Aonung X Neteyam - Blog Posts

ANY ARTIST PLEASE DO THIS IN AONUNETE VERSION

OH MY GOOOOD PLEASE PLEASE

I can not COMPREHEND the fact that people are literally saying “Yes the Omaticaya and Metkayina characters have cultures that are based off of brown skinned/dark skinned characteristics but they are aliens even though they are one skip away from being a human. AND even though the movies are about colonization/being mixed/learning about other cultures/and saving your planet from Non-Navi’s, they don’t hAVe to be brown/dark skinned”

Why are they pale??? Neteyam is mixed with a bit of white from Jake and mostly indigenous/african From Neytiri and Aonung is Maori.

And people said that they are blue so it doesn’t matter, even though they have clear references to actual cultures

AND THEY REMOVED NETEYAM’S BRAIDS

Friendships

Kiri and Spider have been best friends since the beginning

They met when Kiri was still an infant and Spider around 2. He still wasn't allowed to leave the labs but he snuck in to one of Kiri's checkups

He was a climber and a builder - hence his name - and so it was hard to keep him out of where he wanted to be

So when the toddler heard another cry in the building it was only a matter of time before he found it

He wanders, stumbling through the offices he's confined to and sneaking until he reaches the Avatars

Jake is there, Kiri in his arms, sitting next to Ms. Grace's tank. He's talking and it sounds like a story which Spider loves so he of course toddles his way over. He climbs into the Na'vi's lap without regard for his size, skin, or the fact that he's only met Jake a handful of times.

Jake, to his credit, catches the tiny human with a free palm under his butt. Paying no heed to the flabbergasted look on the mans face, he peers down to stroke the girls cheek

He flies for a moment while Jake tries to keep them apart but then the girl has his hand in her palm

She blinks up with big eyes and Spider offers a giant toothless grin: there was no going back after that

Neteyam comes with Kiri

He's Spiders age but double his size, 2' taller for the 2 months he's younger

Still, Spider doesn't let the few kids his age on Pandora get away. He's a social butterfly and opts to conquer Neteyam's introverted ways.

And so he toddles after the blue boy everytime he comes with his sister

Kiri is growing fast, especially next to human growth standards, but she still has a ways to go to meet Spider, so her big brother will have to do

It's 3 months of toddling after him, pulling his tail, and playing with the pretty beads adoring his hair while Neytiri tries desperately to keep the little human away from him

But, once again, containing Spider is mission the adults surrounding him have yet to accomplish

And so Neteyam finds himself with a little blonde flea attached to his side

He chases the younger boy through the halls, giggling at the tiny hisses Neteyam lets out when he catches him. He pulls his tail and climbs onto his big boy bed - he can use the grown up bunks now! - while Neteyam tackles his obstacles with ease.

The other boy is shyer but Spider has learned how to rile him up by now

They play for the hour or two that Jake spends with Kiri getting monitored in the labs. If Neytiri is there then it's harder, but Spider can normally get a story for them at least.

It continues on for a while with Kiri joining them as she starts to crawl, then toddle with their hair or her brothers tail in her fist

And it seems that gets Spider a little too comfortable

Namesake on full display, he tries to climb the bunkbed ladders of the bunk room while Neteyam is chasing him

He's gotten far too big for most of Spiders tricks to slow him down so the child thinks this is his chance to get a rare upper hand

Except bunk beds are tall and metal is slick and maybe Spider isn't really that much of a big kid yet

He really does try to catch himself but its too slippery and he hits the ground hard

The scientists around the lab don't like it when he cries and really does try to keep it in, but his arm really hurts and he can't help but let it escape

He waits for Neteyam to mock him or tell him to stop but instead finds himself craddled against the boys chest.

"Shhhh, shh, 's okay Spi, just stop cryin'. I-I'll get my Daddy and Uncl' Norm." Spider only shakes his head and cries more, clinging to the other boys beads.

"No'uh, 'm okay. 'm a big boy."

Neteyam stutters for a minute before he nods. The two boys stay curled on the floor for a few minutes then with Spiders arm cradled between them.

"Don't worry, 'm here Spi. Every'tings okay."

Their relationship is never as close as the others growing up but there's an understanding between them the others never have

They're equals, the two oldest brothers.

They might be opposites but they've got one another's backs...even if that's just taking left while the other takes right to corner Lo'ak at highcamp.

Neteyam never made friends easily

Spider forced himself into the picture and his siblings never really got a choice in the matter

Sure, being the Ole'ekytans son meant some of the other kids would clamor for his attention but he never did good at being more than casual

Responsibilities stack on him like like the berries on Tuks tarts: he doesn't have the time or strength to devote to anything else

His siblings are enough though. There's a war and he can't loose focus or they'll get hurt

He left them once and lost Spider - he won't let it happen again

It gets lonely though

He chases after his kid brother and protects his sisters from as much as he can but...there's no one to look after him

Then he meets Ao'nung

Ao'nung is brave and cool and gets it in a way his siblings just can't

He may not have grown up in a war but he has a little sister and another on the way - he knows the responsibility of an important father and its addicting to have that person in his life

They lean on eachother, quietly, and he finally has something for himself

He tells him things he never told anyone else

He talks about his fathers expectations and pressure, his mothers trauma, his worry over the human they left behind, and his fear for Kiri's future. He talks about Lo'ak running into danger and Tuk losing her innocence and Ao'nung talks about his anger. About the fear he has of whats to come, about Tsireya and how he worries this will break her. He's weak around him and Neteyam savors it.

Time goes by and he gets hurt. His arm might never be the same as it was and his ear still rings with the echoes of gunshots but he has his brother back and his family is safe

Neytiri finally, finally lets Spider come home but it's not over

He doesn't think it ever will be

But Ao'nung slips his hand into his and maybe he'll be okay

Maybe he doesn't have to do this alone

Rotxo was Ao'nungs first friend

They were friends from the first time they sat through lessons together and they've been attached at the hip ever since

Rotxo knows Ao'nung will be a great Ole'ekytan but he'll need a right hand and Rotxo is ready to step up

For a long time he thinks maybe he'll be more than that but the Sullys arrive and they both find that path a different way

Still, they're eachothers person

They back one another up no matter what and there is rarely one without the other

In training they pair up, have joint moves that they make just for themselves and know the others gaps or weaknesses like its their own

Tonowari didn't want to train them for war but they didn't want to risk being unprepared

So when the sky people reach their waters, they spend every hour they can steal with one another

They spar and wrestle and carve more weapons

Their hands shake with fear and adrenaline but they keep their thighs pressed to the others and carry on

Rotxo gains muscle mass and Ao'nung learns to use a bow Neteyam carved. They grow their skills, their strength, but also their fear

Unlike the Sullys, they didn't grow up with war on the horizon

They don't know what's coming and cling to each other while they can.

No matter what, they know they can rely on the other

It isn't until they see Quaritch dead that they'll let go of the breath they're holding but they hold the other up until then

Nothing could pry them apart and nothing that tries will walk away