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antimony-medusa · 1 year

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Okay because I keep seeing these posts, I am just gonna cartwheel in here and say something.

It is not inappropriate to be attracted to real people.

Like, entirely setting aside the question of if you think a fantasy character block men is hot, if you are looking at the photos of a real streamer and you've got hearts in your eyes, I can't overemphasize how normal that is. You're good. Don't worry about it.

These people are funny, and they have good voices, and we watch them be entertaining for hours at a time. This is prime real estate for a little crush. And having a crush is fine, the question is about your behaviour once you have a crush.

I am seeing people thinking that having a crush on a streamer means they're dangerously parasocial, or somehow predatory, or abusive, and that ever breathing a word of it is basically sexual harassment. And like, no. Being attracted to real people is not weird. That's arguably less weird than being attracted to fictional characters. The only question is like, once you know that you want to smooch the real person, how do you then treat that person and the people around you?

Seeing a photo of a famous person and thinking "oh hell yeah I want to hold their hand": this is a celebrity crush. I am aroace and I've spent enough time in some people's streams that I start to go "oh man I wonder if they'd like if if we played D&D together" (medusa-flirting). This has happened to regular people looking at attractive famous people probably since someone in the cave man clan was a particularly good hunter and got praise for it. Thoughts in your head don't hurt people. This is fine.

Seeing clips of a famous person and having sexual thoughts about them: this is still a celebrity crush. Your average boring office worker does this with movie stars. Half the people on the bus are doing this with instagram influencers. Runnning a nice r-rated movie in your head is fine, and doesn't hurt anyone. Thoughts in your head still dont' hurt people. This is still fine.

Collecting photos of a famous person and going GOD they're hot to your friends where the famous person won't see it: still a celebrity crush. There is a standing joke in I don't know how many healthy relationships that your partner gets a certain amount of freebies where you could totally cheat if it's Idris Elba, because it's IDRIS ELBA, that's not cheating that's just sense. You can aknowlege someone's sexiness to your friends, and even joke about it, and you're not being predatory, and you're not being inappropriate. Desire is not a crime. People can publically talk about being attracted to a person, and as long as they're not making it that person's problem, they're fine. Having a "hot people" tag on your blog with careful photos gathered from someone's public instagram where they deliberately posted photos of themselves looking hot? I can't over emphasize how fine this is. If people don't want to see hot people on their dash I guess they can unfollow? But you're literally being totally appropriate still.

Getting a nice private group chat with friends who like to talk abouta famous person and talking about how you'd like to knock him up: Look, what else are group chats as adults for? Are you seeing a trend here? As long as you are keeping your attraction to yourself and not making it other people's problem, as long as you're not bothering the real person with it, as long as you aknowledge to yourself that this is never going to happen and this is just a fun fantasy, this is just like, how attraction works. See pretty person, talk about pretty person, have fun with the fictional imaginings you're having— as long as you're not forcing this imagining on someone else, making it their problem, trying to make it real, as long as you know the difference between fiction and real life, you're fine.

Going up to someone's chat and talking about their dick: This is where you cross the line.

Putting NSFW work in someone's fan art tag. Wearing a shirt with porn on it to a meet and greet. Untagging your fanfic so that people who want to read g-rated works about someone are confronted with e-rated works. Asking one of their friends about their relationship status and if they smell good. This is the bad stuff. Don't do THAT. Keep it away from the real person.

The problem is not the attraction, the problem is forcing the attraction on other people. Like, use your brain. There's a segment of attraction that you can put on main, and then there's a segment that you can put on main but you'd better be sure that the person you're talking about is not going to see it, and then there's a segment you should keep for the group chat, but that's just a very basic sliding scale of "how sexual am I being" correlated with "how private am I being about this". If you want to run a full on porn video in your head starring Wilbur Soot, you're not bothering other people with that, you're not being inappropriate. That becomes inappropriate if you are a) putting that in tags where people who don't want to see the porn video would see it b) talking to Wilbur Soot about it. Those are the boundaries. Wait also c) talking to Wilbur Soot's friends about it, don't do that either.

If the person you're attracted to is an adult famous person, like, people being attracted to them is just part of the landscape. I promise an adult celebrity is not sitting in their room being traumatized because people might be thinking about them romantically or sexually. Putting it up in their faces? Bad. Very bad. I hate it. Don't do it. But I see people freaking out about thoughts. Thoughts aren't real. They do not exist in the real world. You can do what you fuckin' want in your thoughts and you are not hurting people.

Like I know we don't want to be inappropriate with streamers, but that doesn't mean that any sexual or romantic thoughts about them are forbidden, or that mild "GOD he's cute" or picspams on main are hurting people, or that off in a closed group of fellow adult enthusiasts you can't be like "so I think streamer would be submissive if I was domming him" and everyone can be like "oh you'd dom him so well". As long as you're keeping it away from people who are bothered by it, you're fine.

Attraction to real people is normal and how attraction works. You're not hurting people if you think they're cute. You're not hurting people if you want to fuck them, either, as long as you're not making them interact with that desire. This is just a simple matter of keeping the higher-rated material away from the people involved.

Attraction to real people isn't inappropriate. You're fine.

#discourse #fandom meta

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torukmaktoskxawng · 1 year

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'anla - part two

Series Masterlist

Summary: Life on the reef has started to change the Sully kids for the better, while a storm looms overhead. Certain teenagers are in denial of each other.

Pairing: Ao'nung/Fem!Na'vi!Sully Reader

Warnings: Mature language, teenagers acting their age, time skips, strict parents, puppy love, canon compliance, slow burn, etc.

Word Count: 5k+

Tag: #'anla ao'nung fic

Na'vi Words: nivi - hammocks, marui - homes, ilu - dolphin like creatures, tulkun - whale like creatures, tsurak - skimwings, Sänrr Rong - the Glow Tunnel, spä - jump, olo'eyktan - clan leader, sa'sem - parents, Iknimaya - Rite of Passage, tsahik - spiritual leader, tsakarem - tsahik in training, tsmukan - brother, Utraya Moktri - Metkayina Spirit Tree, kuru - braid neural queue, fpxafaw - medusa

Taglist (red indicates "could not tag"): @timotheechalametishot @ghost-lantern @shadowmoonlight0604 @melsunshine @ocd-onut @purennn @themostegotisticalgirl124 @notsochillnerd @athenachu @yhern05 @amortencjja

A/N: I tagged everyone from the comment section of the first chapter who was excited or asking for part two. I couldn't respond to them in the comment section because this is a secondary account, so if you do or don't want to be on the taglist, please let me know via ask box or dm, thank you!

read it here on ao3

(I do not consent to my works being reposted or copied)

Kiri had woken shortly after, crying, but was otherwise unharmed and showing no signs what happened had affected her. They gave her a day to recover in their home while the rest of the Sullys went about their day normally, sending Norm and Max away with heartfelt goodbyes and returning to the sea life they had started to grow accustomed to.

Lo'ak and Y/n were put in charge of plucking barnacles off the bottom of canoes for the afternoon, and the young boy takes the time to avoid silence and boredom, "So what are you doing with Ao'nung?"

Y/n doesn't react or even bother looking up from her handiwork, "What do you mean?"

"I mean when did you guys become friends?"

She looked up then, puzzled as she stared at her younger brother, "I'm confused. Weren't we trying to all be friends?"

Lo'ak paused from working for a moment, shrugging, "Well, we were trying to just earn their respect and get along, but yeah, I guess we did come out as friends."

"I guess we're full of surprises."

"But the other night, you guys were being... weird."

Y/n huffed with mirth, "Look who's talking."

"Shut up." He snarled, "Have you guys been hanging out a lot?"

"Not really. Just a few times lately."

"Is that where you were the other night? This... Arch?"

"Yeah. Ao'nung said he had something to show me."

Lo'ak's expression goes blank, "Y/n. Dad taught us to literally never follow someone just because they said they have something to show you. He called it 'stranger danger' or something like that."

She tossed a barnacle at him, "Is this coming from the boy who willingly followed Ao'nung and his friends beyond the reef?"

"... Okay. Fine. You win."

"Besides, Ao'nung didn't phrase it like that. It was a lot less creepy."

"So why didn't he invite the rest of us to the Arch?"

"You guys had already gone for the day so he just took me." Y/n then reached over to mess with Lo'ak's hair, earning an annoyed hiss and she smiles, "Don't look too closely at it, alright? We're friends now."

~~~~~~~~~

A peaceful morning where the Sullys find themselves rolling up their nivi after a night's rest is interrupted by a horn, followed by whoops and hollers of celebration coming from outside. Confused and on edge, Jake and the kids emerge from the marui, looking around as the Metkayina jump around and dive into the water, making the newcomers curious as to what was going on.

Their answer came in the form of Tsireya, astride an ilu as she waves down her people from the water below their homes, "The tulkun have returned! Everybody! Our brothers and sisters have returned!"

Y/n looked up toward the atoll walls protecting the village from less docile nature. Emerging from the tunnels and pathways were rolling waves indicating something large underneath the water. Spurts of seaspray spring out like geysers from beneath the ocean's surface. It was a large pod of whale-like creatures, massive and slow. Their descent onto the village was graceful and one that brought much joy to the Metkayina as they couldn't get in the water fast enough.

The Sully kids couldn't wait either, jumping from the walkway around their home and into the water below. They scatter, exploring the new creatures one way or another. Tsireya had grabbed Lo'ak when she spotted him and pulled him onto her ilu, swimming away to introduce him to her Spirit Sister. Jake summoned his tsurak and both he and Neytiri take off to observe the sacred animals themselves. Rotxo had come around and pulled Kiri and Tuk away too, leaving the twins to their own devices. Ao'nung was not far behind his friend, inviting Neteyam and Y/n to come along with him to find his own Spirit Brother. All three teenagers grab an ilu and take off, making a game of chase with Ao'nung in the lead.

They weave through and around the large bodies of tulkun, dodging other ilu and Na'vi while keeping close to Ao'nung the entire time. He leads them through the chaos expertly, the three teenagers swimming quickly around a particular tulkun. Kiri, Tuk, and Rotxo were hanging onto the bull's fin and gliding peacefully through the water, the tulkun likely the reef boy's Spirit Brother. Neteyam and Y/n are only able to catch a glimpse of this as they swim by, keeping close to Ao'nung's tail until he slows down in front of a particular bull. This tulkun didn't have tattoos yet, much like Ao'nung as he signed to the twins, "My Spirit Brother."

Neteyam drifts close to the creature's eye, signing, "Greetings, mighty tulkun."

"I See you, Forest Brother." The tulkun sang as his form of speaking, and luckily, having had enough lessons, Neteyam and Y/n were able to grasp the old language.

Y/n ditched her ilu and swam up next, signing effortlessly, "I See you, Great Spirit Brother of Ao'nung."

"Hello, Forest Sister. I See you."

Ao'nung's hand gestures were too fast, and the twins were unable to read them but they had no need. The signing was not for them as Ao'nung was trying to relay a season's worth of events to his Spirit Brother, more excited than either Omatikaya have ever seen him. Ao'nung was smiling softly, and brightly as he tried to tell a story only to stumble over his own way of telling it. The tulkun in front of him chimed in as his way of laughing, urging the Na'vi boy to slow down. Y/n managed to pick up some of the gestures after Ao'nung slowed, not missing the words 'Sky People', 'Forest People', and 'new friends'.

Neteyam took a break to swim up and get some air, but Y/n managed to stay underwater a little longer. She didn't want to miss a second of this adorable interaction, and somehow found herself roped in it when the tulkun turned its eye to her.

"Ao'nung tells me that you are a mighty warrior, Y/n te Suli Neytiri'ite."

"He's being nice in your presence," Y/n signed back with a grin, "I have seen war but not been a part of it. I am too young. I am a hunter at best."

Neteyam, still treading water at the surface, takes a deep breath and simply dunks his face underwater, looking back down to locate Y/n and Ao'nung. He found them below, right where he had left them with the bull tulkun. Y/n was signing to the creature, keeping herself swimming next to his eye while Ao'nung floated off to the side, watching them. Neteyam didn't miss the way Ao'nung was staring at her, yet again, when she was not looking. The reef boy's face was calm, his lips relaxing into a soft, carefree smile, never taking his eyes off the Na'vi girl.

That evening was full of celebration, music and dancing a central part of it. Bonfires lined up the beach where the village people could still be close to their ocean brothers and sisters. Late night dives through bioluminescent waves, sending scattered stars up to the sky whenever a splash was made or a tulkun jumped through the air, cascading back down into the water.

Ao'nung kept Neteyam and Y/n with him most of the evening, adamantly talking about his Spirit Brother and the stories exchanged between them. At one point, the three of them were sitting on the edge of a rock fixture, their toes in the water below as they watched the tulkun dancing around in the distance. Neteyam rolled his eyes lightheartedly at a certain part of Ao'nung's story where his mischief had got the best of him. The Omatikaya boy took a moment to glance at his sister, then looked away-- only to double-check when he saw something that intrigued him.

Y/n was watching Ao'nung with a tender expression, her smile sweet and fond as her eyes locked onto every hand gesture and every laugh Ao'nung made, who was clearly unaware of her stares throughout his story-telling. She laughed and nodded whenever she was supposed to in between tales, urging the boy on when he knew he had an avid listening audience. Neteyam smiled, too, though he was sure it wasn't for the same reasons his sister was smiling.

~~~~~~~~~

After that fateful day, Ao'nung invited Neteyam and Y/n to everything. They spent whole afternoons together, sometimes sitting around on the rocks, soaking up the sun while they exchanged stories. After hearing all of Ao'nung's tales between him and his Spirit Brother, either one or both twins would tell him stories from the forest growing up. They told him everything, from their childhood to recent events before they had left their home. Ao'nung was actually a good listener if one sat him down to do so. He nodded in acknowledgment and asked questions between appropriate breaks in the stories. Neteyam could tell how much Y/n appreciated this side of Ao'nung, the girl perking up and gladly answering whatever questions he had. At the end of the day, Neteyam couldn't recall if he ever answered any of Ao'nung's questions himself, but he didn't have the heart to care.

The three were also fond of hunting together and sometimes brought Rotxo and Lo'ak along, this time within the reef and with higher spirits. Some days they would mess around too much and wouldn't catch anything, other times they used their newfound friendship and teamwork to coordinate and bring home enough fish to feed all their families combined.

Ao'nung and Y/n decide to bring all the kids to Sänrr Rong. Tuk was the more ecstatic out of all of them, but everyone was delighted by this new place they could use as a hideout away from their parents. This time, they got a chance to cliff dive from the very top of the arch. The reef kids showed them the path up but were shocked to watch the Sully kids effortlessly climb up the rock as if they were born to do so. Even Tuk showed zero signs of exhaustion as she took a stable vine hand and scurried up it like a monkey. The Omatikaya children were clearly faster and more agile climbers than the Metkayina and therefore made it to the top before the locals even had a chance.

"We'll throw you down a vine so you can catch up," Y/n jeers as she pointedly climbed over Ao'nung.

The reef boy hissed, though it appeared to be playful as he makes a point to tug her tail as she passed him. Y/n hissed back and made sure to gently shove his big forehead with her toes as she climbed before leaping out of reach. They all eventually make it to the top of the cliff, hair whipping wildly in the unforgivable winds, then the reef kids stood over the edge, looking down at the ocean water below.

"Okay! Everyone ready?" Tsireya beamed with excitement.

"For what?" Lo'ak questioned.

"SPÄ!" Rotxo hoots to the clouds as he jumps off the ledge, straightening his legs and stiffening his posture as he falls-- falls-- falls--

SPLASH.

"Who's next?" Ao'nung grinned.

Lo'ak was closest to the edge, peering over and even squinting when he couldn't spot Rotxo all the way down there, wadding in the sea, "Has anyone died doing this?"

The reef boy laughed, "If you wanna be the first, then don't stiffen your form as Rotxo did. Flail about like a screaming baby."

"Me next!" Tuk squealed.

"NO!" All four of her siblings, including Tsireya, shout in different ranges of emotion, such as fear, amusement, and seriousness.

The little girl stomps her foot, pouting as she crossed her arms, "Then why am I even here?"

"To keep me company," Y/n cut in, tugging her baby sister's arm until the shorter girl is pressed into her side. Y/n holds her tight while carefully watching the cliff, being sure to stay close to the middle and away from all edges.

"Aw, Forest Girl, you are scared," Ao'nung laughs, clapping his hands together once in amusement, "I thought you liked to fly?"

She glares at him, sticking her nose up in the direction of the cliff's edge, "That's not flying. It's falling."

Needless to say, Y/n and Tuk didn't do any cliff diving and left that to their other siblings. Kiri went first after Tsireya offered to go with her. Holding hands, the girls jump, screaming and laughing with both delight and horror. Neteyam paced along the edge of the cliff until he watched Kiri's head rise from the water, then relaxed. Once Ao'nung dared the Sully boys to race to the bottom, they were suddenly all for it, jumping off at the same time. Ao'nung took his time and teetered over the edge, grinning when he watched how nervous Y/n shuffled, keeping Tuk close to her side. The future olo'eyktan pretended to lose his balance, earning a laugh from Little Tuk and a scowl from Y/n before Ao'nung also jumped, hitting the water with practiced ease and a laugh still bubbling in his throat.

They climbed up and jumped back down several times, each time trying to persuade Y/n to jump. She put her foot down every time, even when her twin Neteyam offered to either go with her or stay with Tuk. Still, Y/n would not give into the peer pressure and Tuk was miserable by the time they returned home, squawking to her parents while stating that no one would let her cliff dive. Jake and Neytiri exchanged looks and appeared grateful when they nod to their older children with approval.

~~~~~~~~~

The Sully kids' lessons continue as usual, the older ones now granted permission to hunt in groups outside the reef if they pleased. Once they were fluent in signing, they learned to strengthen their knowledge in communicating with the tulkun for the next time. Their knowledge was tested when Tsireya, Ao'nung, and Rotxo refused to talk to them unless they used and perfected the language through signing. When Jake and Neytiri call their children home every night, they often find them sitting silently among each other, only using hand motions to communicate.

Many times, the group of friends return to the Glow Tunnel, to have fun or to enjoy the silence. Each time they all gathered at the center of the village, ready to go back to the Arch, everyone was so eager. All except one particular day, when Lo'ak was nowhere to be found once it was time to go. His absence did not go unnoticed. While Kiri decided to bring Tuk home, the others volunteered to go look for him, and hopefully, he wasn't in trouble like last time. With their newfound hunting party privileges, they go swimming beyond the reef in search of the Omatikaya boy.

They stumble upon Lo'ak by chance, and he wasn't alone. Swimming around him was an impressive tulkun, the left side of the bull scarred and missing a fin. Payakan. Neteyam and Y/n look at each other, worried, while the reef children watch curiously. Payakan and Lo'ak swam around each other like dancers, graceful and practiced. Then, the tulkun turned, fully facing Lo'ak, and opened his mouth, jaw unhinging to reveal the dark cave within. Lo'ak willingly swam in, and Payakan closed his mouth behind him. The twins went to scurry out of hiding as they watched this happen, but both Tsireya and Ao'nung stop them while Rotxo looked on, amazed.

Tsireya went on to further explain that Payakan had chosen Lo'ak to form tsaheylu, and while she appeared proud and excited at the idea, Ao'nung and Rotxo exchanged uncertain glances. Y/n had noticed this exchange, reaching out and grabbing Ao'nung's shoulder, forcing him to look back at her. When the reef boy met her curious gaze, she made movements in the water with her hands, "What is wrong?"

Ao'nung shakes his head and signs back, "Sa'sem will not be pleased."

They definitely were not. Once Lo'ak returned home with the other teenagers, word spread fast and reached Tonowari's ears. Together, he and Ronal round up the teens and brought them to their marui to have a stern lecture, berating the Metkayina children for allowing Lo'ak to bond with the tulkun outcast. It didn't go well as Lo'ak was adamant about Payakan being misunderstood and how he wasn't a killer, even by the Tulkun Way. Jake Sully refused to let his son explain and took him away to straighten him out, but the damage had already been done. Neytiri gathered the twins and followed the father and troubled son home.

They hadn't gone to the communal meal that night, instead, they ate together at home, as a family. Jake was certain that the Metkayina would only receive Lo'ak coldly should they turn up there now, so he suggested that they wait until things cooled down before returning to the village dinners. The Sullys' absence was missed that night, mostly by the children who had slowly become their friends.

Y/n was distressed when her family stayed close to their home the next morning, her father ordering the children to stay near and don't go further beyond the walkways of the village. It felt like a prison sentence to be stuck in one place when it was such a beautiful day out. Neytiri promised her children that they can move on with their lives tomorrow once Jake had calmed down and she spoke to him, but for now, "Listen to your father."

"I see that if one sibling gets punished, we all get punished now," Y/n snarled to Neteyam when she found a moment alone with her twin. Neytiri took Jake hunting with her so that they may talk, while the twins were ordered to look after their younger siblings for the night. Lo'ak and the girls went to sleep not long after their parents had gone, but the oldest son and daughter remained wide awake, talking quietly to one another just outside the marui.

Neteyam exhaled air through his nose, squinting at the dark ink of water in the distance, absently swinging one leg off the side of the walkway, "You don't mean that."

"No?"

"You're just saying that because you've been stuck here with all of us today, unable to go anywhere."

He turned and clocked the snarl on her nearly identical face, her eyebrow hairs furrowing together while she looked away, rocking herself by her heels, "I hate it."

Neteyam smiled fondly, "I know you do. You always hated small spaces. I can see why you like this place better than home."

A pregnant pause hangs in the air over the twins, the only sounds around them being the water and the village, still stirring with life as things begin to settle down. Y/n doesn't look back at Neteyam, sitting on his words for a moment until she slowly turns back, expression blank and immovable, "I don't like this place better than home. I miss home."

"Of course you do. Doesn't change the fact that you're far more free here than you were back there. You've adjusted well here, even if Dad doesn't see it," Neteyam leans over and pats his sister's knee, "He doesn't see how fast you caught onto the Metkayina ways, he just sees all the times we screwed up."

Her ears flatten as she glares at him through her eyelids, unimpressed, "You mean how Lo'ak screwed up."

"We, Y/n. We."

She rolls her sharp, yellow eyes, "If anything, Dad should be proud of him. Bonding with a tulkun is a young Metkayina's first step to their Iknimaya."

"And only you would know that because you've gotten so accustomed here."

She winced, batting his hand from her knee, "You can't talk like this when one day we're just gonna be heading home again. Stop it now. Talk less about how much we like this place and it might hurt less when we eventually leave."

"Do you want to leave?" He cocks his head, eyes scanning her face for an answer.

"... I want to see the forest again."

"That's not what I asked."

"... Do you?"

"Yes."

Y/n's eyes squint, confused, "Why?"

"I have nothing here."

"You have us. You have our friends."

"Yes, but that's all," Neteyam looks around and Y/n follows his gaze, "You have the ocean, the plant life, the sea life. The ilu, the Sänrr Rong-- everything. You love everything about this place. I only love the people. Don't get me wrong. It's a beautiful paradise and I loved experiencing every part of it... but I want to go home. I felt more at peace there."

"At peace?" The twin girl scowled, "We were at war, 'Teyam."

"Yes." She doesn't miss the way his eyes darken a shade, expression hardening into stone as he glares back out to the sea, "But war is what I was trained for."

The silence is chilling this time, Y/n's heart dropping to her stomach as guilt runs through her veins. Even as twins, Neteyam was still the older brother. He and Y/n might have been conceived during a war, but Neteyam had been bred for it, whether or not their parents realized this. Before Kiri was in the picture and before either she or Y/n had their own voices, Y/n was the one expected to be the next tsahik. With Little Y/n learning the Will of Eywa from her grandmother, Neteyam was learning to be the next olo'eyktan. He had to learn to be strong quick, to hunt quick, to think quick. Even when Y/n finally put her foot down and passed the torch of tsakarem to Kiri, she couldn't catch up to all Neteyam had already learned. She wasn't able to share that burden with her twin, and that guilt hung heavy in her heart.

"... That's not a good thing, tsmukan." She spoke gently, even her whisper sounding like a drum in the silence, "There's more to life than fighting."

"I know," Neteyam's posture shrinks, defeated, his smile not quite reaching his eyes when he glances back to Y/n, "But I haven't found what that 'more' is yet. Not for me at least... You did."

"I did?" She tilts her head curiously.

A glint sparkles in Neteyam's eye, like he knew a secret that not even his twin knew. His tail swings behind him with interest, teasing when he nudged her leg with his shoulder, "Ao'nung is good for you. And you're good for him."

He caught the flash in her eye. The flash of understanding behind the meaning of his words. The flash is there one moment and then gone the next. Y/n shifts uncomfortably in her sitting posture and nods, "He's a good friend."

"He is." Neteyam chuckles, "For me. For Lo'ak, and Kiri, and Tuk. But not for you. For you, he's 'more.'"

Quiet surrounds them once again, Y/n glaring down at her feet as if she had been caught stealing treats from Norm. She looked ashamed and belittled, likely wishing her own brother didn't know everything about her even before she knew those things herself. She swallows down whatever emotion came to mind before she looked up, stubbornly staring Neteyam down,

"I don't need 'more'. I just need this. This family is all I need."

~~~~~~~~~

The Sully family had been tense ever since Lo'ak bonded with Payakan, speaking few and far in between words to one another if found in the same space. It wasn't much significance to them whether or not Lo'ak had bonded with the outcast, but to Jake, it was all about principle. Whether or not the family was proud or disappointed in Lo'ak's accomplishment had not been said, but something heavy was floating in the air, like the calm before the storm. The idea of war was still fresh at the very back of their minds, ever looming like a vulture, waiting to strike. Something had changed the other night, shifting into place, deciding the Sullys' fates. Although, no one knew what kind of fate, and that unsettled them.

Unlike the rest of her family, however, Y/n wanted to do something about it. She started by finding the one person she knew would help her, "Take me to the Cove of the Ancestors."

Ao'nung looked up from sharpening his spear, ears immediately rising to the sound of her voice. He tilts his head and forms a closed-mouth smile, though his eyes squint in confusion, trying to solve whatever puzzle he found on Y/n's face, "Why?"

"Because you said you would take me there," Y/n quipped back, taking the spear out of his hands and backing away, "I'm cashing in the offer."

"What is 'cashing?'" He stood up, following her with his arm out, only half-heartedly trying to take the spear back from the Omatikaya girl.

When she purposely kept the weapon out of his reach, Ao'nung smirked, taking a huge step forward so he could stare smugly down at her with their subtle height difference. They were close, close enough to share the same air, and despite Neteyam's words playing back in her head, despite the shame and guilt in her gut, Y/n stomped it down and stood strong.

"It means I want you to stand behind your word." She matches his grin with one of her own, ignoring the heat threatening to rise up to her face as she purposely kept eye contact, "You promised to take me to the Cove. I want you to keep your promise."

She stepped away then, never taking her eyes off him until she fully turned back in the direction she came, walking away with the spear still in hand. She could feel his eyes on her, a thrill running up her spine at the mental image of it. An even bigger thrill, the one led by a horn of victory in her head, went through her whole body when she heard Ao'nung dutifully following her without complaint and without question.

They summoned nearby ilu and fled without another word. They dive down deep into the water and only resurfaced when they had left the sea wall and village behind. Once Y/n inhaled the crisp air, she tosses the spear back to Ao'nung, who effortlessly caught it with a grin of excitement and promise, "Follow me."

~~~~~~~~~

A feeling of familiarity took hold of Y/n when she emerged from the water and looked up to find floating islands all around her. An instant smile graces her face, looking around at all the floating rocks, surrounding a wide circle of water at the center of spectacularly arched rocks easily identifying this sacred place. It wasn't entirely like the Hallelujah Mountains. These floating islands were smaller and floated horizontally, like large stepping stones leading up to the heavens above.

Ao'nung emerged and looked around, unimpressed, "This is it."

"It's beautiful."

He shrugged, "It's not much."

"To you, maybe," she grinned while pointing up at the floating rocks, "To me, I see the potential of kicking your ass climbing up those islands."

He laughed, "Careful what you wish for, Forest Girl."

"Is the Tree on one of those islands?"

"Nope." He smiles slyly, "I'll give you another guess though."

She flashed an odd look before looking around, finally staring down below, into the water. Ao'nung dismounted from his ilu and drifted over to Y/n, "Remember, I'm just acting as your diving partner today. We always have to pair up here. One has to watch over and monitor the other while they connect to our ancestors. Got it?" She nods. "Let's go."

The Na'vi girl sinks into the water with him and they submerge after she takes a deep breath. They swim down, side by side, as they approach the large, underwater Spirit Tree. Instead of limbs hanging down like Y/n was used to, this tree's arms reached up, flowing in the water like an overlarge, glowing anemone. Y/n reaches out and gently touches one of the luminous, graceful fronds, smiling to herself when it tickled her palm to greet her.

Ao'nung chirps low in his throat, like a baby crocodile, to grab Y/n's attention. When she turned her head in his direction, he moves his hands about, "The Tree is called Utraya Mokri. It gives breath when the kuru is connected."

Y/n nods in understanding, reaching behind and taking her braid in hand. She gently offers the tendrils to reach out and curl into the ones belonging to the Tree and closed her eyes.

Ao'nung dutifully keeps watch while Y/n connects with his ancestors. The Tree glows and looms beautifully over him, but he's not paying attention. He's seen the Tree hundreds of times and while it is beautiful, it's nothing new. Y/n, on the other hand, is new, and his attention would rather fixate on her than the Tree he's grown bored of over his young life. Her braided hair floats around her like fpxafaw, and her tail, usually dormant, twitches occasionally in response to the bond. Her fingers, all five of them, still delicately hold her braid to the Tree's fronds. Her hands weren't as strange as Ao'nung initially thought. In many ways, he reasoned the extra finger was good for some things-- like the punch Lo'ak fooled him into taking. If nothing else, an extra finger just means more to hold.

Y/n's body jolts and Ao'nung is torn from his traitorous thoughts. He swims forward and wraps his whole hand around her arm and then her kuru lets go of the Tree. Y/n's eyes flutter, still closed, a little dazed and overwhelmed from the whole experience as expected. With Ao'nung's support, she's brought back up to the surface and she slowly remembers to breathe again, now that she didn't have the Spirit Tree to aid her. The two young Na'vi stay there, treading water as Y/n catches her breath, and once her head is no longer foggy, her eyes appeared saddened, an expression that irritated Ao'nung for some reason.

"Not what you were expecting?" He asked light-heartedly.

"It's just..." she shook her head, bottom lip pouting with her eyes lowered, the water reaching up to kiss her chin, "I was hoping for answers."

He didn't ask, but maybe he should have. It's something that would continue to gnaw at him as the rain clouds float overhead. It would gnaw at him as he expressed on returning home before the storm, it would gnaw at him as their swim back resulted in silence and pouring rain. It would continue to gnaw at him as they approached the village, his ears rising to attention when the horn sounds, his blood cooling in fear and worry.

"Find your family."

"Why?" Y/n asked as her ears lowered in concern, loose hairs plastered to her forehead, "What's wrong?"

"It's a war cry. My father has called for a war meeting."

A/N: Not sure when 'part three' will be out, but it'll likely be longer than normal. Thank you so much for all the support and love I have seen from my very first Avatar work! It motivates me to continue doing what I love!

part three

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semolinaart · 1 year

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Artemisia (Полынь, Polyn'), partner of Hibiscus and mother of clan Medusa matriarch

Purebred SandWing

Status: dead

Yep, another clan ancestor

#dragon #art #oc #wof #wof oc #wings of fire #sandwing #medusa clan

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sowhatifiliveintsuyazaki · 5 months

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Record Label History: 4AD Records

(CAD 613) Clan Of Xymox - Medusa (November, 1986)

#4AD #CLAN OF XYMOX #MEDUSA

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obsessedwrhys · 3 months

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okokokok HEAR ME OUT !… rottmnt brothers x a gn! younger adopted sibling medusa hcs… whose snakes are lowkey protective of them… sometimes they act on their own but if the reader is feeling an emotion strongly they’ll feel that emotion… yeah… (can you also make the reader calm, collected and reserved?)

(Idk if ur reqs are closed or not so u can do this later or delete it if you want)

ROTTMNT X MEDUSA!READER

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ fluff, bit of angst, reader is gn!! (Look at how cute they are)

RAPH

As babies he was always so scared of the snakes on your head. Like what do you mean it's supposed to be your hair? How does that even work?

Every now and then when he's passing by your room, he couldn't help but sneak a glance of you pampering to the snakes. It's just so amusing to see you treat them as if they have a mind of their own.

Which they do in some cases.

Growing up together, he has gotten use to the fact that the snakes happen to also feel whatever emotions you feel. Anger. Despair. Joy.

Never in his life would he ever think to see a hundred snakes smiling at him. But oh well, at least you're happy.

He is honestly very astonished with your ability to turn any living or non-living things to stone.

There was this one time where you guys were fighting and a member of the foot clan managed to sneak up behind you, but due to your enhanced reflexes, you were fast enough to turn him into stone. You simply blew at the sculpture and eventually it loses its balance and falls.

Remind him to never mess with you 'cause being turned into stone does not look fun.

Despite your scary appearance, you were the most chill person in the group. You would always be found either in the living room watching tv or in your room doing your thing.

What I'm trying to say is that you're the least expected sibling to create the huge mess of the day for everyone to deal with.

He doesn't find the snakes on your head too much of a deal, he cares and loves you all the more.

LEO

He finds the snakes on your head so cool!!

Since ya'll were kids, he's been constantly storming up with stupid tricks or ideas to do with you.

And you obliged each time because you didn't feel like it was anything dangerous. Most of the time you guys end up having fun.

He has once asked you to turn Donnie to stone. Obviously you said no.

Even though your ability to turn people to stone is irreversible, it still doesn't give you the excuse to just do it to anyone or anything as you liked. Which is the same thing you've said to Leo multiple times and he always let's out an annoyed groan at your reminder.

He 100% picks fight with the snakes on your head. Always sneakily poking one or pulling one (obvs not that hard) when it's not looking, what he doesn't realise is that you can feel it too. He's been bit many times for doing that but he never learns.

He just enjoys messing with you :(

It's the sibling energy in him.

Did I forget to mention how he managed to convince you to turn him to stone in order to escape Raph's lecture? Yeah that happened.

I've said this before and I'll say this again, he definitely makes terrible dad jokes related to snakes towards you. It always entertains him and him only.

"You know, people always say snakes are so venomous but I think they're just slitherin around"

"That was terrible Leo"

He likes to hug you because he just loves the feeling of the snakes on your head rubbing against his face. It's like the same feeling you feel when a cat rubs it's face against your face. So relaxing.

He loves to especially bury his face into them.

It weirds out the others but you don't mind as long as he doesn't hurt you or the snakes.

He just LOVE LOVE LOVESSSSS it.

Also the way your eyes glows red alongside the snakes whenever you turn something to stone? You look ethereal!!

And the tiny traces of scales across your skin??? Badass!!

He'll literally wear a cheerleader fit and swing around pong pongs to cheer you on.

DONNIE

Since you were kids, he was always drawn towards the snakes on your head. He always wondered how did it even get there.

He once accidentally pulled on one of the snakes as a kid and the bite on his hand is now scarred to life.

He doesn't tell you but he thinks the snakes looks great on you, the green matching the green in your eyes is like the cherry on top. Not to mention your fashion sense is amazing!!

He doesn't mind having you stay in his lab, you're not loud and don't disturb his work which he appreciates it.

I like to think that whenever he's bored, he'll probably approach you to examine on the snakes on your head. You don't really mind and just continue on doing whatever it is that you were doing in the first place.

Though, there was this one time you caught him waving at the snakes and smiled when they all greet him back.

He definitely asks questions about stuff.

Some of the questions that still stuck to you was "If you used a mirror and activated your power, will you be able to turn yourself to stone?" And "Do the snakes on your head grow like hair?"

The last one might be true in a way. The snakes only extends when you want it to. You just do it when it's convenient, whether to toss a bad guy away or to grab a cup of coffee on the table.

He would hyperfixate on Greek Mythology when he sees the obvious similarity. However it just made his brain spin even more. Were you also cursed? He never knew how to ask you about that since he's afraid to trigger your emotions.

The last time he did that the snakes on your head all began hissing at him, not to mention seconds away from attacking him.

But it doesn't matter, you'll tell everyone when you want to. All he knows is that you grew up together and care about each other, that's already enough.

MIKEY

Oooh snakes.

I just have a feeling that since babies, the snakes on your head has always been so affectionate towards Mikey.

Like out of all the brothers, he's the only one they let him do things with. Helping you do different hairstyles, feeding them and even giving them accessories. Anything he can do to make you look glamorous.

He also happen to name each of the snakes. He says he doesn't have a favourite but it's way too obvious that you're his favourite.

He hates it however when you're sad, the way the snakes on your head pretty much drops with a frown breaks his heart.

Everytime Leo decides to mess with you, Mikey is 100% already there and simply standing menacingly behind him, waiting for him to finally notice him.

"He's standing behind me isn't he?"

"😡"

A lot of the days where its sunny, he would definitely take you go swimming. He knows how frustrated you get when it's too hot.

Same goes to when it's winter, this boy will go out of his way to make a comfortable beanie for you to use and for the snakes to nestle in.

Also you have a big appetite but do not fear!! He will prepare you the most delicious meal you'll ever eat!!

You're surprisingly good at communicating with animals. You've befriended some of the rats in the sewer and he can't help but call you the "Rat Whisperer"

He loves hanging out with you, whether if it's doing nothing together or having fun, he likes spending every second with you.

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cyren-myadd · 1 month

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Let's talk about the first look at Avatar 3 (pt 2)

🚨SPOILER WARNING FOR AVATAR 3!🚨

Next up, I want to talk about the next two images I saw from D23: Neytiri riding on her ikran, and the sky ship.

You can read my post discussing Varang and the Ash People here.

In the first image, we see Neytiri flying at night on her banshee, with what appears to be several large flying ships behind her, and in the second image, we have a clearer shot of the "sky ship" in daylight.

The ships are clearly Na'vi-made, since we see the natural weaving pattern and no metal. They have a large sail-like structure on top, and behind Neytiri we see a flying stingray-like creature that appears to be harnessed to the sky ship and pulling it along.

This was really exciting for me to see because I never imagined we'd see the Na'vi creating actual flying vehicles rather than just riding on the backs of flying animals. Most interestingly, even though these sky ships are more complex technology than anything we've seen from the Na'vi before, they appear not to break any of the laws of Eywa. They don't appear to be made of stone or metal, and they don't use wheels. I really like seeing this because I hate that one theory that Eywa intentionally keeps the Na'vi from technologically advancing out of some malevolent goal. Eywa doesn't have any problem with technological advancements, she only prohibits things that would harm the balance of nature, like mining metal and tearing down the forest to build roads for wheeled vehicles.

I believe that these sky ships belong to the Windtrader clan James Cameron has hinted at. These ships look pretty different from anything we've seen from the Ash People, plus Neytiri is flying alongside them like they're allies. It would also make sense based on the name for people called "windtraders" to fly through the sky using the wind and also have large ships capable of carrying material to trade with other clans. I can't wait to see what a windtrader Na'vi looks like and if they have unique adaptations to set them apart from other clans! Perhaps they would be smaller in order to be lighter on the ships and have bigger lungs to process oxygen at such high altitudes.

Now to talk about the sky ship itself, it appears to have three main components: the cabin, the steed, and the sail. The cabin is the woven part of it that is the actual ship where the Na'vi would ride and store their goods. The steed is that stingray looking creature behind Neytiri that looks like it's harnessed to the cabin and pulling it through the air. I would really like an in-universe explanation for how in that giant stingray thing is flying. It looks HUGE, maybe a little over half as long as tulkun. I know Pandora has lower gravity and a thicker atmosphere, so the physics are different, but come on that things has to weigh a hundred tons! They better have a sci-fi explanation for how that big thing flies. And if you look closely, there seems to be a na'vi riding on it's back, implying it has kurus to plug into up there. From what I can see of its back, it looks blue with white spots, kind of like a whale shark.

The last part of the ship is the large sail-like structure that appears to be keeping the whole contraption buoyant. I saw folks on the r/Avatar subreddit speculating about what it is, and I believe they had the right idea when they guessed it was a Medusa.

The medusa is a giant, flying jellyfish-like creature that James Cameron dreamed up many years ago. Here are some old concept arts for it, and as you can see, they look quite different. Cameron never settled on a final design for this creature, just that it was a flying carnivorous jellyfish. He wanted to include it in the Avatar universe, but never had the chance to. He recently said in an interview a few months ago that Avatar 3 would finally include his alien creation, but he didn't say how. Since the Na'vi would lack the ability to create hot air balloons or zeppelins like humans, I believe the windtraders are using a creature from their environment to lift their ships, and that creature is the medusa, given a final design by James Cameron and his creative team. The sails are a pale purplish membrane like in the concept art, and if you look directly behind Neytiri's head, there seem to be tentacles hanging down from the ship, implying it is a medusa.

So it seems to me like the windtraders weave their boats out of the same material that maruis (Na'vi homes) are made from, then they attach it to a medusa to lift it into the air, and then they harness it to a flyinf stingray to pulls the boat where they want to go. The windtraders must be super smart to come up with all this! I cannot wait to see it in action!

And the way Neytiri is flying with them gives me the vibe that she and Jake have been reaching out to other clans to join the fight against the RDA and the windtraders agreed to team up with them and now they're flying off on a mission together!

What do you guys think of all this? Did I miss anything?

#avatar #avatar 3 #avatar fire and ash #windtraders #neytiri sully #neytiri #cyren myadd theorizes #avatar spoilers #spoilers

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writing-makes-me-human · 2 years

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Trial By Water 🐚: Part 2

┍━━━━━»•» 🌺 «•«━┑

Pairing: Aonung X reader

PART ONE: HERE

Summary: Aonung meets your parents as is tradition for your clan and it doesn’t go over well, he then gives you a gift and you watch his jealousy over another man simmer over.

Word Count: 4.2 k

Warnings: Hurt to comfort, jealousy, none.

A/N: Hello I am working on the next part of my other series Love and Guests (which you should check out) and three requests I’ve gotten so if my posting schedule suddenly becomes a nightmare that is why. Please enjoy xx

Also finally made my masterlist workable, I’m gonna work on making it cute after I finish my other series.

┕━»•» 🌺 «•«━━━━━┙

A few days had passed since that day on the beach when Aonung confessed to you that he intended to pursue you to be his mate, and since then, all hell broke out.

You had come back hand in hand after the night of bashful glances and flirting under starlit skies, and rumors had encased the village like a wildfire burning through the woods. These dirty rumors wouldn't have troubled you if the stories hadn't spread to your parents, and while it seemed that you had made up your mind about which of the two suiters you would pick, your parents had other plans in store for you.

Your clan had many rules and traditions that had to be followed during the period of courting a mate, and your parents were traditionalists in every sense of the word. They cared very strongly for their people, and to them, that meant you must find a mate who followed the rules to an extreme level, and Aonung was not the rule-following type.

Ixa'Tey knew of your mother's temperament towards managing oneself punctually. So while he would arrive at every agreed meeting on time bearing gifts, Aonung would come as he usually did to all other meetings, late and still wet from the water with a grin on his face.

Aonung knew your parents to be strict and quite conventional in most of their ways, but he thought they would have put that aside when they saw the fact that you were quite clearly in love with him, nobody else. He was wrong.

The first meeting between the parents and the admirer was critical to setting up a long line of contact that would continue throughout everyone involved lives if the mating ritual was successful and blessed by Eywa.

You had awkwardly been pacing outside your family's pod for ten minutes before he finally turned up. He was still damp from the water, and a devilish grin was on his face.

"Hey, sorry I'm late, I got held up", he didn't take much notice of your exasperated face.He leaned in and gave you a peek on the cheek, but as he withdrew, your mother sharply opened the flap to her pod to ask you for the fifth time where the boy was. Her eyes crossed sharply between the two of you with a scowl aimed at the boy when she saw his position.

He finally seemed to pick up on the tension, and his ears dropped along with his smile. He put his fingers to his forehead and withdrew them. Your mother copied the action but did not speak to welcome him.

She turned and walked deeper into the pod, waiting for you to welcome him inside.

You sighed and gently gripped his arm, squeezing it to reassure him that he would be alright. He looked down at you and whispered another apology with his pupils blown at the sight of you with sacred clothing and decorated hair that was anticipated with this type of ritual.

You led him forward and cleared your throat so your father would look up from the knife he was sharpening. Aonung tried to stay strong, he really did, but your old man had a glare on his face that could have challenged medusa.

"You are late", your father rumbled, his voice filling out the space and then some with his clear show of dismay at Aonung's tardiness.

"I'm sorry, I had no intention of upsetting you, I got distracted with a matter", your favorite courter spoke, his voice filled with the same tone his father used when he wanted to talk to his people about a serious matter.

"A matter that was more important than my daughter?" Your father took the sharpened weapon and pointed it towards him threateningly before he placed it beside him on the mat.

Aonung was caught for words. Usually, when he told people he was busy, they just accepted it because he was the chief's son, and of course, he had somewhere to be, something noble he was learning for the betterment of his people, but right now he became aware that this was not going to be a usual interaction.

"Sit down", your father commanded, taking displeasure in the boy's silence that was misinterpreted as idle contemplation.

You could feel the unease radiating from your boy. It seemed to be clocking in place that this wouldn't be easy.

The silence was stony as your mother reappeared with four bowls filled with fresh fish dosed in spices and herbs.

Your mother walked around and gave her husband and then Aonung their food, leaving you for last. When you gripped the bowl from her hands with a gentle thanks, you couldn't hold back the one-syllable gasp you let out as you looked down at the food and then at your mother, who busied herself with getting a drink for everyone.

You had told her specifically, anything other than this dish, it was Aonung's least favorite meal, and it was something he despised eating.

You quickly looked over at Aonung as he looked over the food with a distanced look of mild revulsion. When your mother turned around, he smiled politely and complimented her on the smell of the meal as she handed him a full cup of water which he gratefully took.He spared you a look over the rim of the cup as he sipped the water. His eyes tried to assure you that he would be okay while yours widened in questioning.

You had seen him literally spit this meal from his mouth on multiple occasions, but he couldn't refuse the meal. That would have been beyond insulting to your mother and would end the meeting far too early.

He dug into the bowl and picked up a piece of diced fish, spooning it into his mouth as you and your parents did the same.

Your mother's eyes were trained on him as he chewed, waiting for any noise that could be directed to disgust, but he seemed to take the meal as a challenge and ate every bite without letting out a single noise of nausea.

It was such a small thing, but you were proud of him, he was a picky brat most of the time, and this small act showed he was serious about winning you and your family over.

"You know, Aonung is the fastest swimmer in the clan", you spoke in between bites, feeling the need to defend your love against your mother's blatant attack.

Your father hummed in acknowledgment but didn't raise his eyes from his bowl, scoffing down the food without much contribution at chatter.

"And he's a fine warrior, he can take out any man in a fight, I've even seen him beat his father", you nodded to your mother, who eyed your flattery curiously.

You hadn't been so forward with speaking of Ixa'Tey's achievements when he had been here a few nights ago, and she could see by the way your proud smile adorned your face that you were ruthlessly trying to convenience them he would be a good match.

"y/n!" Aonung muttered your name in an order for you to stop. He could tell his presence was not going down well, and in his eyes, it was not the time to start bragging about his abilities.

"It's true! And he's a mighty hunter, he brings back twice as many fish as any of the other hunters", you could feel his shame radiating off him, but your father finally quirked his eyes up, sharing a look with your mother before returning to you.

Your father's frown was deep, and you could see a spark of rage in his eyes as he stood up and scowled down at you and Aonung. Your mother placed a hand on his waist to try and coax him back down, but your father was on a road he couldn't be deterred from.

"I would like to meet this man you speak of because I only see a boy in front of me. He turns up late without an offering, then he dares to say nothing at your honor when I ask him of your importance!" Your father was yelling, all the neighbors would most likely hear the loud shouts, but you didn't care about them.

You gazed at Aonung during the speech and watched as his ears flattened and his tail hid beneath his legs. He suddenly felt very voiceless at everything, and it shocked you with an anger you didn't know could be aimed at your father.

You stood up, eyes flaring with fury as you felt the disappointment in your parents for derailing this evening so badly turn into infuriation.

"And what about you? What about your faults? Mother, you haven't even spoken to Aonung since he arrived, instead, you make a meal you know he hates and watches him suffer for your amusement! He has apologized for being late, and perhaps he didn't answer your question, father, because your rudeness struck him!" You could feel Aonung's presence behind you as he stood up and grabbed your wrist with his clean hand. A silent plea to sit down in his eyes.Feeling defeated by your father's icy glare, you sat down again, cursing everything within sight at the war this dinner had become.

"I think perhaps we should re-schedule", your mother piped up after three minutes of uncomfortable silence passed in which your father's glare switched from Aonung back to you several times.

"You've been unfair", you swallowed the fear of crossing your father again so openly and let your hand wrap around Aonung's to pull him towards you.

"He is a good man, father I swear to you, he just needs you to give him a chance", your tone of malice fell as you squeezed Aonung's hand and gave him a spare glance.

He looked at you with so much pride it nearly broke your heart open. You both knew you had chosen each other, and as soon as the ceremonies were over you two wouldn't be able to keep from one another.

Just because your parents had already silently chosen Ixa'Tey didn't matter because you knew that Aonung was destined to be your mate, and if you had to defy a few dumb rules written by your ancestors to secure him in your life, then so be it.

Aonung had enough of being scared into silence and stared at your father, prepared to speak for himself after you had done so for so long.

"I was late because my sister's mate had an accident, I never meant to disrespect you or y/n, I care for her deeply", he took a deep breath before he continued, "But if I am to be Olo'eyktan then sometimes I have to be late to things, even if I let them down".

You smiled, gratified at his selflessness that was now beginning to show care for your people through purposeful actions instead of his silent brooding as it had been a few years ago.

"I am here to court your daughter, and I swear that no matter what, I will be there for her when she really needs me, but I have to prioritize people's safety", even though a part of you highly doubted that Lo'ak had been in an accident and this was most likely a white lie to get out from under the moral high ground your father had over him, you couldn't help but beam at his show of maturity.

While there were lies and things you knew Aonung didn't mean thrown into his speech for the show to impress your father, you knew that he meant it as a way to please you. He only agreed to come to this dinner at your begging, and if your parent's approval were what you wanted, then he would get it for you, even if he had to pretend to give a shit about Lo'ak or his future duties as Olo'eyktan.

You looked up to your father and waited as he deliberated an answer to you both. In his eyes, you could see that he knew you had picked Aonung over the other boy, but he still couldn't decide if he would allow it.

He grumbled before sitting back down in his place, grabbing his bowl to scrape the remnants off the edges and into his mouth.

Your mother's face was pulled into a tight line, but she said nothing and stood up to hand around a handful of large damp leaves you could all use to clean off your hands with.When she sat back down, your father spoke, letting the words fill the room and silence any speaking of the later arguing.

"So, you are a hunter?" He asked Aonung, his eyes grazing up and down the young man before resting to hold eye contact.

"Yes, sir", Aonung cleared his voice, trying to act nonchalant about the whole interaction.

"I will take you on a hunt then, and test to see if my daughter is right about her claims", your father's eye fell on his food, and it allowed you and Aonung the time to side-eye glance each other with childish smirks on your faces as if you had just gotten away with something.

The rest of the evening went silently, if not for the odd question from your father, who asked Aonung how his father was and if he had heard any news about the sky people.

Once dinner was finished, you excused yourselves under the guise of walking Aonung home when the reality was you were both running down the beach as far away from your family's pod as you could get to rant and rave about every detail.

You had pushed his shoulder slightly when you exited the pod, and then he pushed back, and before long, you had raced each other along the beach and settled yourselves against a rock that was peeled back and revealing itself due to low tide.

You heartily laughed as Aonung came and pressed a kiss to your cheek and then commanded he sits beside you and nestles into your side against the cold breeze that was enveloping the land.He sighed merrily as you clung onto one another, it was all a peaceful and rather loving moment of watching the eclipse occur together until his dumb voice had to shatter the tender moment.

"Do you think I should go and break Lo'ak's leg for safe measure?" He chuckled at himself while burying his mouth into the nape of your neck, trying to hide the fact the sentiment was half serious.

You gasped in faux shock and pulled away from him theatrically, watching his brow crease in confusion as you hadn't entirely laughed at his tease towards his sister's mate yet.

"You don't mean to say it was all a lie, do you? That the real reason you were late is that you were probably slacking off with Rotxo and forgot the time?" You laughed at his sheepish face and apologist attitude.

"I wasn't messing around with Rotxo, it was serious, I promise", he said with a half-baked regretful tone that begged for you to come back and lay in his arms.You did so with the tease still sharp on your tongue.

"Really? What was so serious?" You were smiling like a fat cat, sure that you had him cornered.You didn't mind that he was late, you knew the type of person you intended on being with, and every quality he had was what made up someone you would be blessed to spend the rest of your days with, and his carefree attitude was something you treasured.

Of course, you had wanted him to meet your parents, and while you had been worried that he had forgotten or simply stood you up, as soon as he had come running to you, at that moment, the feelings you had for Aonung seemed to sink in and the thought that Aonung would be here for you like this every day was world-changing to you.

"I was getting something for you", he muttered under his breath while he nervously looked up at the sky, watching the stars that had quickly begun to appear thanks to the cover of darkness granted by the eclipse.

You turned in his arms, staring at his face with a raised brow at the bashful tone he had suddenly taken.

"Oh really? What?" You still felt the bite of your sassy tone, but there was also a curious glint in your eye which seemed to give Aonung a stroke of confidence.

He debated in his head for several seconds before he pushed himself back a bit and reached around his waist to the burlap sack that was tied to his waist, which was usually filled with pretty shells or small tools.

He dug around for a spell before his fingers grabbed hold of something and pulled it out to present to you.

In his palm, it appeared to be just a jumble of dark brown cord and three large shiny stones, but as he took his other hand and held it above your head, you gasped in awe.

The necklace was made up of a brown cord that would wrap around the neck in a semi-lose grip with two jet-black stones, both the size of a tooth that deviated at the front. To connect the ends of the necklace together, there was a blood-red stone that would lie flat in the middle of your chest when worn.

You reached up to touch it, but Aonung playfully snatched it away with a smile on his face that he could have used to power the sun.

"Surely you don't want to wear both, they'll clash against each other", he gestured down to the simple brown cord bracelet with the pearl centered on it that Ixa'Tey had made for you with a devilish grin.

You wanted to scorn him and tell him that just because you had picked each other that didn't mean you could hurt the other boy's feelings like that with such a clear sign of implicit rejection.Upon seeing your look of half-entertained critique about his terms of accepting his gift, he shrugged and went to put the necklace back into his side, but you quickly grabbed onto his arm and shouted in protest.

"No wait!" You could feel your blush overtaking your face at the loud plea you let out, which immediately let Aonung know you were fond of the beautiful necklace he had made.He smirked and pulled the necklace back up as if he was holding a fish over an Ilu to try and convenience it to do something it didn't want to.

"You really are a jealous man, you know that?" You huffed as you toyed with the adjustable ends of the bracelet on the other side of your wrist.

"Well, you are mine, aren't you? Everyone should know that, and Ixa'Tey should do better next time he tries to win over me", he spat out the other boy's name as he stared down at the bracelet with a jealous twitch in his eye.

You shook your head with a false frown on your face as your heart soared at the bold declaration of interest and protectiveness over you.

You gave in and slowly, as if you were teasing him, pulled the left cord of the bracelet to let it grow bigger until you slid off the bracelet and held it up between your fingers for him to see.

"Happy?" You sighed as you went to put the bracelet away in your own side sack that you used for carrying snacks and bits you had collected over the years of being outside.

"No, I want you to throw it away", his smirk had turned predatory as he demanded more of you.

"I can't do that!" You yelled. Yes, the bracelet looked abysmal when held up to the beauty of what Aonung had created for you, but it had still been made for you out of the kindness of someone's heart.

"Fine, then perhaps I will find another pretty girl who wants my gift", Aonung gave a mock shrug as he went to leave.

He had just gotten down from the rock and let his hand down to replace the necklace, but you allowed him to push you around with ease for the second time that night.

"Okay, okay!" You jumped up and followed him down to the sand as you quickly ran in front of him to prohibit him from going any further.

He cocked his head to the side with a shit-eating grin on his features that made you desperately want to hide under a rock and never emerge out of fear he would see exactly how his charm affected you.

You took your heel, and right in front of him, you kicked a hole into the beach to cover up the bracelet as he watched on with far too much enjoyment in his eyes.

You had to kick away as much sand as possible before dropping the bangle into the hole that was as deep as your middle finger. You crouched down to the ground, and you could feel Aonung's high spirits at seeing you quite literally on your hands and knees to receive the gift he had created.

You pushed all the sand over it to try and hide the evidence of the gift ever existing, while the shame of going to so much effort only lightly played on your mind as you looked up to see Aonung's eyes glowing with the light of the stars.

His figure was visible with the light of the sky above you, and it made your breath swallow you whole as his smile shocked you back into reality.

"Now can I have my gift", you tried to act as casually as you could with your sandy palm outstretched to take the jewelry off him.

He gently shook his head at your hand, and for a second, you thought he was about to ask you to do something else, but just as you were about to put your foot down, he rolled his eyes and turned his finger in a circle to tell you to twist yourself around.

You gleefully did so, nearly crashing into his chest in your eagerness to accept the jaw-droppingly beautiful offering.

He chuckled as you crouched down slightly to allow him the space he needed to bestow it above your head and onto your neck.

He brought the necklace above your head and brought it down over your skull. You thought he would leave you to adjust the fitting, but he lovingly grabbed as much of your hair as he could and gently pulled it out from under the rope so that it could lay on top of the accessory, and then to your surprise, he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss to your shoulder making you shiver.

He ran his finger along the spot where he had kissed, and it took everything you had to pull away from him.

"You are the most beautiful thing Eywa ever created", he cooed to you, the words ringing in your ears.

You turned to him leisurely and let your hands reach down to inspect the necklace with an ecstatic smile on your face that he decided made the several hours of swimming to find the matching stones and violent red crystal worth it.

"I'll wear it forever", you smiled, feeling the love he had put into the work consume you.

"I'm glad you like it", he dared to move closer to you, feeling your breath over his jaw.The feeling that had been with you on the other side of the island all those days ago returned, and while you knew that your parents would be ropeable if they ever found out you proceeded without their blessing, you didn't care.

You closed the gap and pressed your lips against his in the softest peck you could manage, which made Aonung's lungs nearly collapse as he chased after your lips.

The peck was turned into a passionate kiss as he tilted his head to press his open lips against yours. The feeling of his soft, plump lips under your own made the whole planet turn on its head as you desperately pulled him closer so you two could deepen this kiss.

When the natural end of the kiss came, and you both pulled back, you could see his lips were hooded over with a glaze of mirth, and his lips were damp from your spit.

You wanted to thank him for the gift and the kiss, but you could only seem to get out stutters of noise which made him let out a breathy chuckle that wasn't quite teasing and sent an erotic wave of desire through your stomach.

"If that's all it takes to get a kiss from you, I'll give you something every week", he brought you forward and pressed his forehead against yours in a repeat of what happened last week.

You placed one hand on his chest while the other clutched onto the red crystal of your necklace. The feeling of his heart racing beneath your palm made your erotic needs die out, and your snarky habits emerged.

"I don't think your heart could take a kiss from me every week", you laughed as you tapped your finger over his chest in time with his heart, showing that it was going quite quickly.

He pulled back from you with a roll of his eyes as he stuck his heavy bicep over your shoulder and made you carry the dead weight as he guided you both back to the pods.

"That's enough out of you girl, come on, keep up, how are you going to be Tsahik if you can't even carry my arm?" He was taking great pleasure in watching you struggle to lift the arm off your back that was too heavy for you to raise.

"How will you be chief when all your muscle is in your arms rather than your brain?" You chortled back as he laughed and took the weight off you, instead enveloping you in a side hug as you two wandered back home.

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