#gobibside

[ao3gobi17]

Custody AU drabble

This is a lil gift for @goodbyetothenight to say thank you for all the design help on my pinned post/masterlist!  Two prompt words: “anxious, deaf.”

There is some angst here as Spider has not come to terms with being deaf (and please note that I haven’t gone for accuracy in translation though Spider might be inferring Quaritch’s way of speaking!)

X-X-X

Spider could practically feel the vibrations from Captain Delgado’s boots as he led the two of them down the corridor.  He crossed his arms in his hoodie to fend off the cold air, trying to reassure himself.

He was nervous, but not nearly as nervous as the translator, who kept fumbling over the words.

Imagine there’s a line cut halfway across the table.  Don’t cross that line.  Come back to the door when he gives you the information.  We’ll be watching you.

And then they were at the door.  Spider went in first and the translator hovered half behind him, forcing him to step forward and look directly at Quaritch.

Quaritch’s ankles were shackled to his chair and there was indeed a table between them.  His muscular frame hunched forward to look at Spider closely.

“You’re really deaf?”  His face was incredulous.

Spider didn’t hear more than an indistinct rumble, but he’d seen that exact phrase on people’s lips so often that he didn’t need to wait for the translator to summon their courage.

He nodded.

“What happened?”  That one was also obvious.

Accident Spider signed, his throat still plugging at the word.  He watched the interpreter eventually come out from behind him and pad it into a short sentence.

Quaritch stared at him, and Spider felt like he was under a microscope.  As he understood it, they’d only told Quaritch that he was deaf this morning.  Spider hated the way people looked at him when they found out, sympathy soon giving way to him being othered.  He wasn’t going to let Miles Quaritch of all people do that to him.  He cut to the chase.   They said if I came, you’d give up the Wedgewick Killer.

Quaritch responded and Spider could hazard most of what he was saying but waited for the translation.

Yeah, I’ll tell you.  But you gotta tell me a few things about you first to make it fair, right?  

I’m not allowed to tell you anything, Spider signed back dully.

Then let me tell you something.  Quaritch waited for the interpreter to finish.  I didn’t kill your mother.  Do you believe me?

Spider shrugged.  He didn’t, but it hardly mattered now, did it?  They couldn’t even have proper conversation.  Quaritch would spend the rest of his days here, cut off from the world, and Spider would spend the rest of his days outside but equally as isolated.

X-X-X

Spider was pushed over threshold.  The bald man was talking loudly in his ear again as if that was going to help.  He felt like he’d been thrown around in a tumble dryer.  His heart was hammering like a jack-rabbit, hands clenching and unclenching behind his back. 

He saw Quaritch sitting across the room as the bald man bent to undo his shoes.  He’d guessed it was Quaritch, when they’d come for him, but with no way to communicate, he’d had to wait to see.

He tried to control his shaky breathing as his cuffs were undone.

Miles  Quaritch signed and Spider blinked.  He rubbed at his wrists, trying to figure out if he’d just seen his name spelled out.

You’re safe, son.  Quaritch signed next.  Safe with me.

Spider felt like a trap door had opened inside him, sweeping through a tidal wave of emotion.  Quaritch had learned ASL?  He’d learned ASL since last week?

I’m still learning Quaritch said, reading his expression.  Not very good yet.  Need more time.

The bald man clapped Spider on the back and said something.  Quaritch’s blue eyes flickered to him then back to Spider, smiling slowly.

He says I shouldn’t do all the talking.  Hug?

Perhaps there wasn’t any choice, but if there had been, Spider would have still chosen to stumble across the room and fall into his ex-stepfather's arms.

X-X-X

#custody #gobibside #Custody AU #spider socorro #miles quartich

[cyren-myadd]

I created a cover art for one of my favorite avatar fanfics by my friend, @ao3gobi17 it's a fast-paced modern AU thriller about Spider trying to avoid his crazy father who escaped prison and comes after him. I highly recommend!

#atwow #avatar #ao3 #spider socorro #avatar the way of traumatizing spider #miles quaritch #recom squad

[naavispider]

Could you recommend some modern au's you like?

Yessss! 💞 Of course I can 💙✨ These are all Spider centric, no surprises there 😬 I love all of these fics so much and had the best time reading each one 😭💞💙

So close, yet a million worlds apart by @hyperfixatedfandomer: the first modern AU I ever read, and what got me hooked. I thought about the first chapter for weeks after reading it.

Custody by GobiBSide on AO3: Obsessed, literally. Quaritch has been in jail for many years and finally breaks out to find Spider. Outstanding characterisation, the tension is off the charts.

I Don't Think I've Changed by @spicymiilk: Incredible writing, I'm completely hooked and was sooooo happy to see this fic come up when searching the Spider tag 😭 I've been dying for a chapter 2 ✨

Cabin in the Woods by @dumbass-tumbler-cryptid: an absolute classic, the high angst and anxiety I felt for Spider the whole time was real! Also we stan multiple endings! I'm so excited!

Radiator by Quickbow on AO3: I guess I love fics where the stakes are so high! This one certainly fulfils that criteria! aNgsT

The Thunder Answered Back by @spicymiilk: Locorro centric, the characterisation is spot on, and the setting descriptions- 🤤😍

One that I haven't read yet but am dying to is Days Into Decades by @lost-girl-2021. I've been holding back because I didn't want to read something that seemed similar to mine while I was still writing it. But it's been hard to wait and I am soooo excited to finally get to it 🙌🏻

#If i forgot any then i'll be so embarassed #and edit this post immediately #but yeah #I love them all so much #spider modern aus have fast become my favourite thing #avatar the way of water #spider socorro #miles quaritch #avatar 2 #atwow #fic rec #awow fanfic #avatar modern au #james cameron avatar

[dumbass-tumbler-cryptid]

What if it turned out that Quaritch was not Spider's biological father? (I don't want to go into details whether Paz cheated on Quaritch or it turned out this way for some worse reason) Would it bother him a lot or would it not matter to him at all and would he continue with his kidnapping plan? And what about Spider, would he use it in arguments against his dad or would it make no difference to him as well?

I think it would depend on the context. If Paz had cheated and Quaritch found out before Spider was born then I think he'd be done with the both of them. If he found out long after Spider was born then I think he'd stick around as Spider's father. If Paz became pregnant following some kind of terrible event then Quaritch would step up as the father, because that wasn't on her.

There's an amazing fic called Custody by GobiBSide that's exactly this concept. In it Quaritch is Spiders step dad. He got with Paz when she was already pregnant with Spider. It's a great read if you've never read it. I honestly don't think I can come up with anything that would be very different from that fic, so I hope you go and enjoy it.💙

#miles spider socorro #miles quaritch #spider socorro #colonel miles quaritch #paz socorro

[raving-raven-writing]

2,3,6 and 13💜

Thanks for the ask @roxynmae I noticed you changed your profile picture, it's cool, I like it! 2. Do you read/reread your own fics? I do indeed read and reread my own stories. Sometimes for fun or if I can't find anything that is new or updated with a certain tag/vibe I want to read. Other times I will reread a work if someone leaves a comment and comments on something that I don't remember where I'm like "Gotta go refresh my brain." Other times I do it out of boredom, and just to see my own work in a less critical eye. Because as I am reading fics, I sometimes forget the name of the author, and I've done that before with my own stuff, where I will read it, go and look at the author name and I'm like "Oh, that's me. Well, that was a pretty good story." 3. What’s your favorite fic that you’ve written? I don't know if I have an all time favorite story that I've written. I have a handful of stories that I would label a favorite. One that certainly seems to be a favorite among other readers if I look at my statistics is There For You for The Umbrella Academy fandom, which is pretty good if you ask me. I also like most of the Newsies stories I've written. My Snowpiercer content is also good too imo--I have a one shot that is over 10,000 words which is my longest ever! In regards to Avatar fandom, I like A Sleepwalking Spider probably the best at the moment--puts a smile to my face everytime. 6. Are there any fics from others you reread all the time? Hmm, yes, there are. Reread and or read when it's updated. I particularly like your "Sins of the Father" and also "Stolen Laughs"; those are both good rereads! Also waiting on you to update Live and Let Die Also, @lanzzo story "Frakrr Say", there's one chapter I keep rereading for a guilty pleasure. @naavispider stories Caught and Cat's In the Cradle. @stupidlytiredstudent story "You'll Be in My Heart"--freaking love how they write! @fictionramblings "Left For Dead"--like the Japez action they're throwing in there. And also their All You Have is Your Soul. @imeanwhynotbruv The Blood of Children"--make me cry why don't you and"Brother Mine". And idk if this person has Tumblr, but on ao3 CheeseSnack's "I Wish I Could Let You Go". And then also @dumbass-tumbler-cryptid "Mama's Boy" and "Cabin in the Woods"-love that they're making this a choose your own ending type thing! @mayfriend "Tabula Rasa" and @futureslaps "The Captive". And I am not sure if these people have Tumblr either, but on ao3 GobiBSide's "Custody" and Quickbow's "Radiator" Sorry, that's a long ass list! But they're all great reads! I am sure there are more I could list but thee ones that are complete are ones that come to mind now and again. The ones that are in progress also come to mind quite often as well.

12. Do you have a playlist for your current WIP(s)? Share it! I don't have Spotify and I'm not one for making playlists normally. Sometimes, one or two songs will pop into my head for something I am writing. Right now, with the smutty WIP I got, "Mommy Issues" by Cloudy June is probably at the top of the very small list.

Thanks again for the asks. And, sorry to anyone that I @ if you didn't want to be.

EDIT: I realize I was looking at the wrong damn number for the last one. Oops. But whatever, I'll answer 12 too. So to answer 13. How much planning do you do before writing? I do a little bit of planning. I will normally have a general outline, and if not, I will know how the story begins and have an idea when/how the story will end.

#fanfiction writer asks #ask game tag #fanfiction writers #ao3.org #avatarfanfiction #atwow fanfiction #multiple fandoms #the umbrella academy fandom #newsies fandom #snowpiercer fanfiction #thanks for the ask

[ao3gobi17]

Hi I have two questions - What would you have done differently if you’d written AWOW? And if Custody was set in Pandora what would that look like? 🥰

I really loved AWOW and any changes I'd make would be dependant on whether I knew what was coming up in Avatar 3 and beyond.

A couple of things that come to mind are:

1. I don't think it's super clear why Ardmore still has the recoms chasing after Jake after Jake gives up the fight and runs away. If they think he's still leader of the Omatikaya and is just recruiting the Metkayina/drumming up support from other clans I would have made that a little more obvious.

2. It seems like Neytiri giving Spider the scar is meant to parallel Jake giving up leadership earlier in the movie, but I'm not clear on what that parallel is.. presumably its the son for a son thought from Jake later since Spider has never been a leader? I would have either changed the earlier scene or made this more obvious.

3. I think they did a good job with so many characters in the climatic sequences, but there was a lil bit 'one gets captured then freed then another captured and freed, people are split into twos and threes then split into different twos and threes', esp with the kids... I mean I loved it, I'm glad it was a long sequence, but I reckon it needed tightened up, with the Metkayina being a little more visible.

4. This is less for plot reasons and more for selfish reasons but I would have liked one more (short even) Q and Spider scene. Especially during the Seadragon period because they'd got super comfortable with eachother, Spider is now 'betrayed' and upset as Q is decimating these villages and it would have been good for him to have had a bit more animosity towards the Seadragon crew and esp after he sees that they hunt the Tulkun for just the Amrita.

5. I would have had Lo'ak and the other kids name check Spider during the Metkayina sequences - when Jake references him to Kiri when she's upset, it feels like a very barren single reference, like they only just remembered him.

6. I would have only had the one recom die when Neytiri and Jake (and Neteyam) ambush Q to save the kids. I understand that it helped establish Neteyam and it would be weird for Jake to not get a successful kill, but I'd have preferred if after Neytiri's first shot there's just a lot of diving for cover etc like the recoms are actually pretty worth opponents? Would help with the shock impact later of Neytiri's rampage.

7. I probably would have given Payakan a voice... like a telepathy type thing... maybe not using a lot of words and maybe only for Lo'ak but I wanted to get a 'human' vibe from him.

8. I would have de-Americanised Spider and Lo'ak a bit and I would have had Q do the haircut and get clothes on Spider.. It would be good for showing time passing and esp if Spider is slowly reverting back to his original form without Q stopping him, while Q himself is getting more Na'vi.

The Custody question is tricky, because I deliberately went modern AU to avoid Pandora! You could have a scenario where Q appears to have killed Paz but I imagine he'd be court marshalled and sent back to earth or else he'd be 'forgiven' to continue work as normal. Q and the RDA are the main authorities on the human side, so it's less likely we'd see the combo of him stitched him up by someone internally and also remain in his post.

So I guesss... I'd have him captured by the Na'vi? Spider doesn't visit him because of the whole war criminal thing. Jake and co are keeping him alive for intel. Q is still demanding to see Spider that way. He could be recom!Q or regular!Q - and then his team probably rescue him and grab Spider same time?? Or maybe they rescue him and try to find Spider but grab a Sully kid instead and that plays out like the Leo thing but with the comms. I'm not sure the Paz thing would be much of a murder mystery though, so aside from Q attempting to bond with a reluctant Spider, it would prob diverge a lot from the original plot! <3

#gobibside #custody #awow

[ao3gobi17]

So, did you manage to write more for Custody this weekend? Or enough to be able to post a snippet? I'm going crazy waiting for this 😅💕

I did! I can give you a snippet from very early on in the chapter though first draft warnings apply:

“In,” Meyer came up close and seized him by the scruff.  The barrel of the gun knocked cold against the side of Spider’s head, and his mind glazed out in panic as he was thrust towards the passenger side.  Meyer stepped aside to open the door but the gun was there a moment later, prodding at him to get in.

Spider got in.

“Don’t move,” Meyer hissed before sealing the door and rounding the car, pointing the gun through the windshield.

Out of the corner of his eye, Spider saw a light snap on in the house.

Ay dios mio.

Meyer threw himself in to the driver's seat and made quick work of firing up the engine and throwing the BMW into reverse, the gun jammed up against the wheel as they peeled out of the driveway.

Spider flexed his fingers in his hair, tried to swallow his stomach back down. "You need to let me out. He's going to kill you."

#gobibside #custody

[ao3gobi17]

Do you have another snippet of the next chapter?🥺

Subject to change!! <3 (heads up for underage drinking!)

“Is there alcohol?”  He asked, throwing all the kitchen cabinet doors open.  Plates, pots and pans, mason jars-

“I don’t know if your dad wants you drinking, kiddo-” Prager warned.

Spider found their makeshift liquor cabinet, unscrewed a bottle of Jack and eyeballed himself half a glass.  Quaritch wasn’t going to protest, Quaritch would thank his lucky stars that Spider was still talking to him.

He wandered over to the fridge for mixer and sloshed some cola in.  He never drank at home, wouldn’t give the McCoskers any reason to be disappointed.  If there was a party he always slept at Leo’s after and didn’t crawl home till he could hide his hangover.

The burn of the first mouthful rushing down his throat was welcome as was the faint buzz that followed, spreading across his chest.

“Anyone else?”  He said.  “Come on, what’s your poison?”

He took another slug of his drink.  He was going to need at least two of these if he wanted to pull this off.

#gobibside #custody

[ao3gobi17]

Custody Chapter 11! The wait is over 😋

Art by @anxiousdreamcore

#gobibside #custody

[ao3gobi17]

Custody Chapter 10 - 11k words so settle in!

(Art by @anxiousdreamcore)

#custody #gobibside

[ao3gobi17]

Do you have any new thoughts on characterising Spider and Quaritch since the deleted scenes have come out? 🫶

Well I have to admit I haven't watched all the scenes yet (I do intend to!). I've seen the knife scene expansion and the Spider taunting recoms scene so far.

I don't think this is necessarily the popular thought, but I'm glad the latter one was deleted, I think it was the right call. Spider comes off way too happy imo (and just a bit too much like he comes from earth? I know he has been around humans due to the scientists and Jake but it jarred me a lil bit to see it to this extent). I do get that he's taunting the recoms and putting little traps in front of them, but I needed more of a recognition that this is his enemy and he's a prisoner of war even if he's slowly opening up to Q. Plus I think Q and the Ikran scene in the movie covers the same kinda 'I tricked you' theme. As for Quaritch not disciplining him in any way... it does line up with what info we have (the Ikran scene, the fact Spider is still dressed Na'vi) but it does throw their dynamic in a very different light with this added in as if Quaritch kind of capitulated to Spider very early doors in their dynamic which I don't really like... which is probably why deleted scenes get deleted lol.

The knife scene I did love how clear it was that Q would do anything to save him, but again I think that was still clear enough to me in the movie (I do wish some deleted parts of the knife scene had made the final cut but less the bits specific to Quaritch and Spider's dynamic).

In terms of characterisation - my Spider looks incredibly solemn and serious now lol, but I'm not going to change that as the backstory has made him that way... but it's funny to think his default should be way more sassy that I'd even imagined 😂 And seems like Q is a lot more of a softy than I'd ever imagined too - but again, backstory, so I'm sticking with! <3

#gobibside #custody #miles quartich #spider socorro #spider miles socorro

[ao3gobi17]

I'm curious will we ever get insight into what Q and Lyle specifically talked about in the scene where they step out of the kitchen. I'm assuming it's on the lines of debating parenting but was curious if there were any specifics to divulge 👀

Spider doesn't know for sure, so technically neither do we, but you're right, Quaritch feels like Wainfleet is acting too much like they're co-parenting now.

I think the irritation is brought on by the fact that Wainfleet stepped in as Quaritch was rushing to get the inhaler to Spider, actively got 4 recoms to hold Q back etc. Quaritch knows Wainfleet did it with good intentions and he knows Wainfleet checking in on Spider is also good intentions, but its harder for Q to see as Wainfleet is getting a bit more intense with it, which draws attention to the fact that Spider is hurt and it's partly/mostly Q's fault.

And I think on Wainfleet's side he's just doing his best for Q who he practically worships, and that initially involved interacting with his kid, which he did willingly and now he also likes the kid, and he's been getting away with acting like a co-parent for days now, so it's become more normal to him to 'overstep' the line if he thinks its best for Quaritch or Spider. <3

#gobibside #custody

[ao3gobi17]

New Chapter 🎉

Fun side game - count the number of fathers 😂

Art by @anxiousdreamcore <3

#gobibside #custody

[ao3gobi17]

I love Custody!!!❤️❤️❤️

Can we get a Snipet of Chapter 10 of Custody?

Thank youuuu ☺️. Subject to change!

It was even more surreal seeing him in the flesh, dishevelled and bruised and wearing Spider's entire jaw and chin.

"Miles?" Matthew Meyer's eyes widened, looking him up and down, straining beyond him to see who was watching till Spider closed the door over.

"No, his evil clone," Spider sighed, leaning back against the wall, contemplating the man. He could feel his eagerness fizzing out, the reluctance he'd shown Quaritch suddenly rearing its head for real. "Hi Matthew."

#gobibside #custody

[ao3gobi17]

If Spider didn't have a panic attack/asthma after Quaritch killed Meyer, how would Recoms and Quaritch himself have behaved towards him? I mean, would they have shouted at him for trying to escape and been less gentle with him / Quaritch himself given him some sort of speech or punished Spider somehow?

That's an interesting question - if we're only taking out the panic attack/asthma attack then they still saw Spider being moved out of the house at gunpoint on the cameras (and then they saw MM hold the gun on Spider at the end too). So they know that Spider tried to free MM, but they also know that he was not actively trying to escape himself or wanted to be with MM.

That's not to say that all is forgiven, but it does move the scenario into more of a victim-rescue. Especially because Q already clocked MM trying to manipulate Spider by using his little brother and you could see intellectually why that would make Spider vulnerable. Q's so mad at MM that he would have been working all his anger out on MM's body. If Spider wasn't in full flight or flight panic mode (like he was in fic) then he would likely have tried to get Q to stop, called out to him, and Q wouldn't have listened. If Spider then tried to go back towards them to intervene and 'save' MM somehow then one or two of the recoms would have grabbed him then.

The recoms in general would be ticked off at Spider - they weren't getting a great night's sleep anyway, but they have this mess to clean up now and Q isn't a happy camper and Spider got one up on them (again!) by releasing himself and then MM. I'm sure if Spider resisted them here or on the return to the cars in general they would get a lot tougher with the manhandling, but if he didn't kick up a big fuss then they would probably be more relegated to a couple of snippy remarks.

For Q's part, he'd have mostly exhausted himself on MM. Spider's attitude would have made a difference afterwards - if he was tearful and a bit scared then Q might consider him already punished (which is what happened in the actual fic) but if he was mouthing off etc then Q may have dug deep for some fresh anger to yell at him for putting his life at risk/trying to mess with Q's plans.

And I think regardless, Spider is getting patted down before bed and possibly double handcuffs hereafter. The only reason this didn't happen in the fic itself was because Q got such a shock from the panic attack/asthma attack, he's let Spider camp on the sofa and had someone physically guarding him. But had they gone back to sleep in a regular bed 'tonight' instead of Spider free climbing himself down a cliff this afternoon, then the double handcuffs may have still come out in-fic. <3

#gobibside #custody

[ao3gobi17]

How did you get the idea for Custody? 💖

That's an interesting question because I wrote the first chapter without a full plot in mind, so a lot of the stuff that happens in chapter 2 onwards was decided as I was writing.

I would say the lead-up factor to the fic was seeking out Avatar 2 fics to read and discovering Naavispider's work. Naavispider and a few others began branching into modern AU fics for Avatar ff. I loved the dynamics in Avatar 2, but I just didn't feel knowledgeable about Pandora, so seeing how others were handling modern AUs made me want to at least run a one-shot off of my own.

In terms of the chapter 1 idea - the basic tone/dynamic is taken straight from Avatar 2 - the father and son but on opposing sides. I've always quite liked the ?trope of the dangerous prisoner playing psychological games with their jail-cell visitor - so that the expected dynamics are flipped. When I was thinking of combining the modern aspect and the Q and S father-son-but-enemies dynamic the prison cell setting was the idea that came to mind! <3

#gobibside #custody