ao3gobi17

[ao3gobi17]

Hiya! I had a little thought about that drabble where Spider's deaf — what if he did wear hearing aids, but didn’t like using them much because they were a bit too overstimulating? Do you reckon Quaritch would still want him to wear them, since it’d make talking to him and the other recoms easier? And would anyone else in the team bother to learn sign language? And if they did, do you think Spider would actually agree to teach them?

Also, say Spider wasn’t as open or trusting as in the drabble — what if he was still quite wary and on edge? How do you think Quaritch would react if, during a tense moment, Spider got upset, pulled out his hearing aids and lobbed them across the room — just completely cut himself off and ignore all of them?

I’d love to hear your thoughts whenever you have the time — thanks for considering! 🪻

I'm so sorry I'm late on this one! I'm getting bad at checking Tumblr aha.

I could see Quaritch being open to Spider communicating why they were overstimulating.. but his preference would be for Spider to wear them, even just for the sake of being aware of dangers. Quaritch wouldn't use the hearing aids as an excuse to get out of learning sign language, he'd want Spider to have the best advantages and for the two of them to be able to talk as much as possible.

Wainfleet would want to know all the 'swear words' at first but in a parallel storyline to Custody universe he'd start taking it seriously. The others are a mixed bag. Some would just not bother, having confidence that they could point or just move Spider where they needed. I think others would learn one or two signs - partly out of boredom/curiosity, but if Spider had hearing aids that did technically work only Wainfleet would actually put the effort in with sign language.

In terms of Spider throwing the hearing aids... I can def picture that happening! Well first up, depending on what kind of aids they are, they could be expensive and not easy to replace, so Quaritch might prioritise retrieving them. He'd then decide if he's going to push the argument (sign language, or even still yelling despite the fact that Spider wouldn't hear it/hear it well) or to let Spider cool off. And to be fair that would be a similar setup even if Spider had his full hearing - if he huffed and 'shut down' and wouldn't look at Quaritch, Q would have to make the call about whether to push it or leave him be for a bit.

<3 <3 <3

[ao3gobi17]

hi quick question

If Quaritch's mother were still alive and began developing dementia shortly before his imprisonment—bad enough that she recognized Spider as her grandson but didn’t understand that Paz was dead or that Quaritch was incarcerated—would Spider still visit her? I imagine he wouldn’t want to stress her, so he might make up excuses everytime she asks about his parents. If he did visit, would he tell Quaritch about it, or would Quaritch find out on his own? And if so, would Quaritch say anything to Spider abt it, ask him questions or try to contact his mother?

I think given Spider's age when Q was imprisoned, he probably would have ended up not visiting Q's mom. He definitely would have seen her a lot more in the lead up to Paz's death/Q's imprisonment, so he would have a closer bond with her than he does in Custody.

He might have wanted to see her and asked to post-Q's imprisonment, and maybe the McCoskers would have permitted it, but they'd have tried to wean him off the visits fast, for multiple reasons. The journey to visit wouldn't be convenient to them, they're hardly going to be fans of Q's mom given how they feel about him, and if she was getting signs of dementia there was an easy excuse. By the time Spider would be old enough to potentially make the journey out himself, she'd probably be quite far into dementia and he'd also not have been her in ages, so the bond wouldn't be compelling.

But there are a lot of maybes around this and if we were in a world where Spider did visit her I think as a young child he'd straight up be honest (and be looking for her protection/sympathy) and as an older kid he'd definitely be skirting around what happened to try to protect her. I'm sure in this case he and Q would end up speaking about Q's mom very quickly. If she was well enough then Q might even want her to live with them. Probably she wouldn't be well enough and Q would be planning out how to contact her or visit her without getting arrested. I think Q's mom would be great ammo for Q to use against Spider, a shared person they care about. And certainly at the first prison visit, Q would be asking how his mom is and 'forcing' Spider to open up because it would look mean if Spider said nothing! <3

[ao3gobi17]

I wonder what if during the visit in prison Spider was less scared and more angry that he had to meet Quaritch and focused on hurting him emotionally/piss the man. What if he told him, for example, a total lie that he now lives with his biological father whom he adores? Or if he generally couldn't help himself from making sarcastic and snarky comments even though he knew he had to somehow get that killer's info from Quaritch?

Quaritch was kind of prepared for anything and angry!Spider would have been one of those things.. though the Spider he actually got was the most likely outcome under the circumstances.

He would have taken Spider's insults on the chin and just been happy to get interaction from him.. but the bio dad thing would have been tough for him to hear. It's hard to know if he'd figure out Spider was lying or not, as he doesn't have much experience with his current tells but would remember his early childhood tells. He'd have tried to hide his reaction from Spider either way and he would have reassured himself that he was getting out soon and that he and Spider would reunite properly.

If he believed Spider, he'd be pleased he had info to help locate him after the jailbreak, he wouldn't necessarily have viewed bio dad as an opp at this point unless he felt there was a direct link between Spider's insults and the influence of bio dad. He would, however, be aware that trouble was likely ahead in terms of a dad v dad scenario.

If he sensed Spider was lying, he'd have hidden that he'd worked it out until he'd got the info he needed to have a lead to tracking Spider down. And he would have been okay with trading Spider the bad guy info, because his main aims here would be to get info on Spider.

<3

[ao3gobi17]

This does have me stressed, ngl!

Not to be dramatic or anything but fuck, I am nervous yall 🥶

[ao3gobi17]

I have some thoughts about an au where Neytiri decides to adopt Spider, but with a twist. Neytiri starts off with a cold, calculated plan to mold Spider into her weapon against the demon who destroyed her family, only to genuinely bond with Spider over time and see him as her own.

-) From the moment Neytiri laid eyes on the squirming, pink-skinned demon, she felt the fire of hatred coil around her heart. He has his father’s face. The same features, the same blood in his veins—Quaritch’s legacy, staring back at her with wide, unknowing eyes and a gummy smile. Instinct screamed at her to cast him away, to have him banished to her mate's former planet, to spare her home from the cruelty of yet another sky demon. But she didn’t. She couldn’t.

-) Instead, Neytiri shoved her hatred into the deepest, coldest part of herself and made a choice. She would raise him. Not out of kindness. Not out of pity. Certainly not out of any foolish maternal instinct. No, she would raise him as a weapon. An instrument of vengeance.

-) Quaritch had stolen everything from her—her father, her sister, her brother, her home, countless lives of her people. And now, she would take everything from him. She would mold his son into something unrecognizable, shape him into the very antithesis of the man who sired him. Spider would walk like the Na’vi, speak their tongue, fight with their weapons, and live by their beliefs. He would forsake the demon blood in his veins until nothing of Quaritch remained. And when the time came, she would watch the fear dawn in the demon's eyes as his own flesh and blood struck him down.

-) There are times when Jake watches her with wary eyes when she helps Spider take his first steps, when she shushes his pitiful bleatings, and when she cradles him in her arms and holds his little hand in hers. There is an unease in Jake’s stare, as if he sees the shape of her plan but does not know how to stop it—or perhaps, deep down, does not want to. It does not matter.

-) Neytiri is resolute. She has a path, and she will walk it to the end. She will strip away every trace of Quaritch’s legacy, reshape him, teach him to hate the sky people, to despise the blood in his veins. He will not be human. He will not be Omatikaya. He will be a blade—her blade. He will be hers. And one day, when the time is right, he will drive that blade into his father’s heart.

-) But like all well-laid plans, this one did not go as intended.

-) Neytiri had expected wariness. She had expected grudging respect, perhaps even a smidgen of pride that he was picking up her lessons with eagerness. What she had not expected was love. Spider is eager, desperate to prove himself. As he grows, he stumbles, falls, bleeds—but always gets back up. He grins at her when she corrects his stance, laughs when she gently tugs at his hair in reprimand, glows under her approval.

-) It should not matter. He is a means to an end. And yet, somewhere along the way, the pretending stops. She began to see him. To feel warmth towards him.

-) Not the reluctant duty of a mentor or the cold satisfaction of a hunter circling its prey, but the aching, unbidden love of a mother.

-) Somewhere between teaching him to string a bow and scolding him for climbing too high, between pressing healing paste to his scraped knees and watching him giggle as Lo’ak and Neyteyam drag him into trouble with Kiri chasing after them and Tuk toddling along, something in her heart shifts. She no longer sees Quaritch in his face and instead sees Miles—a boy as unpredictable and beautiful as the forest, as fierce as any warrior, as stubborn as herself. A child who saw her as a mother.

-) And when the day finally came that she looked at him and realized she could not bear to lose him, Neytiri understood the cruelest twist of fate:

In trying to make him her weapon, she had made him her son.

[ao3gobi17]

Merry Christmas to you! I have a question kinda out of nowhere, but what if Spider in Custody was bitten by a spider and became Spider-man some time before he was kidnapped? What if Q found out, how would he react? And would the powers make things easier for Spider during the story? And another more down to earth one - if Custody took place during Christmas, would Quaritch organize anything to make up for lost time or would he let it go knowing that Spider wouldn't be too keen on it with his kidnappers?

Thank you!

If Spider was Spider-Man I think he'd still go through the exchange with Leo part to make sure Leo was safe, but after that he could literally probably take them all down and then call the police if he timed it right. Obviously the recoms are army-trained and if it's a world where superheroes are known to exist then they'd be trained for that too.. but also they wouldn't see it coming from Quaritch's kid. But yeah, I reckon he could blast them each with web, disarm them before anyone could shoot at him (if they would even risk that given Q would then want to kill them!) and if he could pick them off one by one at night then all the better. I think it would be all be over first night. (Again, if it's a world where superheroes exist and it's a commonly known thing then mayyyybe Q accounts for that possibility with Spider but he'd need some proper tech to try to contain him!)

In terms of the other question, I think Q would definitely try to do Christmas with Spider if it was that time of year. I don't think he'd overly push the recoms to be involved. You're right that Spider wouldn't feel the big happy family vibes. They might eat all together and Q would prob have gifts for Spider and then want to go on a walk with him or play games with him (maybe with Wainfleet and one or two others depending on the games). It would be a relatively chill event given the circumstances. He'd def be thinking of making it much better for Spider the following year. <3

[ao3gobi17]

Hei I wonder if you plan on writing anything else for Custody? Anything, some drabble, one shot, headcanons - I miss this story so much

Aww thank you! It's not on my radar right-right now, but that's because I have quite a bit of other writing to knock out in December!

I do feel bad for neglecting Tumblr so I'm sure I will be back with a drabble or something at some point :) I'd love to start a new fic if I could prevent myself from getting out of control with it.. but when you compare the length and complexity of Custody chapter 1 with chapter 13 you can see what happens 😅

[ao3gobi17]

regroup in hell

[ao3gobi17]

“You give me a ship and I’ll bring you back his scalp.”

.

A rendering study with the horrible cat man as reference.

[ao3gobi17]

What do the prison staff think of Spider visiting Quaritch?

I assume you mean at the end of the fic - I think it’s a mixed bag. They’re going to be very aware of how Q broke out last time and the injuries (or worse) sustained by their colleagues over in the other prison. So they don’t take him lightly by any means. And they’re a lot less likely to go ‘aww how sweet!’ Though I’m sure those who observe Spider’s visits or who interact more closely with Quaritch have acknowledged to each other that he does seem ‘tamed’ around Spider and that the visits seem to be good for him.

There will no doubt be a few that think it’s very Stockholmy (not that they’ll use that word lol) and feel bad for Spider! <3

[ao3gobi17]

I miss Custody already, it's strangely empty here when fewer and fewer people ask you what if questions. I hope that something will appear in this universe someday because it's my favorite story and I love your writing <3

Aww that's sweet! Thank you so much! I'm honestly impressed with how many what if questions Custody got over the run! And I'm still open to answer any questions, but I think most of them have been asked haha!

I do have a whole bunch of other fics - though none of them are based on Avatar - feel free to check them out!

There may be another Avatar fic in the future but don't except anything soon, I don't have any specific plot ideas atm <3

[ao3gobi17]

Wahhh I love it!!!

Something fun and rushed and silly surrounding a question @ao3gobi17 received about what if getting Spider to Quaritch had to be done as a road trip instead of flying…I imagine something like this. 😂

Hitchhiking Spider from @cyren-myadd’s fic Blood is Thicker than Water makes a cameo at the end!

[ao3gobi17]

Is Lopez from a specific Spanish-speaking country in your fiction? In general, did you think about the specific origins of each of the Deja Blue characters, or some of them?

I believe I googled the name Lopez to check its origins at one point, and it's one of the most common surnames in the US! So knowing that, I didn't go to the effort of making sure I had an accurate country of origin for him - I just made him American 😅

No, there's no major backstories for the recoms in Custody. If I needed someone to have something (eg Prager having kids) I'd create it at the time of writing and then remember to be consistent with it. I definitely feel like I got a good measure of the personalities and dynamics of the Custody recoms by the end of Custody, but they're still all just cogs in a wheel, kind of like the Avatar ones (minus Quaritch). I know there are some writers who like mapping out every aspect of a character's life, but I am not one of them eep 😋 <3

[ao3gobi17]

What if Spider had a huge fear of flying and there was no way he could get in a helicopter without a major panic attack and asthma attack? If he had warned his captors about this, would they have forced him to go in there anyway or would they find another means of transport?

That's a good question. Wainfleet did threaten chloroform in the chapter before. I don't think he actually meant it (it was a threat for the sake of Spider behaving) but I do think he had something else on standby he could inject Spider with if need be.

Would he use it? I think it would be his preference, especially at this point in the fic. It would get Spider on to his dad sooner. However there is always a risk when you knock someone out, so although it would be Wainfleet's preference, In reality he'd call up Q and let him make the decision. And Q would probably only risk knocking Spider out if 1. the police were super close on Wainfleet and Zdinarsk's heels and they had to use the chopper and also 2. If Spider was very clear that he couldn't handle flying. In every other world Q tells Wainfleet to take the long road. And then we have a road trip movie for Wainfleet, Zdinarsk and Spider! <3

[ao3gobi17]

How long did Quaritch actually watch Spider sleeping after killing Meyer? What was he thinking while doing that, and while Spider was sleeping off, was he touching him (like stroking his hair in an attempt to comfort) or was he just watching?

Spider got back to the house when Q and most of the others were still dealing with Meyer’s body and clearing up. So Q would have come in, asked about Spider, took a look at him, gone to wash up and change clothes and then would have come back and taken that armchair and watched Spider and thought some more.

Then he likely slept a few hours (not a deep sleep) got up and paced/stretched, slept some more in the armchair (more deeply) after one of the recoms got up and then spent most of the day in Spider’s vicinity as he slept, though likely he moved around and spoke to the recoms and used the bathroom etc.

It was evening when Spider woke so Q by that point had returned to the chair. Probably Spider was starting to shift in his sleep like he was getting close to waking, so it probably was only about half an hour Q had been there specifically staring/waiting but he’d also been doing it through the night and day at various points if that makes sense.

I don’t think he touched Spider. I think he wanted to but he didn’t want to wake him and he was afraid of repelling him further. He was absolutely worrying about Spider’s emotional state the entire time and what damage he’d done to the relationship and what little brain space he had left over would have been worrying about the asthma <3

[ao3gobi17]

Why was Quaritch so insistent about Spider's favorite movie? Even though he could tell he was nervous

Q wasn't really insistent... as in he didn't get any pushback from Spider, so he didn't have to be. Spider was thinking 'what on earth is this, what's going on? Isn't he going to go to the labs given what I've just told him?' but he's pretty much just mumbled his fave movie name and 'okay' when Q said they'd watch it.

Q did of course know Spider was in distress over Matthew Meyer and his focus was on helping Spider try to calm/settle and to try to fix their relationship even a little bit. So derailing Spider from 'the Paz mission' stuff with his favourite movie seemed like a good route to do that.

He did ask Spider a bit about why he liked it at the end and he was a lil more persistent there, trying to get some simple answers out of him. I would say his concern was that Spider was going to mentally fold up on him and retreat from him all together. <3

[ao3gobi17]

To the question where Spider is the actor playing in Avatar. I can immediately see Quaritch staring intensely at Spider when the words "A father protects. It's what gives him meaning" appear. And also his face when he sees them torturing or putting a knife to his son, even if only on screen

Yesss I think most dads would be like ‘oh cool son! That looks so real!’ And Q would be like ‘did he hurt you? Did he behave in a professional manner?’ Etc 😂

And as for the dad-quote, yeah maybe Q would like it even more than I thought if he felt it was giving Spider good reminders about their relationship!