um,,,, probably sketching won over writing, sorry my darlingsš¦
this sketch meant to be gore, (and it'll be), but I don't think ppl are ready for that until A3, + I don't know how tumblr reacts on that,,
the fun part is I don't even use references anymore, so sorry for your eyebleeding if you paid attention to anatomy details
šLo'ak chokerš
Available again in my Etsy shop. It took me two days of work but I am always glad when I see the final result. Handmade with wax cord, beads and animal teeth.
Click on the link to buy it!
Summary of the series: You were found by Noa, Anaya and Soona - on the brink of the death - healed back to health, you were faced with being let go, or staying with the Eagle Clan. Food, shelter and safety. The catch? Their Leader wanted to know about Echo ways of living and never bargained feelings into the transaction. (This will be updated as chapters are posted. ) SERIES PLAYLIST.
Chapter One: Customary.
Chapter Two: Gone Hunting.
Chapter Three: Wounded Pride.
Chapter Four: Head First.
Chapter Five: Sense of Belonging.
Chapter Six: Empathy.
Chapter Seven: Cross Roads.
Chapter Eight: Future.
Chapter Nine: Savior Complex.
Chapter Ten: Chimp Mosh Pit.
Chapter Eleven: The Grim Reaper.
Chapter Twelve: Taken.
Chapter Thirteen: If You Only Knew.
Chapter Fourteen: Thick as Thieves.
Chapter Fifteen: Oblivion.
Chapter Sixteen: Cross Contaminate. **ACTUAL FINAL CHAPTER SEVENTEEN* Traditional. ( Coming Soon. )
šššš šššššš ššššš
norhtern attire on the wall with the ancestral sword, Ice. 2.01.
requested by @cregan-starks
timebomb again
Because PadmƩ is the only fashion icon we need.
1. TheĀ āNegotiations with the Separatistsā Dress:
2. TheĀ āQueen will not Approveā Outfit:
3. TheĀ āSpace is Coldā Dress:
4. The āThatās Something I Cannot Doā Dress:
5. The āVote of No Confidenceā Dress:
6. The āIāve Decided to Go Back to Nabooā Dress:
7. The āI Welcome your Helpā Dress:
8. TheĀ āIām Queen Amidalaā Outfit:
9. The āPeace Victoryā Dress:
10. The āCordĆ©ā Outfit:
11. TheĀ āDo you Have any Idea whoās Behind this Attack?ā Dress:
12. The Coruscant White Nightgown:
13. The āRoyal Senatorā Dress:
14. TheĀ āI Donāt Like this Idea of Hidingā Dress:
15. The āYouāve Changed So Muchā Dress:
16. TheĀ āMeeting with the Queenā Dress:
17. The āHeās not my Boyfriendā Dress:
A scene that never made it to final cut: Anakin and PadmƩ visit her family on Naboo.
18. The āI Love the Waterā Dress:
19. The āYouāre Making Fun of Meā Dress:
20. The āDinnerā Dress:
21. The āWeād Be Living a Lieā Dress:
22. The āNightmareā Nightgown:
23.Ā The āTatooineā Cloak:
24. The āGreek Goddessā Outfit:
25. The āThere are Things No one Can Fixā Dress:
26. The āIām going to save Obi-Wanā Outfit:Ā
27. The āSecret Weddingā Dress:
28. The Poster Dress:
This look never made it to the final cut of āRevenge of the Sithā and it was used for the poster only.Ā
29. The āAni, Iām pregnantā Dress:
30. The āAni, I want to have our baby back home on Nabooā Nightgown:
31. The āWe May Be on the Wrong Sideā Dress:Ā
32. TheĀ āIām Not Going to Die in Childbirth, Aniā Dress:
33. TheĀ āStaring out the Windowā Dress:
34. The āAttack on the Jedi Templeā Nightgown:
35. TheĀ āThis is How Liberty Diesā Dress:
36. TheĀ āI donāt Believe Youā Dress:
37. TheĀ āAnakin, Youāre Breaking my Heartā Outfit:
38. TheĀ āFuneralā Dress:
10 min «Spider as a Knight» doodle
got inspiration from @dirtytransmasc post š¤
maybe I'll do a decent sketch later...
āBack off. Now.ā
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Anatomy Lesson
Learning a alien language can be challenging, but having Neteyam as your teacher has its perks. Especially when he's a reward based teacher.
Just A Taste
Part One Part Two
(Featuring Ao'nung) Neteyam's little human mate has fascinated Ao'nung way more than she should, he can't help it, you're so alien, yet so enticing. Especially when it seems that an esteemed warrior and eldest son of Toruk Makto can't keep his hands off of you. And when Ao'nung follows you two to your private place, an unexpected deal is made.
Midnight Snack
(Featuring Lo'ak) It's hotter than normal in Awa'atlu, and your two Na'vi lovers are so thirsty.
TƬkin
Neteyam can never control himself, he needs you, craves you. And no hour of the night will stop that need.
Blood Thirst
A infectious bite, an incurable disease, a blood sucking monster. You know there's a cure; you know you can fix this mistake. But will you have enough time before the beast gets loose?
Experience
Neteyam's never been good at hiding his raging crush on his father's best friend, and he's never wanted your experienced touch more than right now.
Hunter's Prize
The arrival of a rival alien to Pandora's strange world threatens the balance of all life on this planet ā including yours. But a dangerous creature from other worlds isn't the only predator you'll find yourself fighting for your life to escape.
A Night In The Wolves' Den
(Featuring Lo'ak) Who are you ā an inferior human ā to deny the Omatikaya's finest warriors their one desire?
Sweet Revenge
Pandora was everything a human could dream of, a fresh start on a whole new world. But you've only ever found tragedy in this beautiful moon, heartbreak seizing your heart until you're left with nothing but your own mind to keep you company. Years have separated you from your true family, crossing an ocean after five long years to finally see them ā to see him again. Neteyam was your everything, and you were sure you meant nothing to him. But would happen if you were given the chance to be proven wrong, even for one? Especially if it's at the expanse of your horrible ex-boyfriend, it was a sacrifice you were willing to make, after all, revenge takes two to tango.
Colors Of Pandora: Day One ~ Red
Ā©ļøEywaite2023-2025 | All rights reserved. Do not republish, steal, repost, modify, translate or claim any of my work as your own.
how it started and how it ended.
I was watching the deleted/original cut of the scene with Neytiri holding Spider hostage which ā first off, incredible scene by the way like holy shit ā but it made me think about how perfectly it served for Neytiriās character.
Someone mightāve already talked about this already, but what I donāt think a lot of people realize is that this scene serves as the payoff for earlier Neytiri-related scenes as well as a starting point for her arc going forward.
If you havenāt watched the scene, here, itās a far more impactful version of an already hard hitting scene and Iām going to treat it as what āreallyā happened in the story for the sake of analysis.
The first moment Iām focusing on is this one where Neytiri goes to pick up her bow after killing a few RDA grunts, only to find that the bow is now broken and unusable.
Thereās a running theme in these two movies that Iāve seen people point out and thatās how Neytiri keeps losing things that are precious to her, whether they be people, places, or objects.
In the first movie, she loses a lot including but not limited to the Hometree, the Tree of Voices, her older sister, Tsuātey, her Ikran, and her father. When her father dies, he grants her the Ceremonial Bow and thatās what she ends up using to fight in all subsequent battles.
In the second movie, she thankfully doesnāt lose as much, but sheās still forced to leave her home and her first born son is killed in the heat of battle, rough times all around.
Youāll note that I didnāt include losing her precious bow on the list of things she lost and thatās because she didnāt lose the bow, she broke it.
All the other losses Iāve described are caused by the RDA, but this one isnāt. Instead of her bow being broken by another grunt in the heat of the battle, sheās the one who breaks it by swinging it haphazardly at her enemies.
I may not know all that much about archery or making weapons, but Iām almost certain that bows arenāt designed to be used like that, which is why her bow broke the way that it did.
And it cannot be understated how important this bow must be to Neytiri. I mentioned before that it was given to her by her late father, making it an important connection to her family already, but itās also made from the wood of Hometree. So not only is it a connection to her family, itās a connection to her people and the home that was stolen from them.
All that and she still broke it, not because she didnāt cherish the bow, but because she just couldnāt control her anger enough to handle it properly.
And thatās what I feel Neytiriās fatal flaw is, as well as what her arc will be primarily focusing on in the upcoming movies ā Neytiriās anger and hatred leads to blind rage, and she becomes liable to hurt those she cares about.
For the record, I am not making the claim that Neytiriās flaw is that she gets angry. Being outraged by death and destruction, hating those who bring about injustice, these arenāt flaws and arenāt things she should be vilified for. What is a flaw is how she uses her anger, or rather how it uses her.
Jake spells it out pretty cleanly in a scene that happened a while ago. When Tonowari told Jake and Neytiri about the destruction the RDA was causing to the nearby villages, they immediately connect it back to Quaritch. Neytiri describes how they have to finish off Quaritch ā āwe have to hunt this demon, trap him, kill himā ā and this is what Jake says in response to that idea:
Heās not dismissing the idea of doing something, heās just cautioning her on how they go about doing it. Thatās the crux of Neytiriās most prevalent flaw, it isnāt her becoming angered at the injustice she and her people face, itās her not being smart about how she acts on it.
The last two moments Iād like to draw attention to are the one where one of Quartichās lackey calls Neytiri a āwild animalā and the one where she actually acts like one.
For the record, Lyle and Quaritch are in the wrong for likening Neytiri to an animal and dehumanizing her in the process, especially when the reason they insulted her was because she was acting violent in the video where she was protecting her husband. However, itās undeniable that during the fight on the Sea Dragon, Neytiri is the most violent and rage filled weāve ever seen her.
Itās particularly noticeable right before she realizes she broke her bow, which is definitely not a coincidence Iāll tell you that much.
She screams in the guys face and stabs him over and over and over again, after which she gets up and starts growling, searching for anything else that moves. Itās not a stretch to say that, in this moment, sheās acting almost like a bloodthirsty animal hungry for vengeance, not too dissimilar from the wild animal the recoms painted her as.
And all of this, her accidentally breaking her fatherās bow, being asked to be smart about it all, acting like a wild animal, it all comes to a head in the moment where she uses Spiderās life as leverage to save Kiriās. It starts off good when she makes Quaritch let Kiri go, but when Kiri is freed from Quaritchās grasp and she can turn her attention to the man himselfā¦
ā¦she puts the blade back against Spiderās neck and utters those infamous lines:
Iāve seen a lot of people comment on how āpowerfulā of a scene this is, and while I agree that itās a powerful storytelling moment and extremely important to Neytiriās character, I think a lot of people miss the fact that this isnāt an admirable moment of a motherās rage, but a scary and dark moment where Neytiri is about to fall to Quaritchās lows.
Because if Neytiri had actually gone through with this decision, then she wouldāve done the same thing to her family that she did with her bow ā destroy it. Whatās important to note about Neytiriās hatred towards Spider is that; while itās understandable considering all the trauma she went through at the hands of his father and the RDA, sheās the only one in her family that feels this way towards him.
For one thing, Spider is both Loāak and Kiriās best friend and they know how much Spider hates being Quaritchās son, thereās no way that theyād just accept Neytiri after she killed their best friend. We donāt get much development on Spiderās relationship with Tuk or Neteyam, but we see Spider protect Tuk, tease Neteyam, and cry during Neteyamās death, so they must be friends on some level.
And finally Jake. Admittedly, Jake is pretty lukewarm towards Spider throughout the entire movie, but Iād argue thatās him keeping a respectful distance because of him wanting to side with his wife and not any malice Jake genuinely holds towards Spider himself. We even see him checking over Spider at the end of the movie like he does with Loāak and Neteyam.
As much as Jake unconditionally loves Neytiri, I cannot see a world where heās able to look at her the same way if she killed an innocent child.
And I do mean innocent, because at this point in time Spiderās only ācrimesā are being human(not his choice) and being Quaritchās son(also not his choice). Even if Neytiriās feelings towards him are understandable and valid, her actions at this point are not justifiable and Jake knows it.
Thatās not even mentioning how she hisses at Kiri during this scene, sheās not acting with her familyās best interest in mind, sheās acting on pure rage.
If she had gone through with it and killed Spider, Kiri and Loāak would hate her, Tuk wouldnāt be able to look at her the same way again, and Jake probably wouldāve left her. She truly did come a hairās width away from destroying something precious to her once again.
Now letās talk about Spider for a minute because heās crucial to all of this, as Neytiriās hatred for humans extends to her hatred of him.
We already know that, to the Naāvi, āI see youā is considered a respectful greeting, but itās also a show of great understanding between two people; itās why Jakeās two pivotal emotional moments at the end of the movies are him telling a loved one āI see you,ā itās because heās come to understand them as a person beyond what he initially thought.
In contrast, Neytiri does not see Spider, her eyes are shut. Instead of seeing Spider as a person, all she sees is just another human who ought to be with his own kind, a demon. And this is honestly fine, Neytiri isnāt Spiderās mother or caretaker so sheās not obligated to try and understand him as anything deeper than her enemies child and her own childrenās best friend.
However, because Neytiri refuses to see Spider as anything other than another human, she lets this hatred for him and his heritage fester until she feels comfortable to threaten his life and see him as a means to an end. And that, no matter how much one may argue itās understandable from her perspective, leads to dire consequences.
Namely, Spiderās choice to save Quaritch.
Now, before anyone yells at me let me clarify ā I am not saying that Neytiri is responsible for Spiderās choice, nor is she responsible for any harm Quaritch will cause in the upcoming movies. However, itās undeniable that her actions influenced Spiderās decision, whether directly or indirectly.
When Neytiri threatened Spiderās life, Quaritch initially plays off the fact that heās technically not his son, citing that they arenāt even the same species. But when Neytiri pushes even further, he breaks and shows that he does actually care about Spider, willing to let go of his hostage in order to protect him.
This is big for Spider as his only major desire is to have a family, specifically a parental figure who genuinely cared about him as he is. Iād even go as far as to say that this moment probably proved to Spider that Quaritch cares about him as more than just a meanās to an end. Heād already helped Quaritch bond with an Ikran and find the Sully family(against his will), he had nothing else to offer but Quaritch still wanted him alive.
This, along with the months they spent together, are what pushed Spider to make his decision at the end of the movie, a decision he was explicitly conflicted about.
And this came about from Neytiriās decision. I know a lot of people would argue that Neytiri had to do this because it was the only way to save her daughter, and Iāll agree that there werenāt many options for her. But this wasnāt a tactical move she was making, she wasnāt bluffing or putting on a show to force Quaritchās hand, she was explicitly going to kill Spider just to make Quaritch hurt in the same way she was hurting.
Also, if we want to nitpick we could also say that the months Quaritch and Spider spent together also came about as a result of her actions. When theyāre running away from the Recoms, Spider is the only one who falls to the ground and Neytiri doesnāt even think to try and go get him.
āB-But thereās no way Neytiri wouldāve been able to save him and get away! She has her own children to worry about!ā I hear you typing in the notes of this post, and to that I say youāve got a point.
However, the fact that Neytiri doesnāt even consider going down to rescue him, doesnāt look over the branch and hesitate before making the difficult decision to prioritize Kiri and feel bad about it later shows that her reasoning is solidly NOT rooted in him being one of her kids or not.
She doesnāt even try, and because of that Quaritch and Spider end up forming the basis for a solid bond.
TLDR; Neytiriās fatal flaw is that she allows her anger and hatred to cloud her better judgment and control her, leading to a destructive attitude that can ultimately hurt the people she loves and make things worse for her.
At this point, Iām pretty sure everyone has heard at least a little bit about the next movie, Avatar Fire and Ash. Iāve seen people theorizing that the fire tribe will be joining forces with the RDA, that they donāt believe in Eywa, and that Neytiri will have to infiltrate the tribe in order to rescue her children.
Iām not certain whether any of this is true, but what I am certain of is that ā if these concept arts hold water by the time the movie is released ā then the fire tribe weāll be encountering in the third movie is going to be an extremely violent community, likely one that puts emphasis on anger and hatred.
And if the rumors are true and Neytiri really is going to be infiltrating them, then Neytiriās flaws might be able to inform what narrative role the Ash People and Varaang in particular will have in the third movie.
Iāve already explained how in depth how her flaw is how she allows her anger to take control of her and close her vision; sheās volatile like lava and burns hot like fire, becoming liable to burn everything and everyone around her.
From that perspective, she seems more suited to be a fire Naāvi rather than a forest or reef one, no? The choice to take us to a volcanic, fire steeped region isnāt just James Cameron checking off the boxes like āoh we did forest and water, fire next!ā its him taking us to a we might find uncomfortably befitting of our worst traits.
And thatās basically what I think Neytiri will have to face upon encountering the Ash People ā they are the embodiment of all her flaws put on display.
Varaang specifically may work as her narrative foil, a literal funhouse version of her at her worst(from my perspective the concept art of Varaang actually looks a lot like Neytiri, so thatās interesting).
I also think itās important to note that Neytiri is absolutely going to find out that Spider saved Quaritch in the third movie, or at least itās incredibly likely if the Ash People really will be working with Quaritch. That means that her hatred for him and her need for revenge will come back into play, this isnāt over.
But this time things will be different, because in between Neytiri learning of Spiderās betrayal she will also get especially close to the Ash People and find that she is uncomfortably similar to them at her worst. Before she does something she might regret, Neytiri will be forced to ask herself some important questions:
Is revenge really worth it? Is this the kind of person she wants to be? If Jake wasnāt there that night, would she have the blood of a child on her hands? Will she hurt other people she loves because of her anger?
These questions are ones she likely never wanted to ask herself, but theyāre necessary because sheās starting right in the face of people who didnāt.
Hopefully, she finds that the answer is no.
Alma was never a misled teacher. She wasnāt manipulated by Mercer, she wasnāt his victim, she did not have good intentions. She was the CO-FOUNDER of TAP. Including TAP-Con1.
This is a deep dive Iāve been wanting to do for a while, and Iāve finally been able to gather all my ideas and put them together. I know Iām late to the party, but I have a lot to say, especially because of the tendency of this fandom to judge Alma in a very biased way and to ignore important traits of her character just because theyāre āuncomfortableā. Even among other people who dislike Alma, I have never seen some topics discussed and I want to change that, because I feel they are fundamental in understanding both her character and the role she plays in the story. Now, that isnāt to say I think people shouldnāt find Almaās character interesting or entertaining; if you defend her and genuinely sympathize with her, however⦠this is not the place for you. I am the biggest and proudest Alma hater, so do with that what you will. Iāve seen too many people defend her actions, or try to tone down/change objective things in the game that are even explicitly spelled out for the audience. So, here I am.
Alma always knew exactly what she was doing. She knew what she wanted and what she was willing to do to achieve it. She wanted her school, no matter the cost (as she says quite literally in the game). It's true, she didn't know that Mercer was going to massacre the Sarentu. But she was still willing to take students for her school without theirs or their parents' consent. Let me elaborate.
In the flashback while she's going to the Sarentu moot with Mercer, this is how the conversation goes:
Alma: We're just talking to them, do we need this many soldiers?
Mercer: This is our last chance.* They're too primitive to understand what we can do for their children.
Alma: It's for the children.
Mercer: Exactly. Just think what we can achieve. Finally.
Alma (nodding): We're helping them. They'll see it... in time.
And THIS exactly is what sums up the person that she is. She may not have predicted Mercerās massacre, but she still went to the moot with the purpose of taking those children no matter what. Because the core of what she believes is this: humans are superior and therefore need to impose their better ways of life on the lesser and uncivilized Na'vi; these people are too stupid to understand anyway, so itās acceptable for humans to steal their children and forcefully assimilate them in the culture of their oppressors because theyāre superior anyway. One day, years after they kidnapped their kids, the Na'viās primitive minds will come to understand that and recognize humans as superior, and thanks to their now successfully-brainwashed children, they will get to subjugate them as well.
A project like TAP isnāt the basis for cultural exchange, itās the basis for cultural erasure and the assimilation of Indigenous children. TAP was LITERALLY a residential school. If you think there could ever be a āgood intentionā behind this, then you are a despicable human being. Alma knows this. She simply hides it behind a self-righteous facade of generosity and allyship. I donāt care that she genuinely believes that this is a way to help the Na'vi: it doesnāt change the āhuman-superiorityā complex of her beliefs, it doesnāt change the fact that she literally made a fucking residential school. It is literally called āresidentialā in-game, and it canāt be interpreted differently. This is what āresidential schoolā means. Alma was raised on Earth, where Indigenous people still exist, where residential schools literally already existed. Where do you think they got their inspiration from? It was always intentional. Remember that Mercer and Alma started working together for a reason. They shared a dream, and that dream was always going to be built on the blood and the stolen freedom of Indigenous Na'vi and their children. There was never a single half good intention about this project. This is literally a story about childen surviving residential school and reclaiming their Indigenous culture. The game doesnāt want you to sympathize with the colonizers who did this. The point of the story is for you to empathize with the Indigenous survivors of genocide and colonization.
Believing that you are doing something good ā when you are actually doing tremendous harm ā only because of your self-righteous superiority complex and actually doing something good are not the same thing. And the fact that Alma believes that by doing this she is actually helping the Na'vi makes her a even worse person. Canāt you see the danger of such mindset, the arrogance, the superiority? It is even more disgusting to me. At least a person like Mercer is honest: heās horrible, hates the Na'vi and heās proud of it. Alma, however, tries to hide it in a pathetic and disgusting attempt at feeling morally superior to people like him, tricking herself and the others around her into believing sheās actually a decent person, while her only goal is to achieve the recognition she thinks rightfully belongs to her and simultaneously erase her so-called āguiltā.
If she actually cared about the Sarentu children like people claim she did, she would have not left them in cryo for 16 years. She could have gone back to check if they were alive at any point during that time. She chose not to. She robbed them of their entire lives for the sole reason that she was too hypocritical to face her actions and failure, because thatās what this really is about. She never actually believed she did something wrong, her only shame came from the fact that she didnāt get the recognition she always strived for.
And even once she was forced to go rescue them, she still continued to lie to them and made them believe they had been abandoned by their clan. She kept the lie up when she could at least have told them that the Sarentu were dead. When they relocated to the Clouded Forest, she made them believe the Kame'tire were untrustworthy. She could have just said nothing, but no, she had to reinforce the lies to make herself look better, to pose as the Sarentuās sole guide once again.
That woman had absolutely no shame for what she did and only admitted the truth once she was forced to do so. Even when she goes back to wake up the Sarentu, we can find out in a note that her priority is still TAP. āTAP is just a tomb for our dead dreams. Or maybe not. Just maybe.ā Still, after almost two decades in which she could have, you know, self-analyzed a bit? she says loud and clear that she dgaf about the kids (she never even mentions them), like sheās proved over and over again, but only about her little colonialist assimilation project.
Later, if it wasn't for Anufi recognizing her, she never would have told the truth. Again, the only thing she ever does for the Sarentu ā that is, simply informing them of the truth they were owed ā she does because she is forced to do so by external forces. Even the only actual good thing she does in general, creating the Resistance, she does after TAP is gone, not because she realizes sheās done something bad, that sheās part of something evil and wants to separate herself from it, but because, again, she is forced to. If it wasnāt for the Omatikaya and the other clans rebelling, if it wasnāt that humans lost Pandora, she would have never left TAP. Not much of a resistance on her side then, right? She may have founded it ā again, after she was forced by the circumstances, not because she was moved by authentic and sincere motives, and sheās able to do so only by lying about her project and actions ā but it was the other members that made it a Resistance, not her.
* also notice Mercer saying āthis is our last chanceā. Interesting, right? I wonder why they were unable to find willing students. In Almaās videolog we find at TAP-Con1 she says: āWeāve gone as far as we can with the Kame'tire. [ā¦] We just have to make them see what benefits it could bring to the Na'vi, to share cultures and outlooks. We have so much to teach each other. So much to give to the Na'vi. [ā¦] (about the Sarentu) Iām so excited to meet them and welcome the children to our school.ā
We just have to make them see what benefits it could bring to the Na'vi. We have so much to teach each other. So much to give to the Na'vi. And here it goes again, the reason why she was never a good person. At first she tries to make it look like their intent is actually exchanging cultures between equals, but then immediately states her true ideology: itās the humans who can help the primitive Na'vi, not the other way around. This idea that superior sophisticated societies need to share their āwondersā and teach their ways to the lesser, primitive uncivilized (Indigenous) people is beyond disgusting. Again, this is NOT cultural exchange. Because beyond that, I guarantee you there is absolutely NOTHING the Na'vi would have gained from interacting with their colonizers like that. Like Aha'ri said, āwhy would the Na'vi want to have alliances with you?ā. We just have to make them, Alma also says. The Na'vi are never taken into consideration as actual intelligent people with their own will, they are never meant to be part of the conversation: they are too stupid, so we just have to force our culture onto them. But itās okay!! Weāre the superior and civilized ones so weāre actually doing them a favor.
Iām so excited to meet them and welcome the children to our school. Once again, the Na'viās will doesnāt matter. She doesnāt say nor imply anything about actually having a discussion with them. The Kame'tire said no, but they just HAVE to have their school, so theyāre gonna āwelcome the childrenā one way or another. From the note I mentioned earlier: We all had to make sacrifices. Some... they made the ultimate sacrifice. But the science, the progress. Yeah, we did what we thought was right to make TAP a reality. She admits very clearly (and very casually) that she doesnāt give a flying fuck about the lives she and Mercer purposefully destroyed. It was a sacrifice she (and Mercer) decided had the authority to make for āthe science and the progressā. Even decades after the massacre, this is what the lives of the Sarentu still are in her eyes: a necessary and justifiable sacrifice. Alma always knew this. Not in the back of her mind, not subconsciously. Stealing the children was something she was always willing to do, because in her mind itās a good thing, in her mind they have the right to do it. And that makes her abhorrent.
As I said at the beginning of this post, Alma was never a misled victim, she was TAPās co-founder, and that obviously includes TAP-Con1. That means that she not only was aware of everything that was going on in that place, but that she was behind it. She was behind the children being kept in cages, washed with disinfectant, being left to sleep and live like prisoners. They were little children, the oldest being SIX, forced to be analyzed in laboratory (and gods know what else they did to them).
From an interaction at the lab of TAP-Con1, our Sarentu says: āBlood samples. Some of us cried everytime.ā And Alma was behind it. And even if she wasnāt, she still allowed it. If you seriously think that she, the fucking co-founder, did not have any executive power over the project she literally made and she was just subjugated to Mercerās will, you are fooling yourself. This is true for both TAP-Con1 and TAP.
āYou didnāt do a thing to stop Mercer. The wounds he gave us, you gave as well.ā
Nor explained the point so perfectly. She was behind the fear, the abuse, the torture just as much as Mercer and Harding were. Again, she was never just a teacher and the game spells it out for you very clearly. If you ignore this, itās your choice or your willing lack of understanding.
What I find even worse is that she never even tried to repent or earn the Sarentuās forgiveness. She did absolutely NOTHING to earn back her place into their lives or into the Resistance. Not because there is something she could actually do to redeem herself. No, what I find irritating is the fact that she just assumed she was given a free pass for everything. At the end of the main game, she even has the audacity to think that she and the Sarentu can move forward together and ābe a family againā. Except they never were one, they were never on the same side. Itās frustrating how she still refuses to see that. Another proof that she doesnāt hold herself accountable like she claims she does, she still does not see the damage she has done, she still does not see how wicked her actions and intentions always were. She still sees herself as a victim. But this is no excuse for the audience to consider her as such.
After her Avatar dies and she is forced to admit the truth about the Sarentu massacre, there is a side quest called āPenanceā in which Alma, Ri'nela and the MC gather to bury it. You may think after her confession ā which she made seem spontaneous but was actually forced by Anufi and Nor ā Alma actually feels remorse like she claims she does; you may think she finally understands now the gravity of what she did to the Sarentu, that finally she will act honestly and be ready to face the consequences to her actions.
But no. Once again, her only focus is herself. Instead of humbly coming to the Sarentu, she whines about how she doesnāt feel comfortable in her own body (because she chose for years to deceive herself and most importantly the Sarentu with a fake mask of allyship). When the MC points out that the Avatar was never the real Alma, she still speaks as that mask was her true self, she still believes that she was actually one of them, one of the people she personally oppressed and colonized.
And Ri'nela is having none of it. āDid it make your sins easier to bear? Playing make believe?ā This is exactly it. Alma posed as one of the Sarentu, actually tricking herself into believing she was one of them, because this way she didnāt have to face the person she really was all along. This way it was easier to pretend she was in the right, that she was manipulated by Mercer. But as I explained earlier, this doesnāt make her misled, this doesnāt make her a person with good intentions; it just makes her a hypocritical heinous human being.
This is why Alma is irredeemable. Not only because thereās no action good enough to repair the atrocities she was responsible for, but because she would actually had to feel genuine remorse to start a redemption arc. As she made abundantly clear through her words and actions, this is not the case. And Iāll even say this: a person like Alma is utterly incapable of feeling true remorse. There will always be a part of her that believes herself to be partly a victim, a person who just wanted the best but was ultimately misled. This is what I consider the worst, most loathsome and dangerous trait of her character.
This is why the Sky Breaker dlc left a sour aftertaste in my mouth. Spoilers if you havenāt played it yet.
After the valkyrie attack, when everyone is gathered to discuss what happened, Mokasa (why was he allowed to be there in the first place is a mystery) is bitching about the humans, and Sa'ney rightfully calls him out on his hypocrisy. At this point, Alma (again, why the fuck is she here?) intervenes and says:
āDoes he not deserve the same as me? I share the same blame. But⦠Iāve been allowed to move forward.ā
Does he not deserve the same as me? Yes, yes he does. Thatās the point. I share the same blame. Do you, Alma? Do you really? Donāt get me wrong, I HATE Mokasa. Leading the RDA to the Sarentu, blaming Anufi, lying to his own clan for decades⦠I donāt think I need to explain. But it always got me thinking how people point the finger on Mokasa so naturally but donāt give Alma the same treatment. Letās examine them a bit.
Again, thereās no need for me to explain why everything Mokasa did was horrible and unjustifiable. But letās take a look at why he did it. He says it in the main game: āit was their children or oursā. As cruel and horrible that sounds (because it is), itās also true. Itās clear Mokasa was aware of the humansā intentions from the beginning: he knew they were gonna steal Na'vi children regardless and he ensured those children wouldnāt be Kame'tire. Was he right? Of course not!! There is NO excuse for what he did. He should have warned Anufi and the Sarentu, he should have not torn apart his clan to hide his secret⦠but itās still a completely different motive. Alma is a human and an oppressor who wanted to steal children for her own personal ambition; Mokasa, an Indigenous man part of the oppressed category, did evil and inexcusable things because he thought that was the only way to protect his clan and their children from their colonizers. The outcome, the goal even, is the same: the sacrifice of the Sarentu and their children. Yet what drives Mokasa and Alma to commit this atrocity cannot be judged equally. Not really the same, is it?
But Iāve been allowed to move forward. Have you, Alma? HAVE YOU? Who exactly has allowed you to move forward? The Resistance? But why should they ever have a say in this? Yes, they felt betrayed too in a way, obviously. But theyāre not the ones whose lives were ruined at her hands. The only ones who get to have a say in this are the Sarentu. Didnāt seem to me that they forgave her; they only made clear they wanted and needed to go their own way. They very clearly separated themselves from her. So, it looks like to me that Alma simply assumed she was given a free pass for everything even though she didnāt do a single thing to repent for her actions.
I have conflicted feelings about Mokasaās so-called redemption, and Iām not sure what were the gameās intentions regarding him as opposed to Alma. But what is certain is that Alma deserved to pay the consequences for her actions. Mokasa was rightfully banished from the clan. I know the same canāt be done for Alma, but ignoring her is not enough. She deserves to be punished for what she did. I donāt how, honestly (not implying physical torture or anything here guys, dw). Yes, Nor killed her Avatar and I think that was absolutely necessary. But what Nor did (and he 100% had every right) was revealing the real Alma, it was stripping her from the possibility to keep deceiving everyone, especially the Sarentu; it was not, however, the consequence she needs to face. I really hope they will somehow deal with this in the future.
This is what I think of her. I may never hated a character more and I wish she died in the neurosect. There is absolutely no excuse for this woman. Thereās no sympathizing with her. I did not villanize her, I did not exaggerate her actions or make her look worse than what she actually is. If people still refuse to see it, I think that says a lot about them.
I want to conclude saying this: I do think Alma is a beautifully written character, and it was surprising how well the game handled such delicate themes, how it showed different affects of colonization and assimilation culture on the children without passing one of them as more rightful. Because at the end of the day this is what the story is about, and the fans ignore this too often: this is a metaphor for residential schools and their survivors. Itās a story about resistance and reconnection. You cannot forget this when you judge characters like Nor, or Teylan, or Alma. Again, you are not meant to defend her. It is not her story. It is the Sarentuās story. And it is meant to parallel the real stories from which this one was inspired. Always remember that.