Latest Posts by holyraconteur - Page 4
so I got into grad school today with my shitty 2.8 gpa and the moral of the story is reblog those good luck posts for the love of god
If Varang and Quaritch end up becoming an inverse of Jake and Neytiri—a brutal, power-hungry couple spreading war and chaos wherever they go—then Spider is in for the most confusing emotional rollercoaster of his life when Varang declares him her son. Quaritch's reaction to this is hilarious. He’s been struggling to figure out his own feelings about Spider, and now Varang just swoops in and takes over? He’d either be baffled, pissed, or maybe even relieved because finally someone is taking the "parenting" burden off his shoulders.
Spider, meanwhile, is just standing there, processing yet another insane twist in his life, wondering if it’s too late to just go back to Hell's Gate and never show his face.
"Spider meets Payakan", my new illustration😊
If you like it, please share and subscribe!
All of 2025 will be spent preparing to fight for my life enduring Spider Socorro hate cause I KNOW how y’all are going to act no matter what he does.
I'm still working on a new Avatar painting… In the meantime, here's another one from not long ago!
Lord, I have never written so much about one character ever.
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.
Anyone who reblogs this post will have their user written on a poster saying "We Stand With Palestine" that I hope to put up somewhere in the village I live in, or the town that the village is next to.
It took me 2 weeks to complete this Avatar 3 concept art. I called it "The Chosen One". I hope you like it! 😊
...
So, I've been having thoughts about Spider wielding Chaos magic.
Crazy, right? In a galaxy where blue people exist and humans have found a way to colonize planets, red magic wouldn't be too farfetched.
That would be absolutely wild—Spider awakening as a Chaos witch in a moment of extreme pain and trauma, unleashing a force that he never knew existed. It would make him a terrifying and awe-inspiring figure on Pandora, a force of nature devoted to Eywa and the planet of his birth. Throw in Kiri, and you've got two overpowered siblings.
Anyway, here's a drabble:
Captured by the RDA, Spider endures days of torture as they demand the location of the Sullys. They push him past his limits—electric shocks, water deprivation, beatings—until something inside him snaps. It’s not just pain that fuels the transformation, but sheer, unfiltered rage. He had spent his entire life being nothing but a pawn to everyone. A demon to the Na’vi, a prisoner to the RDA, an afterthought to the humans of Hell's Gate. No more.
The air distorts. The room trembles. A deep crimson glow seeps from Spider’s fingers, crackling and sparking like liquid fire. He doesn’t think—doesn’t even understand what’s happening—before an explosion of red chaos energy erupts outward, flaying the RDA soldiers alive. Metal warps and melts, bodies twist and contort, their screams merging into a sickening cacophony of agony. Blood paints the walls.
Quaritch barely has time to register what’s happening before he bursts apart, his entire form breaking down on a molecular level.
Spider stands at the epicenter of the carnage, breath heaving, eyes glowing a deep, menacing crimson. His feet leave the floor as he ascends, floating weightlessly, surrounded by swirling tendrils of chaotic energy. He looks down at the ruin he has created, the shredded remains of his captors, the metal reduced to slag.
And for the first time in his life, Spider feels powerful.
He doesn’t run. He doesn’t hide. He flies, the red glow of his magic cutting across the Pandoran sky like a falling star of crimson.
The Omatikaya stare in shock as he arrives, his form wreathed in pulsing red light. He doesn’t wait for their judgment. He knows what he must do. The RDA has taken everything from him, from the Na'vi, from Eywa, from this world. Jake Sully had done what he could, but these demons were relentless in their pursuit for more. Never again.
With a single whisper, the forest bends to his will. The skies darken. The very fabric of reality trembles as he vanishes in a flicker of crimson energy, reappearing in the heart of Bridgehead City.
And then, with a single motion of his hand, he tears it apart.
Buildings collapse. Mechs crumple like paper. Soldiers scream as the very air around them shreds them into nothing. There is no mercy, no hesitation—only raw, undiluted vengeance. The Wrath of Eywa.
Spider doesn’t stop until the RDA is gone. Until their machines are dust, their weapons are ruins, and the very land they corrupted is cleansed by his power. As the last embers of destruction fade, he stands amidst the wreckage, his red eyes burning like twin suns. He is no longer just a stray human, no longer the son of a demon.
He is the harbinger of chaos.
And Pandora is his to protect.
Dilla and Caleb meet baby Miles, and adopt him not long after! Love at first sight 💙 An alternative to this:
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🥰
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.
A fractured Sully family would add so much depth to the story, forcing each character to evolve beyond their chosen roles.
PLEASE DO NOT TAKE ANYTHING I JUST POSTED SERIOUSLY! This is me just theorizing what might happen in Avatar 3, 4, and 5.
Lo’ak’s Hero’s Journey: Lo’ak has always struggled in the shadow of his father and older brother, feeling like a disappointment because he can't measure up to them. If he embarks on a hero’s journey, he could finally reach his full potential. Perhaps by the end, he could surpass Jake, not by being a better warrior, but by being a leader who understands both humans and Na’vi on a deeper level. He becomes less hot-headed and more diplomatic while embodying certain traits of his grandparents and is guided by Neyteyam's memory.
Kiri’s Spiritual Journey: Kiri’s connection to Eywa is stronger than anything we’ve seen before—almost godlike. I love the idea of her becoming a Jesus-like figure, growing in power but also struggling with the burden of it. What if she learns how to become one with Eywa in ways even the Na’vi don’t understand? Maybe she's Eywa herself. But the more powerful she grows, the more enemies she racks up because there might be some Na'vi who reject Eywa and others who won't take too kindly to Kiri's ascension because of her demon blood, which could spark a religious war that the RDA uses to get the Na'vi to fight among themselves. Even better, Kiri could slowly become more and more detached from the physical world and would rely on Spider to keep her grounded because she's closest to him.
Spider’s Journey of Self-Discovery: Spider’s arc is especially interesting because he’s torn between two worlds. He’s spent his whole life being treated as an outsider by both species, and maybe the third movie puts him in a position where he decides what he wants. His journey wouldn’t be about proving himself to others anymore—it would be about making peace with who he is. Also, if he does breathe the toxic air of Pandora because of Kiri, he could be the poster boy for humans back on Earth, desperate to settle on Pandora and believing that they can because of Spider, sparking huge repercussions for both sides. Spider may also learn to stop allowing others to define his path or he's given the chance to become an avatar, but ultimately rejects it because he loves himself for who he is.
Tuk’s Forced Maturity: Tuk, the youngest, would have the most tragic arc if she were left behind. With her family scattered in the wind, she would have to grow up quickly, learning that childhood is a luxury in times of war. Maybe she becomes an apprentice to someone unexpected—an elder, a rogue warrior, or even a human scientist who teaches her things no one else knows. She could become a bridge between the old ways and the future, embodying the lessons her family failed to learn before. Maybe she stays with Tonowari and his family, adopting their ways fully because they're all she has left.
Neytiri’s Crusade and Healing: Neytiri, consumed by grief and rage, would either become the new leader of the Ash Clan or go return to the forests without her family so that she can prepare her people for the next war. The Ash Clan is rumored (and confirmed) to be more brutal and warlike, and Neytiri, who has lost so much, would see them as a means to finally drive out the humans once and for all. But war is never clean. Maybe she starts to lose herself, becoming the very thing she hated—merciless, driven by vengeance rather than love. In the end, she realizes that this path doesn’t bring her peace. Maybe she goes on a journey of healing and confronts her trauma, which leads her to reconnect with Eywa and make peace with Spider, where the two come to an understanding as equals rather than family. But more importantly, she makes peace with herself and rises like a phoenix from the ashes, guided by the spirits and memories of her family. I firmly believe that independence from Jake and going her own way for a bit will help her heal. (I am praying that she has a deep and satisfying arc because if anyone deserves peace, it's her.)
Jake Disappearing and Haunting the Narrative: Having Jake disappear rather than be a central figure in the fourth movie would be fascinating. Maybe he goes off on a mysterious mission, searching for something that could turn the tide of the war. Or maybe he’s presumed dead, leaving only his legacy behind. The Sullys would feel his absence like a ghost haunting them, each one dealing with it in their own way. And if he returns, it would be as a changed man or Na'vi—someone who takes a step back to allow the new generation to step forward.
Here my first try to draw an albino Na'vi. Because she has no pigments, she doesn't have any stripes. It was really challenging but I think she looks cute 💜
@yararts and I are planning to make the oldest daughter of the Queen an Albino. This comes of course with a lot of health challenges.
We will tell you more about it in the future 🥰
(if I don't post much these days, it's coz of my wrist hurting again. Sorry)
I am currently bouncing off the walls thinking about Spider forging his own path and creating his own family of misfits and outcasts, both Na'vi and human.
Instead of remaining caught between two worlds that refuse to fully claim him, Spider chooses to carve out his own space—his own home—among outcasts who, like him, never fit into the structures of either the RDA or the Na’vi. These outsiders were either set aside or left.
Imagine this blue-striped human quietly slipping away one night, leaving behind Hell’s Gate and the Omatikaya with nothing but a pack slung over his shoulder and a determined heart. He treks deep into the wilds of Pandora, following instincts honed from a past life, seeking others like him—those abandoned, cast aside, or seeking something greater than survival under someone else’s thumb.
At first, it’s only three of them—Spider, an ex-RDA scientist who defected, and a Na’vi warrior shunned by their clan for challenging tradition. Together, they build a home high in the mountains, tucked between floating cliffs and waterfalls where neither the RDA nor any hostile clan can reach them easily. They hunt, they craft, they survive—and then they grow.
More come. A lone Na’vi mother with her child, fleeing persecution. A human engineer who sabotaged RDA equipment before running into the wilds. A pair of Na’vi twins whose father was an avatar and whose clan cast them out for it. Orphans. Runaways. The lost and forgotten.
Spider becomes their leader, not because he craves power, but because he understands their pain better than anyone. Together, they thrive and live free, far from the chaos of their past. They build something beautiful—a village woven into the mountains, suspended on bridges of vine and wood, with glowing bioluminescent lanterns lighting the bridges and paths at night. Their home hums with laughter, music, and the quiet, unshakable bond of a family built by choice rather than blood.
And when Spider finds orphaned human children—abandoned by war, unwanted by both sides—he takes them in. He raises them as his own, refusing to let another child endure the loneliness and rejection he once did.
By the time anyone realizes what he’s done, his little village is no longer little. It is a thriving community of hundreds, a sanctuary for those without a place. The RDA cannot touch them. The Na’vi clans leave them be. Some fear them, some scoff at them. Others—those who have known suffering and loneliness—seek them out, hoping to start anew. Eywa graces them all with her many blessings, and for the first time, Spider finally has a place to call home. And when the day comes that war reaches their doorstep, Spider stands at the front with his newfound family, no longer a boy without a home but a leader, a protector, a brother to those who were once lost like him.
Miss Wion :) She needs a rider haha.
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.
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 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.
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!
Okay, but here's a dark au where Spider drags Quaritch from the water and promptly kills him, and now no one knows what to do with this human child soaked in the blood of his own father. Blood is thicker than water, right? Why would a son kill his own father? Pandora's greatest enemy is dead. The scourge of the Na'vi is gone.
So, what is this feeling of discontent?
-) The moment Spider pulled Quaritch from the water, he made a choice.
-) The once-mighty colonel was barely clinging to life, his body battered, his strength drained. Weak. Helpless. A man who had terrorized Pandora, who had burned forests and spilled the blood of Eywa's children, now lay before him, gasping, vulnerable.
-) The knife in Spider’s hand felt light. The motion effortless.
-) One swift drag across the throat was all it took. Just like Neytiri would have done to him. 'Do you see me now?' Spider thinks. 'See me. See me. SEE! LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE MADE OF ME!'
-) Quaritch barely made a sound, just a wet, choked gasp as his lifeblood spilled into the water, dark ribbons mixing with the lapping waves. His body seized, his fingers twitching—but Spider only crouched there, watching, waiting. He waited for the flood of emotion. For the relief. The triumph. The guilt. But there was nothing. Just… numbness.
-) The monster was dead. The one responsible for so much suffering, for so much destruction, for everything—gone. And yet, Spider felt nothing. His father’s glassy eyes stared up at him, lifeless. Eywa’s grace had abandoned him long ago. And with any luck, Quaritch’s soul would never find peace. Never find acceptance. Spider exhaled slowly, running his tongue over dry lips, blinking at the bloodied body at his feet. His hands weren’t even shaking.
-) It was done. His brother avenged. The souls of Neytiri's family are avenged. His debt to the Sullys was paid in full. Everything is calm.
-) A soft rustling pulled his gaze upward. His father's Banshee crouched a few feet away, its golden eyes locked onto Spider with an eerie intensity. Spider tensed, half-expecting it to lunge, to attack, to avenge its fallen rider. But it didn’t. It simply watched. And then, without a sound, it lowered its head. Acceptance. Recognition.
-) As if possessed by something beyond himself, Spider stepped forward, his hand outstretched. His fingertips brushed against the creature’s snout, and for the first time that horrible day, he allowed himself a small, hollow smile. Perhaps it was a good thing that Quaritch never truly bonded to this one.
-) The rest of the Na'vi find him hours later, and Tonowari approaches first, his large shadow stretching over the scene, but he hesitates. The Metkayina chief has seen many battles, many bodies. And yet, this is different. This is a child, soaked in the blood of his own father. Why would a son do this? Spider meets his gaze, his expression empty. He waits for judgment. Condemnation. Something.
-) But when Tonowari speaks, it is not with anger. "The demon is dead." A statement. A fact. The warriors behind him exchange uneasy glances, but none argue. Some murmur in agreement; others simply watch. None move to comfort the boy who did the deed. Perhaps they do not know how.
-) The Sully are more horrified than relieved. Even Neytiri, who should feel the greatest relief of all, does not celebrate. Her bow hand clenches, fingers twitching as though her body is caught between two instincts. To praise him… or to fear him. She does not understand. She had thought she knew hatred. She had felt it burn through her when she held the blade to Spider’s throat on the Sea Dragon, her grief drowning out reason.
-) Jake had told her stories—of how humans could be cruel to their own offspring, how some children were beaten, abandoned, even killed by those who were meant to love them. How those same children woke up one day and decided to kill their parents. She had never believed it. Not until now. She watched Spider wipe the blood from his blade with mechanical precision, his movements too calm, too practiced. There is no triumph in his face, no relief, no sorrow.
Just a hollow emptiness.
-) Something dark and quiet has settled in the boy’s chest, a coldness that should not exist in one so young. The boy named Spider died on the Sea Dragon. Drowned beneath the weight of Neytiri’s hate, choked on the understanding that he would never belong. And what remains in his place is something else. Something Tonowari's people and the Sullys do not understand. Something they accept but fear all the same.
-) Jake takes a step forward, but Spider lifts a bloodied hand, stopping him before he can speak. "Don’t." His voice is hoarse, flat. "Your son has been avenged. The debt is paid. I am done. We are done." Jake stares, tears in his eyes, something unspoken hanging between them. "Kid, I never wanted this--" Spider turns his back, mounting the ikran with the ease of someone who had done it a thousand times before. And then he was gone. The wind howled as the graceful creature lifted itself into the sky, carrying Spider higher, farther, into the unknown. Jake’s voice rose behind him, calling his name. Kiri's voice is the loudest, crying and screaming for him, but he hardens his heart. They call his name. Spider does not return. Spider does not look back.
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).
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.
We got our first official look Peylak, olo’eyktan of the Wind Traders who are known as the Tlalim clan!!
Bonds That Bleed AU
I have some thoughts about an au where Neytiri decides to adopt Spider, but with a twist. Neytiri starts off with a cold, calculated plan to mold Spider into her weapon against the demon who destroyed her family, only to genuinely bond with Spider over time and see him as her own.
-) From the moment Neytiri laid eyes on the squirming, pink-skinned demon, she felt the fire of hatred coil around her heart. He has his father’s face. The same features, the same blood in his veins—Quaritch’s legacy, staring back at her with wide, unknowing eyes and a gummy smile. Instinct screamed at her to cast him away, to have him banished to her mate's former planet, to spare her home from the cruelty of yet another sky demon. But she didn’t. She couldn’t.
-) Instead, Neytiri shoved her hatred into the deepest, coldest part of herself and made a choice. She would raise him. Not out of kindness. Not out of pity. Certainly not out of any foolish maternal instinct. No, she would raise him as a weapon. An instrument of vengeance.
-) Quaritch had stolen everything from her—her father, her sister, her brother, her home, countless lives of her people. And now, she would take everything from him. She would mold his son into something unrecognizable, shape him into the very antithesis of the man who sired him. Spider would walk like the Na’vi, speak their tongue, fight with their weapons, and live by their beliefs. He would forsake the demon blood in his veins until nothing of Quaritch remained. And when the time came, she would watch the fear dawn in the demon's eyes as his own flesh and blood struck him down.
-) There are times when Jake watches her with wary eyes when she helps Spider take his first steps, when she shushes his pitiful bleatings, and when she cradles him in her arms and holds his little hand in hers. There is an unease in Jake’s stare, as if he sees the shape of her plan but does not know how to stop it—or perhaps, deep down, does not want to. It does not matter.
-) Neytiri is resolute. She has a path, and she will walk it to the end. She will strip away every trace of Quaritch’s legacy, reshape him, teach him to hate the sky people, to despise the blood in his veins. He will not be human. He will not be Omatikaya. He will be a blade—her blade. He will be hers. And one day, when the time is right, he will drive that blade into his father’s heart.
-) But like all well-laid plans, this one did not go as intended.
-) Neytiri had expected wariness. She had expected grudging respect, perhaps even a smidgen of pride that he was picking up her lessons with eagerness. What she had not expected was love. Spider is eager, desperate to prove himself. As he grows, he stumbles, falls, bleeds—but always gets back up. He grins at her when she corrects his stance, laughs when she gently tugs at his hair in reprimand, glows under her approval.
-) It should not matter. He is a means to an end. And yet, somewhere along the way, the pretending stops. She began to see him. To feel warmth towards him.
-) Not the reluctant duty of a mentor or the cold satisfaction of a hunter circling its prey, but the aching, unbidden love of a mother.
-) Somewhere between teaching him to string a bow and scolding him for climbing too high, between pressing healing paste to his scraped knees and watching him giggle as Lo’ak and Neyteyam drag him into trouble with Kiri chasing after them and Tuk toddling along, something in her heart shifts. She no longer sees Quaritch in his face and instead sees Miles—a boy as unpredictable and beautiful as the forest, as fierce as any warrior, as stubborn as herself. A child who saw her as a mother.
-) And when the day finally came that she looked at him and realized she could not bear to lose him, Neytiri understood the cruelest twist of fate:
In trying to make him her weapon, she had made him her son.