dumbass-tumbler-cryptid - Tumblr blog

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

2/9 pages of my little comic finished :)

(click for better quality!)

I haven't felt up to writing lately, but I decided to try my hand at a longer format comic. It's my interpretation of what could happen in Avatar three based on the leaks, specifically that one where Jake and Quaritch are sitting together talking while Spider is asleep. I kept turning that script page over and over in my head wondering how the hell they went from fighting to the death to having a civil discussion and this is the result! I already have all 9 pages outlined and sketched, but I've only finished the first 2 so far. I can't wait to share the full story with y'all!

And to those of you who have sent me writing prompts: they are not forgotten, they are safely in my ask box and I will get to them some day 💙💙💙

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

  Spider felt…off when he woke that morning. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it but something felt wrong. “Come on tiger, up and at’em,” Quaritch called. Spider groaned. His limbs seemed weighted somehow making raising himself from his bed feel as laborious as pushing a boulder up a mountain. “Come on now Spider we’re burnin’ daylight. Shake a leg already.” Spider lumbered from his bed, almost slipping as he crawled his way to the ladder, carefully lowering himself from his top bunk. Quaritch looked him over feeling in his gut that something was wrong with his kid but not being able to pinpoint what. He reached out, smoothing the groggy teen’s bed head from his face. “You don’t look so good hotshot. Did y’a sleep alright last night?”

         Spider didn’t verbally respond, simply nodding into the palm of Quaritch’s hand. From the look on his face Quaritch clearly didn’t believe him but he brushed it off. Spider floated through his morning routine, snapping back into focus when he was seated at a table in the cafeteria, a plate of eggs and toast that he didn’t remember grabbing sitting in front of him. His face scrunched up in disgust. He had absolutely zero appetite. Quaritch was studying him from across the table. “You sure you're okay,” he asked, reaching out a hand to try and feel Spider’s forehead.

        Spider reared back snapping, “I’m fine!”

        Quaritch dropped his hand with a sigh. He looked around the room noting how few people were in the cafeteria. Typically the room was packed at this time. “Looks like the new recruit crud is makin’ it’s way through Bridgehead.”

        “The what?”

        “That’s what we use to call any illness spread by new recruits. Could be the flu, or covid, or something worse but it always broke out because of the latest recruits. Didn’t happen when I was in command because I had people tested for illness when they were still in orbit. If they failed they’d be quarantined until they were better. Looks like General Ardmore isn’t doin’ that though.” Despite the stuffiness in his ears, Spider didn’t miss Quaritch’s superior tone. The recom took obvious pleasure in his superior’s failure. All small smile tugged at Spider’s lips thinking at how pissed Ardmore had to be right now with so many of her troops layed out in the med bay. And less soldiers ment the Na’vi warriors would have an easier time destroying the R.D.A’s property. 

        Cheers to the new recruit crud, Spider thought

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

Oh okay, I understand. I'm super excited about Visited On the Son, could you give any snippet? 💕

Absolutely! 💙

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Miles watched as his squad headed back to base after a long day. He was eager to go home, maybe watch a movie with Spider before he had to take him back to his foster parents. He just had to find him first. “Spider,” he called as he walked the village. As always people glared everywhere he went. “Spider!”

“Sshhh,” the little boy popped out of a small opening in the exposed roots of a tree, a spot only he could have fit in.

His father smiled, “you guys playing hide and seek?”

Spider nodded, “you're gonna blow my cover.”

“Fine by me. It’s time to go home.”

Spider looked aghast, “but I don’t want to leave!”

“Well too bad. It’s time to go.”

The little boy groaned dramatically, “can we at least finish our game first?”

Miles' features softened, “oh alright. But when you're done where goin’ straight home y’a got it?” Spider happily nodded. “Alright then.” Miles walked off to a place where he could watch the game without drawing attention to himself.

Soon enough Jake’s youngest son came wandering around looking confused. “Is anyone here,” Lo’ak called. Miles had to suppress his chuckle. The poor five year old was hopeless.

“Pst,” Miles sounded, drawing the boy’s attention to him. He pointed at the tree Spider was hiding in.

Lo’ak innocently cocked his head to the side, going to where Miles directed. He circled the tree before finally getting to its opening. Lo’ak brightened, yelling, “I found you!” Spider grumbled as he pulled himself from his hiding place while Lo’ak cheered for himself. “Now you're it!”

Spider smirked, “actually my sempu said I have to go home now so…not it!” Spider happily skipped to his father’s side while Lo’ak pouted. “Bye,” Spider waved to his friend as he let himself be led from the village.

“You're gonna be it tomorrow Spider!” Lo’ak called after him. The boy just laughed mischievously as he left.

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

Hello, have you started working on the next chapter of Cabin? <3

Truthfully I have not. My plan still stands to finish the next chapter of Mama’s boy then start on the next chapter of Cabin. I had plans to finish the next chapter of Mamas boy last night but then something really bad happened at my work that left me too upset to write. I’m good today though and I’m hoping to get that out either late today or tomorrow. I’m almost done with the next two chapters of Visted on the Son too but I can juggle that with Cabin I just don’t think I can juggle writing all three new chapters at the same time

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

Hi, I'm curious if you have any theories about Avatar 3 and any thoughts about Ash Navis? What could they be like and will Quaritch really join them?

I wouldn’t say I have hard theories based on a ton of set leaks or anything but I have things in mind that I think could happen that would be interesting to me.

So I’ve heard the Ash clan is made up of Na’vi exiles from various clans. Basically it’s ✨Space Australia ✨. I think it’d be really cool to see them have a blended culture from all those other tribes along with seeing what there land looks like. It’d have to be pretty brutal if you’re sending exiles there. It’s confirmed that it’s a volcanic land so made those volcanoes regularly erupt (and could you imagine the lava maybe changing colors or being like something you’d see through heat glasses. It’d be so cool) I think other tribes are gatherers and don’t really do farming so maybe the ash clan have to grow plants to survive “manipulating” Eywa’s creation. Maybe there’s even deadlier animals then what we’ve seen or variations of animals we have seen that are adapted to the ash lands. All in all I think the ash clan will be brutal with a more feral relationship with the land and Eywa then the other tribes.

Something I’d find interesting for Quaritch would be if he tried to become Toruk Makto. I find it unlikely that there’s only one Toruk. The one we see in the first Avatar would at least have to have a mate so the species doesn’t die out. So Quaritch could become a dark Toruk Makto (could you imagine the fight him and Jake would have!) like a false prophet that some tribes actually get behind. I don’t think the ash clans leader Verang would fall for him though. I think it’s more likely that they use each other. I don’t think they’ll be romantic either.

The title the seed barrier has always had me speculating even though that’s apparently not the title anymore. But I’ve wondered what these seeds could be and what if it’s literally like a seed of Eywa that the humans could take back to earth to heal it? I think that’d be cool. According to the avatar survival guide (which I’m not even sure is canon) Pandoran plants have been taken to earth and there are even cults of eywa on earth. I love this concept so much and would love to see this expanded upon though I don’t think it will be. But all that’s to say there’s all ready Pandoran flora on earth and support for the na’vi, so you could have allies on Earth that would get the seeds planted. I’d love to see more of Earth in general but I’d like to see something done to actually save the planet. I think that’d be the best solution for the humans and the Na’vi. First you’d have to defeat the R.D.A because they are poison for everyone but their investors. There’s no way a human settlement on Pandora run by the R.D.A would ever be sustainable obviously not for Pandora but even for the humans. They’d be slaves to a company, your everything would be dependent on them and it’s not like you could just leave when you can’t breathe the air.

I think we’ll see more of Earth through Jake and Quaritch’s memories and maybe that’ll create sympathy from Eywa that leads to the creation of these earth healing seeds. You’re definitely not giving these to the R.D.A because they would just exploit it. They’d probably have to hijack a ship and send a human they trust (not Spider! I would hate to see him leave Pandora) to get the job done. They’d link up with the Na’vi loyalists on Earth and save the planet. This is more an overall theory though not just a third movie theory.

This isn’t really a theory and I’m sure everyone has heard the set leaks by now but Spider having a near death experience with Kiri healing him and Spider gaining the ability to breathe Pandora’s air afterwards is basically already canon to me.

I would like to see Neteyam resurrected in some way. I don’t think he’d be flesh and blood resurrected though I’d be so happy if he was. I think, if Eywa is an actual god ( and I think she is) and not a more scientifically explainable collective consciousness then maybe with the building threat Eywa decides she needs more spiritual help and turns characters we know into minor gods. I think I’d be cool to see Neteyam as like an earth god with his spirt creating earthquakes that wreak the R.D.A during battle. I would want this for Tsu’tey and maybe even Sylwanin too. I think this is totally not going to happen but I really like the idea.

I do think Grace will be resurrected in her Avatar body. I had the thought a few weeks back of, could they just hook graces avatar body back up to the tree of souls? ‘Cause her soul is with Eywa, maybe her soul just needed more help getting to her avatar body when she was you know- dying. But Kiri basically being Eywa’s avatar is probably strong enough to shepherd her mother’s soul into her na’vi body. I actually think this is pretty likely because I feel like just keeping Graces body around creates a narrative need to do something with it. No body but Grace can drive it so I think it’s only logical for her to be resurrected.

Those are my major theories/thoughts! Thank you for the question. I’d love to hear what everyone else thinks 💙

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

I present: Survivor

“Good afternoon, Spider.”

“Hi,” was all he could muster in response. 

“I was not expecting to see you again, kid. I see you’re feeling better.”

He ground his teeth. The nurse left them to it and Quaritch pulled a chair from the corner, sitting back to front on it by Spider’s bedside. 

“Yeah, well…” Spider muttered. His fingers played with the knitted fabric of the hospital blanket and he avoided looking directly at the officer. Not only was this embarrassing but they guy was probably going to arrest him. Again.  

“How d’you end up here?” Quaritch’s voice was clearly surprised. “What happened after the last time?”

Spider shrugged his shoulders. “They dropped the charges. I got out with a warning.”

Quaritch pursed his lips, surveying Spider. “So how come I’m out on a patrol two months later and find you lying half dead on the sidewalk, huh?”

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

I recently got into Avatar bc of Spider (all time fav, love him so much) and i just LOVE your blog and content about him. That being said, what's your opinion on RDA Spider ? Like an AU where Spider, after everything he went through, after all the negelectz and abandonment and Neytiri litteraly being ready to straight up kill him deciding that this isn't worth it. Quaritch is a dick, no questions asked. So is the RDA. But fuck atleast Quaritch looked out for him in some way which is more than most other adults ever did !

Neytiri said it herself, he belongs with his kind.

I get the appeal of that concept, because at the core of it it’s a revenge fantasy, a fantasy of seeing a broken individual rise and prove how worthy he was of love that he was never given, HOWEVER ‼️

It’s important to understand that Spider’s identity doesn’t just boil down to “I don’t got a parent 😔”, he’s more than that.

Spider is a kid who’s been integrated into a nature-worshipping culture from a young age so he naturally bears an affinity to all living things, which we see in the movie when he mourns the death of animals, not just Na’vi, and it’s why I don’t want that concept implemented in cannon, or particularly like it outside of an odd headcannon post I make. It reduces Spider’s entire personality to his parental issues, when that is only part of him. Spider isn’t just a victim of horrible neglect; he’s a sassy, crass boy with a heart of gold and fire in his eyes. He’d never give up his planet, all that he loves and his siblings, for a somewhat good father figure who is a terrible person working for terrible people who made it their mission to defile his home.

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

I often see people describe Spider as a neglected child. Do you think that is totally accurate? Would Norm and the other scientists have set rules and boundaries? If Lo’ak and Spider did something stupid together would Jake punish both of them? What would a scene like this look like?

Hello! I know you sent this question to other creators like a month ago. Sorry this took me so long to get to. I’ve been busy and I really wanted to give a detailed answer to this but I could just never make the time until now.

So short answer yes I definitely think Spider is a neglected child.

Long answer:

While I do believe some of his basic physical needs were met like food/water/shelter I don’t believe all his physical needs were met. First is just basic safety and while I don’t think his foster parents the McCosker’s physical beat him they definitely didn’t seem to care about him. From what we see in the comics and in the movie Spider was allowed to leave the base by himself at a very young age, like around 7-8 from the look of him. I personally take huge issue with this. I’d love to know how far away the village is from Hells Gate because maybe if it was super close, like you could see it from base kind of close, then I don’t think it’d be as bad but either way your letting a child, who is already super tiny compared to his huge surroundings loose in a jungle that we are told point blank from Jake’s narration is dangerous! Like it’s one thing to let your kid walk to a friends house to teach them independence but what parent would let their child do that if they could be potentially eaten by a tiger or trampled by a rhino. But that’s exactly what the scientist and the McCoskers are letting Spider do! That is just so negligent to me.

Next is Spider’s hair which I know we talk to death about for a lot of different reasons. So I actually have the exact same hair texture that we see baby Spider having so I can personally attest to it tangling easily when not properly maintained. After looking at 7-8 year old Spider i feel like I can pretty confidently say those aren’t dreads they’re mats. That’s what dry, unwashed, un brushed curly hair looks like after weeks.

From my research children typically need help with taking care of their hair until around age 12 and so the fact that his hair is matted tells me no body is helping him. And that could lead to issues down the line because matted hair can grow mold which will obviously make you sick. Even when we see Spider at 16 he hasn’t learned how to maintain his dreadlocks properly. They’re uneven, there’s unlocked hair sticking out all over the place. Really to me it looks more like he did his best to do something with his hair after all the childhood neglect. So yeah not putting in the effort to properly take care of a child’s hair when they’re to young to do it themselves is a form of physical neglect in my eyes

Now onto bigger issues.

We see from the comics that Spider’s foster parents just flat out don’t care about him. Other creators have gotten into that so I won’t go on about it. What I will go on about though is that I think it’s a failure of every adult that saw how neglectful and uncaring the McCosker’s where to Spider but did nothing. They did nothing because it was easier for them to do nothing. Sometimes foster placements don’t work out and when that happens you find an alternative until you find something that best fits the child. They didn’t do that! They did what was easiest for the adults and that was to turn a blind eye. I’m guessing after the events of the high ground comics that Spider didn’t even really have a guardian to answer to. He was basically just a ward of the rebels. I really do hope we get to see him interact with characters like Norm and Max post his kidnapping because from what we see in the movie Kiri was the only one worried about him. I think it would have been nice if during the scene where Jake and Norm are talking about Kiri’s seizer Jake asked if Norm had any new information about Spider, so we the audience would see that these adults do care about this kid. We don’t get that though.

And honestly I take huge issue with Jake’s treatment of Spider. I didn’t like it when I first watched the movie and never felt like he earned the “son for a son” line because again we never even saw him care about Spider aside from him asking Neytiri not to kill him which is beyond bare minimum. Reading the comics made me straight up appalled. My jaw hit the ground during the climax of the story when they are being chased by R.D.A, shot at, the forest is burning and Jake told Spider to turn himself in because he was slowing them down! And my poor boy just promised to keep up!

And I know Jake believes that they won’t hurt Spider because he’s just a kid but 1. Why would you even think that? Seriously what evidence do you have that the R.D.A wouldn’t hurt this kid. They are your enemy! They’re literally shooting at you as you speak! What makes you think they wouldn’t shoot Spider on site! Why would you even take that chance with a child’s life! Even if they do accept his surrender then what? Are you okay with this kid being sent back to Earth? Or being forced to live on the R.d.A’s base with little to no say of what happens to him? And 2. They do hurt him! A year later when Spider gets kidnapped Ardmore was willing to turn Spider into a vegetable to get the information she wanted! The only reason that didn’t happen was because Quaritch stopped him. This is just going to be an all me rant for a second but I could never leave a child behind like Jake did with Spider. I don’t care how tough you think he is he’s 16! And he was left in the enemies hands on an absolutely insane amount of good faith that they wouldn’t stoop low enough to hurt him. They fucking tortured him. And if Jake had at least payed lip service to being worried about Spider I’d be slightly more inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt and say there was nothing he could do to get Spider out of Bridgehead, he had to protect his others kids. But he doesn’t. He says that Spider’s a tough kid and that’s that.

So to wrap this up Spider was incredibly neglected. Based off of everything I said above it seems to me that the adults provided bare minimum necessities and then just let him run wild which is no way to treat a child especially when their young. We’d be here all day if I started up on the emotional neglect of this boy. I truly hope we get to see Jake treat Spider better in the next movie and that we get to see Spider interact with Norm and Max.

Those are my thoughts. If anyone disagrees I’d be happy to have a respectful conversation about it. I’m always curious to hear other people’s opinions. 💙

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

I often see people describe Spider as a neglected child. Do you think that is totally accurate? Would Norm and the other scientists have set rules and boundaries? If Lo’ak and Spider did something stupid together would Jake punish both of them? What would a scene like this look like?

Hello! I know you sent this question to other creators like a month ago. Sorry this took me so long to get to. I’ve been busy and I really wanted to give a detailed answer to this but I could just never make the time until now.

So short answer yes I definitely think Spider is a neglected child.

Long answer:

While I do believe some of his basic physical needs were met like food/water/shelter I don’t believe all his physical needs were met. First is just basic safety and while I don’t think his foster parents the McCosker’s physical beat him they definitely didn’t seem to care about him. From what we see in the comics and in the movie Spider was allowed to leave the base by himself at a very young age, like around 7-8 from the look of him. I personally take huge issue with this. I’d love to know how far away the village is from Hells Gate because maybe if it was super close, like you could see it from base kind of close, then I don’t think it’d be as bad but either way your letting a child, who is already super tiny compared to his huge surroundings loose in a jungle that we are told point blank from Jake’s narration is dangerous! Like it’s one thing to let your kid walk to a friends house to teach them independence but what parent would let their child do that if they could be potentially eaten by a tiger or trampled by a rhino. But that’s exactly what the scientist and the McCoskers are letting Spider do! That is just so negligent to me.

Next is Spider’s hair which I know we talk to death about for a lot of different reasons. So I actually have the exact same hair texture that we see baby Spider having so I can personally attest to it tangling easily when not properly maintained. After looking at 7-8 year old Spider i feel like I can pretty confidently say those aren’t dreads they’re mats. That’s what dry, unwashed, un brushed curly hair looks like after weeks.

From my research children typically need help with taking care of their hair until around age 12 and so the fact that his hair is matted tells me no body is helping him. And that could lead to issues down the line because matted hair can grow mold which will obviously make you sick. Even when we see Spider at 16 he hasn’t learned how to maintain his dreadlocks properly. They’re uneven, there’s unlocked hair sticking out all over the place. Really to me it looks more like he did his best to do something with his hair after all the childhood neglect. So yeah not putting in the effort to properly take care of a child’s hair when they’re to young to do it themselves is a form of physical neglect in my eyes

Now onto bigger issues.

We see from the comics that Spider’s foster parents just flat out don’t care about him. Other creators have gotten into that so I won’t go on about it. What I will go on about though is that I think it’s a failure of every adult that saw how neglectful and uncaring the McCosker’s where to Spider but did nothing. They did nothing because it was easier for them to do nothing. Sometimes foster placements don’t work out and when that happens you find an alternative until you find something that best fits the child. They didn’t do that! They did what was easiest for the adults and that was to turn a blind eye. I’m guessing after the events of the high ground comics that Spider didn’t even really have a guardian to answer to. He was basically just a ward of the rebels. I really do hope we get to see him interact with characters like Norm and Max post his kidnapping because from what we see in the movie Kiri was the only one worried about him. I think it would have been nice if during the scene where Jake and Norm are talking about Kiri’s seizer Jake asked if Norm had any new information about Spider, so we the audience would see that these adults do care about this kid. We don’t get that though.

And honestly I take huge issue with Jake’s treatment of Spider. I didn’t like it when I first watched the movie and never felt like he earned the “son for a son” line because again we never even saw him care about Spider aside from him asking Neytiri not to kill him which is beyond bare minimum. Reading the comics made me straight up appalled. My jaw hit the ground during the climax of the story when they are being chased by R.D.A, shot at, the forest is burning and Jake told Spider to turn himself in because he was slowing them down! And my poor boy just promised to keep up!

And I know Jake believes that they won’t hurt Spider because he’s just a kid but 1. Why would you even think that? Seriously what evidence do you have that the R.D.A wouldn’t hurt this kid. They are your enemy! They’re literally shooting at you as you speak! What makes you think they wouldn’t shoot Spider on site! Why would you even take that chance with a child’s life! Even if they do accept his surrender then what? Are you okay with this kid being sent back to Earth? Or being forced to live on the R.d.A’s base with little to no say of what happens to him? And 2. They do hurt him! A year later when Spider gets kidnapped Ardmore was willing to turn Spider into a vegetable to get the information she wanted! The only reason that didn’t happen was because Quaritch stopped him. This is just going to be an all me rant for a second but I could never leave a child behind like Jake did with Spider. I don’t care how tough you think he is he’s 16! And he was left in the enemies hands on an absolutely insane amount of good faith that they wouldn’t stoop low enough to hurt him. They fucking tortured him. And if Jake had at least payed lip service to being worried about Spider I’d be slightly more inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt and say there was nothing he could do to get Spider out of Bridgehead, he had to protect his others kids. But he doesn’t. He says that Spider’s a tough kid and that’s that.

So to wrap this up Spider was incredibly neglected. Based off of everything I said above it seems to me that the adults provided bare minimum necessities and then just let him run wild which is no way to treat a child especially when their young. We’d be here all day if I started up on the emotional neglect of this boy. I truly hope we get to see Jake treat Spider better in the next movie and that we get to see Spider interact with Norm and Max.

Those are my thoughts. If anyone disagrees I’d be happy to have a respectful conversation about it. I’m always curious to hear other people’s opinions. 💙

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

Я закончила полный концепт арт Ттронга!!!! Посмотрите на него! Ну разве он не булочка? 😍😍😍

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

I think this is a great addition to my original post.

I totally agree that giving Spider to the McCosker’s was definitely the best option on paper, I just take issue with how the McCosker’s treated Spider. From what we see of them in the comics and what we can infer from the movie (thought I do understand an inference isn’t the same as actual evidence) they were super neglectful. When he was little Spider still could have been walked to the village by an adult but he wasn’t. We see in the movie that he runs off by himself at a young age and I personally think that shouldn’t have been allowed when he’s a small human on an alien world. It does seem like letting kids explore on their own might be the na’vi way since for most of the way of water we see all the kids off on their own including Tuk. Spider’s na’vi at heart but physically he’s human. One slip of his mask and he’s dead. This was something we actually see in the high ground comics when Spiders oxygen starts to run out and he nearly dies so it’s a very real possibility that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Maybe in that opening scene when Norm yells at Spider to take his spare mask and Spider refused they could have had Norm running after him to make him take the extra. That would have at least given more of an impression that these adults do care about him, Spider is just a wild child.

Back to the McCosker’s though because you can’t convince me they cared about Spider. (Totally not saying that you are btw. I mean that in a general way) Look at all these interactions from the comics

I told you he’d come when they got tired of him! No welcome home good to see you, just looks like they got sick of you like what!!??!

He’ll wish he ran out when I get ahold of him. No concern that your foster son is possibly dead.

1. you have confirmation that Nash knows Pandora is dangerous for kids and doesn’t want his children out and about but has no issue letting Spider out at a young age. 2. I just hate this so much! Kiri and Spider being ripped away from each other and begging to stay together. Jake’s cold dismissal of Spider saying that Nash is his guardian even though he doesn’t give two shits about his foster son. I cant even…

And final nail in the coffin. How in the hell could either party just so easily dismiss the other if there was any sort of love and care between them. That is all the McCokers fault for never actually parenting Spider in the first place.

And I 100% agree that Spider probably liked it better that way. He got to be free to run around with his friends and do as he pleased. I’m sure he was pretty happy with that arrangement but that still doesn’t make it right.

And by saying all this I’m not saying that Quaritch is the right guardian for him either. I enjoy writing about the possibilities of their dynamic but I also 100% agree with everything you said. Quaritch does not deserve Spider. Nothing short of a major redemption arc where Quaritch begs for forgiveness at Neytiri’s feet for his war crimes and takes accountability for what he put Spider through would even get me to start considering Spider staying with Quaritch in the actual movies. At this point I think Spider is better off with Kiri and Lo’ak as his family. The comics really emphasize how close Kiri and Spider are and Lo’ak actually did go back for Spider when he had a chance to rescue him. They are the ones I want to stay together. 

I often see people describe Spider as a neglected child. Do you think that is totally accurate? Would Norm and the other scientists have set rules and boundaries? If Lo’ak and Spider did something stupid together would Jake punish both of them? What would a scene like this look like?

Hello! I know you sent this question to other creators like a month ago. Sorry this took me so long to get to. I’ve been busy and I really wanted to give a detailed answer to this but I could just never make the time until now.

So short answer yes I definitely think Spider is a neglected child.

Long answer:

While I do believe some of his basic physical needs were met like food/water/shelter I don’t believe all his physical needs were met. First is just basic safety and while I don’t think his foster parents the McCosker’s physical beat him they definitely didn’t seem to care about him. From what we see in the comics and in the movie Spider was allowed to leave the base by himself at a very young age, like around 7-8 from the look of him. I personally take huge issue with this. I’d love to know how far away the village is from Hells Gate because maybe if it was super close, like you could see it from base kind of close, then I don’t think it’d be as bad but either way your letting a child, who is already super tiny compared to his huge surroundings loose in a jungle that we are told point blank from Jake’s narration is dangerous! Like it’s one thing to let your kid walk to a friends house to teach them independence but what parent would let their child do that if they could be potentially eaten by a tiger or trampled by a rhino. But that’s exactly what the scientist and the McCoskers are letting Spider do! That is just so negligent to me.

Next is Spider’s hair which I know we talk to death about for a lot of different reasons. So I actually have the exact same hair texture that we see baby Spider having so I can personally attest to it tangling easily when not properly maintained. After looking at 7-8 year old Spider i feel like I can pretty confidently say those aren’t dreads they’re mats. That’s what dry, unwashed, un brushed curly hair looks like after weeks.

From my research children typically need help with taking care of their hair until around age 12 and so the fact that his hair is matted tells me no body is helping him. And that could lead to issues down the line because matted hair can grow mold which will obviously make you sick. Even when we see Spider at 16 he hasn’t learned how to maintain his dreadlocks properly. They’re uneven, there’s unlocked hair sticking out all over the place. Really to me it looks more like he did his best to do something with his hair after all the childhood neglect. So yeah not putting in the effort to properly take care of a child’s hair when they’re to young to do it themselves is a form of physical neglect in my eyes

Now onto bigger issues.

We see from the comics that Spider’s foster parents just flat out don’t care about him. Other creators have gotten into that so I won’t go on about it. What I will go on about though is that I think it’s a failure of every adult that saw how neglectful and uncaring the McCosker’s where to Spider but did nothing. They did nothing because it was easier for them to do nothing. Sometimes foster placements don’t work out and when that happens you find an alternative until you find something that best fits the child. They didn’t do that! They did what was easiest for the adults and that was to turn a blind eye. I’m guessing after the events of the high ground comics that Spider didn’t even really have a guardian to answer to. He was basically just a ward of the rebels. I really do hope we get to see him interact with characters like Norm and Max post his kidnapping because from what we see in the movie Kiri was the only one worried about him. I think it would have been nice if during the scene where Jake and Norm are talking about Kiri’s seizer Jake asked if Norm had any new information about Spider, so we the audience would see that these adults do care about this kid. We don’t get that though.

And honestly I take huge issue with Jake’s treatment of Spider. I didn’t like it when I first watched the movie and never felt like he earned the “son for a son” line because again we never even saw him care about Spider aside from him asking Neytiri not to kill him which is beyond bare minimum. Reading the comics made me straight up appalled. My jaw hit the ground during the climax of the story when they are being chased by R.D.A, shot at, the forest is burning and Jake told Spider to turn himself in because he was slowing them down! And my poor boy just promised to keep up!

And I know Jake believes that they won’t hurt Spider because he’s just a kid but 1. Why would you even think that? Seriously what evidence do you have that the R.D.A wouldn’t hurt this kid. They are your enemy! They’re literally shooting at you as you speak! What makes you think they wouldn’t shoot Spider on site! Why would you even take that chance with a child’s life! Even if they do accept his surrender then what? Are you okay with this kid being sent back to Earth? Or being forced to live on the R.d.A’s base with little to no say of what happens to him? And 2. They do hurt him! A year later when Spider gets kidnapped Ardmore was willing to turn Spider into a vegetable to get the information she wanted! The only reason that didn’t happen was because Quaritch stopped him. This is just going to be an all me rant for a second but I could never leave a child behind like Jake did with Spider. I don’t care how tough you think he is he’s 16! And he was left in the enemies hands on an absolutely insane amount of good faith that they wouldn’t stoop low enough to hurt him. They fucking tortured him. And if Jake had at least payed lip service to being worried about Spider I’d be slightly more inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt and say there was nothing he could do to get Spider out of Bridgehead, he had to protect his others kids. But he doesn’t. He says that Spider’s a tough kid and that’s that.

So to wrap this up Spider was incredibly neglected. Based off of everything I said above it seems to me that the adults provided bare minimum necessities and then just let him run wild which is no way to treat a child especially when their young. We’d be here all day if I started up on the emotional neglect of this boy. I truly hope we get to see Jake treat Spider better in the next movie and that we get to see Spider interact with Norm and Max.

Those are my thoughts. If anyone disagrees I’d be happy to have a respectful conversation about it. I’m always curious to hear other people’s opinions. 💙

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

Hi, are you planning to update Cabin anytime soon? I can't wait for the next chapters

To be honest with you I haven’t even started the next chapter. My writing plan has been to finish the next chapter of Mama’s boy which is like 75% done then after posting that go back to Cabin but then I got a new idea for a new fic and my A.d.h.d brain wants to run away with it. My plan for today was to try and finish the next chapter of Mama’s boy ( which don’t know if that’ll happen. I just got back from a mini road trip to see the eclipse and I am very tired) but I will do my best to get back to Cabin some time this week. I am really excited about the next chapter and I’ve been itching to write it. The hard thing about juggling fics is that I’m also really excited about those other fics too. So it’s a balancing act but I promise it won’t be too much longer. Hopefully within the next two weeks or so

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

   Hello! So my little rant from the other day inspired a concept for a whole new fic and I just couldn't resist writing it! I have no idea what to call this which is why I'm posting it here before a03. If anyone has any suggestions let me know. (I was thinking sins of the father but i think there's already a Quaritch and Spider fic with that name)

Anyway the premise is that the recoms were grown on Pandora instead of Earth. Instead of just killing them it's decided that they'll just keep them comatose in their pods. Until a system failure wakes them up. Spider is only seven in this fic.

Edit: I have since named this fic. It's called Visited on the Son (thank you @nilnether for helping me pick the name) and you can find it on Ao3 here

Enjoy!

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 He always felt calm in the tank room under the blue glow of the synthetic amniotic fluid. The only sounds came from the steady heartbeats of the sleeping Na’vi and the idol chatter of his best friend Kiri as she talked to her comatose mother. Spider sat, staring up at his father floating peacefully in his pod. He placed his hand on the glass, as if his touch could make the man wake up. But he never would. He wasn’t allowed to wake up.

     “I went to the village today,” the seven year old said in a hush. “Me and my friends made bracelets! Until their sa’nu made me come back here. I don’t like here very much sempu. It’s….cold. But at least Kiri came back with me for a little bit. Until she has to go back home, to her family…..”

     The door burst open making both children jump. “Miles!” Spider shrank in fear as his foster father stormed up to him. Mr. McCosker grabbed Spider’s arm, yanking him to his feet so hard he thought his arm would rip from its socket. “Did you go to the village without permission again!” The little boy whimpered, trying to avoid the man screaming in his face. “Answer me!” Nash shook him.

       “Yes,” Spider cried.

       “How many times do I have to tell you! No one wants you there!”

       “I want him there,” Kiri yelled, “and so do my brothers!”

        Spider smiled despite the tears in his eyes. Nash growled, “well the adults don’t want him there. And you know better than to just run off…”

        “But you were busy,” Spider said timidly, “I just wanted to play…”

         Nash roughly pulled on his arm again making Spider yelp, “oh you just wanted to play,” his foster father mocked, “you can play by yourself! Do you have any idea the trouble you cause every time you do this!” Nash spun him around to face his sempu. “You're just like your father. A wicked little beast. Why they even bother keeping these things alive is beyond me. It’s a waste of time and resources. Just like you.” Spider’s bottom lip trembled but he didn’t shed a tear. He was used to Mr.McCosker’s angry rants. “Now come on! I hope you like your room because you're gonna be spending a lot of time in there thinking about what you did. And you can forget about dinner….” 

       Spider locked eyes with Kiri as he was dragged from the room. He waved, giving her a sad smile, mouthing bye. He knew she wanted to fight for him. They’d been through this all before and so she knew that Spider would rather she stay out of it. Still she smoldered with rage, fist clenched at her sides. Spider spared one last glance at his father’s tank before being completely taken from the room. Bye sempu. 

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       That night as Spider tried and failed to sleep with his painfully empty stomach an alarm sounded through all of Hell’s Gate having the entire base up and moving in moments. Spider covered his ears burying himself under his blankets as red lights flashed. This had never happened before. What is this? What should I do? He could faintly hear his foster parents through the noise, Mr.McCosker stomping through the apartment and out the door, Mrs. McCosker pacing the living room as she made a call. But Spider didn’t want to go to them. He didn’t want to be anywhere near them.

     He focused his attention through the small window above his bed. The floodlights were on outside as people ran back and forth. He knew deep down that something was seriously wrong. But it couldn’t be too bad if his foster parents hadn’t come to get him. They wouldn’t just leave him behind, right? Eywa help me, he silently prayed.

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     The first thing he was aware of was the heaviness of his own breathing. Then came the sound of his heart beating slow and steady. Next was the feeling of floating. Finally as his senses returned he opened his eyes to a mix of soft shimmering blue light and harsh flashing red. What in the fuck, Miles thought as he took it all in. He was in a tank. He raised his fist to beat on the glass, making him see his body for the first time.

      Ain’t this a bitch. He was na’vi now. Which only meant one thing. Focus he willed himself. First order of business was getting out of the tank. He’d deal with the rest later. Miles placed his hand on the glass, getting a scene of its thickness. Too thick to break. He looked towards his feet then above his head finding exactly what he’d hoped. An escape hatch. A few good twists was all it took for him to spill out of the container onto the linoleum floor of the labs.

      His eyes roved his surroundings. The computers blared a message of system failure. No doubt the reason he woke up. To his right was the exit. To his left a row of familiar faces all wide eyed and banging on their tanks for release. Miles stumbled as he rose on unsteady alien legs. He persevered making his way to the other tanks, freeing his team one by one. “What’s going on boss,” Lyle said.

      “Isn’t it obvious? We died. And now we're back.”

       Lyle rolled his eyes, “I get that but this…”

       “We weren’t supposed to wake up,” Z said, staring at the computer screen, “and if we’re only waking up because of a computer glitch….” She let the implication hang in the air as they all sprung into action, dressing in whatever clothes the avatars had left behind, making weapons from broken chair legs and glass shards, each looping a na’vi breathing mask around their neck.

       “Alright people,” Miles said when they were ready, “for our sins in our past life we have been brought back as the enemy. In enemy territory no less. We don’t know what things look like past those doors so be ready for anything. Head on a swivel,” his team nodded, “alright. Let’s move out.” They made their way down the red lit hall in formation, Miles leading them. Aside from the alarm it was eerily quiet. All the personnel must have been off somewhere dealing with the system failure.

         It only took a few quick glances for Miles to know exactly where he was. Hell’s Gate. Home sweet home. He knew this place like the back of his hand. He led his team not to the control center but to the living quarters. They’d surely be able to take some hostages there, grill them for more information. How long had it been? Who was in command? What happened to the R.D.A. His team's survival hinged on these answers.

        The hallway of apartments was deserted, doors left ajar from hasty exits. They searched the rooms one by one, not a soul in sight. “Maybe we should just run while we have the chance,” said Lyle, “we don’t need masks to breathe out there anymore. We can survive…”

        “I’m not runnin’ like a coward,” Miles growled. He needed to know what happened. Not only in the war but also to…

        They entered the final apartment on the right hand side of the hall. Just like all the others the place had been fled in a hurry, all the doors left open. Except for one. Miles raised his fist signaling, hold tight on me. Cautiously he opened the door to find a child’s room. The furniture was small, made for a toddler but the few articles of clothing strewn about the room suggested a child in the age range of six to eight. Miles’ eyes zeroed in on a form, too big for its little bed, curled up in its sheets. “Prager,” he called, “kill that alarm would y’a.” Prager nodded, expertly having the wires of the screaming red light out and severed in seconds plunging them into blissful silence. 

         Who could leave a child behind like this, Miles thought as the form shifted. Big brown eyes peaked out at him, wide and curious, not an ounce of fear. Miles dropped down to the kids level, “hi there,” he said gently reaching out to pull the cover back.

         “You're awake,” the child said in an awed hush.

          That made Miles still, “you know me?”

          The kid nodded under the covers, “they said you’d never wake up.”

          “Who said that?”

           “Jake, Norm, the McCoskers. Everyone. They said you were too bad to wake up. So if you're awake does that mean you're not bad anymore? Or was I bad enough to be put to sleep…”

          A chill went up Miles' spine, “why would they put you to sleep? You're just a kid.”

         “Because I’m bad. The McCosker’s tell me all the time. And Mrs.Sully says I’m a demon's son…

         Miles sucked in a breath. Mrs.Sully. Jake’s little na’vi girlfriend, the one that made him turn traitor. He knew exactly who would draw her hatred enough to damn a son for their father’s sins. A dangerous hope flaired to life but he fought to push it down. It’s not him. They would have sent him back to Earth. “Can you sit up please so I can get a look at you,” he coaxed the boy. 

        He complied, wrapping the sheets around his shoulders. The boy reached out a little hand touching Miles face, “your real. You really woke up sempu.”

      Miles hardly knew any na’vi but he knew that word for sure. He studied the boy in front of him knowing in his gut that he was his. He had his father’s brow and nose. His mother’s cheeks, her smile. Most importantly their son had the brown eyes of Miles’ lover, the woman he knew without a doubt was dead. She’d never leave her son behind like this. Wouldn’t let this little boy's long, dry, blond hair, start to mat in places. The kid's stomach rumbled. She wouldn’t let him go hungry. “Miles?”

         He nodded, “yeah, but people only use that name when I’m bad. Most people call me Spider.”

        Miles hid his scowl, masking it with a huff of a laugh, “why do they call you that?”

        Spider perked up, giving him a sunny smile that melted his father’s heart, “because I like to climb!”  Miles chuckled for real at his son’s clear enthusiasm. It’s just a nickname, he reasoned with himself. It would be easier than having two Miles’.

        Spider’s smile slipped as his stomach growled again, making him wrap his arms around himself. Miles scowled. “Who’s closest to the kitchen,” he called.

        “Me,” Mansk answered.

         “Grab somethin’ for my boy to eat would y’a…”

         “But…The McCosker’s will get mad at me. I’m in trouble for leaving and if I…”

         “Who are the McCosker’s,” Miles asked with an undertone of malice. Who ever they were he already hated them.

         Spider averted his gaze, mumbling, “they’re my foster parents…”

         Miles lifted the boy’s little head looking him square in the eye, “well daddy’s back now. And I say you're gonna eat.” Mansk entered with a sandwich cut in half. “Come here.” Spider watched curiously as his father stood but clearly panicked when the man picked him up, sitting on the bed and settling Spider on his lap in one swift movement. Miles took note of his son’s clear distress. He was rigid in his arms, blank faced. The father bounced his son on his knee trying to calm him down. Mansk handed the sandwich to Miles who then offered a bite to Spider. Hesitantly he took it.

         “Good boy,” Miles said gently, rubbing his son’s back. Whether it was the praise or the touch Spider slightly relaxed. “Is it good?” Spider gave a small happy nod. Miles smiled back. “Good. Now what do you say to uncle Mansk?”

        Spider turned to the recom, “thank you.” 

        He sounded so sweet that the hardened soldiers in the room couldn’t help but melt. “You're welcome,” Mansk said. 

        “Spider,” Miles called, drawing his son’s attention, “how old are you now.”

        “Seven,” he answered absentmindedly, enjoying his meal.

         Seven. Making it roughly six years since the war. “A big boy,” Miles bounced his son again, eliciting a little giggle from the boy that made his father grin, his heart warming. “You know when you were little I was in charge around here. Do you know who’s in charge now?”

        “Jake,” Spider said without a care. The rest of the room quietly took in this information. If that traitor was running things now then they’d have to play their cards right if they wanted to get out of this one alive. 

        “He’s quite the fighter. I know we couldn’t take him, or his army,” Miles said keeping his tone light hearted for his son’s sake. His team was smart enough to catch on to what he really meant. Spider nodded his agreement. “Say, why’d Jake keep us asleep?” Miles said while tucking his son’s hair behind his ear so he wouldn’t accidentally eat it as he devoured his food.

       Spider shrugged, “I heard him say once that only a coward would kill a man in his sleep. That’s why I guess.”

       Miles could respect that. If Jake was honorable enough to not strike when they were most vulnerable, Miles was willing to bet that Jake would at least put them through some sort of trial before executing them. And that would open up a whole world of possibilities. “That was mighty kind of him. I’d sure like to thank him for keeping us all alive and thrivin’.”

      Spider’s eyes lit up, “you do?”

      Miles nodded, “sure I do!” His team displayed a mix of emotions as his real intentions set it. They were surrendering. 

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        Jake led the recoms like dogs on a leash, their hands bound and bodies tied together in a line, avatars keeping them on track with loaded guns. “Quite the trek gettin’ to your little village,” Miles said.

       Jake scowled, “don’t talk to me.”

       “What’s the matter Jake? We can’t have a nice conversation together?” Jake pointedly ignored him. “You all really let my boy walk all the way to the village by himself?”

       “He’s not your son,” Jake hissed.

        “I beg to differ. You can’t call him a demon’s son then turn around and say he doesn’t belong to me.” Jake smoldered with rage but stayed quiet. “Unless you're saying that I am not in fact Miles Quaritch, in which case me and my team can’t be held accountable for the actions of our genetic predecessors…”

      “Of course your Quaritch,” Jake snapped, “that body is nothing but a blank slate. It’d sleep forever without some kind of driver…”

     “So that means I’m Miles Quaritch, father of Miles “Spider” Socorro….” Jake growled, walking faster, harshly tugging on his leads to make the recoms do the same. The recoms all snickered. “I should thank you though Jake for not slandering me in front of my son. He knows I’m “bad” but doesn’t seem to know how bad…”

      “It wasn’t intentional. How the hell are you supposed to tell a kid his father is responsible for the deaths of hundreds.”

      “Fair.” They quieted as they approached the village. The Omatikaya lined the walkway screaming and hissing as the recoms were led to the heart of the village. Their tsahik Mo’at waited there with her daughter at her side, Neytiri’s teeth bared and snarling. Miles inclined his head to her as the recoms were lined up, “Mrs. Sully.”

      “Demon!” Neytiri lunged at him, knife in hand.

       “Daughter,” her mother held up her hand, placating Neytiri. She backed down but still stood ready to strike. Mo’at fixed them with a hard stare that even Miles felt uneasy under. She walked around them picking at their ears and tails, analyzing them coldly. Once she was satisfied she stood before them, the entire village waiting with bated breath for her verdict. To the shock of all, the tsahik laughed. “Ah, the great mother knows what she’s doing. You demons who so brutally destroyed our home and slaughtered our people. With no respect for the great balance! Eywa has made you one of us so you could connect and feel the devastation you brought among the people!” The villagers all screamed their agreements. “I can think of no greater punishment than to make you learn our ways. Make you understand and feel what you have done until you are so remorseful that you weep at the foot of the Tree of Souls and beg the great mother for forgiveness!” The village roared.

       Miles stood there in shock. He’d expected to have to plead his case. Argue that his team were clones of their predecessors. That they couldn’t be held accountable for what they’d done. “So…your not gonna execute us?”

       Mo’at looked at him in confusion, not understanding his words. Jake said, “Na’vi don’t do executions. They banish their criminals to the ash lands. But I’d tried to convince Mo’at to make an exception for you.”

      Miles grinned, “well it looks like you failed…” Mo’at raped him with her walking stick right between his eyes making Miles stumble back. 

     “Do not think you are getting off easy! If you want to live then you will learn our ways. If you refuse I have no issue banishing you from this land. Then your fate will truly lie with Eywa.”

     “Yes ma’am.” Miles bowed his head to her, the other recoms following suit. 

     “You will come back here tomorrow and every day after until your insanity is cured,” they nodded their agreement, “good. Now away with you!” The clan jeered and hissed as Jake led them back towards Hell’s Gate.

      When they were well away from the village Miles spoke, “well, now that that’s settled, let’s talk about my boy…”

       Jake scowled, “no..”

       “I want back custody…”

        “Absolutely not!”

        “Tell me Jake, what happened last night?” Jake paused. Knowing exactly where this was going he stayed silent. “I know Hells Gate better than anyone. If anything goes haywire the systems automatically reroute power to keep the control room and the cafeteria powered and oxygenated. That’s what happened last night and those damn McCoskers left Spider behind to die! How long do you think it would’ve taken for the living quarters to run out of oxygen….”

       Jake sighed, “Where having a meeting with the McCoskers when we get back…”

       “And I want to be there..”

       “No.”

       “He’s my son! They sure as hell don’t want him! Do you want him Jake?” He shifted uncomfortably, choosing not to answer. “How about you? Do you want my kid,” Miles asked Norm. Norm also stayed quiet. “Is there a single person on that base that could give my son a lovin’ home…”

       “We’re going to work something out…”

        “Yeah you're gonna give me my kid.” Jake clenched his jaw, choosing to ignore Miles for the rest of the walk.

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         “We don’t want him anymore,” Nash said, “he’s too wild. We’re having our own baby soon…and now that his father’s back…”

         “Quaritch can’t have Spider,” Jake said.

          “Why not? We’re not executing him, we’re not really imprisoning him and he wants the kid. I say let him have his little bastard…”

          “Don’t call him that!” Jake yelled, fighting to maintain some level of calm.

           Norm gave his friend a sympathetic smile, “we can’t let Spider stay with Nash and Mary anymore. Not after last night…” Nash didn’t even seem guilty over leaving a child to die, “….and remember the last time we had to find a placement for Spider…” Jake most certainly did. No one had been willing to take the boy. They’d had to twist Nash’s arm just to accept Spider in the first place, which was now blowing up in their faces in spectacular fashion. 

          “I don’t want Quaritch to win here…”

          “It’s not about that Jake. It’s what’s best for Spider..”

          “How could that monster be what’s best for him!”

           “It’s better than nothing!” Jake scoffed, “We’ll watch Quaritch like a hawk. If anything happens to Spider we’ll take him away in a second…”

          “Oh come on now,” the man in question finally said, “i’m a lot of things but do you really think I’d hurt my own child!”

         “We wouldn’t be having this conversation otherwise,” Jake snapped.

          “You put Spider in the custody of two people who left him to die! Who let him starve! What else have they been doing right under your nose?” Jake had the decency to look guilty.

         Nash waved him off, “let him have his kid Jake. It’ll be enough punishment for him.” Jake had to stop Quaritch from lunging across the table to throttle Nash, the recom turning purple from how incensed he was.

       “Fine!” Jack shouted if only to stop Quaritch from committing murder, “you can take custody of Spider! But if you hurt him I swear…”

       “Pff..” Quaritch shook him off, “please. I couldn’t do any worse than you.”

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        The recoms were locked into the avatar quarters for the night. Not that they minded. It finally gave them a chance to speak openly after their first chaotic day in their new bodies. “So we’re really just gonna go along with all this boss,” Prager asked.

        Miles nodded, “the R.D.A is gone. For now at least. We hang tight, learn the savages way, worm our way into the rebels' operations. We’ll be sitting real pretty when the company makes their comeback.” Everyone grinned, a few cheering for their new found mission. Miles couldn’t help but smile back, “alright now get some shut eye. We got a long day tomorrow.” The others nodded agreements before settling into bed. Miles did the same. He smiled to himself thinking about tomorrow. First they’d have their silly ass lessons in the village. But then they’d start renovations on Miles' apartment from back in the day, getting it all ready for Spider to move in. A home for me and my son. He couldn’t wait.

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Hope you liked it! I do know how I'm ending this fic already but if you have any ideas for bonding/learning moments that you'd like to see I'll be happy to write them.💞  

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

I often see people describe Spider as a neglected child. Do you think that is totally accurate? Would Norm and the other scientists have set rules and boundaries? If Lo’ak and Spider did something stupid together would Jake punish both of them? What would a scene like this look like?

Hello! I know you sent this question to other creators like a month ago. Sorry this took me so long to get to. I’ve been busy and I really wanted to give a detailed answer to this but I could just never make the time until now.

So short answer yes I definitely think Spider is a neglected child.

Long answer:

While I do believe some of his basic physical needs were met like food/water/shelter I don’t believe all his physical needs were met. First is just basic safety and while I don’t think his foster parents the McCosker’s physical beat him they definitely didn’t seem to care about him. From what we see in the comics and in the movie Spider was allowed to leave the base by himself at a very young age, like around 7-8 from the look of him. I personally take huge issue with this. I’d love to know how far away the village is from Hells Gate because maybe if it was super close, like you could see it from base kind of close, then I don’t think it’d be as bad but either way your letting a child, who is already super tiny compared to his huge surroundings loose in a jungle that we are told point blank from Jake’s narration is dangerous! Like it’s one thing to let your kid walk to a friends house to teach them independence but what parent would let their child do that if they could be potentially eaten by a tiger or trampled by a rhino. But that’s exactly what the scientist and the McCoskers are letting Spider do! That is just so negligent to me.

Next is Spider’s hair which I know we talk to death about for a lot of different reasons. So I actually have the exact same hair texture that we see baby Spider having so I can personally attest to it tangling easily when not properly maintained. After looking at 7-8 year old Spider i feel like I can pretty confidently say those aren’t dreads they’re mats. That’s what dry, unwashed, un brushed curly hair looks like after weeks.

From my research children typically need help with taking care of their hair until around age 12 and so the fact that his hair is matted tells me no body is helping him. And that could lead to issues down the line because matted hair can grow mold which will obviously make you sick. Even when we see Spider at 16 he hasn’t learned how to maintain his dreadlocks properly. They’re uneven, there’s unlocked hair sticking out all over the place. Really to me it looks more like he did his best to do something with his hair after all the childhood neglect. So yeah not putting in the effort to properly take care of a child’s hair when they’re to young to do it themselves is a form of physical neglect in my eyes

Now onto bigger issues.

We see from the comics that Spider’s foster parents just flat out don’t care about him. Other creators have gotten into that so I won’t go on about it. What I will go on about though is that I think it’s a failure of every adult that saw how neglectful and uncaring the McCosker’s where to Spider but did nothing. They did nothing because it was easier for them to do nothing. Sometimes foster placements don’t work out and when that happens you find an alternative until you find something that best fits the child. They didn’t do that! They did what was easiest for the adults and that was to turn a blind eye. I’m guessing after the events of the high ground comics that Spider didn’t even really have a guardian to answer to. He was basically just a ward of the rebels. I really do hope we get to see him interact with characters like Norm and Max post his kidnapping because from what we see in the movie Kiri was the only one worried about him. I think it would have been nice if during the scene where Jake and Norm are talking about Kiri’s seizer Jake asked if Norm had any new information about Spider, so we the audience would see that these adults do care about this kid. We don’t get that though.

And honestly I take huge issue with Jake’s treatment of Spider. I didn’t like it when I first watched the movie and never felt like he earned the “son for a son” line because again we never even saw him care about Spider aside from him asking Neytiri not to kill him which is beyond bare minimum. Reading the comics made me straight up appalled. My jaw hit the ground during the climax of the story when they are being chased by R.D.A, shot at, the forest is burning and Jake told Spider to turn himself in because he was slowing them down! And my poor boy just promised to keep up!

And I know Jake believes that they won’t hurt Spider because he’s just a kid but 1. Why would you even think that? Seriously what evidence do you have that the R.D.A wouldn’t hurt this kid. They are your enemy! They’re literally shooting at you as you speak! What makes you think they wouldn’t shoot Spider on site! Why would you even take that chance with a child’s life! Even if they do accept his surrender then what? Are you okay with this kid being sent back to Earth? Or being forced to live on the R.d.A’s base with little to no say of what happens to him? And 2. They do hurt him! A year later when Spider gets kidnapped Ardmore was willing to turn Spider into a vegetable to get the information she wanted! The only reason that didn’t happen was because Quaritch stopped him. This is just going to be an all me rant for a second but I could never leave a child behind like Jake did with Spider. I don’t care how tough you think he is he’s 16! And he was left in the enemies hands on an absolutely insane amount of good faith that they wouldn’t stoop low enough to hurt him. They fucking tortured him. And if Jake had at least payed lip service to being worried about Spider I’d be slightly more inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt and say there was nothing he could do to get Spider out of Bridgehead, he had to protect his others kids. But he doesn’t. He says that Spider’s a tough kid and that’s that.

So to wrap this up Spider was incredibly neglected. Based off of everything I said above it seems to me that the adults provided bare minimum necessities and then just let him run wild which is no way to treat a child especially when their young. We’d be here all day if I started up on the emotional neglect of this boy. I truly hope we get to see Jake treat Spider better in the next movie and that we get to see Spider interact with Norm and Max.

Those are my thoughts. If anyone disagrees I’d be happy to have a respectful conversation about it. I’m always curious to hear other people’s opinions. 💙

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

Some notes pertaining to Teylan that some of you might find interesting.

Mild spoilers under the cut

Also if you guys want anything note related hit me up, I’m pretty sure I’ve collected every note/audio log in game. As well as all the Hunter Guide pages. It’s a really fun game.

Edit: Found one more

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

From your last post: "Until Spider ends up going to the same college as Kiri and all hell breaks loose."

You can't just write something like that and then not elaborate! Whether it's in the Blood Brothers AU or in the main Cabin timeline, could you please share more about what would happen if Spider was fully stockhom syndromed and happily living with Quaritch, but then he went off to college when he got old enough and he ran into Kiri! I can't imagine the ✨drama!✨

lol I will eventually because that’s totally from one of the Stockholm syndrome endings of Cabin. I’m not the first person to say it but I really think Spider and Kiri are like soulmates in a best friend way. Somehow the universe will always bring them back together. 

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

I managed to hold myself together until the part where Quaritch started talking about the list and choosing a name, which really touched me. I love Blood Brothers and the relationships in it (and I have a soft spot for Hunter, he seems so delicate and young next to Spider) I hope that one day you will write something more from this AU 🤞 🤞

(Oh, one question occurred to meWould Quaritch in this AU also be willing to do the test and take his sons on a family vacation like in the upcoming OG Cabin chapters?)

<3

Oh thank you! I actually really love writing Blood Brothers. It has passages in that I’m so proud of and think is some of my best writing. Honestly I think it’s one of my most under rated fics and I get why. I’m not a fan of reading fics with o.cs in them so at first I didn’t love the idea of writing this fic. But I changed my mindset when I realized it was more of a way to explore Spider as a big brother. I really think he’d be a fantastic older brother and so it’s fun to explore that concept. Of course to do that concept justice I have to also flesh out Hunter and make him a fully realized character and that’s also been surprisingly fun because he’s all mine so I have more freedom with him.

I do have one more Blood Brothers prompt in my inbox where the family celebrates a birthday. Since in the chapter with Z and Lyle I hinted that Hunter’s birthday was coming up that’s the birthday they’ll be celebrating.

And to your question I don’t think Quaritch would have to test them in this au. The boys are both happy in their new lives so I can see him just taking them on vacation. If I was writing this as a proper fic I’d probably end it with them moving from the cabin to a farm outside of a small town so the boys could have a normal life, go to school, make friends and all that (which is also one of the endings for Cabin. I don’t know why but something about Quaritch screams farmer to me. Like that’s what he’d do if he retired or had to leave the R.D.A in disgrace.) they wouldn’t move until the boys were a little older and less recognizable, and they might even have simple disguises like dying/bleaching hair but they’d live in peace in their new home. Until Spider ends up going to the same college as Kiri and all hell breaks loose.

Anyway thank you again for reaching out. I really appreciate it. 💞