Spider Will Be, At Least Ever So Slightly Compared To Other Humans, Respected. He Protected The Clan.

My thoughts were inspired by @detective-twinkachu's au where Norm and Max hide Spider's lineage.

I love the idea of an AU where Norm finds baby Spider and immediately realizes this child will never know peace if anyone learns who his real father is. So, like Eddard Stark, he makes a painful decision: He erases every trace of Quaritch’s connection to the boy and keeps it secret. He gives the child a new name (seriously, Miles? Way to make it obvious, Paz), forges documents, and creates a solid cover story in case anyone asks questions. He can’t bring himself to tell anyone, not even his closest friends, the truth. Quaritch has made too many enemies and caused too much destruction for anyone to overlook the boy’s lineage. There's already been enough tragedy. And this child, little Julian, is the first human ever born on Pandora.

Norm even steals the only photo of Paz and hides it away where no one will ever find it. He hates lying. Hates secrets. But Hell’s Gate is built on them, and children should never have to suffer for their parents’ mistakes. So he decides: he’ll raise Julian as his nephew. He’ll raise him to be kind, brave, and good. Maybe, just maybe, when Julian turns nineteen, he’ll sit him down and explain everything. Or maybe he won’t. Maybe Julian should never know. Norm will carry this secret to his grave… unless Eywa herself decides to produce a blowhorn and inform the entire planet. No. He'll hold this secret.

On the desk beside Julian's forged documents was a faded photo of Paz Socorro. Pregnant. Glowing. Laughing. Holding her growing belly as she smiled for the camera. Norm’s throat closed up. Guilt and anger were warring in his chest like a storm. What would Trudy say about all this?

“I’m sorry, Socorro,” he whispered. “You were… a good mother. You didn’t deserve to fall in love with a monster, you didn't deserve to die for his craziness, you didn't deserve any of this. But your baby boy? He deserves better. He deserves everything. I'm sorry...I'm so sorry."

He picked up the photo, stared at it, then opened up his desk drawer and hid it beneath layers of unimportant documents. Hidden in plain sight until he could find a tiny box and bury the picture so deep that maybe Eywa herself will forget about it. This was for the best.

Then, he burned everything else.

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

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

Miss Wion :) She needs a rider haha.

“Son of Adam… your heart is mine!”

Here she is, it’s a bit in your face but hey I feel like that’s the energy for Varang. Maneater vibes 😇

Wheeee another one 👀...

Imagine Spider going into a self-imposed exile not out of bitterness, but as an act of self-preservation and peace. He removes himself from the cycles of pain and resentment that have plagued him since his birth, choosing instead to live in harmony with the forest, and in turn, Eywa embraces him as her own.

Far from the Omatikaya, deep within the heart of the forest, Spider finds solace in a world that neither judges nor expects anything of him. His home is a towering, ancient tree—its roots thick and gnarled, its canopy vast and sheltering. Vines drape like curtains over his modest dwelling, a hammock woven from soft fibers hanging beneath the sturdy boughs. The tree's roots twist into natural pathways, and the inside is hollow, wide enough for him to set up a hammock, to neatly store his few belongings—mostly books gifted by Kiri and tools he’s made himself. Bioluminescent moss glows faintly along the wood, casting everything in a soft, ethereal light.

Each morning, he wakes with the warmth of the sun dappling his skin, the soft rustling of leaves carrying the songs of the wild. He hunts, moving through the underbrush with the silent precision of a hunter, his steps light, his heart steady. He takes only what he needs, offering whispered thanks to Eywa or prayers, his fingers grazing the ferns in reverence as he doodles the fruits and edible plants in the sketchbook Norm had given to him for his birthday.

Unbeknownst to him, Eywa watches over him in ways he cannot see. A predator’s gaze may flick toward his direction, but an unseen whisper diverts it elsewhere. A storm may rage through the forest, yet its fiercest winds and heaviest rains never quite reach his dwelling. His footprints in the damp earth fade almost as soon as they are made.

And he sleeps peacefully, the soft hum of the trees swaying him as if cradled in the hands of the Great Mother herself.

The only soul who knows of his location is Kiri. She finds him, drawn to him as if by instinct—or perhaps by Eywa’s will. She brings him books salvaged from the scientists’ outpost, their pages filled with stories and knowledge of distant worlds, and in return, he tells her of the hidden wonders he's found—the rare blossoms that only bloom in moonlight, the hidden springs untouched by human hands, the secret songs of the creatures he has come to understand.

One day, as she reapplies the blue stripes to his skin, her fingers delicate and sure, she leans in, whispering, “Everyone is searching for you.” Her tail wraps around his waist, a grounding presence, as if she fears he might slip away like a fleeting dream. His friend. His sister.

His twin.

Spider closes his eyes at the thought, exhaling a quiet sigh. They can keep looking. His voice is soft but resolute. I’m happy where I am.

Kiri studied him for a long moment before nodding, a small, knowing smile on her lips. “I will not tell anyone. I am happy that you are happy.”

And so, the world forgets him. But Eywa does not.

And neither does she.

Varangs