HIII glad to have you back!🥰
I have so many ideas in mind.
I’d like to make a request firstly of a Lo’ak x reader where reader is a Mangkwan and little sister of Varang. She is blind because of an incident in a battle against the Windtraders and Varang is kinda protective of her because she is the only thing that remains of her old life before the volcano destroyed everything. She is also pretty important in her clan because she is the only one who knows how to manage fire and isn’t murderous like them. So when she meets Lo’ak, in the moment where him and the kids are tied in the movie, she unties them and helps them escape until Lo’ak, after explanations about everything, offers the Mangkwan help so no one has to suffer again and she agrees. Then she convinces Varang because literally she is the only na’vi who can and in the moment when Jake (without Quaritch because yeah) comes in to save them he’s like “wtf, how is nothing happening here?” And they talk to Jake, convincing him too. In time Lo’ak and reader get closer together, her showing him the way of fire and him the way of water while helping her with her blindness, and by the time where the battle against the sky people comes they confess and mate because it all feels like a “now or never” situation and then yeah, they all live happily ever after peacefully Metkayina and Mangkwan and them two.
I know it’s a bit different from the original AFAA but I need some change for the better because I need to know it could have been less wrenching as plot🥹
TW: war, battle, violence, blindness, PTSD
Summary: You are apart of the Mangkwan clan and are Varangs younger sister, the fire that killed many Mangkwans had taken you as a victim causing you to go fully blind, you are a firekeepr and have somewhat of control over fire. You free Lo’ak and his siblings when Varang captures them and you convince her to keep fight against the RDA. You and Lo’ak form a bond and he makes a confession before the battle.
You remember the sound before the pain, Windtrader ships screaming overhead, metal tearing through the sky and your sister's voice screaming your name then heat, not the kind you understood, not the kind that danced in your palms and bent at your will. This is wild, cruel and exploding. The last thing you ever saw was fire swallowing your world and when you woke, there was only darkness.
The Mangkwan did not mourn weakness, but they mourned you. You are Varang's little sister, the last living piece of the world before the fire took your home and hardened her heart into obsidian. That was when she became sharp, you became steady. Where she burned you learnt to control the flame. Blind yes, broken no.
You learnt the breath of fire, the way it curls before it leaps, the way the heat shifts against skin. You could sit before a blaze and tell its mood by the way it licked the air and you taught warriors how to not let it consume them whole and because of that they listened to you. You are the only Mangkwan who could calm a flame without feeding it blood, even Varang, especially Varang. She had guarded you like the last coal of a dying world.
The day the strangers were dragged into the ash pits, you felt it before you heard it, different breathing, different heartbeats, sea salt and fear… children and one stubborn pulse that refused to steady. You stepped forward, staff tapping lightly against the ground “who are they?” you asked “Metkayina allies” someone spat “sky people sympathizers” “they are tied” you said softly “not armed” Varangs voice cut through sharply “they are leverage” the stubborn heartbeat flared “you dont even know whats happening” a male voice snapped. Young. Brave. Angry. You tilted your head toward the voice, you could feel it, his stare was heavy and confused. “She’s blind” one of the Mangkwan mutters with a pull of his kuru, the boy grunts followed by an attempt at a hiss “yes i am, and I still see more than you do” you reply then there is silence. You stepped closer, close enough to feel the warmth of his skin, the tremor in his bound arms “what is your name?” the smell of sea salt fills your senses “Lo’ak…” he whispers in defeat
You do not untie them immediately. You listened first, to his explanation, to the children, to the truth in their voices when they spoke of the sky ships and the destruction of fighting back. Then he spoke “no one should have to suffer like that again” something inside you tightened because you yourself remembered the sound before the pain, you remembered Varang before the destruction, because you were tired of fire being used only to destroy. You stepped forward, the ropes fell away beneath your fingers and grapes erupted around you “run” you whispered to the group but Lo’ak didn’t move “what are you doing?” he whispers frantically, confused on why you’re helping them “choosing differently” the Mangkwan realised what was happening so you grabbed the boys hand “come, follow my steps exactly” you lead the boy and the children away before they could notice you slipped away and he never let go once.
Varang found you before the others, of course she did, she always does. The air between you two crackled “you betray your own clan for some strangers?” she demands with a hiss, her tail thrashes angrily and you step toward her voice, unafraid. “I saved our future” you mutter “they’re not our people” Varang hisses “they could be” silence. Your voice softens “sister… I am the last thing you protected from the old world, do not build a new one out of ashes.” you hear Varangs breath shake and you reach for her hand “you once taught me that fire brings warmth before it burns” Varang exhales slowly “for you…only for you” she tightens her grasp in your hands.Mangkwan stood down.
When Jake sully and the supporting clans stormed the outer ridges expecting bloodshed, they instead found two clans sitting across from one another in a tense negotiation, Jake blinked “why is no one dead?” Lo’ak stepped forward and grabbed your hand “because they listened…” Jake’s gaze landed on you, you could feel his gaze on you and you lifted your chin to him “we are tired of losing everything” you spoke calmly. “Help us fight against the sky people, not each other.” The former Toruk Makto studied you long and hard then he nodded “alright lets do this then”.
Peace didnt come easily but Lo’ak stayed by your side through it all, at first it was because he felt responsible for you, like he owed you for when you let him and his siblings free but then that feeling of needing to, led to wanting too. “You don’t have to count your steps” he mutters as you walk along the shoreline together “I do not count” you reply “then how do you know?” you smiled faintly “the sand feels different the closer you get to the water” he stares at you softly, amazed by your power, your acceptance.
You showed him how to breathe with flame instead of flinching from it, how to hold heat in his palm instead without fear and in return he guided you into the water, it terrified you at first. Water was completely different from fire, it didn’t have a sound, a warning, it didn’t have a crackle, no warning. His hands were steady on your waist, supporting you so the soft waves didn’t knock your balance off, goosebumps raised across your skin at the touch, keeping you grounded but itself was messing with your senses. “I wont let you” he whispers reassuringly while brushing his thumb softly against your hipbone and he didn’t lie, not once did he let go or let your balance falter. He described sunsets to you, the beautiful orange and pink hues that leak into the sky, coral colours and the way ilu peacefully glided through the water. You started understanding water, memorizing the rhythm of the tide just like you had memorized flames.
Fire and Water, neither consuming the other. Peace.
When the sky ships returned, the clans stood united. Metkayina and Mangkwan, no more isolated targets. Before the battle started the air was thick with salt and smoke, your senses flooded. You found Lo’ak quickly by the rhythm of his heartbeat alone, you could sense his fear by his heart rate, it was faster than usual. “Are you afraid?” you mutter, also afraid “yea” he admitted simply and you reached up cupping his face and letting your fingers trace his features, memorizing his features. His jaw, the scar near his eyebrow, the curve of his lips. “I dont want to lose you” you whisper, your grasp on his face becoming a little tighter, you can feel his face soften in your touch and his breath hitches “you wont” he says sternly “you dont know that” you whisper “war is unpredictable…i never suspected i’d lose my eyesight…” your voice trails off at the end and silence falls over you two. “I see you” he says frantically “I can feel it, I know inside me that you are the one, you’re the one i want to be my mate” your heart stutters “Lo’ak…” but he cuts you off “if this is it… I want eywa to know I chose you” a small tear trickles down your cheek, a happy tear but a fearful tear “now or never” you whisper through a smile. He cups your face softly and you can feel his face getting closer to yours, you can feel the heat of his breath brushing against your face “can i…” he whispers, you nod softly before leaning in, in hopes he will meet you halfway, you almost jump when you feel his lips press against yours, it’s slow, intimate and meaningful. Your heart beats harshly against your chest as if it wants to break free. After a few seconds Lo’ak reluctantly pulls back, his heart rate matching your own.
Metal tore through the sky as ships flew ahead “positions!” your father shouts everyone scattered into positions but you did not move, you knelt down to the sand. You pressed your palm against the sand, feeling the gravity of the ships moving above “they’re heavy” you muttered “large carriers” “Yeah three main ships, gunships on either side” Lo’ak confirms and you nod once. “Stay alive” you whisper, causing Lo’ak to swallow “not without you”. You reached up to rest your palms against his chest to feel his racing heart, to memorise the beat, you rose to your feet then that's when the first explosion hit. The Mangkwan did not fight like the Metkayina, they were ruthless, flamed launched into the sky as Mangkwans hurled burning resin toward the incoming gunships and the sky answered with missiles. The sand explodes causing you to be knocked off your feet, screams fill the air and you couldn’t see any of it, you couldn’t tell what was happening but you could feel it. Heat spiked violently to your left and you turned your face toward it, a Mangkwan warrior had fallen, fire spreading uncontrollably from a ruptured fuel line on the sky ships, panic fills your body as you can feel the heat and hear the screams of the warrior, you feel helpless because you can’t fight back. Can’t see. You sprint to the wounded warrior and you drop to your knees beside him “stop fighting it” you command but he continued screaming, you inhaled, slowly, steady. You placed both hands into the flames, the heat warming you instantly, fire wraps around your forearms but it did not consume you, did not harm you. “Breathe” you whisper but not to the warrior, to the flame. It shifted slightly and curls inward then compressed, before you knew it the flame was launching toward the sky ship in a violent spiral that slammed into a descending sky ship. The aircraft ignited and spiraled into the ocean followed by an explosion on impact, a cheer rose from the Mangkwan, a war cry. You stood and smoke circles around you like a crown.
In the water Lo’ak was fighting like something unhinged, an ilu leapt beneath him as he hurled a spear straight through the soldier's visor, he didn’t slow, didn’t hesitate. Every movement was sharp, precise and furious but even while in battle he kept glancing back at shore, at you. Another explosion rocked the shore, a Mangkwan firebomb went off too close to a Metkayina and Lo’ak saw it happen. The aftershock knocked Lo’ak off his Ilu and water swallowed him whole, for one terrifying moment you couldn’t feel him, couldn’t feel the bond that pulsed, distant, muffled. “Lo’ak” you shout knowing something is wrong. Underwater, his eyes open burning from salt water and smoke, his Ilu circled back to him frantically and he pushed towards the surface gasping.
Smoke drifted and water lapped at the shore, your body trembled, not from fear but depletion. “We’re alive” you sigh with a soft smile and Lo’ak presses his forehead against yours “I thought I lost you” you whisper, savouring his touch “you didn’t” he reassures you. Around you Metkayina and Mangkwan stood together, not separated by ash or tide. Varang approached you slowly “you did not burn the world” she says softly “no” you reply “we saved it” she places her hand over your heart and for the first time since the incident years ago, she smiled.
Later that night the fire burns softly and low, not a weapon, not a warning, warmth.
You sat at the shoreline with lo’ak, his arms snaked securely around your waist as waves brushed your ankles. “You felt like a storm today.” he murmured and you leant into him “and you felt like the tide bringing me back in”. Fire and Water, neither gone, neither dominant, just balanced and for the first time, the sound before the heat was not screaming metal, it was laughter and it did not end in darkness.
