Ok So We All Know That, In The Movie, Miles Had A Special Sort Of Stare That Would Make People Back Down

I’d love a Freaky Friday fanfic AU where Neteyam and Spider wake up one morning to find themselves in each other’s bodies. Spider wakes up as Neteyam, and Neteyam wakes up as Spider. For a month, they’re forced to navigate life in each other’s shoes, facing both the privileges and the burdens that come with their swapped identities.

As Spider experiences the immense pressure Neteyam bears as the firstborn son of the Olo’eyktan, Neteyam comes to understand the harsh reality of Spider’s existence: the mistreatment he endures from the adults and the physical toll of surviving in a world not meant for humans. Throughout their journey, the two boys work together to uncover a way to break the curse before the switch becomes permanent. In doing so, they slowly repair their fractured friendship and gain a deeper understanding of each other’s struggles.

“Wait, you’re human?”

“Ha Ha.”

So when Jake says "Get that crap off your face" to Lo'ak it actually irks me so bad bc like. 1. He's just a kid and 2. Don't call his war paint "crap" when he's clearly trying to live up to YOUR example

Spider is 10000% for killing RDA. he doesn't even think about it. he went straight for maximum damage without a second thought. twice.

I’ve been thinking about the idea of Neytiri and Spider having familial soul marks on their wrists, appearing without warning in the aftermath of the Sea Dragon incident. But this wouldn’t be a magical fix or a sweeping reconciliation. The bond doesn’t erase everything that’s happened between them, nor does it mean they’ve fully healed from their respective traumas. (Throw in the two of them mourning Neteyam while struggling to accept their soul-marks and you've got angst galore.)

Instead, I imagine it as a slow-burn acceptance—an undeniable connection that forces them to learn to face each other not as estranged acquaintances or strangers, but as individuals bound by circumstance. It's a long road they walk together, and it hurts, but over time, they begin to understand each other (not easily, and not without conflict), but it's a start.

I love the idea of Tsu’tey adopting Spider so here are some headcanons I have of that old grumpy guy raising his little son.

Tsu’tey’s injuries from the Great War caused him a lot of mobility issues. He often wakes up in pain from stiff joints and muscle spasms. To help, Spider will crawl over him and lay on whatever limb is hurting him to most in the morning because his body puts off a lot of heat and relaxes his muscles. He’s like a little heat pack.

Spider originally did need to wear his mask constantly, but over time, through constant communion with Eywa, she changes his lungs to be able to breathe the air. He doesn’t tell anyone though, because it happens years into him realizing nothing he can do will make most see past his humanness. Tsu’tey, however, finds out after seeing Spider lift his mask to shove a large piece of fruit in his mouth that he specifically told Spider not to eat.

Spider’s English is abysmal. He barely has the patience to sit through the normal lessons he gets from Mo’at and some of the other elders who like him, let alone enough to go to Hell’s Gate to learn about Earth. Mo’at scolds Tsu’tey for slacking in teaching Spider his native language, but he isn’t too worried about it.

Tsu’tey’s biggest mistake as a parent (in his mind) is letting Spider believe his hiss was intimidating. It was the best thing in the world for Tsu’tey when Spider was a baby. But then came a stint of time where Spider would hiss openly at anyone when annoyed which just made his reputation among villagers worst. The kids who made fun of him got bitten, mask be damned, which does not help his case.

Despite his short stature, Spider can actually fight and hold his own against fully grown Na’vi. Tsu’tey teaches him how to strike fast and hard, going for weak points in Na’vi anatomy and focusing on their legs and feet, places Spider can reach easily and do a fair amount of damage. This does mean Spider gets into a larger number of fights with other Na’vi adolescents compared to canon.

Spider is still best friends with Lo'ak and Kiri in this AU, much to Tsu'tey's dismay. He likes them well enough, Lo'ak is kind of loud and Kiri has an unnerving tendency to stare directly into his soul when talking, but overall they're good kids. He does wish they would stop eating him out of house and home though.

In canon, Tsu’tey has a brother named Arvok, who lives with them. Tsu’tey also takes in Tarsem, whose entire family died in the fall of Home Tree. He and Arvok are best friends, so it makes sense for him to live with them. The boys are like Spider’s brothers, but they pull out the "We're your uncles" card whenever he’s not listening to them or when they want to get out of doing chores.

Regardless of who you ship Spider with, Tsu’tey would find a fault in them. Neteyam? Too obedient to his parents, he needs to rebel more. Lo’ak? Too rebellious, he will get Spider killed doing one of his hair-brain stunts. Kiri? Eywa help him; she’s too much of everything. Any of the Metkayina kids? It’s laughable you’d even think for a second he’d let Spider marry into another clan.

Spider has an ikran in this AU cause I say he does. He finds a baby ikran abandoned during one of the trials he attends with his father. She’s the runt, too small and weak to fly with her family away from their nest back to their rook. Spider takes pity on her and nurses her back to health, hiding her away so no one knows because it’s technically illegal to raise an ikran. She imprints on Spider and the rest is history once Tsu’tey finds out she exists. He’s adamant they cannot keep her but one look from their combined puppy eyes breaks his will.

Tsu’tey and Spider’s ikran have the same relationship as those dads who say they hate the dog and then the dog becomes their best friend. When Spider gets kidnapped, Tsu’tey spends several nights awake with only the ikran for company, praying and begging Eywa to bring his son back to him.

Spider overall was a pretty healthy child, but there was one time when he got very sick and slipped into a coma. The scientists genuinely thought he wouldn’t make it for a while. This is the first time Tsu’tey has ever contemplated suicide, something that is forbidden under Eywa’s laws. He cannot imagine a life without Spider. The second time is after he’s taken by the RDA, but seeing Spider’s friends rally to try and get him bad makes him push the thoughts away.

After the battle at Three Brothers Rock, Neteyam lives but is mortally injured. The combined knowledge of Norm, Max, Ronal, and Mo’at is the only thing that keeps the boy from being paralyzed for life, but he’s essentially got the same disabilities as Tsu’tey now. And he’s a shell of himself. Tsu’tey doesn’t really have time to focus on him, though, because Spider is in just as bad shape as Neteyam, but mentally. After weeks of seeing both boys break down physically and mentally, Tsu’tey comes up with an idea. He gives both boys the task of planting and raising a plant together. Almost everyone thinks he’s crazy for this, but after a few weeks of watching their efforts to make this tiny plant bloom, they see that their moods have improved. Neteyam does his physical activity more to get outside and care for the plant, and Spider uses the plant as an outlet to air thoughts he knows would devastate his family.

When asked how he knew making them care for a plant would help, Tsu’tey simply replies by saying that the only thing that saved him after his injuries was Spider. Carrying for another helpless creature forced you, in turn, to care for yourself. His son saved his life.

Holy moly- haven’t posted in a moment😅 anyways, here is some Varang🩸 art I made a while ago!😼

Varangs

Wheeee another one 👀...

Here's a plot!

Spider dies on the Sea Dragon and wakes up in a world where Mr. and Mrs. Sully love him and adopted him when he was just a baby. In this alternate reality, many things are the same, except for this one change. Confused and wary, Spider can’t understand why they’re being so kind to him and assumes the worst. Haunted by the harsh truth of the life he remembers, he recoils from the love he’s offered, convinced it’s a lie or some cruel joke from the Great Mother. As he keeps his guard up, the Sullys are upset and confused, wondering why their son seems so afraid to open up to them.