Will You Show A Fragment Of The Second Part Of The Common Enemy Comic? I Can't Wait To See It!

Will you show a fragment of the second part of the Common Enemy comic? I can't wait to see it!

I am almost done sketching the whole thing, I only have one page left to sketch! After I finish, I'm going to take a little break and then I'll get to work on lineart and coloring.

Here's a sneak peak of Spider's confession 👀👀👀

How do you think everyone will react when they learn what Spider did? (you can answer in the context of my comic or in the context of the canon universe)

Thanks for the shout out, but

Spider bby nooooo 😭

🕸️🕷️ Weaving the Web 🕷️🕸️

Chapter 22: Shattered

More shout out to @cyren-myadd for more angsty trauma for Spider trying to sort out his trust issues based on water cooler gossip.

TW: Suicide Attempt

“Spider, I want you to eat a little more than that.” Quaritch said with equal parts concern and sternness. His boy was starting to look, dare he say it, weak. He was absolutely thinner than when he was first captured and it wasn’t just from lack of activity. Spider was losing muscle mass and definition as well. The recom had only started to notice after his last mission.

”I don’t want to…” the teen grumbled as he looked away from the stew he’d been swirling round for the better part of an hour now. It was ice cold by now and Quaritch could count on one hand how many bites the boy had taken.

”I know you don’t want to, that’s the problem.” Quaritch said flatly. Keep it in check; don’t get upset. These were just a few mantras the hardened marine had been saying to himself the last few days. Not only had Spider’s eating habits diminished, but he was exceptionally moody. Picking fights over small things and being oppositional for the sake of it.

”I’m not hungry.” Spider said as he dropped the spoon with a loud clatter into the dish and pushed it away before crossing his arms. It was what Quaritch had started calling ‘teenage tantrums’. More than once, he had lost his temper with Spider and it ended horribly. One of the other two always showed up. If it was MJ, Quaritch ended up apologizing a hundred times before the kid would stop crying. If it was Miles, it ended in a scrap.

Only Prager was at the recom table with them. It became something of an unwritten rule lately that the colonel always had backup, except at the apartment. Though Wainfleet and Ja had managed to score one right next to Quaritch’s after one particularly bad fight resulted in a split lip for the recom and dislocated shoulder for the boy. And Spider wasn’t stupid; he felt the eyes of the others on him.

”We really gonna do this again here?” Quaritch said with a tired sigh. He loved his son more than anything, but for fuck’s sake! Every goddamn day with the kid was a trial by fire ever since the first mission Spider was left behind. As much as Quaritch tried to argue it was detrimental to his health, Ardmore would not let up on this joint custody bullshit. That nothing had happened while Spider was in McCosker’s care.

”Sure, why the fuck not?” Spider said as he snapped his head forward with a mean glare.

Quaritch ground his teeth as he trapped a growl in his throat. What the hell was wrong with his boy? But no, he would not make a spectacle of himself or his son. He leaned forward and quietly ordered, “Home. Now.”

Spider shook his head as he slammed his hands on the table and pushed back off the seat. As much as Quaritch wanted to reprimand the boy for not cleaning up his plate he barely ate from, the recom had to jump out of his own seat and quickly dash after the boy as he stormed out of the mess hall. He shoved his hands into the pockets of the sweatshirt he wore all the time now with the sleeves ripped off above the elbows and the hood always up covering his face.

After a brisk walk back to their apartment, Quaritch expected to have to chase the boy into his room but Spider knew it wasn’t worth it. He’d let his father yell at him to just have it over with. He flopped back on the couch in a low slouch and crossed his arms, glaring at the wall.

”Alright, enough is enough. What the hell is wrong with you, boy?” Quaritch said harshly, not even feeling bad about his tone or choice of words. He was angry; the boy was angry. It was clear who Spider got his temper from.

”A whole fuck ton of things last I checked…” Spider spat back just as harshly.

“Nah, don’t pull that shit, Spider. Something is wrong. Something recent. I’ve told ya to come to me with anything. If ANYTHING is wrong, you come to me and I’ll make it right. I’ve kept my word on that. I can’t take back the mistakes that got you here but I’m doing my damnedest to make it right.” Quaritch said, staring at the boy’s profile barely peeking out from under the hood.

Spider bit down hard on the inside of his cheek at the guilt churning in his stomach to the point he tasted blood. He knew in his heart he didn’t want to be such a pain in the ass, even though it was Quaritch’ fault he was in this whole predicament to begin with. His father couldn’t fix him, but he had been bending over backwards to help.

Don’t trust them. I warned you.

Don’t trust who exactly? Who warned who? Were those messages between his other sides?

Spider had started regularly talking to a therapist after his stay with McCosker resulted in him unintentionally scratching his arms while under his former foster father’s care. It was weird at first. Really weird. But eventually it became a nice reprieve to talk to someone who was genuinely neutral and didn’t care what he talked about. The next closest neutral party was Ja but that had changed. He was, dare Spider admit it, starting to feel like an older brother. With a medical degree.

The silent treatment did nothing for Quaritch’s fraying hold on his temper. He crossed the room in a few strides and crouched in front of the boy while pulling him up by the shoulders to sit properly and pulled the hood down so he could see his face. Despite the kid’s eyes immediately darting to the side, Quaritch kept one firm hand on Spider’s shoulder to ground both of them. It almost felt bony underneath the fabric of the oversized sweatshirt.

“You show me some respect, boy, and look at me when I’m talking to you. I’m trying real damn hard not to slap some sense into you.” Quaritch said, still angry but some of it faded when Spider’s big, brown doe eyes finally looked up. Not only did his son inherit his temper but also his resilience to back down from a challenge. But Quaritch wasn’t Spider’s only opponent. He had two very strong alter egos to contend with.

”You’re gettin’ skinny.” Quaritch said with a defeated sigh, “It’s got me worried, ok? I don’t know if it’s the meds or somethin’ up here.”

Quaritch emphasized ‘up here’ with a light tap to Spider’s forehead. As much as Spider wanted to tell him all the things that were wrong, how could he explain it? He didn’t know who was leaving him messages on mirrors. He’d heard rumblings from people who passed him by in the hall that the colonel may not actually have his best interest in mind. Wouldn’t these two things go hand in hand?

”You’ve been skippin’ out on the gym. Not eatin’ right. Or sleeping.” Quaritch said the last part a little firmer and didn’t scold the boy for sheepishly looking down. He’d caught the boy spitting out his sleep medication one evening after dinner, making it almost impossible for Quaritch to trust if he was taking any of them regularly.

”Why don’t we go out tomorrow? Just the two of us. I got a clear schedule and you could use some time out of this metal box.” Quaritch offered. It was a small olive branch considering every outing ended with going back to the city. He continued with a nod to Spider’s arm as he slid his large, blue hand from his shoulder to his forearm, “I can’t even see your stripes these days.”

Spider still didn’t look up, but did nod this time. It was a good enough answer. At least they didn’t fight.

”Good.” Quaritch said approvingly as he ruffled Spider’s hair. But the truce didn’t feel fully reciprocated and it put the recom on edge. He knew something was still wrong and it wasn’t just his condition. He’d learned enough about his boy to sense when something was very, very wrong. Gently moving his knuckles under Spider’s chin, he lifted his face until their eyes met again. His heartstrings twisted into a knot when he saw the extra shine to his eyes as he fought back tears. “Tell me what’s wrong, tiger. Please.”

Spider’s eyes darted back and forth between Quaritch’s. He wanted to say - no, scream - that he was scared to go to sleep at night. That he was afraid of his other sides. That he was terrified that his father was lying to him just to get him well enough to be malleable for the RDA again. That he couldn’t trust anyone…especially himself.

More silence.

Quaritch set his jaw tightly and nodded, sliding his hand to the back of Spider’s head and leaned forward until their foreheads were touching. He knew the kid wanted to say something but wasn’t letting it out. So, three things. The holy trinity of Quaritch’s personality had been passed onto his son: temper, resilience, and stubbornness.

After the one-sided conversation, Spider willingly ate a protein bar as a poor stand-in for the stew he didn’t eat. But at least he wasn’t going to bed hungry or risking nausea from the sleeping pill Quaritch watched him consume. Micromanaging Spider was the last thing he wanted to do but he needed his kid to get back on the good track he was on. He stayed up later than Spider to make sure he fell asleep.

Most nights the kid went out like a light within twenty minutes of taking his meds. Tonight was one of those nights and Quaritch was readying himself for bed an hour after Spider had gone to sleep. He did one more check on his boy, pulled the blanket that had been kicked to the floor back over him, and lightly pressed the back of his hand against Spider’s forehead. He was a bit clammy, no wonder the blanket was on the floor, but it didn’t feel like a fever.

Quaritch would make a note to tell Ja in the morning. All was calm and quiet in the apartment when the recom settled into his own bed. He never used to be a night owl before the kid came into his life. He was early to bed and rose with the sun. Strange how much he had changed with Spider in his life. Yes, finding Jake Sully was still the mission. But the initial drive wasn’t there like it had been.

He fell asleep quickly and woke almost as quickly to pressure on his neck. Quaritch woke in a panic but his keen eyes could see clearly in the dark that it was Spider looming over him. How the hell the kid managed to sneak into his room AND get astride his stomach like a predator ready to pounce before waking him up had him speechless. But not as speechless as the sharp object against his throat.

”You came into my room…” Spider said in a strained whisper. His hands were shaking on the sharpened butter knife as he struggled to suppress the panic. “Why did you come in my room while I was sleeping? What were you doing?”

”Just one last bed check before turnin’ in, Spider.” Quaritch answered coolly, ignoring how his Adam’s apple bobbed against the razor sharp, “Where’d you get a knife?”

Spider’s right eye twitched, almost completely closing before blinking a few times.

”Can you put it down so we can finally talk about what’s got you like this?” His father continued, staying calm despite the threat.

”No.” Spider answered quickly, his voice cracking under the hushed tone.

”Ok then…leave the knife there but still tell me what’s wrong.”

“…what if you lie?”

”Kid, the last thing I’m gonna do is lie to you. And it's got nothin’ to do with my life being in your hands.”

Spider’s breath shook as he inhaled. He pressed the knife closer into Quaritch’s flesh to the point of a small cut forming under the pressure. Could he trust his father?

”I…” Spider started, his chest starting to hitch as his panic started becoming too much to handle. His father stared up at him calmly and patiently as Spider tried to put the words together. Tears started to stream down his cheeks and drip off his chin before he could say anything else.

”Son.” Quaritch said quietly, knowing he was one shaking hand motion away from dying for the second time.

”I…I don’t know who to trust…” Spider answered almost silently, “…because of the mirrors…”

”What mirrors?” Quaritch asked, trying to get more clues to this riddle and remembering when he came back from his mission early that the bathroom mirror was covered in a towel.

”Sometimes there’s…things written on them.” Spider said, knowing how incredibly insane he was sounding. “They say not to trust anyone. A-And I hear things…like you…you don’t…you’re just-…”

Quaritch knew where this was going. He’d also heard the rumors going on that all his fathering to the boy was just for show. But it was complete bullshit. He loved that boy more than any damn thing in two lives. It was easy to see why his son might think it’s all fake. Kid was still a prisoner, just with a long leash.

”I love you, son.” Quaritch said. The words felt foreign, but right, coming from his mouth. Spider started trembling under the weight of his fear and the power he had over Quaritch at that moment. The recom continued, “I hear all the lies too. Every time I track the source of one, another pops up. But you know what? I’ll hunt down every single one of them who makes you think you’re not the best damn thing that ever happened to me.”

Spider’s hands were shaking even more. To Quaritch’s reprieve, the teen pulled the knife back when it started and he held the knife to his chest.

”Please give me the knife, Spider.” Quaritch coaxed. He wasn’t angry at the boy. Instead, he was concerned where he got it and how long he’d been secretly armed.

”…no.” Spider said, clutching the knife tighter and closing his eyes. Quaritch was telling the truth. How could he have been so stupid to think this man who had stepped up to be his father in his fucked up situation not genuinely care for him? But then who shouldn’t he trust? Who was TELLING him not to trust anyone? What was going to happen after whoever they warned him and he didn’t do anything about it?

”Spider, the knife. Please just give it to me. You’re safe with me, you don’t need it.” Quaritch said. His heart was pounding harder in his chest seeing Spider have it so close to his person than when it was literally grazing into his skin.

”No, I-…” Spider choked out with a sob, “I can’t do this anymore!”

Quaritch cursed and grunted in pain as his hand moved in a flash to catch the blade Spider drew away from his chest with the intent to thrust it into his own neck. He clenched a tight fist around the blade as it pierced between his index and middle metacarpals. Slamming the captured blade to the side, he sat up so quickly Spider would have fallen off if not for Quaritch’s other arm wrapping tightly around him.

He held his boy to his chest as Spider crumpled and sobbed into Quaritch’s broad chest. His hand hurt like a bitch, but it was nothing compared to the cries of his son.

Hi, can I ask how old you are? If you don't want to reply, just ignore it, I'm just curious how many of us are of a similar age, because I noticed that the most active people in this fandom are around 20-29 years old (I'm 23) and sometimes I wonder what causes it

I don't feel comfortable sharing my exact age, but I'll say I'm in my early 20s, so I fall into the age range you're talking about, and yeah, I've noticed that most of the Avatar fans I've interacted with seem to be in this range.

I think part of it isn't so much that Avatar appeals to people in their 20s, it's moreso that we're all on tumblr. Tumblr's demographics have aged since its heyday so I think most of its users are young adults now. If you go on Tiktok, you'll find lots of teenage and child avatar fans, and if you go on reddit's r/Avatar you'll find a slightly older mix of adults. I don't really use twitter and instagram as much, but I'm sure you'll find different age ranges there.

So the cause is just the website you're using to interact with Avatar fans.

Am I the only one who doesn't like the idea of ​​Spider gaining the ability to breathe without a mask/getting his avatar/kuru in the next parts? I kind of like that he has these limitations and it would be more interesting if he completely accepted them and found his way to connect with Eywa and live on Pandora instead of just removing them, I feel like that would take away all the uniqueness of his character

Don't worry, anon, you're definitely not the only one who feels this way! I personally do like the idea of Spider getting an "adaptation," but I've seen other folks raise the concern of these potential changes taking away Spider's uniqueness and I can understand where the fear comes from. It's a totally valid worry to have.

Let me share my perspective on the topic

So you listed three possible changes to Spider's character that have been rumored to occur in Avatar 3. Let's break these down first:

Spider breathing without a mask

Spider getting an Avatar

Spider getting (growing?) a kuru

There are different reasons people believe each of these things may happen and all of them are possible, we won't know for sure until A3 comes out, but as of right now, it's looking like option #1 is the only one that's happening. #1 is the most likely option because it's the one with the most evidence behind it. In Avatar 2 BTS footage, a bit of the script for Avatar 3 was accidentally shown, describing a scene of Spider breathing without a mask. The script was quickly blurred out in the BTS footage, but not before some twitter users were able to transcribe the script. Since the avatar creative team made an effort to cover it up, that makes the first option seem like it's the most likely to happen. @spider-socorro-stan has an excellent breakdown of the leaked script on their blog and you can read it HERE if you'd like to know more.

I've also noticed that Spider's official character poster seems to confirm option 1 as well. The character posters for Avatar 2 are all screenshots taken from the movie, like Jake's is from the scene where he talks to Neytiri about being too hard on their sons, Kiri's is from her first swim in Awa'atlu, Quaritch's is from Spider's interrogation scene, etc, etc. Spider's poster (center) is the only one that isn't a screenshot from Avatar 2, and in fact, he doesn't have a forehead stripe or chest garment in Avatar 2 at all like he has in the poster. Since Spider's look in the poster matches BTS footage of Spider's look for Avatar 3, most people assume the poster is a screenshot from Avatar 3 instead of 2. In the poster you can see plants and trees behind him, meaning he is outdoors, but despite this he is not wearing a mask. The poster on its own wouldn't really be sufficient evidence for such a wild theory, but when it's combined with the leaked script, it seems to make option #1 seem very plausible.

The second rumor stems from a BTS image of Jack Champion lying down in a link chamber (left) making it appear as if he is he is about to link to an Avatar, and the third rumor stems from some concept art that was shared at an Avatar exhibition in Las Vegas (right) that depicts Spider with a kuru. Since these images were shared on purpose and there hasn't been any effort to cover them up, plus they lack any confirmation in a script like the first rumor, I believe it's likely that rumor two and three will not actually happen. The image of Jack in the link pod could've just been Jack messing around, and the image of Spider with the kuru, while legitimate concept art, is most likely an old, scrapped idea because I can't imagine the creative team showing such a massive spoiler on purpose. If you want to know more about the kuru-theory, I made a post discussing it HERE.

So now that we've gone over the three potential changes to Spider's character, and established that the only change that has a real likelihood of happening is the maskless Spider one, let's talk about people's reactions to it.

I'm active in the Avatar communities on tumblr and reddit, and I occasionally peek at tiktok and instagram (I don't touch twitter with a ten foot pole so don't ask me about that), so I've seen lots of different opinions on these changes. Some people, like myself, are enthusiastic about it and curious to see where it goes, while others, like anon, worry that this will take away the underdog qualities that make Spider such an interesting and unique addition to the Avatar cast. Both of these reactions to this shocking leak are completely valid. (There's also a third party that insists the leaks are fake and nothing miraculous will happen to Spider in Avatar 3 because they really really want him to die, but we're not talking about them right now.)

When it comes to the rumor that Spider will be getting an Avatar at some point, I actually agree with the folks who worry about it taking away from Spider's character. We already had the human-gets-an-alien-body story done with Jake in Avatar 1, and we had human-gets-an-alien-body 2: The Revenge done again with Quaritch in Avatar 2. If we had human-gets-an-alien-body part 3: electric bluegaloo with Spider in Avatar 3, the trope would've worn out its welcome. We've already had the topic explored twice already; we really don't need it to be explored again. There's nothing Spider getting an avatar would add to the story that hadn't already been explored by Jake.

But the good news is this rumor seems very unlikely to happen, so unless I'm way off we won't have to worry about that.

Now the rumor about Spider breathing without a mask is where I hardcore disagree with the worries that it will take anything away from Spider's character. I understand and agree with this worry when it comes to the Avatar body, because as I said, the Avatar body story's been done before ad nauseum. But breathing without an exopack? And still being human? That's definitely never been done before.

Two things that make Spider's character so charming IMO is that he's unique and he's an underdog. Unique, because literally no matter where he goes, he sticks out like a sore thumb: among the Na'vi he sticks out because of his humanness, and among the humans he sticks out because he looks like tarzan lost a paintball fight to the blue team. He is literally and visually trapped between two worlds, and that makes for a really interesting story. He's also an underdog for the obvious reason. Poor kid's at a disadvantage no matter where he goes too. He's much smaller and weaker than the Na'vi, he can't bond with any of the cool animals, and he doesn't know how to use any of the cool human weaponry so he can't make up for his size the way human villains like OG-Quaritch did. And yet, despite constantly being the underdog, he never gives up and always fights to protect his loved ones. That indomitable human spirit is always an appealing character trait.

If Spider does get the ability to breathe the Pandoran atmosphere without an exopack, that doesn't take away from his two important character traits. He will still be an underdog, because even if you remove the breathing handicap, he still lacks the size and the ability to bond with the animals that the other main characters have. The audience will continue to see him struggle to overcome his physical disadvantages. He will also still be unique in having that caught-between-worlds quality. In fact, the breathing thing would make him even more unique than before because as far as we know, he is the only human to ever gain this ability.

Unlike Jake and Quaritch, Spider has not left his humanity behind for something completely new. Spider is still fully human, but a part of him will also be fully Pandoran, now able to survive on the planet that's so unhospitable to his kind.

Spider will always be the same goofy little underdog we know and love, even if he does get a new ability in Avatar 3. I fully understand that not everyone likes this concept, and that's fine, but I sincerely hope that everyone who dislikes it can at least come around to it by the time Avatar 3 comes out. There is a lot of evidence supporting this theory, and I'd really hate for anyone's enjoyment of the movie to be ruined because of this creative decision!

hard agree on them being besties. I love watching interviews with Jack Champion and Bailey Bass interacting, I hope their chemistry will carry over to the big screen. And I love how you drew Tsireya's top!

“You hear that sound Tsireya?”

“What sound?”

“The sound…of Aonung shutting the hell up. It’s amazing.”

Giggles “Truly~”

.

Not my best work , but I felt the need to push “Spider and Tsireya besties” agenda and post this :) their friendship would just WORK ok

.

(DO NOT repost my artwork on any platform, with or without credit. I DO NOT give my consent to do so.)

I love this AU! Spider would be even more protective of her, I bet he'd always offer to help her when she's having trouble climbing and of course she's always get sassy and tell him she can do it herself. And I love the idea of Kiri being human but still having that deep connection to Eywa, it would just be so cool to see an alien have a deep bond with a planet she doesn't belong to.

swap au! kiri human and avatar spider