my main thought is that the ash clan had a full "civilization," they got pompeii'd by Eywa, then they decided they had enough of all that and are angry and bitter and grieving
I know some people are not a fan of Spider being able to breath Pandora's air because it takes away Spider interesting backstory of someone living on a planet that's completely inhospitable to him and the challenges he overcomes but..
BUT I really love the idea of Spider one day, maybe he accidently knocks his mask off his face and at first he panics but then nothing happens. He can breath the air! He doesn't need the mask to breath when he could be the air. And the first thing he wants to do is leave.
Yes, leave. It's sad, but he's had enough.
Enough of the hatred he gets from Neytiri, the feign ignorance Jake displays when he ignores how his mate treats him. Enough of the mistrust of the Omatikaya. Enough of being ignored or being seen as a burden by the scientists.
And he just decides to run away, just leave both the Omatikaya and Hell's Gate behind. He's no longer tethered to Hell's Gatw because he doesn't need assistance to breath.
Spider wants to explore all of Pandora. He wants to see every inch of Eywa's beautiful creation. Spider has never really belonged anywhere, why should he stay in one space?
He'll miss Kiri, Lo'ak, Tuk, Mo'at, and even Neteyam. They were the only ones who were good to him even if Neteyam had started to pull away. He will miss them all but as their mother has constantly tells Spider, he doesn't belong there and Neytiri can't claim all of Pandora.
So on the day Spider finds out he can breath Pandorean air, he leaves. He leaves notes for the ones he cares about in his bed and gets out of dodge.
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)
in other news i can’t be the only one weirded out by the theories and fanart that make Varang and the Mangkwan seem like evil, animalistic beasties, right? it’s weird, right? like the theories that they eat people or are going to torture Neytiri/the kids or cut off people’s huru or limbs, that’s weird right? i’ve even seen theories on discord speculating that they’re somehow biologically “less intelligent” and “more brutal” and i. woah perhaps we should unpack this
It’s the “let’s talk about characters who portray colonialism in avatar” until it’s your fav…riiiiight.
"Spider meets Payakan", my new illustration😊
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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
Atwow side of TikTok is VERY different from here. For example, they heavily loathe Spider. You cannot say a single good thing about him or defend him on there or you'll be torn to pieces in the comments by people who enjoy bullying a child, regardless of said child being fictional or not.
To those "fans" in particular: Do you honestly think what he did was bad? Sparing an unforgivable man's life? Plenty of heroes do that in media, and those are usually ADULTS.
You have to remember: Spider is not from Earth. He was born and raised on Pandora. He only knows balance, peace, and serenity. He's never once ever dealt with Reddit and the 10 Best Satisfying Revenge Stories that we have here on Earth. All he knows is Eywa and the balance of life.
From what I understand, Spider saw that Neteyam was dead and as a teenager, probably wanted this terrible night to be over. No more death. He saw Quaritch, still alive, and remembered this man protected him and saved him from literal TORTURE.
And besides that, Eywa is a protector of balance. I theorize that with Neteyam already dead, Quaritch needed to live to regain that balance. Eywa is not done yet with Quaritch, and I'm intrigued to see what she has in store for him. To be clear, I'm not defending Quaritch. I don't like Quaritch. He's unforgivable in my eyes.
But Spider? Fuck yes, I'm defending him because he is still a CHILD.
If I, someone born on Earth, were in Spider's place, I would've done A LOT worse, and it would've been intentional if I had been put through the same amount of pain and trauma he was put through. I would've been the quote below:
“A child who is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth” - African Proverb
Spider is nothing like that. If he were born on Earth, maybe he would've been, but he was born on Pandora. He loves his friends, the Na'vi, and was very clearly distressed whenever the Na'vi, his friends, and their homes were under threat. He begged and pleaded for the Recoms to spare the Ta'unui Clan and their village once they started to kill their ilu and set fire to their homes.
If he were anything like the proverb, I wouldn't blame him for going after all the adults who wronged him. Clan leaders, Na'vi, humans, Hell, especially his foster family. Every single one of those adults failed him, and here's a link to another post that highlights that. So yeah, if he wanted to go after them, I'd probably cheer him on.
I can't fathom hating Spider and defending Neytiri all in the same breath. You're allowed to defend both because both characters went through traumatic stuff (it's not a competition), and both characters had their reasons when it came to their choices.
Another note: I better not hear that these same "fans" decided to go after Jack Champion for his portrayal of Spider or I will lose my fucking mind. It's ACTING.
Miss Wion :) She needs a rider haha.
Tsu'tey had every damn right to be a hater. I will forever stand by my unpopular misunderstood unfairly judged king. He deserved so much better. I will never forgive JC for the treatment he gave him. He deserved to stay alive and lead his own people (properly).