#I love him and I WILL protect him

[fluffygreenkoala]

I just wanted to share my own love letter to Spider's character and explain why (in my opinion) he chose to do what he did in the finale. (Will be taking info that was shared in the Avatar comics like The High Ground other than Atwow).

So, we know he's Quaritch's son (who probably knew of his existence but didn't care enough to try and locate him/know about how he was doing) and Paz's, a soldier deceased during the attack to Hometree in the first movie. We see him under the care of the scientists (Max and Norm in particular) and in the comics his adoptive parents, the McCoskers, get a couple of panels to let us know they exist.

But that's basically it. They are there, they do not actively engage in Spider's growth and development, they do not seek to actually form a parent-child bond with him, not going by what is shown in either the comics and the movie.

So, Norm and Max (+ the scientists) do their best to look out for him but ultimately have other things to do and the McCoskers -his adoptive parents, hold that role which is, in the end, only a facade. They do not act negatively towards him but they do not express a strong will to *want* to engage and have him with them.

Which other adult figures does Spider have in his life that he could turn to?

Oh! Jake and Neytiri.

Buuuuuuut here's the issue: Spider is the son of the man ultimately recognized as the greatest human foe to all of the Na'vi, and to Neytiri he's also the one who robbed her of her ancestral home AND killed her father/sister. So we can cross her out of the "empathically willing to get involved and understand Spider" list.

Who's left? Jake.

But Jake is shown as battle hardened and over protective in a not exactly good telling manner towards his own kids, and he himself calls Spider "not one of the family, more like a stray cat.".

And there is this underlining look-down feeling to how Jake references Spider's species and being human as if that simple fact the boy couldn't change was enough to eclipse all the good in Spider's existence.

Before his capture from the RDA squad, he was shown to have an extremely good relationship with the Sully children, to be extremely in tune with Pandora (and possibly, if it is explored in the next movies, Eywa), to be protective and caring towards their wellbeing and happiness.

While he is in captivity he undergoes TORTURE. His brain is put on display to strangers who seek to locate those people he admires and grew up wanting to resemble, he is tied and immobilized as they probe his mind for information for who knows how much time and he gives them NOTHING; it's highlighted how much his body was put through by his nose bleeding and his paleness and short breath once Recomb Quaritch stops the machine.

Remember that he's sixteen.

And he cried for the Tulkun mother being killed right in front of his eyes, screamed and cried for the Ta'unui villagers when they were endangered and was ultimately the reason they weren't wiped out. Even as he was burnedened with one more reason to hate himself than he shouldn't have to shoulder: the Recomb squad making him feel like they were there because he didn't give information and they HAD to do this instead to get info.

So now, knowing that he's been neglected his whole life, never had a real parental figure, never had that affection any human needs and deserves to receive while growing up (save for sweetness by Kiri and possibly Tuk but that's different), wasn't looked out for regarding whether he was well, whether he was ill, well fed, had nightmares, could take care of himself, knew how to hunt and track possible enemies, that no one made his songchord to celebrate his birth and achievements and are able to see beyond his dismissive shrugs and melancholic smiles, let's ask ourselves: was Spider saving his father's Avatar a completely aware choice or was it the product of his intrinsic compassionate personality and the abuse he's undergone in the months of his captivity (because yes, Cameron confirmed in an interview he spent MONTHS there), knowing that he wouldn't be rescued and could only deny the information they were holding him captive for and hurting him?

Knowing he'd have died for Kiri in the end even if Neytiri was bluffing (which I doubt she was, but still) because that's who he is. Who he was made to become because of the lack of basic things being offered to him and him seeing a shred of decency and care in the one person he hates and caused SPIDER to be loathed for things he couldn't help -his species and his father.

So yes, we need to take all of this into consideration when dealing with this character who, in my opinion, is the most innocent victim in the entire Atwow movie and Athg comics.

#LetSpiderSocorroBeHappy

[tyunkus]

I think taehyun would giggle and blush if his girl was possessive over him

[bastardlybonkers]

i feel like not enough ppl are factoring in the cultural clash between laios and shuro and the many micro agressions shuro faced while being in their group. literally the name 'shuro' in itself is one

his name is toshiro 😭 lets also not forget that he has his own communication issues, in the opposite way that laios does- thats literally a factor in their argument, that his envy for laios's ability to express himself sincerely manifested as part of his distaste for him.

ig all this to say like, was their fight heart wrenching, especially when reading laios as autistic? absolutely. anybody whos ever been in laios's position knows how much it hurts to realize someone you thought was your friend doesnt actually like having you around, especially when they didnt tell you and you had no way of knowing due to not understanding their cues. but im begging yall to step back and see the nuance of this situation cause im gonna be real a lot of you are kinda just brushing over it acting like everything is toshiros fault and that hes a terrible person when in reality hes an average guy who really, really clashed with laios and it led to a very long misunderstanding due to their supremely opposite methods of communication. even laios and toshiro, after letting everything out in their fight, were able to come to an understanding and start a foundation for an actual friendship built on better communication

ok yknow what Edit: i shouldve made it even more explicit at the end of this post, i hadnt thought i would need to since i started the post with this, but i think a few too many people are missing my point so i just wanna clarify. i shouldnt have said 'really clashed' and left it at that because yeah they did, but it wasnt just their opposite methods of communication, it is also very much that toshiro was experiencing microaggressions via laios. it may have been unintentional on laios's part, but it still happened and wore him down, made it harder for him to communicate on top of both the more subtle social cues that he was raised with and his own communication difficulties. i also want to say that the fandom reaction to toshiro and the complete ignorance of this point is also racist tbh or at the very least ignorant. i understand that the anime did not cover this panel, and neither did the manga, as this was an omake, but im gonna be real with you guys. there are enough context clues within the story to clue you into this. if you didnt pick up on it thats ok, but i think this is a good lesson in picking up subtext in the stories that youre watching and/or reading. kui shouldnt have to explicitly say 'by the way laios was racist to toshiro' for this point to be understood, and at the very least, when the author portrays a character in a sympathetic light (as kui clearly does) it should make you question Why they are doing so and what makes them sympathetic, rather than youre immediate and only reaction to be 'well i hated what this guy did/said so i hate them and they suck'. idk exactly how to finish this, just. idk. question your biases and gut reactions to things you see in media and stories, and think about whether or not theres subtext that youre missing.

[birdy-babe]

Blitzøs entire life spent being unwanted. So he adapted, and learned how to be something needed, something to be used.

Which is why I think he firmly believes he is being used by Stolas. He simply cannot fathom a different reality, one in which he is wanted for once in his life.

[angele-darliing]

Made two funnygummy stuff in like two days sooooo posting both of them here.

[knightedpuppy]

big strong knights covered in blood looking at you like a feral animal. that’s the post

[pokeberry5]

boy hostage (spiritual successor to this)

big brother to the rescue:

[lazylittledragon]

you know what fuck it we’re doing dadstarion

[egophiliac]

we were fucking ROBBED

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Happy Thistle Debut Day!

[emedeme]

Let Luffy do the poster thing, he deserves it!!!

[echo-stimmingrose]

Yes yes yes Percy is "touch her and you die." But I haven't seen enough people talk about the fact that Annabeth is "touch him and you will know pain greater than the gods themselves could inflict."

[treasureplcnet]

(lia voice) rolan you're 26. you should be at the pub

[semisolidmind]

Does Dogday like pets?

(meanwhile me who wants to pet him so bad-)

i'd say he's the kind of fella to enjoy a good pet from someone he trusts.

[notherpuppet]

Fairy Demon Godfather

[potassiumprincess]

i think marinette is worse at resting when she's sick but adrien is worse at sitting things out if he's injured. i have no explanation, these are just the vibes