to dive for longer periods. And with that, you were able to really admire the wonders that lay underneath the crashing waves.

Having the time of your life underwater, you swam with so many different creatures, creatures completely different from those in Pandora. Some as small as your hand, others double your size. And the colorful coral reefs were a sight for sore eyes.

You as well had finally gotten the hang of how to ride your own ilu. The ability to go somewhere on your own, hunting, and still being able to have night rides with your best friend.

And the icing on the cake, Ao'nung started to lay off. You're not sure what (or who) happened, but after your meltdown at the beach that one night, you had the chief's son mumbling an apology a couple of days later, saying how he didn't really mean any of his insults. You'd developed an interesting friendship with the boy, awkward albeit, but you'd take it over being bullied any day.

Speak of the devil.

"Hey, y/n!" Ao'nung shouted, jogging over towards you on your ilu. "What do you say, wanna race? Bet you won't come close to beating me," he flashed a smile, gesturing his head over to some rocks. "There and back. Winner gets whatever they want."

"Sure ocean boy." You were never one to back down from a challenge. Plus, you were feeling pretty confident in your riding skills now. "Quite ambitious now, aren't we?

Don't be crying when I wipe the floor with your ass. By the way, when I win, be prepared to find all the shells I need for my new necklace.

Shaking his head, the young male readied himself. "So lame, you want shells? That's even if you can beat me."

He gloated, clearly expecting to win this race.

"Fine then, what would you want if you won?"

"You'll just have to wait and see."

From afar, Neteyam watched, his hands balled into fists.

Ao'nung sure had some balls, he'll give him that. He gave a firm talking to the kid, (which quickly escalated into a brawl between the two) so he would stop bullying you, not flirt with you! He huffed in jealousy, tearing his eyes away from you two, and making his way back to his siblings.

"Back so soon, lover boy? I thought you'd be out with y/n all day." Lo'ak questioned, tilting his head at his brother.

From what he assumed, you two would be out all day, whether it be diving, riding your ilus together, or even hunting. Whatever you two did, it was almost always together.

"Seems she's got a new riding buddy," he grumbled out in disappointment. It's almost embarrassing, really, how all of a sudden Neteyam was five again and whining because you didn't want to play with him. Did you grow tired of him? Or did you like Ao'nung now? Even after all he put you through? "She's with Ao'nung." he then sighed, plopping down onto the sand.

Laughing at his older brother's misery, Lo'ak shook him by his shoulders. "What, she get tired of your ass?" When Neteyam didn't retaliate, the younger brother grew more concerned by the second, sharing a look with Kiri. "Oh, you're serious. Look bro, I'm sure she's just being friendly with Ao'nung. He literally hated her two days ago."

'I guess you're right."

Meanwhile, you had just barely lost to Ao'nung. In your defense, you weren't expecting him to be so fast. And he caught you by surprise when you guys started, trying to leave you in the dust from the start. "Alright ocean boy, what do you want?"

"A date."

Not knowing what to say, you say there, jaw slacked and out of breath. A date? In all honesty, you hadn't considered that to be an option, especially for Ao'nung.

He was literally just torturing you two days prior! Of course, you had no say in this as he left, leaving you bewildered. A date. With Ao'nung.

Trying to ignore the previous events of today, you quickly hurried back to shore, trying to find Neteyam. You see him laying (on his stomach?) with Kiri and Loak, Kiri admiring the sand and Lo'ak doing... what it looks like giving a pep talk. You laughed under your breath at the thought, calling out their names and running over. You plopped yourself on top of the older sully brother's back, smiling giddily. "Hey blue boy," you greeted.

"Oi y/n! You're crushing me!" Neteyam wailed dramatically, making no attempt to move you.

"No, I'm not, you big baby. Now get off your lazy ass and let's go diving! I need to collect some shells for a new necklace Tsireya's helping me make." You got up, using all your strength to try and lift Neteyam. Geez, how much muscle mass did this kid have?

As it seemed forever, you two finally got up and walked along the beach, an awkward silence falling upon you two. You're not sure why, but you couldn't help but feel as if Neteyam was mad at you, but were too scared to break the quiet barrier between you two. It wasn't normal, having a tense atmosphere with Neteyam.

Eventually, he stopped walking, looking deep in thought.

"What were you doing with Ao'nung this morning?" He finally breathed out, impatient eyes awaiting an answer.

"We-" you paused, debating on telling him the whole truth. The two boys didn't clash well, and you didn't want Neteyam getting upset, especially since this was the same boy who made you cry prior. "We just went racing on our ilus, nothing more. He beat me and my pride is hurt, so let's drop the subject okay?" You joked, trying to avoid the subject.

"So nothings going on between you two? It was just a friendly race?" The young na'vi continued, eyes desperate.

"We're just friends, Neteyam." You confirmed, and you two continued your stroll along the beach, getting ready to take a break from the sun and dip yourselves into the ocean. But Neteyam stayed silent the whole time, seemingly lost in his thoughts. Afraid that he was mad at you, you stopped, taking his hands in yours.

"Neteyam, I don't like Ao'nung."

"I know," he quipped, his gaze lingering on your intertwined hands, a smile sneaking up on him. "I mean, even if you did, good for you. He's the chief's son and if he likes you then you won't be bullied anymore. And then you can go on even more rides together, and hey, maybe he can even help you collect shells! He's a better diver than me, no? Maybe you should go find him right now." He rambled on, dropping your hands and starting off.

You gaped, quick to chase after him. "Neteyam! Wait!" You shouted, grabbing ahold of his arm. "What're you talking about? I don't like Ao'nung! And I wanted to hang out with you, not him. You're my best friend. I want to spend time with you." You reassured, looking him in the eye.

Best friend. The words echoed inside his head. That's all you'll ever be. Ever since he was a child, Neteyam dreamed of being your mate. To him, it seemed like it was clear Ewya picked you two to be together since the moment you met.

"Neteyam?" you called out, breaking him out of his thoughts.

Snapping his head up, he nodded. "You're right. Sorry, I know you wouldn't ditch me for Ao'nung. I just tried to find you this morning and saw you riding with him, and I guess I got a little.." he trailed off, scared of what he might say next.

"Jealous?" you teased, poking his side. "I would never replace you with him as my best friend. He smells like fish anyways," you giggled, taking his hand once more and dragging him closer to the ocean. "Now can we do what we walked all this way for, please?"

You two spent hours on the beach, because after you dove and found all your needed shells, you forced Neteyam to stay and help you make your necklaces. (One of them was for him, anyway.)

As it got darker, Neteyam, being the goody two-shoes boy he is, grew concerned and you two started walking back toward your new home. And of course, fate just wasn't on your side as Ao'nung saw you two walking and decided it was a good idea to invite himself over.

"Hey forest girl, don't forget about later tonight, alright?" Ao'nung winked, nodding over to Neteyam to greet him.

"What's tonight?" Neteyam inquired, quickly glancing over towards you at his side.

"Well me and y/n's date, of course!"

—

a/n — ig this is turning into a three part series LMFAO

[once-delight]

I'm currently hard at work at my big bro's birthday present, so all my creative time is for crochet atm (I'm making him a big GOT styled dragon) but I have aproximately 300 different ideas for IWTV fanart, 3 solid Devil's Minion fic ideas, and I am around 10 pages into one of them, plus a pages long outline for the other.

This show/fandom has sparked my creative drive like it hasn't been in a long time.

In addition I've felt inspirer to re-dye and cut my hair, started exercising and wearing makeup again, plus made some really cool and funny new friends online.

Ilu all! And on Thursday I'll be on the train for 3 hours to get to my bro, so I'll bring my iPad and get to work on some of those IWTV ideas 😁

[ax-killjoy]

☆ Darling, let’s get old.

synopsis ! 𖦹 : neteyam never wants to admit it, but he misses home.

Notes ! 𖦹 : y’all- thank you sm for all the reblogs, likes, and such. It’s making me a lil nervous fr !! (o´罒`o)

inspired by !! : acolyte - Slaughter Beach, Dog.

neteyam x gn!metkyina!reader

warning ! : mentions of food, a bit of angst, brief depictions of a fight, mentions of a near death experience.

It had been almost a month since the Sully family moved to Awa’altu, and in that month so much has happened.

They get settled in, they try to become part of the Metkyina. Reef people. They learn to ride Ilu, and hold their breath for so long that they could sit on the ocean floor, staring at fish and casually talk underwater, all with the help of you, Tsireya, and Ao’nung.

Lo’ak’s little heart almost pops at the sight of Tsireya, gets in trouble with You and Tsireya’s older brother Ao’nung (who stares so much to the point it’s getting weird). And of course, if Lo’ak gets into a fight with 3-4 Metkyina plus ! Ao’nung, Big bro Neteyam has to be there to fighting along side him.

Lo’ak almost dies outside of the reef. Neteyam pulls Ao’nung by the queue so hard, that it send shiver down the fish boy’s spine just thinking about it. Lo’ak meets Payakan, an outcast Tulkun, and bonds with him, who Neteyam finds out is such a humble and peaceful animal. And to top it all off, Neteyam almost dies in a fight against some man, who’s been trying to kill his parents since before he was born.

And Eywa, you were there for all of it.

He remembers vividly, as he jumped off his Ikran, staring at the Na’vi. They crowd him, quiet hisses and murmurs spread through the crowd. Then he sees you, you bump through the crowd with big curious eyes, your tail swishes as you circle them. Neteyam stares at you, smiling a bit, and you smile back. It’s a shy smile, but it wasn’t hesitant. Infact it felt welcoming. He makes his brother do the motion, i see you. You smile, doing it back, only staring at Neteyam. This was soon stopped when your older brother Ao’nung stomps through the crowd, a deathly glare and a restless urge to make fun of the Sully.

It still suprises him, you were there to teach him how to breath deep, to teach the ways of the water and the ocean. You sat with Kiri tending to his wounds after the fight with Ao’nung, apologizing profusely, it wasn’t even your fight. You were there when they retrieved Lo’ak, you held Neteyam’s hands as he rambled about how worried he was, and how he was going to gut Ao’nung like a fish.

And you were there when it happened, you were the first to notice his blood spilling into the sea. You yelled at Lo’ak to hold him tight, yelling at the Sky Person named Spider to hold him up, and yelled even louder for Lo’ak’s ilu to speed up.

You held onto him, begging him to keep his eyes open. “Just a little longer love, please.” you beg in the softest you could in a situation like this, your voice cracking, heavy and laced with desperation. And Neteyam thinks, he never wants to hear you like that ever again. Your tears spilled onto his chest, as you and Lo’ak covered his wound with trembling hands. He remembers seeing the horrified look Lo’ak had, and you caressing his face begging him to focus. “He’s gonna be ok Lo’ak, just press harder.”

In that moment, mind jumbled, sight fazing in and out. He decided that he loved you.

And when he woke a couple days later, in a Marui. The Tsahik and Chief’s wife, Ronal speaking to his mother in small whispers, the warmth of the sun and your arms wrapped around his waist.

He finalized that decision, and wanted to declare it to anyone who would listen. That he loved you.

•*¨*•.¸¸♪✧ !!

His eyes open slightly, a pained wince is let out. Alerting everyone in the room, the slight movement wakes up you instantly, drowsiness leaving your body. You go to help him up before his mother gets a chance to move. “Be careful Nete, please.” you whisper, holding him up. His back falls onto the wall of the marui, you watch him survey the area. The sun seems too bright for his eyes, he goes to lift up his arm only for him to groan and snarl at the pain. You whimper, ears flatten, stuck to your head as you try to comfort him. He looks up at you, eyes bright yellow, a soft grin forms as he gazes at you. “Hi.” he says, making both of you huff a laugh. Though, as you both bore into each other’s eyes, your own become glossy. tears fall, slow as you sniffle.

“Why are you crying Y/N ?” he asks, as you continue to cry. “I’m just happy to see you.” You whisper, “I could’ve lost you.”, more tears fall. Neteyam lets out a shaky sigh, trying to not cry with you. He holds your face with the uninjured side of his body, wiping your tears. “I’m here baby, i’m right here. I’m alive.” He assures, and you smile through your tears. “You’re here.” you repeat looking into his eyes.

He moves his hand from your cheek, moving it to the back of your head. Moving you towards his, your forehead against his, noses touching. Basking in eachother, focusing on each other’s breathing, and living beating hearts.

“Oel ngati kameie Ma Y/N” he says softly, feeling your hands caress both sides of his face. Moving to sink into his messy braids, moving down to hold his throat to feel his pulse, then down again on his chest. Feeling his heart beat, keeping your warm hands there.

“Oel ngati kameie, Ma Neteyam.” you say back, and then there was silence. Both of you yet again basking in eachother’s embrace. Feeling the warm that overwhelmed two bodies, holding eachother so close that it almost formed into one.

Everything was going to be ok.

♫•*¨*•.¸¸♪✧ !!

It has been several weeks after Neteyam’s injury, his shoulder seems better. He can move it, yes. But sometimes it feels stiff, and he sometimes he can never get the feeling of the bullet in his shoulder, out of brain.

The Olo’eytkan Tonowari declares the Sully family, Metkyina. Thanking them for their help with defeating the sky people, and saving the Tulkun. As much as Neteyam wishes to be happy about it, and he is. There’s always that feeling that he is missing something, making him feel ever so lonely.

He misses home.

He tries not to make it an issue, his father has done so much for him and the rest of the family to keep them safe, to keep the Omatikaya safe. But no matter how friendly the Metkyina are, he still misses the soil beneath his feet, the smell of rivers, the sounds of his clan chanting, the burning smell of bon fires, he misses his grandmother and her bickering with Kiri. He misses home.

He sulks during his duties, catching fish with a net makes him reminisce of when he merely used a bow to kill fish, when he lives in the forest. “Bro, are you ok ?” Lo’ak asks snapping Neteyam out of his thoughts, and he nods. “Yeah…never better.” He says, walking away. He just wants you with him.

When he comes home, you’re sitting down by the fire, stirring a pot that makes pops and boils. The scent is familiar, it’s almost like home. The smell is so similar to the food his mother used to make, specifically his comfort food for when he was having a bad day, but that couldn’t be the case. That was Omatikaya only food.

“Evening, Ma Teyam.” You say, looking up at him. He grins tiredly, he sits down releasing a heavy sigh. He lets his body rest against yours, his head falling onto your shoulder, soft kisses pressed on your skin. He basks in this feeling, Domestic Bliss his father called it. He lets your warmth and the fire radiate onto him, embracing him like a hug.

“Your Mother and Father are out, they went on a hunting trip with my father and others. Kiri and Tuk are helping My mom and Tsireya find material and herbs, Lo’ak said he was going to Payakan just outside the reef.” You murmur, kissing the top of his head. “We need to fix your braids, oh mighty warrior.” You joke, and he hums. “Later, just need you with me.” he says quietly.

He closes his eyes for a moment, listening as you continue to stir the pot, soft splashing and the smelling that ever so familiar scent. “Ma Yawne, open your eyes.” You say softly, he opens to see a wooden spoon front of him. He doesn’t really know what he’s looking at, but it seems so good. “Taste.” He lets you spoon feed him.

Suddenly he knows exactly what he’s eating, it’s a stew his mother made for him when he felt horrible. Roasted fish, boar maybe, plenty of vegetables. He tastes flavores he knows are specifically from the forest, he wants to ask but he’s to occupied with the flavores bursting in his mouth. He sulks, releasing all the tense muscles as he chews. “Mmf, oh eywa.” He moans, his tail curles around you as he violently purrs. You let out a laugh.

“I’m glad you like it.” You giggle, “How did you even get these herbs ? These are from the forest.” He asks, looking into the pot. His tail almost wagging at the sight of you pouring some of the stew into a bowl for him. “Well, I noticed that you’ve been stiff all day, you looked kind of gloomy today. Decided to ask your mother about what your favorite food was, found she kept some herbs from the forest. She told me how to cook it before she left.”

And for a moment, Neteyam thinks he can’t love you anymore or else his heart will burst. He feels the love encompass his whole body, and he whimpers softly resting his head into the crook of your neck. He wonders what he might’ve done in his past life to deserve you, maybe this was the blessing he got from eywa after the bullet, he doesn’t know and he can’t comprehend it. He can’t get it enough it though, he’s practically drunk off of your existence. “I don’t deserve you.” He says, and you laugh again. He feels the vibration of it, he looks up at you, and sees your gaze. He realizes, that you love him just as much as he loves you. You look at him like he holds the secrets to the universe, the stars, to life.

“Ma Yawne, after everything ? You deserve the world.”

｡:.ﾟஐ⋆* !!

Ma Yawne - My beloved

Oel ngati kameie - I see you

[dirtytransmasc]

How would big bro ao'nung react if Spider was turned into a child? How did Spifer even get into that situation? Nobody knows 🤷‍♀️ not even himself as he has pretty much forgotten everything from the last 5 years. But he still remembers his family and friends though-

(I wrote like most of this and then I registered what you meant by that last part, and couldn't bring myself to rewrite it, so I hope you don't mind the mild deviation)

spider had been missing for days, 3 days, 3 days and 3 nights without his voice or his presence. it was odd, so odd, spider never strayed far, not anymore, he was always with his family now. when he first got taken in by the family he had a tendency to wander off as he was never wanted around by his previous 'parents', but now, he never left his families side for long. he was always sticking close to ao'nung and rotxo or relaxing with his sister in their hut, out on the water with his dad or following his mother around the village, he even spent a fair amount of time with the elders of the village. but now he was gone and no one could find him.

they had people out on tsurak and ilu checking outside the reef, maybe the boy had gotten swept off by a wave and was stuck on one of the rocky islets. others on ilu's check every potential spot within the reef a boy could feasibly get stuck on, unable to make his way home.

free divers were sent to search the ocean floor, and the whole family prayed they would not find him.

they also had people searching the sparse forests of the island, ao'nung included; he had spent 2 days in the water, the fear of finding his brother lifeless body tieing his intestines in knots, so he turned to dry land in hope of a better outcome.

he had been crawling through the brush for hours now, calling for his baby brother for him to come home, but he got no answer. He felt hopeless, he was about to turn back, hoping that he would return to the village and find his brother safe and sound in there hut, when he heard sniffling. it was coming from behind a thick bush hiding the alcove of a tree, and when ao'nung pulled back the leaves, he found a small human child, no more then 5 or 6, with locked golden hair, terrified brown eyes, and faded blue stripes. spider.

he was sure it was his baby brother, as sure as anyone could ever be. the look in the little boys eyes hurt his heart, he remembered it, all too well, that's how spider looked at him when they first met, the fear and distance in them striking a cold chill in the older boys spine. what he wasn't so sure of is why he was tiny or why he was here in the woods. but all of that came second when the little one tucked into himself, utterly terrified of ao'nung, cause the very sight of his trembling body made ao'nung want to cry himself.

he sat down, making himself as small as he could, before putting a gentle hand out, not touching the boy, but rather showing he was harmless,

"hey little dude," he spoke low and quiet, "you know na'vi right?" he remembered spider saying he had been fluent since he was little, having learned from the scientists and his siblings.

the boy looked up at him, nodding a little, before turning back into himself.

"do you know who I am?"

"no, 'm sorry," his voice was nothing more than a little squeak, and it broke ao'nung's heart, he never wanted to see spider this tiny ever again, he had promised his brother he would protect him.

"that's ok, its alright, I know who you are. you're spider right?"

the boy look up in shock, showing his puffy tear-stained cheeks and red eyes, "how... how do you know who I am?"

ao'nung thought about what he would say, what would get the kid to relax enough for ao'nung to take him home.

"I'm a friend of your family, the Sully's, I'm helping look for you," he smiled at the boy, trying to win over his trust.

"you know where they are?" he sounded hopeful, his eyes brightening a bit.

"yeah kid, I can take you back to my village, they're staying there, would you like that?" he offered up his arms, the kid rushing into them as if they would disappear. he was freezing to the touch and up close he looked even worse off then he did in a trembling ball. he had been out here a while, clearly dehydrated, and if the rumbling of his belly was anything to go off of, starving too.

"I've got you little one, don't worry. its a bit of a walk back to the village, but we'll be there before the suns up." he hoisted little spider up onto his hip so he could stand and then pulled him practically all the way up his chest so he could rest his little head on the older boys shoulder. spider clung to him, little hands grappling to hold on, shivering as his skin was exposed to the night air. ao'nung kicked himself for being in such a hurry to go out and look he hadn't thought to bring water or a shawl. "how'd you get out here little one?"

"I don't know... just woke up and I couldn't figure out where I was... these aren't the forests of the Omatikaya are they?" spider looked up at him wearily.

"no, these are the forest of Awa'atlu, the Metkayina."

"I don't know how I got here, I... I..." he burrowed his head into ao'nungs neck. "they're going to be so mad at me, you said their here right, the sully's? they came all the way here for me they're gonna be mad," spider started to thrash out of ao'nungs arms, to much avail as he was so small.

ao'nung's heart twinged again, his baby brother was terrified of the Sully's once again, and now he had a pretty idea of what his childhood looked like.

"no one will be mad, I promise you, we all just wanted you to come home. they're going to be so happy your home... my people too, you've been to our village before, your very important to us, you just don't remember little one." he wanted to tell the boy that his family, his real family, was looking for him, waiting for him to come home, and that he would be going back to a village that will be overjoyed with his safe, if not odd, return.

"promise?"

"on my life little one,"

"ok... I trust you." he plopped his head down on ao'nung's shoulder, letting ao'nung shift to hold him so his large hands and arms would cover more of his skin from the early morning air.

he was half asleep by the time he got back to the village, head lolling as he lost his battle with sleep. ao'nung made a b-line for his family's pod, finding his mother deep in prayer.

"mother, I found him, but somethings... wrong," he spoke gently as not startle her, but the mention of her missing child sent her head flying up from her bowed prayer position.

"where is he-" she cut herself off when she saw the sleeping child in her eldest's arms, getting up to investigate. she looked at the child, her face melting in both pain and pleasure as she recognized her baby's face.

"I found him curled up deep in the forest, heard him crying. he doesn't know who I am... he couldn't recognize the forest, and he must have heard us but had been to scared to come out." he cradled the baby closer as he remembered the look on his little face.

"I will get your father to call and end to the search, stay here with him, offer him water, slowly, I don't want him getting sick," she spoke quick and sure. ao'nung was very grateful that she knew not to separate them; he was protective on a good day, and this was not a good day,

he sat on his pallet, pulling the large kelp blanket around spider as his shivering finally quelled. he reached for the water cup his mother had left out, no doubt waiting for the boy to come home.

"hey spi' want some water," he gently roused the boy, earning a little nod has he started to wake back up.

he helped him sit up, holding the cup while spider lifted his mask, helping him take a long drink. spider drained the cup and then another before ao'nung insisted he take a break. spider was keen on not getting sick though so he wasn't hard to convince.

by the time he had settled again, clearly exhausted from days alone in the woods, the family was back, mother clinging to father, tsireya dragging lo'ak, tuk close behind them with kiri tailing her, jake and neytiri were the last to gather into the pod.

spider hid in ao'nung's chest, not recognizing his own family, either of them.

"it's ok, I promise its ok, we just have to talk... your mostly gonna listen, maybe answer some questions, ok?" he kept spider close as he spoke, not forcing him to turn around or even look at the people gathered in the pod.

spider didn't react, but ao'nung felt his shoulder's ease a little.

they talked for a long while, ao'nung had to retell the story of how he found spider at least 3 times. then the questions began, how had he de-aged? why had he de-aged? was it permanent? how long would it last? how much should they tell spider?

that didn't even include all the questions they asked spider, they were trying to pinpoint exactly when in spider life he had gone back to, finding him stuck at 6. he recognized jake and neytiri, could be swayed to recognize the eldest siblings despite how much they had ages, but he had no memory tuk as she hadn't been born for another 3 years. to the pain of his family, he didn't recognize any of them at all, and only let ao'nung hold him because he'd gotten used to it walking back and was too frozen with fear to let anyone else close.

it was determined that spider should know what happened and that he would live village life as all of the younger kids did, staying with whomever he is most comfortable with, and it would be played by ear. they had no way of determining why or how this had happened (though ronal felt as though spider was getting a second chance at childhood with his new family) or how long it would last so there was little point in arguing about it.

spider was informed of the prediciment, saying that eywa had blessed for a reason, allowing him to go back into his child years for a reason only she knew. that he had been adopted officially by the Tonowari's, the chief and tsahik no less, and that he'd been living with them for over a year. and that he would be free to live amongst the village like any other child, free to float between families as he wished. ao'nung got to do most of that favor, as spider could barely look the women he was calling mother just days before in the eye. nor did he fully trust being around the sully's, he could barely recognize his siblings, and he didn't seem to have the fondest of memories of the parents.

ao'nung found himself very protective of the little thing, more so then he normally was; he was protective of spider because he was his brother and human, he was protective of children because they are defenseless, he was protective of his siblings because that was his job his duty as the eldest. now he was the eldest brother of a tiny, scared, defenseless, human child; he had never felt such a drive to protect in his life. spider stayed with him the first few nights, and ao'nung kept him close, bundled in a blanket. when spider began venturing into the village, ao'nung was close behind, making sure no one messed with his baby brother. spider had lost any and all instinct to live amongst the reef village with his memory; finding it difficult to navigate the sand or swim with strength and confidence, meaning ao'nung was always on the verge of just scooping the little one up and hauling him back to the pod where he would be safe. he hisses and lashes his tail at anyone who disturbs spidr's naps or plays too rough around him (he is his mother's child after all)

spider began warming up to the people around him. first were tsireya and rotxo, it was hard to keep them away from the baby, no matter how hard ao'nung wanted to keep him all to himself. it was nice seeing him reconnect, completely unknowingly on spiders end, with some his best friends in the world. playing in the tide pools with tsireya or napping against rotxo. he even begins to reconnect with ronal and tonowari, spending long hours by the water's edge with his mother watching the sunset or with his father caring for the ilu and tsurak.

ao'nung is testy with the sully parents, not letting them around spider as much as they would like, not wanting them to taint this second chance spider has at childhood; part of him knows its unfair, part of him even thinks it might be good for spider to reconnect with them, now that they were trying to do better, but the need to protect his baby brother from a known threat overshadowed that by a longshot. even as spider sought them out, he had a very angry, very much ready to pounce lashing his tail in the corner as he supervises the meetings.

spider quickly caught up with his siblings, tuk and him being close in age definitely helped. kiri and lo'ak loved fawning after their now little brother. ao'nung was happy to see him happy, he knew the only thing spider had when he was younger was his siblings, so he was happy he got to keep that.

as spider gained his 'sea legs' and confidence in the village, ao'nung had to watch out for slips, trips, falls, and boo-boos. spider was a tough cookie though, while ao'nung was having a heart attack cause his little knees were all scraped up, spider was telling a tale as to how he gained his wounds. helped his mother stay on top of putting ointment on spider's skin so he didn't burn to a crisp; he'd already rocked a sun-poisoned spider to sleep once and he won't be doing it again.

over all, spider has the most attentive, loving, and protective brother possible. whether he has to age all over again or he ages up quickly over time, he will always have his brother to love and protect him.

[love-toxin]

FUCK YES finally somebody else noticed the Sebastian and Sam (Sambastian?) conundrum. They were my first loves istg

technically my first sdv love was alex (whom i still adore ilu baby <3) but sebastian is soooooo me-coded fr and sam's sunshine bf/golden retriever energy is the opposites attract mishmash that i crave. MYAOW. def not thinking thoughts abt them competing........tryna show each other up in a homoerotic rivalry typa way including practicing kissing on each other bc they each wanna impress u and we're bros its not weird haha.......gettin super drunk at the saloon n letting them take turns on u in the backroom or the bushes by the farm when they help u get home......kya <3

[shinakazami1]

AJDJSG HIII ILU I JUST HAD TO THROW U A CURVE BALL but seriously I did have a Borderlands phase and I can 1000% understand the Rhys brainworms so I needed to hear more of yours :D ALSO AWE thank you!

I might as well ask your thoughts on Rufu- PSYCH! Thoughts on Goal?? >:3

BRO U HAD?? YOU HAD THEM ALL DEAR LORT I HANDSHAKE U im doing reverse Mel hyperfix run I see!!

But now, it's time for g-g-g-g-

GOAL

(I hadn't played the games and hadn't consumed any content in a long time so. We will see how this will go. Ouuu I might replay it too,,)

How I feel about this character

The fact she started as the stereotype of sleeping beauty (and well... Sort of went through it a lot KSJEJRJSJSHD) BUT THEN LIKE. WHEN SHE WAS CONCIOUS (GOOD LORT THIS SOUNDS BAD) SHE SLAYED.

Just as I mentioned in my Borderlands girlies, Deponia ones are also strong af. And Goal is one of the examples. She lived in a utopia (well not on Utopia but Elysium but u know) and went on the trip because she wanted to make sure. She was Cletus' fiance and seemed to care about him but when she learnt about state of Deponia, what did she do? She ATE that and immediately was like 'we gonna inform them all'. And like I feel the disc is a great social commentary esp since only women got those. Horrible misoginism around, to be able to erase someone's being so easily, or split it to main factors, eughhhh. Yet! It brings such an interesting narrative!!

Lady Goal - all the upbringing she went to. The perfection others got into her brain

Baby Goal - the childhood he lost, the innocence and care in the world

Spunky Goal - adventurous. The part that got to talk most on Deponia, and in the fourth game imo.

The fact the internalised conflict got shown so well in the game. And then the self betrayal, only for her to come back once again.

And then again, in Goodbye Deponia. Goal kept on reinforcing herself as an independent fella who still sometimes fell for Rufus' lies. The fact that till the end, her own goal (haha) of getting to Ulysess and telling about Deponia worked out, and then, she had to lose Rufus just hurts a lot. The fact she didn't want to let herself mourn, that she had to bring back Rufus because he never gave up during the story - ough. She lost her home. She lost so much. And in the end, she let herself accept it and go.

She saw the world with a pink eye monocle. Cus she kept on calling Rufus and other people out. She could do so on Elysium probably, seeing her upbringing but also, she had to go opposite to her Lady training.

She's a great character. Truly

All the people I ship romantically with this character

BRO you single handedly made me like her with all the clones. Rufus, Cletus, Argus, though for Argus mostly as funny enemies-besties.

But... GoalxToni for life,,,

My non-romantic OTP for this character

I want to see her act more with rest of the squad. Lotti, June, Hermes, Doc, Bambina,,, there are a lot I think if she had more time, would love to have her around.

My unpopular opinion about this character

This fandom has great takes so I don't think I have any. I'm a bit too rusty tho sjshsh

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

L... Less sleep....

[elliot-rambles]

You got……

The Ilu

These aquatic creatures are known for being Intelligent and sociable. They have special organs used for echolocation, and even though they live their entire lives In the waters they are only able to breathe air.

They are likely the most common mount creatures of the Na’vi reef clans, like the Metkayina and Ta’unui.

I’m actually an Ilu myself, so that’s neat.

WOAH!!!! CREACHUR!!!!! also did u kno that the reef clans were based around polynesian culture :3 I think that's so cool bc I'm polynesian - maori and samoan :3 ur such a cool ilu bro :3

[scouped]

SCOUPED TOP 10 of 2024 🌟

thank u for tagging me @vcrnons ilu <3 i enjoyed looking back at these posts omg thank u for loving these gifs!!! tagging everyone who wants to do this!

10. the most big bro x little bro duo of all time

9. MONKEY MAN 2024

8. DEV PATEL as Kid in Monkey Man (2024)

7. LEST Arcane S2E3

6. SCOUPS Brisant

5. DK & WONWOO Rock With You MV Behind

4. REMEMBER YOU ARE ONE — The Substance, 2024

3. he takes that shit personally

2. CHAPPELL ROAN Red Wine Supernova (Live at VEVO DSCVR)

1. The Substance (2024) dir. Coralie Fargeat

[daybreakrising]

I followed because I had to after I made you set up the blog and I stayed because who else would I throw things at when they make me feel things. ( jk, you know i adore your writing and developing all these wonderful dynamics with you and exploring all the complicated bonds together!! <3 )

yeah you're legally obliged to support my chaos here bc it's your fault i'm here in the first place

everyone blame charlie for everything i do

(ilu bro <3)

[punkbxt]

dime the takes. por favor.

*gets real close to the vending machine* quiero pepsi

okay all seriousness tho imma try to do this in a way thats like idk semi respectful towards janeway but i also need yall to know i do NOT reallyf fuck with her. idk if ive explained why before but i guess here we go

unlike most people that enjoy star trek i didnt really get into it till 2018 and then the demmy hit n i had nothing but time to consume every star trek imaginable and thats how i found voyager. yeah sure make fun of me for not knowing what star trek is but i need YALL to know that it is white and usamerican culture to be raised on trek and I DONT CARE. the only reason i got into star trek is bc a white friend introduced me. all this to say i was introduced to janeways actress through oitnb red ilu so much red best evil white lady <3

anyways i know janeway gets hate for having been the only lady captain and i always preface anything i say about her with this so yall understand that this is not the reason i dislike her but in reality it doesnt help either

also its tiring as fuck to include my opposing argument but it has to be done bc ppl are like “what about- pkay but you didnt consider how- yeah but- actually youre wrong bc-“ like fuck man im doing my damndest i literally hate voicing my opinions bc yall INSIST people of color dont actually get it n its tiring

if youve followed me since i started voyagerposting you may have noticed ive only actually drawn janeway twice and its cuz as a person she rubs me the wrong way for so many reasons

janeway gets put in this impossible position of being the top of the hierarchy pyramid to a crew that doesnt think theyll ever make it home again. shes deemed a mother figure by a LOT of characters but im gonna talk abt her dynamics with b’elanna, and seven because if i were to talk about the dynamics between janeway and harry thatd have to be its own post

when i get into a show, i loooveeee knowing what was happening behind the scenes because i love it!! i love set design i love character design i love costume design i love seeing what the actors are like outside of the show and how they feel about these characters bc these things ARE important. (writers too pero i have beef) behind the scenes is the biggest influence to the final product bc its the reason the final product exists in the first place and behind the scenes so many things went wrong. and when actors are mistreated or dont get along with eachother it becomes pretty apparent. well at least if you analyze things the way i do

so heres my issue with janeway seven and b’elanna. b’elanna is typecast to be the ugly character. klingons gave always gotten the short end of the stick and the case with her isnt as harsh bc her actress is a mixed puerto rican (information that has actually only recently been revealed bc when i tried to find out what roxan’s ethnicity was in 2019 i literally could not find anything definitive except for shes latina) but she STILL gets a lot of shit

one of my favorite things about voyager before the introduction of seven was how b’elanna and janeway actually got to bond a lot over science and when seven took on the roll of pretty girl on the ship, b’elanna and janeway suffered a LOT for it. we have an interesting dynamic between a maquis engineer and a federation captain genuinely not getting along bc b’elanna doesnt see janeways as an authority figure. not until chakotay has something to say about it and also until b’elanna and janeway actually talk about shit n get over their differences. the issue is when ppl purposely skip the earlier seasons to get to seven and then a lot of important interpersonal character building is missed I SAY THIS BC PEOPLE OFTEN FORGET THAT VOYAGER HAS BEEN ASSIMILATED BY THE BORG BEFORE AND EVEN THE WRITERS LET IT SLIP THEUR MIND N ITS LIKE BRO U HAVE GOLD TO WRITE WITH N U JUST LET IT COLLECT IN THE CORNER

seven is a unique and interesting character when she is first introduced. seven looks like any other borg and is so COOL. and then immediately all the cool interesting things about the way seven looks is basically negated to a few shiny parts. and yes janeway is partly to blame

BUT! what is the easiest way to gain the trust of people who already have bad history with who you once were? assimilation of course! seven goes from being one of many to the outcasts outcast

but punkbxt! what does any of this have to do with why you dislike janeway as a character? if anything it sounds more like you dislike seven. as long as the character is white ill always hold a lil disdain for them in my heart <3

janeway symbolizes the best of starfleet. she is an accredited officer and an extremely capable scientist. she is a beautiful white woman in THE position of power something that was revolutionary for her time. the issues with white women being put in positions of power is they they have NEVER had the interests of black and brown people to heart. “yes they-“ SHUT UP and let me speak before you decide to comment on this goddamn post

feminism throughout the centuries has focused on white women and while a show is merely a fraction of the lived reality of its time the effects are still extremely clear. white feminism JUMPED at the character of janeway and celebrated her and rightfully so! the issues came about when women like b’elanna got attacked and pushed to the side. this directly affected janeway within fandom and she got and still is recognized for accomplishments SHE DID NOT DO. she got put on a pedestal and once that happens to a character they suddenly can do no wrong. except she does because shes a human and shes white and shes a character with writers behind her

b’elanna has never actually been a super popular character and the wave of love for her is actually pretty fucking recent and not to toot my own horn but i definitely was a big part of the b’elanna love resurgence. when i got into voyager and these dates ARE important, i used to scroll through her entire tag easily a couple times through a DAY. fans occasionally created art for her and yeah! she got fics but nowhere in comparison to her other peers. surrounding yourself with people who also love her and want to create for her does help with recognition of b’elanna but its super recent stuff. and to add onto that any white fan that has an opinion about her will always be biased because they just do not understand what it is like to exist as a latina woman of color

this is where me myself and i come into the story because wowowowowow star trek is so cool! star trek preaches on and on and on about diversity love acceptance hate oppression and all that good stuff so who wouldnt love it??? and then??? OMG THERES A LATINA CHARACTER IN ONE SERIES OMG OMG OMG. imagine my disappointment when i found out that she a main character barely was getting any love. it hurt. because even within a narrative of inclusion somehow characters of color just seem to always be pushed to the side. especially when a fandom has such a majority percentage of white people

watching her story was SO personal to me. i could see myself in her struggling with living in america. i lived my childhoods in puerto rico and in many different parts of usamerica, surrounded by family and people like me until that wasnt the case anymore. i spent my life living as a nomad with no place to call home for on average no less than a year and no more than three. i could understand b’elanna with her struggles of living in a klingon monastery and then being thrust into an unforgiving and unaccepting world where humans/white people are the most important. the internalized racism that i grew up with was horrendous and to this DAY i am still trying to learn and better myself and connect with my culture in any way i can. because in a black ans white world, where is the space for those of us that dont fall under either? we are ignored and erased and with b’elanna is has been the same

the rejection b’elanna had to her klingon side was something i could relate to incredibly. but it still isnt enough. because even though i could connect with her through her klingon-ness, her latinidad is simply a label. throughout the show you see her change and grow and assimilate to the federation standard and it HURT. the narrative that i was directly picking up from her story was yeah you can be a part of the club but only if you do it how we want you to do it. and dont you EVER even talk about being latino unless its to shit on your deadbeat of a father. and i did. i learned how to adapt at an extremely young age. ive been told its one of the things i do best (sad isnt it?)

and okay how do seven and janeway have anything to do with this? well they are the white women who we literally have to conform to and for. thats it period

seven as a character had an amazing opportunity to challenge gender and sexuality because of her story (one that would have been better suited had she been an indigenous woman which ive spoken on before but thats for another post too) and then the people in charge decided that she just HAD to be the sexywoman instead of leaning into just how much she was no longer human and how humanity itself doesnt actually have one right way to be

this narrative is given to us by janeway time and time and time again correcting seven and telling her that seven simply is not himan enough and still has to learn. (things autistic ppl can suuuuuper relate to which is a reason i could connect with seven at all). no matter how you want to look at it (whatever canon you want to decide isnt canon anymore for the sake of a fucking ship) janeway was directly written to be a mentor and mother figure to seven. janeway is there to help her learn when in reality she can never understand what its like to be an outcast within the federation and to take it a step further be part of a eace which is treated with hostility by humans. something b’elanna CAN understand and relate to because at the time of voyager shits still om the rocks between klingons and humans. janeway pushes seven to accept and embrace humanity as if thats the only option seven has to become a better character but its just not true. the story woven between janeway and seven is one of white women and femininity and how to be the perfect white woman and how to be a good lover. by actively ignoring the help and influence b’elanna could have provided for seven to learn and adapt to a majority human world they put all that weight on janeway. something that affects ALL three of them negatively and results in a narrative of “well b’elanna could never understand and relate to seven in a way that matters” which is beyond true because they are so interwoven even unintentionally so. it simply just wasnt taken further and its a true shame

and this isnt even touching on how badly seven’s actress was treated by janeways actress for being the pretty new doll at the time of filming and how that affected how i felt about janeway/seven as a ship (similarly how castle and beckett did not get along behind scenes i could no longer enjoy that show anymore)

i simplified this IMMENSELY and this shit is already long enough as it is so im sorry about that but yeah thats it. also sorry if things got repetitive ive been told i tend to do that when i write. these are my feelings and i am a real human behind this account so keep in mind how you react to this post. i have recieved countless hate anons most of which ive deleted throughout my short lived time as a fan of this franchise. i used to be MUCH more vocal about representation within star trek and people got mad so i left. but im back because the people that love b’elanna and that love that i have things to say about her matter so much fucking more than any angry person ever will