#problem is that i think that if you're going to do the adult hunt and have it kill one of the original yjs and not a random

[waterbearable]

like. i don’t even think it’s better necessarily, but if the only person with actual buy-in on the hunt aside from lottie was van (i don’t really buy tai as having committed here, she’s just going along w van which i think does repeat old patterns), then why not just to subdue lottie from the start? like i GUESS it’s some attempt to suggest groupthink but as soon as lottie starts trying to pursue shauna why would you make it seem like you’re also trying to get her? like i could see at least a couple of them trying to subdue lottie, lottie+van trying to fight them off, chaos/giving into the violence ensues. idk it just does not work for me and the outcome...ehhh

(more in the tags srry but for my non-yj folks cw for mentions of ideation, overdose, addiction)

[long-live-astronerd-ghost-king]

DPXDC prompt: Valentine's day spirit. Superbat edition.

When Phantom sets foot on the Justice League base many years later, he expects anything but not Flash pointing finger at him and screaming about "legendary child who made Superbat canon".

~~~~

Being in Metropolis because of a ghost hunt right in the middle of a battle between Lex Luthor and Superman was not the best outcome, especially considering that Jack had his three-year-old son with him. But without such a combination of circumstances, they would never have found out that "Ghost!" "Daddy, no!" Ectoblast that Jack shot at the target of their hunt touches Superman and..really hurts him.

There were two sides to Danny-the ghostbuster's son and the astronerd. It is clear which half of him did not have a chance to win.

Danny threw his space rocket toy aside and grabbed father's arm. In the next second, boy had already sunk his teeth into Jack's fingers, forcing him to drop weapon. Youngling quickly jumped off and picked up ectoblast and then ran towards Superman. "Fly away! I'll hold him!" Danny stood up to try to cover up ghost (or alien?) in case Dad took not one but a whole bunch of shooting things with him again.

Jack: Get away from my son, ghost. Superman: Sir, I'm sure this is some kind of misunderstanding, I'm not a ghost. Jack: Danny, come to me, he's trying to hide his identity and manipulate us. Danny: No. If the heroes are being attacked, then someone must protect them too. Jack: But he's a ghost.. Danny: Alien or ghost is not so important, Daddy. He's in pain, and he's protecting this city, not haunting it. It's wrong to try to catch him for experiments. I forbid you to do that. Jack: Danny, champ, you're wrong.

Lex: Hah, what an interesting substance. Despite the other aggregate state, or rather its absence, it is so similar to kryptonite. Superman: Lex, is this a portable lab? Now is not the time, in case you haven't noticed. Lex: There is always time for science. I think my colleague will agree, right? "Similar to kryptonite?" Jack muttered to himself.

Jack: So Superman wasn't my target. And we are not colleagues. There is only one insanely rich man with questionable moral values with whom I am ready to do work, and your surname is clearly not Masters. Lex: It's a pity, but still, if you want to carry out the delivery of your wonderful weapons or exchange experiences, then call this number. Luther quickly shoves a business card into Fenton's hand. Jack*throws it away*: Come on, son, let's go back to the hotel, you've skinned your knees.

~~~The Evening. The Roof of the mentioned hotel~~~

"My friend Sam is also very frightening. And she also likes dark.“ The boy paused for a minute of thinking. “You want to kiss your goth friend?" "W-What makes you think that, kid. We’re colleagues, I respect him very much and.." "So you want to. It’s okay, I’d like to kiss Sam too but I’m afraid she’s gonna hit me. You have the same problem?" "It’s a little more complicated for adults." Kal begins to explain but stumbles upon Danny’s completely unimpressed look. Yeah, this boy apparently has heard 'kids would understand when they grow up' lectures at least thousand times. "But you’re basically right."

~~~~

When Batman himself comes to their hotel the next day as a representative of the Justice League to make sure that Mr. Fenton has no desire to harm Superman in the future and to tell that Superman is not going to press charges because of the ectoblast that injured him, Danny refuses to leave the room.

Jack: Oh, Danny, I thought you dropped your space rocket yesterday, it's a good that Alicia's Christmas present isn't lost. Danny: Well, dad, I left it on the roof of a bad bad man, yeah, but Uncle Kal returned it last night and we talked for a while. Jack: About what? Space, my little star? *Father immediately assumes that Danny would like to ask about everything real alien*. Boy*blushes and shakes his head negatively*: No, not about it.

Jack: Then what it was about? Danny: Secret superhero things. I can't tell you. I agreed to withhold that information as part of a pinky swear. Batman: And what about me, young man? You can tell me, right? Batman couldn't resist talking with such a cute kid. The boy thinks only for a second before hurriedly trying to push his father out of the room. Danny: Dad, come out for a minute and don't eavesdrop. I'll tell you when you can come in. The big man laughingly obeys. Lil child checks the reliability of the closed door and runs up to Batman. Danny: And so, Mr. Batman, first promise not to laugh or hit Uncle Kal. Batman: I promise? Danny: Good. This is very important information. Batman: I'm listening.

Danny: He thinks you're terrifying and wants to kiss you. And since he is afraid that you will hit him for this, I recommended him to appease you with a pie cooked according to his mother's recipe. Well, you know, since you love sweets and his parents' farm has the most wonderful apples in all states. He rarely cooks himself, but he will try for you, so even if he doesn't succeed, pretend that you liked it, please. Batman:...

Batman: Would you like to work in intelligence for the Justice League when you grow up? Danny: Actually, I want to be an astronaut. Batman: Our base is located in space. Danny:

Danny: Hmm, then I'll think about your offer.

Batman: Great. It's a pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Fenton. You can count on a job recommendation from me. Do you want anything as compensation for your consultation? Danny: Actually, yes. Mr. Batman, tell me honestly, are you a bat on a frugivorous diet like Giant golden-crowned flying fox or you are a Vampire Bat? Sam says that such a big bat can only be a vegetarian and uncle Kal said your son was more than happy to steal strawberries from his garden with Superboy but..

~~~

Batman tries to behave naturally for a week. However, the sweet tooth inside him still makes him clamp Superman in the corner and question him. "Where the hell are the pies you promised to cook for me, Clark?"

[the-ancient-dragons]

EXTRA OVERCOMPLICATED ICEWIIIIINGS

You know how it goes, Joy Ang is cool and I'm not yadda yadda move on.

Details and explanation below!

Otherwise, next week is the last Pyrrhian tribe: NightWings!!!! See you then!

More overcomplicated dragons.

If the RainWings are the design that destroys Joy's work the least, this one takes the original IceWings and tosses them out the window. Going into this design I knew it would be hard, but boy was I unprepared to get art block for 2 months because of it.

I eventually found my inspiration in the girdled, spiny, and horned lizards, They. Are. So. Freaking cool. If you think a crocodile skink is awesome, look up girdled lizards. Not as fancy with the eyeliner but they are SPIKY!

I fell in love in particular with the giant girdled lizard. I knew I wanted the scales of the IceWing to look rough and like they were made of actual ice or diamonds - or covered in frozen sleet and snow - and this lizard was basically perfect inspo for that. Also, blue spiny lizards. They are basically real life IceWings, full stop.

But even though I had perfect references to draw from, I still struggled with the head shape. I wanted them to feel like a reptilian polar bear, which is why I slightly blunted it, but I think I should have gone with a more angular shape instead. I can always change it later when I do their full-body.

I did have a very fun time with the horns, however. I wanted them to be a mix of narwhal teeth and icicles (yes, narwhal 'horns' are actually overgrown teeth. One tooth, usually, but sometimes they can have two!!). Before I get distracted I should explain how they grow: the scales at the base of the horn are constantly growing and essentially create the horn. That's what gives them their narwhal-like spirals.

I chose a similar approach to the neck spikes (untangling that mess was fun, let me tell you. Grids are very useful when doing many scales/spikes). At the base of each one you'll notice a scale forming it. On the back, I wanted to give a good side profile of the spikes. Technically, they are ever-growing, and need to be trimmed or sharpened constantly.

Now, as I was drawing them, I asked myself: why do IceWings need a mane of spikes?

A stupid question, you might wonder, but to me it's very important. Animals look the way they do for survival. So, while it's important visually for the ice theme, how could they be explained scientifically?

And then, when thinking of polar bears, I got my answer.

How the hell does a giant sparkly dragon hunt in the north? Seals would probably be part of their diet, but it's hard to sneak up on them if you're a ten ton reptilian flying creature, so I imagine they would tackle the problem like a polar bear would by waiting by a breathing hole and pouncing at the right moment. They already look like a frozen snowbank, so that part is easy.

But any hungry polar bear would be doing the same thing, and like a giant dragon, they would be waiting downwind of the breathing hole too. They wouldn't pose a threat to adult dragons or dragonets larger than them, but in real life polar bears are dangerous hunters and prey on humans. Why wouldn't it prey on a dragonet it thinks it can take on? Things in the WOF universe seem to be extra big (or scavengers/humans are tiny) so I think it would be a feasible for a desperate bear to hunt a dragon. They cannibalize, anyway, so going after another apex predator isn't out of the question. In this case, the horns and neck spikes would be a dragonet's saving grace, discouraging attacks from behind and especially on their necks. A bear's teeth could never get through their scales, but they could still crush their airways and choke them, and the spikes would keep them away from their necks and protect them from that fate. As they grow up, the neck spikes' length and strength could be used to determine a dragon's health and help them select good partners.

Finally, continuing with the bear theme: for the scales, I took inspiration from polar bear fur (which is actually hollow) to help design how IceWings preserve their body heat. In polar bears, its used to make them look white by reflecting the light of the sun, but in IceWings it could keep the cold out. Air pockets would create a barrier between them and the outside elements, and whatever gets in would meet their thick layer of fat that does the real warming. Yes, IceWings would be squishy, but you'd probably poke your eye out or stick permanently to their side a la tongue to cold metal pole.

Don't hug IceWings; they're very cold.

[aphrmoosun]

{Noa and the Beast}

Nomae: One shot

• Sipnosis.

Noa is the new leader of the clan, his responsibility was to his own. But an Echo enters their lives and they decide to kill her due to the ancient writings that defined her as dangerous. But when Noa has her in front of him, his world changes completely...

• Pair.

Noa and Mae

• Movie.

Kingdom of the planet of the apes {Half AU}

• Tags.

Nomae, interspecies relationship, interspecies sex, interspecies romance, yes it is a ship fic, smut, romancing, Beauty and the Beast, Half AU, Noa hunt Mae, but the Noa falls in love with Mae, Long One Shot, Writer isn't English Native Speaker, etc

• Other nomae fanfics.

You and Me

No words

_________________________________

DO NOT COPY OR SHARE IT ELSEWHERE WITHOUT PERMISSION!

• Noa and the Beast [One Shot]

**First Act**

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The day was coming to an end. Noa was returning home with a successful hunt. He and his friends had managed to catch a pair of rabbits and a adult deer, earning them a warm welcome.

The situation was difficult for the village. Since his father had died, he and his mother were the only hope for their survival. They had to lead the rest to survive, and that was his duty as the new leader of the village.

"Well done, son," his mother said.

Noa sat down beside his mother, hugging her and offering her a piece of food, which she refused.

Their happiness was interrupted by some apes who arrived running and shouting.

"It's an Echo! We've seen one near here!"

Noa managed to understand what one of them was saying.

"Calm down," Noa said, standing up and addressing them. "It's probably just passing through. Echos usually move when it starts to get cold."

"This one is different. We've heard it talk! It was settling near the village."

Another ape spoke up, frightened.

"Don't worry, it won't hurt us."

"You don't understand. Echos are evil, the farther away from us, the better."

"If that means underground, even better."

"Yes!"

Many of the apes supported the idea of killing the Echo.

"We can't act impulsively. We need to think with a clear head."

Noa defended the idea of reaching a consensus.

"You're our leader. You must defend our home from those things!"

The ape began to feel the pressure from his village. Everyone wanted to see how the new leader would handle a dangerous situation.

"Fine! I'll take care of it myself." Noa didn't like the idea, but he said, "Tomorrow, I'll go to where you saw it and bring back proof that the Echo is no longer a problem."

Noa received a big ovation, but he couldn't take his eyes off his mother, who disapproved of his attitude.

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**Second Act**

_________________________________

Anaya and Soona, Noa's best friends, were already ready to go after the Echo. They were determined to accompany their leader, not just as friends, but as family.

The plan was to approach the Echo on foot, without horses, so as not to scare it, and kill it with the arrows they used for hunting. But Noa had taken something else from the village - a remedy that they took when they felt pain, in case he couldn't bear the scene, he would give it to the Echo himself.

It would have been just another Echo, but the idea of being able to hear one talk for the first time had haunted him all night. What if he could talk to it? What if it could defend itself by talking? What set them apart from animals if they couldn't talk?

But his village needed him. They had never encountered an Echo like this before, and it was a danger to his people. It was written that way.

When they were far enough from the village, Noa turned to his friends, stopping them.

"I have to go alone from here."

"What? No, we're not going to leave you." Soona approached him, grabbing his hands.

"Soona, I have to do this alone. I'm the leader now, and I have to be responsible for my words and my responsibilities towards our people. And one of those responsibilities is taking care of you too."

"I don't care about your position. We also want to take care of you."

Anaya joined the two, and they ended up in a three-way hug.

"I'm sure I can handle this. But I need to do it alone." He finally convinced them.

Anaya and Soona walked away, and he began to walk forward. He didn't look back, it would be easier to fulfill his responsibility alone and as the leader he had to be.

_________________________________

**Third Act**

_________________________________

He could observe her easily. She didn't seem to have seen him, and she continued with her life as usual. She walked back and forth, going to and from the river near the home she had built.

She was very resourceful. With the help of stones, branches, sticks, and leaves, she had built a kind of settlement near the river. She had everything she needed to survive just a few steps away.

Noa couldn't help but analyze her. From her physical features to her delicate movements. What she seemed to be doing was cooking with leaves and fruits he couldn't recognize.

They had warned him that this Echo was not normal. If she could talk, it was already very different from the ones he had encountered before, but he had never imagined what he had in front of him. If it weren't for her small body, little hair, small eyes, small hands, small waist, the bulge on her chest, and small feet, he could have sworn he was looking at an ape.

But he had to push those thoughts out of his mind. He had come to kill her, and he had already wasted too much time analyzing her.

He raised his bow and placed the arrow right at the Echo's heart direction. His hands were shaking. It was the first time they had shaken like that. He had to admit, this wasn't a normal hunt. He wasn't going to kill her out of necessity, nor did he need her skin or any part of her body. He was going to kill her because he feared her. Not just him, but his people. And that had to be his thought, his people were waiting for him to bring back proof of the event.

His vision became blurry as his heart began to beat strongly, he couldn't look. He released the arrow without being able to see well where it was headed.

"Ah!"

He heard the Echo's despairing cry.

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**Fourth Act**

_________________________________

Noa found himself in front of the Echo. His blurry vision and sweaty hands hadn't allowed him to hit his target. His main objective was the Echo's heart, but due to his nerves, the arrow had ended up hitting one of her sides.

She looked at him with open, frightened eyes, trembling while she held her side. She had pulled out the arrow and was trying to stop the bleeding.

Noa could have stood there, watching her die from bleeding, but he couldn't help but approach her and offer her a piece of cloth from his own arm to stop the bleeding.

The human looked at him doubtfully, taking the cloth.

"Why?"

He didn't know what to answer. Why had he attacked her? Why was he helping her? Because his heart was in constant struggle over what was right against his mind.

Echos had to be kept away. They wouldn't approach them, and they wouldn't live with them. Beyond the Valley was forbidden to cross because Echos were there.

The elders of his clan described them as monsters that killed each other, creatures that took everything around them and massacred it. Wild animals that would kill their own siblings for power.

But in front of Noa, he saw a smaller creature than him, harmless, and not having harmed them, alone, and with no signs of damage to nature around her. Not even signs of fires or dead animals.

Noa crouched down beside the human and covered her wound, helping her stop the bleeding.

"I don't know why. Neither do I."

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**Fifth Act**

_________________________________

Noa had decided to move the unconscious Echo to the nest of leaves covered by a roof of branches. At least there, she would be comfortable and covered in case the sun bothered her or it rained. But he had to go back to the village, he had to go back to Anaya and Soona, because if he took too long, he was sure they would come to see what had happened to him, and that wouldn't be good.

He had to do it quickly. Kill the nearest animal he could find, so he would have something to feed the Echo when she woke up, but also use a significant part of it to show in his village, her heart.

A hare had been the sacrifice for his plan, he didn't have time to go for a bigger animal, and with the hare's heart, he was sure his village would calm down.

He took long strides, quickly, so as not to take too long. Right where he had left them, Anaya and Soona were waiting for him. They ran to hug him and looked at what he was carrying.

"Did you do it?" Soona asked, stepping back from the hug.

"Yes."

He was lying. He was lying to his friends for an Echo. But he didn't have another choice.

In the village, they received him as the leader he was. With hugs and praise towards him. He couldn't bear the weight on his chest. He was lying to everyone.

"Son, are you okay?" His mother was the only one who could feel something in him, and she didn't take long to approach him and ask questions.

"Yes, why wouldn't I be? We've gotten rid of that Echo! Isn't that right?"

"Because it's the first time you're acting like the leader of the clan." His mother hugged him. "I know it's hard, going against your ideals to follow the clan's ideals. No one asks if you're okay when you come back, they just receive you as the leader."

"I'm fine, mom."

She was the only one who could discover everything if she noticed his strange behavior. So he had to act normally... how was he supposed to act normally after supposedly killing an Echo that hadn't done anything to them?

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**Sixth Act**

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That same morning, Noa had gone back to where the Echo was. He expected to find her where he had left her, but he was surprised to see her standing, trembling, by the riverbank.

"Hey, you shouldn't be there."

She jumped back, trying to get away from him.

"It's okay, I'm here to help you."

"You're the one who hurt me."

Well, he couldn't deny that.

"I'm sorry. Please, let me help you."

"H-how can you apologize for something like that?"

She had started to breathe with difficulty, holding her wound.

"Sh, it's okay. We'll talk when you're cured."

Noa held her wound again, seeing how it was still humid, and proceeded to clean it, forcing her to lie down on the nest.

The ape had brought new bandages in case he needed to change them, so he proceeded to change them.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you."

"It's hard to believe. Did you think I was livestock or something?"

"No, my village is scared of you, and they wanted me to kill you."

"And, why didn't you?"

Noa continued to change the bandages, unable to look her in the eye.

"I don't know. I didn't want to kill you personally, without knowing you. But it's my duty as the leader."

That information silenced the human. She grabbed his hand with the one he was using to clean her.

"Well, as the leader, stop. You've done your duty, you've tried to kill me, give them that information, and I'll run away from here. That way, you can say I escaped."

Noa shook his head, turning his hand to hold hers.

"No, you're already dead to them."

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**Seventh Act**

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Noa had been going back and forth from the village to where Mae, the Echo, was for a week.

During the day, he took care of his leader duties, and at dawn, he would return to the human's nest, where he would cure her, feed her, and take care of her. In those moments, they would talk, forgetting about the ape's attempt to assassinate her. Mae had opened up completely to him.

A human who had lost her family recently and was trying to survive away from the rest of humans who had hurt her. He didn't understand how they had hurt her if she didn't have that physical aspect, only the wound he had inflicted on her. But she explained that the wounds those humans had inflicted on her were not visible on her body, but in her heart.

Noa felt like seeking out those humans and defending the human to make her feel better. But she told him she was already learning to forget them.

"The wound is much better."

He didn't like how she was healing so quickly. Mae would have to leave when she was fully cured, that had been their agreement, but he wasn't ready to say goodbye so soon.

"Yes, I can do things on my own now. You should rest more at night and not come to see me."

"I don't need to rest. I want to come see you."

"Noa..."

"What?"

The ape continued making the meal, actually watching how the fire was made.

"You know I've forgiven you. You don't have to keep feeling guilty. Forgive yourself too."

"I-I can't. I failed my village. But I also failed you. If only I had shot higher, you would be dead and I wouldn't have met you."

"But you're a good ape and didn't do it. If it had happened this way or that, it wouldn't exist anymore. The reality is that we've met."

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**Eighth Act**

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That day, his mother wouldn't leave his side. She observed him closely without speaking, but that made him even more nervous.

"What? What's going on?"

He stopped in front of her.

"Son, you can lie to the whole world, but not to your mother."

"What do you mean?"

"Your nighttime escapes, the lack of sales, your fatigue during the day. Tell me, son. Where do you escape to?"

"Nowhere, mom. Just... I go climbing alone to relax and sleep."

"Yesterday, you slept very late, the sun had already risen. And you started talking in your sleep."

Noa averted his gaze so she couldn't keep reading him like that.

"Your dreams mentioned Mae's name."

"Oh, nonsense. I don't know anyone by that name."

He turned around, trying to ignore his mother's comments so as not to get more nervous.

"Son, do you sneak out at night to see Mae? Is she the Echo you didn't kill?"

"Mother! I don't know what you're talking about!"

"I've known you since you came out of me. Small, hairy, and noisy. Since you were very young, you showed that you weren't like the rest of the apes. You were very analytical and more intelligent than most. Your father knew that you took twice as long to think things through, just like your grandfather."

"Mom..."

"That's why I knew when they asked you to fulfill this responsibility that you would take your time to think it through and not do it, because you're a fair son of mine."

"Mom, I couldn't kill her. She hadn't done anything to us and lived peacefully alone by the river. She didn't pose any danger like the elders make us believe."

"I know, son. I know you very well."

His mother hugged him, and he took refuge in her arms. Taking a weight off his shoulders since he wasn't the only one who knew about Mae's existence.

And not just the two of them anymore. One of the aoes in charge of the birds had overheard their conversation, hiding from mother and son.

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**Ninth Act**

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That morning, Noa found Mae packed and ready to leave, with her things in a backpack and the fire extinguished.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to leave now, Noa."

"What? No, why? You're still hurt. You can't leave yet."

"I'm not hurt anymore, Noa. You saved me."

"No, no, no, no."

Noa grabbed the girl's hands, trying to stop her.

"We knew this moment would come. I'm very grateful that you gave me the opportunity to meet you."

"No! It's the other way around. I tried to kill you and you forgave me, letting me into your life."

"That doesn't matter anymore, Noa."

"Yes, it does. I came here to kill you because I thought you were an animal, a monster, a beast. And I ended up realizing that the only beast here is me."

"Don't be so hard on yourself."

"I have to be. I can't forgive myself because if I do, I'll think I have a chance with you and it's not like that. I can't, n-no..."

Mae grabbed his cheeks, making him lean his forehead against hers, looking into his eyes.

"You're not a beast. You're my savior, but I have to leave so I don't cause you more problems."

Noa shook his head and leaned in to kiss the human, savoring the sweet taste of Mae's mouth.

They separated as they heard horses and apes cries.

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**Tenth Act**

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Noa was startled. The only apes near the river were from his village. And it couldn't be, they didn't have any nighttime exploration planned.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know."

He turned to the human, grabbing her cheeks to make her look at him.

"Don't worry, you hide. I'll go see what's happening."

Mae looked towards something behind the ape's back, and he turned to see what had caught her attention, finding his friends.

"Noa."

The two apes ran to hug him.

"You don't know what's going on in the village. Maximo told them about the Echo and they're all coming to kill her."

Anaya explained quickly, without taking a breath.

"How did you know?"

"Why didn't you tell us?"

Soona responded with another question.

"I couldn't. She was in danger."

"We're your friends! We would have helped." -Soona raised her voice.-

"It's okay, guys. We'll discuss this later. Now we have to help the Echo." -Anaya turned to Mae.

"You have to distract them while I help her escape." -Noa grabbed Mae's hand.

"No!" -Soona refused.- "You're the clan leader, you have to give them explanations after what they found out. You have to be consistent."

The ape couldn't refuse. His friend was right.

"Mae." -he turned to her, grabbing her shoulders.- "You're going with Soona and Anaya, they'll help you."

"I'm staying with you." -Soona gave him her back as he said goodbye.-

He couldn't make her change her mind, as the apes were approaching.

"Echo. It's better if you get on my back and I'll run." -Anaya offered her back to Mae, and she got on without taking her eyes off Noa.-

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**Eleventh Act**

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The group of apes arrived, finding Noa and Soona together. Both apes were standing side by side, bearing the gaze of the rest.

"Where is she?"

"We know, Noa. The Echo is still alive."

"We have to kill her before she attacks us."

"She's a demon."

Several apes spoke at once.

"Silence!" -Noa shouted, making them all quiet.- "She's not a demon! We're the ones who pursued her and tried to kill her without harming us."

"She'll do it, it's written."

"The elders say so."

"The elders are wrong!" -Noa shouted again.- "And the laws are wrong!"

"Noa, step aside!"

Several apes approached violently. He couldn't let his clan lose respect for their leader.

As the leader of the eagle clan and respectful of his clan's ancient tradition, he began to sing. He still hadn't joined with any bird. Due to his father's death, he had decided to wait out of respect for the previous leader. But now... it was the only solution he could think of to regain his clan's respect.

He continued singing, and no eagle came.

"It doesn't work like that!"

"What eagle would want to join you after you betrayed us?"

The apes' voices enraged him. His voice rose above theirs, and a large eagle with a strong presence landed on his arm.

When Noa looked up, he was surprised to see the eagle Sun, his father's eagle. Known as the strongestin its nest and stubborn like his father. Everyone feared and respected it.

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**Twelfth Act**

_________________________________

Most of the apes kneeled before Noa, who stood proudly, looking at the eagle on his arm.

"It can't be, the eagle Sun has finally chosen its new master."

"It can't be, Noa, he's a traitor."

"Maximo, stop talking like that about the clan leader. He's already proven with actions that we should trust him."

One ape began to defend him, and most of them joined in. Noa knew he had regained his title as leader.

"We can't forgive his lie!"

That ape, Maximo, ran forward. Noa saw his intention to go after Noa and Anaya, so he stood in front of him, growling.

"You're not going to pass!" -he shouted, making Maximo take a few steps back.- "The Echo is my responsibility." -Noa began to address everyone.- "If anyone has a problem with her, they should come to me and I'll resolve it."

Maximo walked away with his head down.

The rest of the a apes roached to congratulate him on his union with Sol, and Soona stepped aside, observing him. In the end, it hadn't been necessary to help him; he was the clan leader, and she regretted having doubted it.

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**Thirteenth Act**

_________________________________

The next morning, Noa met with Mae again. Anaya had told him the location where she had hidden her, in the cave where the three of them used to hide as children when they wanted to escape from their parents or play pranks.

Anaya had confided in Mae about the location, knowing how important it was to her friend Noa.

The ape and the human looked at each other intensely when they met. Mae was sitting on a rock, holding a piece of fruit, and had heard him enter. She was anxious to see him.

"Noa!" -she stood up, looking him up and down.- "Didn't they hurt you?"

"No, no, Mae." -Noa put his forehead against the human's, closing his eyes and breathing in her scent more closely.- "Y-you, are you okay?"

Mae let out a laugh.

"I'm fine. You faced your clan for... for me."

"Yes, for you. But I know that's not as scary as riding on Anaya's back and climbing up here with his rough scaling."

"Anaya took good care of me, you don't have to worry."

"I know."

Neither of them wanted to break the silence that followed. They hugged, feeling each other's skin so close. Mae's breath hit Noa's lips, and he couldn't resist anymore, leaning in to kiss her again, this time knowing every centimeter of her lips and mouth as he introduced his tongue.

"Noa."

Mae whispered the ape's name, and she pulled away, placing his lips on her cheek.

"You shouldn't kiss me like that. And I won't be able to leave if we keep doing this."

"Then don't leave. There's no need, no one wants you to leave. Come with me and live in my village, with my clan."

"No! Noa, I don't want to bring you more problems."

"You're not going to bring more problems." -Noa hugged her.- "Since I met you, you've brought nothing but joy and laughter and good thoughts to my life. You've made me happy, and I don't want to lose you."

"Okay."

Noa shouted happily, hugging the girl and lifting her up.

"You make me so happy, I love you!"

Mae looked into his eyes, unable to respond since she had lost her breath.

The human leaned in, kissing him again, this time with tenderness, and pulled away after a few seconds. As if her lips had given him strength and air to speak, she responded.

"I love you too."

_________________________________

**Final Act**

_________________________________

Mae moved in with them. The village had welcomed her with open arms when they saw her arrive with their leader.

Noa's mother received her literally in her arms, in a strong hug.

"Welcome."

The Echo, the beast everyone had feared, had found a place in everyone's heart. She had sought her place in the village and now fulfilled her responsibilities so that no one would ever have to take care of her again.

A certain leader wasn't very happy about it, since it meant they spent less time together, but he was happy seeing how everyone had learned to love her.

There was even a moment when he felt jealous of the attention she gave to the other apes.

Mae dedicated herself to healing and feeding the smaller or injured apes, or those who were lonely. This made her spend more time with others than with him. But he couldn't say anything, he had to fulfill his clan duties too.

At least he had the hope of ending the day and finding her in his nest again.

"Noa."

Mae sighed in his ear. Noa couldn't help but lie down next to the human and kiss her from her cheek to her neck. He had seen her sleeping already, but he missed her and needed to feel her in his arms.

He placed himself on top of her, lifting her clothes and pushing them aside. It wasn't the first time they had done it, but he had understood that those garments were important to cover the human's attributes. For the apes, it was rare to see those clothes, but Noa's ego grew when only he could see her like that.

Naked, trembling from his kisses and caresses, and so sensitive that she responded to every touch he gave her.

He introduced his virility, making her moan, making them both moan. His thrusts were quick and concise. That night, he needed to feel her with urgency. The desperation in his chest to make her reach climax and hear her scream his name.

"Noa!"

That scream and the contractions of the human's vagina around his penis made him come with a grunt.

"Mae, Mae."

He leaned on her, placing his elbows on both sides of Mae to avoid hurting her, and waited for his heart to calm down after coming.

"I love you."

He heard Mae.

"I love you too."

The ape responded before falling asleep next to her.

His life had taken a huge turn since the Echo, his Echo, had entered it. From believing he was going to kill a beast, to believing he had become one, to falling in love with an Echo. She had saved him from drowning in a life full of desperation and lies. She had entered his life to make the monsters that haunted him disappear. Mae was, is, and will be the love of his life forever.

________________________________

END.

[kilarthmac]

Let's talk about Caelum.

I'm gonna preface this with saying that everyone is entitled to their opinions, and if once you're done reading this you decide you don't want to follow me or you want to block me, that's completely up to you. I'm not trying to change your opinion or attack anyone who has a different one than mine, I just wanted to put my two cents out there.

I also wanted to say that whatever your opinion on the matter is, it's yours and yours alone, and you should respect the opinions of other people even if they don't match up. I personally do not sexualize Caelum, but I do think he is an adult with childlike characteristics, and those two statements are not mutually exclusive. He can be an adult, but he also doesnt have to be put in adult situations.

It's okay to have strong feelings one way or the other about this topic, but it is not okay to harass people or go on a witch hunt for those with the opposite opinion to give them shit about what they think. If you disagree with someone and do not want to see their stuff on your timeline, just block them or scroll away. You alone are responsible for your own dash, you cannot make other people responsible for what you see on your timeline.

All that being said, I do not like how the fandom treats Caelum and Empathy Daemons in general.

My stance on the matter is that Empathy Daemons as a whole are adults, but because of how E'Laetum created them, they tend to have childlike characteristics. Those who say that Empathy Daemons are ALL children blatantly ignore the fact that Regulus is an Empathy Daemon as well, and that he has been shown to have adult tendancies (his BA, getting possessive over his charge, etc) while also maintaining his childlike characteristics (telling his charge a bedtime story to sleep, having a very one dimensional view of himself and his charge, etc). This is where I have a problem whenever I see people try to say that all Empathy Daemons are children. Regulus is clearly an adult. There is no "reading between the lines" about this.

Caelum is also an Empathy Daemon, but he is a very different character than Regulus. He is a lot more childlike compared to Regulus. He gets his words mixed up, he likes sweets, he likes hugs, etc. But in his most recent video (Your Bakadere Empathy Daemon Friend Visits You), even he says that he almost went down a path similar to Regulus' until Delphinus stepped in and assigned him to Freelancer, and that stopped him from falling (timestamps from 2:40 - 3:18, and 8:45 in that video). It may be uncomfortable for some people to think of Caelum as going down the same path that Regulus did, but this video clearly shows that he had the potential to. Caelum and Regulus are not as different as one may think.

Erik has also said himself that D(a)emons step out of the Elision Well as adults and they do not age. Of course they don't know everything so they still have to learn, but that's not the same as being a child. On top of the most recent Redacted 101 video, take this screenshot from Wonderworld (previously Redacted Records, when Erik was still in the server) from 2020, where Erik talks about how D(a)emons coalesce.

He even mentions how in earlier Caelum videos he didn't know what he wanted the d(a)emon life cycle to be yet, and that's why he had Caelum state that he was a "kid daemon" at one point.

Not to mention the fact that in the official timeline, it shows that Caelum coalesced in 1999, and is even older than Damien.

At the end of the day, Caelum is a fictional character. Whatever someone ends up deciding to make of him is their choice, this is a fandom after all. If it really bothers you to see what certain people make, block them and move on. DO NOT berate them for their headcanons or fanart or whatever else. People are allowed to have their own headcanons, make their own fics, and draw their own fanart. This is a fandom space, and people are allowed their creative liberties.

Anyways, that has been my two cents. Feel free to voice your opinions in the comments if u want to, but please please be respectful and don't attack anyone.

TLDR; I don't sexualize Caelum but I do think he and all Empathy Daemons are adults (ex: Regulus), everyone should respect everyone else's opinions and just block what they don't want to see on their timelines, and the fandom needs to chill out lol

[the-real-rain-world-confessions]

I don't know if this will get posted because it's long and a bit ranty, but I want to get it off my chest and I think a LOT of people need to hear it. I won't reference any specific issue but there have been many like this, so it's still applicable.

I've been doing my best to stay positive about the fandom but my god, the surveillance of the internet and the "child friendly" insistence is getting ridiculous. No I don't want to chase children off the internet, they can have their space, but they also must understand the internet is mainly used by adults and therefore there will be adult content here. The fandom is not a mess because there are people making erotic writing/art, it's a mess because no one is allowing anyone to have their own space. Between pre-downpour puritans and minors just looking to get adults in trouble for BEING ADULTS, THAT is the problem we have here.

Yes, censoring adult content is important. Having NSFW alts is even better.

The problem?

Nosey people (often minors) who think everyone's business is theirs to meddle in. If someone has "bad" kinks, and makes content about it— going to blow some minds here —they aren't actually a bad person. I had to learn this myself, as I used to be the kind to judge people for it. But they are not reflections of someone's morality. Often times it's a result of trauma, a way to cope with or process something (and in saying that, no, you cannot ask someone what their trauma is to "justify" their kinks. let people have some semblance of privacy)

Something someone enjoys in fiction is not something they are guaranteed to enjoy in real life: take for example horror movies. Your favourite horror movie is Saw? Okay, so that means you're a psychopath who wants to torture people in bizarre ways.

Sounds stupid, doesn't it? Because it is.

We need to let people have their own personal lives again. Not everything needs to be laid out on the table to prove someone is a good person.

You are allowed to not like something, in fiction or in real life. You're allowed to not like NSFW content period. I am in no way saying everyone needs to be tolerant of everything and can't dislike anything, but you are not allowed to stop others from enjoying things that are (despite how much antis don't want to admit it) harmless.

People (especially minors) need to stop hunting for dirt when someone slightly upsets them (usually adults). We are human. We make mistakes. If someone upsets you, communicate it with them, or block them. We don't need to be ruining people's lives with the guise of "spreading awareness" about them.

No, you are not spreading awareness, because I am CERTAIN most people are not reading your lengthy post. They see the big scary words you've labelled this person with (often words that are highly exaggerated or, again, are people misinterpreting a fictional desire, like kinks, as real-life reflections of that person) and witchhunt.

That is no insult to anyone, it's a fact of the internet; Tumblr is another site designed to give short-form content, so big long posts we rarely actually read, we SKIM. Skimming usually means we see the big bad words, scroll past a few screenshots, and go "yep, seems legit", and reblog. We come onto this app for fast, easy dopamine. And drama? We eat that up. But this isn't just silly drama. This is ruining people's lives.

Rarely will people go deeper to look into the other person's perspective, or think about the motives of the person making the post, e.g. how did they get this info? why were they looking for it? and by extension, was this necessary to post and "warn" people about? Or, maybe, just maybe, can we let people do things that aren't hurting anyone (because it is FICTIONAL), and stay in our lanes so we don't have to see what we don't want to see.

Anyways, TLDR: People in the RW fandom, please be careful with who you listen to. If you want to get involved, then do it properly; look into the situation, properly evaluate it, come to a conclusion on your own instead of immediately agreeing with whoever started it. And if you can't be bothered? Then simply don't interact with it, because you are making uneducated decisions that could lead to lives lost.

Thank you to anyone who read this all the way through (if it got posted lol it may be way too long)

.

[torukmaktoskxawng]

tsamsiyu ta'em - a new leaf part one

Masterlist - part four

Summary: Kayla learns the way of the Omatikaya and gets to know a bit about her brother's family.

Pairing: Ronal/Tonowari/Original Female Character

Tag: #tsamsiyu ta'em fic

posted on ao3

Word Count: 6k+

Taglist: @mooniequeen @shit-i-say-shit-i-think @heart-an0n

Warnings: canon-compliant, canon-typical violence, mature language, adult content, slow burn, polyamory, found family, cool aunt agenda, alien/human (technically avatar), jake sully sister agenda, time skips, I'm trying to hurry up and get to the good parts so bear with me, fluff, angst, adopted spider, tags to be added

A/N: I both hate and love my fic's title. Every time I read it, I accidentally read it in my head as 'tiramisu' XD

When Kayla emerged from the Longhouse the next morning, Jake greeted her with a beaming, knowing smile. She did her best to glare at him, slightly defeated that he had convinced her to come back, but he wasn't deterred. He smiled genuinely, even when she shoved at him to get out of her space.

"Wow. Still not a morning person, huh?" He grinned.

"Get fucked." She hissed, a bit of a sore loser that way.

"Yikes. Still got a mouth, too," he laughs, genuinely surprised by the foul word. To be honest, he hasn't heard language like that in a while. It felt nice to get a small bit of that human culture back, even for a minute. With Kayla still used to that military lifestyle, Jake has a small part of his old routine pop back into him. "Could you do me a favor and maybe refrain from mouthing off in front of my kids? Neytiri would definitely blame me if she ever heard Tuk say 'shit' in her sweet voice."

Kayla snorts at the image of that playing in her head, "Sure. No problem."

"Kayla! Jake!" Norm, still in human form, waved over to them. The siblings walk in his direction while Jake looks around, sighting a group of Na'vi calling out to each other and getting ready to leave.

He taps Kayla's arm, "Hey, I have to be on this morning hunt. Norm will show you around and give you a better tour of the place. If he gives you a hard time, let me know."

"Copy that," she replied automatically, barely looking in Jake's direction before he gives up saying anything more and left, knowing when she was being dismissive. Kayla pushes on and meets Norm where he stood waiting, hands on his hips again as he watches Jake head in the opposite direction.

"Of course, he gets to go on the hunt and fool around while we do all the hard work," Norm playfully rolls his eyes, trying to lighten the mood, "That's Toruk Makto for ya."

"Huh?"

Norm peers up at Kayla oddly before a thought dawns on his face and he scowls to himself, "Right. Need to catch ya up to speed. We can do that while we work today. First I need to get into my avatar suit. Let's go."

He leads her back in the direction of the biolab, but they don't get far before Kayla is suddenly tackled into a tiny hug around her waist. The woman nearly falls back in shock, frozen about what to do when she looked down and recognized Jake's youngest kid beaming up at her with her thin, blue arms still wrapped around the taller woman's waist.

"My dad said that you're my auntie!" Tuk exclaimed.

Kayla is still taken aback by the child hugging her before she could even register Tuk was speaking in Na'vi, not English. She was too amazed by the little one who is barely shorter than Norm in his human form. Kayla could only imagine how short she would be standing next to Tuk if she met the little girl in her own human body. Still not realizing that she needed to form a response, Norm smiles and takes pity on Kayla, stepping into her view, "She says that you're her aunt."

Blinking, Kayla comes back to reality and tries offering Tuk a pitiful smile and a gentle pat on her shoulder, "I suppose I am."

Norm repeated her phrase in Na'vi, and Tuk squeals excitedly in response, "I've never had an auntie before!"

"Tuk, for the time being, maybe you should talk to Kayla in English until she gets the hang of Na'vi," Norm gently explains to the girl while barely nudging her with his elbow. He winks when she meets his eyes underneath his mask, "She's barely understood 'nari' yet."

Tuk laughs while Norm looks around, "Why don't you go play with Popiti? You'll see Kayla at dinner."

"Will she sit with me?"

Norm chuckles before glancing back up at Kayla, who had remained quiet during the whole exchange especially since she couldn't understand half of it, "She's asking if you will sit with her at dinner."

A small warmth bleeds through to Kayla's heart as the little girl stared up at her with the cutest, roundish yellow eyes she had ever seen. Not even the cat she had back at home had a face that could stop wars in their tracks. Tuk continues to plead with her eyes before Kayla finally relents, her posture melting while addressing Norm, "Only if you sit with me so I'll be able to talk to her. I want to ask about her songcord."

Norm repeated what Kayla said, but he didn't have to. Tuk caught onto enough of it as she squeals in happiness again, squeezing Kayla's waist one more time before she runs off. Kayla stood still in the place where the girl left her before turning back to Norm, "Did I say the right thing?"

Norm's smile is full of pride, "Sure did."

She feels a little lighter after that, gladly waiting outside the biolab while Norm hops into a link bay. Kayla watches the People around her, going about their day with her new, sharp eyes, observing how they walk, talk, and even blink. It was interesting to watch how they all converse with one another, spotting a few exchange 'good mornings' by placing their fingers on their forehead and lowering their hands in the direction of the person they were speaking to. Kayla tags that bit of information and stores it in the back of her mind for the time being as she heard footsteps approaching her so she turns around, being met with another avatar.

"Ah," He's definitely Norm with that unique tone of voice and that familiar grin. He stood taller than Kayla and he even draws attention to that when he compares their height by measuring with his hand. He flashes a cheeky smile, "That's better."

Kayla scoffs, rolling her eyes even when she felt her lips twitch, "Dick."

"Right this way, Short Stack," Norm continues to laugh while holding his arm out in the direction he wants her to go, "I wanna get the fun stuff out of the way."

The first place on their to-do list was the rookery. Norm takes her to the edge of camp, out to the edge of the mouth cave before looking back, "You a heights person?"

"That depends," Kayla began without looking over the ledge, stubbornly keeping her eyes on the avatar in front of her, "What's below us right now?"

"Nothing that can catch you."

"Then no, I'm not."

"I don't mean to be blunt. But we're Mountain People now. If you wanna stay here, you'll have to get over it quickly. You could climb down from the vegetation acting as bridges if you want. But the only real way to get on and off these particular mountains is by ikran."

He beckons her forward and demonstrates shuffling his feet to test the rock with his weight, then clings to the side of the mountain as he walks along a narrow ledge going around the outside of the rock face. Sucking in a sharp breath, Kayla looks down at her feet as she shuffles forward, trying her best not to look down while figuring out where she was stepping. While Norm kept his back to the wall, Kayla practically hugged it to her front, hands grasping tightly onto whatever part of the rock she could hold onto.

They shuffle far from High Camp and toward the outskirts of the mountain. As they get closer to their destination, Kayla hears the echoing screeches from the day before, along with the loud and heavy flapping of wings. She only clings harder to the edge of the mountain. Norm rounds a corner and disappears behind a waterfall while Kayla tries her best to keep up without quickening her pace. She squeezes behind the waterfall and signs in relief when she finds Norm standing on a more sturdy platform, carved into the mountain deep enough to be far from the cliff edge. The male avatar smiles and nods in approval before pointing in the direction opposite the waterfall, "Welcome to the rookery."

Kayla peers through the water and gapes. Large cliff sides jut out of the mountain, creating large nests full of the flying creatures she encountered yesterday. From where she stood, she can only see a few dozen of them, all of different sizes and colors.

"And these are Mountain Banshees. Or as the Na'vi call them... ikran."

"Wow." She exclaimed, awestruck.

"These are the rogues," Norm explains, "The ones without riders. For now, we'll stay away from them. Follow me. The claimed ones are below us."

Kayla spun to Norm, tilting her head in bewilderment before Norm walks close to the edge again, the only thing between him and falling was the waterfall. Peering over the edge, Norm takes a small leap down and quickly catches himself by the ledge, holding his whole weight up by his fingers. Kayla had nearly gasped out of fright but bit the sound back when Norm clearly appeared to know what he was doing. Using the momentum, he swung himself down and calls up to his student, "You coming or what?"

Kneeling down and clinging onto the cliffside for dear life, she peered down over the ledge and noticed a cave mouth underneath the platform she stood on, with Norm waiting for her at the entrance. Not as confident as him, she doesn't jump down, instead, she slowly folds herself over the ledge and carefully dangles from the side before finally dropping down, only remembering to breathe once she felt solid rock under her two feet. Norm pats her on the back in sympathy before walking into the large cave mouth. Kayla follows and notices that the cave wasn't dark at all, daylight clearly lighting their way, but from where she wasn't sure. As they trudge further in, she could hear more calls and squawks, staying close behind Norm until they walk right into a clearing.

At the center of the cave was another large nest full of ikran with a large hole acting as an exit for these creatures high above them, lighting the whole place up like a skylight. These particular ikran had riding gear comfortably secured on each of their backs, varying different shapes and colors depending on the ikran and their rider's taste in style. Although tamer, the banshees still hissed and snapped their jaws as Norm walked by, who had turned around to beckon Kayla to follow.

"Stick close. Careful not to look in their eyes."

"Got it."

He brings her over to a small group of ikran who chose to huddle close and nest together like their own little family. Dark navy blue, and teal lightning stripes flash in Kayla's vision and she immediately crouches down in fear as Norm calls out to the beautiful blur. An ikran is towering over him in size as it answers to its rider, squawking in feigned defiance. Up close, Kayla could see two pairs of eyes, one smaller than the other, and rows of obsidian-like razor teeth. Norm grinned and happily fed it a raw piece of meat from his cargo shorts' pocket before turning to introduce him, "This one's mine. This is August."

Kayla catches her breath, laughing nervously as she stood back up on her unstable legs, "Cute."

Norm chuckles and pats the beast's neck before pointing over to another banshee off to the side. It was a lighter blue almost teal color for the whole body with purple and splatters of darker blue stripes to make up for the rest of it, "That one's Jake's. He calls him Bob."

She scoffed, "Poor thing."

"You can have one of these too, ya know."

"Really?"

"Sure, if you wanna learn the Na'vi way and eventually become one of us," Norm beamed like a little kid explaining his favorite game, "To become taronyu. Hunter. "

"Oh, yeah? And when can I get my own ikran?"

"When you're ready," Norm gives August one more loving pat on the neck before breaking away, showing Kayla the way back to the cave entrance, "First, you gotta learn the language and get a better grasp of it. Then, you gotta train and learn how to hunt, and only when you make a clean first kill will you be allowed to try and claim a banshee. After that, you must successfully survive Uniltaron, the Dream Hunt. These are the steps every young Na'vi must take before they can complete their Iknimaya and officially be seen as an adult in their clan."

Kayla nods accordingly, still confused about some of the words regardless of Norm explaining them, "How many clans are there?"

"Several. Too many to name off on my fingers, and I've only ever met a few," they make it back to the cave entrance, and Norm steps aside to allow Kayla to climb back up first, "They stretch through the forests, mountains, and even oceans. Around here you'll only see the Omatikaya, obviously, occasionally the Tayrangi, and what's left of the Olangi."

"What's left of them?" Kayla echoes while up and grasping the ledge then skillfully pulling herself up, mindful of the drop below and the waterfall.

"They were mostly wiped out in the battle against the RDA, the one where we drove them off-world. What was left of the Olangi was too small to be considered their own clan, so they integrated into ours. Our clan is technically called the Blue Flute Clan if you wanna get specific."

Norm climbs up next with only a little bit of difficulty. Kayla offered her hand to him and wordlessly helped pull him up when he grasped on. Norm sighs out of exhaustion once he stands back up, grinning a little slyly, "You ready to make the trek back?"

Kayla's nose crinkles up, eyes narrowed with hesitance as she thinks back to the narrow pathways and hugging the wall of the mountain, "... How about you keep answering my questions and maybe I'll forget about it."

~~~~~~~~~

It's like a little kid learning that there's a whole new world out there. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and in Kayla's case, it was. She had several teachers to choose from and several different subjects to learn from each one.

Starting with the language, Kayla was once sitting in a circle with multiple teachers around her, each of them bouncing off the other to try to get her to grasp each word. It was difficult at times, especially when they each start messing around and having fun when they were supposed to teach her. Norm and Spider normally mess around if they teach Kayla together, but otherwise, when separate, Kayla is able to learn more words if she's learning one-on-one with either the scientist or the teenager. Other times the lessons are more tamed if either Neteyam, Jake, or Neytiri teach her. Sometimes, all three do so together and Kayla was faintly starting to enjoy those small get-togethers. While learning their language, she was beginning to know her brother's family, especially his wife and their firstborn. Neteyam is strong, kind, and caring. He's definitely older brother material, reminding Kayla of Tommy, but not like she could admit that, and least of all to Jake.

Everyone keeps telling her that it'll take a while to grasp the language. Jake admitted that he struggled, and Norm explained that he had been studying Na'vi culture for five years prior to reaching Pandora. With their reassurances, Kayla tried not to beat herself up when she still couldn't hold a basic conversation with Little Tuk. She still can't do sentences, but Kayla has grasped basic words that were more important, like saying 'hello', 'thank you', and 'goodbye'. She learned numbers and proper pronunciation, nouns and adjectives, and plants and animals. Once she had grasped how to say and identify the flora and fauna, Neytiri deemed her ready to start hunting.

In order to hunt, Kayla needed to learn to catch up. Jake and Neytiri take her down to the forest floor and run. They run for ages, and after each run, Kayla's legs grow sore overnight then begin to loosen and strengthen the next day. Before long, she had been able to catch up to her teachers when they run along gigantic tree branches and dance gracefully through vines. She had learned to stop looking down and start looking ahead, never thinking about the fall since Neytiri showed her how to break a fall should she slip. Hunting with a bow and poison-tipped arrows had been proven difficult for Kayla, so used to knowing the ways around a gun. Jake gave her advice from one Sky Person to another, but essentially left Neytiri to do the teaching.

"Be on your guard," Jake flashed his sister a grin, "Neytiri is the kind of teacher who's all about 'learning fast or die.'"

"I am not." Neytiri denies adamantly, flicking her husband's ear as he laughed at her defiance.

Kayla greatly admired Neytiri for her teaching skills. If it got Jake into shape, then she knew it would be no problem to do the same. Neytiri teaches her sister-in-law how to track and how to ride direhorses, going back to the days when she used to teach the same to Jake and even her children.

Weaving is not a talent Kayla possessed back on Earth, but it was a skill she was being forced to learn here on Pandora. Mo'at, Tuk, and Kiri were her teachers on the subject, always dragging her into the marui meant for this kind of work. This canopy tent was larger than most, and mostly because it had to house an overly large and eccentric loom shuttle meant for this kind of craftsmanship. While teaching her how to weave, Kiri and Tuk would sing weaving songs meant for this kind of work, while their grandmother fondly listened and would accordingly praise them when finished. Mo'at was the tsahik, as Kayla learned, who was hesitant to accept the new avatar, if not defiant. There was clearly a dark past looming behind her aging eyes, but Kayla didn't dare push for an explanation. The older Na'vi woman explained Eywa to Kayla, as it was technically her area of expertise as the spiritual leader of the clan. Mo'at told stories to Kayla as they weave, explaining legends and moments of history that all connect back to the Great Mother. Mo'at talked about how everything was connected here on Pandora, from the trees to the mountains. From plants to animals and animals to Na'vi. The Na'vi only take what they need and understand how they must give it all back to Eywa in time.

Norm and Max explain all this through a more scientific perspective. They explain to Kayla how everything is rooted beneath their feet, connected together in one large network that fits the size of the whole moon they stood on. It was fascinating, to say the least, learning about how everything works together and even being shown proof when Max takes her on a walk through all their botanical samples and gardens. Kayla was able to grasp the information better when she listened to her fellow avatars and humans, but even when Mo'at spoke to her of Eywa, Kayla was still in awe. She felt as though she was back at home, being tucked into bed with stories of faraway, fantastical places under the soft glow of her nightlight. The only difference now is Kayla is grown, wearing blue skin she was beginning to adjust to comfortably, and listening to an elder woman speak of her deity under bioluminescent glow-worm lamps. And that was not even the most interesting part of Mo'at.

The tsahik taught Kayla how to heal and even make certain healing properties with just the plants and animals around them. Neytiri and Kiri would also partake in these lessons, having past knowledge of healing passed down to them from Mo'at. Neytiri had formally introduced Kayla to Mo'at as her mother, and eventually, Kayla began to form a family tree in her head once learning of their family history. While learning how to heal, Kayla heard small mentions of the sister and father Neytiri had lost, but not much else. Neither she nor Mo'at offered to explain or talk about their past loved ones, at least not to Kayla. When she went to her brother for answers, Jake's ears lowered. Even in a Na'vi form, he had a look of guilt that even Kayla could easily pinpoint from experience.

"I wouldn't try pushing Mo'at," he answered instead, eyes darting wildly around at everything other than Kayla when speaking about his mother-in-law, "She's a dragon lady when she wants to be."

Kayla left that conversation alone, knowing there was a story behind that but one that she wouldn't learn anytime soon. So she instead learned to just enjoy these lessons in order to get to know Neytiri, Kiri, and Tuk better. With these lessons, Kayla began to start understanding Na'vi as the girls in Jake's life tend to bounce between languages without even realizing it. It frustrated Kayla at first but over time it actually helped her grasp words faster. Slowly, she learned little things about her nieces and their mother, like how Tuk's knife was made from suggestions given to her by her best friend, Popiti. Or Kiri, whose woven top was inspired by the Eye of Eywa, and her necklace was something her birth mother once wore.

Kiri is a strange but delightful teenage girl. There are days when she enjoys company and days when she would prefer to work alone or in silence. Kayla understood that a little bit, appreciating that even at such a young age, Kiri realizes when her social battery is drained and needs a break. She gives her mother attitude but is an angel to everyone else, a behavior that all teenage girls must be able to inherit even between universal species. Kayla never related to someone so well.

A small fib she told herself even after meeting Lo'ak. He was adamant about teaching Kayla things, too, not wanting to be left out while all his other family members get to teach his aunt new skills in their culture. Lo'ak, overconfident, stubborn, and reckless, definitely reminds Kayla of Jake the most out of all the kids both physically and mentally, but again, she doesn't say so out loud. Lo'ak takes charge of teaching her to bead together clothing and other adornments the Na'vi proudly wear, even dragging Spider along for these lessons, despite how the human boy didn't appear thrilled to do so.

"Dude, this is so boring," Spider would groan, "We should take her exploring instead!"

"My parents already do that," Lo'ak scolded the shorter boy in front of Kayla as they worked on a bracelet for her, "And practically everyone else is teaching her how to speak, hunt, and heal. I wanna teach her something, too!"

"Well, yeah, but can't you just teach her something only you know?"

"That's a good idea," Kayla helpfully pitched in, trying to play peacemaker between the restless boys, "What are you good at, Lo'ak?"

When she's met with silence, Spider unhelpfully laughs, "Getting into places he shouldn't."

Lo'ak hissed and lightly hit Spider upside the head, earning a laugh from Kayla. Lo'ak's mood shifts a little, defeated and under the weather. Kayla took pity on the boy while pointing out, "You know... I have never been good at making bracelets at home. So I know one thing you're good at, and it's teaching."

His ears perk up, eyes brightening just the tiniest bit. Lo'ak tries fighting back a smile, and he's successful, especially when Spider continues to tease him, "Yeah, well he should probably try getting better at learning before he proudly decides he's better at teaching first."

She smiles in sympathy, "Not a good listener, huh?"

"The worst."

Lo'ak ducked his head, muttering under his breath, "Thanks, cuz. Way to make a guy feel special."

"You would make a great teacher," Spider encouraged his friend with a bright smile, "For example, you should teach Kayla what to expect when she finally starts her Iknimaya."

"That's a good idea." Kayla nods.

"No, it's not," Lo'ak states lowly.

"Why not?"

"Because he can only teach you what not to do, given that he failed the first time." Spider chuckled.

"Dude!"

Kayla sighed, mostly out of the headache that was beginning in the form of two teenage boys, "Alright, Spider, give it a rest."

Spider's jaw clamps shut, eyes widen briefly before shrinking his shoulders in a little under Kayla's stare. Shaking her head at him, she darts her eyes back at the Na'vi boy in question before speaking slowly, "... You know, Lo'ak. We have a saying where your dad and I are from. 'If at first, you don't succeed, try and try again.'"

Lo'ak peers up, one eyebrow raised in curiosity. Apparently, he doesn't hear about a whole lot of stuff from Jake's past let alone Earth. Kayla flashes him an encouraging smile, "There's no shame in getting it wrong the first time. You end up learning better than others when you learn from your mistakes."

Lo'ak watches her carefully as if trying to figure out a puzzle, his tail waving leisurely behind him. For a moment, the three are quiet until a teasing glint sparkles in Lo'ak's eye and he cruelly laughs, "Woah, where did you pull that wisdom out of?"

Kayla's expression screws up, offended, chucking the remnants of her bracelet at him when he continues to laugh. She scowls when the motion only drove him to laugh harder, "Okay, smartass, see if I ever come to your aid again."

The word slips out and Kayla is horrified when the boys catch onto what she said, their grins forming even as she tries to backtrack, "Oh, crap. You know what? Forget I said that. Your dad doesn't want me swearing in front of you kids."

"Not me though, right?" Spider asked, shrugging when she sent him an apologetic look, "No sweat. If you want, I can always teach you how to swear in Na'vi?"

Unbeknownst to the three, Jake was watching their interaction from afar, unable to hear what his sister was saying but felt amused when she got both Lo'ak and Spider to laugh at whatever she said. Norm taps his shoulder and it pulls Jake out of the fog, remembering he was in the middle of talking to his old friend before he caught sight of his son and his sister with Spider. Glancing back at Norm, Jake tilted his head in Kayla's direction, "Sorry. How 'she doing by the way?"

"Great, actually," Norm followed his gaze, observing Kayla's interaction with the teenage boys, "She retains information really well. She remembers the smallest of details, even details that don't matter."

Jake nods in approval, a knowing look in his faraway eyes while watching Kayla retrieve her bracelet from Lo'ak and continue adding on pieces, "I remember that about her. Normally, she retains information that she's excited to learn. Otherwise, it goes in one ear and out the other, like math. I remember Tommy having to sit her down to help with her homework late at night when our folks were too tired to do so."

"Hm," Norm makes a mental image of that particular scene in his head, nudging Jake's arm, "You don't talk about your siblings enough. Maybe you should."

Jake's jaw tightens, blinking whatever haunted thoughts were swirling around in his head, and stiffly nods without ever looking away from his sister, "Yeah."

~~~~~~~~~

There was so much information to latch onto to the point Kayla wasn't sure if she'd be able to pick whatever parts of Na'vi culture were her favorite. As days turn to weeks, she quickly realizes that she hasn't even learned half of the Omatikaya lifestyle as she finds herself being pulled into a hunting ceremony. A great sturmbeest was killed that day and the People were preparing for a large feast filled with song and dance. Kiri quickly taught Kayla the hunting songs that are sung during these ceremonies and urged her aunt to sing along when the time comes. It was difficult to admit that Kayla felt nervous at the idea. She hadn't sung out loud in a long time, and she personally didn't feel as though she was the best singer.

Neytiri had rolled her eyes when Kayla had shyly admitted this to her, "All Na'vi people sing, whether or not they are any good."

"Besides," Jake cuts in with a fox-like grin, "All you need is a bit of liquid courage and you'll be singing and dancing without a care in the world."

Thus how Kayla was first introduced to swoa, taken aback by how strong the intoxicating beverage was. Jake had laughed at her initial reaction to screw her nose up and squint her eyes, but afterward, the following sips were easy to manage. It was safe to say she liked it.

Her first ceremony went beautifully as she danced to her heart's content, mainly with the kids as they were eager to show her their moves. The next party was a tribute to Eywa, and even Kayla could admit that ceremony was a little less fun. Seeing Vitraya Ramunong, the Tree of Souls for the first time took her breath away, in awe of the most beautiful tree she had ever seen in her life. But instead of dancing and playing music around such a magnificent tree, the People sat together, their kuru braids either bonded to the roots of the tree or to the tendrils hanging down from the branches. They either sang or prayed, and Kayla found it difficult to sort out which was which. She still feels awkward praying to Eywa, despite her eagerness to learn all about the Great Mother. Jake didn't blame her for it, sympathizing by saying he still struggled even to this day. Neytiri never took either of their discomforts to heart, understanding that unlearning the mindset you have known your whole life takes a toll when wishing to learn something new.

Months go by, and Kayla finds herself attending all sorts of ceremonies. Some celebrate birth, love, and life, while others memorialized death and revival. When first taught how the Na'vi believe that every soul is born twice, Kayla showed inklings of doubt, but Jake made it his personal mission for his sister to see those teachings through his eyes, "I've seen it firsthand. Do you remember back home, when things come in three's it could either mean something good or bad, depending on who you ask? Same rules apply here. For the most part, everything comes in two here. Two like the avatar and the driver, or me and Tommy. Two like Grace and Kiri, and me and Neytiri. Two like my two boys and two girls. For you, it'll come in two as well. The Na'vi say that every person is born twice. The second time is when you earn your place among the People, forever. You'll be born again when you finish your Iknimaya."

He said it with such confidence, that anyone would believe him as the leader he is, but not Kayla. In reaction to his confidence in her, Kayla only felt dread. Conflicted emotions were constantly running through her mind. While she is running around among the Na'vi out here, she was still waking up among the Sky People back at Bridgehead. She still reported to Ardmore and the lab coats who monitor her links' progress. Even as she lies as easily as she breathes, Kayla feels the shame and regret of still having to return and lie about her whereabouts to her superiors. She had grown to hate waking up with flashlights in her face and needles in her arm, waking up to a million questions and the beeping of her heart monitor among other machines. The lights were always too bright, the walls too white, and the air and Ardmore's face too cold. Kayla's heart was beginning to clench with anxiety and sadness whenever she had to go back to live among her own kind, and the thought terrified her. How could she, after only a few months, begin to turn her back on her whole life, and for what? A life filled with happiness and good health with her brother's family?

The human race was counting on her to test the limits between a driver and their avatar, to go the distance and hope that whatever tests she completes will lead to her entire species' survival. Kayla wanted to save the human race, but now... all she wanted was to be left alone, on Pandora, living among her brother's people.

These thoughts always plagued her, especially at night alone in her living quarters when she was in her human form. As she tossed and turned in bed, she'd stare at all four walls, on her back, before staring up at the blank, cold ceiling above her, wishing she didn't have a heart, much like Ardmore. She wished she could just do her job instead of learning to care for and love the Omatikaya, to cherish every moment she gets with her nieces and nephews. Part of her believes that she had every right to turn on her own kind because when has the human race ever done anything for her other than take everyone she loved away? But another part of her felt immensely guilty, knowing that she would have never thought twice about coming to Pandora if it weren't for the human race.

There was no deadline, but Kayla still felt as though she was running out of time. Two sides battling a war inside her head and her heart, and she didn't know which side to listen to. Dutifully heading to the lab for a new day of poking and prodding, Kayla anxiously awaited until she'd be able to run around in the form she now preferred. She tried her best not to appear excited when it was time for her to jump into a link bay and tried calming her breaths as the lid closes around her and she shuts her eyes.

Waking up in the mountains, sporting a tail and blue skin, Kayla already felt lighter than a feather, her worries washing away the moment she walked out of the Longhouse, and Spider, Lo'ak, and Tuk immediately dragged her away for another adventure. She went about her day normally, learning her respective lessons and helping out among the clan as best as she could. Around the time she was meant to help Mo'at with preparing for the communal dinner that evening, she noticed that Kiri had yet to join them, as she had promised the day before that she would assist. Mo'at clicked her tongue and shook her head before sending Kayla out to find the girl and Kayla happily obeyed. The sky was growing dark as an eclipse was beginning to form when the female marine found Kiri near the edge of the camp, legs swinging off the end of the mountain while braiding bits of her hair and integrating some beads into the entanglements. Her eyes were focused on the braids, but they still looked as though they were hundreds of miles away, deep in thought.

"Hey, Kiri," Kayla had called out so as not to spook her eldest niece, "Mind if I join you?"

Kiri didn't look up and instead motioned to the open spot on the ground beside her, "Please do."

Kayla idly stepped over to the edge and carefully sat down beside her, swinging her legs beside Kiri's. They sat in silence while Kiri braided parts of her hair and Kayla leaned back on her hands to stare up at the stars. "So. Why are we out here instead of helping your grandmother?"

The girl hissed, mostly to herself, as if cringing at her own mistake, "I forgot I wanted to help. Maybe we should just head back--"

"No, no. This is much more interesting," Kayla earns a laugh from the young girl and smiles softly, "What's distracting you today?"

"I went to see my mom today and watched some of her old video logs."

"Yeah?"

"I was watching a video I hadn't seen yet. She briefly mentioned her life back on Earth and it just got me thinking about... whether or not she might have had family still there. What if I have family on Earth? I don't know, it just got me thinking..."

Her hands pull out of her braids and rest on her lap, eyes staring down at her swinging legs with a forlorn gaze. Kayla watched as Kiri's ears and tail lowered as her thoughts likely darken in her mind. Despite coming to terms with the fact that she never learned how to deal with depressed children, Kayla spoke from experience, remembering the days she was once as young and lonely as Kiri, "You know, I read your mom's book."

One of Kiri's ears twitched in Kayla's direction, still unable to look up from her feet, "Really?"

"Yeah. I have a copy back in my room at Bridgehead. Maybe one day I'll be able to get it to ya."

"What's her writing like?"

"Intelligent and informative." Kayla hums while looking up at the sky, "There's a fascination and a bit of sarcasm in there. Doctor Augustine is definitely one of those women who know they're the smartest in the room and is annoyed at the fact that she's surrounded by idiots."

Kiri huffed a small laugh, lips turning up into a gentle, sweet smile as she craned her neck up to also watch the stars, "I wonder if I would be anything like her if she was alive to raise me."

"And what's wrong with how you are now?" Kiri visibly winced at the question and so the older woman backtracked, "Sorry. You don't have to tell me." 

She decides to approach the subject from a different angle by using distraction as her tactic. Kayla's voice changes a pitch, indicating a change in conversation, "Hey, could you help me out with something?"

Kiri shrugged, "Sure."

"Could you tell me which star is Earth?"

Kiri finally looks back at her aunt, eyebrows furrowing oddly at her before looking back up at the sky. She searches for a moment, her eyes darting over the inky canvas surrounding her homeworld as she finally spots the star her father has pointed out to her several times before. She raises her own hand to point it out as well, "That one."

"Thanks."

When Kiri looked back at the older woman, she found Kayla staring up at the star she had pinpointed, a vulnerable expression the teenager couldn't quite figure out, "... Do you miss someone there?"

"No, but I miss the planet. At least a little bit. I think I just like being able to see it, even if it's from afar instead of up close. It's comforting," Kayla lowered her gaze from the stars above to Kiri, even depicting the small star constellations scattered across the teen's face, "Kinda like how you are with your mom's avatar. So close but so far away."

Kiri's eyes widen briefly before she turned away, biting her lip to refrain from sniffling when her eyes began to grow warm and blurry. Kayla's hand reaches out and hesitantly rests on the girl's shoulder, "We all miss home, kiddo, even the parts we never got to know."

"... Thanks, Auntie."

It's a strange title, one that Kayla was trying to get used to as the kids started to call her that more and more. She awkwardly tried responding, "Sure thing."

They go back to star gazing after Kiri managed to tame her tears. The girl watches the sky with her new comfort in the form of her aunt's words blanketing with an aura of safety and understanding between them. Without looking back at Kayla, Kiri spoke the motto she knew since she could learn to talk, "Sullys stick together, right?"

Had she looked, she would've seen Kayla's entire body bristle at those words, sucking in a sharp breath as quietly as she could. The phrase haunted the woman's dreams and now followed her everywhere she went. Who knew that she would have to travel to an entirely different planet before she would hear those words again? Envy and resentment invade her senses, skin prickling with anger as she tried to visibly contain the bomb going off in her head so Kiri couldn't see. Her voice is tight when she responds, like a rubberband about to snap, all the while years' worth of betrayal start rushing back to the forefront of Kayla's mind, but not directed at the poor girl who was unaware of the fire she had started.

"Yeah. Right."

A/N: 'a new leaf part two' will be out soon and then it'll be onto the events of the Way of Water! Please let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

[totesnothere04]

Unexpected Turn of Events Pt.4

Tonowari x Fem!Reader

I do not own any of the fanart or screenshots used with my stories.

Contains smut reader's discretion is advised.

Slight mention of mating kink, primal urges, oral (f receiving), fingering, mating press, very vulgar language.

Pt.3 here. Pt.5 here.

It had been about two and a half weeks since Tonowari had started courting you. Two and a half weeks of all of your friends teasing you by calling you Tsahík. Two and a half weeks of near bliss as Neytiri started to introduce you to Na'vi traditions. She started helping you make your song cord and learning to make things to court Tonowari in return. Currently, you were putting the finishing touches on a spear that both Neytiri and Jake were helping you craft. It wasn't for you, it was for Tonowari. You wanted it to be perfect for him, and to reflect the strong and wise leader that he is. You started to put the inlay of pearls in the handle when you heard footsteps approaching your marui. You quickly put away the pearls and hid the spear behind some of your stacked belongings. You had just barely tucked it away when Ao'nung and Rotxo poked their heads into your marui.

"Can I help you?" You asked them. They both fully entered the marui and sat down and you sat across from them.

"We came to ask you for advice." Rotxo finally admitted and you were shocked. You hadn't been a big part of Rotxo's life in any way, so you had a hard time believing he'd come to you for advice.

"What for?" You asked them.

"Well, Rotxo has fallen for the Sully girl." Ao'nung answered for his friend who seemed too bashful to answer for himself.

"And you? I sense you didn't come here just for Rotxo's obvious crush on my niece." You say and Ao'nung blushes deeply.

"Ra'ina's eldest daughter has held his attention since we were children." Rotxo says and you smile lightly.

"Oh to be young and in love." You say with a joking reminiscent tone.

"Why didn't you have a mate then? You were old enough to have had one, and many children when you came here." Ao'nung said trying to shift the focus off of him.

"Human men were insufferable on the human base. I spent all of my adult life here on Pandora there at Hell's Gate. It was either unattentive men that were focused on fighting the local life or men that were uninterested in relationships. Having children with people like that was off the table for me." You tell them and Ao'nung scrunched his face up in disgust.

"The decision is understandable." Ao'nung said and you laughed.

"Alright but why come to me for advice when I'm still learning Na'vi courting myself?" You ask them.

"Well, Kiri is your niece, and you're good friends with Zyti's mom. We thought you'd know things that they like." Rotxo explained.

"Kiri loves nature. Loves to observe it and respects it and the Great Mother. Taking her on ilu rides and she is pretty traditional in the people's ways. Hunt, provide, show her you can provide for her and your possible future children." You tell Rotxo and he nods enthusiastically. "As for Zyti I do not think you will have a problem with courting her." You say to Ao'nung.

"What do you mean? Out of all the girls that throw themselves at me, she is not among them." Ao'nung says confused.

"She was raised by a mother who was pursued and courted traditionally. The girls that throw themselves at you chase for the future Tsahík mantle, not you. Zyti prefers for you to go to her, and she revels in the feeling of security. So I tell you the same thing I told Rotxo. Prove to her that you can provide, but one big difference between her and Kiri... Zyti loves small heartfelt gifts. A necklace, a shell, a pearl, or a pretty rock. Does any of what I just said help in your pursuit?" You ask them. Rotxo nods happily and Ao'nung cracks a small smile and nods. "Then go, go and pursue your mates of choice." You say, but the boys look at eachother and smirk.

"Let us help you finish the spear for my father." Ao'nung said and you felt shock run through your body.

"Jake or Neytiri?" You ask them.

"Lo'ak." Rotxo says and you groan.

"I need to finish it on my own. I want to show that I'm a good choice for his mate." You say and Ao'nung rolls his eyes.

"You are already a prime choice for Tsahík. Father will love anything you give him. You helped us let us help you." Ao'nung says and you sigh then stand up. You retrieve the bag of pearls and the spear. You set it down in between you and you started to continue to place the pearls in the wooden pockets you carved for them to go into. Ao'nung and Rotxo were in awe of your craftsmanship. Both of the boys were admiring the designs and embellishments on the spear.

"Ao'nung is right. Olo'eyktan will love this." Rotxo says.

"It is not finished yet. I still have to finish putting in the pearls and the clear waterproof adhesive. Don't even get me started on the handle wrap yet." You say as you focus on the pearls and ensure their placement.

"You do realize the implications of giving this to my father?" Ao'nung asked in a soft voice.

"Yes. It means that I choose him. Which I do choose him." You tell them truthfully.

"She'd be your new mom Ao'nung." Rotxo said.

"I do not seek to replace a parent." You say while still preoccupied. "I seek to provide a stability that I did not have with my own parents. Though neither of my parents passed." You said absent-mindedly.

"What do you mean?" Ao'nung asked as his curiosity was piqued.

"On Earth, you don't mate for life. Humans have a system called marriage, but it is a bond that can be severed if they so wish. My father cheated on my mother and she severed their marriage. I haven't seen my father since I was only 10." You told them and finished with the pearls, and picked up the clear adhesive mixture that was as close to epoxy as you could get. You started to apply it to the handle as you listened to the boys talk shit about Earth. You had to hold in your laughter so you wouldn't waste any by spilling it.

"But what about your Mom? Isn't she sad that you aren't on Earth with her?" Rotxo questioned.

"She was in one of the first groups to land on Pandora. She had gone back to Earth to marry my father then she had me and decided to stay until I was a little older. After she and my father divorced she came back to Pandora, and I was left in my grandmother's care. My mom was an amazing woman and constantly fought with our bosses to save Pandora from Earth's fate. She was shot and died from her injuries when we were trying to escape from the human base in the forest. Her name was Grace. Grace Augustine." You tell them as you weave the handle with the fabric you made specifically for the spear. "Huh, you two were able to help me concentrate enough to finish this." You say and the two boys look very proud to have helped out somehow. "I just need to let it dry now." You tell them and leave the spear level so it can dry properly. "Now shoo. I have things I must attend to." They left and you turned back to the gift you'd just finished making. It would be a few days until you'd be able to give it to him because it needed to dry. You could only hope that he liked it, because of how long it's taken you to make it.

Waiting for the longest three days of your life was nearly unbearable, but the fourth morning you woke up and checked it to make sure it was dry. When you realized it was dry you nearly jumped from excitement and anticipation. It was barely dawn and you knew Tonowari would be coming by soon. He always grabbed healing herbs before he would go on bigger hunts. You readied a pouch of the herbs and waited for his arrival. Not long after you heard a knock on your marui and you turned to find Tonowari standing there. However. You were confused when you didn't find any of his hunting gear.

"Good morning, ma 'Wari." You say and he cracks his usual smile.

"Good morning, ma (Y/n)." He says as he leans down and plants a kiss on your cheek.

"Close your eyes." You say excitedly and he quirks a brow in question. "Please trust me." You say and he closes his eyes. You pick the spear up gently and hold it flat in both of your hands infront of him. "Open them." You say and he does so. The moment his eyes land on the spear in your hands he seems taken aback.

"Did you make this for me?" Wari asks and you blush and nod.

"Yes, I did." You tell him and he looks directly into your eyes.

"You know what this implies?" He asks to make sure you understood what you were saying.

"Yes, yawne. I want you to know that I choose you." You tell him and he finally takes the spear from your hands and looks closely at the handle.

"It is beautiful ma muntxä." Tonowari compliments and your ears perk up as he says that. "I accept your offering and have been preparing my home for days to accept it." He says and you look up at him surprised.

"Who told you I was making this?" You asked him.

"Jake does not speak softly." Tonowari says feeling a little bad that your surprise was ruined. "Come. Let us spread the news." He takes your hand and leads you through the village. You both stood at the entrance of Jake's marui where his family was still suffering from early morning grogginess. Tonowari knocks on the entrance and everyone turns to look at the two of you. Their eyes flick over to the spear in his hand.

"Good morning Olo'eyktan." Neytiri greets him first.

"A good morning it is. I have accepted her gift." Tonowari shows off the spear and Jake trips over his own feet to be able to get a closer look. "We are to mate before Eywa at eclipse." Tonowari announces. Kiri, Lo'ak, and Neteyam look at each other then run over to give you a hug.

"Mom would be so proud of you (Y/n)." Kiri acknowledges and you sigh sadly. You both technically had different mothers so you tended to keep your relationship more toward Aunt and niece. After you were evolved Kiri took to referring to you more as her sister. Beforehand you would've shot down the idea, but now you were Na'vi. You had more in common now.

"I know. I just wish I would've been able to save her. More for your sake than my own." You tell Kiri and she dives back into your chest for another hug.

"Come! We must retrieve Tsireya and Ra'ina to prepare you!" Kiri says then grabs your hand and Neytiri who was holding Tuk. You yelped a little as you were dragged behind the excited teen in the direction of Tonowari's marui. Kiri barely knocked on the entry frame before she was barging in dragging you and her mother behind her. The two teens inside were slightly confused but accepted the intrusion.

"What's going on?" Tsireya asked.

"He accepted her gift and they are to mate infront of Eywa at eclipse!" Kiri said excitedly and Tsireya jumped up.

"Really?" She asked and you nodded. Tsireya and Ao'nung both ran into your arms to embrace you in a hug.

"Come we have much to prepare you for." Neytiri said and she sent Kiri with Tsireya to retrieve Ra'ina while you went with her and Tuk to your marui.

The day was filled with celebrations, bestowing of titles, and preparation of your appearance. It was all a big blur until eclipse started to approach and you were nervous. Your nerves were slightly cleared when Neteyam told you that Tonowari would show the spear you made to anyone who seemed interested in it. When you reached the water's edge you separated from your family to join Tonowari. He was taking you to the Cove of Ancestors to connect with your family before you mated. Jake had told him of the tragedy that befell your mother and he wanted you to feel like she was involved. You mounted his tsurak behind him and the two of you were off in an instant. You could feel yourself almost melting into his back as his muscles flexed and relaxed. You allowed one of your palms to lay flat against his abdomen as you tighten your grip around him. You felt him shiver from the intimate contact and he seemed to lean back into your warmth. When you arrived at the place where this journey started to slide off the tsurak with Tonowari following behind you. You both took deep breaths and swam down to the leaves of the tree. You grabbed your queue and connected it to one of the leaves. You were transported back to Hells Gate in the link room and you looked ahead to see your mom. She was grumbling over some paperwork and you couldn't help but chuckle.

"Even in the afterlife, you find a way to grumble over someone's reports. Whose is it this time Norm or Jake?" You ask her and she laughs as she looks up at you.

"Both. But let's talk about you, my baby. You're Na'vi now and about to mate with the Metkayina Olo'eyktan. I'm so proud of you and Kiri." Grace says and you sigh.

"I'm sorry I didn't step up into a mother role for her Mom." You say and she gives you a small smile.

"Jake and Neytiri were meant to be her adoptive parents. She was the same race as them and you weren't. It would've been more difficult for you to care for her than it was for them to care for her. Besides something tells me you're about to have two children of your own." Your Mom says and you smile when you think of Tonowaris children.

"Yeah Ao'nung might be a handful, but he's a good boy. Once he grows a little more he'll be an even better man. Tsireya is beautiful, smart, compassionate, you name any good quality and that's what she is. She's basically the spitting image of her father." You tell your Mom and she looks down at her watch.

"(Y/n) it's almost eclipse. You need to rejoin your mate." Your Mom says and you nod.

"I love you Mom and I miss you everyday." You say and she hugs you close.

"I love you too honey, but I'm never far. I'm always right here." She says as she lays her hand over your heart. Though her voice grows distant and you pull out of the trance. You turn and smile at Tonowari who returns with his own smile. He pulls you closer to him and connects your lips in your first actual kiss. He pulls away and the two of you swim to the surface.

"Come this way." Tonowari says and leads you over to one of the surrounding shores. "I am ready when you are." He says as he brings forward his queue and you do the same. They connect after the two of you inch them closer together. The feeling from the connection was surreal and the growing arousal between the two of you was intense. He leans his forehead on yours and you lean into his warmth. He reaches a hand up and tilts your head till you're looking into each other's eyes. You both meet in the middle in a heated kiss which leads to both of you lowering onto your knees on the floor.

"We can wait to try for children later if it makes you more comfortable." Tonowari whispers against your lips.

"I want nothing more than to bare more children for you." You respond and you can feel something near primal awaken in him. He works on removing his loincloth while you do the same. When you're both completely bare Tonowari takes in your body with hungry eyes. His cock was already at full attention and throbbing for any kind of friction. He leans over your body and starts leaving open-mouthed kisses and love bites all over your skin leading down your torso. Without warning his mouth attaches to your weeping cunt with his tongue diving right into your hole.

"Tonowari..." You moan his name on repeat like it's your favorite song. You feel something different prod at your entrance and soon after two of his fingers make their home in your womanhood. Your back arches off the ground at your impending orgasm and it's getting hard for you to breathe. "Wari... I'm c-lose." You moan out and he hums against your pussy. He adds a third finger and angles them just right to hit your g-spot and it sends you over the edge. He pulls away while you're still coming down from your high so you can catch your breath. When you look at him after you've calmed down a bit he's spreading your slick over his massive cock.

"Are you ready, my mate?" Tonowari asks with a possessive edge and you moan when he calls you that. He leans forward and collects your legs to sit on his shoulders. Slowly pushing forward until the head of his cock was probing your hole. You moaned in anticipation of possibly getting pregnant.

"So ready, ma 'Wari." You all but begged for him to continue. He guided himself into you and a low moan left him as he entered you. At first, the stretch hurts but soon lights the fire of pleasure in your body. You wrap your arms around his neck and your fingers bury themselves into his scalp. He was being surprisingly gentle, especially after you felt that surge of primal need flow off of him earlier. He nuzzles your cheek with his nose and inhales deeply.

"Beautiful. My beautiful mate and Tsahík." Tonowari says and emphasizes each term of endearment with a peck to your lips. When he finishes talking his lips make a permanent home on your own. His length dragged over every pleasurable part of your spongey walls. He was getting close and you could feel it as his balls tightened against your ass. He moved to get a better angle into you by getting onto his feet and pulling your hips up to reach deeper. You felt his tip hit your cervix and you saw stars as your eyes rolled into the back of your head. Your walls so suddenly clamped around Tonowari and he couldn't tell if he was moaning, growling, or purring as he continued to fuck you through your high. He buried himself deep inside of you and released with a guttural moan. This was your first time having sex in over 15 years, and it was Tonowari's first time since he lost Ronal. Neither of you were quite used to the feeling as he stayed seated inside of you, and you didn't mind. You felt full. So full and so pleased and Tonowari felt his chest swell with pride from being the cause of your current state of euphoria. Tonowari situated the two of you to lie down while he still remained in you. You rested your head on his arm and threw your left leg over his hip. The two of you were wrapped up in each other in your own bubble of happiness knowing you would need to go back soon. But for now you were content just snuggling on a shore in the Cove of Ancestors.

[galraluver]

How would Morvok, Sniv, Ulaz, and Regris try to impress a reader they’re interested in? Would they talk about their exploits or do something they’re skilled at?

That is an interesting question. Here's how I believe they would go about impressing the woman of their dreams (aka all of you, the readers)

_________________________________________

~ Ulaz ~

~ Honestly, Ulaz is the kind of person who would observe you first to make sure that you're interested in him before he tries to impress you

~ To him, romantic relationships should take time to develop in order for the romantic tension to build up, but once he's 1,000% positive that you have a crush on him he spends more time with you

~ Ulaz likes to show off his skills to you whenever you're around and he's always careful not to make any mistakes, the last thing he wants is to embarrass himself in front of you

~ If the castle is parked on some planet, Ulaz definitely goes out on a hunt so he can impress you with his hunting skills

~ He's also always there for you whether you need someone to talk to or hang out with, in order to show you that he's interested he's always present while he's around you

~ Ulaz also impresses you by learning about the things you love or are passionate about, that way he can do those things with you on a regular basis

~ Will definitely get a little shy and blushy if you do or say something, anything, that implies that you're very interested in him

~ Ulaz is a hopeless romantic and will impress you with various romantic gestures, but he won't love bomb you or come on too strong bc he doesn't want to overwhelm you

~ He's also affectionate with you, which works like a charm while he's trying to impress you

~ Another thing Ulaz does to impress you is fire dancing; he's never done it before, but with how flexible he is, he does it perfectly without setting himself or anything else on fire

~ He's also got regular dancing skills, which are extremely impressive

~ With time, he learns how to make you swoon for him and all of his methods work because it isn't long before he begins courting you

_____

~ Regris ~

~ Regris is still a young adult, younger than Ulaz, and even though he's serious most of the time he can get a little awkward around you, his love interest

~ Regris doesn't know what to do or how to impress you, so he does several hours of research to see what humans liked and found attractive

~ He begins working on various tech projects specifically made for you; whether it's something to make your life easier or something akin to an mp3 player that holds thousands of songs with headphones, you can bet he'll make it

~ In order to really woo you, Regris tries writing a poem and giving you flowers

~ He's definitely not a poet, but his attempt to impress you definitely confirms your suspensions about him being romantically interested in you

~ Regris definitely tries to impress you with his fighting skills

~ Just to be clear, he might try fighting someone if it impresses you unless you don't want him to

~ He also likes to impress you with how sweet and cuddly he can be, but he also treats you well just as any future significant other should

~ Regris once tried to perform a traditional dance for you from his father's people, but even though he probably messed up a few steps he could tell that you were still impressed

~ The fact that he can use his tail to lift things is impressive enough, if the two of you are out shopping he uses it to carry some of the bags

~ Thankfully Regris eventually figures out how to impress you without being awkward about it and is successful in showing you that he's romantically interested in you

_____

~ Morvok ~

~ Morvok knows that he's not the highest ranking commander in Zarkon's military, but he can be charming and to him, he thinks he's the best

~ The problem is that when he's around you he gets shy and blushy because he's never been around such a beautiful woman before

~ However, he makes it his mission to impress you after he catches one of the foot soldiers in his ranks flirting with you

~ Instead of fighting off a monster or bringing you the biggest kill he can find, Morvok impresses you with how charming he can be

~ He definitely brags about how many planets he's successfully conquered and how big his territory is, although he leaves out the part when he needed help conquering one planet in particular

~ Morvok also doesn't tell you about how the paladins defeated him, it's too embarrassing bc of the whole ‘Victory or Death’ thing

~ Because of his size, he's avoided most dangerous situations throughout his life, although Morvok knows how to play a few different instruments and he impresses you by showing off his mad musical skills

~ While he's around you, Morvok becomes a little more humble since he doesn't want to scare you away

~ Ultimately, whether you and Morvok end up together is up to you

~ He is cute and fun-sized tho, and he's huggable too

_____

~ Sniv ~

~ One would think that Sniv would keep pestering you when he realizes that he's romantically interested in you, but he doesn't want you to resent him if he comes on too strong

~ However, he does get more lovey and affectionate

~ In order to impress you, Sniv proudly tells you of his exploits and how many planets he's conquered in order to snag a place at the main hub

~ He also brings fresh kills for you on a regular basis and he shows off his fighting skills

~ However, he understands that humans are different and he impresses you by also showing off his sensitive side and how much he truly cares about you as a person

~ Sniv learns about your interests, even the fandoms you're into so that you both can ‘fangirl’ together when one of your favorite artists/directors comes out with something new

~ Another thing he impresses you with are his dancing skills when Zarkon throws a royal ball for only his highest ranking commanders and their plus ones

~ He's funny, too, and knows how to tell hilarious jokes to make you laugh

~ Expect him to make the fur on his head look extra fluffy because he wants to impress you in every way imaginable

~ With how impressive and charming he is, Sniv easily manages to impress you

[ladykailitha]

Fair warning this isn't my usual sandbox (giggles at the pun, sorry), but I feel the need to address something that has been getting on my nerves about the new series on Netflix Dead Boy Detectives.

That everyone is comparing it to Lockwood & Co.

Similar gets tossed around. A LOT.

And I think that comes from the fact that people are only familiar with one or the other and not both.

They see ghosts in England with trio of young teenagers, two boys and a girl and think "they're the same!"

Only that's where similarities end.

Lockwood & Co. is about a trio of ghost hunters operating illegally because they don't have an adult supervisor. They are all mediums of a sort (from what I gathered watching the show) and they can all see ghosts. Only the girl, Lucy can hear ghosts. Anthony and Georgie have only had the agency for about a year and are struggling.

Dead Boy Detectives is about two ghosts Edwin and Charles and their psychic friend, Crystal. The two boys have been together since Charles died in 1989 and are currently avoiding Death, Dream's (The Sandman) sister. Their goal is help ghosts move on, to solve their deaths so that they can be at peace.

Like Lockwood & Co. would hunt the Dead Boy Detectives, because that's what they do. Edwin and Charles would find them barbaric.

The Dead Boy Detectives actually like each other. Granted they have been together far longer then Lockwood & Co, thirty years to Anthony and Georgie's single year. Lockwood & Co. spend the entire first season (which adapted two books) lying to each other, talking bad about each other behind their backs and to their faces, and wouldn't trust the others as far as they can throw them.

But we keep being told in the series that they are the best agency because of the power of friendship. You're also basically shown any adult who tries to befriend any of them is the bad guy. And yes, I'm including Inspector Barnes in that.

While there are a couple of adults in DBD who aren't as they seem, but they do have two adults they can rely on on, Tragic Mick and Jenny the butcher.

Lockwood & Co. was canceled on Jan. 27th 2023 and Netflix picked up The Dead Boy Detectives (which was picked up originally by Max in April 2020 but they ultimately passed on it) on Feb. 24th 2023. Almost a whole month after the previous series was cancelled.

Plus anyone saying Netflix cancelled something because it was like something else, has never watched Netflix.

Their favorite thing to do is "Oh this popular? Here's twenty copies of that thing!"

I don't know what kind of numbers Lockwood & Co. got but in my opinion, the show wasn't that great. Plus as someone with photosensitive epilepsy let me tell you the bad lighting plus the ultra bright ghosts caused more than one headache.

They didn't set up the characters well, we got told more than we were shown, and there didn't seem to be any chemistry between the leads.

One thing in particular I wasn't a fan of was having the series backstory play out in the opening credits and if you blinked or looked away or even skipped them the plot doesn't make any sense.

But with DBD you have characters talking out their problems. You have their backstories told through clever flashbacks and even some spectacular animation. You have a moment between the two boys (which I won't spoil) that not only cements how much they care about each other. That despite everything they've been through, the jealousy of the other's interactions with the new people they meet, the fights, the terrifying cases they take, the people out to separate them, they are 100% it for each other (at the moment platonically though that could change).

This show has heart and charm and properly well-thought out villains and villainous characters.

They aren't the same and they really shouldn't be compared. Also... go watch Dead Boy Detectives. I really REALLY want to see Desire make an appearance!

[joyful-soul-collector]

ooh what's lockwood and co about should i watch it?

WAS WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO ASK THIS HERE WE FUCKIN GO BROS

So Lockwood & Co is a netflix series based on a book series of the same name. Essentially it's about ghosts and ghost hunters, but with a twist: It's set in our time, but not our time as we know it.

Basically, around the 1970s, ghosts just like. Appeared. For no reason we've been able to figure out. People would die, and their malevolent ghost would come back, especially if they died in a particularly traumatic way. They called this The Problem. The thing about these ghosts, is that if they touch you, you die, and if you make eye contact with one for too long, you become Ghost-Locked, which basically send you into a coma. We're not sure what Ghost-Locked victims see in this coma but they always look horrified so we can assume it's not great. There seem to be 3 types of ghosts: Type Ones are what you normally picture for a ghost, Type Twos can make illusions and are more powerful, and Type Threes are incredibly rare and they can talk and communicate with certain people.

Then there are the ghost hunters. Now ghost hunters are always children, usually teens, because as you grow older you lose your Talent, your ability to sense ghosts/death. There are 3 types of Talents: Seeing, Hearing, Touching.

Another thing about this world is that there's no Internet. You can see in the theme song piles of old broken computers, and I'm not sure it's explained yet WHY the internet was never invented, but we assume it's because of The Problem somehow. But this means that the newspaper and news on tv is mainly how information gets around, and any research done has to come from a library and books.

So basically in this world there are companies that pay teens to hunt for ghosts and get rid of them. The companies are usually run by adults though, so it's fraught with awful shit, they often treat these kids like they're just tools and not like they're actual people. Often the kids don't actually get paid themselves, because their parents can control where their money gets paid to, so parents will send of their kids to ghost war and rake in the money safe at home. Capitalism god ahold of The Problem and figured out how to make hella money of of it, so a lot of these companies that are supposed to help people are actually super corrupt and awful to their employees.

Unless of course, you're Lockwood & Co

These dorks look at em

50 years after the start of The Problem, Anthony Lockwood, the guy on the right, is an orphaned teenager who decided he wanted to start his own ghost hunting company, and the "Co" part of the name includes the two on the left, George Karim and Lucy Carlyle. They run their own 3 person company free from exploitation from adults, which other companies (run by adults) really really hate. Lockwood has a Seeing Talent, Lucy has a Hearing Talent, and George has a Touching Talent.

Basically, these 3 kids are hired for a job getting rid of a ghost, only they find out that this ghost is one of a woman who was murdered, and not of a guy who fell down the stairs like they thought. They look deeper and deeper into this murder mystery and keep uncovering shit that other ghost companies do NOT want them to be uncovering. Things that go beyond exploitation of kids, more murders, weird artifacts, things that might even explain the origins of The Problem itself. So Lockwood & Co decide they want to figure it all out, or die trying.

This show is heartwarming, it's funny, its mysterious, it's got ALL THE FOUND FAMILY VIBES and I think it's a real hidden gem in the piles of TV shows on Netflix. It's been in the top 10 shows on netflix for a bit, but I've never really heard anyone talk about it, I just stumbled upon it when looking for something to watch one day. All in all, yes, you should definitely watch it please please please do it, I swear to god of Netflix cancels this show I'm going to riot

[sea-owl]

I'm rewatching the first How to Train your Dragon movie for the first time in years and rewatching with adult eyes I can kinda see Stoick's side with his strained relationship with Hiccup.

Now, before I get into this, I do want to say that I do not agree with Stoick's actions and words during the whole 'you're not my son' fight. Nor do I agree with how he allowed the village's treatment of Hiccup. I can see where he was coming from, but I do not agree with it. I just kinda want to explore his side of the relationship since we have the whole movie for Hiccup's pov and his side has been discussed multiple times over the years.

Now I'm going off the movie itself first without the extra info the other movies, shows, and the deleted scenes give us.

We actually get a lot of Stoick's perspective from the first 10-30 minutes of the movie, we learn Stoick is the leader of his people, meaning their tribe's wellbeing rests on his shoulders. We know the island they live on has a problem with dragons. The vikings and dragons are in competition with one another over food and livestock. Plus, the village has been burned down so many times because of this competition, the vikings are constantly repairing and rebuilding. It is also hinted at that there is a food shortage which endangers the village with the upcoming winter where food would be even more scarce.

Being a leader is tough, and adding all that on Stoick's plate as well I'm not surprised he has this no nonsense attitude.

Then we add in Hiccup, Stoick's son and future chief of the tribe. Stock loves his son, you can see it even in the first movie, but Hiccup is also unintentionally a problem viking. Don't get me wrong, Hiccup is well meaning in his inventive way, but he still has caused issues for the tribe. Now this is inferred from a spefic scene. When Hiccup is trying to convince Stoick he shot down a night fury he tells Stoick "This isn't like the other times," and when Stoick is sending Hiccup back to their house he says in a sorta frustrated tone, "I have to clean up his mess again." This tells me a few things. One Hiccup's past actions has led Stoick to seeing Hiccup as childish and tells stories leading to goose chases. The second thing is Hiccup either does not take responsibility for the messes he has created in the past, not helping with the clean up of those messes, or if he has it has just led to, in Stoick's eyes at least, more problems.

Now let's add in Gobber, who is the middle man between father and son. We see him trying to reassure both of them. He takes in Hiccup like an uncle figure and teacher in the forge. He talks to Stoick like a brother and confidant, giving him advice. These talks with Gobber also highlight the communication issues and how little Stoick and Hiccup have been listening to one another.

Stoick's conversation with Gobber also has this one line that most would think is a throw away or an opening for a joke but I think actually is an example of why Stoick and Hiccup's relationship is strained at least from Stoick's perspective.

"I take him fishing and he goes hunting for trolls!"

Fishing is an act that can help provide. Bring food home to a family and a job basically. Hunting for trolls is seen as child's game, by the village at large, they don't believe they exist.

Stoick's main problem with his strained relationship with Hiccup is that in his eyes that Hiccup is not meeting or not taking seriously the duties he should have already started at least training for as heir to the tribe. This is further reinforced by how proud Stoick is by Hiccup's success in dragon training because in Stoick's point of view, Hiccup was finally growing up and taking his responsibilities seriously. This is also reinforced again during the battle with the Red Death when Stoick's pride seeing Hiccup lead the other riders.

Now, add deleted scenes and information we have learned throughout the series. We know Stoick and Hiccup had a better relationship when Hiccup was younger. They were more loving and soft with one another. This leads one to believe that their issues are a more recent development in the last 3 years at the earliest is my guess.

Now you might be thinking, but Hiccup is only 15! We gotta think back on viking times and culture. Hiccup is old enough to get married. I believe I remember reading most vikings, which were considered adults by 16. Not to mention, with the constant attacks, Stoick could unexpectedly die at any moment. Hiccup needs to know this information, and needs to take it seriously.

I think another big strain in their relationship is what the two represent. Stoick is old school, follows the traditional viking way. While Hiccup is the younger generation moving forward and adapting. It is gonna cause conflict, but as we see later on, when these two learn to communicate, talk and listen to one another, there is room for both.

Now Stoick is not without his faults and definitely has shares his portion of blame, but it is unfair to lay all the blame on him. He was trying with Hiccup and he did love his son. But he also did have responsibilities to the tribe as a whole that sadly was a higher priority to him.

[nikolaidelphiki]

Since a total of zero people asked me: here are my opinions on Palia non-romancable NPCs after playing the game for about 100 or so hours. And as always SPOILERs:

Ashura: You are my dad. You're my dad. Boogie-ooogie-oogie. I actually don't take to him as much as I should.The fact that he was the chill one in his family makes so much sense. He's such a calming presence. But of course there's the Regrets.

Delaila: Ok but why is she the few Older adult Majiri OG in Kilima? Like have you noticed that she's kinda the only one that's originally from the village? Like, where did she come from? Is she the real leader? Did she secretly take everyone out that she didn't like and replace them with people lured in my her homecooking? Things to think about.

Kenli: What happens when you don't give a nepotism baby a coming-of-age redemption arc. This guy is just trying his best. He likes sandwiches and cute fluffy animals. His best friend is the town priest. But despite it all man understands capitalism like no other (see Maji Market).

Caleri: She's a fav. Maybe I'm projecting but I too would die for my books and eat sleep and breathe in the library. Intelligent, unbothered by village happenings. Yet, keeps a detailed leger of each book bowers status upon the borrowed book's return. However, deeply unhappy with the cards life has delt her. I try to bring her all the glass bulbs so she can read into the night.

Elouisa: The only real G's out there. Sending me on impossible tasks to prove her theories and beat to cryptid allegations. Of course she's the older twin. Intelligent, bothered by village happenings when it comes to her projects. Still watches over her sister and cares in her own way. I love her.

Badruu: Comedic genius. I'm pretty sure when he gave up the bard life for farming, he realized he needed to put his funny guy hat on and has been spitting puns ever since. And yet despite the dad jokes, he asks me me, the amnesiad human for parenting advice. The absolute honor. Also, I just need to see him talk with Einar, PLEASE. The comedic fallout would be unmatched.

Najuma: I make the journey to Bahari Bay every day just for her. Because 1) thanks for the glider I use that every day 2) we are besties and 3) it's good to keep a genius that can blow stuff up on your side idk. We may have different types of Momma Trauma but we are still going to bond over it.

Chayne: I don't interact with him much idk. His dad's raised him right I think. Basically, caretaker for the entire village. Also my Shepp-in-law, grand-Shepp?? idk

Hekla: Jina's caretaker. A bit aloof at first. I also don't interact with Hekla much, but one day I'mma find out what's in the tent.

Sifuu: That's my Shepp! Also a problematic mother that doesn't really understand her child and yearns for days of adventure. And ripped. There's something to be said that she gave me an ornamental sword as a gift. Like insta-loyalty from me even if I wasn't romantically pursuing your son.

Auni: We babe who needed someone is his bug hunting club but mysteriously sucks at hunting most bugs if his item requests are anything to go by. The fact that he ran away from home for the exact length of time that his delivery shift is and wondered why no one was worried is absolutely hilarious and yes I read his journal and laughed.

Zeki: First of all, why is Zeki the only one selling toilets and they are contraband? Has anyone asked this? Is it like illegal to use indoor plumbing and Zeki has the monopoly?? Secondly, I know this fool is scamming me and when I finally get enough gold I'ma buy out him and his whole underground establishment. Respectfully, of course.

Eshe: If Eshe has zero haters, I'm dead. Just because she didn't get with the politically powerful sibling, she makes it everyone else's problem while somehow still efficiently running the village. Even I gotta admit no one's doing it like her. Another member of the problematic mom club but don't tell her she's been grouped with Sifuu. She'll pitch a fit.

Tau: The fact that there's only one of him is a crime. The only good boy.

[idledreams4]

"Would you really unfollow someone because they said they had a problem with fictional incest?"

Yes. And I will encourage anyone who thinks that's obscene to either block or unfollow me

I know that fiction isn't reality

These are characters. They do not have feelings, they are not governed by laws or morality, they are objects.

If I told you "hey I think a fork and a spoon should make out" you'd probably be like "weird, but whatever you're into man"

But if I dare say "hey I think Sam and Dean Winchester should make out" suddenly it's "nooooo!!! You can't do that!!!! They're related"

Guess what? The fork and the spoon are related too. They're both utensils.

You only have a problem with the second statement because the characters are human characters. This can apply to any humanoid or vaguely anthropomorphized character. Once something has human traits you forget that it's just an object.

Sam and Dean Winchester exist only in ink, film, and the minds of the creators and fans. They are not out there driving around in a 1967 Chevy Impala, hunting monsters and stealing credit cards to pay for cheap motel rooms.

You cannot police objects, and you cannot police fandom.

And you know what, since the callout post this is responding to brought rp/kink into it, I'm going to do the same:

WHAT TWO CONSENTING ADULTS DO IN THEIR OWN TIME IS NOT YOUR BUSINESS

That's all that should really need to be said, but allow me to continue for those who can't get it through their thick skulls.

Roleplay is FANTASY

What is fantasy? NOT REAL

THINGS THAT ARE NOT REAL ARE NOT HARMFUL

Murder? Rape? Assault of any kind? All harmful when commited by real people.

But me writing a story where Blorbo from Hyperfixation drugs, kidnaps, and brainwashes OC is not harmful because the characters aren't real

A BDSM scene where my partner ties me up and uses whips or flogs on me is not harmful because it is pre-negotiated and has safety measures in place to make sure we are both safe and comfortable.

If two consenting adults agree to roleplay as siblings or step siblings that is no different. If they want to introduce a parent/child dynamic all the power to them. These things aren't harmful because they are not real.

I'm not going to sit here and advocate for actual incest. Absolutely the fuck not. But I am going to keep writing stories about my favorite twins going on little dates, or being horribly codependent thanks to their mother, or just being flat out abusive and terrible to eachother. Why? Because. Its. Fiction.

Make sense now? Are we all on the same page finally?

Oh, before I go actually. Anyone who consumes media portraying incest and immediately thinks "this is ok and I'm going to do it" lacks the ability to critically consume media that the vast majority people have. They are not the average, they are outliers.

Anyone who uses media to justify doing bad things is pathetic, and a coward who can't take responsibility for their own actions ❤️

[ultfreakme]

im a zutara multishipper though i often feel like a fake cause im not as hardcore as most of em.. i forgot all about that scarf scene its not as memorable as I'll save you from the pirates is that probalmatic imeaniguess but it was a fun scene in the cartoon ..

. so many zuts are celebrating over a silyl scarf scene but i can tell there's higher chances of hell freezing over than zutara and i dont look forward to them going again We were robbed when it doesn't happen. i love being a multishipper though cause i was very well fed with zukaang

im begging shippers not to bully gordon over shipping and it is interting to note how uncomfortable zutara makes the actors prob cause they recognize Kia is a teenager and Dallas is 22 year old.. theres hooplah over how the age gap is fine cause she' ll be 18 and theres a difference with 11/14 vs 15/ year old met guy when he was 20. of course kia is uncomforatble with zutara she met dallas aas a child. but here we got people treating her like she's an adult already.

the way kia is talked about creeps me out and i still think about the people telling me im a fake fan bec i think maybe we dont talk about kias age like shes not even real. i do enjoy the fanart comig from promo pics cause people are super talented but sometimes . it feels that people are shipping Kia/Dallas more than zuko/katara

Hi!! Honestly it's fine if you ship even if things for the ship are considered 'problematic'. I mean I ship Zukka and both of them have genuinely wanted each other dead or gone for a good chunk of the show lol.

I think, and I'm not going to generalize and say EVERY Zutara shipper, but one thing I've encountered as a pattern of difference between Zutara shippers and every other ATLA ship shipper, is canonicity. Zukaang, Zukka, Jetko, MaiLee, TyZula, Tokka, Taang, none of them are of the mindset that their ship will be canon so no one has any real problems with these ships. But a lot of Zutara shippers I've seen on twitter at least are convinced that Zutara was meant to be canon, and this inability keep fanon and canon separate is what's getting people's hopes up. And when it's made clear that these ARE separate, there's upset. I've seen the same thing happen with multiple other shippers and ships across fandoms.

Being a multishipper sounds fun anon, and I hope you're doing well <3

You're so right on the way people act about and treat Kia. Dallas has on interview said Kia is like a little sister to him, and yeah people keep forgetting that these two met when Kia was a child and he was an adult. It's why Dallas and Ian are fine when they talk about Zukka or can joke about "shipping" them.

I've noticed that people are doing the thing again(in 2024 dear GOD), where they keep waiting for young girls to be "legal" to be fucking creeps. People did it with Billie Eilish, the Olsen twins and a bunch of other female celebs and artists. I just feel terrible for her and Gordon, and I wish people would stop being weird about the actors and take a hint because Kia, Dallas, Gordon- none of them are being subtle about being uncomfortable about zutara. The only way they can be more obvious is plaster it on their foreheads. I didn't know about people talking about...ugh I can't even say it, Kia and Dallas like a ship GROSS. Leave Kia and Dallas out of it gosh. I got an ask a while back basically saying people will stop being mean to Gordon if Zutara becomes canon and I was flabbergasted. Like, you won't treat a child, with respect and dignity, because your 20 year old ship isn't real???

I've said this before, but people are just jumping to make Kia out to be more...older? People saying she looks like Gordon's mom(I will hunt these people on sight she looks like a child). And it's this, intermixing of sexism and racism and colourism (I've seen people be extremely disgusting about Dallas and Gordon too about their appearance. Pretty much everyone who doesn't fit into Western beauty standards are receiving awful hate- Thalia Tran playing Mai, Elizabeth Yu playing Azula).

People seriously need to get a grip and start learning to differentiate between fiction and real human beings or this is going to hurt EVERYONE involved, but especially Kia and Gordon. It doesn't matter if Kia is 18, she DOES NOT LIKE IT. DALLAS sees her as a sister, like i wish people would keep that in mind.

[sitp-recs]

Hi! Ok so I'm in the mood for some drarry first recs. Like they are each other's first kiss, first dates, loss of virginity, etc. I'll take just about anything. Also dark!Harry recs. Where drarry are together and something bad happens to Draco (either he dies or ends up severely injured/in a coma) and Harry seeks out revenge on those who did it and turns evil. I know that's a lot but I'd really appreciate it. Please and thank you in advance!

Hello! I did a list for Dark!Harry a while ano but that might not be what you’re looking for - tbh I don’t think I’m familiar with fics where he goes evil to save/avenge Draco (would love to read those!) but I’m sure my followers can help. As for first times, here are some recs for you:

A world just for us by nerakrose (G, 2k)

Harry and Draco go flying and then…continue to go flying.

Draco at Nineteen by birdsofshore (E, 5k)

It's the middle of the night and Harry Potter is sitting on my bed looking distinctly weird. I've had some fucked-up dreams in my time, but this one... this one is something new.

Slip Into My Lover's Hands by @lqtraintracks (E, 6k)

Draco licks his lips. He shuts his eyes, because he doesn't think he can look at Potter when he says it. When he asks for it. "One finger?"

Night Changes by @writcraft (E, 10k)

Draco and Harry have spent years dancing around one another, but Potter’s straight and married. Until one day he isn’t.

The Eighth Tale by lettered (E, 12k)

Draco Malfoy tries to fix the past, but instead mucks it up some more. For Harry, it all becomes quite clear.

Welcome to the Broom Closet by incapricious (E, 23k)

Harry thinks he knows how his life will go: Become an Auror. Marry Ginny. Have a family. But then he sees an advertisement in the paper that no one else can see, and his life is turned upside-down. The Broom Closet: you can be anyone you want while you're there, but you won't remember it in the morning.

Speak (and may the world come undone) by @shealwaysreads (E, 26k)

The war is on in earnest, and the hunt for the Horcruxes has begun. Harry receives help from the least expected person, and must decide whether he can trust the enemy he knows best.

Your Place or Mine? by @l0vegl0wsinthedark (E, 26k)

"This person is so much harder to hate. And I’m supposed to hate Malfoy. How the fuck else am I supposed to limit this to just sex?"

Buds, Blooms, and Beards by @corvuscrowned (E, 27k)

Harry and Ginny have built an easy, happy life for themselves after the war. They run a thriving plant shop together, they have a great relationship, and they're definitely not gay.

I Bet That You Look Good on the Dancefloor by birdsofshore (E, 28k)

Harry felt lit up from inside as soon as he entered the bar. There were blokes dancing together, their bodies close to one another, not keeping a wary distance as Harry was always careful to do when he was near another man.

Romp and Circumstance by @wolfpants (E, 35k)

Since the war, Harry Potter has gone from Saviour to Scoundrel—not that he’s complaining. With a schedule full of gorgeous men, alcohol, and late nights, why would he want to change? Enter Draco Malfoy: beautiful, sharp, and completely untouchable. When Draco comes to Harry with a proposition to help him attract an engagement, Harry’s up for it—after all, how hard can it be not falling for his former nemesis?

Dwelling by aideomai (T, 83k)

Curses, James and Lily Potter ride again, several Ministry balls, a teenage Summer of Love, a grim young adult dystopian winter, a few different Draco Malfoys, secrets and the problems re: not having any, alternate lives, impossible lives, real lives, allusions to Dirty Dancing, and just because it's not called the Mirror of Erised doesn't mean you shouldn't know better.

Reparo by amalin (E, 84k)

Voldemort's final defeat does not mean Harry Potter's troubles are over; far from it. In the aftermath of war, he returns to a Hogwarts that is fractured and divided, but this is no break that can be fixed with a spell. New owls, fading scars, surprising alliances—and along the way, the hardest task of all, to live with it.

Far From The Tree by aideomai (E, 112k)

The arrival of Harry Potter’s children—snapped back in time, the children themselves guessed, twenty or so years—was the most interesting thing to happen at Hogwarts for years.

A Secondary Education by Thunderbird587 (E, 234k)

Fleeing the aftermath of his recent divorce, Draco Malfoy takes up a post as the new Potions Master at Hogwarts. At first he believes his hopes for a fresh start are dashed when he sees that a certain boyhood rival is on staff there as well. But Harry Potter is being weirdly nice to him, leaving Draco no choice but to play along.