FREE TIDE

I've been thinking it might be Jake who brings up the idea of adopting Spider, but Neytiri flat-out refuses. The whole adoption debacle becomes a major source of conflict between them, on top of the fact that Quaritch is still alive and Spider is now breathing Pandora’s air (if the leaked scripts are correct). Neytiri would see this as a danger to her family, because humans would inevitably come after Spider to unlock the secret behind how he's surviving the toxic atmosphere. That would put her children, and especially Kiri, at risk if it's confirmed she's the reason behind it.

Jake, being Jake, would want to protect Spider. But Neytiri would begin to feel resentful and unheard by her own mate, possibly even going so far as to take matters into her own hands, only for Kiri to stop her. That confrontation would spark a huge family argument that ends with Neytiri having had enough of Jake constantly choosing Spider over her. She either leaves to lead the Ash Na’vi after Varang's defeat or distances herself from Jake and the family until he comes to his senses.

This is all just my personal theory, but honestly, I think it would be better for everyone if Jake didn’t go through with the adoption, or if he does, Spider refuses without even flinching. Jake’s never truly cared before, so why now? Things are way too tense. Neytiri is grieving, traumatized, and not in the right headspace to be asked to accept or care for a child she's hated for most of his life. From her perspective, it would feel like a slap in the face, like Jake is trying to replace Neteyam.

She might even feel betrayed by Kiri for giving Spider the ability to breathe Pandora’s air, especially if she believes Kiri acted without understanding the danger. Grief has a way of tearing open old wounds and making people lash out at those they love the most. Whatever happens, it’s going to get ugly before it gets better. And Jake might face real backlash, both in-universe and from fans of Neytiri, for not respecting Neytiri’s boundaries. I can already smell the “Divorce AU” fanfics now, with Neytiri breaking the mating bond (if that’s even possible) and ending up with some OC beefy Recom or Na’vi warrior. I jest, of course, but you never know.

Personally, I want Spider to grow beyond the Sullys and refuse Jake’s offer to adopt him, not because he’s bitter, but because he finally realizes his worth isn’t defined by whether the Sullys accept him. I want Neytiri to finally have some peace in her life without constantly being forced to swallow her pain for Jake's comfort, and maybe even receive some healing of the mind.

What do you think will happen to Neytiri and Kiri's relationship in Avatar 3?

Zoe Saldana has repeatedly alluded to Neytiri and Jake having some kind of conflict in Avatar 3, and the stuff we heard about in the cinemacon teaser gave us further details. Attendees described a scene of Jake telling Neytiri "we can't live like this, we can't live in hate." From the dialogue and Saldana's hints, it sounds like their conflict will center on Neytiri becoming more and more consumed by anger and vengeance due to her grief over Neteyam while Jake tries to talk her down.

I also believe Spider is going to be a huge point of contention between Neytiri and Jake. In Avatar 2 Neytiri threatened to kill Spider to avenge Neteyam (it wasn't just to save Kiri, it was also partially motivated by revenge, remember she said "a son for a son" not "your son for my daughter") but later Jake embraced Spider while his internal monologue also said "a son for a son," implying that he wants to "take Spider under his wing" as the late Jon landau described their relationship. Clearly, Jake and Neytiri have very incompatible views on how to handle Spider that will only get worse whenever they learn about him saving Quaritch. Plus, there is also a scene from the leaked script where Neytiri and Jake are arguing and Neytiri says "if it's so dangerous, we should just kill him" and Jake freaks out. It's unclear because only a fragment of the script was visible, but it seems very likely they were talking about Spider since the previous page had the infamous leak about Spider, and I can't think of any other characters who would make Neytiri and Jake react so differently.

With all this in mind, how do you think this is going to effect Neytiri's relationship with Kiri? Out of all her kids, Kiri is the most humanoid. If what the old script said was true about Neytiri harboring some "secret shame" about having mixed kids, Kiri would probably be heavily effected by that. Plus, Kiri is the closest with Spider. If Neytiri continues to take out her anger and grief on Spider, Kiri isn't going to be very happy about it.

Me personally, I think Jake and Neytiri are going to try to keep their disagreements, especially ones about Spider, private from the kids to avoid upsetting them, but eventually, Neytiri is going to lash out at Spider for something and it's going to damage her relationship with Kiri. Just like what I predict with Neytiri and Jake, Neytiri and Kiri will go through a rough patch, but ultimately I think James Cameron will give them a happy ending and they'll make up, and since Jake and Kiri seem adamant on keeping Spider around, making up is going to involve Neytiri and Spider reaching some kind of peace with each other.

But that's just my guess, I want to hear what other fans think 🤔

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!

Apologies for accidentally deleting your ask, anon! I’ve been mass-deleting a bunch of weird spam from bot accounts, and unfortunately, your message got caught in the crossfire. Whoever you are, here’s my answer:

Are you interested in a Solo Leveling and Avatar crossover? ;)

Short answer: YES!!!!!! I’m very interested in an Avatar/Solo Leveling crossover AU where Spider discovers a mysterious program that lets him level up and kick ass. That said, he wouldn’t be a carbon copy of Sung Jin-Woo (because that man is the GOAT), but Spider would still be a total badass in his own right. With his natural stamina, agility, and strength from years of running with Na'vi, he’d become seriously overpowered with every level-up. Maybe Eywa has her own version of dungeons that let him boost his stats, and over time, the kid bulks up and hits a growth spurt. Eventually, he wouldn’t need his breathing mask because his body would evolve and adapt to Pandora’s environment with each level gained.

-) Training in secret while balancing his everyday life.

-) “Dungeons” manifested by Eywa, such as corrupted forest areas, rogue wildlife, or sites that need purifying.

-) His power increases, and Spider encounters more RDA soldiers and begins sabotaging their operations using what he learns to ruin their plans using stealth, even going so far as to kill them. His first kill leaves him with nightmares and crippling guilt because this isn't what he wanted, but it's too late to turn back time. He has to protect his home.

-) Internal struggle over his identity, which involves Spider sometimes feeling a little detached from his humanity. Spider is still mostly the same (mostly), but he's colder and more serious to the point that his friends start to notice and jokingly compare him to a boring adult. Spider chuckles at that, but his smile doesn't quite reach his eyes, and his laughter is forced. He feels like he's pretending to be himself, and it's driving him crazy. Kiri, Lo'ak, Tuk, and even Neteyam are all just kids, while he feels...less and less like his age.

-) A dangerous dungeon triggers a major power boost but also reveals part of Eywa’s plan, hinting that she is preparing Spider for a larger threat and that Kiri is the key to ending it. He'll need to grow even stronger to protect her.

-) I don't see Quaritch surviving for too long in this au. The scene in Way of Water where the kids are being threatened by Quaritch and the Recoms will probably end with Spider allowing them to kidnap him so that he can be taken inside their base and just straight up slaughter everyone before they can interrogate him. Afterwards, Spider sifts through the gore and blood to steal all the information before setting everything on fire and cutting off his father's head to dump it on Jake Sully's doorstep with a note that says, "My debt has been paid in full. Best of luck to you, Mr. Sully. Goodbye." Dark? Yes. Traumatizing? Yes. But Spider has changed from that kind boy who would never harm a fly. Maybe he'll raise his father's spirit and the spirits of the recoms to serve him. Either way, he did his part and he travels Pandora to grow even stronger while occasionally popping up to help the Sullys out of some more craziness before fucking off again to do his own thing.

Okay, this has gotten long and out of hand, but you get my drift! Does this plot make sense? Absolutely not! Still, I've been a mega fan of Solo-Level since it first came out, and the anime SLAPS. Spider would have his reasons for obsessively leveling up, and it starts off with him wanting to protect his home and friends...and then his desires slowly start to shift outside of just acting like an attack dog.

Anyway, hope this answers your question, anon!

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.

calling it now. Spider is gonna "prove himself" in the next film, and the Haters are gonna realize their arguments on hating him are baseless. and half of them are gonna become fans and repeat what we've been saying for years like they're Einstein s d I'm already ready to crash out over it.

been seeing theories posted places that have been said for years that are just straight up common sense by people who previously despised him before the trailer leaks came out.

the next couple years are gonna be rough for us true Spider fans

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).

Here are some more thoughts on my Neytiri/Spider mother-son relationship where she raises him to be her instrument and attack dog against the RDA and Quaritch. Bonds That Bleed AU ended ambiguously, so here are more headcanons that have been swimming around my brain.

-) Neytiri raised Spider with the ways of the Na’vi, but never let him forget what he was. A human. A creature of destruction. A son of the demon. Every lesson was laced with quiet loathing, every word a seed of hatred planted deep in his heart. "They are destroyers, Miles. They will never stop until our home is dust beneath their feet." She does not temper her words, does not shield him from the ugliness of truth because he must learn, must hate as she hates.

-) And Spider listened. He learned. He fought. He killed. It was easy to lie to him, to pretend to love him, to smile at his victories even when her Jake was deeply troubled by the boy's eagerness to kill RDA soldiers, even when her mother stared at her with eyes full of quiet disappointment. But somewhere along the way, something changed.

-) Oftentimes, Neytiri found herself reaching for him in the quiet moments, pressing her forehead to his like she did with Neteyam, Kiri, Lo’ak, and Tuk. She would find herself soothing his wounds, braiding his hair, smiling at his laughter, glowing with pride when he respected her customs and spoke her language fluently. The lines between tool and child blurred, and before she even realized it, she loved him. Her little blade. Her son.

-) But the damage was already done.

-) Jake had warned her. "You’re filling his head with hatred. This has to stop. You need to stop. He's just a kid." She ignored him. The little demon was hers. Hers to mold. Hers to teach. Hers to wield. He was hers.

-) Until the day Spider leaped on Quaritch's back like a starved animal, clinging onto his father in a death's embrace, blade flashing. The monster who once haunted Neytiri’s nightmares did not even get the chance to scream before Spider drove his knife deep into both of his own father's eye sockets. Once. Twice. Again. Again. Again. Again. A frenzy of violence. His face was expressionless, his hands steady, his body drenched in blood that should not have been on him. The blood of his own father. There is no hesitation. No mercy. He is everything she raised him to be and more.

And for the first time in her life, Neytiri felt fear.

Not for herself. For her son.

She had wanted this—had spent years preparing him for this very moment. So why did it feel like her heart was shattering?

Because in that moment, she saw him clearly—not as the boy she had raised and manipulated, not as the child she had grown to love—but as a reflection of her own hatred. And she knew, with cold, crushing clarity—

She had stolen his innocence just as the Sky People had stolen hers.

It’s the “let’s talk about characters who portray colonialism in avatar” until it’s your fav…riiiiight.

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.

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.