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Chapter Eight : You Must Sow…

Jake shouldn’t have been surprised when the meeting with Quaritch was arranged for him later that night. Between Shiv’s own insane competence and silver tongue, and then Quaritch’s own wish to get his hands on Jake and the Avatar Program by extension, he should have expected it. 

Still, he wished he could fold his hands behind his back again, yearning for the familiar comfort for the ‘at ease’ position his drill sergeant had beaten into him as a child. She’d gotten results, evident from the way he sat back perfectly straight and salute sharp, but considering the shit she’d put him through as a kid, Jake thought he had good reason to despise her. 

Quaritch’s office, the whole military wing, really, was much different from the science wing. 

Grace’s office had been, in a word, chaotic. Datapads from different department heads within the Avatar Program, the majority labeled in angry cursive from her SIC with deadlines, were stacked high beside her three monitors and there were bound to be samples of whatever plant or specimen she had decided to study in her free time. Littered with old photos across her desk, a few of people who shared some of her features - family back on Earth, probably - but mostly pictures of Pandora: the landscapes and the skies, the Hallelujah Mountains that Jake desperately wanted to see and, hidden behind the others, he had glimpsed pictures of young Omatikaya with their gleaming smiles and the corner of a familiar red shawl. 

Everything Grace had fought for and everything she had lost.

Quaritch’s, by contrast, was the stereotype of a military officer’s desk: clean and organised, datapads stacked in a neat pile beside a picture of a much-younger-Quaritch’s squad on an icy landscape back on Earth. His office overlooked the main operations fields under military command, engineering and security, a vast difference from the windows Grace had without curtains in the science wing so that Pandora’s beauty could be experienced from all rooms. 

Where Grace’s exopack would have been placed on her desk or strapped to her hip, ready for her next adventure, Quaritch’s was placed in the regulated area by the inside of his door, just under the light switch and the fire alarm. On his desk, he carried a small air filter, one that would last him the three steps it took to get to his exopack. 

“Want something to drink?” Quaritch asked as Jake rolled in for the meeting. He’d laughed, not unkindly, as Jake saluted him and waved him off. “No need for that, son, we’re all friends here.”

“‘Course, sir.” Jake had replied with a nod, keeping his posture loose, casual and entirely too aware that he was playing a dangerous game with a better player. He wasn’t Tommy who could and would lie with a smile on his face; he had to be careful. “And no thanks.”

“Suit yourself.” Quaritch poured himself a drink and sat down, one foot settling on the other knee. 

The two of them stared at each other, waiting for the other’s move. Quaritch was, obviously, already planning his moves against whatever he thought Jake’s plan was. After all, you didn’t survive Pandora if you weren’t at least three steps ahead of everyone else and Quaritch was one of the few who was living on this planet rather than just surviving.

Just as Jake was about to open his mouth to start the conversation, Quaritch piped up with a disconcerting, “You’ve been spending a lotta time with the pointy-eared folks, Sully.”

“That’s the assignment, Colonel,” Jake said, trying to sound as cocky as he didn’t feel. Maybe he should have drank something before he came here; Tommy was always saying he was ‘ great at talking shit when he couldn’t tell up from down ’. “Augustine wants ‘cultural immersion’, not body-snatching.”

Quaritch smirked as he took a long sip from his cup. “And how’s that going for you? Heard that doctor brother of yours got his ass dragged in too.”

“That’s the thing with brothers, Colonel,” Jake laughed. “They want everything the other has until they both have nothing left.”

“If your brothers are anything like battle buddies, then I agree wholeheartedly, Corporal.” Quaritch shook his head, as though reminiscing on the good times. “Still, you wouldn't trade them for the world.”

“Even when they’re being fucking stupid.” Jake agreed. 

Quaritch raised a brow at that. “Oh? What’s Tommy-boy done now? I’d have thought getting caught up with the natives was bad enough.”

“I wish,” Jake said, groaning. He made a show of rubbing his eyes in annoyed frustration that was only partially an act. “That’s why I wanted to speak to you. I need your help keeping him out of trouble.”

“What kind of trouble are we talking about here?”

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Chapter Seven : Always You

Jake wasn’t surprised, really.

It made perfect sense that Grace would keep him out of the finer details of her operation which - fair. He didn’t belong with her team, she didn’t even want him in the first place and she obviously despised him ‘cause he was ex-military and Quaricth seemed to have dug his claws into anything resembling military pretty deeply on Pandora. Even Shiv - ex-RAF, Grace’s pilot and TIC - still had to write reports and rejection letters to his wing, reiterating that she didn’t want to rejoin, thank you. 

Jake couldn’t blame Grace for her suspicion, even if they'd been on Earth. He’d seen firsthand the shit the military had done, had felt just how little they truly cared for people in the weeks after he lost his legs and was left to struggle by himself. If it hadn’t been for Tommy, Jake wouldn’t have survived the first few weeks after his disability compensation ran out and the military hadn’t bothered to pay him any more. 

After learning what had happened at the school, Jake considered him lucky that Grace hadn’t just left him out to die in the forest that night he got lost. 

So, in essence, he knew that Tommy’s little escapades into the forest at night were probably under Grace’s orders. Grace had wanted Tommy and Norm for a reason; after all, you didn’t fight tooth and nail to bring someone light years away to a different planet if they weren’t integral to a plan you had. Though Jake hadn’t quite figured out why Norm and Tommy were the ones that stood out against the other candidates, he knew that they were chosen for a reason. 

Finding out - from Tsu’tey , of all people - that Tommy was involved in some plan with the Omatikaya had been surprising, but perhaps understandable. The Na’vi didn’t have the same technology as humans, so it made sense that they’d be willing - albeit reluctantly - to work with humans to stop the military wing from ruining their lives all over again. Jake also realised that he probably wasn’t the best liaison for this job, not the way Tommy was, so he let it go and left them to their work.

The issues began when, nearing a month since he’d begun training with the Omatikaya, Quaricth’s lot started sniffing around like the bloodhounds they were in Grace’s wing - specifically, in regards to whatever work Tommy was doing. And Jake was willing to let Grace and Tommy get away with a lot when it came to the secret missions Tommy and for her. What he wasn’t willing to let go, however, was when Tommy started getting hurt because of it. 

“What the fuck happened to you?”

“Nothing.” Tommy, bastard that he was, said, as though he didn’t have bruises curling around one arm. If it had been in his avatar body Jake would have winced in sympathy and lamented to his twin about dreadful Omatikaya training and they’d have both laughed it off on their way to Mo’at for another batch of her healing salve. 

But this was on his human body. 

“Let’s not talk shit, Tommy.” Jake rolled in front of his brother, stopping him from stepping into the link pod. 

Tommy scowled. “Jake, come on, we’re gonna be late.”

“We’ve still got a half hour until sunrise, actually,” Jake said. He crossed his arms. “So you can explain to me why it looks like someone tried to drag you away kicking and screaming.”

“I just said some stupid shit and paid the price.” Tommy said with a roll of his eyes. “You’d be familiar with that.”

“Humour isn’t your best deflecting method on the best of days, Tom-tom.”

“You a therapist now, are you?”

“ Tom .” 

“Jake.” 

Jake scowled at him, feeling his anger flare. “What happened? If it’s ‘cause of the shit Grace has-”

Tommy’s glare sharpened and he leaned forward into Jake’s face, hissing, “Watch your fucking tongue.” 

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Chapter Six : Day by Day

Tommy’s head was pounding by the time he returned to base, his avatar body curled up safe in his snonivi. When he’d glanced at Jake’s - swaying gently in the breeze next to Tommy’s - his twin’s avatar had seemed perfectly content in sleep, face serene. It was chilling, slightly. Jake, for as long as Tommy had known him, was a messy sleeper; to see such stillness, even in slumber, had unnerved him. 

The constant thrum of Hell’s Gate - so foreign from the thrills of wildlife and chattering of the People in Kelutral - was erring more on the side of irritating than soothing. His eyes felt as though they’d been glued shut, his tongue dry and heavy from lack of water. He groaned as he sat up in the link pod, already shaky vision swimming as all the blood rushed down to his feet.

When his eyes finally decided to function, he found that, surprisingly, he wasn’t the only person awake at this hour. This hour being a little over half-twelve in the morning on their clocks. Damn, he hadn’t meant to stay out so long. His body was not going to appreciate him when he had to get up again in a few hours. 

“Long night, doc?”

Tommy blinked slowly as the vaguely-familiar face came into view, smiling kindly at him and, graciously, holding out an already-opened bottle of water. 

“Thanks.” He rasped, taking the bottle gratefully as his mind searched for a name to put to the face in front of him. Dark skin, cropped black hair, a bindi between the brows. He clicked his fingers in thought. “I’ve seen you with Grace.”

“Yup.” She said, seemingly full of energy despite the late - or early, by some perspectives - hour. “Shivika Vetrimaran. Call me Shiv.”

“Right.” She’d been the one hovering beside Grace’s SIC in the late-night meeting Grace had held when Jake and Tommy had first gotten accepted as students amongst the Omatikaya. “Sorry, I’m kind of out of it now.”

She waved the apology away. “Nah, don’t worry about it, mate. You look like you’ve spent the last ten years of your life fighting wars.”

“That’s one way to sum up my childhood.” He said wryly.

Shiv snorted. “Welcome to the club, love.” She pointed her thumb behind her. “Think Norm’s still up, so you might be able to catch him before you head to bed. And it better be soon, mate.”

“Aww, you care.” Tommy teased, earning a laugh. “Don’t worry I will. I feel like I could sleep for a century.”

“Well, make sure to write down the name of your prince charming so we can wake you up again, sleeping beauty.” Shiv said with an exaggerated wink. “Feel free to put my name down.”

Tommy rolled his eyes as he headed for the common room connected to the link pods and the labs. Maybe he’d be able to grab something to fill his empty stomach before curling up in bed. 

As promised, Norm was still there, hunched over a desk with papers and data pads alike scattered in front of him. With the dark circles under his eyes and his hair messed up from whenever he’d run his fingers through it, Tommy was reminded of college and late nights studying for exams and presentations and assessments. 

How far we’ve come, he mused, peering into the fridge for food. Protein bars seemed like the healthy choice, but he really wasn’t in the mood for chewing cardboard imitating as food so he grabbed the chocolate milk with the label ‘Jake’ and a slice of bread that he haphazardly slathered with something that looked sort-of-like jam and smelled pretty good. He slumped onto the couch, sighing at the wonderful feeling of sitting down despite the fact that this body had been doing that for the majority of the day. 

God, he’d have to talk to Tsu’tey about that. He and Jake wouldn’t survive if they kept pushing themselves like this. Surely, there were some skills they could learn from their human bodies? But to ask them to come anywhere near Hell’s Gate seemed both tone-deaf and incredibly cruel.

His head pulsed in reminder of his pounding headache. 

A dilemma for tomorrow then.

Tommy laid down on the couch, beginning the argument in his head that he should really head to his and Jake’s little room because he wasn’t getting any younger and the couch would do absolutely no favors for his back. He covered his face and resisted the tempting urge to scream. 

“Rough day?” Norm asked, as he stopped pretending to read whatever page he’d been on for the past five minutes. 

Tommy covered his eyes with his arm. “You could say that.”

There was a pause in the conversation where Tommy couldn’ve elaborated, but when such elaboration wasn’t forthcoming, Norm added, “Must be really tough being with the Na’vi.”

Tommy didn’t like that tone, felt his shoulders tighten at it. A moment of peace wasn’t that much to ask for, was it?

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Chapter Five : Baby Steps

Tom found out, very quickly, that Grace was not lying when she said village life started early.

He bit back another yawn as he and Jake stood by the edges of the clearing around Kelutral, waiting for Neytiri and Tsu’tey to arrive with their pa’li. 

“Tired, Tom-Tom?” 

“Don’t call me that.” Tom said, scowling at his bright-eyed and bushy-tailed twin. Honestly, he hated morning people; if he ever got married, he was not going to go for a morning person. “And keep your voice down before you encourage the palulukan to find us again.”

“How is your Na’vi so good?” Jake complained, still loud. Tom’s eye twitched, and he reminded himself of the many reasons he loved his brother, that it wasn’t worth strangling him because he was an annoying prick. 

“Technically you should be asking why my lí’fya leNa’vi is so good.” Tommy said, just to be annoying. Then, with more seriousness, “Years of practice. And I like learning languages anyway, so I’ve got the motivation to improve myself.”

“I know Vietnamese!” Jake said, defensive. “And Spanish!”

“Which’ll help, but Na’vi is decidedly very different from either of those two.” Tommy replied. “You want the truth? Spanish and French didn’t help me when learning Na’vi.”

“Are there any earth languages that do?”

Tom hummed in thought. “Xhosa, maybe? I’ve had Māori colleagues who said it was similar to their native language.” Tom shook his head. “You have to realise it’s an alien language, Jake; there’s not going to be a human equivalent to everything that;s in it.”

“I suppose.” Jake sighed. “I’m just not looking forward to language lessons again.”

Tom snorted. “Yeah, I saw Neytiri slap you, like, five times in two minutes yesterday ‘cause of your shitty pronunciation.”

“I swear to god, Tommy, some of these words are impossible to say.”

“You’ll get used to it.” Tom said. “You’ll have to if you want Neytiri to stop slapping you.”

As if summoned by their conversation, Neytiri and Tsu’tey arrived with two pa’li striding beside them. 

Pa’li - or direhorses, as humans knew them - were powerful and majestic beings. They reminded Tom of horses, yet another near-extinct species on Earth; he knew some rich elites kept them as pets and rode them, but he’d never actually seen one up close. If they were anything like their Pandoran counterparts, then Tom knew they would be exquisite . 

“This is a pa’li.” Neytiri said. She gave Jake a pointed look. 

Dutifully, Jake tried to repeat it. “Pally.”

“Pa’li.” Neytiri repeated, emphasising the different syllables for Jake’s benefit. 

Beside her Tom could tell Tsu’tey was hiding a smirk. Then his eyes met Tom’s and that amusement faded into familiar resentment. 

Well, it wasn’t like they were trying to be friends, were they?

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Chapter Four: As it Begins

The next days passed in that same blissful peace that Tommy could have only dreamed of.

Jake and Grace managed to keep things civil, if only for Tommy’s sanity, and between him and Norm, they were able to keep his twin and his supervisor from murdering each other within seconds of interacting. By day three, he could even leave them both alone in a room together without fearing for one of their lives, which he and Norm considered a vast improvement. 

Tommy’s little escapades into the forest dwindled down slightly, his days filled with hours in the link pod and any hours in his human body were either spent on resting, taking care of said body, analyzing the data that they harvested that day or recording his video log of the day’s events. He did, however, make sure to annoy Jake in every one of his video logs, just to be petty. 

Then came the day Grace deemed them fit for a longer journey in their avatars. Tommy hadn’t expected her to take them to the school site where the na’vi children and three avatars had been murdered in cold blood. 

The air was heavy as they walked around in the remains of Grace’s pride and joy. Old school books littered the floor, half open and pages stained with crimson. Blood had thickened and then dried into the wooden floors, and there were handprints - four-fingered and five-fingered both - pasted across the walls, smeared in desperation and fear and horror. Tommy watched, nausea swelling in his sTommyach, as Jake ran feather-light fingers over the bullet holes in the wooden walls. 

None of them were strangers to violence, not even Norm who had had the most stable experience on Earth out of the lot of them. It didn’t make it any less horrifying, this scene of horror.

Then the world decided to treat Tommy to one from his own personal hell : Jake, snarling and fierce, tail thrashing with his fear as he faced down a hammerhead titanothere, then, when they had all thought Jake had miraculously pulled himself out of trouble, a thanator showed up. 

The black, feline-like creature prowled towards Tommy’s brother, towards the best person in his life. It drew back its teeth in vicious snarl, the flaps surrounding its head flaring like a fucked up halo.

“Jake!” His brother met his eyes, and Tommy hated the terror he saw in them, hated that he could do nothing to take it away. “ Run !”

Jake ran into the dense foliage of Pandora, taking Tommy’s heart with him. 

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Chapter Three : Going Blue

Tommy was certain that the bane of his existence was waking up in the morning. The feeling of heavy limbs and dry lips didn’t help any appeal, and waking up to Jake’s snoring and morning breath definitely didn't help.

“God, Jake,” Tommy groaned as he shoved his twin away. They’d ended up in an awkward tangle of limbs - unavoidable, really, when their bed was meant for one person, not two - with Jake’s open mouth threateningly close to Tommy’s nose. “What the hell have you been eating?”

“Your cooking.” Jake mumbled, wiggling closer to Tommy and continuing his little performance. 

Jake always woke up before Tommy, even before he’d headed off to the military and had it drilled into him, so Tommy had known that his bastard fo a brother was awake and, whilst Jake did snore, he was being completely obnoxious when snoring into Tommy’s face. It was due to this that Tommy had no regrets when he climbed out of bed, making sure to accidentally use Jake’s head as a balance. 

He was rewarded with Jake’s spluttering as the bathroom door slid shut behind him.

Yesterday evening had gone by quickly, which consisted mostly of Tommy introducing Jake to the scientists and engineers and medics and many, many other STEM personnel working in their department. Jake, ever the extrovert, had taken it in stride and Tommy couldn’t help the glow of pride when he saw Jake joking around with the others. 

Sure, maybe Grace didn’t have the best opinions on him, but it seemed the other scientists didn’t share her same reservations. 

(Augustine breathed out a plume of smoke, eyes flickering between Tommy and Jake, before they settled on the latter. “So,” She flicked her cigarette into the ash-tray on a nearby desk. “You’re the marine they sent to my labs.”

Jake smiled without warmth. “Ex-marine, but yeah. Nice to meet you, Doctor.”

A scoff of derision that had Tommy’s flight-or-flight flaring. “Wish I could say the same. Look, I don’t know what kind of circus you think I'm running, but I’m gonna make it as clear cut as I can for you, marine: keep yourself and any of your buddies out of my department.”

“Now Grace-”

Augustine waved away Max’s attempt at defense with a scowl. “Don’t try to defend them now. They’ve been pissing on us for years, and you don’t think it’s some coincidence that they approve some marine add-on to my recruit?” She turned back to Jake, and Tommy saw the fury in her eyes, a blazing inferno.

Before things could get out of hand, Tommy stepped between them, shooting Jake a ‘please shut up’ look that he prayed his twin would listen to and faced Grace. “Look, Dr. Augustine-”

“Just call me Grace, kid.”

“Grace.” Tommy said in what he hoped was a friendly voice. From Norm’s wince in the periphery of his vision, he assumed he had failed spectacularly. Oh, well. “Maybe we don’t want to start this off with threats? Jake hasn’t done anything.”

“Yet.” Grace spat. “You know as well as I do what the military wing does here.”

Tommy did. He knew vividly what they did to the people of Pandora, knew the blood soaking the soil where humanity had laid their feet. Everyone had heard the stories, back on Earth and there’d been a spark of protest those few years, with heavy words thrown around. Colonisation had been a big one, and Tommy had heard more than one variation of ‘repeating history’ throughout those years, young as he had been. 

Still, the last thing he needed right now was to act as a shield between his boss and his brother. 

“I do,” Tommy said smoothly. “And yelling at Jake isn’t going to fix that, is it?” He raised a brow. “That wasn’t why you brought me here.”

Grace looked at him then, eyes searching. Eventually, she found whatever she was looking for and she gave a shallow nod. “Keep your ass out of trouble, marine.” She said, shoving past them. “I need a word with Selfridge.”

An awkward silence settled in the lab. 

Predictably, Jake was the one to break it, with a drawled, “Well, isn’t she great?”)

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I love when authors get all hyped about their own fics and the plot twists they just dropped. Like, I’ll scroll down to the author’s note and it’ll be something like, “omg you guys I can't believe that just happened!!!” — as if they weren’t the ones who literally wrote it 😭😭 It’s so cute. It makes me ten times more excited to read because if the author’s losing their mind, I know I’m about to lose mine too.

[projectavtr]

[Avatar AU] Jayce struggles with his Avatar form

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Chapter Two : Blue Horizons

For ten long years Tommy had worked his ass off, got the best grades, got a scholarship for the best universities, got his degree and then his doctorate, did everything he could to get a trip to Pandora. It was, of course, no surprise to Jake that his brother's aspirations of travelling to Pandora were eventually fulfilled. Just ten weeks before Jake lost his legs in a freak accident in Vietnam.

Jake had prepared for the loneliness that would encompass him once his brother was gone. He’d need to get a job somehow, one that wouldn’t be impeded by his disability. He thought that saying goodbye to his brother, the last member of his family that was still on Earth, would be the hardest part. But Jake wasn’t going to ruin Tommy’s dream, not after he ruined basically everything else. 

Tommy said no.

Tommy should have counted himself lucky that he was standing when he told Jake of his monumentally stupid actions because otherwise the punch Jake hand landed on his thigh would have met his face. Tommy had no right to give up his dream for Jake; his stupid jarhead brother who had been foolish enough to get shot fighting in a stupid war he didn’t even care for. 

Tommy made it very clear that on no uncertain terms he would leave Earth, unless the RDA were willing to pay for Jake’s surgery and-or give him better benefits than what the government currently had him on whilst he recovered. Needless to say, the RDA weren’t into shelling out that type of money, and so, Tommy would not go to Pandora. 

But some chief scientist on Pandora wanted him there, wanted Tommy on her team. Tommy said no to her too, and, to her credit, she was stubborn enough to try to get Tommy on her team again and again and again. Say what you will about Grace Augustine, that woman was stubborn as hell.   

Then somehow it seemed fate decided to come to their aid. Tommy’s avatar split in two. Twins. 

There was definitely some scientific jargon behind it (enough to make Tommy talk for three hours straight) but all Jake understood was that because Tommy was a twin his avatar turned out to be one as well. The scientists were, unsurprisingly, reluctant to let go of this new development in avatar technology, claiming that getting rid of it was a waste of scientific opportunity. Which meant there was an extra Jake-sized seat to spare on the avatar mission. 

So instead of spending the next six years sad and alone, drowning to his death in alcohol, Jake had dragged his sorry ass to all of the classes that were required for anyone who was going to Pandora. Tommy, angel on earth he was, had tagged along as well, though he spoke Na’vi better than their instructor had and his hours in the avatar driver simulation was higher than anyone else’s. Jake appreciated it, even if it felt like being twelve again and feeling dumb as hell next to his probably-Darwin-reincarnated genius of a brother. 

He’d passed, with Tommy’s help and insistent nagging to study the content outside of the lectures. It was surprisingly interesting though Jake would sooner eat his own shit than admit that to Tommy. 

Jake had seen the avatars before they had gotten on the ship, it looked like two big blue blobs of nothing, but they had been assured that by the end of the five-year gestation period the avatars would be fully grown. Tommy was hoping they didn’t look identical (unlikely if you asked Jake; like, have you looked at him and Tommy?) since it would be a pain to discern which one was which when they weren’t being piloted. 

Jake still wasn’t sure about the idea of piloting a body, but he was erring on the side of disgust rather than cool like Tommy. 

The flight down to the moon of Pandora had been relatively quick compared to the six-year flight they had just gone through to get there. Still, launching the ship and touching down on the base took about ten hours. By the time they got down Jake’s back, especially the place where he’d been shot, ached and he knew he’d be doing stretches for the next week at least trying to get rid of it. 

He knew what the other scientists would think of him, dumbass, freeloader… Tommy had gotten Jake to Pandora and in doing so he had probably cost someone much more deserving their spot in the trip. Jake didn’t even want to think about what the military side of this whole operation would think of him, whatever it was, it was probably worse.

There was a deafening banging sound as metal ground together and the doors to the dropship lowered. The Marines were already up and jogging out of the ship in a single file line. Jake watched them forlorn, missing the order and brotherhood that came with the military.

Tommy had a frown on his face as he stared at the lines running down. Jake knew that, despite never saying anything, Tommy had far from pleasant opinions on the military and he definitely didn't approve when Jake, bright eyed and bushy tailed at twelve, had wanted to apply to the academy at thirteen. Jake had been able to read him better back then and he’d seen the disapproval clear as day in his eyes, though it had been encouragement that fell from his lips. 

Then the consternation was gone, Tommy’s familiar mask of collected politeness falling back into place and what little Jake had been able to read of his expression was gone. “Not what I expected of Pandora, not gonna lie.”

Jake snorted. “Not like the tabloids, eh?” He reached over to pat Tommy’s arm in faux-sympathy. “Don’t worry Tom-Tom, we’ll see your leaves and dirt soon.”

It earned him a slap around the head, but hearing Tommy’s laugh made it worth it. 

“Move it, hot rod!” one of the drivers shouted when Jake and Tommy came too close for comfort.

The pair quickly dodged out of the way and made their way towards the main facility, as they approached Jake noticed many of the soldiers staring at them- at him. The looks ranged from disbelief, confusion, pity and amusement. Jake felt his hackles rise at their stares. Part of him wanted to get out his chair and throw it at their fucking heads, but then he’d have to crawl the rest of the way inside, and that felt more humiliating.

Colonel Quaritch was giving the classic ‘you're not in Kansas anymore speech.’ Jake had heard it, or variations of it, before. It was designed to deter the idiots from trying to do anything stupid, whilst giving them clear cut lines of what to look out for. Judging by the wicked scars marring Quaritch’s face, the natives weren’t the only people they needed to look out for. 

After the little speech the crowd started dissipating, everyone heading over to their new departments to get settled in. Before Tommy could drag them both to the science wing, Quaritch stepped in, a grin on his face. 

“You must be the Sullys.” He said in greeting, holding out his forearm to Jake, which he took with a smile of his own. 

“Two and only, sir.” Jake replied, which got him a short laugh from the colonel.

Tommy’s eyes were hard as he shook Quaricth’s hand. “A pleasure.” He said, hefting his backpack on his shoulder again. “Hopefully we’ll see you around, sir.”

“I’m sure you will, kid.” Quaritch said with a smile just this side of too-sharp. He nodded at Jake and then at Tommy, something strange glinting in his eyes as he said, “Corporal. Doctor.” And then he was off, yelling orders and leaving a wake of something behind. 

“Pleasant guy.” Tommy murmured, eyes tracking the colonel. 

Jake frowned, looking between the two of them. There seemed to be some sort of tension there, though Jake couldn’t really understand why. Tommy had never met Quaritch before and, for all his disapproval, Tommy had never treated military personnel any differently from anyone else before. 

Jake shoved the thought away and rolled his eyes at his brother’s suspicions that the Colonel meant to protect them of all people was the one they’d have to look out for. If there was anyone he should be worried about, it was the natives. The arrows sticking out of huge bulldozer tyres should have been enough indication of that.

Still, despite the danger that lay just a few yards beyond the walls of the facility, the safety briefing put Jake at ease. This was something he was familiar with. All this science stuff that Tommy was there for, it was so confusing Jake sometimes felt like he couldn't tell up from down. That was the appeal of the military. It was cut and dry, the rules were clear. It was us versus them. And despite what Tommy said, it was very clear who they were.

Jake followed after Tommy, unlike most of the people who had come with them, the military personnel. 

“Tommy! Hey, Tommy!” a voice echoed strangely down the crowded hallway.

Jake and Tommy stopped and a few seconds later a tall nerdy-looking scientist clutching a bag emerged from the crowd.

“Norm!” Tommy greeted, excitedly, giving the man a quick hug. “Jake, You’ve heard of Norm. Dr Norm Spellman, now.” Jake’s twin teased with a smile that was usually aimed at Jake. “Norm, this is my brother, Jake.”

“Hey,” Jake said, nodding curtly and shaking the scientist's hand.

“Nice to finally meet you.” Norm said with a shake of his own head. He turned to Tommy. “I’m so glad you’re here. Ready to change the world?”

Tommy grinned, sharp and mischievous in a way that reminded Jake of younger days. “Yep.”

Before Jake could try to decipher that inside joke - at least he hoped it was a joke - Norm had a decidedly mischievous look enter his eyes. Jake hated it instantly. “So has he seen them yet?”

Tommy’s eyes brightened even more. If he kept going like this, his eyes would be as bright as the sun itself. “Nope. We’ll see them soon.”

Ah. The avatars. 

They navigated through the long winding halls, people were either jumping out of the way or banging into Jake, he scowled as he went on. The halls were too narrow, you could barely fit two people a breast, much less one guy in a chair. Finally, they arrived in the section where Jake, Tommy and Norm would be rooming.

“Oh, I’m right here,” Norm said, pointing to a door that had 'N . Spellman' written on it.

“Cool, catch you later Norm,” Jake said, before continuing farther down the hall. 

He and Tommy got to share a room with ‘J . T. Sully’ written on it, though the ‘J.’ looked like it had been painted in a permanent marker just minutes before their arrival. The documents said that they didn’t have enough time to sort out a second room for Jake but Jake wasn’t stupid. He knew that the RDA was too fucking cheap to spend time filling out another room for Jake and had just holed him up with his brother instead. 

The room was small and cramped and was just barely able to sit them both in. The bed was probably big enough to fit them both and it wasn’t like Tommy and Jake hadn’t shared a bed for the majority of their lives. But still it wasn’t an ideal space for two fully grown men.

Tommy sighed tiredly, rubbing his face with his hands. Despite the six year long sleep, Tommy didn’t look well rested in any sense of the word. If anything he seemed more tired, like there was something weighing down on him. 

Before Jake could question who he had to punch to get the smile back on his brother’s face, Tommy smiled and stood. “Come on, get your mask. We’re heading outside.” 

And with that type of giddiness in Tommy’s eyes, how could Jake deny him?

Continue on ao3

[projectavtr]

They say there are a thousand worlds out there, each one different from the last.

At twelve, a year after his father dies, Tom Sully, knows that in this one, he’s going to go to Pandora. He has said this before, in a world eerily similar to his own and it is a lie. He never sees Pandora, not truly, with his own eyes, his own thoughts, his own love. His twin brother does, and maybe that’s enough in that world.

But. This one’s a bit kinder, and despite everything that happens, it doesn’t make a liar of Tommy just yet.

Or, Jake and Tommy Sully go to Pandora and the rivers of fate are forever changed.

Chapter One : Welcome to Earth

When Tom was nine years old - a year, three months and six days before his world would diverge for the first time - Dad took him and Jake to a protest. It was hardly new, wasn’t their first and wouldn’t be their last, but it was the one that Tom remembered best.

It was against the mining company that Dad worked for - the reason why Tom knew how to work the stove and all the pans in their house were kept in the lower cupboard because they were the only ones he could reach; the reason why Jake had to check the locks once, twice, three times every night because two little kids all alone at night made a pretty easy target. 

Dad always came back though, which was a blessing many others didn’t have. He’d be in his rough work uniform, covered in smudges of dirt even though his hands, feet and face were clean from the compulsory decontamination showers that were more harsh chemicals than water. His hands would tremble, were rough and scratchy as they cupped Tom’s face so he could press a kiss to Tom’s forehead. Dad would then turn to Jake and Tom would be treated to the clear view of the jagged scar running down the side of Dad’s neck, a reminder that there would be a day when Dad wouldn’t come home. 

A reminder that there would come a day - fated, known, inevitable - where Tom would wake to Jake hollering at him to come downstairs, preceded by a dull knocking on their door. If they were lucky it’d be Sammy, their next door neighbour and Dad’s best friend, and if they weren’t it’d be old Joe from down the road, his perpetual scowl and general hatred for humanity softened in respectful grief. 

If they were really unlucky - which Tom knew, even then, without an iota of doubt, they were - it’d be some clean-faced higher-ups in classy coats and ironed shirts looking out of place as they stood with fake frowns at their door. Tom knew the way they’d lower their voice like they actually felt sorry for the little kids in front of them, and they’d pretend not to wrinkle their noses at the scraping paint on the walls and the second-hand furniture, before they’d shatter Tom’s world with an apathetic, ‘I’m sorry.’

They’d offer their empty platitudes in one breath and encourage them to start packing up their lives, so they could be shipped off to the orphanage in the city, miles away from all they’d known. 

Tom knew they would, ‘cause he’d seen it plenty of times before. Many times, in fact, though the latest had been his friend Melody who’d been sent to the city six months back whilst her big sister, Ruthie, begged the social service workers not to take her. Ruthie had been twenty, a miner like the rest of the village, but she’d not made enough money to sustain herself and Melody, and would never make enough because they hadn’t gotten a pay raise in decades and it seemed like they never would. 

Tom remembered sitting in Melody’s room with Jake, a solemn weight on their too-small shoulders, as they helped her pack up as much of home as they could. Jake had cried, heaving sobs shaking his frame as Dad tried to soothe him, when they said their final goodbyes to Melody. Tom wanted to, but he’d watched as Ruthie knelt in front of Melody, brushing the tears from her baby sister’s eyes with her thumbs. 

“You’ve gotta be strong for me, Mel.” She’d said, and though her eyes were red they were dry and burning and fierce. She’d pulled Mel into the last hug they’d ever have and Tom watched as Ruthie whispered in her sister’s ear, “Be strong.” again and again, a chant and a mantra for a sister lost to the world. 

Tom hadn’t complained, that night, when Jake ended up on his side of their bed again. He’d just stared at his brother’s chest, rising and falling, pressed his hand to Jake’s chest and felt his twin’s heart beat under his palm, praying that he’d never forget the feeling when the day came for Jake to leave too. 

So, really, there were plenty of reasons to hate the company that Dad worked for, but when his feet ached and his throat burned, Tom pushed forward with Ruthie’s words ringing in his ears and Mel’s crying face in his mind.

It was the first protest where he could feel, as much as he could know, what he was fighting for. 

Tommy remembered his father’s last days by long nights filled with the sound of grating coughs, Jake curled up beside him in silence as they listened to their father’s lungs fail in the room next door. To his credit, Tommy’s father tried to hide it from his children as best he could, tried to give them some peace and levity even as the polluted air of Earth filled his too-weak lungs. He’d stay up with them, on the days when his coughs gave him enough reprieve, sitting on their thin mattress in the corner of their room, Jake curled up on his left side and Tommy on his left.

“No way!” Jake protested on one of these nights, pointing a finger in Tommy’s face. “Ares is obviously the best! He’s got the cool spear and the helmet and-”

“And Athena doesn’t?” Tommy countered, flipping the page in the book to the goddess of wisdom. “Look at her, she’s the symbol of Athens and has an owl. All Ares has is a shield and a pointy stick.”

“What’s an owl going to do in a battle?” Jake rolled his eyes. “It’ll get shot down in ten seconds flat.”

“Well, Dad agrees with me, right?” 

Their father had laughed, raspy but kind, shaking his head at them fondly. “Well, I supposed you’d need both of them, wouldn’t you? Both Athena’s strategies and Ares’s strength would be needed in an actual battle, yeah?”

Jake groaned dramatically. “But Dad, which one’s better? It’s Ares, isn’t it? He’s the god of war.”

“So’s Athena!” Tommy rebutted, immediately.

Jake pointed a finger at her page in the book. “She’s wisdom, not war, idiot.”

“She’s both.”

“Ares was first though-”

“No he wasn’t-”

“Oh, and how do you know, smarty pants?” Jake, as eleven year olds were prone to do, stuck his tongue out at Tommy to add to the insult. 

Tommy, as older brothers were prone to do, scowled. “I’m older, so I’m smarter.”

Jake’s face contorted into a scowl and he opened his mouth - probably to argue that it didn’t count, even though it totally did because Tommy was a whole forty-five minutes older - but was quickly derailed by their dad, as he closed the book with a loud, “Time for bed then boys.”

Which, expectedly, made Jake and Tommy forget their argument and argue emphatically that they really were old enough to not need a bedtime anymore.  

(Years later, it would easily become Tommy’s favourite memory of Earth.)

Continue on ao3

[projectavtr]

🔥Time to wake up🔥

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older siblings who love their younger siblings so much. but they resent the responsibility. Of course they'll always take care of them. But ... Why do they always *have* to. Sometimes (all the time) the weight of the world is on their shoulders, because their world IS their sibling. sorry if they're a little gruff. Reserved. Argumentative. Suspicious. It's how they have to be, to keep their sibling protected - to keep that smile on their face.

[projectavtr]

so instead of writing in procrastination by drawing instead! (that chapter is haunting me, I swear-)

in regards to the drawings themselves, Tsu’tey was pretty much just a drawing from reference. He took like three times though, ‘cause I couldn’t get his face to look right and I kept accidentally adding eyebrows or putting his eyes too close together or, one time, I gave him really small eyes and then was squinting at my screen wondering why he looked so off. Anyway he’s got his grumpy face on, as per usual, and honestly, mood.

as for Tommy : I wanted to, obviously, make him look like Jake since they’re twins., and I’m pretty happy with how he came out! (even if tumblr’s resolution makes my eyesight look 4k) I used Jake’s face as a rough guide, and used his stripes as a general reference and made differences for Tommy’s. Twins don’t have the same fingerprints, and I figured it’d be the same for the stripes on their avatars. I think the Omatikaya would still mix them up those first few weeks, but they’d get used to it eventually (Neytiri and Tsu’tey would do so quicker due to sheer exposure). He looked weird/really young without any beads/accessories so I just gave him the comm link he uses in chapter 8.

Neytiri and Jake are probably next, but honestly I want to just get the writing of this chapter done so I can get into the more fun chapters.

if you’re like ‘storm, what the hell are u talking about’ then follow the link and im sure you’ll figure it out :

Pls don’t repost or use for ai.

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Lmao all the time.

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my plan is too long so I think that this is gonna be a double update on Sunday this week

I…genuinely don’t know how this happened, ‘cause the plan was short-ish at the start, and now it’s just long as hell and there’s no chance that I’m finishing it for tonight.

just know that there’s a lot happening, at least!

Fic Delay : Ripples of Fate will be delayed by a day! The post will be on Monday rather than Sunday. Honestly I have no excuse, I was working on other projects and got distracted and completely forgot about the deadline for this.

A short snippet in addition to my apologies :

He looked happy with the child, comfortable, even. Neytiri wondered if he had any children, or a mate back on his home planet. Then she wondered whether he was old enough for a mate at all and realised that she didn’t actually know how old he was. 

“Have I got something on my face?”

Neytiri blinked at him. “What?”

Jake smiled at her. “You were just staring at me for, like, a minute.”

“Oh,” She said eloquently, feeling her cheeks heat in embarrassment. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Jake said with that same lopsided grin. “What were you thinking about anyway?”

“You actually,” Neytiri admitted, shifting closer to him so Tarsem wouldn’t dig into her legs trying to reach out for Jake’s hands. 

“Oh?”

“I just realised that I don’t know how old you were.” She said. “I am…not good at at determining the ages of dreamwalkers.”

Jake laughed. “If it makes you feel any better, neither am I. I didn't recognise Grace at all when I first saw her.”

“Her bodies are very different from one another.” Neytiri could count on one hand the number of times she had seen Kìreysì’s tawtute body, but she remembered the surprise she had felt very well. Kìreysì’s tawtute body - brown hair streaked with some grey at the temples, pale skin with pink lips and cheeks and dark, piercing brown eyes - had seemed a stranger to her dreamwalker one, with it’s blue-striped skin, golden eyes and black hair. 

“It’s honestly insane.” Jake said, shaking his head. Tarsem, still enamoured by the concept of a fifth finger, was attempting to squish Jake’s fifth and fourth finger together, as though to imagine what Jake’s hand would look like if he only had four fingers. “But I’m twenty three years old.”

“Huh,” Neytiri said. “I had assumed you were a bit younger but…it suits you and Thomas better. Makes more sense.”

“Oh really?” Jake raised a brow. 

“You act like an overgrown child.” Neytiri deadpanned. 

Jake grinned, as though this were a compliment. “That’s the Jake Sully charm.”

“I am twenty years old.” Neytiri said. “Tsu’tey is also twenty-three.”

[projectavtr]

Fic Delay : Ripples of Fate will be delayed by a day! The post will be on Monday rather than Sunday. Honestly I have no excuse, I was working on other projects and got distracted and completely forgot about the deadline for this.

A short snippet in addition to my apologies :

He looked happy with the child, comfortable, even. Neytiri wondered if he had any children, or a mate back on his home planet. Then she wondered whether he was old enough for a mate at all and realised that she didn’t actually know how old he was. 

“Have I got something on my face?”

Neytiri blinked at him. “What?”

Jake smiled at her. “You were just staring at me for, like, a minute.”

“Oh,” She said eloquently, feeling her cheeks heat in embarrassment. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Jake said with that same lopsided grin. “What were you thinking about anyway?”

“You actually,” Neytiri admitted, shifting closer to him so Tarsem wouldn’t dig into her legs trying to reach out for Jake’s hands. 

“Oh?”

“I just realised that I don’t know how old you were.” She said. “I am…not good at at determining the ages of dreamwalkers.”

Jake laughed. “If it makes you feel any better, neither am I. I didn't recognise Grace at all when I first saw her.”

“Her bodies are very different from one another.” Neytiri could count on one hand the number of times she had seen Kìreysì’s tawtute body, but she remembered the surprise she had felt very well. Kìreysì’s tawtute body - brown hair streaked with some grey at the temples, pale skin with pink lips and cheeks and dark, piercing brown eyes - had seemed a stranger to her dreamwalker one, with it’s blue-striped skin, golden eyes and black hair. 

“It’s honestly insane.” Jake said, shaking his head. Tarsem, still enamoured by the concept of a fifth finger, was attempting to squish Jake’s fifth and fourth finger together, as though to imagine what Jake’s hand would look like if he only had four fingers. “But I’m twenty three years old.”

“Huh,” Neytiri said. “I had assumed you were a bit younger but…it suits you and Thomas better. Makes more sense.”

“Oh really?” Jake raised a brow. 

“You act like an overgrown child.” Neytiri deadpanned. 

Jake grinned, as though this were a compliment. “That’s the Jake Sully charm.”

“I am twenty years old.” Neytiri said. “Tsu’tey is also twenty-three.”

[projectavtr]

it comes and goes in waves