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devieuls · 11 months

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ˋ Love Lessons .

Neteyam Sully x Omatikaya Reader ( ONE SHOT )

Synopsis : After years of friendship, you realize that you have fallen in love with your best friend Neteyam, but you decide to keep your crush to yourself, afraid of ruining your relationship. The only thing that gave you any comfort was the fact that Neteyam was not interested in any woman, until one day he asks you for advice to make his crush understand that he is interested in her.

Warning : SMUT MDNI - Bites, oral sex, canines, hickeys, unprotected sex, outdoor sex, light dirty talk, foreplay…

Lenght : 5k

Notes : I don’t know, I feel like I could have done better. There are some smut parts that I liked more than others, but I don’t know. I think I’ll do it again later, I also tried to contain myself in detail (as a test, but I think I will continue to write with many details)

NETEYAM: 22 y.o / Y/N: 20 y.o

NA'VI WORDS : TANHI: Star / Bioluminescent freckles; KARYU: Teacher

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As long as you can remember, Neteyam Sully has always been the person closest to you, covering your back every time you created trouble in the Omatikaya clan or got into trouble with your own family. Fortunately your parents trusted Neteyam blindly, after all he was the son of the Olo'eykte and as he grew up, his reputation grew with him, making him worthy of the trust of the whole clan. You could consider him your best friend, who understood and appreciated your rebellious spirit and so contrasted with his, creating a perfect balance in your relationship, as one gave the other what one lacked.

When you were younger it seemed easier to see you only as friends, but when you came of age you found it difficult to see Neteyam only as a friend. You had to admit that he had become a handsome Na'vi, an excellent warrior and probably the definition of perfection in the flesh, always teasing him about things like "You are Eywa’s favorite" and similar phrases. It was a fact that Neteyam excelled at everything he experimented with, so much so that he was the first Na'vi of his group to complete his Iknimaya on the first try, so you assumed he was perfect at everything. You never tried to make him understand your true feelings, intimidated by the fact that he would probably reject you and drive you away, ruining a friendship that lasted for years. So you arrived at the age of twenty with a huge crush on your best friend, watching in silence as the young Na'vi attached to him and flirted to become his companion and one day Tsahìk. You were heartened that he never told you about a particular girl, so you weren’t afraid to lose him yet, not wanting to realize that one day it’ll be too late to come out.

"Yn? Why are you so thoughtful?" Neteyam asked you as you walked through the forest, to reach your secret place where you two spent most of your time. "Mh? A-Ah, nothing, I was just seeing if there were fruits around to collect and take with us" You replied, smiling at the Na'vi near you, trying to drive away all the thoughts that haunted your mind. "Are you sure? If you need to talk to me about something, here I am, you know ma Tanhì" His sweet and caring voice was just one of many curses that didn't help your arduous feat of not thinking of him as a possible partner, but only as a childhood friend. "Yes" you hissed, forcing a smile and then turning away from him, bringing it back on the path before you. You kept walking for a few minutes and then you stopped because of Neteyam who got stuck in his footsteps. You looked at him worried, thinking that he had stepped on a poisonous animal that created paralysis or something like this, but then he turned to you with an embarrassed and shy look. "Ma Tanhì… can I ask you something?" he asked nervously, while scratching the back of his neck, noticing a slight veil of redness on his cheeks. "Umh… yes, tell me" you answered, approaching him, trying to figure out what question might embarrass him this way. "How do you get a girl?" The question hit you directly where it would hurt you most. "I-I mean, I’m asking you because you’re my only female friend, and I know asking Kiri would be the same as being mocked by all my siblings, and my mom isn’t the type to make that clear, saying things like 'follow your heart' or 'be yourself', so… I was hoping to hear it from you," he continued shyly.

At that moment all your beliefs collapsed like a house of cards, realizing that it was now too late even to mention that you had a crush on him. You didn’t react right away, your heart weighed so much that it crushed your lungs, taking away your ability to speak. After a few seconds you began to laugh, hiding your pain behind this action, hoping that Neteyam would not notice from your eyes that you were hurt. "The mighty warrior Neteyam, son of the Olo'eyktan and golden boy of the Omatikaya clan does not know how to get a girl? Really?" You asked ironically, knowing perfectly well that every girl in the clan would fall at his feet with a simple smile or greeting. "Neteyam, knowing you, you’ll just need to introduce yourself to this girl and she’ll be at your feet." your voice was a little tougher but sincere. You started walking in the forest followed by Neteyam who was trying to keep your quick step. "Let’s say she’s not like the other girls, this girl probably doesn’t even see me… Or if she does, she doesn’t do it the way I would" Unknowingly Neteyam was stabbing your heart repeatedly with those words. "Neteyam, c'mon. All the village women have a crush on you, you are the ideal type of all, so I doubt that 'this girl' doesn't see you as you would like" You snort while moving the plants to walk, feeling the look of Neteyam burn on your back and then sigh. "I’m telling you, that’s it. Y/n, you’re my…best friend, help me. Please, I promise I’ll cover you with your parents when you run off in the middle of the night, whatever you want" his desperate voice made you laugh, having never heard he beg like this.

"And you’ll have to take Tuk and my little sister Popiti out whenever they want. Plus, you will accompany me and Kiri to collect beads and objects in the forest" You turned to him suddenly, finding him a few inches away from your body. backing up because of the short distance between your bodies. "All right, will you help me?" he lowered his voice quietly, looking you in the eye while waiting for your answer. "Yes… Tell me about this girl." You back off before you start walking again, trying to calm your heart that was starting to run in your chest. Your tone was slightly cold, you didn’t really want to hear him talk about his crush, but as his friend you couldn’t even back out, not after he was always there for you. "Well, she’s… you know…" he began in a dreamy, excited tone, following the direction you were taking. "Perfect. There’s not much else to describe her with. She’s different from all the girls I’ve ever met, she’s kind, caring, and she loves being with kids. I know she’s a rebellious spirit and she likes to make things. is perfect, then her hair-" you stopped him before he could continue to describe her and go into pseudo-romantic details like the smell of her hair or the sound of her laughing. "That’s enough, I could throw up if you started listing the physical characteristics too" Neteyam laughed embarrassedly, remaining behind you. "Have you already come out? Or have you at least made her think you’re interested?" Your voice became slightly gloomy, and then stopped once you arrived at your secret place.

The place was lovely, you had found it as children and from that day had become your place, there was a small waterfall that created a kind of crystalline lake that connected to a small river hidden by high plains and thick nature. You and Neteyam sat on the grass to talk more comfortably. "No, I don’t know how to tell her or make her understand… I thought it would be easier, but every time I try, she doesn’t understand it or she starts laughing thinking that maybe I’m joking" he sighed heavily, and then he looks up to the sky. "And how did you 'try'?" Your eyes met his, trying to help him in some way, even if you would have preferred to do the opposite. You still had to realize that Neteyam could fail in something as easy as courtship. "Lo'ak told me to show interest, to be empathetic and to be myself, but all this I already did. My mother said that showing myself confident would be attractive, but I’m confident and direct in words, and showing respect." Neteyam dropped on his back and snorted, clearly frustrated by the situation, which you also noticed from the nervous oscillation of his tail "'Teyam, I know no one more respectful than you, as I said, you would be the perfect mate for any girl in the village." You admitted looking at the guy who was now lying next to you, unable to look away from his sculpted body, following every line of his body, enchanted by how his chest rose and lowered with every breath.

"Then what do I do… Why doesn’t she understand? It’s obvious that I’m doing something wrong in the courtship, ma Tanhì" his head turned towards you, looking at you while you were sitting and watching him, making him blush slightly. "Maybe start complimenting her, girls love that. Put your hand in her hair when you talk to her, like moving a strand behind her ear, looking for physical contact makes understand your intentions, especially by the way you do it. Oh! Make her laugh, if you can make her laugh, surely you have done most of the work" your voice was bitter in your throat, you were hating giving that kind of advice knowing that he would use them with who knows who. Neteyam as he watched you listening attentively and taking mental notes of what you advised him. " And be attentive to the details, what interests her etc… if you remember important events in her life or what she loves to do, it is a clear sign of interest. Plus if you have common interests, could you do it together, for example, she likes hunting?" he looked at you enchanted for a few seconds, then nodded and said "Yeah, she likes it" his voice lowered slightly, as he looked at you, hoping that you would understand. "Well, you can ask her to hunt with you. You’re a great hunter, you’ll definitely impress her. And then… umh, I don’t know, maybe be present in her days, even with a greeting, maybe looking for her look or bringing her something you know she might like. And be direct, let her know that you like her, maybe you take her and tell her, you create the right atmosphere… yeah, you know… things like that" You looked away from Neteyam’s, feeling a strong twinge in your heart that made it hard to speak again, feeling as if I had helped him get away from you. "What if she doesn’t understand it? she’s a good friend, and I don’t know if she’ll reciprocate" You clenched your jaw, maybe understanding who that girl was. Your mutual friend had been acting weird with you for weeks, and Neteyam was acting strangely the same way. Now all the dots were connecting in your mind. " He will understand, if you will be directed with there is another way. If it is not a skxawng. In case you make yourself heard and give her special attentions." You said with clenched teeth, unable to hide the annoyance anymore.

"Ma Tanhì," he whispered, approaching you, sitting again just to lay two fingers under your chin, turning your face towards him. Your noses brushed lightly as his eyes rolled down your lips. "And as actions?… what should I do?" his hoarse voice struck you in a strange way the back and the lower abdomen. "U-umh… Maybe you should… w-well" The breath died in your throat, going to create a knot that pushed down all the words that were going to come out of your lips. " Hmm? I should what, ma Tanhi?" your noses rubbed against each other again, and for a few seconds you deluded yourself that he wanted to kiss you, perhaps failing to realize what was happening. His eyes returned to yours, making you feel a flock of Sturmbeest in your belly. "L-like… kissing her" You whispered with a thread of voice, while his free hand went to move behind your ear some strands of hair, then caress your cheek with his thumb. You swallowed loudly, noticing how Neteyam’s eyes seemed so concentrated in yours, leaving you amazed. "Should I?" His words made you take a deep breath, feeling suddenly weak. "You should…" Neteyam’s smile caught your eyes, staring at his opened lips, which received a mischievous smirk. "Yes, I should."

Suddenly a strong heat hit your body, causing your heart to pump as much blood as possible into your veins as your cheeks burned. Neteyam’s lips met yours, his hands moved from your face to hold the sides of your neck, pressing the thumbs on your jaw. You stood by that unexpected approach, and then only realized it when Neteyam’s tongue pounded against your lips and welcomed it into your mouth. You felt his sweet taste because of the fruit that you both had eaten just before walking into the forest, you moaning in his lips trying to break away from the passionate kiss to catch your breath. Neteyam bit your lip, pulling it with his fangs, now moving his hands between your hair and around your waist, pressing your head against his lips making you groan as your flickering fingers grazed the hard skin of his abdomen. His warm skin contracting under your fingers, as if you were made of pure fire, so much so that when you felt more confident of yourself and your body, you sat on top of him. Your legs tied to his pelvis, squeezing him to you as he did to your body, shuddering when his hand that was once on his waist was now climbing up your bare back, making you arch your body like a cat. You trembled when he came off your lips with a snap that accompanied the sound of the waterfall shattering against the surface of the water, making you pant and gasp to regain the air you had lost. Your red face and half-closed eyes while Neteyam pressed your fingertips on your body.

You feared, for a second, that everything would be over after that kiss and that the embarrassment would lead you two to stay away, but your fears were swept away when you tried to get up from his legs and Neteyam prevented you, starting to kiss your jaw. In silence your bodies were calling each other, you felt the pressure of his whole being against you and new electric shocks hit your back. His soft, moist lips drew wet kisses on your jaw, starting to bite and suck down your neck as your head bent backwards, keeping your eyes half closed. His tongue was even more raw with your already sensitive neck, rough and greedy explored every inch of your skin, occasionally pressing his canines, panting raucously as he savored you. Letting sweet moans come out of your throat in despair as your fingers crawled into his braids, seeking comfort. The curious and hungry eyes of Neteyam studied your skin, feeling contentment in feeling the trembling and shivers he caused you, enjoying your heavy breaths and the noises you made to contain the moans, as if you could be ashamed of something he was trying to hear with such desperation. Your back gently collided against the grass when Neteyam stretched you under him, sliding his lips down your body, as his fingers gently removed the braided top that covered your breasts, as if to give you time to stop him if you wanted. Your eyes rolled backwards as his rough tongue collided against your nipple, and his hand crept in agonizing slowly between your legs, caressing it. You bit your lip violently when you felt the gentle and circular movements of his thumb on your clitoris, feeling the chills come down and hit right where Neteyam was playing with his fingers.

The red cheeks began to burn on your face, as you carried a hand to your mouth to force you not to let him hear your stifled moans, even if your hot body betrayed you. A smothered scream of pleasure instinctively came out of your lips when Neteyam’s fingers slid very easily into you. You suddenly felt airless, your eyes wide open and your body trembling, eager to hear what else he had in store for you. Neteyam’s hoarse laugh made your tail stand on end behind you, while the tip of your head swelled because of excitation, making you blush even more. "No need to be embarrassed, it’s normal that you like this, ma Tanhì" he whispered against your skin, making you arch your back again because of his rough pumping on your breasts. "Shh, baby, just… enjoy the moment and let me hear how much you like it" Neteyam’s voice was getting lower and slower, more sensual, knowing that you would like this. Swallow loudly when Neteyam made his way up to your thighs, leaving behind a trail of burning wet kisses, accompanying his movements with his fingers firmly inside you, which continued to move as if they were waves, making your legs tremble. Your sensitive breasts made you shudder because of the light breeze and saliva that the boy had left on the tip, and when you lowered your head to look for his eyes, you found him blowing against the bundle of nerves that yearned to be satisfied. You once again felt his tongue but this time he was working through your needy folds, loving the way one of his muscles could make you feel all that ecstasy. You whined as your hands went to clench the soft grass to find a foothold to release the frustration of too much pleasure, dropping your head backwards, hoping to muffle as much as possible your desperate moans. Neteyam looked for your face, eager to notice the impatience of your eyes and watch your face become a mess just for him, with the aim of giving you as much pleasure as possible, wanting to feel you up to bring you orgasm. He started savoring your intimacy, tickling your folds with the tip of your tongue, making you grunt as you clenched your teeth. When he started sucking, you felt something break in you, you couldn’t even cover your mouth as you groaned his name without shame, watching as he was focused on feeding on your excitement. Your hand again found place in his hair, pulling them and accompanying his movements as he gave you pleasure. "Look how wet you are for me, you wanted me so badly?" Neteyam said with sensual voice, between a lick and a lukewarm breath to make you shiver and whimping.

Your legs began to feel tired and heavy around his cheeks, trying to close together to stop feeling that tingling and flickering caused by too much pleasure. Neteyam wrapped his big hands around your thighs, opening them wider, locking them as much as possible against the ground below as his fingers sank into your soft flesh. His jaw continued to move between your legs with a heartbreaking rhythm that went from slow and gentle to rude and fast, making your walls tighten around his wet muscle. Neteyam broke away from you when he felt that your intimacy was wet enough not to make you feel pain when he slips inside you. His eyes peered at your body beneath him, still trembling and sensitive, touching your already sweaty skin, worshipping how you writhed and gasped under him. You could only take courage later, drawing him to your lips after your fingers hooked to the necklace on his neck. You tasted your own intrinsic moods in your best friend’s saliva as you embraced his body between your legs, rubbing his covered intimacy with your naked, feeling him grunting in your mouth. You smiled as you felt him vulnerable above you, taking advantage of that moment to put yourself on top of him, your back arched toward him to allow you to continue the kiss that was giving relief to both of you. You began to rub yourself on his still-covered sex, feeling pleasure when his throbbing muscle found space in your heat, moaning with pleasure, as your hands on his chest could feel the contractions and chills running through his body as well.

"Hmhm, I know something you’d like to try." Neteyam said as he wrapped his hands around your bare hips, observing the red and purple spots that covered your body. "What?" you whispered in response, as you detached yourself from his lips, observing him with ardent desire. One of his hands came up on your face, placing three fingers on your jaw and thumb on your lips, caressing your soft mouth, and then gently tapping on it. "Open." he ordered. His eyes following your every move, worshipping the way you obeyed him by opening your mouth and taking his thumb in your mouth, without breaking eye contact. You instinctively began to lick and suck his finger greedily, whining as you felt the slightly salty taste against your tongue. "Good girl, you already understood" Neteyam continued, as his hand on his side began to explore every inch of your body with desire. The Na'vi lowered you to the height of his loincloth and you smiled before taking your face away from where Neteyam was leading you, back on his face, sliding his salivated thumb out of his mouth. "Hmhm, here I decide, 'Teyam" you whispered to his ear, noticing with the corner of your eye his jaw contracted as your fingers find their way under his loincloth, just after picking up some of your moods still dripping from your intimacy, wrapping your phalanges around his needy manhood. You heard him growl after panting because of your touch, his chest rising and the frustrated breath of his nostrils against your neck, making you smile for the effect you had on him. Your hand began to slide up and down his erection with gradual speed, you felt his hoarse and rough groans against your skin, his hands clasping your thighs and his breathless breaths. Your lips went to tease the shell of his ear, leaving some magnate kisses or slight licks. When you felt quite satisfied with how he was also pining under you, you lowered yourself making sure you kept eye contact. Your hand went to move and later rip off his loincloth; Neteyam bit his lip and then groaned deeply when your mouth wrapped around his glans, starting to tease the tip with your tongue. Your head slid along his entire length to completely conceal it, immediately moving the head with greed, making him hiss and wince under you. The vein of his penis pulsed incessantly against the inside of your cheek, as he bit his lip and carried a hand to collect your hair in a tight vise.You felt his erection collide several times against the deepest point of your throat, letting you fuck your mouth by Neteyam, before breaking off with tears of pleasure sliding on your face. Your lips swollen and reddened, covered with drool as you tried to start breathing regularly sent him into ecstasy.

The pre-cum that came out of Neteyam’s sex illuminated your lips, making him turn on more to the vision of you with swollen and dirty lips of him. He took you by the hair and carried you back under him, and then he opened your legs and slid inside you with a facility that you would not have expected. You moaned breathlessly as his hips collided with yours in that way, carrying your hands against his back, beginning to scratch and tighten his skin with need. Your cheeks reddened that welcomed other lukewarm tears, your legs tight around his pelvis and the strong heat that at each push accumulated inside you. His tail wrapped around your heel, holding you still due to spasms of pleasure. Neteyam’s hoarse groans did not delay in striking your ears, as he held you by the hips, caressing your trembling thighs and twitching at each of his lunges. Your sweaty bodies colliding with every little movement, making you more hot and eager to consume you. Your lips met once again, growling at each other every time Neteyam pushed against your G-spot, your willows stirring each other’s hormones still stuck in your mouths. You bit his lips when he began to push and grind inside you shamelessly, growling at him before whining, making him excite even more as he purposely struck where your walls held him tighter due to sensitivity. You felt Neteyam’s body stiffen and twitching above you just before reaching orgasm and pouring out of you in time, then carrying two fingers inside you and starting to pump until you reach your peak shortly after him.

You whimpered loudly after the strong orgasm that mercilessly hit you; your heavy, sore thighs as your orgasm crashed into him and hot splashes of your cum poured over his hand. He gasped entranced, stunned by the lust and how your body looked so soft and relaxed after cumming. You took long deep breaths, looking at the green leaves so far away from you because of the trees too high, the sun that lightly struck the place where you were made you return to reality. You blush when Neteyam lays next to you, looking up at him too.

"Well, then…" He started, while you recovered with your hand the pieces of clothes to cover yourself again, hoping that you both would turn a blind eye. "Hmm…" You whine while avoiding his gaze with all your heart. "Do you think after all this, you realize I have a crush on you? If even this way you don’t understand that I like you, I don’t know what other kind of attention to give you to make it clear" he said casually. You shuddered and looked at him in shock. "Excuse you?" you whispered not really wanting to understand the meaning of his words. "I say, did you understand that you are the girl I was trying to conquer?" Your eyes met and you swallowed. "I don’t know how to ask you more directly than that, and don’t think I’m not afraid to ruin our friendship. But I like you, not just aesthetically, i love every part of you. I’ve been trying to make you understand this for six years, not that I didn’t like you as a child…" His voice was slightly shaky, as you watched him in silence, trying to figure out how to respond. "You never let me know…" you whispered as you blushed. Neteyam laughed and led you to lean on his chest, wrapping your body with arms "You really are a skxawng, ma Tanhì. I’m supposed to be teaching you. But how to figure out that someone has a crush on you." You hit him blushing while hiding your face on his chest. "Yeah, yeah, lessons from a guy who doesn’t even know how to come out and only does it after having sex with his crush. The great Karyu, Neteyam te Suli Tsyeyk'itan" You teased him and then got pinched on the hips by his hands. "Not that you ever noticed I’ve had a crush on you for ages." Neteyam looked at you perplexed, and you couldn’t contain the laughter.

"See? Other than 'lessons'. You’re more Skxawng than I am, ma 'Teyam."

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TAG LIST : @riatesullironalite @shadowmoonlight0604

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essektheylyss · 1 day

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One thing that I feel is really interesting and often forgotten about Essek is that fundamentally, his characterization has been from the start based upon his desperation for external perspectives and connection, which, along with much of his narrative and mechanical positioning, means that he actually has an extraordinary and almost (but not actually, as I'll show) counterintuitive capacity for both growth and trust.

(Buckle in. This is a long one.)

In particular, I would argue, knowing now that many places where the plot touches Ludinus have long been marked for connecting back into the current plot, that he was quite possibly built as a prime candidate for radicalization by the Ruby Vanguard. He felt isolated from his culture, he was desperate for other connection, and he was certainly of the type to believe he was too smart to be drawn into such a thing, given his initial belief that he could control the situation and the fallout. If things had gone any other way, he easily could've been on the other side by now.

As such, he has been hallmarked by being fairly open to suggestion, perhaps for this reason, but the thing about that kind of trait is that it is both how people are radicalized and deradicalized. This is certainly true of Essek, who experienced genuine kindness and quite frankly strangeness from the Nein and was able to move from the isolation the Assembly had engendered to meaningful and genuine connection, largely propelled by his own internal reflection. By the time Nein are aware of his crimes, he's already begun to express regret to an extent and, furthermore, doubt in the Assembly, including explicitly drawing a line against Ludinus, even in a position where he was on his own and probably quite vulnerable.

Similarly, when the Nein reach the Vurmas Outpost some weeks later, he has moved from regret for the position he's ended up carrying a heavy remorse. This makes sense! He's fairly introspective, seems used to spending a lot of time in his own head, and was left with plenty to mull over. It's not some kind of retcon for him to have progressed well past where the Nein left him; it just means he's an active participant in the world who has done his own work in the meantime.

This is another interesting aspect to him. I've talked about this a bit before but I cannot find the post so I'll recap here: antagonists in D&D have significantly more agency than allied NPCs. Antagonists are active forces, against which the party is meant to struggle; allies are meant to support the PCs, which means they tend to be more passive in both their actions and their character growth. Essek was both built as an antagonist, in a position that gives him significant agency, and also was then given significant opportunity to grow specifically to act as a narrative mirror for Caleb's arc. Even when he becomes a more traditional D&D ally, he still retains much of that, though he occupies a supporting role.

I believe that this is especially true because of the nature of Caleb's arc, which I've already written on; the tl;dr of this post is that Caleb is both convinced that he is permanently ruined and also desperate to prove that change is possible. Essek is that proof, because he is simply the character in a position to do so. But this also means that his propensity for introspection and openness is accentuated! He has to do the legwork on his own, for the most part, because that's where he is in the meantime.

But he still ends the campaign necessarily constricted; he is under significant scrutiny, he's at risk from the Assembly, and he goes on the run fairly soon after the story ends. He spends most of the final arc anxious and paranoid, which is valid given the crushing reality of his situation. It would be very easy to extrapolate that seven years into this reality, he would be insular, closed off, and suspicious of strangers, even in spite of the lessons he's learned from the Nein and their long term exposure.

So seeing his openness and lightness now is surprising, but at the same time, given this combination of factors in his position in the narrative over time and his defining traits, it's not by any means unreasonable.

But one thing that I found so delightful is how much trust he exhibits, which is obviously a wild thing to say about Essek in particular, given much of what he learns is both earning and offering trust, which was something he says explicitly in 2x124 that he's never really experienced: "I've never really been trusted and so I did not trust." It makes up much of the progression of his relationship with Caleb, and the trust that he is offered by the Nein in walking off the ship is the impetus he needs to grow.

But I think it's easy to talk about trust when it comes to people who have proven themselves to you or to whom you've ingratiated yourself, and that's really the most we can say about Essek by the time he leaves the Blooming Grove. There is this sense in a lot of discussion of trust (not solely in this fandom) that it is only related to either naivete or love, but there's far more to it. Trust at its best is deliberate—cultivating an openness to the world at large is a great way to combat cynicism and beget connection instead. It allows a person to maintain curiosity and be open to experience, but it can be incredibly difficult to hold onto.

It is clear that the Essek we meet now is a very pointedly and intentionally trusting individual. He trusts Caleb and by extension Caleb's trust in Keyleth, as he shows up and picks up a group of strangers from a foreign military encampment and walks in without issue. He trusts the Hells to follow his lead moving through Zadash and to exhibit enough discretion so as to avoid bringing suspicion upon all of them. He trusts that Astrid will respond well to his entrance, but he also trusts himself and the Hells enough to execute a back-up plan in the case that she doesn't. In the end, he even trusts them enough to give them his name and identity.

He doesn't scan as someone who has spent half a dozen years living like a prey animal, afraid of any shadow he runs across in an alley, withdrawn into himself and an insular family, which would've been an easy route for him to take. He scans as someone who has learned the kind of trust borne of learned confidence and a trained eye for good will and kindness, which are crucial weapons one would need for staving off cynicism in his circumstances—as if he has survived thanks more to connection and kindness than paranoia and isolation. (If we want to be saccharine about it, he scans quite poignantly as a member of the Mighty Nein.)

So it is easy to imagine this trust and openness as a natural progression of his initial search for perspectives external to his own cultural knowledge. Though he makes those first connections with the Assembly to try to vindicate his personal hypotheses, he finds in them exposure to the deepest corruption among Exandrian mortals, which could've—and did, for a time—turned him further down that same dark path.

But it's also this same openness to exposure from the wider world that allows the Nein to influence him for the better, and in spite of the challenges he's certainly faced simply surviving over the past seven years, he seems to have held onto this openness enough to move through the world with self-assurance and a willingness to extend the kinds of trust and good will that he has been shown.

(I would be remiss not to mention that I was reminded about my thoughts on this by this lovely post from sky-scribbles and their use in the tags of 'light' to describe Essek's demeanor this episode, which is really such an apt word for it.)

#something something hope is a weapon hope is a discipline hope is a garden to cultivate!!!#HE'S SO GOOD HE IS TRULY EXEMPLAR OF THE WHOLE PHILOSOPHY OF THE NEIN AND I DO NOT THINK THAT'S AN ACCIDENT #truly just like. enormous proponent of letting trust and curiosity into your heart regardless of the horrors.#it's hard and it makes you more vulnerable and sometimes it hurts so so much but it will also save your fucking life!#cr spoilers #critical role #essek thelyss #cr meta #I was gonna apologize for the length but I'm not sorry. I'm also not sorry for being insane about him but he's so special to me.#head in my hands he's so GOOD HE'S BEST BOI! GUIDING LIGHT NORTH STAR!!! LOOK AT HIM!!!#also truly if i had two nickels for a span of time with no essek sightings where I wrote a lot of fic #with deliberate personal acknowledgment that I was writing some pretty maximal arcs for him in terms of character growth #and then end up getting essek for half an episode and having to go OH WE'RE GOING THAT FAR ACTUALLY. FUCKING INCREDIBLE.#yanno. two nickels. but good lord I am thriving that it's happened twice #augh this is ONE of the pieces I need to write this week. we're not gonna talk about it

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spoopdeedoop · 1 year

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when there’s gardens across our collarbone?? or soemthing??

(fanart of this awesome fic by pittedpeaches and my god this fic keeps me up at night i reread it every day i love it so much puts it in my mouth)

bonus doodle:

#my art #lmk #lego monkie kid #lmk fanart #lego monkie kid fanart #spicynoodles #spicynoodlesshipping #spicynoodles fanart #lmk mk #lmk red son #pittedpeaches fanart #a garden across our collarbone #idk if this scene makes sense out of context? but im tired and this took a week so idc anymore #essentially the fic is a soulmate au where whatever you draw on your body shows up on your soulmate’s #and im not a soulmate au fan but this fic changed the game for me man #TAGGING THE AUTHOR AGAIN BC I’M ANNOYING <3

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flowergardeninthewall · 2 months

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@smallchaoscryptid's Spiderbit week day 3 soulmates/late nights

The mark bloomed impossibly early in their relationship. As in almost on their first touch. Cellbit wasn't even sure he was capable of forming a soulmate mark. Yet as Roier was helping him stand up from being knocked, flowers started to bud on the skin under his palm. And where Roier’s hand was on his own skin, a matching plant starts to grow.

Hyacinths. According to the book on flowers that Tallulah had lent Cellbit they are hyacinths, the mark has grown considerably, enough to be able to tell what plant they are but the flowers have yet to bloom.

Under the flower was a story. The Greek god Apollo’s friend killed by a jealous wind god, and instead of going to the underworld his soul was turned into a flower and planted in the earth. A hyacinth.

The buds had finally bloomed. Cellbit had betrayed them, and they bloomed. Deep purple. Somewhere Roier remembers vaguely hearing the meanings behind the colors of the flowers decorating the inside of his arm. But he only remembers when he sees the hyacinth laid on top of the book addressed to him in the hidden chest. Regret.

It was easier to put on a smile than most days, everything was perfect, well almost. Quackity almost blew the venue up with everyone inside, there was a bit of a murder and Bobby. Bobby would have loved it. He was there, the sun was shining as always, but it wasn’t the same. But now? He was in bed holding his husband matching pink flowers decorating their arms. and maybe he could move on and maybe one day he would be able to smile for real.

Cellbit was angry, the federation has done nothing but lie. The bear has done nothing but laugh at him and his misfortune. Every single lead they have had on the location of the eggs has ran itself dry. He's tired. Tired of being used, pulled around. Laughed at by that stupid bear. He only sleeps when his husband drags him up to bed and flops down on top of him.

It's hard to pin when the flowers shift blue, they only notice it after they promise to stay by each other’s side no matter what.

The thing that drove him, let him continue to search was the mark sitting on the inside of his arm. His soulmate. The flowers had shifted and bloomed into a deep purple. Regret. It had changed to purple during purgatory when Roier finally couldn't even put the energy into bringing himself to smile. How could he? He broke his promise.

Not only do the flowers symbolize his husband, but shows that he is still alive, breathing, out there. He was still there, still alive, and regrets staying on that island. And that was enough. They were both alive, they survived, they still loved each other. And Roier was certain they would see each other again. He just needed to find Cellbit. Wherever he may have ended up.

Soul marks can fade, Cellbit knows this, it happens all the time. Flowers can die just as they bloom, but the hyacinths that mirror the now vivid blue ones blooming on his own arm are gone, they're not there on the inside of Roier's arm and he has no idea how to feel about it.

That's a lie. He does know how to feel about it, but he is never going to acknowledge those feelings. Instead, he is going to learn how to do a sick ass kick flip and maybe he can also learn to let that mark fade, die out and wither away. Maybe one day he can learn to let go as Roier did.

Was this supposed to be happy? I promise this was supposed to be happy it just kinda got away from me and yeah.

I wasn't even intending to do something for this spiderbit week, but uh my greater qsmp soulmate au has decided to whisper sweet nothings into my brain, and now im looking up flower language during work.

I love soulmate aus, and honestly, soulmates of choice? That's the good shit. I could ramble about this AU for hours.

#smallchaoscriptid spiderbit week #spiderbit #Qsmp fic #spiderbit week 2024 #garden of fic #Greater QSMP soulmate AU

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muffinlance · 10 days

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Next Dark Night in Ba Sing Se part! Is! Fully outlined!

...And so is the majority of series in lesser detail because oops my hand slipped.

#this is the Oops My Hand Slipped Series #so that's only appropriate #it's not the Cabbage Man and Toph part I was wrong that comes later #this is the Rookie With A Li Is Prince Zuko Conspiracy Board Gets Partnered With Li (Who Is Prince Zuko Oh God He's Going To Die) buddy fic #just some wholesome fear of death for everyone #going to let the outline percolate a little to make sure I didn't miss any plot threads #maybe writing later in the month? we'll see #going to go putz in my garden now the weather is beautiful and I need to kill the horrible creeping grass before I can plant #I have decided on ignoring the creeping charlie this year if it stays low and plays nice with the real plants than I can just #not stress about it for every after #I'VE GOT MY EYES ON YOU CREEPING CHARLIE #BEHAVE YOURSELF #the grass does NOT behave itself it gets tall and gives me PAPERCUTS and TICKS #DIE GRASS DIE

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alceayy · 8 months

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Echo garden chapter 42 fanart !!! These two have not left my mind since i’ve read that chapter (and also since i’ve started reading the fic almost a year ago 😻) @altraviolet hope u like it if you see this !!

#the echo garden #soundwave #rodimus #soundrod #i love this fic sm istg #transformers #maccadam

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bloomingdarkgarden · 8 days

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To Taste Wisteria in Her Lullaby

A contribution to @elriel-month 2024

3,2K | Angst-Pining | Azriel POV | Shameless Garden Metaphors

This one shot is decicated to @tealeaves-and-rosepetals, @wingedblooms and @deathsweetblossoms my verdant darlings. The other day we were discussing our admiration of Elain as a plant lover, and well, I decided that Azriel needs to do the same thing. Low and behold, who does he find also wondering her gardens in the moonlight?

Sleep is a word he no longer remembers.

It was always an elusive hope.

Now it evades him entirely.

A midsummer moon spilled upon the tranquil terrace of the river manor. How two seasons had come to pass in what felt like a handful of days, Azriel did not know. Solstice was long gone. Starfall came and went.

Both had faded like dreams in the ether.

And here he was, half the year gone by.

An evening breeze sifted through the garden’s verge. Warm, decadent, indigo-rich with the scent of night.

Elain was here, in these gardens.

Not physically. But in every blossom, every delicate unfurling- she was here. Her foresight and planning, her craft in the groundwork and choice of species. Her innate ability to nourish and grow beautiful things from a dark, empty void of soil.

From a dark, empty void of a male heart, too.

Nights like tonight were… difficult for him. Listening to pleasant banter around the dinner table for hours, contributing to it himself in a false effort to bury his own misery. He thought the need for her might ebb, after so many months had passed, or at the very least, the mourning. That cold loss of what almost was.

But the need lingered instead.

It lingered, and lingered, and lingered, always.

The eden she had cultivated in the river manor was nothing shy of extraordinary. An illustrious, dream-ridden world of wisteria, lavendula, lily and countless flowers Azriel couldn’t wholly identify. Elain tended these courtyards in honor of Rhys and Feyre, with the grandeur of the high court in mind. The blossoms chosen were a range of whisper-blue, lilac and starlight, every possible shade in between. Yet while undeniably lovely, the royal gardens were a far cry from what she chose to grow at the townhouse.

Elain did not know, but Azriel occasionally ambled through that garden, too, in the dead of night. The townhouse felt closer to her heart than this place, somehow. Closer to who she was intrinsically. A little less refined beneath the surface. Etched with softer, wilder blooms far more tangled and lovely.

He strolled silently through the furthest of the terraces, shrouded beneath high walls of ivy. A clock somewhere far off chimed three in the morning and Azriel made an effort not to acknowledge the implication.

Sleep is a word he no longer remembers, after all.

In the quietest hours of the night, not even his shadows could seem to muster the energy to stay awake anymore. They lulled at his shoulders, slumbering for the most part, tracing silent footfalls.

Which is why, as he rounded a corner lost in thought, the last thing he anticipated was colliding headlong into another person in the dead of night.

But there she was.

“Oh,” Elain murmured with soft surprise, halting her quiet steps.

She was only a half-breath away, just as taken aback as he was. The reflection of a night sky glittering in the sleepless chestnut of her eyes. So close that Azriel could count the stars within them.

They all looked as lost and lonely as those within his own.

She was clad in a soft champagne shift, a semi-transparent shawl wrapped around her slight shoulders. Her hair was-

unbound.

And the whisper of her soft curves could be seen through the moonlight.

Fuck, this was a cruel sort of dream.

His own descent into purgatory always began this way. With her, like this, in his arms. With his lips tracing a tender trail over every inch of her skin. With her being then stolen away from him by some cursed hand of fate he could never again reach.

Loose, natural waves of curl illuminated her silhouette in the dark hush of the garden. The need to run his hands through those curls would be his demise.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she explained by way of greeting.

Azriel swallowed, understanding all too well.

“I know the feeling,” he offered frankly in return.

Silence abounded.

Elain lowered her gaze momentarily, color blooming across her cheek. Azriel tried not to brand the memory of her this way- unbound, moonlit, and half-dressed- into his hindbrain for the next 700 years.

“I was just admiring your work,” he murmured, glancing to the nearby trellis.

A half-honest truth.

“I myself was doing the opposite,” she softly mused, leaning to study a stunning assortment of moonlily. “There’s much that could be improved, anyway. Though the rosaceae and mints have turned out nicely this year despite the late snow.”

Immediately, he knew Elain was exhausted. He could hear it in the drawn timbre of her voice.

He wanted to take her away.

Far away.

Somewhere he could be allowed to trace the skin of her entire body with the soft petals of her perfect primrose blooms. And whisper, all the while, that she didn’t know how to grow something that wasn’t breathtaking.

Azriel said nothing, ignoring the songs of impossible dreams.

His shadows were awake now, observing the source of those songs. Curiously peering at her from their swirling perch.

He could hear wisteria in the lullaby of her. He could hear tiredness, and soil-ridden hands, and an ache so deep it put the sea to shame.

The song of her was as siren-dark as it always had been. Deep, haunting, and killing him slowly.

“I can’t say there is anything I would change,” he offered, “about this sanctuary.”

Elain was always most comfortable this way, speaking of plants, when other words could not be found. Or simply remained unspoken. It was a language they both knew well after countless late evenings at the townhouse. Plants were always a reason, or an excuse, they had to stay awake all night together.

That, it seemed, hadn’t changed.

“Are there any that you admire most tonight?” Elain asked quietly, stepping down a long wisteria corridor. He followed, unable to resist the urge. They slowly strolled, side by side, beneath a rippling sea of violet reverie.

Azriel motioned to a cluster of delicate flowers on the corridor’s trellis with notched, pale petals. “This is one I admire often,” he murmured.

Night Phlox.

He knew as much from the library’s botanical volumes. Rich, detailed diagrams he was fond of combing through now again. He made a point to borrow those books every so often over the course of last winter. Just to know, just to understand the complexity of what exactly Elain was accomplishing that no one in the godsforsaken world seemed to notice.

Gardening was hellish work.

Elain finished her day bent, bleeding, and begrudgingly exhausted more often than not. No one seemed to recognize the toll it had on her. The least he could do was learn why she chose to undertake it all.

What he discovered, in the end, was that she liked the labor. She liked the marks the verdant battles left behind. She wanted to earn the beauty of a bloom, rather than being given it freely.

And Azriel began falling in love with her as a result.

“Phlox,” she offered, eyeing the flower and confirming his suspicion. “It has only just begun its course for summer, but soon you’ll see it everywhere I should think.”

“This, too, is rather taking,” Azriel strolled on, now admiring a pale blue primrose.

Elain nodded in agreement, tucking a curl behind her pointed ear. “Those are some of my favorites,” she admitted softly.

The pair crossed the end of the corridor, entering a secluded grove at the far end of the courtyard, lined with high walls of greenery. Azriel paused before a lush partition of fragrant, ivory flowers rustling in the wind.

“In regards to your question,” he murmured, “this is what captures me most,”

Elain’s gaze settled on the blooms and she swallowed, the moment hesitant.

“Jasmine,” she noted quietly. “Night blooming jasmine. Some call it poisonberry.”

“Lady of the night,” he added gently, looking at her now.

There was nothing in the world that carried a scent so lovely as that which lingered on her skin. This flower was making an honorable effort.

So there was no other choice, really.

He wondered if she knew, truly knew. And had a feeling she did.

Elain’s fingers brushed the soft petals. “What do you admire about it?” she asked carefully.

His throat bobbed.

“It is, of course, far more beautiful than the rest,” he said, brushing scarred knuckles over the jasmine stems. “But moreover it is prone to waking the moment the world stops paying attention. When all the world sleeps, this creature dreams,” he noted. “I find that rather…. alluring.”

“Alluring,” Elain repeated, a soft murmur.

He thought she might shy away, but she did not. He certainly would not. Not with her so near, and so decadent, and so sinfully lovely in the moonlight.

If that made him a self-serving bastard, so be it.

“You know more about plants than you let on, I think,” Elain muttered wryly.

Azriel’s mouth curled upwards. “You know more about most things than you let on.”

She shrugged, a grin now blossoming on her cheek, which might be the end of him. Elain was staring up at him now, openly. More pointedly, at the place just between his ear and his neck.

“You have them too,” she remarked.

Azriel swallowed, tracking her gaze. He realized she was speaking of the curls nipping against his skin, courtesy of the dew-kissed night.

“A gift from my mother,” he murmured back. “When it’s damp, anyway.”

His own eyes lingered on the ends of her long curls, pooled over her breasts, kissing against the small of her waist. Azriel craved every piece of her they could touch and he could not.

“I might also add that the scent of this particular flower is the only which bids me sleep at night,” he murmured, glancing to her beneath hooded eyes.

“Is that so?” she shifted marginally closer.

He nodded in return.

“Perhaps you might take some to bed,” she offered, eyes doe-wide. “I could cut a few stems for you.”

Azriel hesitated, but did not tear his gaze away. “Our High Lord may not approve.”

“Of taking a flower that soothes you to sleep?”

He swallowed.

“Of taking that which does not belong to me.”

Elain’s brow furrowed. She turned away, the rawness of those words having fracturing the fragile thing between them. He was desperate to have it back the moment it was gone.

She again regarded the wall of night-blooming jasmine.

“It’s true, jasmine has flowering patterns that are rather unusual. And if it is planted just days too early or too late in the season, it might wither before ever blooming. The plant is rather… delicate that way.”

“I’m not sure anything could quell the beauty of such a creature.”

Elain exhaled softly, bitterly. “I wish I had your confidence,” she uttered. “A great many enemies oppose the bloom. Disease, insects, unexpected shifts in weather- ” a pause. “I would have thought north of the wall they would be better adapted to the climate, but here, they face the same struggles they did in the human lands.”

Azriel measured the sadness in her eyes and hated himself for being the cause.

“Perhaps there are other foes aside from the usual elements contributing to their suffering,” he countered.

She looked at him keenly. “Such as?”

He swallowed, wondering how direct or indirect to be. And because he was exhausted and half in love with her, his brooding nature won out over reason.

“Invasive species taking root where they do not belong,” he muttered darkly. A terse pause. “Foxglove comes to mind.”

Elain seemed to bite back a laugh despite her own exhaustion.

“Yes invasives can indeed be problematic,” she tried and failed not to grin, “though only if the soil is willing to host them.”

Azriel swallowed, unwilling to muster a response that didn’t sound murderous.

Elain seemed to notice. And carried on gracefully, as she always did.

“I’ve found the soil of the night court rather unforgiving, anyway. When a plant roots here,” she met his eyes, “it is steadfast in its choice, no matter how ill-fated.”

His heart stopped beating for a moment.

Something aching reached for him from within her gaze, and it nearly split him in two. “What truly makes the bloom suffer most of all in the end is a lack of proper nourishment, Azriel,” she said quietly.

They weren’t speaking about jasmine anymore. They weren’t even speaking of jasmine to begin with.

He knew it. She knew it. And both seemed unable to look away.

“Why do you not find sleep?” he asked lowly.

Elain swallowed, lips parting with an answer that seemed stuck in her throat. She looked at him with soft eyes then.

“Why do you not?”

Silence followed. Heavy with sorrow and longing and all the rest.

“Elain,” his gaze shuttered, his voice barely audible.

“Was it-” she took a shaking breath, “-was it truly so wrong? So shameful to you?”

The words tore a true, gaping hole into his already-ruined heart. He stepped towards her instinctively, unable to keep from doing so.

“Nothing could be further from the truth.”

Hope bloomed eternal in her eyes and he needed to touch her again. The need was so arresting he couldn’t seem to move, on the brink of falling into an abyss.

Elain registered that need. And his inability to see it through.

So she took it upon herself to feed the need instead.

The bliss and agony of her touch was his undoing.

A gentle reach of her pale hands up to the base of his neck, resting her arms there as she twined his silk-black curls between her fingers. His hands snaked to her waist and relief coursed through him like nothing else at the warmth of her beneath his hands.

This is where she belonged.

Azriel lowered his head against hers, hazel eyes fluttering closed as that honey-rich, jasmine scent soothed every wrecked piece of him left jagged in her absence.

The silence between them fraught with a thousand lonely starlit nights.

“There it is,” Elain whispered.

Azriel murmured an inarticulate noise in question.

“The quiet,” she said, stroking the skin of his cheek. “How I’ve missed it, with you.”

She was incurably exquisite.

“I can’t,” he began, wondering if he was a fool for saying it aloud. “I can’t seem to share it with anyone else.”

“Nor can I,” she returned, without a moment’s pause.

A handful of words beneath the moonlight and he was already doing everything he swore to the forgotten gods he wouldn’t do again. Inhibition was a ghost on the wind.

Those gods had forsaken him long ago anyway.

He stayed like that for quite some time, with her beneath his hands. Listening to that blissful quiet. She stayed with him, hidden beneath the garden walls. Azriel had no idea how long they spent that way, but it would never be long enough. He opened his eyes again eventually.

And then, in those most endearing moment he had ever witnessed in five centuries of lonely brooding-

Elain yawned.

She haphazardly attempted to rub the sleep gathering in her eyes away before looking up to him softly.

He was ruined.

“I should bid you goodnight,” he murmured politely. His hands were still on her waist and they did not move.

“Should you?” she asked, taking her hand within his own.

This was by far the cruelest thing he had ever deigned to dream.

She pulled away, and every muscle in his body wailed in protest, though her hand was still wrapped in his own. Elain again studied the wall of jasmine with tired eyes.

“You say the scent helps you sleep,” she murmured. “You will not take it with you, so why not stay where it is strongest?”

Azriel knew he ought to contest, make some flimsy excuse, walk away.

“Elain-” he rasped, but the words went nowhere.

“Stay,” she whispered. “Just stay.”

Elain lowered herself to the garden floor, leaning against that wall of jasmine.

Two hours until dawn, and no fight left in him tonight.

Azriel succumbed to the pull of her small hand downwards. He sank to the ground, pressing his back against the wall of jasmine aside her.

Elain wasted no time. In a series of impossibly beautiful events, she curled into his lap- nestling her head against him and murmuring a sigh of relief as if she, too, needed this.

Her shawl was lumped haphazardly around her, so he carefully untangled it, wrapping it neatly before tucking her in close.

She stared up at him, and the stars in her eyes were no longer lost or lonely.

They were bright.

They were beautiful.

They were blooming.

The melody of her was immeasurably lovely, lulling his shadows back to slumber. A few of them began dancing over her skin, murmuring soft lullabies, enveloping them both from sight.

Elain loosened a soft, pleased noise at their sleepful sound.

“Do they always do this for you?” she asked carefully. “Sing you to sleep?”

“Often, yes.”

A quiet pause.

“Alluring,” she quipped.

His mouth quirked upwards and he ran a tender hand down the length of her back. As if this wasn’t a dream. As if she was his, and his alone, tonight.

Elain responded by gently reaching upwards to carefully tuck a single bloom of jasmine into the muss of his curls.

“I’d like to imagine feeling your shadows every night, like this,” she uttered, voice husky with sleep.

Azriel swallowed a low, strangled noise in his throat.

He took a long moment. Maybe two. She nestled closer to him, as if knowing why, finding his hand at her spine and encouraging it to stroke her all the way down once again.

“Do you know how often I’ve dreamt of you, this way?” Azriel’s words were quiet. His other hand now making its way to the base of her neck. He allowed his scent to wrap around her, truly, knowing he’d glamor it away by morning.

He wanted more, he wanted everything, but somehow, this was enough.

“I feel safe in my dreams with you,” is all she said in return. Sleep imminent in her voice. “I feel safer now than I ever have, I think.”

Fuck, that did something to him. Curled something low within him to life. Something male and possessive and needy and long since abandoned.

“You are safer with me than anyone else in this world.”

The words were a vow, carried on a dark wind. A promise that he would level the universe with cold fury to keep her from harm if need be.

His hand slipped to the root of her hair and her lips parted with a sigh as he tenderly rubbed the base of her neck.

“I know it’s impossible. I know the stars are set against it. But maybe we could just pretend,” she murmured softly.

“Pretend?” he echoed, his heart beating slowly now.

Elain looked up to him, eyes dazed with lost dreams.

“That we belong to one another.”

She was asleep in five minutes. Maybe less.

Azriel finally ran scarred fingers through her curls and savored every last moment as if they might be his last. There was nothing but the jasmine-sweet melody of her crooning in his ear. Pale and bright and spilling like moonlight over the darkest nights of his life.

In the last hour before dawn he lowered himself beside her, wrapping her fully into the warmth of his chest. He cradled Elain close, and she cradled him right back, hidden beneath a veil of greenery.

“Azriel,” Elain murmured, as the birds began their luting songs in the nearby trees. He hummed a quiet, deep noise in answer.

“I’m not pretending,” she whispered.

He pulled her close, closer than he knew was possible. And as the soft breath of dawn peeked over a far horizon, he did not let go.

“Neither am I,” Azriel whispered back.

#elriel #elrielmonth2024 #elriel fic #elain archeron #azriel #shameless garden metaphors #tenderness

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baiyubai · 16 days

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“Here, it’s my best coffee, you deserve it,” he said, pouring a bit of the beverage on the ground underneath the bush. “You are already doing great,” he added, feeling rather stupid. Well, at least he tried. *** The next day, the coffee-drinking azalea was a tad taller, Zhao Yunlan was willing to bet on it.

if Shen Wei wants to win the gardening war, Shen Wei will win the gardening war

inspired by The Art of War by @the-marron

#guardian #镇魂 guardian #fic rec #zhao yunlan #my art #I'm not a gardening expert so I have no idea how azaleas should look like so don't @ me

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devieuls · 11 months

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ˋ Moonlight ☾

Neteyam Sully x Metkayina Albino Reader ( ONE SHOT )

Synopsis : The elders told the clans that the children of Eywa were born with unique peculiarities and abilities, sent to the clans to bring wisdom and prosperity. But when you were born, no one saw you as a blessing of the Great Mother, but as one of the demons of heaven, being despised by most of the clan just for your appearance. But when, nineteen years later, a family from the forest arrives on the island of Awa'atlu, you will finally find someone who will be able to see you beyond your outward appearance.

Warning : Fluff (at the beginning), many sweet parts; SMUT MDNI: Praising, dirty talk, overstimulation, unprotected Sex, Dom Neteyam, reader not totally submissive a little rude but loving, hickeys, multiple orgasms?, Explicit content.

Lenght : 9.3k

Notes : This was supposed to come out on June 27, my birthday, but my friends have kidnapped me these days to go out. I hope you like this one shot, I really wanted to write it because I always liked the idea of the Albino reader, so with a diversity that I could adapt to some sentences about the moon (my beloved).

NETEYAM: 20 y.o / Y/N: 19 y.o

NA'VI WORDS : OARE: Moon ; YAWNE: Beloved ; TSMUKE: Sister

· · ─────── · 𖥸 · ─────── · ·

The elders told the clans that the sons of Eywa were born with unique peculiarities and abilities, sent to the clans to bring wisdom and prosperity. Therefore, these newborns were raised alongside the Tsahìk, so as never to lose their bond with the Great Mother.

The day your mother announced her pregnancy to the Metkayina clan was a joyful day, the clan congratulated her and blessed her maternal womb, knowing all the pitfalls she had been through and for her unfortunate infertility. Ronal was the most joyous, knowing that her sister had waited so many cycles before having you. You were a miracle, the whole clan thought that when they saw your mother, thinking that Eywa had blessed her for her infinite goodness.

Nine months later you were born in the water, because Tsahìk had a vision of your birth in the gentle waves of the ocean that surrounded the island of Awa'atlu. Unfortunately, like the sea, your mother’s labor was stormy, leading Ronal to think that she could not give birth to you.

"Sister, you’re losing a lot of blood… The only way is to save only one of you" Ronal said in tears, as he found a way to save both. "If you keep pushing, you’ll tear your body apart, ma Sorewn-" your mother stopped her before she screamed in pain. "My baby… Save.her!" She said with all her strength in her body as she squeezed her sister’s hand, looking at her displeased as the water seemed so icy around her and the sand so rough. After minutes that seemed like hours, you came to light, the warm waters welcomed your warm body that reflected the colors of the eclipse.

"Is she okay? Ronal… is my daughter okay?" These were the desperate worries of a mother who was giving her life to give it to her daughter. "She’s fine, ma tsmuke…" Ronal whispered with sadness, knowing that soon her only sister would be gone.

Your mother looked for your body, clutching it weakly as she looked at you with love "y/n… This is her name, sweet breeze… and moonlight, she’s beautiful, isn’t she…?" Sorewn died shortly after uttering, dropping her lifeless body on the sand, but holding your little body still warm, as if she wanted to protect you until her last breath.

Ronal’s screams were desperate as she took you flickering from your mother’s cold arms, allowing herself to cry on her body, knowing that her only sister would never wake up from that eternal sleep again.

The day of your birth was less joyful than the day when your mother’s pregnancy became known, even though the slight joy of knowing that the firstborn of the sister of the Tsahìk was alive and well. But the emotion and joy of the clan ceased to exist when people saw you, the white skin like pearls that were at sea, but associated with the typical complexion of the sky demons.

"She’s cursed," "a demon…", "Look at her skin." Similar murmurs struck the mourning Tsahik’s ears, who in response growled against the clan, silencing them as she continued her walk to her Mauri.

From that day on, nineteen years passed, Ronal raised you as her daughter, never stopping to talk about how much your mother loved you and how you were blessed by Eywa despite your white skin, loving you in the way Sorewn would. Your aunt often told you that you were special, that there were other people like you and it was the Great Mother herself who sent you, trying not to make you feel different from others.

Unfortunately, the sweet words of the Tsahìk didn’t help much, especially because of the children of the clan they used to tease and bully you when you were still a child, not stopping even when you grew up. "Daughter of demons", "Demon", "Cursed Blood" that’s what they told you, and slowly you began to identify yourself in the same way.

The only friends you had were Ao'Nung, Tsireya and Rotxo, the first two because they grew up together with you, while Rotxo respected Ao'Nung and your family too much to offend you, so he became attached like a brother. Ao'Nung and Rotxo often found themselves defending you from the village boys, and Tsireya did the same with the girls, even though she was younger than you.

You were often teased because of your sensitivity to the sun, caused by your albino skin, and because you could only get out after the eclipse, raising suspicions and rumors that you were really something like sky demons. For this reason you spent your days in the marui, distancing yourself from the world that seemed not to want to accept you, hiding you from evil languages and from those who just wanted to hurt you.

It was a morning like any other on the island of Awa'atlu, the two suns that blessed the beaches with their warmth, the children who rejoiced and ran to feed the Ilus, the screams of fishermen and hunters who called to bring the fish to the clan. But you didn’t participate in such activities, your task was to follow the Tsahìk and help her in everything she did, you were not the Tsakarem, but you were always told that you were special, that your connection with Eywa is stronger than any other. Therefore, just like today, your days took place inside the Marui of Ronal, while you helped her with some herbs and medicines that might have been useful.

The tranquility of the village was interrupted by some strange screams of call, and strong steps running on the sand to head to what was 'the entrance' of the clan, you heard some tribal screams and curiosity pervaded you.

"Ma parultysip, what’s going on?" asked Ronal, rising from the ground, to approach you who had looked at the door.

"Ma Tsahìk! Be careful, you are still in the first cycle of pregnancy…" yYou said, stand by the door, then walk up to Ronal and accompany her. " Foreigners… They arrived with Ikran from the sky" You didn’t finish talking that the matriarch rushed right where the foreigners had landed. You followed her both out of curiosity and to take care of her.

Once you arrived at the place, Ronal made room in the crowd that opened around her, you found Tonowari already standing to welcome the strange blue-skinned Na'vi. In the distance you noticed Tsireya, Ao'Nung and Rotxo, and you tried to understand the situation as you looked at them, Tsireya’s eyes made you realize that she was at least as unaware as you. Your eyes were immediately captured by those of one of the newly arrived boys, his eyes yellow as the suns, with some green reflection, long braided hair, a confident headshell and a body hard to miss. You also noticed the battle band wrapping around his abdomen, letting you know he was definitely a warrior. You were out of breath for a few seconds while you were studying him from afar, noticing that he also did not look away from you, intrigued by something, perhaps even enchanted. Your heart started beating faster, almost out of control. The butterflies in your stomach woke up, creating a strong tingling that spread into your body. The cheeks that were colored with a tender blush, betraying your expression.

You hid in the crowd, feeling insecure for a moment, thinking that that boy was looking at you because of the color of your skin and hair so different from others. Only to disappear because of the sun’s rays that were burning your sensitive skin, while Neteyam was looking for you with his eyes, trying to figure out where you had gone, fearing he had put you in awe.

The day passed quickly and you never saw that boy again, yet you knew that both he and his family would stay on the island, and that gave you a strange sense of comfort.

"Y/n! Y/n! You had to come with us to help the newcomers. Their children are very kind indeed and-" Tsireya said once she joined the part of the marui that she shared with you, still sticking to the main marui of the family.

"And? Let me guess, you like the younger one?" You joked, then noticed her blush and embarrassment as she hid behind her curly hair. "Oh ma Eywa… do you like the blue guy!?" You said laughing and then feeling Tsireya’s body on yours, trying to shut you up while you laughed.

"Y-y/n! Stop it! I-I" You stopped her still laughing. "C'mon, Tsireya, you’re 18, it’s normal to have a crush. Don’t think I didn’t see the way you looked at each other, his 'hey' and your chuckle. It was so obvious" She looked at you red again and then laughed with you.

"I was so obvious?" she asked, sitting next to you on the carpet. "Too obvious, ma tsmuke" replied smiling and then hearing everything she had to say about that strange family, assimilating all that information as she spoke with dreamy eyes.

"Oh, and I’ll be teaching the Sullys, the younger ones, of course… along with Rotxo and Aonung, but they don’t like the idea like I do. You should help me, those two idiots would be able to ruin everything and fight with them" You watched her take your hands.

"Oh… I-I don’t think that’s a good idea, I mean… No. I have to be with Ronal, plus-"

"You’re afraid they’ll criticize you for your skin, aren’t you?" she interrupted, understanding where your fear and insecurity were. "They don’t seem like the kind of people who would. You know, Neteyam and Lo'ak said that Kiri is a bit like you too, she is also connected to Eywa" you looked at her slightly uncertain and then heard the name of that 'Neteyam' echoing in your head with some interest.

"Neteyam?" you asked more about this person’s name than her whole sentence. You knew Lo'ak was that kind of Tsireya's crush, so if the math was right, Neteyam must have been the guy you made eye contact with.

"Yeah, he’s the biggest Sully, maybe you saw him. He was the one with the warrior belt and the purple loincloth… Long hair, tall, you know, right? The one who looked down at Ronal while she caught Lo'ak’s tail and hands" you blushed slightly and nodded, only whispering a subtle "Oh… yes, maybe I understood"

Tsireya looked at you weirdly and then looked at you surprised and smiled with emotion. "Oh! DO you like him?" She cheered, making you blush in the same way you did with her. "N-No! It was an 'Oh' to say 'Yes, I get it'. I mean, you get it. Not an 'Oh… that na'vi with hypnotic eyes', you know?" You started stammering and scrambling to escape that. "You never said 'oh' like that and then 'hypnotic eyes'. I'm screaming! You’re so clumsy now" Continued Tsireya, teasing you, then stopping when you close her mouth with your hand. "Think of Lo'ak! Girl, he rizzed you with an 'hey' and a smirk" you had taken it down playfully, just to change the speech. You continued on the same line until you fell asleep.

The next morning you woke up without Tsireya, realizing that she had definitely gone to give lessons to the newcomers, while you spent time with the Tsahìk, peeping every once in a while from the window of your aunt’s Mauri. "Y/n, focus" Ronal said, bringing your attention to her, "Yes, sorry, auntie" you whispered, and then you concentrated and watched her handle some medicines.

After a few hours you remained alone in the marui, since Ronal had to leave for commitments with Tonowari. Unfortunately, when you came to the window again, the boys were gone, so you dedicated yourself to classifying and arranging the herbs you had used for the lesson with the Tsahìk. Now that Tsireya was busy teaching the young Sullys, the lessons with Ronal had become heavier and more boring.

"Umh… is it allowed?" an strong unknown voice made you wince while you were behind, then turn around and see the guy from the day before. 'Neteyam', you remembered the name and looked at it while keeping your distance.

"Umh… yes, yes. If you were looking for the Tsahìk, she just left" Your voice was almost a whisper, because of your shyness.

"Oh, I understand. Emh, well, it’s because I needed something for superficial wounds." His voice was at least as warm as Pandora’s suns. He smiled at you slightly and you noticed the split lip leaking blood, and some scratches on his chest and bruises on his face.

"I’m just a student, but I-I could do something… sit there." You pointed to the carpet lying on the ground, and then you turned around and took some herbs to make something like a ointment. You felt his eyes on you the whole time, and you felt slightly uncomfortable, sure he had something to say about how you looked. You started mixing and grinding herbs with some liquid plant extracts, trying not to make you weigh his curious eyes. Not knowing he was admiring you enchanted.

"I am Neteyam anyway…" he began, interrupting the silence, trying to put you at ease.while his head leaned to the side to look for your look

"I know, you are the firstborn of the Toruk Makto and Neytiri of the Omatikaya clan" you whispered again with a thread of voice, without looking at him. " Your father’s title is great, all the clans know him…" continued you, hoping not to seem strange.

"Yeah, it is… What’s your name?" he asked as she approached, stopping when she noticed you drifted away slightly.

"Y/n. just y/n" You answered and then looked at him for a second, before you approached him cleaning the dried blood with a cloth, and then put the natural ointment on his wounds, feeling him wince slightly. "I'm sorry, it burns a little, it has some nettle plants inside it" Your heart began to beat more and more in your chest, noticing how his eyes did not fit even for a second from your face. He wasn’t looking at you like the other kids did, they were sincere and innocent eyes, slightly curious but definitely without malice.

"y/n? is a beautiful name, does it mean anything?" he asked curiously, lowering his voice just like you did.

"Gentle breeze and moonlight, so I've been told." You continued to whisper as you applied the ointment to his lip, keeping your eyes fixed on his lips, finding them strangely inviting.

"It’s definitely a name that suits you," he whispered, making you blush slightly before leaving.

"Why are you whispering…?" you asked to change the subject, trying to cool the fire that was happening on your pale cheeks.

"Because you do, too, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable with my tone of voice being too loud, so I turn it down" he said sincerely, as his eyes continued to explore your whole person.

"O-oh… no need to do it, i-it’s just my tone," you admitted a little embarrassed.

"Can I tell you something?" he asked nicely, always keeping his tone down, noting how you felt a little more comfortable with him.

"Umh, sure, tell me so" you wiped your dirty fingers from the ointment you just put on his torn skin.

"It’s just… well, your skin is-" you stiffened to those words, moving even further away from him as you stopped him from saying anything else.

"I know what you’re going to say… please, can you leave? I finished with the ointment, you should be better in a short time" your voice let shine a veil of fear and discomfort, making him feel a total idiot for having started talking.

"No, it’s nothing bad, i swear… your skin is beautiful, you are beautiful. I mean… ah!" He passed a hand in his hair, embarrassed to feel so clumsy right now. "I mean… you’re very beautiful, that’s…" he whispered in an even lower tone, making you blush.

You looked at Neteyam with flaming cheeks, while your hands were joined at heart level, observing him in silence. 'Does he find me… beautiful?' you asked yourself in your mind.

Your heart bounced through your chest as the boy’s kind words rang out in your incredulous ears. The insecurity that you always felt about your skin and appearance seemed to fade away for a moment, and a shy smile spread across your lips. That insecurity, however, gave way to a strange emotion: joy. A spark of happiness crossed your face for the first time, and his eyes lit up. You felt a feeling of warmth spreading through your chest, as if your heart was about to explode with gratitude. You felt seen and appreciated, and that created an intimate bond with the guy who gave you that unexpected compliment.

"Oh…" you whispered, finding no other words. Your mind began to sow doubts, making you wonder if the boy is serious or if it is just a way to joke, just as other had done in the past. The fear of being teased or misunderstood the boy’s intentions made its way into your mind, momentarily clouding the joy you felt. This Neteyam noticed it because of that light that went out with the same speed as it went on.

"Sorry… I’m just not good with words. But I think you’re really very beautiful, but I think that’s something everyone tells you, so you probably think I'm just one of many idiots… Then I go, I don’t want to make you feel any more uncomfortable than I have already done" Neteyam smiled at you shyly as he stood up to leave as you had asked him.

"N-no… they don’t tell me often." You whispered before you stopped him by taking his wrist. He turned to look you in the eye, smiling slightly as he felt your soft touch around his skin.

"Uh no? Too bad, you are the most beautiful Na'vi I have seen so far" you swallowed to his words and smiled shyly, feeling again warmth on the cheeks. You took your hand off his wrist and handed him a small jar covered with a cloth that served as a lid. "Use it before going to sleep and in the morning, it should accelerate the healing process of the wounds" He smiled noticing the shy smile you had made him and carefully took the vase from your hands.

"Thank you-" Before he could finish the sentence, Ao'Nung and Rotxo also entered the Mauri, who were in a bad way, worse than Neteyam.

"What… did you fight each other? Again?" you supposed, approaching Rotxo touching his face, slightly stroking his broken and bleeding cheekbone, passing your hand over his chest. Neteyam looked at you feeling a sense of jealousy being born in him, not yet knowing that Rotxo was just a close family friend, and that you saw him as a brother.

The boy began to talk with your cousin, being silenced immediately thanks to a nod of your hand, making him understand that they had to shut up. "Not a word. Sit there, right now." you said with a slightly more authoritative voice, making the two boys sit down. Neteyam looked at you mesmerized for a second and then took leave with a formal greeting that you reciprocated.

From that first encounter your life was in love crossed with that of Neteyam, he became your good friend and began to discover every little part of you, always interested. He knew you couldn’t stay in the sun too much and often asked you out for a walk or a swim when the eclipse was already in phase, and when he saw you during the sunny hours, he always tried to find a place in the shade for you. If you were sunburning your skin, he had learned to apply a ointment that Ronal always kept available in case the children or you needed it. He knew that your eyesight was poor because of albinism and that you were particularly sensitive to the great sources of light, and even in this case he made sure to shade you with his hands. In addition to these small things that inevitably led you to have a crush on him, the thing that unfortunately led you to spend more time together was the fact that you never back down to fight with anyone who offended you or teased you, therefore it had become a secure presence in the Tsahìk’s Marui.

During that day’s eclipse, as was increasingly the case, Neteyam looked out the window of your part of the marui. "Pss. Ma Oare, do you want to take a ride to the beach?" he asked you gently, making you wince with fright. "Ma 'teyam, one day you’ll make me die doing this" you said, blushing, making him laugh playfully. "I missed you, today I didn’t see you at all" his tragic voice made you laugh innocently, while hiding your smile with your fingers.

"But if you came to pick up Tsireya here this morning, and I greeted you." You replied, still laughing, while Neteyam made sweet eyes at you, not knowing that behind these same eyes there was a deep enchantment for you.

"It’s not the same, come on. Just an hour, then I promise to let you go." He gave you his hand, inviting you to follow him.

"You always say that and then I come home at dawn or when the stars almost finish their cycle with the moons." He laughed at your words nodding, knowing it was true.

"I promise, if you want to go home, I’ll bring you back myself. Just for today, please, ma Oare." You looked him in the eye for a few seconds, before smiling gently and nodding.

"Just because I want to collect new shells, not for you." To your words he smiled, content to be just a walking companion for you.

He waited for you outside the marui, giving you time to change and settle, knowing how insecure you were about your appearance. What you didn’t know was that he always found you charming and perfect, no matter what your hair or clothes were like that day, his eyes in love would always be enchanted by you. When you came down from your home, he was stunned, watching you without speaking, taking some deep breaths before blushing slightly and scratching his neck.

"What’s wrong? Are you okay?" you asked Neteyam, laughing, as you approached him, holding the small bag you used when you went to collect objects or herbs.

Then you start walking towards the beach, while you pick up some shells and beads that were on the shore or in the still warm sand. Neteyam undertook to look for the most beautiful objects to give to you, knowing that your eyesight was not very good and perhaps you would not notice them, inspecting the most perfect shells and the brightest and most colorful beads. He usually hated doing these things, categorically avoiding accompanying his beloved sister Tuk to collect items for jewelry, following her only when she was about to cry or when his sense of elder brother was turned on and worried about the safety of little Tuktirey.

With you was different, he was content to help you and follow you, really trying to find only the best and then give it to you, because he loved to see your shy smile when you saw the small objects he brought you.

Neteyam remained silent, picking up some shells behind you, watching you from time to time, and then finding you both sitting exhausted on wet sand. You soaked your feet in water as you squinted your eyes and bent your head back to watch the sky greet the end of the eclipse, taking long deep breaths, not noticing Neteyam’s eyes on you.

In his eyes, one could perceive a deep admiration. Observe your features with a mixture of awe and respect, while you look up at the stars, reflecting their own light on your skin. He saw your inner and outer beauty, silently loving everything you did; recording in his mind every detail, even the smallest, making it the main object of his attention, as if he wanted to imprint it in his memory. If only you had looked at him, you would have understood how much love he wanted to give you, if only you had understood that his attentions were not only in friendship, the way he took care of you and protected you, all because he had a deep interest in you.

There was also a touch of desire in his eyes, and he was slightly ashamed of that, because he saw you as a pure being. His eyes moved on you with a slight intensity, as if he wanted to discover every aspect of you, even the most hidden, where you hid your desires. His looks lingered on your lips while you were breathing, your eyes turned to the sea or the stars, or any part of you that fascinated him. It was a kind desire, born from the desire to know and approach a person like you that makes his heart beat. He cursed himself when his thoughts were lost in thinking about how nice it would be to have you, to feel your warm skin shaped by his fingers, your whimpers, whiny breaths, and your lips that seemed ever more soft and inviting.

However, the boy made an effort to hide his emotions, keeping a discreet and respectful look at you, because you deserved to be respected. And when your eyes met his, it might seem like he was just looking at randomly, with no particular interest, but underneath that mask was a whirlwind of feelings that kept him awake at night.

"Your father is from one of those stars, isn’t he?" you asked, pointing at some stars that shone less than others. Neteyam’s hand met yours and moved it to a blue star, slightly blurry.

"There, my father comes from there. It’s called earth, it’s a planet like Jupiter, not a star, ma oare." He said, smiling softly, while his hand remained wrapped towards yours, to show you the exact spot of that planet. You looked away from him to the point he was pointing with your hand.

"Earth… what a strange name" you whispered, slightly laughing, observing the strange planet. " Blue? Does that mean it’s full of water, 'Teyam?"

"My father says that once upon a time there were great forests, like those of the Omatikaya clan, but the people of the earth destroyed everything, letting the land die and be covered with water. It is now filled with large iron structures above sea level" he replied, not looking away from your face, noting your slightly glassy eyes.

"Once upon a time? Why would those people do that to their Mother? Eywa would cry if she knew that one of her sisters was treated this way." Your voice was bitter and you tried not to cry at the thought of constructions that replaced the beautiful forests and went to ruin marine life in that way.

Neteyam looked at you with a soft smile, you were so beautiful when you became emotional about things like that, they showed him even more how beautiful and pure your soul was. "Ma oare, don’t think about it. Unfortunately it’s another culture, they didn’t have the same connection that we have with Eywa. For that matter, they all spoke different languages and often fought each other. There is no peace in their soul, because they never approached their Great Mother" You leaned on his shoulder, nodding as he gently stroked your white hair.

"I don’t even want to imagine all that pain… it’s good that your father found peace between us" you whispered, only to feel the little shiver that ran through Neteyam’s skin when you leaned on him.

"Don’t imagine it, think that you live in a place where the Great Mother sees us and protects us…and that you are one of her favorite" he said, as he wrapped an arm around your body, sighing with relief in silence, realizing that you didn’t mind his touch.

Your eyes suddenly stared at him with a fascinating curiosity, as if they wanted to discover every detail of his being. The look was tender, intense and deep, despite being shy and lascivious. All the sun you couldn't take for obvious reasons, he imprisoned it and brought it to you, warming your heart and all your body, cheering up even your darkest days. Despite the great crush on him, you hid your feelings, keeping your eyes discreet and delicate, trying not to reveal too much your true feelings for fear of being misunderstood or rejected even by the only person who understood you so deeply. Whenever your gaze fell on him, you did so with an intense desire to make him understand how special he is to you, hoping to be reciprocated.

Unwittingly you were both waiting for each other, hoping that one of you would come forward first, sharing the same fear. But Neteyam’s heart was beginning to weigh more, after all those months of repressing every single feeling outside of friendship, convinced that you were destined to Rotxo.

"Y/n… May I ask you something?" Neteyam asked suddenly, drawing your attention. You nodded kindly, waiting for his question. "I’ve been here for months, and all the young Na'vi have mated with their mates, I was wondering when you would do it with…Rotxo" An innocent laugh ran from your lips, making your nose curl, while Neteyam watched you not understanding the reason for your laugh.

"Oh, ma Eywa… what makes you think I’ll mate with Rotxo?" you asked with tears in your eyes, caused by loud laughter.

"Well… I-I mean, I’ve seen you guys together all the time, during the meetings at the bonfire he is always near you, plus he brings you food and follows you around… Spending time in the marui where you spend your time" he replied embarrassed as he looked away.

"Yes, because his mother was my mother’s best friend, we grew up together. He is a brother to me, he does what Ao'Nung also does, he takes care of me but we are not paired. For Eywa's sake" Your voice was still amused, not knowing that in the same tone you brought the hope he needed. "Rotxo have a crush on Kiri, don’t you see him looking at her or buzzing around her? It just seemed so obvious. I’m not paired with anyone, my skin is cursed, it scares. The clan thinks I’m descended from one of the sky demons." You whispered as your tone went from amused to sad. You leaned against him again, to avoid his gaze. "I am not a good match for anyone, besides with all my problems inherent in my sensitivity to the sun, people increase rumors about my birth. My mother died in childbirth because of me, while my father ran away immediately after seeing me for the first time." You sighed sadly and then put on a fake smile when you noticed Neteyam’s eyes sorry for you. "Don’t look at me like that. The tsahìk says that I am descended from Eywa herself, so I will give my life to her, no matter if I am not paired. It’s a good thing, I’ll be a woman free from any restraint," you tried to cheer him up, despite your eyes pointing down with a little sadness...?

Neteyam laid a finger under your chin, gently lifting your face, bringing your eyes together "Y/n, listen to me… You are beautiful, full of light both inside and out. Your skin is not cursed, don't think it even for a moment. It's shining just like you, isn’t there one thing about you that might be vaguely similar to that of the sky demons. Ma Eywa… but have you seen yourself? You’re unique, radiant, just perfect. Only a fool would not want to mate with you, they're blind because you are dressed in stars, under your skin the moon lives, believe me, ma oare. You are pure light" Your eyes were enchanted and chained to his, unable to speak. "They should be grateful that Eywa blessed them by sending one of her stars to walk among us. Why can’t you see how damn beautiful you are? You’re so intoxicated with those fake words you can’t even see… Why can’t you see how I fall apart when you look at me with those eyes? Don’t you feel my heart losing beats every time you smile or laugh? Don’t you understand how you can mesmerize me with every single thing you do? Ma Eywa, I would give anything even what I don’t have, just to have you… Can’t you see how much I’m in love with you…?" His loving gaze was a mix of sweetness, desire, adoration and frustration, a subtle invitation to discover and reciprocate those feelings that had come out without him wanting it. Didn’t realize he’d just confessed.

You had spent days and nights fantasizing about possibilities, dreaming about the moment when he would finally find the courage to open up, or when you would. And now, that long-awaited moment had come. Your heart pounded as you listened to the words coming out of the lips of the Na'vi you liked.

A myriad of emotions poured into you like an overwhelming wave. Initially, the surprise took over, as the confidence of the boy had exceeded all expectations, noticing only after the fact that he was not done it on purpose. Then, like a fire that lights up slowly, the euphoria spread into your being. You could not help but smile, feeling an indescribable joy pervade you. Finally, the confirmation that Neteyam had feelings for you, that they weren’t just dreams for you, that your feelings were reciprocated, was a tangible reality now. That uncertainty that tormented you had been dispelled, leaving room for an unprecedented feeling of happiness.

"Neteyam…" you whispered without a voice, and then you saw his jaw stretched out, because he felt like an idiot for saying that.

"Y/n. I-" his voice was full of insecurities, but you could silence him by pressing your lips on his. When your lips touched, a shiver of emotion went through both of you. The feeling was electric, intense and extraordinarily sweet. Before you completely surrender to the kiss, forgetting all that was surrounding you at that moment. Your hands, uncertain before, intertwined gently, seeking support and confirmation of the authenticity of that moment. As your bodies drew closer, they could hear each other’s heartbeats in tune with their own. The fingers of your free hand lay timidly on his neck, while his around your waist. His tail intertwined with yours, wrapping it gently.

Time seemed to suspend, and every other worry or doubt vanished into the irresistible and desperate kiss. The lips moved with grace and passion, needing to be consumed, exploring the unknown and revealing an attraction that had always burned beneath the surface of 'friendship'.

"I waited so long for this…" you whispered, once detached from the kiss, still feeling Neteyam’s warm arm around your body. You looked into each other’s eyes, smiling with dignity, knowing that from that moment on you would walk together, hand in hand, towards a future they had only dared to dream of in their own little.

"I thought you weren’t interested…" You two said at the same time, and then looked at yourself with a mix of shock and disbelief. " I was sending you signals" "I was so obvious!" you said together again, laughing at the synchronized timing.

"Signs? You did not send me signals, and if you did, they were confused, ma Oare," said Neteyam, stroking your hair and moving a lock of hair behind your ear.

"Me? Mixed signals? You weren’t obvious at all. I thought it was just affection, just like with Tsireya, ma 'Teyam." You whispered shyly, before looking down and feeling his finger under your chin again that made you raise your head.

"Y/n, really? Why do you think I took so much care of you? I’ve liked you since day one, ever since I saw you in the crowd, emanating that beautiful light that represents you" He said, looking at you gently, touching your noses. "And all those compliments… Do all the things you asked me to, to accompany you everywhere, I was making you understand that I was choosing you" You blushed, curling your nose.

"Why didn’t you tell me before?" he laughed softly at your question.

"I thought you were paired with Rotxo, and I was afraid I wasn’t to your taste. It would have been enough just to be your friend, if it had been so. But the fact that you belittle yourself and say you’ll never find a partner makes my blood boil again. Because I am here, waiting for you to see me…" his hand slipped on the back of your neck and approached you again to him. "…that you choose me" he whispered on your lips, as his eyes peered at you.

"I-I’ve already chosen you… and I was hoping you’d choose me" you said, whispering, loving that he didn’t use the same tone he used with others with you. Remembering you hated loud noises because of hearing sensitivity.

"I see you, ma Oare," he said, stroking the back of your head. "I see you, ma 'Teeyam" you replied gently. Your eyes stuck on his and then you join again in a kiss.

This time it was more passionate, more carnal. His fingers dug into your skin, feeling your warmth and appropriating your soft flesh as he pulled you over his legs. Shudder at the direct contact with his skin, placing your hands on his neck, clinging to him like a life saver in the middle of the ocean. Neteyam’s tail, though slimmer than yours, wrapped yours with impressive ease, locking it against the sand, making you squeak into his mouth.

Your hands went down his chest, colliding with his sculpted body just as the waves were crashing into the banks around you. You pushed your tongue into his mouth, feeling the need to feel more, to get more out of him. He hoarsely panted inside your mouth, making you smile as you collided your pelvis with his, crawling with little innocence your body on him.

"Ma Eywa… If you keep this up, I don’t know if I can control myself, ma Yawne," he said in an exasperated voice when the kiss stopped.

"I don’t want you to control yourself, 'Teyam… I want to feel you" you bent over his ear to whisper those words, making him more excited than he thought. The way he had imagined this scenario was slightly different, thinking that you were chaste, pure and innocent, but now you were revealing yourself quite differently. A hidden part of you that only he would ever see, and that turned him on.

Neteyam turned his face towards you, again meeting your eyes with curiosity. He bit his lip when he noticed your eyes full of desire. "Hmhm, not here… It’s not the right place, ma yawne." He said first to drop his gaze on your lips and then down to your collarbones, passing his tongue on his lip.

"I want you now, 'Teyam… so much" Your words were needy and eager, you whined before approaching his neck, leaving some kisses and hickeys on the boy’s sensitive skin, making him grunt for pleasure.

Neteyam shivered when you broke away from him, enjoying the sensation of your saliva on his neck. Your pelvis collided again with his, swinging back and forth over his covered intimacy, feeling already so wet and in need of him. "Ma yawne…" he sighed frustrated as his head bent backwards.

The boy’s hands ended up behind his body, supporting his body thanks to the support on the sand, unbalancing himself backwards and contracting his muscles. Your hand landed on his chest, arched your back to press your chest against the boy’s. "Don’t you want me?" You whispered as your lips began a path down his chest, causing him chills. You were tempting him, and he knew it, but he was trying to resist you because he wanted to take you someplace more private, and gently proceed with the act. But it seemed so complicated to him to resist you, while you warmed his cock so needy of him and laid your warm lips all over his body "I need you so much, now" you whispered before passing your tongue over the beginning of his abs. Your hips continued to rub against his, making him feel your needy intimacy and leaving wet spots on his loincloth, not helping him to repress the erection that was being created between his legs.

"Shit! ma yawne…" His hoarse, frustrated voice made you smile maliciously. Your hand fell to the height of his loincloth, starting to play with the top, teasing his skin.

"Please~" Your voice and your movements were damning him, but the way your eyes looked at him now, those were enough to make him feel stiff beneath you.

Neteyam approached you, taking you gently from your neck and then turning your head so that it spoke to your ear.

"Do you know how to do that, baby?" his desperate and eager voice made you shudder as you squinted. " No…" you whispered before biting your lip.

At that moment you felt Neteyam’s other hand resting on your loincloth, casually moving it to the side, rubbing your warm fingers on your pulsating and needy intimacy, feeling already wet for him. " Oh, you’re already so wet for me? what a good girl" He teased you. Your hands grabbed behind him, feeling the first chills creeping up your back, a heat blazing over your lower abdomen and the desperate need to feel something more. You started riding his fingers clumsily, panting for pleasure, carrying your forehead on his shoulder. "Hmhm… that’s right, move your hips more slowly, ma yawne. I am here for you" His voice clashes with your neck, feeling you are even more needy for him, still following the advice he gave you.

Neteyam after a few minutes, took his fingers out of your intimacy, savoring your juice with pleasure.

"You are so sweet even between your legs" You blushed at his compliment, then feel the boy’s hands open your legs and letting them spread over him. One of his hands accompanied you as you sat on his ready-made cock, the red tip and the side vein pulsing with desire. "Slowly…yes, so it’s perfect, baby…oh shit." he said as you came down with a mind-blowing ease on his cock. You only had to stop a couple of times before you took it all, feeling already so full and tired on him, his cock was throbbing inside you, sending electric shocks up your soft and sensitive inner walls.

You whimped over his cock, holding you firmly on his shoulders as your fingernails stuck into his flesh. He admired you, he felt so good inside you, wet and hot while some internal spasms squeezed his cock making him moan with pleasure. His pupils dilated when he noticed your red face and how you looked like a mess right away: your eyes closed but so relaxed because of the pleasure of the new presence, your half-open mouth gasping and trying to welcome as much air as possible, panting so as to hit Neteyam’s ears too careful. It was his definition of heaven, seeing you so fragile and needy of him, it only excited him more.

"You needed me, right? Now ride, ma sa'nutsyìp" His voice contained some mocking tones, knowing that you wouldn’t be able to move right away, but at the same time he was warm and flirty. "I-I can’t…" you sighed, trying to move on his cock, feeling already too much pleasure for small movements. Neteyam’s hands wrapped around your hips, showing you how to ride his cock, enjoying every second of your twitching and whining due to the movements. You didn’t understand if you were feeling him on your stomach or it was just your impression, but you knew that some tears of pleasure turned your sweet face.

Neteyam’s tongue took a few salty drops from your eyes, moaning with satisfaction. Your soft thighs felt so heavy and tired as you rolled over his hot dick, it was hitting the right spots so well. Neteyam’s hands stopped helping you with the motionless, remaining only to guide you from time to time.

Your moans mingled with the sea breeze, the noise of your bodies colliding were muffled by the waves that seemed to get louder and louder, while the faint night light illuminated only slightly your bodies, making the bioluminescent freckles shine in the dark. You felt Neteyam’s soft lips mark your body, listening to your choking moans and whining as your hips clashed vehemently against his cock, trying to get as much pleasure from that warmth that seemed to flare up with eyes pop of skin. You started to tighten his cock with your walls once you felt more confident, making him moan with pleasure and making his grip on your hips tighter.

"Keep it up… you’re doing so well, ma yawne" his voice was broken with pleasure, it excited you to hear him praise you like this, you felt so well above him, with his hands clasping your body, while your nails scratched and pulled the skin of his body. Your legs started shaking, suddenly feeling all your weight, but you couldn’t stop looking for pleasure.

Neteyam put his hands behind your back, making you lie on the sand, with the water that you wet your hair, at that moment he had to get out of your now red pussy and more and more eager. "You were so good, let me take care of you now" he whispered, leaning over your ear, keeping your legs open before grinding his erection between your folds, entering only with the tip, making you whine and pant, eager to feel his presence again. "How much do you want me?" You bit your lip, hearing his words almost growling at you, just feeling more excited. "So much… please" you meowed in heat, eyes still full of tears. Neteyam smiled and then put his weight on his knees, sliding his strong hands along the line of your thighs spread apart to your torso, causing small electric shocks all over your body. One hand stood around your neck, caressing your sensitive skin and pressing lightly, while the other stood around your jaw, pushing his thumb between your lips.

You took his finger between your lips, started sucking and licking it, making him smile as you looked at him with eyes clouded with lust, gently mumbling before it entered you with a single push. Your breath missed to feel its entire length come back in a single blow, arching your back upwards, while a soft groan came out of your throat, and some tears of pleasure came out of your eyes that rolled backwards right after.

He began to grind inside you with a heartbreaking slowness, as your legs tried to close for the too much pleasure it was giving you. "Keep your beautiful legs open for me, baby" Neteyam growled softly as he watched his face reddened and beamed with your fragile body around him.

Your vagina began to tighten and suck Neteyam’s dick, as if to encourage him to move and stop torturing you like this. The rapidity with which he stuck your hands over your head when she saw you were going to touch your clitoris was amazing. You missed his hand around your neck, but getting your hands locked over your head while he forced you to keep your legs open was another form of excitement. "Good girl" he said sensually, as he began to speed up the thrusts, hitting where you felt most needed, grunting when your walls welcomed him particularly well.

When he realized where your g-spot was, he started hammering continuously at that point as his tail let yours loose just to start tickling and stimulating your clitoris as you wished. Your little desperate screams and the way you moaned his name, crying again as an outlet for all the pleasure that accumulated in you.

The freckles in Neteyam’s chest made you bite your lip with frustration, wanting to touch every inch of his body, exciting you at every contraction of his chest or abdomen. You manage to slightly scratch his hands, until he twisted your fingers, gently tightening the grip, continuing the thrusts until you both reach the coveted orgasm. He poured into you with a hoarse and deep groan, catching in his mouth your orgasm, eating your lips with a passionate kiss. He left his grip on your hands and laid his own on the sides of your body, on the wet sand. Your hands scratched his back, dragging your fingers up to his shoulders, then latched onto his braids to find comfort after orgasm.

Your ogasm was still dripping on his dick, mixing with his hot cum, while he continued to sink and grind inside you, feeling as your already too sensitive walls welcomed him and warmed his dick even more. Your moaning and whining did nothing but excite Neteyam even more, who took you from hips and brought you back above him, letting your legs rest on the sides of his pelvis. The boy’s hands explored with adoration every inch of your body, helping you ride him again and give you the pleasure you wanted after orgasm, while one of his hands found place in your hair. He squeezed your grip and pulled them back slightly, just to get you off his lips, as a line of saliva joined you, his wet kisses fell down to your neck, where he immediately began to brand every clean inch of your skin again. "You look so beautiful with my marks on, ma oare"

You squinted, moving on his still-pounding dick. "Oh, my good girl" he whispered raucously, while his free hand went to caress your back, passing your fingertips all along your spine, making you shiver "You have no idea what you’re doing to me…" You didn’t understand why, but those words turned you on, and he knew you needed them, especially because you showed this pleasure by holding his dick.

Your breaths got heavier as your fluids lubed up for your hops, feeling better and better at rolling your hips over him as Neteyam moaned and growled because of the excessive pleasure you were giving yourself. You came to the point of cumming again, and again you didn’t move away from his cock, leaving it comfortably inside you as you sat on his chest.

You breathed hard on his chest, your face was still red and you let yourself be pampered by the arms of Neteyam and the delicacy in which he touched your hair or your overstimulated body. "You were so good, ma y/n" he whispered, accompanying his words to the sound of the sea waves. "Now you’re mine…" he said, leaving a sweet kiss on your head.

You closed your eyes, taking long breaths as you listened to his heartbeat against your ear, smiling softly. Your fingers were drawing on her chest, wanting to be stuck in that moment forever.

"Are you okay? Is everything okay, y/n?" he said, looking down at you, taking your hand and kissing your back, making you look up.

"Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine. That was great… I was just thinking," you stopped and bit your lip. " What were you thinking?" he asked nicely.

"Umh… well, now we are, I mean, emh.." you blushed as you searched for the right words and hid on his chest.

"Mate, I’m yours y/n. If you want me, I’m yours." His hand caressed your back, as he smiled kindly at you.

"M-mated? Are you serious? I mean, I like the idea, but aren’t you afraid that people will judge you? or-" he stopped you with a frustrated sigh.

"Hmhm,but we will make Tsaheylu in a more special, more romantic and perfect way, you deserve only the best. To be honest? I’m more afraid of losing you, no matter what they say about me. I’d like to hold you like this every day, make you smile like a child, make you feel loved like you deserve, protect you from everyone and take care of the splendor you are. And Eywa will forgive me, but I would like to hear forever those sweet sounds you make when I’m inside you. Hearing you call my name, seeing your most lustful side, feeling your hands digging into my skin and then seeing the results of our love on our skin. Let me be the person who will stand beside you for eternity," Neteyam said, caressing your body, letting you feel his warmth as you shuddered under his gentle touch.

"What if… what if our children come out cursed like me? They’ll go through what I’ve been through, don’t you mind having children different from others?" you asked with fear.

"If Eywa blesses us with beautiful children who look like you, I will love them the same, if not more. I would love our children regardless of their color, and teach them to love their particularities. One day they will find a person who, like me, has fallen in love with their inner and outer beauty" he said with confidence, making you laugh softly. "Seriously, they wouldn’t be cursed. You are not cursed, y/n, you are pure light and I am so honored to have you only for me" Your eyes met again.

"I love you, ma y/n. With all my heart and soul, and I'll make you love yourself, I promise you."

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Notes II:

I hope you enjoyed this one shot. I wanted to write it for a long time now and I’m glad I finally managed to write it. <3

TAG LIST (?): @riatesullironalite

-Mel

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