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Small cubes! Let's play an art game~

Offer an idea and I'll squeeze it in!

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Honestly, Spider breathing the air won't make any difference. People will still pay to see the movie, James Cameron will still be laughing to the bank, the actors will still have their jobs and will be having fun playing these characters, and everyone's going to gush over the story and have long conversations about it. No amount of screaming, crying, and jumping up and down like toddlers from these spider haters will change a damn thing. Knowing this, I can look forward to the release of Fire and Ash without regrets.

Nope, it definitely won't change a thing. The only thing I'm mildly worried about is Jack Champion facing some kind of harassment like other actors who played hated characters, but as far as I've seen the tiktok fans are just focusing their hate on the character and James Cameron/the writers team, and we all know James Cameron doesn't give a damn lol.

But I'm curious to see where this mentality is going to go. I usually avoid looking at that sort of stuff on tiktok and only go for the cool videos, but whenever we get a second trailer/another empire article featuring Spider, i'm gonna peek at that corner of the fandom to see how they're reacting.

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Tsireya and Liho

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Here's a comp of the tiktokers crashing out about Spider getting blessed by Eywa and embraced by Jake in the trailer. They've passed the point of denial and moved on to anger as they realize the leaks are coming true. The interesting thing is they've shifted their anger solely from Spider now to include Kiri, James Cameron, and the writers team.

They're getting angry that Kiri will save Spider because in their minds any special powers she has should only go to resurrecting Neteyam, as if Kiri is making some kind of betrayal and choosing Spider before Neteyam, like Kiri wouldn't give anything to also help her brother if she could. Then they heard that quote from James Cameron saying Spider's a great character and the "glue who holds the story together" and they're angry at him... even though James Cameron is the one who created this whole world, and all the other characters they're obsessed with, and he clearly created Spider with a narrative reason in mind. The thing I really can't wrap my head around is that they keep saying the story is badly written because they "traded" Neteyam for Spider, like only one of them is allowed to be alive at a time... if they think Avatar is so badly written, why are they obsessed with it?

Anyways, I'm just sharing all this cause I'm lowkey fascinated by their mentality, and I want to see how it evolves as we get more info leading up to the movie and finally what it will become when the movie actually comes out. I'm expecting lots of angry rants about how the creators are clearly terrible writers and "fix it" fics where Spider gets "justly punished" instead of whatever will actually happen to him.

I also want to note that since I've been back on tiktok, I notice more and more tiktokers are positive or at least neutral toward Spider. The people who hate him still make up a significant chunk of the tiktok fans, but they're a group that's slowly shrinking. Maybe by the time we get to Avatar 4 and 5 they'll just be a weird memory from the post Avatar 2 era.

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If you're taking requests, could I have something with Spider being manhandled by the recoms and Quaritch? Like, he's literally just being carried around over Quaritch's shoulder bc he wouldn't go when he was told to, or he's just held in the air until he tires himself out when he's trying to attack them, etc. Just the recoms taking advantage of their size and Spider being about as effective as an actual child against them (hopefully inspiring some Dad!Quaritch feels as well?) Sorry if this is too detailed!

Oh yes yes yes! I accept requests! I love it!

If there’s one thing Spider got from his father, it was his stubbornness and anger… definitely his anger. That boy could blow up like a grease fire when provoked; try and douse it out with water, and it’ll only grow. You have to smother it.

Now, that isn’t to say Quaritch actually smothers the boy whenever he gets mad. He wouldn’t never.

No, instead he’s found it easier to snatch the kid up by his armpits and hold him at arms length while he screams curses and tries to punch and kick Quaritch in the chest. He learnt the hard way not to hold him close, after receiving a hearty kick to the chest, resulting in Spider rocketing himself backwards out of his grip and onto the floor, nearly giving the Quaritch a heart-attack while the other Recoms burst into laughter. Sometimes it was easy to forget how strong Spider was, but his bruised chest left him with a reminder of that strength for the following week.

Even if he had scolded Spider’s ear off for it, he couldn’t help but feel pride at the boy’s strength. He’d never say any of this, of course. He didn’t want to encourage Spider’s violent behavior towards him… but it made Miles feel better to know his son could wipe the floor with anyone who made the mistake of thinking he was an easy target.

And if Spider could bruise a Na’vi, he could only imagine the damage that kid could do to another Human with a single kick.

Maybe he should be more concerned with the amount of anger Spider seems to fall in, but he had his fair share of anger issues in his youth, and still does, so when someone pushes Spider’s buttons a little too much, Miles isn’t too hard on the kid when he blows up.

But none of this matters, as currently Miles is dealing with a different kind of situation. This isn’t angry Spider, this is stubborn Spider.

Z-Dog had been messing with the kid all day as they traversed through the jungle, like the absolute child she is, and Miles could only roll his eyes at the immaturity of it all. They taunted, poked, and argued with each other like children.

Spider eventually got fed up with her, and planted himself defiantly on the next large root they passed.

Miles had an ear tilted back towards the kid, so when he heard the crackling of Z-Dog’s laughter, he expected his kid to snap something back, but was met with resounding silence.

Brows furrowed, he turns his head to make sure he was alright, only to come to a halt at the sight of Spider sitting grumpily on a root, arms crossed over his chest, and Z-Dog bent over and snickering at his expression as she popped a bubble in his face. The rest of his squad paused at the sound of Miles’ growl.

“Zdinarsk!” Miles snapped, causing her to shoot up and snap to attention, looking like she got caught doing something she shouldn’t have. “The hell happened?” He continued as he quickly walked over to the two, frowning as he scanned Spider for any injury.

Z-Dog tried to keep a straight face. “He refuses to move.”

Miles couldn’t see anything wrong, but his tail still lashed in worry as he leans down to place a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You hurt?”

Spider only huffed, giving Zdinarsk a side-eyed glare. “No, she’s being a stupid butthole!”

Miles deadpans at the boy, ear twitching at the sound of Z-Dog’s snort of laughter. “Whatever you say, Tarzan.”

“I don’t even know who that is!” Spider snaps back, snarling up at the woman, who only popped another bubble at him.

Quaritch finally blinked, letting out a harsh sigh. “You’ve gotta be shitting me- alright, enough! Both of you!” He scolds them, letting his hand slip from Spider’s shoulder as he stood. “Get up.” He orders the kid, motioning for him to stand.

The boy only sneered and shook his head. “Not until she leaves me the fuck alone!”

Miles took a deep breath in through his nose. Lord, give him patience. “Zdinarsk, go bother Lopez.”

Said marine perked his ears. “What? Why me?!” He protested.

He was ignored.

“Yes, sir.” Z-Dog salutes.

“Liar!” Spider hissed, puffing up when she sticks her tongue out at him.

“What did I just say?” Miles growls, to which Zdinarsk raised her hands in surrender before leaving to pester someone else. He turns back to Spider. “There, now get up. We gotta get a move on before we run out of daylight.”

Spider didn’t move, still not convinced Z-Dog wouldn’t bug him again the moment they start moving again.

“Spider. Don’t test me, boy.” He threatens, eyes narrowing and a stern frown in place as his tail flicked in agitation.

The boy didn’t budge.

Lyle made his way over. “Maybe we should set up camp, night will be on us in a few hours.” He tries to pacify, but Quaritch only hissed as Spider side-eyed them.

“No. I ain’t givin’ in to this tantrum. We’re moving.”

With that, he swooped down and snatched Spider up before the boy could properly react, throwing him over his shoulder as he strides forward back to the front of the squad. He held tightly onto the back of Spider’s legs and ignored the kid’s hissing, cursing, wiggling, and kicking as best he could. He also ignored the other’s snickering coming from behind him.

It took about half an hour, but Spider finally tired himself out enough to allow Miles to slightly loosen his grip on his legs, and the boy rag-dolled against his back, head pressed into Miles’ vest and arms dangling in defeat as he tried to catch his breath.

… With Spider calm and not fighting him, Miles began to feel a light feeling building in his chest, like the weight of the word was slipped from his shoulders and replaced with the comforting weight of his son… he didn’t want the feeling to leave. It felt.. nice, oddly enough.

They carried on like this until Spider grew bored.

Quaritch jolted slightly when little fingers brushed against his tail, causing it to lash away from the touch. He clears his throat as some of the others chuckled. “The hell you doin’, kid?”

“I’m bored. Put me doooowwwn.” Spider whined into his back.

“Hell no. Can’t have you tryin’ another stunt like that and slow us down.” Was the excuse Miles came up with, unwilling to admit that the idea of putting the kid down was feeling more and more unappealing by the second. He didn’t realize how much he would enjoy holding his son, until this moment, and he was unwilling to part with the boy.

Spider only groaned and went back to trying to catch his tail.

… and if Miles indulged the boy by flicking his tail near his grabbing hands, no one said a word against it.

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Omg hello!! Always nice to see new people in the Spider corner of the fandom 🥹

Could I perhaps ask for Spider getting comforted by Quaritch after a village raid? The boy is angry, heartbroken and crying, all while Miles with his military man brain is trying his best to be vulnerable so he could properly comfort his boy 😭

I kinda ran away with this one- oops.

“Spider…”

The boy didn’t even acknowledge the Recom as he jumped off the Irkan, landing hard on the deck below, before storming towards the air-lock that lead to the interior of Bridgehead.

Quaritch quickly detached his queue from Cupcake and took long strides to catch up, paying no mind to what the others were up to. Right now, he needed to talk to his son.

The boy hasn’t looked at him nor said a word since the raid. The licking of the flames and the screams of the people and Spider begging for their lives were still fresh in everyone’s mind… Miles knows all of this has been taking a toll on his boy, and he knew their relationship would take an irreversible blow… but he still tries to cling to the illusion of the normality they’ve created over the last few months, in hopes that it will help sooth himself everyone.

He wasn’t ready to let go. Just the thought made him grip tighter.

But it seems Spider isn’t keen on playing along anymore.

“Spider! I’m talkin’ to you!-”

The Recom grunts in surprise as he has to catch the thick door with both hands and pulls it back open, which Spider had just tried to tug closed before he could reach it. His ears perk up at the sound of an angry mumble as he ducks into the air-lock, and shuts it. “What was that?”

Spider says nothing and keeps his head turned away from him and arms crossed tightly over his chest, but with their close proximity, Miles could see the boy’s throat bobbing every few seconds.

The Recom could feel frustration bubbling in his chest, his tail involuntarily lashing behind him and ears twitching to be pinned back. Ever since he woke up in this new body, he’s hated how his emotions are on display, and now wasn’t a good time to show how frustrated he was getting.

“Damn it, boy! Look at me!-”

“Fuck off!”

Both parties stood in silence, for two entirely different reasons.

Quaritch could only watch in shock as his son sucked in a shaky breath, eyes rimmed red with tears and face blotchy, an undeniable anger in his eyes as he glared up at the Recom.

The air-lock buzzed and the light turned green.

Spider rushed out, and Quaritch needed a few seconds to mentally catch up and chase after the boy yet again, nabbing an Avatar breathing mask along the way. “Spider!” He calls for, what felt like, the hundredth time today, thankful for his long legs as he got close enough to grip the human boy’s shoulder. “Quit runnin’-!”

Miles will never admit that he flinched when Spider whipped around and hissed at him, but he did, if only slightly. Spider lunged at him with a furious cry, and he was forced to wrangle with the boy in the middle of the hallway in front of everyone nearby.

Heads began to turn.

He took a few blows to the gut before he could get ahold of both of the boy’s hands- and then there were the feet. He hissed as Spider kicked him in shin, before getting fed up. “Cut that shit out!” He gritted out as he hauled the kid into his arms as best he could with the boy struggling so fiercely, and began the unnecessarily difficult journey to the Recom’s Quarters, all the while, Spider screamed Na’vi curses and wiggled like a snagged fish.

The moment they got into the room, and the door shut behind them, he let Spider go. The boy immediately jumped away and started pacing like a caged animal. “Let me out! Move, skxawng!”

Quaritch’s ears perked at the familiar curse, but did not rise to the bait. “Spider. Just calm down, so we can have a civil conversation.”

Spider let out an an angry noise and jabbed a finger in his direction, teary with rage. “No! You- you butthole! You’re a Demon! You’re horrible! I hate you!”

The boy’s eyes widened the moment the words slipped out, mouth opening and closing a couple of times.

The silence was heavy, and Miles felt like the air had just been punched from his lungs. He felt like he couldn’t breathe… he took a deep breath through his mask, and steeled his expression, falling into a familiar mask of neutrality. “Do you mean that?”

Spider clenched his fists and turned away.

As he waited for the boy’s answer, he couldn’t help but focus on the mask still firmly in place over Spider’s face, even though the room was oxygenated for Humans, the hissing of the mask filling the silence as Spider struggled to give him an answer.

When he did finally say something, it was so quiet that Miles had to strain his ears to hear it. “You keep doing terrible things.” Spider’s voice was so quiet and wobbly with emotion, it broke the Recom’s heart and filled him with an instinctual need to comfort the boy, which he forced himself to ignore like all the other times the strange instinct washed over him.

“I do what I have to do, for the mission.” The response sounded so robotic that Miles swore he could taste metal on his tongue. ‘I do what I have to do- they’ll take you away from me if I don’t’ is what his heart wanted to say, but the words were too revealing and got stuck in his throat.

“You killed Eywa’s children for no reason!” Spider hissed, shoulders tensing. “You destroyed villages- their homes.”

“I was authorized to use legal force, to find Jake Sully at any cost... It’s the only thing that matters.” Miles feels so tired, like the words he forced from his mouth were physically draining him. ‘If I don’t show my dedication to the mission, they’ll put you back in the machine’

The words were once again on the tip of his tongue, but it was like something was choking him anytime he opens his mouth to say the words.

Spider side-eyed him for a long moment, before turning to face him, and what the boy seen, Miles had no clue. “Do you mean that?” Spider threw his own words back in his face, an almost curious look showing through his anger.

Now, it was Quaritch’s turn to go quiet.

He has to mean it, he has to. Without it, he has no purpose, no direction, no meaning. He has to believe wholeheartedly that bringing in Jake Sully at all costs was the only thing that matters, that it’s what he wants to do. He has to want to live up to his predecessor’s legacy. To want to kill Jake Sully for being a traitor. The higher-ups will probably discard him if he doesn’t, like a broken tool… because that’s all he is now. Property.

“You don’t, do you?” Spider tilts his head, brown eyes deeply searching his own yellow ones. He must have found what he was looking for, because he got this desperate glint in his eyes as he takes a step towards the Recom with every word. “You don’t have to. You could- we could disappear. Go somewhere.” Spider was standing right in front of him now, looking up at him with a fire burning in his eyes, one of defiance and longing for freedom. “We can fly to the other side of the world,”

“..Spider..”

“Go where no one would ever find us!”

“Spider.”

“I could teach you everything- we could be a fam-!”

“That’s enough!” Miles snapped, cutting off Spider before he could say the words that would doom them both. His shoulders slumped, tail drooping as he forced the vile words from his mouth. “We can’t.”

The fire flickered, by was still present in Spider’s eyes. “We can.”

Miles took another breath from his mask, before shaking his head and gripping the boy firmly by both his shoulders. “No, we can’t…”

Frustration brewed on Spider’s face again, but instead of slapping Miles’ hands away like he was expecting him to, the kid only grabbed onto his forearms, eyes searching his face yet again. “..why?”

“There ain’t nowhere I could run where the RDA wouldn’t find me… I-..” Miles got down on one knee to be level with Spider, trying to find a way to voice his concerns. In the end, he decided to be blunt. Straight forward and to the point. “I’m property, Spider- probably got a tracker in me an’ everything.”

Of course, they’ve never been able to actually prove the Tracker Theory, but so much money was put into creating the Recoms that it’d be a shock if they didn’t track their investments.

‘And without the RDA, I am nothing…’ He didn’t dare voice that thought, not wanting the truth to be revealed- that he isn’t as confident and sound of mind as he makes himself out to be.

He frowns, feeling like shit the moment he sees the fire die from Spider’s eyes once again. He wanted so badly to reassure the boy and tell him everything would be ok, that maybe one day, this war would be over and Spider and him could retire somewhere peaceful… that maybe one day, he could allow himself to indulge in his strange instincts to run off into the trees and be the father Spider wanted him to be… but he didn’t want to lie to the boy, so he kept his mouth shut.

Spider scrunched his face and looked to the side. “This isn’t fair.”

“Life ain’t fair, kid.”

Spider’s grip on his forearms tightened, and Miles couldn’t stop himself from reaching up and gently pulling the mask off Spider’s face, before drawing the boy closer until his bare tear-streaked face was pressed into his shoulder. Spider’s arms raised to loosely hang over his broad shoulders, and Miles arms were wrapped securely around Spider, one hand splayed comfortingly against his upper back.

“You wouldn’t be doing any of this stuff if you didn’t have to… right?” Spider mumbled into his shoulder, gripping the back of his vest tightly, which he never got the chance to take off.

Miles’ arms tightened around the boy, as it was the only answer he could give without choking on the words he didn’t realize he wanted to say.

‘Everything I do, I do to keep you safe.’

The words were always on his lips, ready to be said, but something always makes him bite his tongue and swallow them.

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This asshole is back with a robotic arm

I can't wait to see Payakan and Ta'nok drown his ass! The robotic arm is pretty sick though, I think this is the first time we've seen a human-made prosthetic in avatar.

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Mama Neytiri teaching little Tuk how to shoot

with Lo'ak and Neteyam watching in the back! I'm already dying to read the new comic it looks great, and the art is fantastic! So detailed, you can tell who everyone is supposed to be and they even included their songcords!!

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Original Avatar 2 script Quaritch and Spider moments that live rent free in my head:

When Phoenix squad catches the Sullies, and Quaritch and Spider have their "reunion" moment, Quaritch has a flashback to lying in a bunk with baby Spider and reading him a bedtime story.

When the boy is tortured in the mind scanner, not only does Quaritch stop the session, but puts his foot down and tells the RDA staff they’re "done". Even glares at Ardmore.

“Tough guy, huh? How’s that working out for you?” As Quaritch pulls Spider out of the machine and wipes his bloody nose.

Quaritch putting Spider’s air mask on for him, even though Socorro is fully capable of doing it himself.

Spider hazing the HELL out of the squad, and Quaritch not reprimanding him in the slightest.

Quaritch holding the soldiers on the sea dragon off from shooting at Jake on the rocks because he’s scared that they might hit Spider.

The script’s narrative going from referring to Miles as just "Quaritch", to referring to him as "Father" after Quaritch gives up Kiri.

Spider riding with Quaritch being described as him being "safe, shielded between blue arms" before the first Tau’nui village raid to "caged between blue arms" after the first raid.

The narrative referring to Spider as Quaritch’s son when Spider pulls him out of the water.

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Happy Avatar Day to all! Here are some of my Avatar paintings, for the occasion...

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Trying to ride the inspirational highs as they come. Though it would be nice to finish what I’ve started. 😂

I was thinking of the scene in the original ATWOW script where Neytiri wakes up with nightmares from her PTSD. Really wish they’d get that in there, it would have added so much depth to her character since she had so little spotlight in the second movie. But also, they had to introduce so many new characters and clan…so I’m not surprised either…

Anyways! Please enjoy this kind of one-shot Spider-centric story of his own PTSD issues…

Thunder

Storms happened all the time, but no storm was ever the same.

The amount of rain, the rolls of thunder like drums, bolts of lightning breaking the sky into pieces that fused back together when the glow faded…

Always different; always kind of exciting to stop and watch for the unknown.

Normally, the distant rumbles of thunder didn’t bother Spider. Growing up on Pandora, most of his life in Hell’s Gate, there wasn’t anywhere to escape sound. Whether it was the buzz of electricity behind the metal walls and hum of the vents circulating sky person air or the orchestra of the jungles and open skies, there was never true silence in Pandora. Spider figured he was a heavy sleeper for that very reason and he should be exhausted enough to sleep through the night.

It had only been two days since he’d reluctantly agreed to ‘tag along’ with a reanimated unit of some of the RDA’s worst of the worst now in false Na’vi bodies. Of course, they were the “best” according to the sky people…soldiers, relentless warriors. Led by his father. Or some weird version that mocked Eywa Herself with his existence. Everyone knew the story of Spider’s lineage, except for maybe the recombinant Miles Quaritch himself since he looked pretty damn shocked to cross paths with him.

As much as he enjoyed running circles around them and hazing the living hell out of them during the day, Spider couldn’t escape Quaritch’s watch when they stopped for the night. Constantly keeping an eye on him or ordering him to help them set up camp or collect firewood with him. Basically, any reason to keep him at his side. It was annoying given Spider’s upbringing…he was just kind of used to doing whatever.

Like everything else, even laying out his mat to sleep was in the colonel’s shadow…which meant Quaritch had a front row seat for the storm…

Spider thought he was still dreaming when the colonel was shaking his arm. It made sense considering the dream - well, nightmare. Norm would call it “reoccurring”. The feeling of being strapped down, lights flashing without the relief being able to blink, and the pounding in his head like a chisel being hammered through his skull. That goddamn machine! The interrogation by that bitch! Every non-waking moment was haunted by a few short hours in the NeuroSect.

”Hey, kid.” Quaritch said firmly, but quietly, as to not alert his sleeping comrades. Ja was on third patrol while everyone else slept, but the colonel’s new sensitive hearing woke to quiet grunts and quickening breathing at his side. The kid had gone out like a light shortly after eclipse started, taking some time to appreciate being able to see it after almost two weeks in a cell and before rain clouds blocked their view. They’d get wet but nothing to write home about.

For all his tough talk during the day, the nights gave Quaritch a different perspective on the feral teen. The personal approach had been stable so far, but the recom knew he had a long way to go to get through to him. Leading up to leaving the base, Quaritch studied what he could find out about the kid but it was minimal at best. No records after the RDA eviction from Pandora. Just his name listed as the father on the boy’s birth certificate along with the mother.

The teen was curled up on his side with his back to the recom, one arm folded under his head and the other wrapped tight to his person. Even in the cooler night air and occasional droplet of rain, Spider was sweating from the images in his head. He was panting slightly and his eyes moved rapidly beneath their tightly closed lids as if trying to keep up with the spinning lights. He would swear to Eywa he was right back in that death machine with how vivid the images were. Every night since the interrogation…his mind brought him back there.

And the colonel knew it.

Quaritch could see a fresh case of PTSD a klick away. Even the science pukes keeping track of the kid before he was turned over to the colonel warned him of Spider’s restless sleep and disruptive nighttime behaviors. It was one of those “tell me you’ve never been seriously traumatized without telling me you’ve never been seriously traumatized” moments. He contemplated the action before doing it, but it was clear his voice alone wasn’t going to wake the kid up…

So when he’d placed his hand on Spider’s upper arm to give him a slight shake, Quaritch did not expect such an animated response. He didn’t even get his hand back before the teen had slapped it away in shock and clumsily whirled up on his feet from laying down. The kid’s movements were not cohesive with his thoughts as his eyes were still tightly closed. His hands shot up to his mask, grasping clumsily at the frame but his sweaty palms made it difficult.

”…off…” Spider growled through pants, “Get it off…get it off me!”

Quaritch’s ears snapped up as he reached forward when he took a microsecond to realize Spider was trying to REMOVE his breathing mask while still in a panicked sleep state. While the kid’s yelling did wake the squad, no one advanced to help when the colonel flashed a flat hand to tell them to stand down as he shifted to crouch and grabbed Spider’s wrists. Of course, the sleeping teen jerked his arms back.

”Let me go!” Spider screamed in response, shuffling his feet backwards through the wet moss until he tripped a heel on a root. He managed not to fall as he jumped back and dropped to his knees, once again reaching for the mask.

”Kid.” Quaritch said loudly, trying to snap the kid back to waking reality. He was ready this time as he lunged forward and grabbed both of Spider’s wrists much more tightly. The kid could pop out a shoulder with how hard he tried to pull away again, but the recom was ready this time. Quaritch could see Spider’s eyelids flutter a bit, but not fully open. The string of demands, hissing, and cussing did not deter Quaritch from spinning Spider in his arms while maintaining his grip. He managed to get his feet under him enough to crouch back down instead of wipe out as he pulled the thrashing teen against his chest. “Hey, kid, snap out of it!”

Spider didn’t snap out of it right away. His arms were crossed and pinned across his chest by Quaritch’s grip, but he thought it was restraints keeping him on the slab. He didn’t realize the hard plastic mask used to keep his head forward in the machine was actually his life-giving breathing mask he’d worn practically his whole life. The rumbles of thunder he’d fallen asleep to weren’t the gears of the machine trying to crack his skull…it was just one of those storms he loved to watch.

”Spider!”

Finally, a voice broke through his own memories of screaming in pain and his eyes opened enough to make sense of the blurry figures of the squad watching him and their colonel. Spider paused in his attempts to escape as his brain woke up. His strained panting slowed down and the adrenaline prickled throughout his body, almost painfully, as he came down from the fight or flight mindset. When his vision settled, he instantly felt his face heat up with embarrassment. What actually felt like comfort to have someone holding him after waking up from a nightmare turned to humility real fast.

”Don’t touch me!” Spider shouted, his cracking voice not helping him save face, as he pushed against the colonel’s arms. Fortunately, Quaritch let him go once realizing the boy was awake. They both stood and Spider tried to turn to walk away from the squad, but was met with a heavy hand on his shoulder.

”Hold on, tiger.” Quaritch said firmly, turning him around but not meeting his eye when Spider looked away, “You ok?”

”Tch…” Spider let out a huff, the last of his quickened breath, “Yea…I’m great…”

Quaritch furrowed his brow a bit and took back his hand while remarking, “Hell of a dream.”

Spider rolled his eyes and grumbled something under his breath, likely a Na’vi curse word the squad hadn’t been privy to yet, and turned again. Quaritch let him go this time, mostly because they both knew he wouldn’t run with the tracker in his mask. He only wandered a few yards from the campsite and around a tree to get some semblance of solitude. Aside from being completely humiliated, Spider’s head was pounding. The headaches, he figured, were from the machine scrambling his brain. The nightmares? Just from being in the machine.

He leaned back against the rough bark and slid down to be sitting with his knees up for him to rest his arms on. The sky was pretty dark from the cloud cover but everything else was flowing with bioluminescent life. He took some slow bracing breathes to get rid of the terrifying images in his head as he cautiously felt around the mask, making sure he hadn’t disturbed the seal and wake up dead the next day. As he did, loud thunder rolled across the sky and he jumped at the sound. Thank Eywa no one saw it…

“Goddamn it…” the teen said quietly as he leaned his head back against the tree and stared at the sky. Scared by a freaking tiny rumble of thunder? Lo’ak would never let him live it down if he saw Spider get scared by thunder…

“The mouth on you, boy…” remarked a familiar Southern drawl.

Spider had been so focused on coming down from the nightmare, he completely missed Quaritch follow a few minutes after him. He watched the recom seat himself on a root with what looked like the smallest oxygen tank in existence wrapped in plastic tubing in his hands. The recom chuckled as the teen glared daggers at him.

”Guess I shouldn’t talk, I knew ‘em all at your age too.” Quaritch remarked, slightly grin as he appraised the boy. Spider physically looked back to normal, right down to the eye roll, but the colonel knew his mind was still reeling from whatever nightmare fuel he had.

”I’m not going to run.” Spider said with a sigh, hoping that would be enough for the recom to leave.

”Yea, I know. We both know what will happen if ya do.” Quaritch said as he looked down to unravel the tubing, “Figured you might want a break from that mask.”

Spider raised an eyebrow and look down to the object in Quartich’s hands to realize it was cannula wrapped around the tank. He’d used one only a few times, mostly to be able to enjoy human-safe food at celebrations, but generally preferred a full breathing mask so he could get up and run off with less concern.

”Why?” he asked sharply.

”Because you were trying to tear that thing off like it was trying to eat your damn face.” Quaritch said as he held the nosepiece towards Spider. The recom wasn’t shocked when the teen didn’t say or do anything in response. He was a stubborn kid and a damn proud one at that. “Come on, kid.”

”Is that an order?” Spider asked, “Sir?”

”No.” Quaritch said plainly, without a hint of demand or challenge.

Though still cautious, Spider ultimately took the cannula and turned off his mask to replace it with the breathing tube. It wasn’t quite the same, for obvious reasons. While the cannula did give him the additional oxygen a human needed to be out in Pandora’s open air, it always felt like breathing through a straw so it was harder to get a full breath.

”Good boy.” Quaritch remarked.

”Don’t think I’ll run?” Spider quipped at the praiseful remark.

”You won’t get far, you got 30 minutes.” Quaritch quipped right back, matching the snarky teen’s attitude. The teen looked down as he crossed his arms on his knees and took slow breaths through his nose. After a few minutes, the colonel cleared his throat enough that Spider looked up at him. “What’s goin’ on in that head of yours?”

”…seriously?” Spider asked, “What do you care?”

”Can’t have my interpreter crashing on me.” Quaritch answered, eliciting another sigh and eye roll from the boy.

”Yea, course not…” Spider said quietly as he glared forward. His tone dropped as he growled out, “You know what’s in my head, you saw it.”

”Ah, right.” Quaritch said, lacing his fingers together. He gripped his hands tightly as he looked down. Quaritch had stopped the interrogation before Spider’s brain was completely fried by the NeuroSect. Even interrupted his commanding officer in the process. It made sense to. The kid said they’d have to kill him before he gave anything up and he was well on his way to proving himself right. The only logical thing to do was to try another way…

”Can you just, like, leave me alone…?” Spider asked, the initial rebellious fire an ember craving to be left alone to die out.

”No.” Quaritch said, looking back up to the boy’s profile, “You’re my responsibility, Spider. I’m a man of my word.”

Spider glanced at him with narrow, distrustful eyes. Seriously?! What kind of game was this imitation of his birth father trying to play?

”You’re not in the NeuroSect, Spider. And it ain’t gonna happen again so long as I’m breathin’. Understood?” Quaritch said firmly, maintaining the grip on his hands so he wouldn’t awkwardly fiddle with his fingers. Even though he’d treated the kid, more or less, like an adult since meeting him, there was something from that day of the interrogation that turned Spider from just a ‘useful tool’ to his responsibility. Spider stared at him and Quaritch was hopeful his message was heard. Done and done. Until…

”…seriously, can you just leave me alone?” Spider asked again, sounding annoyed now.

Quaritch’s sigh mixed with an annoyed growl of his own, “Damn it, kid, we gotta work on this attitude or else this’ll be a lon-…”

”Have you ever been…in that thing?” Spider interrupted suddenly. Quartich could hear how the boy’s voice shook when he asked the question and how his tough expression was cracking under the memory of the machine. It may not have been his decision, but the colonel didn’t argue against it either. It wasn’t until the boy was crumbling under the RDA’s finest methods of interrogation that a buried sympathy made him end it.

The colonel stared at the teen, going silent in response to the question. The short answer was no. Of course, Colonel Miles Quaritch had never been interrogated in something as advanced as the NeuroSect. His human memories of Earth held some misfortune of time in a POW camp and the physical approach to getting answers, but not RDA tactics. His human memories also held times when he administered interrogations just like the one Spider went through to rumored traitors…

“No, things were different back on Earth.” Quaritch finally answered. “But I know it can be hard to get over shit like that.”

”Hard to get over? Things were different on Earth?” Spider asked as he shook his head a bit then looked forward again, resting his chin on his arm, “And I thought you weren’t that man…”

Quartich’s tail flipped while his ears twitched back at hearing his words used against him.

”Kid, I’m trying to help you best I can.” Quaritch said, trying to avoid a late night argument.

”I don’t need your help…” Spider said quietly. Something in his chest twisted the wrong way when he said it. All the shit that had happened the last few weeks was Quaritch’s fault…getting captured, interrogated, haunted by these memories…? None of it would have happened if his father had just stayed…gone…

”Well, you’re gettin’ it whether you want it or not.” Quartich said with finality as he stood, causing Spider to look up at the towering recom, “Better get used to it, Spider. You ain’t gettin’ rid of me that easily.”

Finally, the recom heeded the teen’s request. After giving Spider a warning that he would be back for him in 20 minutes before the oxygen ran out, Quaritch returned to the others at the campsite. But…now Spider wished he hadn’t sent Quaritch away. He wanted to be alone and he got it. It reminded him of when he would get in arguments with his foster parents over the most stupid things and no one would look for him when he took off when things got too heated. Maybe, sometimes, he wished someone had come after him.

Hard to get over.

The words played over in his head again and again. Spider only knew about his parents by what they did on Pandora and none of it was good. So why did the recombinant version of his father seem to…care? If Spider’s only purpose was to interpret, something that could easily be done by others, why did Quaritch care if he had a bad dream now and then…? Spider pondered this until Quaritch came back, tapping his watch to let him know he was out of time with the cannula and needed to switch back to mask.

”Alright, kid, on your feet.” Quaritch said when Spider didn’t get up from where he sat against the tree, “You gotta get more sleep or you’ll be dragging tomorrow. Don’t need to worry, I’ll be watching out for you.”

Spider was quiet for a few moments before asking something the colonel didn’t expect, “How do you…get…over it…?”

[cyren-myadd]

OMGG YES I LOVE ACCOUNTS DEDICATED TO SPIDER AND QUARITCH! I love them sm and their father son relationship! Could you possibly do a prompt of quaritch getting jealous because spider constantly talks abt Jake and how much he looks up to him, and talking abt him in literally almost every conversation. And quaritch wanting to be the one who fathers spider, trying to fill the role as a father figure to spider! Sorry if this may seem complicated I hope to see more of your writing!

Once again, this is one of the asks that has been rotting in my inbox for two years. Take me away officers- 😔✋

Quaritch felt like he was about to rip his own braid out, torturous death be damned. It would be better than listening to his own damn son run his mouth about the man who betrayed his own race just to go chase some blue tail.

For months it’s been ‘Jake Sully this’ and ‘Jake Sully that’ every damn second of the day.

Well, that may be an exaggeration- but it damn well felt like it!

Quaritch finds himself rolling his eyes every time Spider talks about something Jake Sully has done, said, or achieved. Hell, that traitor could shoot himself in the foot and Spider would find something to yammer on about.

God, the boy talked about Sully like he was a superhero from one of those old comics back on Earth.

At first, Quaritch thought it was getting on his nerves because Spider just wouldn’t shut up and he didn’t want to hear about Sully unless Spider was giving him the location of the clan base. It made logical sense, so that’s what he told himself. Every damn time.

But now, that logic wasn’t quite so sound.

Now, he finds himself scoffing and swallowing a frustrated growl every time Spider compared him to Jake Sully. It made him… angry.

He knew damn well what jealousy was, he’s experienced it when getting overlooked for promotion, when a woman he was pursuing fell into the arms of another. He’s experienced all forms of the ugly emotion… but never like this. Never because someone he wants to protect and keep close is comparing him to another.

But he’d never admit he was jealous of Jake Sully of all people. He’d rather swallow bullets.

And he could never let Spider know how irritated he got whenever he brought up Sully, it would only encourage the boy to up his game just to get under Quaritch’s skin.

Sometimes, after he’s made sure Spider has eaten and tucked in under whatever tree root he’s decided to curl up in for the night, he can’t help but sit and watch the boy’s chest rise and fall. He can’t explain why he does it- or at least, none that he would ever admit… but it brings him comfort just to know that his son is safe and sound right next to him, unharmed and taken care of.

When it isn’t his turn to patrol the perimeter, he sits and listens to hissing of Spider’s mask, and it calms the paranoid thoughts constantly running through his mind recently about his son’s health.

His cropped ears flick and swivel as they strain to listen to everything around him. The scientists cropped them before he woke up for the first time, claiming it would increase his hearing range, but if anything, it put him at a disadvantage against the natives because it damaged it instead.

He knew the truth. It wasn’t about helping, it was about ownership. Treating him like a damn dog. Sicking him on Jake Sully.

Quaritch rubbed a hand down his face, dispelling the dangerous thoughts. He can’t allow himself to fall into that pit.

He nodded to Z-Dog as he passed her in their small camp, signaling it was her turn to take watch. The sound of nocturnal creatures echoed all around, but Spider had claimed that it was safe to set up camp, so he wasn’t too worried.

The man quietly made his way to Spider’s side, his tail flicking away from a large bioluminescent leaf when it brushed against it. He still struggles to control the damn thing, and it irritated him how easily Spider could read his emotions through it.

He sighed through his flat nose as he slowly sank down onto the soft grass next to the sleeping boy. He watched the rise and fall of his chest, listening to the hissing of his mask with every breath.

Today had been one of those days where Spider wouldn’t shut up about Sully, criticizing and comparing Quaritch’s every move to the other man. It made him want to hiss and growl, but he would not allow himself to reduce himself to act like one of Spider’s little savage friends.

But, out of everything Spider says, he has never once said a peep to compare Quaritch’s ability to take care of him to Sully. Every night, he half-expects the boy to say something about “Well, Mr. Sully tucks me in this way” or “Mr. Sully always carries me like this” or “Mr. Sully feeds me that way.”

But it never came.

Not a single peep.

It was a deep relief, but when he really thought about it, it was depressing. Quaritch may not be the smartest man, but he could put the clues together.

Spider is always quick to yap on and on about Sully and compare every little damn thing Quaritch does to the other man. But not a single snarky word when Quaritch does something fatherly? It’s very damn telling. And when you add in all the little things; like the shocked little looks from Spider when Quaritch feeds the boy before anyone else gets to eat? The embarrassed excitement that he tries to hide when Quaritch gives him a piggyback ride instead of forcing him to climb a muddy slope on foot? The stiffness and flinching whenever Quaritch pats him on the back or grabs him by the shoulder or arm when a hidden root trips him up? The way he perks up when he realizes Quaritch is, honest to god, just listening to him?

It paints a picture that riles him up just thinking about.

None of those damn pricks gave a rat’s ass about Spider, and the kid can’t even admit it.

And Quaritch… he’ll never admit it, but there’s a softness in his oversized heart that he can’t squash out. Something that he knew wasn’t supposed to be there, because his predecessor never felt it.

He wanted Spider to look up at him in wonder, to feel pride in his father, to want to be held by him instead of pretending that he hated Quaritch.

He looked at Spider, and he wanted… too many impossible things.

The human Miles Quaritch would take one look at him now and call him a limp pussy-willow. His human predecessor would have popped Spider in the mouth for any backtalk or disrespect, shaved his head, and tried to mold the feral boy into an obedient soldier.

But the thought of laying hands on Spider brought the Recom no satisfaction or gratification, not like it would have if he were still human. It made him want to snarl and hiss like a savage at the prospect of anyone bringing harm to his son.

It’s just another expectation he’s failed to live up to in pursuit of bending himself backwards to mirror the original ‘Miles Quaritch’, because the thought of his predecessor being anywhere near Spider filled him with dread and made the fur at the tip of his tail bristle.

It continued to create a wedge between the two men, whispering doubt on whether they were even the same person.

But the one thing they had in common?

The desire to kill Jake Sully… but for two completely different reasons.

Quaritch blinked, looking down at the sleeping boy as he shifted into a more comfortable position under his tree root.

Hesitantly, he leans over and brushes his calloused fingers over Spider’s arm, blue striking out against tan.

The man sighed through his nose as his son subconsciously leaned into his touch, prompting him to rub his thumb back and forth over Spider’s bicep.

Why couldn’t Spider just accept that he was doing his best to care for the boy under horrible circumstances? Why did he have to be asleep before he accepted his father’s touch? Why couldn’t he see that he was a better father-figure than that coward, Jake Sully? Why wouldn’t he look at Quaritch and see a father?

Why does it make the Recom want to kill Sully even more?

Quaritch closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the trunk of the tree, continuing to rub his son’s arm and listen to the hissing of his mask.

More strange instincts were piling up, but Quaritch would ignore them as he always does.

[cyren-myadd]

Click for better Quality!

I've seen folks speculating about Varang taking a liking to Spider, since it's looking like she'll be teaming up with Quaritch and possibly even having a romance with him, and while that's all well and good...

I honestly think the opposite. With what we know about what's going to happen to Spider moving forward, I think Varang is going to be horribly jealous of him and see him as undeserving of his "gift." Why would Eywa go out of her way to save a little alien, but not her tribe? Just another piece of evidence of why Eywa isn't worthy of worship.

[cyren-myadd]

I saw that recent art dump you posted which included a standalone comic page of Quaritch being sent to revive Grace's avatar with a soul drive. That idea is so interesting! Could you elaborate a little more please? Not asking for more art or a fanfic, just some more details if you don't mind sharing 🙏🙏🙏

like, what's the RDA's reason for reviving a "traitor?" How will Grace react when she wakes up? Surely she's not going to cooperate with Quaritch willingly. How does Quaritch feel about having to revive his old enemy? And where will Kiri be in all this? How will she find out and react to her mom's revival??

Thank you for asking! I got a bit carried away responding, so here goes 😅

Honestly, I didn't think all aspects through at the time I drew it, but I did have the rough idea in my head for a while. Specifically, I am really curious to see if Grace's avatar has any role to play in the future movies. I think it is a bit strange for Jake & the science guys to preserve her avatar comatose when there is no 'further use' aside from sentimentality for Kiri? It sounds a bit heartless, but after the RDA returned I think the logical thing would be to cut life support for Grace's avatar as it is presumably using up precious resources needed for the war effort.

So one solution to revive a driver-less avatar (aside from another Kiri miracle) = the Soul Drive. I don't know anything about the Drive beyond what is briefly mentioned in twow, however I don't think it's too outrageous to assume that Grace, or her research, had a significant role to play in its design. The way I depicted it was either (1) Grace being resigned/resentful to Parker for hijacking her work to make recombinant killing machines, or (2) Her arm was twisted at the beginning to create the Soul Drive e.g. as part of a deal to continue her passion at the school, and she was not privy to the details of what it would be used for. This might be a bit of a weak premise as the idea of creating a Soul Drive is already morally questionable, however Grace (to me) came across as hard-hearted and cynical with how she treated Jake at the beginning of A1 so I don't think it is too much of a reach? (Obviously she mellows out and opens up later in A1 thanks to Jake) Perhaps her mean-ness is a result of the RDA wearing her out from the outside in.

Since in this theory Grace produces the first prototype Soul Drive (given to Parker as a proof), the RDA is in possession of a copy of Grace before she met Jake and all the events of A1. As such, she is still technically loyal and working for the RDA. After Grace wakes up, she is definitely going to be fed a distorted and manipulative version of the current situation by the RDA. This way, they can still use her priceless expertise to comply for future projects.

Since Quaritch is dolled up in his war paint I really don't know how he will explain that one to Grace, especially then getting her out of a recent battle site to Bridgehead. One solution is that Q has got the Soul Drive ready but he won't 'activate' Grace yet until they can clear up the mess and come up with some excuse that it is just another RDA research base that she is being woken up at.

As to Quaritch's feelings to reviving Grace, I don't know where to start lol 😆 I'd say he would feel immensely conflicted about the matter since he owes his existence to her - which could be mixed feelings of resentment? Irony? (Respect?) Unless Spider told him, I don't know if Quaritch knows that he killed Grace, if he did, then that would be extra spicy (would he feel guilty or smug, or both?). Would he be embarrassed to meet Grace in his Na'vi form? Which she will no doubt make sure to point out. Perhaps he'd feel superior to Grace since he technically looks more Na'vi than her (specifically the nose) and has been accepted into the ash clan, or would he hide that out of shame as he is going against the essence of what the OG Quaritch stood for ("the avatar program is a bad joke"), and she knows it.

As for Grace's reaction... I think it would be funny if Grace didn't even recognise Q at first, but of course once he starts speaking it would become painfully so ("shut your pie hole!"). I think they would make such a comedic duo but regrettably, I don't think afaa is going to be a comedy 😔 Q would be ready with all the lies Ardmore tells him to say to get Grace to cooperate and she must be confused enough as it is from recently waking up. Otherwise brute force is an irresistable plan B for Quaritch.

For Kiri and the rest of the Na'vi it would be another crime to add the their long list of RDA atrocities. Kiri would on one hand be outraged at the enemies' use and manipulation of her mother as well as Grace being brought back contrary to nature, but on the other hand, she would feel the crushing longing and hope to finally meet her in the flesh and be with her. I have no clue how they would find out at first though - it could be a chance meeting, or a slip from someone from the RDA, or even someone rubbing it in. They would know that her avatar is missing/in possession of the RDA and that is enough. Max Patel was with her the longest and might know she has a Soul Drive so he could infer it as a possibility for the RDA to bring her back (assuming he isn't taken or killed).

I could go on (I've already written too much) but I am curious if there are other interpretations/theories people have of this idea of Grace being brought back. I'm not much of a writer so I don't know if my characterisation is actually going against how they would canonically act or how others perceive the characters. But it's fun to speculate! I'd love to see it!

[cyren-myadd]

Recombinant Ears vs. Na’vi/Avatar Ears

So, I’m currently working on an ask, and I added a detail about how Quaritch’s ears look like they’ve been cropped, the removal of the outer ear (pinna), and now I can’t stop thinking about it!

I decided to do some research (aka, just looking at pictures of Avatars, Na’vi, and Recoms/Rewatching the movies-), and I notice something:

Avatars/Na’vi have rounded points at the tips of their ears and are more oval shaped.

Recombinants have sharp points at the tips of their ears and are thinner shaped.

And then I thought about it some more, and came up with my own headcanon.

Headcanon:

In Avatar (2009), Dr. Grace Augustine is the head of the Avatar Program. Therefore, she has a big say in what is and is not allowed to be done to the Avatar bodies. She would never allow cosmetic changes or dehumanizing procedures to be done to the bodies. And Parker Selfridge is kinda a pushover, so Grace would probably bite his head off for even suggesting any surgical modifications. So, the Avatars are left untouched and their ears are left alone, therefore looking the same as the Na’vi People.

Now, in Avatar: Way of the Water (2022) when the humans return, Dr. Norm Spellman is head of the Avatar Program. But not the RDA Recom Program. The Recombinants have no Avatar Drivers, no human connected to them, and no scientists with a moral compass. Their bodies are paid for and owned by the RDA. Property. They’re clones who were grown in a tank and implanted with dead memories, and their soul purposes is to serve and follow orders. The RDA do not see them as human, just disposable tools. Therefore, they can modify and perform whatever procedures they wish. Thus, cropping the Recom’s ears.

Cropping is a cosmetic surgery that serves no health benefits, it just looks intimidating. It’s also a myth that it enhances an animal’s range of hearing, but in reality, the pinna is extremely important for hearing. Which means Recoms cannot hear as well as an Avatar/Na’vi.

Recoms are not seen as people. They are property owned by the RDA. Just as a dog owner can have their dog’s ears cropped, their tails docked, a chip implanted in their ear so they can’t be lost, and other stuff, the RDA are ‘within their rights’ to modify the Recombinants as they see fit. Which means they cropped the Recoms ears simply because they can.

Which is also why I definitely think the Recoms have trackers implanted somewhere in their bodies, so the RDA doesn’t lose track of their expensive investments.

… and what’s to stop the RDA from performing other surgical procedures? Or what if they already did before the Recoms were woken up?

Thank you for coming to my crazy ramble-

[cyren-myadd]

With Rebirth still DOMINATING the Box Office and the movie of the year on the way I got inspired to recreate a LONG AWAITED scene from the book that made it into the film but with two familiar blue faces. These artists are the ones who inspired me the most to try something new and this is the FIRST time I've ever drawn water the artist I want to SHOUT OUT to are @the-tigrou @yararts @signfromeywa THANK YOU SO MUCH for being an inspiration for artists such as myself to try to make something new👏👏👏❤️❤️❤️🎉🎉🎉 Also I thought it would be pretty neat if the T-rex had a Na'vi name so I made one:

Txansngäpxa

Pronunciation: TSAHN-s'n-GAH-p-sah

Meaning: "Great ancient biter" or "Great primeval bite"

[cyren-myadd]

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