Avatar the way of water x reader insert
After your terminal diagnosis, you reluctantly agree to participate in an experimental trial, involving the first ever humans to experience cryogenesis. However, something goes terribly wrong when you wake up strapped to the operating table, and unusually blue.
Warnings- crude language, descriptions of death and mild torture, descriptions of terminal illness, depression/mild suicidal ideation,
The first thing you noticed was the biting cold, a deep ache settling into your bones. You shiver, your body splayed across the frigid metal floor. Peeling your eyes open, you struggle to grasp your surroundings as pain begins to bloom inside your head.
A glowing purple moss covers the floor surrounding you, illuminating the further room. You struggle to sit up, your body clearly protesting. Looking down at yourself you’re shocked to find your skin blue.
“What the fuck?” You croak. Alarmingly, you feel an unknown appendage of yours swishing behind you. Turning slowly, a long slim tail with a dark tuft of hair extends from your spine. Your breath catches in your throat.
“Oh no, ooooooohhhhhh nnnooooo” your mind goes blank with shock. Breathing heavily you attempt to steady yourself. “Alright, I’m alright, oh fuck, what the fuck?” You laugh weakly “Why do I have a tail?”
Looking around, the medical room was decrepit. Broken lights hang out of the ceiling, equipment lay strewn across the floor, and that glowing purple moss covers half of the room. Your half of the room.
Looking down, you notice the moss glowing brighter around your body. Touching it gently, the moss illuminates in response.
“Huh” you laugh airily. Looking closer, you notice the same moss littering your skin “Ugh” you swipe the wet film off your arms “Gross”.
Standing shakily, you’re finally able to get a proper view of the room. In the centre stands a large operating table, a mummified body lies there, held down with restraints. “Holy shit..” you stare at it with wide eyes.
Cautiously stepping closer you’re able to see it was a girl. Young, probably seventeen to twenty years old, wearing the same itchy grey underwear you were. Her skin was leathery and shrunken tightly over the bones, the strange purple moss covering her gaunt face and body, “Fuck” you whisper. This poor girl probably starved to death strapped to the table, or worse, eaten alive by this bioluminescent moss.
The loud bang of something dropping suddenly echos through the facility, followed by a muffled conversation.
Your tail curls in alarm. That’s something you’re going to have to get used to. Crouching down you approach the open door, cautiously peeking your head out. Through rubble and broken glass you can see two shadowy figures arguing.
“Dude, your dad said to ‘sneak in’ not ‘knock-everything-over in” “Bro shut up” the two boys bicker. One of them was significantly taller and definitely blue, with a tail like yours. You continue to observe them, silently assessing their possible dangerousness.
Your body is sore and tense. Shifting to relieve your pain, a piece of rubble slips from under your hand, sliding across the floor loudly. You dart back behind the wall, the silence between you is deafening.
“Hello? Is anyone there?” “Dude sshh!” They whisper aggressively.
You tense, frustrated at yourself for getting caught, ‘Fuuuck’ you think to yourself bitterly. Looking around for a weapon all you find is mushrooms, moss and rubble. Picking up a piece of heavy concrete you slowly stand and carefully tread into view. “Who are you, and what do you want?” You hold the concrete up defensively. The two boys raise their hands in submission “Woah, it’s okay, we’re here to help”, the blue one says “Are you lost?”.
You look between the two boys suspiciously, they were both very young, maybe sixteen at most. They both wore loincloths, leather braided armlets and some sort of necklace. They looked surprised, but not frightened.
‘They’re just kids..’ you slowly lower the concrete, dropping it on the floor with a thud. “Who are you, where am I, and why the fuck am I blue?” your ears flick in frustration.
“You're a dreamwalker, like my dad. We can help you, we’ll take you to him” the blue one says, gesturing between them.
The two boys look bewildered by your question “You probably just hit your head, Jake can explain everything later. Eclipse is coming and we’re supposed to be heading back soon” the little white boy explains. “Mum will skin us if we're late again” the blue boys’ tail swishes nervously.
A pain blooms behind your eyes, causing you to clutch your head, “Shit” you groan.
“Are you okay?” One of them asks. You nod dismissively “Yeah, I’m alright. Let’s go find your dad, maybe he can clear this up” the pain subsides into a dull ache. Despite your usual distrustful attitude, you were far too tired to disagree with them. Your brain and body felt completely fried.
Following them, the boys led you through the overgrown facility. “What’s your names’ by the way?” You struggle to keep up with them as they jump, leap, and climb through the rubble and vines. “I’m Lo’ak and that is Spider” the blue one says, pointing to his little friend. “And you, what’s your name?” Spider asks.
You tell them your name, “That’s a funny sounding name” Spider comments jokingly, as he skips in front of you.
“Ha thanks” you respond bluntly, ‘What a little shit’ you think to yourself.
Ducking through a vent, the afternoon sun shines brightly on your face, blinding you momentarily. Shading your eyes, your vision comes to.
Tall trees stretch far above your head, a web of vines cascading down like tresses of hair. The ground is lush with ferns and grasses, the forest singing with life.
You find yourself breathless, staring around in awe at the vibrant display, “Woah” you whisper softly “Where am I?”.
The two boys turn back towards you “You’re in the Kinglor Forest.. You really don’t remember anything do you?” Spider looks at you with a sorry expression. Lo’ak shoves his friend's shoulder “Bro, she probably just needs some time or like, maybe Norn can help her brain or something” he tries to reassure you. “Yeah” you nod hesitantly.
Despite not knowing anything about where you were or what happened to you, you didn’t feel like you were missing any memories. You somehow doubted the boys’ words of reassurance.
“Let’s keep going. The great vines aren’t far from here” Lo’ak says, leading the way through the darkening forest. As you follow them, the greenery begins to take a new hue, glowing bright shades purple and blue illuminate the night. You touch the plants as you pass by, them glimmering in response. “Aha does everything glow here- Woah!” you just now noticed your arms, a river of shining freckles weave their way across your skin, like a trail of stars. “So cool” you admire your new blue body.
“Hay, it's not safe wandering around here at night, let’s go!” Spider badgers you. You flush in embarrassment “Right, sorry!”.
Chasing after them, the three of you quickly come across a giant vine stretching out of the earth and above the trees. The boys waste no time in climbing it, “Alright, I can probably do that..” you mumble to yourself, not entirely believing your own words. You hoist yourself up the twisting stem, one foot and arm at a time you slowly scramble on top of it. “Bro keep up” Lo’ak teases you, the two boys stand over you giggling to themselves. “Fuck off, you ratbag. It’s been a while” you wheeze.
Lo’ak looks at you, confused “What’s a ratbag?”.
You sigh, standing up and approaching them “I thought we were in a rush, let’s go” you usher them along.
After your initial struggle, you begin to get the hang of running along the vines. Actively ignoring the increasing altitude obviously. In the distance, large rock formations float high above the forest canopy, the great vines connecting them like a giant twisting spider's web.
“Holy shit!” You laugh in disbelief, “Am I fucking dead?”.
The sky was a misty blue, a large planet looms over the sparkling land. Large bird-like creatures soar and glide in the distance.
Chasing after the boys, the three of you ascend higher and higher, passing over the floating rocks until you come to one with a large cave carved into its side. Torches lit the path, illuminating the tall blue people bustling in and out of woven huts.
“Wait here, I’ll go get dad” Lo’ak rushes off, only to be grabbed by a very tall, blue, cat-woman. “Lo’ak where have you been?” she hisses at him, her tail swishing angrily.
“Oh shit” Spider winces at the scene. “What? Who is that?” you lean down to whisper to him. “His mum, Neytiri. She gonna be pissed at us for staying out pass eclipse”
Your tail flicks nervously, your ears pressed against your head. Impulsively, you approach the two “It was my fault ma’am, Lo’ak was helping me” you interject.
The look on her face was one of shock and anger, “Who are you, where did you come from?” she lets go of her son and approaches you, standing tall and intimidating.
Lo’ak tells her your name “We found her at one of those old RDA labs”, “And you brought her here?” she glowers. “We overheard Norm talking about one of the labs being online after the storm” Spider tries to defuse the situation, to little avail. Neytiri looks down at him with a glare about to say something, “Mum, she doesn’t remember anything, we couldn’t just leave her” Lo’ak pleads with her.
Looking at her son her gaze softens, her ears releasing their tension. She then turns to you, her wide golden eyes scanning your body intensely, “Come, you will tell us everything” she turns and walks away, her hand defensively placed on the dagger attached to her hip.
The three of you quickly follow her through the village, onlookers staring curiously. As you approach the large tent in the back, a tall blue man with swinging dreads storms out, his tail whipping widely “There you are, we have been looking for you two knuckleheads everywhere!” He chastises the boys. “Sorry sir” they apologise in unison.
“Ma Jake..” Neytiri whispers, as she steps aside to reveal you. Your tail tucks defensively, nervous at the sudden attention. Jake stares at you, ears pressed back in worry “Who is she?” He looks between them for answers. “The boys found me, at a..lab. I think.” “She doesn’t remember anything,” Lo’ak comes to your defense, “We couldn't leave her there”.
Jake looks between the three of you for a moment, his posture softening “Alright, come on” he leads you all inside. “Talk” he demands, shifting uncomfortably from foot to foot, clearly anxious.
“Lo’ak and I overheard Norm talking about one of the labs being online after that big storm. So we wanted to go check it out, look for supplies. Then we found her coming out of the Cryo ward, and she didn’t seem okay. She says she doesn’t remember how she got here. Or .. how shes’ an avatar.”
Jake turns his attention to you. “Is this true?”
You nod nervously, not sure what the right course of action was “I woke up on the floor, covered in that slimy purple moss. I don’t remember much else. Certainly not how I turned blue.. or got a tail” you smile sheepishly at him, hoping to break the tension.
He sighs, rubbing the bridge of his cat-like nose “How-How old are you?” He asks, baffled by the entire situation. “Nineteen..?” you cringe for some reason. He pauses for a moment “You’re way too young to be one of the tech guys. How did you get here?”. You shrug, unable to answer him. He shakes his head “We need to talk to Norm”.
After leading you through the village once more and entering a small lab, you are given an oxygen-pack to breathe and sat down in some very small chairs.
“We should be able to access your file by the bio-chip in your neck,” Norm explains, holding up a taser-like device.
“Uhh is that going to hurt..” your tail flicks nervously. “No, no. I don’t think so anyway” he smiles. Jake places a comforting hand on your shoulder, as you pull your hair to the side, revealing the back of your neck.
Norm places the device “And here we go-” a painful shock zaps through your body. “Fucker!” you shout, rubbing your sore skin. Jake squeezes your arm “You’re all alright” he pats your head, “What’ch you got Norm?”.
He watches as he connects the device to his computer, it lighting up with what looks like a person-file. Stepping close you’re shocked to see your photo “That’s me!” you point. “Uhh Jake.. she’s from Project Alpha and the Cryogenics Series ”, “What is that? What does that mean?”, “Project Alpha was the first model of Avatars ever created; they used participants from the Cryogenics Trials to model their DNA after. Jake, she's almost one hundred and fifty years old.”
Your breath shudders, your mind unable to process what you were hearing “What..What the fuck are you talking about?”.
Norm turns to you “Do you remember being sick?”, “I have cancer, how could I forget”, “Had cancer, actually. They removed all genetic factors when creating your Avatar body”.
You shake your head in confusion “You keep saying ‘Avatar’ like I’m supposed to know what that is”, “Right, you probably weren't woken up when they made it, given your thorough consent form. The Avatar project was made to allow humans to interact with Pandora and its inhabitants, without disrupting them or the wildlife. In other words, we grew a clone-like body of the native inhabitants on an alien planet, mixed it with our DNA, and set up a neuro-grid so we could pilot them remotely”
You couldn’t find the words to speak, your mind was blank as you tried to understand just what the fuck this guy was talking about.
“That doesn’t explain how her consciousness has been transferred though”, “Hmm..perhaps the security footage from the lab could help. We’ve been downloading that information after the storm hit and fired up the backup generators” Norm continues to tinker at the computer, tapping away until he pulls up a video.
The screen showed a lab, the one you had woken up in long before it had decayed. An older woman wheels a gurney into frame, your body laying motionless. “Holy shit” you whisper. Jake swiftly grabs your far shoulder, turning you to look at him “Hay, you don’t have to do this. We can-” “No. I wanna watch” you reassure him. His ears flick, a look of discomfort on his face “Okay”. Norm clicks the video again. A team of doctors move you up onto the operating table, fastening your restraints firmly. They place an IV into your arm “We are conducting experiment seven-B; basic neuro-Avatar connection test, on patient thirty nine in preparation for the Permanent Assimilation Test to follow, also known as the Recom project-” Norm fast-forwards the video.
Stopping, the screen showed numerous people fleeing the room. Red lights flash intermittently as a loud voice calls over the speaker “-acuate immediately, this is not a drill. The base has been breached. Please evacuate imm-” Norm fast-forwards again.
Now the camera shows you, strapped to the operating table, beginning to wake up. “Hello? Hey, can anybody hear me?” you slur, clearly under the influence. Looking around, you struggle to crane your neck- the video is again, fast-forwarded.
You, thrashing against the thick straps holding you down “Let me out you fuckers!” you scream wildly. You let out an echoing howl as you contort yourself against the table miserably. The video skips.
You lay there motionless, your breathing quiet and shallow. Your skin was paler than before, your stomach sunken. From the bottom of the screen you notice it, a purple, something coming up from the vents. “What is that?” Jake notices it too. “That’s the purple moss I was covered in when I woke up” You say breathlessly, adrenaline pumping. Jake and Norm share a look of concerned, “Keep playing” Jake insists. Norm nods before skipping ahead again.
Your body now lays lifeless, your skin grey, your cheeks hollow, and far off look in your eyes. The moss now covers your entire head, creeping into your mouth and ears. It trails off into a far off screen corner of the room, “That’s where I woke up, over here” you tap on the glass.
A strange hollow feeling enters your chest as you stare at your lifeless body. Norm looks to Jake with a frightened expression "We should tell Mo'at about this" he says quietly. Jake nods in response ".. How?" he struggles to form a sentence. Norm sighs heavily "I suppose it possible that the mycelium served as a neural pathway between her human and avatar body. Allowing her to transfer her consciousness into her avatar form when her human body eventually, well.. died"
Jake stares at the screen with hardened eyes, before they eventually filter back towards you "Are you alright?" he asks softly.
You peel your eyes away from the computer to look at him, a strange numbness filled your body "I'm not sure.." you whisper back to him. He places a careful hand on your shoulder "Do you have any more questions for Norm?"
You pause for a moment, scraping your brain for something to ask him “Do I still have cancer?” You blurt out, it suddenly occurring to you that you don’t feeling like hammered shit.
Norm looks surprised, blinking cartoonishly at your question “Uh no.. any genetic components with that predisposition would have been removed from your avatars DNA in early development”
You stare at him “So I’m not going to get cancer again?”. He shakes his head “No. That would be a waste of RDA resources” he nods awkwardly at you, not sure how to breach such a delicate subject. These lab guys were definitely under-socialised.
You zone out, every thought leaving your mind “Well.. that’s nice at least” you give them the classic, awkwardly pinched ‘white person smile’.
Jake leads you back to, what you assume is his family’s hut, “Stay here” he tells you “Uh.. girls can you please help her find something to wear?” He asks the two young ladies sitting around the fire, before walking off to explain the situation to Mo’at and Neytiri.
The youngest springs up in excitement before clinging onto your arm “Come, come!” She pulls you further into their home. “Tuk, don’t grab at her” the elder sister chastises her. Tuk sticks her tongue out, still holding onto you “What your name? Are you an Avatar? Is that why you’re wearing that?” She pulls at the fabric of your sports bra. “Uhh.. yeah I am an Avatar I guess” you respond before telling them your name.
The other girl looks at you with sympathy “You are safe here, my mother was an Avatar” she explains, “My name is Kiri te Suli Kìreysì'ite, but Kiri is what people call me” she searches through a woven basket, pulling out multiple complicated macrame tops.
“My name is Tuktirey te Suli Neytiri'ite, but everyone calls me Tuk” the little girl bounces over to her sister “Oh she should wear the purple one! Kiri made that one” she excitedly explains, holding it up for you to see. The top was a series of woven threads loosely cascading down from a necklace. “Uhh.. not to be picky, but do you have anything that.. covers a little more?” You flush, trying not to come off as rude.
“Of course” Kiri reassures you “I have the perfect thing” she pulls out a tightly woven, asymmetrical halter top. The beautifully braided threads travel from across one side of the chest to the opposite shoulder, another part connecting under it and around the back. Opalescent coins are decoratively sewn across the design.
“WOW! You made this?” You exclaim. Kiri chuckles bashfully at your reaction “Every Na’vi learns to weave” she brushes you off. “Still, it’s beautiful. Are you sure it’s okay for me to wear?” You ask, double checking with her. “Of course, I wouldn’t have offered it, if I didn’t want you to wear it. Now what loincloth do you want?”, “…I’m sorry, a what?”
The tie-dyed fabric loincloth sticks uncomfortably up your ass. You subtly try to rearrange it as you walk with the Sully’s to the gathering circle for dinner. The entire clan must have been there. Rows of people sat on colourful woven mats surrounding a tall fire, eating from wooden bowls and large leaf plates.
"Come sit" Jake pats the ground next to him, Neytiri sitting on his other side. Kiri and Tuk sit directly behind you. Lo’ak, Spider, and another boy sit behind them. “Here” Jake passes a bowl of.. something. A slice of roasted glazed meat sits on a bed of cubed fruit and mushrooms. “Thank you” you take it gratefully. The smell of sweet honey and smokey roast fills your senses, your stomach growling loudly in response.
"Damn I heard that from here" Spider and Lo'ak giggle to one another. "Leave her alone" the older looking boy chastises them, "I'm Netayam" he introduces himself, touching his forehead and gesturing towards you. You tell him yours,mimicking the gesture before turning back to your meal.
The meat is tender, falling apart as you pick at it. Its sweet and salty flavour causes you to salivate, “Mmm” you hum in enjoyment, rocking side to side. “You like it?” Jake laughs, Neytiri side-eyeing you. “I haven’t eaten this good in so long” your tail wags happily behind you. “Earth didn’t have good food two hundred years ago?”, “They did. I just couldn’t eat it cause you know, the cancer”. He Ah’s at you in response.
“Well, this is honey glazed sturnbeast with sage musrooms and shelter fruit” he explains. “Mmm, thank you sturnbeast” you mumble, mouth full of food.
Just out of your peripheral, Neytiri gazes at you her ear flicking curiously. Humans were never grateful for the animals they killed. Jake and her share a look, him smiling in encouragement.
“You will meet the Tsahìk after” Neytiri tells you. You look at her in surprise “Okay.. who is she?”,
“She is our grandmother, spiritual leader and healer of the Omatikaya” Kiri butts in, clearly very proud.
A small wave of panic washes over you, your tail going still, “Okay.. and what does she want with me?” You ask nervously.
“She will decide your fate” Neytiri answers, completely unfazed. You pause, taking in the information, “Casual” you joke, side-eyeing Jake with a nervous gaze. He pats your shoulder “You’ll be fine” he encourages you.
After eating, Jake’s and Neytiri’s kids run off somewhere, leaving you with the adults. “Come” Neytiri leads the three of you to another tent.
Inside, various herbs and roots hang from drying racks on the ceiling. “Ah so you finally bring me the girl” a thick accented voice calls out. A tall, older, woman steps out from a curtained off room. She wears a feathered top and bead fringe loincloth, her thick braided hair held back with a woven headpiece.
“Come child, come here, sit” she ushers you onto the floor across from her.
“Show me your hands child” she holds her hands out for you.
Placing them in hers, she begins to examine you. Neytiri lingers behind her mother, watching the exchange carefully.
Mo’at hums in thought “Your life before this one, what was it?”. You think for a moment, unsure how to answer that question.
“My parents were.. absent, more or less. I went to school, got my education and when I graduated.. I got sick, like really sick.
An incurable type of illness. It was slow and painful, and just when I thought I was finally going to die and maybe get some peace.. the RDA shows up and convinces me to let them experiment on me.
I had nothing to lose, I was already going to die so what does it matter, ya know?”
Mo’at stares deep into your eyes, her weatherworn face scrunches in deep thought. Suddenly, she grabs her necklace, pulling out a spike from within and jabbing in into your hand.
“OW!” You yelp in surprise, pulling your hands back to your chest protectively, “What was that for?”
Mo’at ignores you, placing the bloodied spike in her mouth. You scrunch your nose up at her, your tail standing on end.
“You will stay” she says decisively, “Your glass is not near full” she places the spike back in her necklace.
Jake kneels next to you “That’s great, thank you” he pats your back joyfully.
“..What does that mean?” You stare blankly at them, not understanding a fucking word of that strange interaction.
“It means, you will learn our ways, evenge” she explains to you.
You nod in agreement “Okay..” you say awkwardly. It’s not like you had any other options.
She then waves you all off dismissively, "Now, go rest. You will need it" She winks at you.
Jake leads you back to his family's tent "I can take the couch.. if you got one" you joke, tiredly looking up at him. He huffs a laugh, "No couches here, but the kids did steal a cot for you from the science geeks" he holds the curtain door open for you.
Fatigue washes over you upon entering the home. The quiet, earthy atmosphere eases your senses. "Just through here" he guides you further into the dimly lit shelter. The 'room', more of a sectioned off part, was small. With a metal military grade cot pushed up against the wall, and various woven baskets scattered about. “We’ll be just through here if you need us, alright?” Jake pats your head, ruffling your hair before leaving quietly.
You crawl onto the cot, the long day weighing down on you. Faint mummers, a distant crackling fire, and the gentle night time breeze quickly lulls you to sleep. Unaware and unburdened by the conversation happening just outside.
Neytiri approaches her mother, her agitation clear and sharp, “What did you see?” She demands. Neytiri couldn’t understand how or why Eywa you choose to save you. Your kind had been the cause of much suffering. Much death. How were you any different from other humans?
Mo’at sighs out her nose, her brows furrowed in frustration at her daughter’s stubbornness. “I have decided ma'ite” she attempts to shut her down, standing to leave. Neytiri stands in her way “Oma, rutxe” she gazes at her with pleading eyes.
Mo’at purses her lips in saddened thought, “Daughter, she is orphan. Abandoned by her people, she has nowhere and no one. What else you have me do? Leave her to the forest? Killing her would be more mercy.”
Neytiri looks down in shame, avoiding her mother’s piercing gaze, like she was staring into Eywa herself. Mo’at approaches her, holding her shoulders tenderly, “Neytiri.. this girl is like raw clay, she can still be moulded into one of us. Eywa has decided that her song has not yet finished. Help her ma'ite, guide her. I know you can make a fine woman of her”
Neytiri’s ears fold back in frustration, her tail swishing behind her. Despite not liking it at all, she would not go against Eywa’s wishing, or her mother’s. She nods reluctantly at her mother, not convinced by your supposed ‘potential’.
Upon returning to her tent, her mate meets her outside, looking at her with a questioning gaze. “We will teach her.. it is decided” she says quietly. Jake nods, sensing her discomfort he gently pulls her into a hug, “Everything will be okay, we’ll teach her well” he attempts to reassure her.
Neytiri huffs in defeat, she was tired of surprises. Tired of the human presence in her life. She didn’t want to learn any more from them, she just wished they’d all disappear already.
But unfortunately for her, she wasn’t done with them yet, you had a long way to go to become one of the people, and you certainly weren’t going to teach yourself.
A/N- thank you for being so patient guys! I’ve been getting smashed at work rn so it’s been slow writing. Hopefully that’ll change soon and I can work on the next chapter for you. Love you all and thanks for the support! Comment if you wanna join a tag list!
