It's Craaaazy How Opinions On Spider Vary So Much Depending On What Site You're On

I find it deeply depressing that every adult in Spider's life had children, yet he was never anyone's priority. every adult he could and most likely attempted to match in to. the adults he remembered as the closest things he had to parents since birth (Jake and Norm, even if they weren't acting as his parents, because Spider, genuinely, would not know better). down to his actual foster family (the McCoskers). essentially went out of their way to de-prioritize him.

like I'm not faulting them for having kids, for having a family. but Spider was their first priority. he didn't need to be adopted by any of them, per say, but he was their responsibility. he was their orphan, Jake especially, considering he was the chief of his people, but Norm as well, seeing as he's a prominent figure head of the clan/Hellsgate.

the McCoskers took him in, but over the years, as they had their own children, he was more and more neglected. he was now no longer his actually appointed guardians priority. and that only gets worse and worse as he ages until they become outright abusive (Nash does anyway, cause thats what I'm gonna call violently kidnapping his, throwing him in a room and locking him there, and trying to kill all of them, him included, when they run away. as abuse. and I'll get back to the whole "you have to turn yourself in to the RDA" x2 speech from Jake in a second). they also didn't really accept his culture. with their resentment towards the Na'vi brewing, Spider most definitely faced some heat for being more of the forest than of humans, in terms of culture.

3 times over, Spider came first and was put last. put last by parents who know damn well how much love, time, care, and attention a child needs. who should be able to see when a kid is being neglected. who dialed to advocate and protect him from neglect (instead of calling him a stray).

he was a child and they were his advocates. all three parties failed in their duty as advocates, to protect Spider. to ensure he always had a loving home that made him their priority. that fulfilled all his needs, not just the physical ones. but all put their own families first, and abandoned Spider to the scraps of their love, time, and affection.

imagine being Spider, an orphan who can't even mention his birth parents and is always treated like he is the physical rebirth of his father's sins by half the people around him. every adult in your life has kids and seems like they're such a good parent. you watch their kids being loved and tended to and having a steady home. they receive love and affection constantly. but your fosters pay less and less attention to you as they have babies. and now your a stray to the man you look up to so much. and the man who probably taught you how to put an exopack on has less and less time for you. no one has time for you. you're no one's child. no one's priority. just a stray. a nuisance. and you don't truly belong anywhere.

no one was putting him first. children need to be someone's priority. psychology. they need it.

and then the RDA returns. the McCoskers leave, Spider is expected to leave everything he has ever known, to join the very people he hates and has been trying so hard since he could understand what it meant, to prove that he wasn't like them. Jake, the man he once looked up to, was telling him to leave. sending him away. stripping him of the little amount of family he could somewhatly claim, that being his siblings.

once again, Jake is his chief, should be looking out for him. not even as a father, per say, but as his duty to Spider as his chief. a chief should never be sending away his most vulnerable ward, a child he should consider his own (as all of his clans children should be one with his own children), to the opposing enemy force.

this happens again when they're running away, Jake tells him ever more directly to hide in the forest alone until the RDA stops shooting at everything that moves and then turn himself in so he can his own children could run. once again, putting him last, instead of protecting all of them.

then for a year, Spider has no family. no one. the McCoskers are gone and no one has stepped up to bat for him. he's 15/16 and alone. his the big sibling to the Sully's. those kids are all he has, but they aren't really looking out for him. he's looking out for them. cause he's the oldest. that's just how it is. he is one with the clan. lives with them. does chores. watches out for his siblings, the whole nine. but Jake isn't doing his duty of watching out for his ward. he is once again giving and giving and giving, and not receiving.

and then he is taken, he is taken, and while Jake may not have had the means to go back for Spider, or been able to take the risk of going back for him, he abandons him without a thought for his safety, and puts his children first. it's the language and attitude be poses towards the situation that is wild to me. he has every right to be worried about his children, but he could not spare Spider an ounce of concern, even knowing the danger he was in, and is more concerned about him spilling details then anything else. Spider is, once again, not his first, second, or even third priority. he is a means to an end. a necessary loss.

people only care about Spider when there's nothing else they can put before him.

@cyren-myadd @nilnether Oh, both are delicious ideas! Spider gets closure that, despite having fought on the wrong side of the war, his mother loved him very much, and that, through hell and high water, she will always be with him. Maybe being dead gives Paz a clear understanding of Eywa, and that human souls can be embraced by the Great Mother. Paz latches onto Spider and follows him wherever he goes. She's a voice in his ear, a lullaby in the dark, eyes on the back of his head, always watching his back and warning him of unseen dangers.

Also, Spider meeting the real Quaritch's soul would be a horror movie all on its own because the man died bitter and hateful, unable to move on and still rejecting the will of Eywa even in death. Even better if his father's cruel spirit goes out of its way to attack Spider, scratching and clawing at him until Spider escapes, leaving behind the howling spectre. As for Neteyam, I can definitely see a situation where Spider willingly leaves with the Scientists back to Hell's Gate.

Everyone just assumes that Spider is only going back because he wants to be with his own kind, but Spider is on a mission, and it's to bring his brother's spirit back home where he belongs. He finally puts Neteyam to rest, and after a long and deep heart-to-heart with his brother, Spider feels more at peace than he has in years. He does not return to the reefs, but travels all over Pandora, helping more wayward spirits with his mother's spirit coming along for the ride.

Maybe Neteyam visits him in his dreams, where they catch up on all the years they've lost.

Imagine Spider having the gift to commune with the spirits of the dead, Na'vi, and humans. Spirits are everywhere in the forest (more appeared after the great battle) — watching him practice his archery, guiding him back to Hell's Gate in the dark, and whispering stories to him. Some are peaceful and content, while others are restless, especially those who died violently or don't know they're even dead.

Naturally, Spider keeps this to himself because he's afraid of being further ostracized. Instead, he decides to see this gift as a good thing because at least he has friends to talk to. He doesn't care if Lo'ak thinks he's weird for talking to himself or staring off into space. Spider sees fallen Na’vi warriors from the past, human researchers and soldiers who died on Pandora, and even little children who perished when the Tree of Souls was destroyed. They sometimes speak to him, asking for his company or to listen to their stories.

Maybe it's not healthy to spend hours alone with just the dead for company, maybe it's not normal that he prefers sleeping outside in the company of spirits then with the living back at Hell's Gate, and maybe he made a mistake venturing off alone to live in isolation because he's found more belonging with the dead then with the living.

This was such a fantastic read, and I will add this to the fic and credit you properly! Unfortunately, Quaritch won't live as I've already gotten his death planned out. Still, he will haunt the narrative in future chapters and serve as a representation of Spider's trauma and his growing distrust towards parental figures who have let him down.

However, I will be balancing out the angst with feel-good and character growth for everyone. Spider's little symbiote acts as a positive force in Spider's life and shows him that he's more than just the son of the murderer and that no one but him gets to decide who he will become. Spider keeps his little friend a secret for the entire fanfic due to his growing distrust towards the Sullies (Jake and Neytiri), which leads to a lot of conflict because they can't understand how he managed to travel alone all the way to Awa'atlu, and Neytiri outright accuses him of being a spy which causes Spider to have an angry teen outburst and yell that if he's a spy then Jake is the biggest spy because it's his fault that hometree got destroyed.

MORE DRAMA ENSUES, but Spider defends everyone from the RDA and saves Neteyam. Whether or not he leaves is still being worked on, but I want the kid to find his own place in the world without the Sullies. He's got a lot of hurt feelings and trust issues bottled up inside of him and needs to go no-contact for his own mental well-being.

I’ve been watching Venom and got the idea of a symbiote landing on Pandora, instantly bonding with Spider since humans make easy hosts. However, instead of immediately going on a killing spree, the symbiote becomes captivated by the beauty of Pandora and declares Spider its tour guide. Spider, feeling lonely, confused, and terrified, agrees. What begins as a horror story soon transforms into a slow-paced, heartfelt adventure—Spider guiding this parasite through the alien planet. At the same time, the symbiote, thrilled by its new surroundings, keeps Spider safe. The pair occasionally takes out RDA soldiers because Spider refuses to harm any Na'vi, and the symbiote, disapproving of the soldiers hurting Pandora, takes great pleasure in ripping off their heads.

"Those metal-clad parasites who defile everything they touch with their sharp scents. They hate this pretty planet. I will eat them."

Spider’s chest tightened. He could hear it—the hunger beneath the symbiote’s words. A cold, calculating fury. "I won’t let you hurt the Na'vi," he said through gritted teeth, his voice steadier than he felt.

"I do not care for the blue ones. They do not harm this world like the others." The symbiote’s tone softened, almost indulgent. "You, little one, are the bridge between this world and mine."

Spider blinked, confused. "Wait… what?"

"You will be my tour guide," it purred, its voice filling his head with an odd sense of calm. "You are the one who will show me the beauty, wonders, and life of this planet and teach me about this Eywa."

Spider’s mind spun. "Tour guide?" He could barely keep up. "What are you talking about?"

"You were born here on this planet. Now, you are my guide."

Me, running out of Spider Socorro healing his trauma through found family fanfic after searching through 50 pages on ao3:

I’ve been thinking about the idea of Neytiri and Spider having familial soul marks on their wrists, appearing without warning in the aftermath of the Sea Dragon incident. But this wouldn’t be a magical fix or a sweeping reconciliation. The bond doesn’t erase everything that’s happened between them, nor does it mean they’ve fully healed from their respective traumas. (Throw in the two of them mourning Neteyam while struggling to accept their soul-marks and you've got angst galore.)

Instead, I imagine it as a slow-burn acceptance—an undeniable connection that forces them to learn to face each other not as estranged acquaintances or strangers, but as individuals bound by circumstance. It's a long road they walk together, and it hurts, but over time, they begin to understand each other (not easily, and not without conflict), but it's a start.

I don't know if the sun in Pandora works the same way on human skin (I'm going to assume it does!) But in my hc Tsireya and Spider are friends, since she doesn't know anything about humans, she gets terrified when she sees the back of Spider.

more drawings of the friendship of spider and tsireya :3

Dilla and Caleb meet baby Miles, and adopt him not long after! Love at first sight 💙 An alternative to this:

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Arts'OfMetamoor

"Zola'u nìprrte' ma Miles. Welcome to our family." After watching Way Of Water and reading “High Ground”, It broke my heart how neglec

My heart broke and melted for Spider/Mile's hardships and neglect, therefore me and @katerinaaqu keep including him in our Avatar AU, and I'll be damned if I won't draw this sweet lad the loving family he deserves🥰

seeing people be shocked that norm has children and him not raising spider was not out of inability but rather a choice reminds me that a lot of people i think misunderstood a big part about spider. it’s not just the sullies, every adult in his life has failed him. you can’t only blame the sullies for not understanding him because every other character is just as guilty of it

I'm hoping that the Avatar 3 trailer just drops randomly. It could drop when we least expect it, and that would make it all the more exciting. You come home from a long day of work, crawl into your pajamas after a hot shower, and curl up on the couch to doom scroll with some snacks when all of a sudden you get a YouTube notification on your phone and boom...there it is.

Ok so we all know that, in the movie, Miles had a special sort of stare that would make people back down when he wanted to go through with something, like with the “Let’s hunt” scene, so let’s take it a step further.

I like to think that colonel has his special death stare that he uses to win arguments or intimidate people into doing his bidding, and then even uses it on Spider when they argue. It works first couple times but then Spider learns to mirror it, and with down-turned brows like his it becomes quite easy.

So now the kid uses it as a defence mechanism. When he feels threatened he’d use the stare to make whoever threatens him to back down or to intimidate humans into letting him go places he might not be allowed in. Basically using it to his benefit to survive amongst humans.

And then, weeks after the Sea Dragon incident, he argues with Jake.

Jake grabs his arm.

Spider instinctively looks him in the eye.

And a shiver runs down Sully’s back…

…like he’s seen this gaze before.