Was Watching A Reaction Video To The Predator Badlands Trailer, And One Of The People Reacting Said Something

Spider, struggling with his spirituality and faith in Eywa as a human boy born on Pandora, a planet he cannot neurally connect to:

Varang:

where the hell is the jake x neytiri divorce coming from i keep seeing it with no evidence did someone just? make this up?

I had this idea of Tonowari and Ronal keeping Spider as a "ward" to keep a close eye on him, only to realize that something inside him has shattered.

Tonowari and Ronal make the deliberate decision to take Spider in as a sort of ward, not out of kindness, but to keep a close eye on the human and ensure he doesn’t burn down their village or is left to his own devices to cause trouble. Jake practically falls over himself agreeing to the arrangement, which leaves Tonowari somewhat baffled by how quickly he relinquishes the boy into their care.

But the real shock comes once Spider is living in their home, constantly under their watch. With the boy in such close proximity, day and night, Tonowari and his family see firsthand how traumatized he is. There are dark circles under his eyes, his skin is a sickly shade of pale, he flinches at the slightest raised hand, barely speaks, often stares into nothing, and eats next to nothing.

Tonowari has Spider shadow either himself or Ronal to keep him close and occupied, but the boy moves like a wraith, so quiet that they often have to glance over their shoulders just to confirm he’s still there. It’s… concerning. Human or not, aren’t children supposed to be loud, energetic, and full of life? From what Jake told them, Spider was always underfoot and excitable, eager to prove himself. What happened to this child to make him a shadow of his former self?

Against Tonowari’s better judgment, his heart fills with pain for the child. He was not the boy’s father, and the boy was not even of his people. But Tonowari had seen enough in this world to know a broken spirit. This was not a child who needed discipline or containment or judgment. This was a child who needed healing.

That night, Tonowari spoke to Ronal outside, his voice low but firm. “He does not need to be watched. He needs to be cared for. He needs to be taught to live again.” Ronal was quiet for a long time before she gave a small hum of affirmation. “Then we begin tomorrow.”

Basically, it's Tonowari and his family finding out about Spider’s time with the RDA and being so disgusted and horrified that Spider goes from being a "ward" to a possible future adopted son. Maybe? Spider doesn't quite trust authority or paternal figures and is so used to taking care of himself that he's suspicious of Tonowari and Ronal's sudden change of heart towards him. Even worse, he's bottling up his grief over losing Neteyam because he feels that the cursed son of Quaritch doesn't deserve to mourn.

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.

I can't believe I sat there for HOURS on that YouTube live stream in hopes of seeing the Avatar Fire and Ash trailer. No, I didn't want to see the Lilo and Stitch trailer. I wanted to see my queen Varang!

Lord, I have never written so much about one character ever.

Another fanart for @mochalottie 's fanfic Our Hearts Beat in the Womb this time of chapter 5! (I didn't check whether or not I missed something from the original scene so if there is anything... let's say, I took creative liberties ;p)

First look at the Ash Village, home of the Mangkwan Clan

And we now have a name for Varangs beast: it’s a flying Nightwraith that the production team jokingly calls Ashley!

Still gnawing at the bars of my enclosure about my Wanderer au for Spider.

Spider taking his life by the reins and living for himself and choosing not to go back.

Not to the Omatikaya. Not to the Sullys. Not to a place where he was always caught between love and rejection, between being theirs and being nothing.

He leaves with his ikran and travels.

Spider soars over vast oceans, over floating mountains wreathed in mist, over uncharted lands where even the Na’vi and the RDA have never stepped foot in. He learns from wandering clans, from nomads who do not ask where he came from or who he used to be. He listens to the hum of Eywa in the trees, in the waters, in the very air he now breathes.

And for the first time in his life, he is free.

The Sullys search for him. He knows this. He hears whispers of their desperate attempts to track him, to follow the ghostly traces of a human who needs no mask, who rides an ikran like he was born to.

They never find him.

Because this time, his life is his own.